Mgt 311 Unamuno Case Analysis

Introduction

This case study is about a non-profit called Unamuno and a struggle its CEO, Helena Valencia, is having with making a decision that could affect the organization greatly.  Helena Valencia is the co-founder of Unamano, whose purpose is to help entrepreneurs in emerging markets. This organization was Helena’s lifelong dream and is fueled by the idea to support high-potential entrepreneurs in Latin America and other developing countries. With the help of one of her college classmates, Conrad, Unamano was created.  Unamano makes connections with business leaders and successful advisors, who in turn, commit to helping entrepreneurs from areas that qualify to be in need of their service. Unamano’s qualifying markets are those with high and rising unemployment, widening income inequality and an inhospitable environment for entrepreneurs to flourish.  Helena and Conrad are Miami natives and have a special attachment to their hometown, but set out to make a difference in other countries.

Unamano’s original purpose was to set platforms for entrepreneurs in foreign countries; however, Helena is addressed by Conrad, her co-founder, with advice to setup a platform to help the struggling entrepreneurs in their hometown community of Miami.

Problem Statement

Helena is worried that Conrad’s proposal contradicts the original mission statement of Unamano. This change could be detrimental to their public image as well as the company’s relationships with its stakeholders; at the same time, Helena feels the need to listen to Conrad’s advice because he helped start Unamano, and has continued to be a valued advisor of the company.

Conceptual Analysis  

It is important for Helena to analyze the pros and cons of Conrad’s proposal in making her decision. To help identify these pros and cons Helena should try to judge how the creation of a Miami platform would affect the company externally and internally.  Two main concepts that could be used as vantage points to help consider the external/internal affects of this proposal are: the importance of the mission statement and the company’s stakeholders.  

A mission statement should clearly describe a company’s current purpose so viewers can immediately understand what the company is about and what value the company brings to its stakeholders.  Unamano’s mission statement reads as follows: “transforming emerging countries by supporting high- impact entrepreneurship.”  Conrad’s idea of creating a platform in Miami brings contradiction to Unamano’s mission statement because Miami is not an “emerging country.” Conrad appears to have a slightly different opinion on what Unamano’s purpose is compared to the literal interpretation Unamano’s mission statement provides. This raises questions as to whether Unamano’s current mission statement is truly the best representation of what the company is achieving.  Does Unamano’s assistance have a direct affect on the entire country?  Or is it more that the assistance Unamano gives to these certain entrepreneurs, in turn, helps create better business environments within the entrepreneurs’ local cities/communities? Their mission statement claims their goal is to transform countries as a whole; however, it seems they provide their support on a more individual, case-by-case, basis. Possibly after enough entrepreneurs from different cities around that country have been assisted, the entire country can notice an overall benefit; but, the direct influence that the Unamano-assisted entrepreneurs have on the business environment seem to start more at a local community level.

The next concept to help analyze the internal/external affects of Conrad’s proposal is Unamano’s stakeholders. A company’s stakeholders are considered to be anyone that can affect or be affected by a company’s actions such as: shareholders, managers, employees, and customers/users of the company. Stakeholders can be broken down into two separate categories: internal stakeholders (those that affect a company’s actions) and external stakeholders (those that are affected by a company’s actions).  The thoughts and opinions of both types of stakeholders are very important, especially for a non-profit such as Unamano, because they are the ones who provide the funding, as well as put in the work so that the company achieves its mission.  This increases pressure on Helena to make the right decision in regards to Unamano’s stakeholders.  If her decision is not supported by her fellow top internal stakeholders, such as the shareholders and other board members, they may decide to stop funding Unamano; or possibly decide to appoint the CEO title to someone else who can better lead Unamano to reach its goals.  

The other stakeholder perspective to consider is that of the external stakeholder: the entrepreneurs who depend on Unamano’s vast network and guidance.  They do not have much of a voice for whether Unamano decides to move forward with Conrad’s proposal but they are still greatly affected by the decision.  Setting up a Miami platform could take away attention and resources needed by Unamano’s entrepreneurs; but at the same time, the development of a Miami platform could also provide future benefit for Unamano’s external stakeholders.  This addition could act as a gateway for the foreign entrepreneurs to take their business to an international level.

Considering Conrad’s proposal from an overall stakeholder’s perspective, they could view this proposal as either a divergence from the company’s true mission/purpose, or a big opportunity for growth and expansion.

Possible Solutions

1.        Helena consults Conrad with her concerns regarding his proposal, they come up with ideas to address or solve those concerns, after she can decide to address the board members again with his proposal.  Although the board was equally torn when Conrad brought up the idea, having the CEO carry the discussion instead of Conrad, who is an advisor but not technically an employee of the company, would highlight the importance behind this topic. The topic would be taken seriously, and with the support of the CEO, it could potentially sway some of the board members who might’ve been on the fence about the idea previously.  During the meeting, Helena discusses the pros and cons she has thought of; especially the concern over the mission statement.  After, she could open a discussion and let each of the board members have their turn to provide input as to how they feel this move could impact their individual departments as well as the company as a whole. They make note of all the issues they come up with, and then try to address each issue one at a time. Through doing this process they should be able to have a better understanding of what ramifications would come from the idea of this expansion.  If they are able to come up with viable solutions to all of the issues, and there is still a significant opportunity for all stakeholders, they could then do some form of a voting process to determine whether the risk is worth the reward and should proceed with Conrad’s proposal.  Given Unamano is a non-profit, it is very important that the top stakeholders, specifically the board members and main investors, agree upon any changes, whether it be to their mission statement, allocation of funding, etc. so there is no question of Unamano’s motives and the direction it is headed.