The Paradise Group, reportedly foreign investors based in the United States, has been on the microscope lately, particularly among the Dominican diaspora and others linked together by the Internet. Some see a red flag popping up if a serious examination of the Paradise Group is conducted. Their intentions seem questionable, their strategy, well, let’s just say: unconvincing and unconventional. Let’s talk a little bit about what appears to be their strategy in gaining a foothold in their target market.
From what I have read about this group, they seem to invest (mark the choice of words) heavily in public relations. To be sure, their public relations investments take the form of “charitable” contributions to what seem to be legitimate causes, and in most cases, they are. As part of their marketing pitch the Paradise Group list the various jurisdictions that have been the recipients of their enormous largesse. This appears to be their calling card. They lavish gifts on their host. Make them feel morally indebted to the Paradise group who in turn come to expect certain concessions from their host, and if they, the Paradise Group, fail to have their way, they resort to blackmail, threats, while continuing to woo their host government through back channels.
All of this would be funny if we read about it in a novel. But the truth is, this is real. At one moment we hear about this foreign group donating a gymnasium to the police. The next moment you read about the Paradise Group taking an entire legion of Dominicans to Miami to be entertained and presumably, to learn more about their operations. Then you read about the Paradise Group suing the Government of Dominica. And when you least expect it, the same Paradise Group resurfaces and is reported to be in negotiations with government to set up an aluminum processing operation in the Jimmit valley. Never mind the environmental implications of locating a chemical operation next to a river and a center of recreation, plans were well underway to get the operation rolling. Jobs were advertised. Applications accepted. And then all of a sudden we hear that Paradise Group is pulling out. No doubt there will be subsequent chapters and some may even being written as we write this piece.
In the interest of full disclosure let me first say that my views on foreign investors in general are not very favorable, particularly if you take into consideration our recent experience, a point that I dealt with in a piece entitled “The Requiem Of A Broken Dream”. What I’d like to do now is to call attention to this entire business of gift giving and gift acceptance, a practice which seems to be at the heart of the marketing strategy of the Paradise Group.
It is not often that you run into a company that wears its charitable contributions on its sleeve, as the Paradise Group does. They go through the formality of listing on the internet the names of the countries that have benefited from their generosity. True, every noteworthy corporate entity tries to be a good citizen and often feels a moral obligation to give back to the community in which it operates. But Paradise seems to have taken this to a whole new level, all part of an elaborate scheme to have their way, and if they can’t, then they hit the highway.
Since the Paradise Group comes from the United States it is reasonable to assume that they are familiar with some of the nuances associated with corporate gift giving. Like most aspects of human activity there is a code of conduct governing behavior, sometimes written, sometimes simply understood. Business gifts are usually limited to a certain monetary value, for most companies, not exceeding $100.00. The understood purpose is to show appreciation, to say thank you for the relationship. Clearly, if the monetary value of the gift is too large it could easily be interpreted as a bribe. Which leads us to conclude that the kinds of “gifts” and charitable work associated with the Paradise Group do not properly fit into the gift category, unless the meaning of that word is stretched infinitely to include “objects donated with the sole intention of influencing the behavior and response of a business associate”.
The other problem that I have with the Paradise Group’s strategy is that it is so reminiscent of the approach adopted by the colonists and missionaries of yore. The primitive native Indians of the New World readily accepted gifts from their European visitors who in return, came to expect certain modes of behavior from their unsuspecting hosts. A new kind of relationship ensued: one of the colonizer and the colonized. The colonizer perceived himself as culturally superior to the colonized and for that reason the latter was expected to adopt or mimic the formers’ cultural and social habits. Some refer to this as “assimilation”.
There are innumerable ways in which the Paradise Group could operate in a manner that would satisfy their desire for a reasonable return on their investments (which they seem to be camouflaging with all their gifts) and demonstrate that they are a good corporate citizen. How about establishing joint ventures with local investors and making human resources development one of its priorities? The Paradise Group should consider investing in people to upgrade their technical and management skills in many of the fine institutions of higher learning in the United States, rather than insult our dignity by throwing some scraps our way hoping to buy our loyalty in the process. What’s worse is that there may be some out there who are willing to play along, hoping that the gifts from Paradise will somehow fall in their laps. Back Up