Lindsey’s blog post #15

Case Study: 

Jack is an American student who lived at a youth center in Kenya while working on a social venture. In this role, he lived and interacted with the children at the center and worked closely with the staff. One Saturday evening, kids under the age of 14 years were to receive presents that were sent by an international donor organization. A staff member at the youth center had picked up all the gifts the previous weekend and they were finally going to be distributed this Saturday. When it came time to give the gifts out after dinner, the staff members called Jack up to the front – as he was a guest – to assist in the gift-giving ceremony. The staff members had allocated the gifts for the children and labelled them – Jack’s job was to hand out the gifts to the kids. The only problem was that four children did not receive gifts and the staff members did not appear to be concerned about the four forgotten children. As kids began leaving the hall, they thanked Jack for the gifts. The kids were convinced that Jack had gotten the gifts for them. Jack felt a little awkward but at the same time reflected that a good relationship with the kids would help him in several ways during his five-month stay at the center. 

At the bottom of the boxes containing the gifts, there were a few black hats. The kids that did not get a present were brought over to the box and given a hat. However, they were upset about the fact that they were not given the hat as ceremoniously as the other kids. The staff gave them their hat and shooed them on their way as if they had some fault in this situation. As one of the little boys who did not receive a gift left the hall, he walked past Jack holding his black hat, and gave him a stare that clearly indicated that he blamed Jack for not receiving a gift. Jack met with the staff and discussed how the four kids were very upset and felt ‘left out’ after the incident. The staff did not acknowledge the problem and were a little piqued that they were being blamed for such a trivial matter. They were convinced that Jack was making a big deal out of the situation and were concerned that Jack would become a ‘children’s rights activist’ and create unnecessary problems for them. 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? 

 

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible 

• Jack is an American student working at a youth center in Kenya- and engaging in a social venture. 
• Jack spent 5 months at the center
• He often works with the children and other staff members at the youth center.
• An international donor donated gifts to children under the age of 14 to a youth center in Kenya.
• There were not enough gifts for all of the children; 4 children didn’t get gifts.
• The staff members had allocated the gifts for the children and labelled them. Since Jack was an American he was chosen to distribute the  gifts to each child. 
• Jack discussed the gift situation with the staff. The staff thinks that Jack is making a big deal out of this matter but said that he can solve the problem. 
• The children who did not receive gifts were given a black hat, and they did not like them.
• The children who did not receive gifts blamed Jack. 

 

Step 2: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

• Jack 
• Kids who did not receive the gifts 
• Staff members  

Problem: There were not enough gifts for all of the children. 

 

Step 3: Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders. 

• Staff:
  • Personal: The staff want the children at the youth center to be happy. They don’t want to be blamed for not having enough gifts, but do not think there is an issue. They do not want to cause a disturbance with the gifts. 
  • Professional: Concerned about Jack becoming a “children’s rights activist” and creating issues where there aren’t any. 
• Children who received gifts
  • Personal: The children are happy that they received gifts and they think the gifts are from Jack. They may feel sorry for the kids who received hats. 
• Children who did not receive gifts
  • Personal: The children are angry that they didn’t get gifts like their peers and blame Jack. 
• Jack
  • Personal: He doesn’t want the children who did not get gifts to resent him. He wants to be well liked and respected by the children and staff. 
  • Professional: He is concerned about the holistic growth of children. If the children feel being ignored, they might have low self-esteem. He does not want this problem to impact his social venture. 

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture. 

• Potential Solution 1: Jack uses his own money to purchase gifts for the remaining four children. 
  • How does it solve the problem? 
    • Pros: 
      • The four children would receive gifts. 
      • Jack would still uphold his status with the children. 
    • Cons 
      • Other kids for whom Jack won’t purchase gifts might feel left out and want those gifts.
      • Jack will have to spend his own money.
      • Jack might be seen as a push over to the children and they will start to take advantage of him. 
      • Jack will be looked at differently with the staff because he solved an “issue they didn’t think was present”. 
  • How does it save face of those involved? 
    • Jack would still be providing gifts for the remaining four children, so they will not be mad at him..
  • Implications on relationships 
    • Short-term 
      • The children do not resent Jack anymore. 
    • Long-term 
      • The children and staff might expect Jack to spend his money to fix problems that may arise in the future.  
  • Implications on the venture 
    • Short-term: The children will think that Jack is 
    • Long-term 

 

• Potential Solution 2: Jack gives the black hat to the children.
  • How does it solve the problem? 
    • Pros: The four children still leave with a gift.
    • Cons: 
      • The children think that Jack forgot about them.
      • The children did not receive a gift like their peers. 
  • How does it save face of those involved? 
    • The children are still walking away with something. 
  • Implications on relationships 
    • Short-term: 
      • They are mad at Jack because they did not receive a gift like their peers. 
      • They feel inferior to their peers.
      • They might develop jealousy issues to their peers, which could create potential behavior problems. 
    • Long-term: 
      • They might resent Jack for forgetting to get them gifts. 
  • Implications on the venture 
    • Short-term: Jack is not upholding a positive status with his kids. 
    • Long-term: The children may not trust Jack and which will  negatively impact his goal of his social venture.

 

• Potential Solution 3: Jack tells the children that the hats mean they have been chosen for a  special job. For example (line leader, staff helper, etc.)  
  • How does it solve the problem? 
    • Pros: Children who received hats feel like they are different in a positive way, not a negative way . The staff members and Jack will not have to spend any of their money on new gifts.
    • Cons: The children who received gifts may be jealous because they want jobs. The children who received hats may not want to have special jobs. 
  • How does it save face of those involved?
    • Jack will continue to be viewed as a positive staff member in the children’s lives and that he did not forget about the four children. 
  • Implications on relationships 
    • Short-term  
      • The children who did not receive gifts, now feel just as special if not more than the children who did receive gifts.  
    • Long-term 
      • Jack may not always be able to provide special opportunities for the children. Jack has now set that expectation with the children and the staff. 
  • Implications on the venture 
    • Short-term 
      • Jack will resolve the issue without needing any additional resources. 
    • Long-term 
      • Jack may set a precedent that he cannot uphold. 

 

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection.

I think this case study was pretty challenging when developing with potential solutions. It was the first grassroots diplomacy case study, and I know I had a hard time processing and coming up with a plan. As a current elementary school special education teacher, this case study allowed me to reflect and think about what I would do in this situation. However, it was still challenging because the materials and reinforcements we have access to in my school are not as easily accessible in developing world countries.  I can put myself in Jack’s point of view, because I know how upset and embarrassed I would be knowing that some of the kids did not receive gifts, even though it was not Jack’s fault. I would probably still go out and buy toys for the kids, but again, it is different in developing world countries. This “step” is also hard to process because in situations like these you would discuss with coworkers how to address the situation, but in Jack’s case his fellow staff members do not feel there is an issue at hand. Overall, I think I over-thought this case and potential situations. My group worked well together, but at times we would have to problem solve because of our disagreements on potential solutions and type of implications on the venture. 

 

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. 

The best course of action would be to try and make the hats mean something to the kids. For example, if the child got a hat they could present it like a magical hat and that it allows the children to do a job like be a line leader, staff helper, etc. This would be the best course of action because the staff members would not be spending any extra money and Jack would still present as a positive role model to the children. It has the least amount of negative impact on the social venture. The center does not need any extra materials to make these children feel special. The implementation of their jobs could essentially help out the staff members by allowing the children to help them with tasks. Jack saves face because he is not just giving the children a black hat, he is making it look like the black hat holds a special meaning. The short term implications is that the children are no longer upset that they did not receive a present like the other children. However, there are always going to be negative aspects of possible solutions. A potential short term implication could be Jack trying to do right by the children, but will upset the staff members by making a big deal out of “nothing”. Additionally, this could create another potential short term problem by having the children who received gifts be upset that they are not holding special jobs. This may cause resentment of Jack.  A long term potential implication could be that the staff will expect Jack to come up with solutions to issues in the future, and he may not be able to uphold these expectations. Overall, I personally do not think there is a solution that does not raise potential issues. I believe that is why this case study was so challenging for me. 

 

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.

-Step 1: Provide the children with the black hats after the distributions of the other gifts.

-Step 2: Explain in a small group, not around the other children,  that the children were specifically chosen to receive these hats and they serve a special/magical purpose.

-Step 3: Tell the children that the black hats allow them to have special jobs and explicitly explain what the special jobs may be and how to do it (line leader, helper, etc.)

-Step 4: Introduce the children to the staff members with their magical hats, and explain to the staff members that these hats allow the children to have magical jobs and what these jobs are.

-Step 5: Implement the magical jobs. 

-Step 6: Set a daily check-in to reconvene to discuss their jobs for the day to ensure they have an understanding of their roles. 

-Optional Step 7:  Suggest that maybe they share their magical hat powers to one of their friends. This could introduce the other students to holding the jobs and rotate within groups of children if an issue arises with jealousy of other children.