Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible
- Organization donated gifts
- Jack, an American, was chosen to hand out the gifts
- Jack got credit for the gifts
- There were four fewer gifts than children
- The children who didn’t get a gift, got a black hat
- A black hat has a negative stigma
- The children who got black hats felt bad about them
- One kid blamed Jack for forgetting him
- Jack spoke to the other staff about the children who got hats feeling bad
- The staff were offended by Jack’s comments and told him to fix the problem if he thought that there was one
Step 2: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome
- Problem
- Stakeholders
- Jack (wants everyone to be happy)
- Kids thought the gifts were from him and it made him feel good
- There weren’t enough gifts to go around and he felt bad about the black hats as gifts
- Kids that got gifts
- They might tease the kids who got hats
- Like that they got a gift
- Kids that got hats
- (1) Angry that they didn’t get real gift
- Upset that they didn’t get the hats as ceremoniously as the kids who got gifts
- Other staff members didn’t think that the “forgotten” kids felt slighted
- Want things to be smooth and doesn’t want unnecessary turbulence
- Don’t want Jack to become a children activist
- Jack (wants everyone to be happy)
Step 3: Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders.
Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture.
-Jack should sit down with the staff members and try to understand why he sees a problem when they don’t.
– make the 4 hats special between Jack and the 4 children, maybe decorating the hats and have the staff give them to the kids (sharing the credit with the staff)
-buy 4 new gifts and wrap it, to match the other gifts
-request or ask the organization donating the gifts, that they had missed 4
Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action]
- Potential Solution
- make the 4 hats special between Jack and the 4 children, maybe decorating the hats and have the staff give them to the kids (sharing the credit with the staff)
- Pros: Staff gives it to the kids and Jack decorates hat with them, or both (Jack & staff members) can give/help decorate the hats with the kids
- Cons: Time frame of getting the gifts to the kids matter, because they might change their view on it, or if it seems like a last resort/rushed solution
- These 4 kids might brag to the other children about how they received special attention
- Jack “sees” a problem and tries to fix it so he might “see” other problems that they don’t and try to “solve” them too.
- In the future, he might be asked to go get things bc he doesnt mind getting things for the kids
- How does it solve the problem?
o Pros: “forgotten” kids get to feel special
o Cons: kids who did get gifts might get jealous of the special hats
- How does it save face of those involved?
-Jack and the staff involved won’t seem like “the bad guys” to the kids anymore and it shows that they do care that every child should receive a gift, in those 4 kids perspective.
-Jack doesn’t take all the credit for this situation and involves the staff members to contribute and gain face from the children also
- Implications on relationships
There may still be a lack of importance or consideration because of the time difference, yet it still shows that the children are valued to Jack and the team as a whole. This may lead to further tension that will be built up about how they are truly valued by the organization.
- Jack buy 4 new gifts and wrap it, to match the other gifts
- Pros: Let’s staff members take credit
- Cons:
- How does it solve the problem?
o Pros
o Cons
- How does it save face of those involved?
The staff gets to take credit for the “forgotten” kids
Jack will get credit from the staff for buying the gifts and letting them take the credit.with the “forgotten” kids.
- Implications on relationships
The staff might treat Jack like he is made of money and expect him to buy more things in the future.
- Request or ask the organization donating the gifts, that they had missed 4
- Pros: All of the kids receive a gift
- Cons: The organization gives gifts out in bulk, so it is almost impossible to give 4 gifts
- How does it solve the problem?
o Pros: all of the kids receive a gift from the same organization
o Cons: There might be a time delay in getting the four kids their gifts
- How does it save face of those involved?
- Implications on relationships
o Short-term-For the 6 months, everything he says and does will make/break his current relationships. He can’t apologize too much to the staff or even the children because he would then start to be pushed around by them. In other words, the delicate issue here is that, Jack wants to do the right thing without at the expense of hurting the relationships he has already built with the staff and children
o Long-term-If these kids are not happy, this might affect their image of the children’s center in the future. For instance, they may grow to have negative feelings about the center or will prefer not to contribute back to this center after they leave.
Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection
Previous Cases:
Peers: I was speaking with one of my teaching colleagues who just returned from an extended sabbatical teaching in Kuwait. It took her almost a year to understand all of the nuances of male/female relationships before she felt comfortable setting up parent/teacher conferences. She listed several concerns that would not have even occurred to her in her job in New Jersey.
Reliance on Personal Experiences:
Khanjan suggested that Jack should just buy his own black hat and wear it around to make the kids feel better because he was really the only one who felt bad about them getting hats.
Inner Reflection:
Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face and has the best short term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class.
- Best Option: Jack should sit down with the staff members and try to understand why he sees a problem when they don’t.
- Pros: it will give all parties more perspectives of what it was like growing up
- Cons: Jack’s stories might add to their concern that he is going to be a “children’s rights activist”. Which Jack might not see as a bad thing, per se, but it isn’t endearing him to his coworkers.
- How does it solve the problem?
o Pros: Jack doesn’t feel bad and he gets to know his coworkers better/ the staff feel like they better understand Jack and aren’t worried about him becoming a “children’s rights activist”
o Cons: Jack might not be sensitive to the differences between the cultures and further alienate himself from the staff while trying to endear himself to the children. He might become the “children’s rights activist” the staff fear.
- How does it save face of those involved?
Jack gets to know the people he’s working with without anyone feeling bad about who they are. The staff get to feel like they have a special relationship with Jack as they get to know him better.
- Implications on relationships
As long as Jack is sensitive to the differences between the cultures and does as much listening as he does talking, he might make some lasting relationships with the people with whom he has only been working.
- Implications on the venture
o Short-term
Jack no longer feels bad. The kids are all happy. The staff feels comfortable working with Jack and showing him their culture and traditions
o Long-term
The next time a researcher from America comes to the area, the people might be more inclined to work with them given the previous positive experience they had with Jack. Additionally, if Jack decides to return to Kenya, he has made lasting friendships with the people who might, in turn, introduce him to others.
This is the best approach because it correctly identifies who has the problem, Jack. He is bringing his personal experiences into his Kenyan context and labelling the differences as problems. The other three solutions will simply exacerbate a situation that is only a problem for Jack.
Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.
The only response they gave Jack was – “If you think there is a problem, then you go ahead and solve it”. If you were Jack, how would you proceed?
- Jack should ask them if they would be willing to talk to him further so he can understand why they are seeing the situation differently
- Jack should ask if this happens all the time, that there are not enough gifts to go around.
- Hopefully, this question will lead to the staff telling their own stories about the “time when they were the kid who didn’t get a gift.
