CASE STUDIES IN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING IN INTERNATIONAL NGOs CASE #1.

Food for the childrenor bribes for the Minister of Education? Food for the Children, an international NGO based in the UK, provides foodgrains and powdered milk to families where children are at risk of malnourishment or starvation. t has provided food to families in the small !outh "acific sland nation of "apua #u$ua for the past eight $ears, utili%ing the school s$stem as the means of identif$ing need$ children and distributing the food. #he &inister of 'ducation in "apua #u$ua has approved the involvement of the school s$stem in this pro(ect, though each $ear the process of approval has become more cumbersome and drawn out. !arah )ritton has arrived from *ondon for a one week visit as the representative from Food for the Children sent to negotiate the arrangement, and she +uickl$ comes to the opinion that the 'ducation &inister is dela$ing the process in hopes for a bribe. #he local school officials are eager for the food supplies and assure !arah that the$ can distribute the food on their own with or without the &inister,s approval. !arah sends an email to the e-ecutive committee in *ondon re+uesting instructions on what she should do. #he food has to be supplied within the ne-t several da$s before the monsoons come. ROLE PLA . .ou are members of the e-ecutive committee. /hat should !arah do0 CASE #!. Co"battin# A$%S can be funor not? 1essica 'ager is a $oung 2merican working with a group of international interns in the "resident Clinton 2 3!42wareness Campaign5a U!4based educational NGO operating in 2frica5that has sent the team out after a slide4show introduction to 2frican culture and instructions to be creative. !he thinks she has the perfect approach to getting the word out about condom use to $oung people in the village of Northern Nigeria. 6emembering how 2 3! education was effectivel$ conducted when she was in college in !anta )arbara, 1essica thinks that the best wa$ to reach $oung people is through a positive approach. 6ather than promoting the health benefits of condoms and scaring $oung people with the threat of disease, she and her fellow interns create a local campaign based on skits that describe the fun of condom use in se-ual situations. One of the more amusing skits involves a $oung woman attempting to put a condom on a banana and then on a large gourd while talking to the vegetable as if it were her naught$ lover. nitiall$ 1essica is delighted that the skits appear to be such a huge success. 'normous crowds gather, and the $oung men in the village seem to be especiall$ delighted with the presentations. )ut the &uslim elders in the village meet secretl$ and decide that this nonsense has to be stopped. #he$ demand that 1essica and the interns leave the village immediatel$ and that the Clinton 2 3!42wareness Campaign be reprimanded for promoting immoralit$. New .ork staff members rush to Nigeria to deal with the crisis. ROLE PLA . .ou are in one of the following three groups7 1. Sarah and the interns 2. The Muslim village elders 3. The NY staff of the Clinton Foundation '-plain $our position and see if it is possible to come to a compromise or a resolution of the conflict.

CASE #&. 'u"an ri#hts or hu"an (ron#s? 2 factor$ owner in the !outheast 2sian countr$ of &alaria, &r. kan !acrudakids, was severel$ critici%ed b$ an international human rights organi%ation, 8uman 6ights /atchout. 2fter undertaking a summer research pro(ect involving scores of college interns from 'urope and the U!, 86/ wrote a report claiming that &r. !acrudakids was e-ploiting his workers, rel$ing on $oung children of a minorit$ ethnic group to work long hours at substandard wages. #he report is published in the national newspaper, the &alaria News "ress. #he ver$ ne-t da$ &r. !acrudakids submits his own e-pose5of the 8uman 6ights /atchout organi%ation. t is also published in the News4"ress. &r. !acrudakids, article points out that the 86/ organi%ation itself is hardl$ e+uitable7 the organi%ation consists almost solel$ of one ethnic group, white 'uropeans and 2mericans9 the $oung, previousl$ unemplo$ed workers often toil :;4hour work weeks to file their reports9 86/ provides no (ob securit$ or benefits, and offers salaries5especiall$ to interns5at patheticall$ low wages relative to their peers. !ome are paid hardl$ at all. ROLE PLA . #he &alaria #imes4"ress invites 86/ to respond. .ou are part of the 86/ public relations team. /hat are the main points that $ou would like to present in $our counter to &r. !acrudakids, article0

CASE #). *he hi#h cost of doin# #ood. #he board of directors of the /inds of Change international hurricane relief agenc$ are listening to a proposal for a new advertising campaign. #he proposal is to use direct mail, telemarketing, spot ads and television infomercials that will focus onl$ on the most appealing aspects of the /OC organi%ation,s work5rescuing pets and children affected b$ a tsunami5even though much of the aid is for prevention and reconstruction following seasonal storms. #he advertising campaign is estimated to bring a huge increase in donations7 at least <;;=, doubling the organi%ation,s > million dollar $earl$ budget to ? million dollars. #he costs of the increased advertising, mailing and promotional staff costs are high, however5rising <;;;=, from onl$ @>;;k to @> million Ait also takes a larger percentage of each dollar contributed5from <; cents to B; cents on the dollarC. !till, the net gain is considerable, an additional @>;;,;;; for relief work Aie, from @<.D to > millionC which is a >;= increase in the /OC net and significant additional funds for those in need. ROLE PLA . .ou are a member of the board of directors as it heatedl$ discusses the proposal. .ou are part of one of the follow cli+ues within the board7 42 third of the members of the board who think that this e-penditure is (ustified. 42 third of the members of the board who think that this approach is wrong. 42 third of the members of the board who are undecided, and will be swa$ed b$ the arguments of one or other of the two sides. /hat issues does each cli+ue raise to the board, what +uestions does the undecided group ask, and how do the other members respond0 s a compromise possible0
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