Charles Martin in Uganda Case Study
Charles Martin in Uganda
Charles Martin, a 29-year-old American who had worked for Hydro Generation (HG) for 2 years before embarking on the Ugandan damn project. Martins’ educational experience, a degree in African Studies from the University of Wisconsin as well as a MBA from the University of Maryland coupled with his experience working through the Peace Corps made Martin uniquely qualified to work for HG in their new venture in Africa, a hydro-electric damn in Uganda. During Martins tenure in Uganda , his assignments were to, gain support from local authorities, set up offices and insure the smooth operation of the office, overseeing operations including hiring, keeping inventory and keeping accounting records as well as logistical aspects such as dealing with customs. Martins’ job also included helping new expatriates settle into living and working in Uganda.
Describe Ugandan cultural attributes that might affect operation for foreign company operating there?
Uganda, a multilingual culturally diverse country of a little more than 25 million people poses many challenges to a foreign company operating there. In addition to what may considered mostly normal challenges Uganda holds challenges that may not be found in other countries. With a long history of political instability and political corruption that continues into the present companies doing business there are faced with the stark reality that their business dealings maybe tainted because with such corruption ones place among the powerful is never assured. Nepotism is the norm in Uganda. Nepotism, the practice of allowing relatives to get jobs or promotions, even when undeserved thrives in Uganda. With jobs being awarded to family members, mostly through word of mouth connections language is very important to a business dealing in Uganda. Although English is the official language, many other languages are spoken throughout Uganda. The use of many languages thorough different cultural venues makes for
Charles Martin, a 29-year-old American who had worked for Hydro Generation (HG) for 2 years before embarking on the Ugandan damn project. Martins’ educational experience, a degree in African Studies from the University of Wisconsin as well as a MBA from the University of Maryland coupled with his experience working through the Peace Corps made Martin uniquely qualified to work for HG in their new venture in Africa, a hydro-electric damn in Uganda. During Martins tenure in Uganda , his assignments were to, gain support from local authorities, set up offices and insure the smooth operation of the office, overseeing operations including hiring, keeping inventory and keeping accounting records as well as logistical aspects such as dealing with customs. Martins’ job also included helping new expatriates settle into living and working in Uganda.
Describe Ugandan cultural attributes that might affect operation for foreign company operating there?
Uganda, a multilingual culturally diverse country of a little more than 25 million people poses many challenges to a foreign company operating there. In addition to what may considered mostly normal challenges Uganda holds challenges that may not be found in other countries. With a long history of political instability and political corruption that continues into the present companies doing business there are faced with the stark reality that their business dealings maybe tainted because with such corruption ones place among the powerful is never assured. Nepotism is the norm in Uganda. Nepotism, the practice of allowing relatives to get jobs or promotions, even when undeserved thrives in Uganda. With jobs being awarded to family members, mostly through word of mouth connections language is very important to a business dealing in Uganda. Although English is the official language, many other languages are spoken throughout Uganda. The use of many languages thorough different cultural venues makes for