Western Answers Might Not Fit

This news item somehow annoys me. Four business school students from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg U.S., have provided a 150-page business plan for the Cambodian women in the Sobbhana Foundation who make hundreds of products such as handbags, furniture and tapestries that sell in a boutique in Khan Doun Penh.

They found (surprise, surprise) the organization wasn't run like a business.

Managers didn't know their sales numbers because they didn't keep records. Nor did they know the price of a yard of silk or how much time goes into making an item.

This is hardly surprising given that Cambodia has a shortage of business savvy people following the events in the 1970s.

But for me one of the more worrying findings in the report is its suggetions that the foundation centralize operations rather than having five operations where they make silk.

Although centralizing operations can lead to more consistency in the product, what about the knock-on effect of closing four of the five operations?

What might be overlooked in this business-orientate analysis is that the organization might not need to be run like a business. Its purpose might be to help five communities by providing jobs, income, and the social network for Cambodian women and children. Maximum efficiencies does not always equal maximum justice.

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