Essay Example on Jones' Dam Project Success Threatened by Corruption

Despite his excellent performance in the dam project, Jones had serious shortcomings, which may lead to his failure in the future. The major issue he had to handle was the corruption that was being carried out in the company. The Tanzanian government is working tirelessly to eradicate corruption in the country, especially under the leadership of President Pombe Magufuli. The president has taken a lot of measures to curb corruption in the country. However, the vice is still present in the country leading to the loss of a lot of revenue. Through the bribes Jones use, he is able to get services offered at a faster rate hence facilitating the smooth running of activities in the project. Even though this is a common practice in the country, it is against both the Tanzanian and the American law hence may result in severe punishment if found (Andreoni, 2017). Steinberg's fears are justifiable as the unethical act of corruption will inevitably get out of hand, affecting the operations of Hydro Generation (HG) in other countries. According to (Hope, 2017), corruption is one of the factors slowing development in most of the developing nations, and an international company practicing it may put their business in jeopardy if found.

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Practicing nepotism is unethical and should be discouraged due to the consequences the company may face in the long run. Since HG is an international company, a realization that they engage in nepotism will affect their performance in other countries was resulting in loss of public trust. The company may also risk facing legal actions from employees unhappy with the vice. Nepotism also lowers the morale of workers, and some family issues may be carried to the workplace, causing disturbances (Maswabi and Qing, 2017). As a result, nepotism is unhealthy for the development of the company and the country as well. Jones's involvement in nepotism may be for the benefit f the company; however, the participants may change in the future, and instead of helping the company, they may take advantage and start extorting the company resources just like Steinberg feared. Both the Tanzanian and the American governments advocate for equal opportunities to be provided in the workplace without any form of discrimination or favoritism (Maswabi and Qing, 2017). However, many multinational companies do not adhere to this, including HG, through the leadership of Jones. The company is, therefore, taking a significant risk, which may undermine its performance in the future.

I used Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) theory to analyze the corruption and nepotism practices used by Jones in the dam project. Tanzania is majorly a Christian country making the church to be at the forefront in dealing with these vices (Mgaya, 2016). However, it has not been easy for them as many institutions in the country, including some government institutions, still engage in the acts (Mgaya, 2016). Despite the efforts put in place, the vices have been prevalent throughout the country. Even though the unethical practices are discouraged, businesses may make huge losses if they avoid them altogether. For example, if Jones decided not to engage in giving tips to help speed the process of service delivery, the company may have its duties lagging behind time. They would not be able to attain their daily goals due to the leisure pace in which activities are done in Tanzania. Jones, through his understanding of the business environment and cultural practices practiced by Tanzanians, was trying to avoid making unnecessary losses by upholding the standards set by HG and the American government. Corruption practices are common in Tanzania, and few services will be offered on time without bribes.

Scenarios of double standards should not exist in a society as they participate in corroding the ethical values of society. However, maintaining high bureaucracy in a country that will need more than a decade to solve its ethical issues is like taking the business into its death bed. The company will be unable to access some necessary services on time due to the transparency they uphold, stalking its operations. Some political leaders may also interfere with the company's actions if they maintain zero tolerance for nepotism. The leaders tend to seek favoritism to get employment for friends and relatives, and failure to do so may land the company into several problems. For a pleasant business environment, Jones incorporated the Tanzanian business practices to ensure the proper running of the company. Tanzania does not put a lot of emphasis in CSR theory confirming Ali et al. (2017) statement that priorities in CSR theory vary with the country being investigated. Adhering to the theory will, therefore, need a better understanding of the host country's culture and practices.

Jones has a great task in redeeming himself to Steinberg in order to preserve his position in the dam project. To do this, he has to establish a good communication through the communication theory. It will enable him to give a clear stand of the company regarding the corruption and nepotism issues. Although it will cost the company at the beginning since a lot of work will not be completed in time, it will help in conforming to both the government regulations and the HG principles. Through effective communication, he will be able to lead the entire team into doing what is right instead of what is easy until the project is completed (Torrington et al., 2008). Through this, the company will not be interfering with the country's efforts to eradicate corruption and nepotism in the country. The process may take long as Tanzanians are not used to a life without corruption but in the long run, they will adapt and even use the same system throughout the country hence eradicating the vices completely. The company will be an example to others and may even receive acknowledgements by the president for the position it plays in ensuring Tanzania is corruption and nepotism free. Through the acknowledgement, it will have more customers hence developing further. Jones will preserve his job, and the HG management team will no longer be worried about the company's reputation and future.

Through the work, I realized time management is very important for the success of any group. Due to the other engagements we had, it was very difficult to balance and manage the time properly, leading to the postponement of several meetings. For us to manage the time and stress which the assignment caused, we divided the work among each one of us set a meeting time to discuss everything. The stress increased when the deadline was approaching, making us panic, which is very natural and common, according to Cottrell (2003). Despite the challenges, we manage to do good work and finish on time hence meeting the deadline.

Through this case study, I was able to learn the importance of maintaining honesty and avoiding double standards at work. I also learned ways of upholding good morals in the workplace and its effects on society. I was also able to learn on time management and teamwork, which I believe will contribute greatly to my success in the cross-cultural environment work.

References

Ali, W., Frynas, J.G. and Mahmood, Z. (2017). Determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in developed and developing countries: A literature review. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 24 (4) 273-294.

Andreoni, A. (2017). Anti-Corruption in Tanzania: A political settlements analysis.

Cottrell, S. (2003). The study skill handbook. (2nd Ed.) Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hope Sr, K.R. (2017). Fighting corruption in developing countries: Some aspects of policy from lessons from the field. Journal of Public Affairs, 17 (4) 1683.

Maswabi, O.K. and Qing, Y. (2017). Risk Analysis and Countermeasures of Favouritism, Nepotism and Cronyism in Organizations. Innovation and Management.

Mgaya, R. L. (2016). The influence of workplace ethics on organization performance: a case of seven nonprofit organizations in Arusha city in Tanzania. Doctoral dissertation, Mount Meru University.

Torrington, D., Hall, L. & Taylor S. (2008) Human Resource Management (7th Ed.) Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.