Reference no: EM133098879

Our building company had finished an important project concerning a new major road in Uganda. However, the company had not been paid for all of the completed work. The managing director of the Ugandan subsidiary of the building corporation organized a meeting with a representative of the relevant Ugandan government agency. The meeting started and the representative was very polite and friendly.

However, at the same time he also seemed to be quite nervous. Every few minutes he received a telephone call or had to initiate a telephone call himself. All telephone discussions were carried out in the local language. Despite the interruptions, I tried to explain the reason for my visit:  the outstanding account balance. Of course, the government representative apologized for every interruption. However, after 15 minutes we were both very tense because the conversation had not advanced at all. Eventually I said that I was sorry that my counterpart had so much to do and asked for another meeting next Tuesday. Instantly the government representative was relaxed again and happily confirmed the new meeting. Now he could finally concentrate on the preparation and organization of his big family meeting that weekend, which is typical for large Ugandan families.

Questions:

a. Relate the described situation to Ubuntu philosophy. How can you explain it?

b. How does this situation compare to comparable situations in your home country?