3 5 Billion Dollar Pipeline In Africa example essay topic

The article that I read was in Fortune magazine. Exxon's African Adventure is an article that covers the trials and success of the worlds largest oil manufactures quest to build a 3.5 billion dollar pipeline in Africa. What do you get when you cross a major oil manufacturer, Africa and the need for a pipeline in the one of the poorest countries in the world? You get "Madame Sacrifice". According to Fortune magazine's article "Exxon's African Adventure", Exxon was able to build a 3.5 billion dollar pipeline with the consent of all parties involved. With the help of some creative intercultural communications and the help of Ellen Brown, AKA "Madame Sacrifice", Exxon's anthropologist they were able to succeed.

This pipeline was scheduled to run 630 miles from the southern portion of Chad and threw the heart of Cameroon out to sea. It was Ellen Brown's job to keep everyone along the way happy. Whether that meant paying farmers for land along the way, using villagers from a local community, or chicken sacrifice everyone had to remain happy for the pipeline to be a success. When the pipeline crosses a farmers fields the cost of the crop and the land must be factored in and the farmer is paid that amount or given a catalog to purchase plows, bicycles and other hard to come by items. When the pipeline's path crosses a local village the inhabitants of that village must be aloud to work on the pipeline. But in the case of a sacred tree there must be a sacrifice to help the spirits move to a new location before the tree can be cut down.

All of these things are paid for by Exxon, including the live chickens for sacrifice hence the name "Madame Sacrifice". In order to truly communicate with a person you must first understand them. There culture, heritage, likes, dislikes, foes and phobias. Most of the latter are all encompassed by culture. Just look at how many ways holding your index and middle fingers slightly apart in the air can be read: In America it is a sign of peace. In Italy and some is a sign of victory.

And in England and France it is a sign of defiance that is considered vulgar when your palm is facing yourself. A simple gesture can mean so many things just think about what our words can mean. What would we do if all the sudden one day in the cubicle next to us our coworker starts screaming and refusing to work because of a symbol that came across their computer screen? We would discount them as nuts and go about our day as planned. That's just what happened when Cameroonian workers went to clear mahogany trees from a farmer's land and found a wood-and-bark symbol. They refused to go a step farther.

That symbol was a sign that the farmer was not happy with the compensation that was given in return for cutting down his mahogany tree. What is the solution? Pay the farmer more money. So am I saying just do whatever someone says is right in there culture. No, but if that is the only way to get the job done, understanding the culture instead of bulldozing a tree which would also get rid of the tree is not the answer, since you would loose your employees in the process. There is another group of people that were apposing Exxon's presence in Africa.

Human rights and environmental activist were also not happy with the pipeline being built. So what does Exxon do? They fund hospitals and education to help a dying nation be healthy and fund research in ecology to boost the knowledge of the wildlife in the area. The article "Exxon's African Adventure" is also quoted this African nation's annual per capita income is $230, and that three-quarters of the population lacks access to health care, sanitation, or safe water.

Humanitarian aid that followed has helped in all of these areas and was all funded by Exxon. Has everything ended happy in Chad? Not completely as in everything in life you can not please everyone involved. The promise of new jobs caused housing costs to soar, schools have emptied of both teachers and student following rumors of high wages on the pipeline, and food has become scares since there are more people in the area then before.

Did Exxon succeed? Well the one thing that never stopped growing is the pipeline. The pipeline should be finished by fall of 2003. I guess that depends on your definition of success now doesn't it.

Bibliography

(2001, April). Exxon's African Adventure. Fortune Magazine, 145 (8), 102-114.