A Trip to the Beach — Building Foundations for Business Relationships

Saturday, October 18, 2014 — IBM's Corporate Service Corps (CSC) program accomplishes corporate philanthropy through donating its employees' labor to help with grass-roots projects in developing locales. This approach however yields benefits that extend far beyond attainment of goals for corporate social responsibility (CSR). It casts employees into intensively multi-cultural settings. My CSC team includes 15 IBMers from 11 different nations.

First-hand experience in dealing with clients from different cultures represents a key dimension. Much of the world approaches business differently than Europe and North America. Characterizing the unique ways in which different cultures approach business and other relationships is a topic of serious research (e.g., McFarlin). Most MBA programs now contain courses in international organizational behavior.

Our project with Edúcate gives us first-hand experience in a key aspect of this. North American and Western European business cultures emphasize formally and comprehensively defining roles and responsibilities at outset of a business relationship. Many other cultures emphasize first establishing a sound interpersonal relationship. The details work themselves out if the partners first understand and trust each other.

E.dúcate Fundación Directora Patricia Hernández de Sosa provided members of the Ecuador CSC Team with a personal demonstration of this principle. Teammates Sophie Asmus, Aideen Dunne, and I were Dra Hernández' guests at her beach house. We accompanied her to Manglaralto, on Ecuador's Pacific Coast. Manglaralto is a comfortable stroll along the beach from Montañita, one of South America's "surf meccas."

Manglaralto and Montañita are located on the Ecuador's Pacific Cost, between the two Westernmost points on the South American continent.

Manglaralto — literally translated as "mangrove" — contains many beach homes for Guayaquileños, residents of Guayaquil. The local economy is based mostly on tourism and on the fishing industry. Tourist guides suggest it as a quiet refuge from the more-frenetic atmosphere of Montañita, the beach resort-town immediately to the North.

The Hotel Manglaralto is a local landmark along the stretch of coast we visited.

Manglaralto — like many costal communities — faces a threat from teach erosion.  The home of our hostess was originally part of the second row of homes from the surf. The sea claimed the first row. A stone seawall now stands guard between he surf and the houses.

A stone seawall stands as a barrier between Manglaralto and the eroding beach.

Tourism and fishing are the two leading local industries. Fresh seafood is an inescapable part of the diet here. Patricia treated us to a sublime ceviche dish. It was based on an old family recipe. 

The stretch of Ecuador's coast between Salinas and San Lorenzo supports a robust fishing industry.

The sand along the shore between Manglaralto and Montañita is rich with life. Sand crabs scamper on the surface, plunging into their burrows as we approach within five or so meters. Sea snails' shells protrude from the sand like studs.

Montañita — literally "little mountain" — exudes a colorful, tropically rustic ambiance. Brightly colored umbrellas occupy the front line facing the surf. Vendors peddle everything from fresh-cut coconut drinks to local artesianal jewelry to ice cream. 

Restaurant/bars provide the backstop for the beach scene. Many of these establishments include hostels on their upper levels. These abodes appear perfect for surfers seeking to "rough it", immersing themselves in the austere setting. More comfortable accommodations appear farther inland. The architecture particularly colorful one suggests an abstract-modernist interpretation of Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.

Clean, sandy beaches are one of the key assets Ecuador leverages in its quest to become a world-recognized tourist destination.

Our time in Maglaralta proved eminently relaxing. There was time during the mornings read while relaxing on a hammock strung from the porch's rafters. Each of us successfully resisted any temptation to discuss work, although the challenges of our project were percolating in the back of all of our minds. This is the essence relationship building, the foundation of business in many parts of the world. 

With colleagues Sophie Asmus and Aideen Dunne from the IBM CSC team in the town of Montañita.