Worldviews Scenario
Committee Orientation Activity
I can describe my current worldview as an existentialist worldview. Existentialism posits that life does not seem naturally meaningful, coherent, and conducive to happiness, but people can work to create order, happiness, and meaning (Thompson, 2017). I believe that people can control their happiness by doing what makes them happy and eliminating challenges that may hinder their ability to be happy, such as conflict and exclusion. I also believe that people have the power to control the occurrence of events around them to establish order. For example, people may decide to follow the laws and regulations in society to coexist, thus achieving order peacefully. My worldview changes based on the people around me. For instance, I believe that it is hard for people to work to create order when they have different values and beliefs. Therefore, when I am in an environment where those interacting are from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, I adopt the postmodernism worldview that posits that reality should be interpreted based on our cultural and language paradigm and that cultural values and beliefs influence people’s behaviour. Despite the changes in my worldviews in various situations, I believe that the rules, cultural values, and beliefs influence people’s existence in the world by influencing how they perceive and take advantage of opportunities and their interactions with others. This is why some people are more successful than others, and some communities lag in development. Everyone is responsible for their happiness and comfort. Therefore, my purpose in this world is to focus on achieving self-growth and happiness by playing my role in society and constantly looking for growth opportunities.
One of the main beliefs that affect how I explain the world, understand circumstances, and live my life is the belief that a supreme being controls what happens to humans and protects them from danger. Therefore, when I lose an opportunity, I assume that the Supreme Being may be protecting me from an unforeseen danger or threat. The second belief is that there are consequences for everything that I do. I believe that if I do a bad thing to someone, I will also face the same fate at some point in my life. Therefore, I focus on doing right by others and maintaining a good relationship with them. The main values that affect how I explain the world, understand my circumstances and live my life are gratitude and open-mindedness. I believe everything happens for a reason, and I should always be thankful for what I have because others admire what I have. My worldview has developed through volunteering in different community projects. Before I began being a volunteer, I did not believe that people could work to create meaning and happiness. However, the impact of our volunteer activities on the community changed my worldview. I now believe that anything, including meaning and happiness, can be achieved when people work together. This worldview makes me appreciate the opinion of my colleagues and perceive diversity in the workplace as an asset because it brings together people with different opinions and ideas that they can use to improve their lives.
Committee Brief
Summary of the Social, Political, and Economic Situations in Brazil
Brazil is a country located in South America. It is the largest country in the region and the fifth largest worldwide. The country borders Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Brazil is known for its physical features, including the Amazon forest, pine forest, dry grasslands, plateaus, wetlands, and a long coastal plain. The country experiences tropical and equatorial climates, high temperatures, and frequent rainfall. Environmental problems, including deforestation and land degradation, influence the climate in Brazil. Other environmental problems in the country are illegal wildlife trade, air and water pollution, oil spills, and the degradation of wetlands. However, the government has put various regulations to prevent illegal wildlife trade, poaching, and environmental pollution.
Brazil’s government is a federal presidential constitution that is characterized by democracy. Therefore, the ideologies of freedom of association, freedom of speech, equality, inclusiveness, citizenship, voting rights, and the right to liberty and life influence Brazil’s government. The country also has a strong military with approximately 334,500 active soldiers. Brazil has developed over the years since it gained independence in 1822. Before that, it was a colony of the Portuguese. After gaining independence, the country did not colonize another country but focused on growth and development. One of the major events in the country’s history is the French Revolutionary War. The event was important because it led to Brazil’s independence. The second event was the coup led by Deodoro Da Fonseca. The event was important because it led to the development of a constitution that allowed people to elect presidents.
Many communities in Brazil are affected by domestic issues such as poverty, inequality, crime, child labour, and sanitation. According to Power (2016), Brazil has a high poverty level represented by slums and favelas in the remote upcountry and metropolitan areas. Inequality in Brazil is also high, leading to a high crime rate. Child labour is common because children from low-income families join the workforce at the age of 10 so that they can help their parents look for money to sustain their families (de Almeida, 2020). Many homes in Brazil also lack access to basic sanitation because of a lack of proper sewage services and piped water. The country also experiences a high mortality rate: the average life expectancy in Brazil by 2022 was 76 years. The birth rate in the country by 2022 was 13 births in 1000 people (Macro Trends, 2019). The maternal mortality rate in the country by 2022 was 70%, and the infant mortality rate was 11.4 deaths per 1000 live births. Life expectancy is influenced by various infectious diseases in the country, which include HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and Chagas disease (Traebert et al., 2016). The rate of HIV/AIDS infection in the country is high. Folha (2022) states that at least people in Brazil were infected with HIV/AIDS every hour in 2021. However, there are various groups creating awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and how to live a healthy life even after getting infected.
Brazil is among the countries with the highest literacy rate. Notably, 99.2% of the population in the country is literate. People attend school at 7 to 14 years for primary education and 15 to 17 years for secondary education. Public education is a requirement in the country and is offered for free (Pinto, 2021). Access to education has resulted in language diversity in the country because people can learn different languages. However, the official language is Portuguese, the first language most citizens speak. Other languages spoken in the country include Spanish and English. The country also embraces diversity in ethnicity, race, and religion. The ethnic composition includes Africans, Portuguese, Germans, Spaniards, Japanese, and Lebanese (Garmany & Pereira, 2018). The racial composition includes whites and blacks. The religious composition includes Christianity, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and other Christians. People from different backgrounds work together to grow the economy under the mixed economic system based on a free market system (Coy, 2016). By 2022, the country’s Gross Domestic Product was $1.894 trillion. The country’s real, the official currency, is also stable. Brazil has various natural resources, including large chromium deposits, manganese, diamonds, bauxite, and copper.
How ASF Would Be Perceived in Brazil
People’s perceptions of an organization may be influenced by the benefits of the organization’s activities and the risks and threats created by the activities. Accordingly, ASF would be perceived as a blessing to society because the dominant values in Brazil are quality of life and caring for others. Sanitation is among the main problems affecting most households in Brazil. It is also the leading cause of cholera in the country. Therefore, ASF would gain support from locals because it focuses on improving their quality of life by ensuring that they have access to clean drinking water and health education programs. Proper sanitation would also be perceived as a unifying factor because it would bring people together through health education programs. The Brazilian community’s collective nature will enable ASF to gain support from the community because the community members are willing to collaborate with a group that takes care of them and is loyal to them for the help they get. However, the large power distance in the country may make Brazilians reluctant to accept ASF’s help. For example, Brazilians are used to inequality in their society. Therefore, those living in low-income neighbourhoods may perceive that clean water, proper sanitation, and health education programs should be a priority for people in high-income neighbourhoods because they are always placed last in the allocation of resources. Therefore, they may assume that ASF will need something from them in return for their help, thus delaying the organization’s implementation of the selected programs in the Brazilian communities.
Potential Conflicts and How to Reduce Conflict and Increase Collaboration
One of the potential conflicts is in embracing new ideas. The people of Brazil express the need for a clear legal system and rules to structure life. Therefore, they may create rules limiting ASF’s ability to offer services to all needy communities. The level of uncertainty avoidance in Brazil and ASF’s worldview also differs. For example, Brazil has high uncertainty avoidance, whereas ASF has low uncertainty avoidance. Therefore, communities in Brazil may be reluctant to embrace the ideas introduced by ASF, making it hard for the organization to implement its programs without putting too much pressure on the community members to accept the new ideas. ASF can reduce these potential conflicts and increase collaboration by using testimonials from people in other countries who have benefited from its programs to convince the communities to embrace the proposed ideas.
Another potential conflict is differences in long-term orientation. The ASF worldview focuses on maintaining long-term beliefs and norms while critically analyzing societal changes. In contrast, long-term norms and traditions in Brazil are honoured, but a more pragmatic approach is adopted when analyzing societal changes. This may create conflict in determining the beliefs and traditions that should be observed when implementing ASF programs. For example, ASF’s beliefs on good and evil may create conflict because of Brazil’s flexibility, which includes ignoring evil as long as its results benefit the larger society. Brazilians may be okay with displacing some people to create space for building wells that would supply water to a large population in the community. However, the concept of good and evil and the belief in Karma may hinder ASF officials from displacing community members to build the wells without giving them alternative places to stay or compensating them so that they can relocate. The conflict can be resolved by following the country’s laws and regulations when deciding what should be done instead of focusing on the morality of selected actions.
Brazil also believes in following a hierarchy, thus increasing the likelihood of conflict between community leaders, ASF officials, and the community because the organization needs approval from community leaders to build wells and install water purification systems. For example, the community leaders and members may be unwilling to offer the land needed to build wells, leading to project delays. Community leaders may also want to personally benefit from ASF’s project by acting as intermediaries to negotiate compensation for the members whose land will be used for the project, leading to conflict between the organization’s officials and the community members. The most effective solution for the conflicts between the organization and community members is providing fair compensation for the community members whose land will be used for the project and negotiating with them to settle on mutually beneficial outcomes. ASF officials can also increase collaboration by hiring community members to work in building the wells so that they can give back to the community by creating jobs and providing clean water supplies to reduce resistance.
References
Coy, M. (2016). Socio-economic and regional conditions in Brazil. The Political System of Brazil, 49–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40023-0_4
de Almeida, R. B. (2020). The effect of child labour on primary education in Brazil. Child Labor in the Developing World, 173–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3106-4_7
Folha. (2022, July 28). Five people were infected with HIV every hour in Brazil in 2021. Folha de S. Paulo. Retrieved February 9, 2023, from https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/scienceandhealth/2022/07/five-people-were-infected-with-hiv-every-hour-in-brazil-in-2021.shtml#:~:text=In%20Brazil%2C%20every%20hour%2C%20at,people%20living%20with%20the%20virus.
Garmany, J., & Pereira, A. W. (2018). Race and ethnicity in Brazil. Understanding Contemporary Brazil, 84–100. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315175959-5
Macro Trends. (2019). Brazil birth rate 1950-2023. MacroTrends. Retrieved February 9, 2023, from https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/BRA/brazil/birth-rate#:~:text=The%20birth%20rate%20for%20Brazil,a%201.84%25%20decline%20from%202019.
Pinto, J. M. (2021). The education system of Brazil: Financing of Education in Brazil. Global Education Systems, 265–289. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41651-5_21
Power, T. J. (2016). The reduction of poverty and inequality in Brazil. New Order and Progress, 212–238. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190462888.003.0009
Thompson, N. (2017). Existentialism and practice. Existentialism and Social Work, 116–150. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315255699-5
Traebert, J., Nickel, D. A., Traebert, E., Escalante, J. J. C., & Schneider, I. J. C. (2016). The burden of infectious diseases in the Brazilian Southern State of Santa Catarina. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 9(2), 181–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2015.09.003.
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Question 
Worldviews Scenario
Describe perspectives of more than one worldview in real-world interactions.
Scenario
Agua Sin Fronteras logo
You work for Agua Sin Fronteras (ASF, or “Water Without Borders”), an international nonprofit. ASF works to provide access to clean drinking water, improve sanitation, and deliver health education programs. Globally, children in urban poverty have little control over their water sources. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) awarded funding to ASF to work on solving this problem. ASF plans to use this money to expand its efforts into new countries.
Your supervisor, Sue Edge, asked you to be on a committee recommending countries for ASF’s programs. These programs include the following:
Building wells
Installing water purification systems
Creating educational materials about water health
Directions
Committee Orientation Activity
The committee leader, Ty Dalwave, wants the team to be aware of their research biases. To build that awareness, he has asked everyone to reflect on their worldview by doing the following:
Describe your worldview, including how it changes and forms.
How do you view the world?
How do you understand how the world works? How do you understand your purpose in the world?
What assumptions, beliefs, and values affect how you explain the world, understand your circumstances, and live your life?
How did your worldview develop? How has it changed over time?
Explain how your worldview affects how you interact and perceive others at work.
How could your worldview affect your interactions with and perceptions of your coworkers?
Committee Brief
Now that you’ve reflected on your worldview and its effect on navigating the world, you can start researching. As a committee member, you will investigate another country’s social, political, and cultural situations and report what you learn to the group.
Choose a country to research.
Choose a country you are unfamiliar with and would like to learn more about.
Note: For this project, you should assume that ASF’s worldview is the same as your own. For this reason, you must investigate a country that’s different from your own.
Research your chosen country.
Use the Country Analysis Questions document to help you research your chosen country’s social, political, and cultural situations.
If you would like to, you can do some of your own research beyond the country profile information provided in the Supporting Materials section. Remember to use authoritative sources and cite them in your work.
Explore how ASF could conduct operations in your selected country.
The committee wants you to present your findings in a committee brief. Remember to assume that ASF’s worldview is the same as your own and base your responses on that. In your committee brief, include the following information:
The name of your selected country
A summary of the country’s geography, government, health, education, culture, economy, and history
A discussion of how you think various groups in your selected country would perceive ASF’s work:
What differences in worldviews could be potential sources of conflict when communicating between the two cultures? Brainstorm and describe at least three.
How do people in your own country interact in groups and at work? How does this compare to your selected country?
Propose at least three actionable solutions to address potential conflict and foster collaboration. Consider the following question:
If ASF started working in your chosen country, what recommendations would you make to support collaboration and avoid conflict between differing worldviews?
What to Submit
Every project has a deliverable or deliverables, which are the files that must be submitted before your project can be assessed. For this project, you must submit the following:
Committee Orientation Activity
Reflect on your worldview and describe how it affects your interactions and feelings of others. This should be 250–500 words (about 1–2 pages).
Committee Brief
Research and write a summary of the social, political, and economic situations of the country you chose. Then, discuss how ASF would be perceived in that country. Identify potential conflicts and propose ways to reduce conflict and increase collaboration. Your committee brief should be 750–1,200 words (about 3–5 pages). Note: Do not submit the Country Analysis Questions document.
Supporting Materials
The following resources may help support your work on the project:
Country Analysis Questions
These questions will help you to analyze how your chosen country might perceive ASF. Use the questions to collect and organize information for the committee brief you will submit. Note: Do not submit this document.
Country Profiles
The following websites provide information about the social, political, and economic conditions of countries around the world. Use these websites to find information about the country you chose.
Website: BBC News Country Profiles
Website: The World Factbook
Website: International Model United Nations Association (IMUNA) Country Profiles
Website: Lonely Planet: Destinations
Website: World Health Organization: Countries
Website: UNESCO Country Profiles
Website: If It Were My Home
Website: Encyclopedia Britannica
Country Comparisons
The following resources may be helpful when comparing the cultures of your home country and your chosen country:
Website: Hofstede Insights: Compare Countries
You can use this site to help compare your home country and your chosen country. To use this site, do the following:
In the search box, start typing the name of your chosen country, then select it from the drop-down menu. Then, in the same box, do the same for your home country. This will create a graph that shows your chosen country compared to your home country.
Click on the “Read more about chosen countries” button below the graph to explain what the graph shows.
Website: Cultural Atlas
This website has detailed information about the cultures of several countries worldwide. This might be a useful tool to research your chosen country.
Reading: World Business Cultures: A Handbook, Part 2
This text contains information about different countries, including China, France, India, and more, that might be helpful if you chose one of these countries.
https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/
How to Write Clearly and Effectively
The Writing Guide
Review the tutorials and resources in the Writing Guide for help writing your committee brief.
Citation Help
Need help citing your sources? Use the CfA Citation Guide and Citation Maker.