What is the delicate situation at hand?
Trying to do the right thing (that you believe is right) without compromising the relationship Jack built with the social venture (especially being a foreigner).
Things to consider:
- Be careful not to set a precedence, with an overboard solution.
- Jack should not apologize too much: avoid the situation where a 3-year old can put him around
- Jack should not communicate too much and get into lengthy debate with the staff
STEP 1: Determine the facts in the situation
- Jack is an American student who lived at Kenya, working on his social venture
- Kids were under 14 years of age
- Jack was asked by the staff to hand out the gifts during the ceremony
- Jack took the credits for handing out the gifts, but did not want the credits for not bringing enough the gifts for all the kids.
- Jack did not give the black hats (attached at the bottom of the boxes containing the gifts) to the 4 kids that did not receive the presents during the ceremony
- The 4 kids that did not receive a gift each got the black hat from the staff after the ceremony.
- One kid stared at him, but Jack interpreted that the four kids felt “left out” and upset about the incident, and brought this issue to the staff.
- The staff acknowledged that it was not their fault and should not be blamed for this trivial issue.
- Jack was told by the staff that if Jack thought that incident was a problem, then he should go and solve it himself.
- The staff were also kids that grew up through the program, so they are not evil
- As an intern at the youth center, Jack is basically an outsider and has little power/ influence
- Culture expectation: maybe it’s the norm in Kenya that not every kid should get the presents every time, and the kids can be expected to receive the gifts next time
- Assumption: there is a difference between Jack’s American culture norm and Kenya culture norm
- Assumption: the staff do not care whether who gives out the gifts and who gets the credits for giving out the gifts
- Ethical issue: Jack has to decide how to solve the “forgotten gifts” accident while keeping good relationships with the kids (both got the gifts and did not get the gifts), the staff, and save faces for himself and his affiliated organization.
STEP 2 & 3: Define the stakeholders & their motivations
- Jack (primary stakeholder)
- Professional
-
- Being a new worker, he wants good relationships with staff and kids
- Decent pay
- Save faces/uphold the reputation of his associated organizations (university/institute/funding agency, etc).
- Want the venture to be successful and get credits for his work
- Personal
-
- Outsider coming into a new country, he might want to do all he can to make the situation better for the affected stakeholders. (i.e., this would help Jack ‘look good’ as a ‘good samaritan’ or something like that.)
- Does not want to be hated by the kids
- Kids (between ages 3 – 14) — the ones who did not get the gifts
- Personal
- They are just kids.
- Want gifts! And more gifts!
- Want to be acknowledged and celebrated as the other kids were.
- Professional
- N/A
- Kids (between ages 3 – 14) — the ones who got the gifts
- Personal
- Like Jack as he gave them gifts
- Want gifts! And more gifts!
- Professional
- N/A
- Staff
- Professional
-
- Wanting to get paid
- Getting the job done
- Do not want to see as doing “unfair” work
- Want Jack to make a difference and benefit the youth center
- Concerned about Jack becoming a children’s activist
- Personal
-
- Avoiding taking part in an unnecessary problem.
- “Nothing is wrong with what happened”
- They were saving face. Keep things running smoothly.
- The social venture
- Professional
-
- Improving the lives of the children
- Maintain rapport with other stakeholders
- Getting good press/ recognition
- Personal
-
-
- Getting good press/ recognition
-
- Donor organization (secondary stakeholder)
- Personal
- Attempting to reach as many children as possible
- Uphold the reputation for doing good things (e.g., sending gifts to this youth center)
- Professional
- Reinforcing their relationship with the social venture.
- Jack’s affiliated organization (secondary stakeholder)
- Personal
- Provide Jack and its students experiential learning opportunities with his social venture
- Professional
- Improve its outlook by making an impact to the community.
- Build/strengthen relationships with donors’ organization
- Lay out good platforms for possible future collaborations on social ventures at the youth center
STEP 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solution
Potential Solution 1: Following the staff’s approach in looking past the issue
How does it solve the problem?
Jack is staying on good terms with the staff by respecting the gifts culture norm in Kenya and in the youth center. Nobody was blamed for anything. No lengthy debates. No escalating tensions.
Pros
- We remain on good terms with the staff
- The rest of the kids are happy
- Jack will be on good terms with the staff, because they are not too concerned about him being a “child right activist.”
Cons
- At least one of the kids will hold the grudge against Jack, which might hinder the productivity and collaboration with the social venture
- Jack personally feels upset about the situation
How does it save face of those involved?
- The staff might be saving face by looking past the issue to keep additional conflicts from arising
- Jack saves face for himself quietly but effectively
Implications on relationships
- Short-term: The staff will not think different about Jack, at least 1 kid will be upset with Jack
- Long-term: Jack remains on good terms with the staff and a larger portion of the children by saving face
Implications on the venture
- Short-term:
- Jack does not have to worry about fraying his relationship with the owners of the facility/ staff
- Long-term
- Jack’s good image will continue throughout his stay
Potential Solution 2: Re-framing the values of the black hats with the 4 kids that did not get the gifts through social/team-building activities
How does it solve the problem?
Jack makes compensation for the 4 kids that did not get the gifts with the hope to mend the tensions between him and them.
Pros
- Fix the relationship with the children, particularly for those who did not get the gifts
- Provide a sense of ceremony
- Jack gain face with the kids (and consequently with the staff)
Cons
- If Jack changes the value of the hats, it might cause other kids to feel bad / undeserved.
- The staff might still be concerned about Jack being a “child right activist”
How does it save face of those involved?
- Save faces for the 4 kids that did not get gifts
- Avoid confrontational/aggressive methods with the staff. Still, this method did not completely save faces for the staff, because it indicates that Jack still wants to impart his cultural values of kids on the entities here in Kenya.
Implications on relationships
- Short-term: The upset kids will be happy
- Long-term: The staff might believe Jack will act up/ overreact again
Implications on the venture
- Short-term: Jack’s image changes to the staff
- Long-term: Reputation of Jack’s affiliated organization and donors might be affected depending on how he acts
Potential Solution 3: market the gift as a community gift – toys are for everyone, for their community
How does it solve the problem?
- The left-out kids will feel included because the toys will be shared now
Pros
- Creates a sense of community and socialize kids with each other
- They will have access to more toys instead of only one
Cons
- The kids who got toys might feel like their toys were taken away from them
- If 200 hundred kids would feel like that, and Jack would need to make additional efforts on fixing this belief à more work, and possibly more tension with the staff
- This might add extra burden to Jack’s workload, because changing values or impression of kids on certain beliefs takes time and efforts.
How does it save face of those involved?
- Save faces for the kids
- Not really save faces for the staff, because by doing this Jack implies that there is something wrong with how the gifts are handled in the center.
Implications on relationships
- Short-term: The upset kids will drop their grudge with Jack
- Long-term: The staff might think Jack is overacting/ act up again
Implications on the venture
- Short-term: Jack might not be able to get the staff on board with his ideas, but they might still give him faces because he is a “foreigner.”
- Long-term: Jack’s images to the staff and kids in the youth center might get mixed opinions, which might hinder the productivity of his social venture
Potential Solution 4: Wear a black hat for a few days and move on
How does it solve the problem?
- Do not talk or debate with staff → still get on good terms with them
- Wearing the black hat for a few days → can help make the 4 kids feel that the black hats are important
Pros
- Less work to do
- Jack can move on fast
- Jack shows attempt to make up for the kids that did not get the gifts
- Save faces for nearly everyone
- Respect the culture norm in Kenya and in the youth center
Cons
- At least 1 kid might still feel upset
- Jack himself might still feel upset
How does it save face of those involved?
- Wearing a black hat for a few days → help to amend the relationships with the 4 kids (if things go well; if not, Jack can move on and look past the issue)
- Jack respects the cultural norm in Kenya → get on good terms with the staff and kids in youth term
- Jack does not have to apologize for anything → move on easily
Implications on relationships
- Short-term: No lengthy debate à no tensions.
- Long-term: To keep good relationships with the staff, it is sometimes a smart decision to look past the issue and move on.
Implications on the venture
- Short-term: Choosing an easy-effort solution, Jack can commit more time to work on this social venture rather than trying to think up and act on solutions to amend this relationship with the kids that did not get the gifts.
- Long-term: By learning how to put trivial issues aside, Jack can focus on a bigger picture for his social venture
Potential Solution 5: Dance performance with black hats
How does it solve the problem?
- Hold a dance feast in the youth center and teach the 4 kids some special moves to dance with the hat, then ask other kids and staff to join together in the dance performance.
Pros
- Dancing is fun and engaging activity à help bring everyone together and ease the conflicts implicitly
- An interesting way to introduce different cultures to everyone in the youth center
Cons
- This does not guarantee that kids who did not get the gifts will be happier
- The staff might still concern about Jack being “a child-right activist.”
How does it save face of those involved?
- The staff will not get blamed explicitly
- Jack shows attempt to solve the conflicts through a fun, engaging activity
Implications on relationships
- Short-term: The kids might have fun together à Forget the “forgotten gifts” incident
- Long-term: Some staff might be concerned about Jack might act up again in the future
Implications on the venture
- Short-term: Jack sacrifices his time for organizing a dance fest with the hope to
- Long-term: Spending time organizing a dance fest might deviate Jack from his ultimate goals with his social venture
STEP 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate
- Jack might get in touch with his American superiors or advisors for learning better how to navigate the situation.
- (if possible) Jack could reach out to former interns to ask about if they could share any insights on the customary behavior of the staff members. Anecdotes sometimes help one to make their mind into (not) doing something.
STEP 6: Select the best option.
Personally, I think the best course of action is to wear a black hat that was also given to the kids that did not receive the presents. After a few days, Jack could move on and look past the issue.
Sometimes the easiest path/option is often preferred. Because it reduces the amount of work and debates among stakeholders. By wearing the hats that were not given out to the kids ceremoniously, Jack hopes to make the kids that did not get the gifts feel inclusive. If the children appreciate his actions and efforts, this will help amend Jack’s relationship with those specific children. In addition, this nice gesture of Jack will also send positive signals to the members in the youth center (staff + remaining children) that Jack cares about the children, doing his best to make sure that the children do not feel left out.
With this solution, Jack also settles down the conflicts with the staff quietly and implicitly. Jack doesn’t have to apologize for the fact that he originally brought up the issue to the staff, so he saves faces for himself. At the same time, he avoids possible confrontation which could lead to a tense backfire between himself and the community. If Jack decides to come up with an activity to make up and amend explicitly for the kids that did not get the gifts, he won’t be able to please everyone/save faces for the staff, because this action indicates that there is something wrong with how the gifts are handled in the youth center. This might result in the staff’s concern Jack as being a “child-right activist,” which could negatively affect the progress of his social venture.
In a nutshell, this solution leaves Jack with the most effective way to save face for everyone involved and minimize the risks that might cause misunderstanding or mistrust among all entities in the youth center. Although Jack’s efforts might turn out to be unappreciated by the children who did not get the gifts, his “good-will” action is noted by the community, allowing everyone to move on from the incident without too much fraction. Furthermore, this also allows Jack to uphold the reputation of his affiliated organization and donor organization.
STEP 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement the solution
- Come to work the next day, without showing any grudges against the staff
- Select the time when nobody pays much attention to put on the black hat
- Get to know the kids that did not get the gifts, while wearing the hat. Hopefully, the kids will notice the hat and appreciate the gesture.
- Show efforts to get to know all the kids better personally. Make sure no preferential treatments are made so that all kids are treated fairly.
- Continue working on the social venture. Play with the kids and communicate with the staff as usual. No hard feelings. No grudges.
- If anyone asks about the incident, apologize briefly if needed. No need for a lengthy apology or discussion.
- Wear the black hat for a couple of days, then wear it casually to make sure that these kids do not feel excluded.
- If the ceremony happens the second time, learn from this incident. Hopefully, this time every child will receive a gift. If not, do not make a big deal; just look past the issue. Save time for your venture!