The Summary of Ugandan Project Case Study

Assessment Case Study 2021-2
The Ugandan Project
You are an HR consultant who has been brought into US based Triton Hydro Generation
(THG) to advise them on staffing a forthcoming civil engineering contract to build a dam in
Uganda. (See map below for the location of Uganda in Africa).
https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/uganda-map.htm
Uganda is a country of about 48 million. The official languages are English and Swahili.
About 71% of Ugandans are Christian and about 17.3% are Muslims.
You have been asked to write a report for Graham Barclay, the Vice President (HR) of the
company, to advise him on the possible problems.
You first interview Barclay then, as a result of that interview, you also interview the proposed
Project Director, Craig Evans. These are write-ups of the notes you made in these interviews.
Notes on Interview with Graham Barclay, Vice President, Human Resource
Based on:
Author: Raef Khalid on 8 October 2013
Source: International Business: environment and operation (12th ed.)

His main concern was: should he choose Craig Evans as the Project Director? Evans has
already completed a smaller project in Uganda and the results have been highly satisfactory -
he had finished every task on time and within budget.
He is also concerned about following the philosophy and values of the founders and the
current CEO, Lawrence Colbert, who have been instrumental in shaping THG’s mission and
culture. A devout Christian and a regular attendee of the National Prayer Breakfast
(evangelical Christian group), Colbert believes that business activities, though secular, should
embody Christian values. Additionally, as a manager, Barclay believes that subordinates
should be given full responsibility for making and implementing decisions but that they
should also be held accountable for the results.
Barclay is concerned about the means by which Evans achieves his ends. In Barclay’s
opinion, Evans is too eager to accommodate Ugandan ways of doing business, some of which
are against both THG’s culture and its usual methods of operation in foreign environments.
Barclay worries that some of Evans’s actions might have unforeseen consequences for the
company's projects in Uganda.
Barclay has reviewed Evans’s performance on the previous project. He is concerned not only
about some of Evans’s business practices but also about certain aspects of his lifestyle, not
the least of which was his participation in local tribal rituals. THG has no formal guidelines
on the lifestyle of the expatriate managers in its employ, but the company culture encourages
standards of living that are consistent with the values of a prosperous international company.
With what THG pays him, Evans could certainly afford to live in one of the upscale
neighbourhoods that are home to most foreign managers working in and around Kampala.
Evans, however, prefers a middle-class Ugandan neighbourhood and does not frequent the
places where fellow expatriates typically gather, such as churches and clubs.
As far as Barclay is concerned, not only is Evans's lifestyle inconsistent with THG’s culture,
but his preference for isolating himself from the expatriate community also makes him of
little use in helping colleagues adapt to the kind of the life that would be comfortable for
them in the alien environment of Uganda. To complete this project, 40 to 50 expatriate
managers and engineers will be moving in with their families for several years.
As for Evans’s business-related practices, Barclay is ready to admit that business in Uganda
usually moves at a slow pace. It can take months to get a landline installed, supplies
delivered, or operating licence issued. Evans, however, had quickly learned that he could
speed things up by handing out tips in advance. Nor could Barclay argue that such payments
were exorbitant: in a country where per capita GDP is about $1,100 a year, people might tend
to take what they can get.
Finally, Barclay is uncomfortable with Evans’s hiring practices. It is a fact of local life that
unemployment is high and so-called job searches are generally conducted through word-
Based on:
Author: Raef Khalid on 8 October 2013
Source: International Business: environment and operation (12th ed.)