Critical Thought

Critical Thought

Hardly a day goes by without us reading in the newspaper that someone has done something wrong somewhere in business or government.

In the build up to our elections, many local and national questions are being asked, but what about the global questions?

A leading article appearing on the City Press Sunday newspaper on the 12 August 2018 reported that private talks led by the ruling party’s (African National Congress) top 6 leaders were underway to find alternative solutions to save the VBS Mutual Bank from collapsing.

The national budget speech trends in social media for about two days. And during this time much is said. These are often off-the-cuff and obvious opinions. So I don’t participate until I’ve have more time to mull over it all.

Its obvious that the South African government approached the 2018 budget from an extremely tight spot and with limited options.

My first day in the Cyril Ramaphosa era was just fantastic. South Africans were laughing and smiling again. And if you are a lecturer that is worth a great deal.

Loosely translated it means, “When you are pointing your finger at somebody, remember there are three fingers pointing back at you!”

If we look at the most spectacular swan dives and meltdowns of the last thirty years, most were at one time almost as spectacular successes.’

Leading like you mean it and defining reality are impossible tasks for any aspiring leader who does not think deeply about people, society, work, and life in general.

Plato’s dictum is a test of leadership. It applies equally to communities, businesses, schools, families, and individuals. What is honoured in a community will be cultivated there. What is honoured in a business will be cultivated there. What I honour in my life, I will cultivate in my life.

In relation to the Steinhoff debacle, I’ve been thinking about Yale historian Timothy Snyder’s book on tyranny. In his preface he makes the point that history does not repeat, but it does instruct.

In a world searching for answers to intractable problems associated with the environment, the economy, and living together peacefully, leadership has become the central issue.

After all, there are several critical policy issues being discussed in South Africa at the moment that have a direct bearing on economic activity and future prospects for business and foreign investment, and the voice of business needs to be heard.

The global retail group Steinhoff is reeling under allegations of accounting fraud. Since the allegations surfaced last year the CEO of the multi-billion dollar business, Markus Jooste, has fallen on his sword and the company’s stock has been hammered, at one point losing about 90% in market value in a few days.

Change is the dominant reality in an evolving universe, and suffering is an inescapable concomitant of change for self-conscious beings.

OS: How do you define a good leader?

Addis is not only the home of the African Union but also at the heart of the new economic growth taking place on the continent.

All we need to do is make law abiding decisions!

I begin by analyzing ‘what are business ethics’ and why it is of concern to any modern businessperson.

A leader who is not in tune with the followership soon becomes a leader in limbo, and sooner, rather than later, withers. Attuned leaders, by contrast, adapt, lift their followership as they rise to leadership challenges, endure and lead successfully in context.

This is, on the face of it, understandable as directors, the auditing and legal profession and other interested and affected parties scramble to get to grips with the detail of King III and reporting guidelines such as the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G3 guidelines, since IR became a mandatory listing requirement in South Africa.

The world is suffering from a serious leadership crisis.

This presents a fresh challenge to what leadership is all about. In my view, leadership is about creating a sense of purpose for the people that are being led. It is also very important to consult broadly in order to get ownership, which is a critical ingredient for the realisation of that purpose.

Her words expressed the thrust of the suffocating nihilism that has denatured the moral commitments of western civilisation over the past century. Cynical, indifferent, disdainful, ironic – whatever.

The link between anthropology and the business world may seem strange to some people, but Gavin explained that anthropology enabled him to understand the “why” and the “what” of situations and people. He has found this incredibly helpful in his working life.

Infrastructure: 63/139

In an age that loves to debunk heroes, leadership models can be hard to find. Thomas More, beheaded on the orders of Henry VIII in 1535, is today criticised for worldliness and ambition. However, flawed and fallible like the rest of us, he nevertheless died for a principle that was as important then as it is now: power should not be abused.

Is ethics an illusion? Ethics as an illusion is something that is talked about, but which does not really exist. The claim that “our employees are our most valuable asset” may be a standard inclusion in most company’s annual reports, but that often does not reflect reality.

At the 2015 conference in Prague of the global Association of MBA’s (AMBA), which I attended in May, John Peters shared this analogy with an audience of 200 Deans and Directors from 143 business schools from 40 countries, spanning all six continents.

We first met when I volunteered to help with a vegetable garden in an orphanage in Johannesburg. What struck me about Mikal was his enthusiasm. Passion and commitment; but more striking is his leadership skills. He’s able to motivate people while leading and providing a vision and direction to the end objective.

It is a complicated subject so I thought I would try to simplify the topic by cutting to the quick.

This catastrophe was in part made possible (and exacerbated) by an awful failure of leadership at the level of government. The century threw up numerous tyrants, murderous dictators, and rulers whose grandiosity was matched only by their incompetence.

It seems that President Zuma will blunder in an attempt to restore confidence in the SONA address. No doubt the EFF will do all that they can to reduce the occasion to chaos so South African’s will learn nothing about the future.

Oxford University graduate and philosopher Ruth Chang says hard choices are usually regarded as occasions for agonising, hand wringing and gnashing of teeth.

This is due to several factors. Many laws predate the 1996 Constitution; others have been passed without thorough consideration of the constitutional parameters

New ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa shortly after hearing he’d been elected to the top job.

Added Value is a global marketing consultancy. Their clients include prominent brands such as Old Mutual, Vodafone, McDonald’s and Harman.

Among the roles fulfilled by strategic leaders, it is recognised that they are responsible for building the human and social capital of the organisation. However, when leading change, social capital may be seen as a facilitator of change, or as a hindrance.

There was not much meat on the bone that was finance minister Malusi Gigaba’s medium term budget policy statement speech ‘MTBPS’ on 25 October 2017. To be fair, the MTBPS is not the place to even speculate as to the extent of tax increases that will be required in the national budget speech in February 2018.

No longer do they only have to account to their shareholders, but they have to engage with a wide range of stakeholders in an attempt to ensure the long term interests of all. Business therefore exists to serve society.

Most people can tell you what they do and how they do it but few people can tell you why they do it. Herein lies a fatal flaw, because, whether in business, politics, love or faith, people don’t buy into what you do, and how you do it, first and foremost they buy into why you do it.

It is a knee jerk reaction to a serious matter whereby he has possibly overlooked other more pressing burning platforms to address road carnage in South Africa. This continued mayhem on the roads is not only to be deplored for the senseless loss of life, but it also costs the fiscus billions of rands, which could better spent on upgrading our infrastructure to give our citizens a better quality of life.

This is what two of my favourite business analysis pioneers, Geary Rummler and Alan Brache, have to say about strategic leadership today.

It has become increasingly clear that in order to achieve quality growth from the potential that trade provides, policymakers and business must take an inclusive approach to realize the full potential of economic resources.

Global bribery and corruption is so massive that it operates as a parallel economy. At the UK government’s anticorruption summit in 2016, IMF head Christine Lagarde quoted the most recent estimate of $1.5-trillion to $2-trillion (about 2% of global GDP) paid annually in bribes in developing and developed countries.

In Africa and the East, traditionally leadership has emerged out of an atmosphere of collective concern based on mutual identification with an agreed set of norms and standards. This collectivism does not imply homogeneity of thought but rather commonality of interest even in the face of different thought.

Advocate Wim Trengove, SC (or as he is known at Rhodes University: Visiting Professor Wim Trengove) is well known to most of us as one of the country’s most prominent advocates and legal minds. He has appeared in many celebrated cases and it is gainsaid that his advocacy has shaped our country’s jurisprudence from the death penalty, to competition law, to rights of same-sex partners to name a few.

REMGRO Chair Johann Rupert used this quote in reference to South Africa, which, he believes, is in the gradual stage, but warns that the “suddenly” could come.

The job of the big one for the little one is quite specific.

The choice we face in considering these proposals is a difficult one. But we believe that this course can no longer be postponed’

It was played out on an international, continental, regional and nationwide backdrop and ended with an almost predictable outcome that has left yet more questions being asked of our political leaders.

The ruins of classical Greece remind us that there are things that last, and things that don’t.

Democracies are vulnerable at the best of times, but when presidents repeatedly get away with unethical, corrupt and tyrannical behaviour, they become precarious.

The first of these was the reaction I encountered amongst a host of South Africans to the news that former President Nelson Mandela, was “in a critical but stable condition” according to official statements made by the Office of the Presidency in Pretoria.

The global economic recession has been relentless and doesn’t seem to be letting up. The world is waiting with bated breath as the USA, Portugal, Greece, Ireland and other developed economies teeter on the brink of economic disaster.

A study by PwC of the world’s largest 2,500 companies, estimated that forced turnover at the top, resulted in lost market value of $112 billion. These CEOs fell short of the performance required by board members and majority investors.

In the experiment, the children were left in a room with a marshmallow in front of them, and told that they could either eat the marshmallow immediately, or wait. If they waited until the experimenter returned from running an errand, then they would be rewarded with two marshmallows.

Cosatu’s comment came in response to Minister Ndebele’s recent announcement that toll tariffs had been reduced, an action which should alert us to a ploy commonly adopted by governments to make their citizenry accept unpopular and unwanted legislation.

Why? Because most of us continue to feel alienated from the debates and decision-making process that directly affect our lives in our democracies. In South Africa we see the workings of parliament on TV and we see the sub-committees and the courts addressing the issues – from the President to the SABC, Life Esidimeni, social grant payments

While many providers are happy to take the money and run, other more sincere practitioners labour earnestly to try and explain the persistence of the leadership crisis in the face of all the expensive efforts to overcome it – again, without much success.

We all seem to recognize the difference between right and wrong, although some are better at this than others.

Governance and sustainability leader, Mervyn King, often makes reference to this issue of taking charge, using an orchestra as the analogy for government and business. The conductor, who in business or government is the head of the company or country, sets the tone of the orchestra at the top, assisted by their senior teams. The tune of the orchestra is the responsibility of middle management and the beat is up to the junior management and foundation level staff.

Not only is technology the new driving-force of social interactions, consumer groupings, communication, education and awareness, but the social and natural environments are also fragile, leading to shocks that threaten business as usual.

What I remember is that he taught our class macramé, and to this day I can still tie the square knot, the full hitch and the double half hitch.

Its acting CEO was recently fired by the board, following allegations that he raised his remuneration by more than 350%. Shortly afterwards the minister of transport dissolved the board. The Conversation Africa’s Business and Economy Editor Sibonelo Radebe asked Owen Skae to explain the causes

Public response to these two stories reveals an insight into what that public has come to regard as what passes for leadership in the country, but, also, what it wishes it to be

Pigeon leaders want to create the impression that they break the rules and challenge the status quo in the same way that innovators, pioneers and great deal makers do; that their actions will result in a better outcome. This could not be farther from the truth; they act with self-interest and rules are made up and broken as they go along.

Asked by a shareholder at Remgro’s annual general meeting in December what he thought about the recommendation that listed companies should regularly rotate audit firms, the company’s chairman, Johann Rupert, replied that he was “sick of the King code nonsense”

This is to ensure they act in the best interests of the company and pursue this by making prudent decisions that ensure their fiduciary duty is being carried out

On 1 June the Auditor General (AG) of South Africa, Kimi Makwetu, published the municipal audit results for the 2014-15 financial year. His opening line was that there has been “an encouraging, five-year improvement” in the audit results, with ‘clean audits’ increasing from 13 to 72 in the current period.

In his introduction van Heerden makes the point that we now have more literature than ever before on effective leadership and how to solve the leadership problems facing organisations worldwide.

I’ve been thinking about South Africa’s run of chartered accounting and auditing indiscretions and wondering what this says about the profession.

Two of the most significant international political events for 2019 are UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s delivery of Brexit and USA President Donald Trump’s promise to build a wall between Mexico and the United States

If we put the question to the world, there is no answer.

The Queen of England, who has served her nation longer than most incumbent politicians have lived, generally uses scheduled British Airways flights for long-haul international transport. So does her Prime Minister. They are not alone.

Brand Pretorius, who was then Managing Director of Toyota South Africa Marketing, came to address our Business Administration class and it was apparent to all of us bright-eyed and bushy-tailed commerce students who were going out to conquer the world of business, that here was a man of the utmost integrity and an authentic person to boot.

The creativity of ancient societies is spectacularly demonstrated by magnificent building projects, like the pyramids, Stonehenge, and the Great Wall of China. But cultural breakthroughs like writing, mathematics, astronomy, and agriculture, were even more significant.

Many suggest that the sector is important for creating employment, as a source of innovation, as a means to create and redistribute wealth, has the ability to stimulate demand for goods and services, encourages competitive behaviour that benefits customers among others.

Names like Nanking, Auschwitz, Gulag, Sharpeville, Belfast, My Lai, Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, and the Twin Towers, remind us that cruelty is a human phenomenon from which no society is immune.

Understanding human nature and potential is essential for leadership, but discerning what human beings do with that potential is even more important. The way we use the advantages of our human nature and the unique genetic deposit given to each of us determines our character, the self-chosen stamp we put on our developing personality.

Understanding people is a primary focus of leadership, but it requires us to see individuals in the context of their relationships. Sadly, we quickly forget that everything we know about human nature and personality applies to every person we come into contact with. They all need freedom to flourish, all yearn for fulfilment, all experience pain and suffering, and all seek redemption. Being oblivious of their sensibilities inhibits our own growth.

We certainly need more engineers, but not at the expense of the humanities.

How about celebrating the local trader or Spaza shop owner for the contribution they have made to the economy?

Leading like you mean it requires thinking for yourself; but freedom of thought is only possible through a proper education.