Die einde van `n era - University of Stellenbosch Business School

Transcription

University of Stellenbosch Business School
Universiteit van Stellenbosch Bestuurskool
No 2 | 2009
Learning • Linking • Leading Leer • Skakel • Lei
Learning to lead
really works!
How the MBA
can survive
Die einde
van ’n era
Prof Eon Smit groet as direkteur
Kortpad na vrede
USB bemagtig die jonges
A transformed world
SA must
confront realities
Get it together
Time to coordinate business in townships
00_USB_cover_T.indd 1
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I NHOUD | CONT ENTS
TOPSTORIE I TOP STORY
PROF EON SMIT: OPNUUT OP REIS
Met die aanbreek van sy sabbatsjaar wag daar ’n inspirerende landsreis op dié
uittredende direkteur van die USB.
AKTUEEL I CURRENT
5
BRAND-NEW USB WEBSITE
Take a look at the newly launched multimedia website that offers fresh content and fast navigation.
9
LEADER’S ANGLE
Flashes from our early-morning speaker series.
14
10
PERPETUAL MOTION: NEW WAYS OF BUSINESS TRAINING
Learning and teaching are moving with the times, and the USB and USB-ED are moving even faster.
22
RECESSION-PROOF MOVES
You can take advantage of bad times and become more competitive as you help the
economy restructure itself.
IN DIEPTE I IN DEPTH
16
THINK TANK: SA’S DEBATE BEGINS HERE
NK
THIN
16
Guest columnist Terry Bell, who specialises in political and economic analysis, writes on
coming to grips with a transformed world.
18
TANK
LEADERS THAT LAST
In a competitive world the right kind of leadership will make all the difference
in ensuring long-term prosperity.
20
GROWING MBA LEADERS
USB facilitators and students talk about the core building blocks of true leadership.
24
MUTUAL BENEFITS
The base of the pyramid can benefit as business initiatives between corporates and township
residents become a formidable force for good.
26
IS THE MBA ON ITS WAY OUT?
Are MBAs from top institutions responsible for much of the current global financial crisis?
And how relevant will an MBA be in future? Tough questions!
30
BEMIDDELING – DIE KORTPAD NA VREDE
18
Menseverhoudings kan op baie vlakke gebou en geskille deur bemiddeling
besleg word tot voordeel van alle gemeenskappe.
VAN NADERBY I UP CLOSE
33
THE TASTE OF SUCCESS
MBA student Rall Naude shares his secrets for retail excellence.
GEREELD I REGULAR
4
6
BRIEF VAN DIE REDAKTEUR/LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
DIRECT TO YOU
Martin Butler argues that it’s dangerous to trim costs on IT investments.
37
KNOWLEDGE CORNER
New know-how and the resources that keep you up to date.
38
40
ALUMNI NEWS
22
USB-NUUS/USB NEWS
www.usb.ac.za | AGENDA NO 2 | 2009
3
VAN DIE REDA K T E UR | F ROM T HE ED ITO R
V
erantwoordelik vorentoe
Hierdie uitgawe konsentreer veral op die vakgebied wat ons
daagliks besig hou: hoe om aan die voorpunt van leierskapopleiding te bly. En nou, meer as ooit tevore, moedig ons jou
– ons beste klankbord – aan om in ’n tweegesprek met ons te
tree oor leierskap en alles wat daarom draai.
And because we together, as a business school community, can help
communally to influence the smooth-running and well-being of our country,
it seemed a good time to pose the question: What exactly should business
and our new government be grappling with going forward? We launch
this debate in our new column Think Tank, where guest writer Terry Bell
gets down to the root causes of our, and indeed the world’s, broad and
ailing economic condition. He calls for a fundamental rethink about a world
transformed, where the advent of the micro chip and all that has flowed
from it has wrought changes on every level of society – “from postal services
(goodbye snail mail; hello internet) to motor vehicle manufacture (goodbye
high-employment Fordist assembly lines; hello, robotics) and various other
labour-saving (and job-demolishing) developments”.
In another article, we find the USB’s Prof Wolfgang Thomas out there,
hands-on, making a difference on the still searingly unequal South African
landscape by facilitating the rolling effort to address the needs of the poor
through the involvement of business in “co-inventing an inclusive economy”.
It is now time, he says, for leaders to work towards integrating this process.
In nóg ’n gemeenskapsontwikkelingsinisiatief bevorder die USB volhoubare oplossings deur gesprekvoeringsvaardighede na ons jeug te neem. Prof
Barney Jordaan sê dit is alles deel van die doelwit om “onderhandeling en
bemiddeling as primêre meganismes vir die oplos van geskille en konflik te
vestig op alle vlakke van die samelewing, letterlik van die raadsaal tot die
skoolsaal.”
Leiers doen méér as hul plig.
Julie Streicher
USB AGENDA places current management and leadership matters on the table for debate. The magazine is published biannually by the
University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB), USB Executive Development Ltd (USB-ED) and the USB Alumni Association. The USB does
not necessarily subscribe to the views expressed in USB AGENDA. Articles may be reproduced, in full or in part, with preservation of context and
acknowledgement of USB Agenda as the source.
USB AGENDA plaas teenswoordige bestuurs- en leierskapsake op die tafel vir bespreking. Die tydskrif word twee maal per jaar uitgegee
deur die Universiteit van Stellenbosch Bestuurskool (USB), USB Bestuursontwikkeling Bpk (USB-BO) en die USB-Alumnivereniging. Die USB
onderskryf nie noodwendig menings wat in USB AGENDA weergegee word nie. Artikels mag gedeeltelik of ten volle met behoud van konteks en
erkenning van USB Agenda as die bron gereproduseer word.
SUBSCRIBE OR READ/SKRYF IN OF LEES: www.usb.ac.za/agenda
ADDRESS/ADRES: USB Agenda, USB Marketing and Communication/USB Bemarking en Kommunikasie,
PO Box/Posbus 610, Bellville 7535; tel: +27 (0)21 918 4242; fax/faks +27 (0)21 918 4468; agenda@usb.ac.za; www.usb.ac.za
MANAGING EDITOR/REDAKSIONELE HOOF: Marietjie Wepener, mwep@usb.ac.za
EDITORIAL TEAM/REDAKSIE: Julie Streicher (editor/redakteur), julies@usb.ac.za; Clayton Swart (senior joernalis/senior journalist), claytons@
usb.ac.za; Amanda Matthee (copywriter/kopieskrywer), amandam@mweb.co.za
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE/REDAKSIONELE KOMITEE: Prof Eon Smit (director/direkteur: USB), Marietjie Wepener (deputy director: Marketing
and Communication/adjunk-direkteur: Bemarking en Kommunikasie), Nirvanna Rampersad (chairperson/voorsitter: USB Alumni Association/
-vereniging; Ainsley Moos (alumnus); Hedwig Black (student); Dr Carol Puhl-Snyman (USB); Willemien Law (USB-ED/USB-BO); Gavin Morris
(project manager/projekbestuurder); Bongani Mgayi (consultant/konsultant); Julie Streicher (editor/redakteur)
PUBLICATION MANAGEMENT/PUBLIKASIEBESTUUR: Gavin Morris (project manager/projekbestuurder), TiP Publishing (design and layout/
ontwerp en uitleg: Tony Cowan), Mills Litho (printer/drukker)
ADVERTISEMENT SALES/ADVERTENSIEVERKOPE: Ballyhoo: Eric Bornman, Gina Bornman, ericbornman@mweb.co.za;
+27 (0)11 880 0733; 083 484 9842 / 083 600 3523
COVER/VOORBLAD: Prof Eon Smit (p 10). Image/Foto: Don Bayley
GREAT LEADERSHIP
I came across something that I find immensely helpful and that perhaps
should be recommended to the students for their personal reading list
– Squawk! by Travis Bradberry PhD. It is a little fable about how one
seagull manager learned the three virtues of great leadership.
Time is such a commodity, so punchy quick-reads are what I go for.
I can honestly say that being back in industry I am constantly reminded
that working with people is CHALLENGING. The USB leadership course
is worth its weight in gold, thank you! When implementing new systems
one needs to stand back and allow people to discover the solutions
themselves. So simple, but so difficult.
Wayne Durrheim (MBA 2008), Hermanus, wdurrheim@vodamail.co.za
Medewerkers/Contributors
Bladsy
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OP REIS, OPNUUT
HANLIE RETIEF, ’n spesialisskrywer van Rapport, behartig
onder meer ’n weeklikse gespreksrubriek met nuusmakers.
Sy was die afgelope twee jaar bekroon as Media24 se
Kreatiewe Joernalis van die Jaar en het vroeër vanjaar ’n
ATKV-Veertjie gewen.
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Page
PERPETUAL MOTION
SUE BLAINE loves her job as education correspondent
at Business Day. She is a graduate of Stellenbosch
University’s Journalism Department and in her spare time
enjoys reading and travelling.
Page
22
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF BAD TIMES
SIKONATHI MANTSHANTSHA is a financial journalist
for Finweek and Fin24.com. Before this, he worked as
an equities and bonds trader, then moved to an equities
support role at a bank.
Page
26
THE MBA: GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY?
JANA MARAIS is a senior reporter at Sake24 in
Johannesburg, where she covers the department of trade and
industry. Her previous roles included telecommunications
reporter at Beeld and Rapport.
Bladsy
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KORTPAD NA VREDE
ANASTASIA DE VRIES van Ravensmead is ’n joernalis en
Rykie van Reenen-genoot in die departement joernalistiek
van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch. Sy studeer aan die
Universiteit van WesKaap en Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.
Page
33
THINK SUCCESS
SIERAAJ AHMED is a Cape Town journalist and sub-editor.
4
AGENDA NO 2 | 2009 | www.usb.ac.za
Sieraaj studied journalism at Stellenbosch and wrote for
YOU/Huisgenoot/Drum before joining tvplus magazine. His
interests include politics, film and photography.
NEWS
Share in USB
thought leadership
The USB has launched a brand-new website that offers fresh
content, fast navigation and an easy read to members of the USB
community – alumni, business friends, managers and students.
The USB website hosts a new
MULTIMEDIA page
where videos, PowerPoint
presentations, audio clips, PDF
articles and photographs can be
accessed.
“Today, geographic location
is no longer a restriction to
accessing USB research and
academic know-how – which
we like to call thought leadership. People no longer physically have to attend a seminar,
talk or workshop; they can keep
in touch by visiting our site and
access it remotely,” says Martin
Butler, USB’s senior information systems lecturer.
“We know about a few
people in the UK who regularly
download clips of our Leader’s
Angle talks. There is also a lot
of traffic to our Agenda and
Leaders’ Lab articles. Another
advantage of the new website
is that it is much easier and
quicker to navigate, and there
are more pictures,” says Ilse
Munnik, who heads up the web
and multimedia section at USB.
• Visit our MULTIMEDIA
PAGE at:
www.usb.ac.za/multimedia
• Visit our PICTURE space
at: www.usb.ac.za/pics
>
www.usb.ac.za
www.usb.ac.za
“With the communication
overload of today, people have
become extremely discerning
in the choices they make on
a daily basis. The USB as an
organisation competes for the
attention of our alumni, business clients, students and other
stakeholders. These people
are used to accessing useful
information from the web,”
says Marietjie Wepener, head
of USB’s Marketing and Communication.
“We trust that we add
value to the professional lives
of our stakeholders by sharing
the type of information and
thought leadership on our
WEBSITE that people
expect from a leading business
school.”
The web content has been
re-written in a modern style,
which is much more concise
and to the point than before.
Duplications have been
removed and replaced by crosslinks, explains Clayton Swart,
who is managing the content of
the USB website.
• Visit the USB WEBSITE:
www.usb.ac.za
CURRENT | USB WEBSITE
Multimedia page – access
thought leadership remotely
<
New website – what you expect from a
leading business school
Along with the new website,
a new ELECTRONIC
NEWSLETTER – USB
E-News – has been developed,
which is in line with the latest
thinking around newsletters.
It is much shorter than before,
can be scanned for interesting content and has been
developed according to busy
executives’ reading behaviour,
says Wepener.
• Subscribe to our NEWSLETTER if you do not
already receive it. Access
the latest issue:
www.usb.ac.za/newsletter
The USB has introduced a new
MOBILE NUMBER
for quick feedback and communication with the USB.
• Send us an SMS MESSAGE on 39841(standard
rates apply).
5
REGULAR | IT INNOVATION
DIRECT TO YOU
Change the race
6
MARTIN BUTLER
lies in innovation, be it through
processes, products, distribution or
collaboration. These organisations do not
have an IT department, but rather see IT
as a business process enablement layer
that transcends all areas of the business
to service new and existing clients and
form relationships like never before.
The concept of IT-intrinsic innovation
is not new; it has led to many wellknown global giants such as Amazon,
eBay and Google, as well as local brands
like kulula.com, Kalahari.net and mxit.
The real success stories are not those
where organisations use IT to win the
cost and revenue race, but rather where
technology is used in innovative ways to
change the business race.
In future, innovation – often supported by IT – will be a factor determining
an organisation’s position in the business
relay to the winning line, although saving
costs to stay in the race and increasing
revenue in order to move ahead in the
race will remain important. When business leaders gather around boardroom
tables to discuss IT budgets in the next
decade, the issue will not be whether to
increase or decrease IT expenditure in
line with economic conditions, but rather
to ensure that an appropriate portion of
IT expenditure is allocated to initiatives
that could change the business race.
positions as a result of low internal cost
structures and the ability to serve clients
effectively – positions which would never
have been possible were it not for the
adoption of technology. As an example,
technology-intrinsic business processes
have enabled an organisation like Skype
to serve 500 million customers for a mere
€2 revenue per client per month.
>> MARTIN BUTLER, a cum laude MBA
The ability to reduce operating costs
graduate of the USB, lectures at his alma
and increase revenue thus seems sufmater in Information, Operations and
ficient motivation for organisations careProject Management. He has presented
fully to weigh investment opportunities
papers locally and abroad and, since jointo further strengthen their competitive
ing the USB full time in 2007, also runs
position.
an IS consultancy.
However, an
increasing number
of organisations are
realising that the real
to agenda@usb.ac.za or sms 39841
opportunities presented
(standard rates apply)
by technology to
outperform competitors
Send your comment
PICTURE: DON BAYLEY
W hile cost-trimming on
operational IT budgets is
e
always an option, it is th
ents
extension of these sentim
s that
to capital IT budget item
is downright dangerous.
Conventional wisdom
regards IT as an operational expense that should
be trimmed in tough times
– rather like the year-end
function, filter coffee and
other non-critical budget
items. In his seminal article
IT doesn’t matter, Harvard’s
Nicholas Carr even defined
a new rule for IT management: spend less. More than
77% of South African CIOs who took
part in Intel’s Enterprise Survey 2009
expect drastic cuts in future IT investments. Research firm Gartner predicts
that 2010 will continue to be challenging
and that IT budgets will increase moderately after a demanding 2009.
Organisations are clearly focusing
on reducing costs and are targeting IT
spending as part of the process. However,
unilateral cost-cutting purely for the sake
of short-term survival can be detrimental
in the long term. While cost-trimming
on operational IT budgets is always an
option, it is the extension of these sentiments to the capital IT budget items
that is downright dangerous. Making
statements that IT budgets in total
should be reduced, and conversely increased, in line with economic conditions
is short-sighted.
The astute business manager knows
that the role of IT has changed significantly over the last two decades. While
the data-processing department of the
1990s focused on cost-cutting by driving
internal efficiencies, the IT department of
the new millennium brought new product bundles, distribution channels and
location-independent services. Though
the role of technology to cut costs and
improve efficiencies has not disappeared,
the first decade of the new millennium
was IT’s time to contribute to revenue
on many dimensions. Today numerous
organisations are in superior business
CURRENT | LEADER’S ANGLE
NEWS
Knowledge from
far and wide
There is a buzz of activity at the USB when
Leader’s Angle, the monthly early-morning
speaker series, is presented. Audiences are
invited to share the thought leadership of
local and international speakers first-hand
on the USB campus, and sometimes
elsewhere. Some excerpts follow.
Speaker Prof Anders Aspling, with
Prof Laetitia van Dyk, head of the
USB’s Centre for Leadership Studies,
and Dr Noel Jacobs of Stellenbosch
University’s Military Academy
International speaker
encourages
sustainability
PICTURES: CLAYTON SWART
It is the responsibility of business to create economic and
societal sustainability for future
generations, said Prof Anders
Aspling, secretary-general of the
Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative of the European
Foundation for Management
Development, based in Belgium.
“Instead of looking at sustainability as a strategy, it should be
integrated into the DNA of the
company. Economic and societal
value should go hand-in-hand,”
he said.
Speaker Mothobi Seseli, Wendy
Ngcangca from City Mission, and
Dr Johan Smith, Financial Management
lecturer at the USB
Speaker Dawie Klopper with Lwandisa
Mfuyo, second-year USB MBA student,
and Willemien Law, USB-ED’s executive:
Open Enrolment Programmes and Africa
The economy will
recover, but …
People are so affected by negative
sentiment and lack of trust that
they tend to ignore economic
signs of recovery, said an optimistic Dawie Klopper, investment economist at PSG Konsult.
“The economy will recover, but
there will be some supply-side
constraints. This will be due to
businesses across the value chain
cutting back on inventories and
expansion because of dampened
global spending. This will lead to
the next problem, namely a rise
in inflation,” he explained.
Creating black role
models
People should be more trusting
of each other and not only trust
those who look like themselves
or share similar backgrounds
– because they might miss what
a wider spectrum of people has
to offer their business. This is
one of the main lessons Mothobi Seseli, MD of Argon Asset
Management, learnt. His company manages funds in excess of
R6 billion. “You need to live your
values even if it means turning a
business opportunity away. We
seek to be a positive role model
by creating black role models in
our communities,” said Seseli.
These talks are hosted by the USB, the USB Alumni
Association, USB Executive Development (USB-ED)
and the Institute for Futures Research of the University of Stellenbosch, in association with its sponsor,
Finweek, and for a period, PSG Konsult.
Speaker Dr Martyn Davies with
Nwabisa Mbelekane from Parliament
and Frik Landman, CEO of USB-ED
China goes from
‘demon to sudden
saviour’
South Africa and the rest of Africa’s economies depend on that
of China, while this Asian powerhouse depends on the supply of
commodities from the continent,
said Dr Martyn Davies, executive director of the Centre for
Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch
University. “Not long ago China
was seen as a ‘free-loader’ in the
global economy, but since its
involvement in Africa it has gone
from ‘demon to sudden saviour’,”
said Davies.
Speakers Dr Elbé Coetsee and her
son Will (middle), with David Katerere
(left), a Medical Research Council
scientist, and USB Strategy lecturer,
Prof Marius Ungerer
Growing through
social entrepreneurship
Dr Elbé Coetsee and her son
Will, a final-year MBA student
at the USB, embarked on social
entrepreneurship to grow a sustainable craft art family business
that would involve and benefit
the poor in Limpopo Province.
“We had to develop and experience this for ourselves; it was not
an idea conceived elsewhere,”
said Dr Coetsee. “The state of
the economy has forced many
people to become creative in
the area of personal talents and
skills. I didn’t have the vision,
but I had the passion.” Now her
vision is to create employment
opportunities, and to nurture
and develop children’s skills.
Research guided them on how
to operate in uncontested market
space and how to transform
socially and environmentally
responsible ideas into products.
The aim was to encourage people
to buy the experience, not just
the product. “Employers and
employees have to be in constant
communication. Our key values
are regard for one another and
to be resourceful in dealing with
challenges. Empowerment is a
two-way process,” explained
Dr Coetsee.
9
Opopnuut
reis,
Syferman, statistikus, top-akademikus. Maar óók: mense-mens met ’n vlymskerp
humorsin. Dis Eon Smit. HANLIE RETIEF het met hom gesels.
10
TOPSTORIE | EON SMIT
FOTO’S: DON BAYLEY
Kortliks
“Die reis het ’n veel dieper indruk op my
gemaak as die stasies langs die spoor …”
Dis ’n Maandagoggend en buite streep
die reënvlae teen die ruite van prof Smit se
kantoor aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch Bestuurskool (USB).
Vir dertien jaar was hy direkteur van dié
bestuurskool hier teen ’n heuwel in Bellville,
maar nou, op sestig, het dit tyd geword vir
nuwe horisonne. Eers wag ’n jaar se studieverlof. Vir hom wink ’n sabbatsreis deur
Suid-Afrika – hy wil toer “van doringboom
tot doringboom”.
In 2011 sal studente weer hul prof se
uitbundige lag in die gange hoor as hy sy
werk as dosent voortsit.
“Die USB was ’n wonderlike, produktiewe tuiste vir my,” som dié statistikus en
ekonoom 23 volgepakte jare op.
Kyk hy terug, staan een ding helder uit:
die unieke kans om ná twintig wildernisjare
van akademiese boikotte die USB uiteindelik te kon posisioneer as ’n gerespekteerde
lid van die internasionale gemeenskap
van bestuurskole.
“Wat sal ek mis?” vra hy, half vir homself,
oggendkoffie stomend in die hand, terwyl
hy uitkyk op die winterlandskap.
“Ons was hierdie klein groep akademici,
aangevuur deur die wil om die USB ’n
internasionale sukses te maak. Hoe Marion
Leurs, my persoonlike assistent van meer
as ’n dekade, een keer regdeur Kersfees en
Nuwejaar moes werk, sonder om te kla. Hoe
die kombuis- en skoonmaakpersoneel my
altyd vroegdag met
soveel wellewendheid hier verwelkom
het. Daar’s die
studente…”
Met elke vars inname deel prof Smit
altyd dié inspirasie:
hoe ’n musiekonder-
wyseres aan ’n plaaslike hoërskool haar
dapper ingeskryf het vir haar MBA. “Een
van enkele vroue in die klas, moes sy haar
vrou staan tussen ’n klomp moeilike mans
in ’n hoogs mededingende omgewing – met
groot sukses.
“Vandag is sy ’n senior portefeuljebestuurder by ’n groot finansiële instelling.”
Musieknote vir banknote verruil, as’t ware.
Met sy aanstelling as direkteur, ten tye
van die opbloei van die nuwe demokrasie in
Suid-Afrika, was die opdrag eenvoudig: kry
die USB op die internasionale speelveld.
Dié opdrag – verskeie suksesvolle
akkrediterings en die privatisering van die
USB-BO – sou uiteindelik prof Smit se
grootste erfenis aan die USB word.
Hy sal nooit vergeet toe die eerste
Europese span destyds die USB kom evalueer het nie. “Een van die vereistes was ’n
‘internasionale karakter’. Die ouditspan, uit
Brussel, was egter onseker oor wat ‘internasionaal’ impliseer in ’n Afrika-konteks.
“In Brussel is dit maklik, Frankryk en
Duitsland is net langsaan. Maar ‘Afrika’ was
vir hulle ’n enkele entiteit, hulle kon moeilik
aanvaar dat studente uit Nigerië of Tanzanië
‘internasionale studente’ is. Dit was moeilik
om hulle daarvan te oortuig.”
Die USB is in 2000 vir die eerste keer
internasionaal geakkrediteer. “Slegs sestig
van die sowat 3 500 bestuurskole wêreldwyd
kon destyds spog met dié akkreditasie. Ons
was boonop die eerste nie-Europese lid van
dié uitgelese groep.”
‘Ons was hierdie klein
uur
groep akademici, aangev
’n
deur die wil om die USB
aak.’
internasionale sukses te m
• Hy’s ’n boorling van Caledon, grootgeword op Moorreesburg , seun van ’n
motorhandelaar, met ’n bry wat hy met
hárde werk afgeleer het.
• Sy seun, Andreas, het pas Honneurs
BCom afgestudeer, en werk by
SABMiller in Pretoria.
• Toe die Reserwebank-president Tito
Mboweni studente aangeraai het om
eerder ekonomie te studeer, want die
MBA is bloot ’n “deeltydse graad vir
uitvoerende hoofde”, het prof Smit hom
geantwoord: “Ek stem saam. Ons lei nie
amptenare vir die Reserwebank op nie,
ons lei bestuurders en leiers op vir die
toekoms ...”
• Twee vormende invloede op sy
loopbaan:
• Dr Karel Bos, voormalige voorsitter van die USB se Adviesraad: “Die
filosoof en industrialis het my aan
Machiavelli bekend gestel. Hy is ’n
wêreldklas entrepreneur met ouwêreldse Europese waardes wat nog
op tagtig sy eie Spitfires vlieg en met
sy jag seil in die Noord-Atlantiese
stormsee.
• Peter Lorange, voormalige
direkteur van die Switserse bestuurskool IMD: “Hy het die rol van
bestuurskole vlymskerp kon ontleed
en altyd daarin geslaag om werklike
substans van blote modeverskynsels
te onderskei.”
Skielik het deure oopgegaan vir samewerking en dosente- en studente-uitruiling,
iets wat in die apartheidsjare haas onmoontlik was.
“Ons is nie eens toegelaat om oorsese
bestuurskole se kampusse te betree nie. As
ons iemand wou ontmoet, was dit klandestien, so half by die kafee om die hoek.
“Ek is gereeld by internasionale konferensies uitgeboender. Soos ’n Finse verteenwoordiger dit eenkeer duidelik gemaak het:
almal is welkom, behálwe mnr Smit van
Suid-Afrika.
“Die Japanners was darem bereid om
‘mnr Smit’ te aanvaar, maar net drie weke >
11
TOPSTORIE | EON SMIT
Hy het by die Bestuurskool begin as ’n
in dié uithoek van die wêreld uitstekende
quant, “soos hulle iemand wat kan optel,
akademiese opleiding kry teen ’n fraksie van
aftrek, maal en deel destyds genoem het”,
die koste.
skerts hy.
“Veral studente uit Afrika wat tradi“Ek is opgelei as ’n statistikus en ekosioneel die roete na hul koloniale moedernoom. In die vroeë 90’s was die pendulum
land gevolg het, kom nou hierheen.”
wat die inhoudelike van die MBA betref,
Bestuurskole word natuurlik nou oraloor
hard en analities. Dit het geswaai, en dit
vir die wêreld-ekonomiese krisis verwyt.
moes: die quants het te groot klem op
“Dis alles óns skuld, die CA’s en dié mense
korttermyn wins geplaas, en te min op die
het geen aandeel daarin gehad nie,” sê die
omgewing, verantwoordbare regering en
professor tong in die kies.
menslike etiek.”
“Maar ons hét lesse geleer. Ons MBA,
Prof Smit is reeds 21 jaar beoordelaar
soos dié van elke topskool in die wêreld, het
van Sake24 se Ekonoom van die Jaarverander. Die leitmotiv is
kompetisie. Sy toesprake op dié wedstryd
nou integrasie van vakke,
Summary: Another track
se dinees word alomweë beskou as inteldie verpraktisering van
At the age of sixty, and after a thirteen-year stint as
lektuele juwele.
die kursus, en fokus op
director of the USB, Prof Eon Smit plans to remain
Hy is die ‘brein’ agter die formule
leierskap en waardes. In
on track at the USB, but will re-route.
waarvolgens die wenners bepaal word. Oor
die ou dae was MBA en
“The USB was a wonderful, productive home for
dié sogenaamde ‘geheime formule’ lag hy
arrogansie sinoniem. Dis
me,” he summarises his involvement of 23 years.
onbevange. “Iemand het êrens die idee
nie meer so nie.”
Looking back, the highlight of his tenure was
gekry dis geheim, maar dis sommer ’n urban
Wat hom verstom van
undoubtedly the positioning of the USB as a top
legend. Enigeen kan gaan sit en daardie
die huidige ekonomiese
global business school after the academic drought
somme doen.”
krisis was hoe die wêreld
of the apartheid years. To achieve this, European
Die een ding wat dié wedstryd hom
binne sewe dae byeen kon
accreditation was sought and, in 2000, finally
geleer het, is dat mense geneig is tot
kom om saam te besluit op
achieved.
tropvorming. “Elke jaar begin deelnemers
maatreëls om die negaAmong 3 500 business schools worldwide, the
met eie standpunte oor waarheen die ekotiewe psigose te stop.
USB is now in a very special league of only 118
nomie op pad is. Maar ná die eerste ronde
“Nog nooit in die
schools with European accreditation. This is perbegin die menings versmelt tot ’n gemidgeskiedenis was daar so ’n
haps Prof Smit’s greatest, and lasting, legacy.
delde (trop-) opinie.
gesamentlike globale aksie
Ask him about the present global economic crisis,
“Dit dra egter ook gewig, want dié vervan ’n ekonomiese aard nie.
and he says he was astounded by the extremely
wagting van 32, 33 hoogs ingeligte mense
“Die impak van die
quick international economic reaction to the crisis.
is ’n unieke bron van informasie. In die
resessies op sakeskole is
“Never before in history could we witness such a
ekonomie volg die realiteit verwagtinge, en
interessant. In teenstelglobal collaborative economic action.
as jy verwagtinge draai, sal die werklikheid
ling met Suid-Afrika het
“The crisis has also changed the whole conook volg. So hierdie wedstryd is jaarliks ’n
Amerikaanse MBAcept of the MBA. MBA and arrogance used to be
interessante data-stel van verwagtinge.”
studente vir ’n jaar of twee
synonymous. Not any longer. The leitmotiv, now, is
Maar nou lê daar eers ’n geskenk van tyd
gedros. Sakeskole in Suidintegration of subjects and a new focus on leaderin dié professor se skoot. Tyd om ’n kursus
Afrika ervaar dié resessie
ship and values.”
te doen in Italiaanse kookkuns, om weer lid
tans positief: jonger mense
These have been part of the USB curriculum for
van ’n wynklub te word. En uiteindelik die
wat nie dadelik werk kry
many years, with courses breaking ground in areas
kans om die lesse en ervarings van die laaste
nie kom nou vir verdere
like business ethics. With ‘diversity’ a current global
veertien jaar vir vólgende geslagte studente
opleiding. Sakeondernecatch phrase, and the growing international realisaen dosente te kan boekstaaf.
mings gebruik dié stiller
tion that the USB offers first-class academic training
En ná sy sabbatsjaar sal studente wéér
tyd om in hul personeel te
at a fraction of the cost, the future indeed looks
met dieselfde heilige ontsag kan sit in sy
belê deur MBA’s of
bullish.
statistiek-klas.
bestuurskursusse.”
His years at the USB have also been a personal
journey for Prof Smit – from intellectual and ‘quant’
to mensch. “In the end, the journey left a vastly
Deel jou herinneringe oor die USB. Skryf aan
deeper impression than the stations along the
agenda@usb.ac.za; of sms ons by 39841 teen
railway line,” he concludes.
voor die konferensie kry ek ’n waarskuwing van die Japanse regering dat hulle my
sou deporteer indien ek hul grondgebied
betree.”
Watter absurde tye, glimlag hy. “Die
wonder daarvan: om groot te word in ’n
geslote apartheidsmilieu, en dán te ervaar
hoe die sakewêreld vir jou oopgaan.
“Deesdae is diversiteit – en dus ook
Suid-Afrika as voorbeeld – wêreldwyd
op bestuurskole se agendas. Op ’n manier
blý ons die geur van die maand. Daarmee
saam besef die buiteland toenemend jy kan
ONTHOU JY NOG?
gewone sms-tariewe.
12
CURRENT | BUSINESS TRAINING
Frik Landman, USB-ED
Prof Wim Gevers, USB
Prof Frikkie Herbst, USB
Martin Butler, USB
Perpetual
Motion
Moving with the times, the USB and USB Executive
Development (USB-ED) have made changes to the way
they teach and their students learn. SUE BLAINE reports.
Business schools have a choice: To wait until their students demand
change, or to change ahead of request.
USB and USB-ED have changed ahead of request.
“In the past few years, the need for globally responsible business
leadership and governance has been splashed all over the press ...
There were faint signals for a long time that there is a need for
change in business education. This is when we realised we need to
ask: ‘Do we only respond to requests from clients, or do we lead our
clients?’” says USB-ED CEO Frik Landman.
Starting almost a decade ago with the Enron crisis, which put a
global spotlight on the need for an emphasis on ethical accounting
practices, right up to the current financial crisis that has plunged
much of the world into recession, it was obvious something was
rotten in the state of global business.
It was time to change things in order to emphasise to business
students that most problems they encounter in business, and in life,
have multiple facets, including ethical elements. Any solution that
does not take into account as many factors as possible will simply
morph into a problem somewhere else in the business.
A recently released study by IBM – the IBM Global CEO Study,
the largest study of chief executives ever conducted – reveals that,
while there is a dramatic increase in the number of global business
leaders who have the ability to see important change ahead, the
14
ability to absorb and manage change is widening the gap between
winners and losers in the global economy, says Landman.
“What’s lacking? That’s the million dollar question ... Off
the cuff, I’d say a ‘tool’ to make sense of the complexities that
confront leaders in today’s complex business world,” he says.
That, then, is what USB-ED did – revamped its executive
education programmes to better fit the new world order.
‘Do we only respond to
requests from clients,
or do we lead our clients
?’
This is also what has happened at the business school itself,
where head of the MBA programme Prof Wim Gevers explains
that business schools across the globe have been criticised for
‘silo-thinking’ – which results in an inability to see all the factors
that constitute a problem – and the school decided to make changes
to the MBA programme to adapt it to “trends for the future”.
PICTURES: DON BAILEY
CLASS ACT: USB-ED and
USB have revamped their
programmes to suit the
new world order.
“It was not as though there was something wrong with our
programme – which got international accreditations in 2006 and
2007 – but we can’t be complacent. We must adapt to trends for
the future, so we put together a committee to redesign the MBA
programme,” he says.
The MBA makeover took approximately 15 months, and USB
hopes it has now come up with something that gives MBA students
the great technical skills they got from the old programme, together
with tools they can use to manage and, importantly, motivate the
people they are expected to lead in their respective organisations.
“But improvement is a progressive thing. You don’t redesign
something and end up with a Rolls Royce. Programmes continually
need to be looked at and refined,” says Gevers.
The new MBA programme has three overarching outcomes
– the comprehensive development of an individual’s leadership
qualities which shows them how they operate in leadership
situations and how to use that effectively; the ability to ponder
business problems from a holistic viewpoint, and personal
communication skills, both verbal and written.
One of the biggest changes, in both the MBA programme and
the USB-ED courses, is team-teaching – a new lecture method
where two or more experts in different fields present a class in
which the links between the fields are emphasised.
While challenging for teachers and class alike, team-teaching
is a good way of showing students the ways in which the different
functional areas of business and business management interlink;
and that they must be linked for a business to operate optimally,
says Frikkie Herbst, USB associate professor in Marketing
Management.
Another very visible change is the use of the internet to
improve the learning experience.
Students are given reading to do ahead of a class, and have to
complete an online multiple-choice test before attending a class,
with the marks counting towards a small percentage of their final
mark. The aim is for students to arrive in class ready to discuss an
issue about which they are already reasonably well-informed.
“The point of departure for us was that time on campus is
precious. MBA students are not necessarily enrolled full-time.
Of the 250 students who registered this year, about 200 are doing
their MBAs in part-time or modular format,” says USB Senior
Information Systems lecturer Martin Butler.
Another advantage is that lecturers can add articles of interest
to a website, for students to read if they want to, says Herbst.
This, says Landman, is a very good thing. Today’s business
leaders need to be used to reading up on a vast array of issues
because their customers are increasingly well-informed and
sophisticated because of the ease with which information is
transferred in today’s technology-rich world.
MBA student Surette van den Heever says the use of technology
in the MBA programme is “very efficient and user-friendly”, and
the new teaching methods stimulate class discussion, while
students can benefit from lecturers’ practical and academic expertise.
For Landman, however, the most important change for executive
development students is that there is now post-qualification followup, because “the real learning starts back in the workplace”.
Read more
about the restructured USB MBA
at www.usb.ac.za/mba
15
IN DEPTH | THINK TANK
GUEST
COLUMN
SA’s debate
he
begins here
An almost religious belief
in the market, and apparent ignorance of economic
history, meant that most
mainstream commentators,
bankers and economists
never saw the current global
economic crisis coming. Yet
it was perfectly predictable
– and predicted – although
the predictions tended to
come from the more radical
fringes of economic debate.
Yet even that standard
bearer of the free market,
The Economist magazine,
noted in a 1999 survey that
glut, leading to stagnation,
was returning. The spectres
of over-capacity and overproduction were acknowledged to be haunting the
world economy.
But similar warning
signals were raised 20
and more years ago as the
capacity to produce almost
every basic necessity tilted
towards ever greater surplus.
In 1991, Europe, for the
first time, produced more
cars than children, said a news report that raised the question:
Who will eventually drive the increasing number of vehicles
being produced?
Part of the answer was the extension of credit. This helped to
provide a quite lengthy respite – a holiday – from the inevitable
crisis, as two- and three-car families became the norm in the
16
developed
world. The same applied to everything from sound
de
systems and televisions to furniture, fittings and home loans. To
varying degrees around the world, ballooning household debt
became the norm. At the same time, soaring share values on the
bourses of the world, often bearing little relation to any underlying
value, added to the illusion of an ongoing boom.
These developments provided the basis for the warnings
advanced in the 1990s by American economic historian Robert
Brenner. They were brought together in his book, The Boom and the
Bubble, published in 2002. But there were few prepared to listen.
In the same way the warnings by New York University economics
professor Nuriel Roubini about a pending sub-prime mortgage
crash in the US were largely ignored, especially by a generally
upbeat financial media.
As Columbia University media specialist Anya Schiffrin
noted during a lecture in Johannesburg in July, this was a case of a
“manufactured consensus that ended up being supportive of mainstream economic views”. By and large, the media merely accepted
and reported the views of leading financiers, bankers, government
officials and analysts – the popular faces of the business world.
It was a case of delusion fed by greed, self-interest and an inability or unwillingness to see beyond short-term financial gains
or to learn from history. Even as late as 2006, for example, I was
derided as a doomsayer by academic economists at a Goedgedacht
forum in the Western Cape for arguing that over-capacity and
over-production posed a major threat to the global economy.
The chip is ever ywhere ...
nt and
facilitating more consiste
almost
lower cost production of
are
ever ything we need – or
ed.
persuaded to think we ne
PICTURE SUPPLIED
We face a
transformed
world with which
few in politics or
business have yet
come to grips. The
consequences of
surplus capacity and
surplus production
– and the credit
boom that sustained
its development and
disguised its dangers
– are challenges
that the South
African government
and business must
confront.
In 1991, Europe, for the first
time, produced more cars
than children
Tiny slivers of silicon, they affect the lives of almost everyone on
There was no special insight needed to raise such warnings;
the planet today. From modern cars to cell phones, computers
it merely required looking to the evidence of the real, productive
and supermarket checkouts to televisions, the chip is everywhere,
economy; to the fundamentals of supply and demand in a profitmaking for more efficient, faster and cheaper communication
driven, competitive system. It also meant not making assessments
and retailing and stock control, and
about economic well-being based on the fluctuations
facilitating more consistent and
of indices on Stock Exchanges. Courtesy of futures and
lower cost production of almost
derivatives trading, these supposed sources of productive
everything we need – or are perfinance often seem little more than casinos.
suaded to think we need.
Yet despite this background and the accurate foreIt has radically transformed
casts and analysis presented by the likes of Brenner,
much of industry, no more so than
Roubini and others, all that now seems generally agreed
in motor vehicle manufacturing,
is that there is a crisis which may or may not be weathwhere robots now do the work once
ered to one degree or another. And there is continued
carried out by hundreds – even
reliance on the same soothsayers of previous years. The
thousands – of workers on assembly
billionaire currency dealer, George Soros, is now widely
lines named after Henry Ford. Ford
quoted as assuring us that the worst is over while Absa
was no friend of the workers, but
Capital’s Jeff Schultz speaks of “green shoots” appearhe understood that the survival of
ing in the economy. However, the usually upbeat Mike
the system demanded the ability to
Schussler of economists.co.za conceded in July that
This article was written by
sell, at a profit, the products that the
there would be “no bounce back overnight”.
Terry Bell, a writer, editor
sellers of labour create — and buy. In
But a bounce, or even a steady crawl, back to ecoand columnist specialising in
his 1922 autobiography he noted:
nomic growth and social stability seems to be accepted
political and economic analy“... Our own sales depend in a
as inevitable. Yet the solutions proposed by business, lasis and South African labour
measure upon the wages we pay.
bour and government, ranging from advocating protecmatters. A former teacher,
If we can distribute high wages
tive tariffs, labour intensive work and nationalisation to
political prisoner and exile,
then that money ... will serve to
the scrapping of minimum wage legislation and greater
he has a master’s degree in
make storekeepers and distributors
funding for small and medium enterprises, ignore the
creative media practice and
and manufacturers and workers in
systemic problem of over-capacity and over-production.
an international law-based diother lines more prosperous and
Because of perhaps the greatest technological revolution
ploma in international affairs.
His latest book Comrade Moss
their prosperity will be reflected in
the world has known, it is also unlikely to disappear.
– a political journey appeared
our sales”.
That revolution – which nobody seems yet to have
this year.
He did not, of course, foresee an
come to terms with – is the development of the advanced
absurd situation where the world
integrated circuit, the microprocessors or microchips.
would wallow in a sea of over-capacity and over-production, where the
The Big Question
rate of unemployment – and the
How does – and should – South Africa relate to the global
consequent decline in purchasing
economic situation? Is there any solution on a national basis?
power – would soar as a result of
We already have a tripartite forum in Nedlac where governtechnological advances in a system
ment, business and labour are tasked to work out common,
incapable of dealing with them.
collaborative, strategies. So far we have its February National
This is the reality that must be
Framework Agreement ... Is reform or radical transformation
confronted, and where the debates
the way out of the crisis? What needs to be done and how?
should begin, if there is to be any
serious hope of clambering clear of
What do you think? Write to agenda@usb.ac.za;
what may be the most severe economic crisis the world has faced.
or sms us at 39841 (standard rates apply).
17
IN DEPTH | LEADERSHIP
Lead
to last
Christo Nel
talks to
AMANDA
MATTHEE
about the kind
of leadership
that will ensure
sustainably
competitive
organisations.
Long ago, in the world of business, lines of
responsibility were linear and progress was predictable. It was business as usual … or so
people thought.
The industrial age was characterised by causeand-effect thinking. Back then, a slower evolution
could be relied on and leadership was a top-down
process. Now a shift has taken place in the business
world – one which calls for a new breed of leaders
and organic organisations. Today, individuals and
organisations need to comprehend the demands of
the new socio-economic environment and the new
world of work. So says Christo Nel, senior lecturer
extraordinaire at the USB.
“There has been an overwhelming body of
research since the 1960s which demonstrates that
for organisations in the private or public sector to
be sustainably competitive and commercially viable
the only variable is leadership. Those organisations
that significantly outperform the others have the
unique ability to develop positive authentic leadership. In addition, they follow a hierarchical approach
to leadership and power, and they have the capacity
to build high-impact leadership teams.”
Nel says, according to Peter Drucker, one of the
T
ive
To be sustainably competit
e only
and commercially viable th
variable is leadership …
18
great thinkers of modern management, leadership
can be defined as a process of perpetuating creative
destruction and driving continuous innovation,
and this could reside in the hands of minorities.
However, in today’s socio-economic environment work life has been radically transformed,
hence the need for people in organisations to
interface and interact across traditional boundaries
– horizontally and vertically. As a result, organisations are more organic and volatile, and discontinuity is the order of the day. The organisation
is therefore a complexity of webs of interaction,
influence and relationships that supersedes traditional clarity and predictability. So, leadership can
no longer resort in the hands of the minority.
“The core challenge is leadership across all tiers
and not uniformity across the organisation. An
organisation needs distinct clusters of accountability
at these tiers.
“Research and experience show that in most
organisations senior, general and executive management levels remain embroiled in work which
should have been delegated to the operational
level. As a result, senior leaders and managers do
not have the time to immerse themselves in
shifting socio-economic and competitive trends.”
This has led to the spectacular collapse of
General Motors and Chrysler. People at operational level are not fully utilised, so they tend to
recede in passive and apathetic attitudes. This
poses a premier leadership challenge: How do
you unleash energy and get people to contribute
optimally at all levels and how do you ensure that
Plot your
leadership profile
What kind of leader are you? A myriad of quizzes and
questionnaires have been developed to help people discover their leadership strengths and weaknesses. Some are
fun and take a couple of minutes to complete while others
are formidable and take hours to interpret. Some of these
tests are free, others come at a cost.
Christo Nel is a director
and founder of The Village
Leadership Consulting, a
boutique consulting firm
specialising in change
management, leadership
development and organisational development. He
also lectures on Sustainable
Leadership, and Leadership
and Management Consulting
on the USB MBA.
the majority become pro-active
leaders in their own areas of
accountability?
Nel says to achieve this one
needs to create a flywheel of
sustainable competition. This
requires four imperatives:
1. Establish an ethos of personal authentic leadership
which engages individuals to
understand their own special qualities and to leverage their strengths
rather than focus on their weaknesses. This is the foundation of
muscle-building in an organisation. This will only occur if the
organisational culture encourages personal mastery from the individual
and makes the art of leader-coaching-leader a core competence for all
managers. Line managers from middle management upwards should
be taught to teach leaders.
2. Make the development of high-impact leadership and teaming a
pivotal building block of organisational design and people development. There is no such thing as a globally competitive organisation.
There are only organisations consisting of high-performing teams that
take charge of focused accountabilities and respond to challenges.
3. Entrench a high-performance culture and workplace practices. Leaders need focus and stamina to identify a critical mass of organisational practices and to develop the competence of the people to
apply these practices in ways that are energising and drive sustainable
competition. Typical practices include strategy as the art of execution,
developing talent and spreading leadership across all levels.
4. Leverage optimum return on assets and resources. Sustainable,
competitive organisations have all succeeded in creating and setting
this flywheel in motion. What’s more, they invest in ongoing energy
to maintain and continually strengthen flywheels of sustainable
competence.
One of the new-generation leadership assessment tools
and the one that is currently used on the USB MBA
programme is The Leadership Circle Profile (TLCP) which
provides a 360-degree profile of a person’s leadership
abilities. It is the first to connect competencies with the
underlying and motivating habits of thought. In other words,
it says why you do what you do. This enables leaders to
make conscious changes and to move beyond the reactive
to the creative stages through self-awareness.
TLCP also measures the two primary leadership domains
– Creative Competencies and Reactive Tendencies – and
integrates this information so that key opportunities for
development immediately rise to the surface.
Creative Competencies measure how you achieve results,
bring out the best in others, lead with vision, enhance your
own development, act with integrity and courage, and improve the systems in your organisation. Reactive Tendencies
are leadership styles emphasising caution over creating
results, self-protection over productive
ctive engagement,
and aggression over building alignment.
ment.
TLCP summarises the findings of each
individual in a circle which plots
aspects of the person’s identity in
terms of creativity and reactivity,
and relationships and tasks. This
gives an instant overview of the
person’s leadership profile.
Find more information
at www.theleadershipcircle.com
19
IN DEPTH | AUTHENTIC LEADERS
We
grow
leaders
F
For some students it was the most challenging thing they have ever
done. For others it was not a subject to study, but a process. Some said
it made them mindful of their actions and taught them to listen, while
most agreed it was about developing themselves.
“At the USB we believe leaders are grown, not born, says Prof
Laetitia van Dyk, head of the Centre for Leadership Studies at the
USB. However, developing leaders is not about getting MBA students
intellectually to understand 20 leadership theories. It’s about creating
opportunities for each student to develop as a leader. They need experiences and coaching to turn concepts
into leadership competencies.”
She says all over the world
employers are disappointed
about the fact that few MBA
programmes adequately
address the development of leaders. Hence,
the urgent need for leadership programmes that inculcate real-life
behaviours.
Responding to this need, the USB implemented its unique Leadership Development programme as part of its MBA in 2008. Now, more
than a year later, the USB is beginning to see how it has shaped the
students.
According to Prof Van Dyk, the core building block of positive
authentic leadership is a strong sense of self. This is about asking: Who
am I? What can I be the very best at? How do I unleash my personal
energy and that of others? How do I engage the diversity and authenticity of others in ways that create a larger whole? How do I exert a
positive perspective that exudes hope and commitment?
AMANDA MATTHEE questioned USB
facilitators and students about the
path to becoming a leader.
Prof Laetitia van Dyk, USB
Prof Julian Sonn, USB
The Leadership Development programme on the USB MBA is made up
of modules, journaling, leadership
councils and dialogue sessions
with faculty members. The
modules include Emotional Intelligence, Individual Ethical Decision-making,
Diversity, High-impact Leadership and Teaming, Organisational Change, Corporate Governance, Employment
Relations and Negotiation. Journal-writing allows students to reflect
on their behaviour, while the leadership councils support personal and
group learning through the contributions and perspectives of fellowstudents. Together, these elements cover the development of leadership
on a personal, group, organisational and societal level.
“Perhaps the single greatest challenge and leap for the MBA
student is to undergo the transformation from deeply socialised beliefs
in linearity and cause-and-effect thinking to finding new formulas on
how to face challenges in today’s world of work,” says Prof Van Dyk.
Each student has two face-to-face leadership sessions with either
Prof Julian Sonn, who teaches Diversity Management, Leadership
Development and Transformation on the USB MBA, or Dr Babita
Mathur-Helm, who teaches Diversity Management, Organisational
Development and Renewal, and Gender Studies.
The core building block of
ship is a
positive authentic leader
strong sense of self.
USB Leadership Development programme:
What do the students say?
20
“It was … one of the most
challenging experiences I
have had to go through in
my entire life. It is a tough
journey, but you wouldn’t
get value out of it if it
were easy.”
“If I have to remember one
sentence from the Leadership Programme it would be
this: Communication starts
by suspending my own
ideas and first listening to
the other person.”
“Leadership is about …
choosing to be a leader.
People should be at the
core of leadership practices
because they are the only
competitive advantage that
an organisation has.”
– Glen Davison, full-time MBA
– Francois Loots, full-time MBA
– Litha Fatsha, full-time MBA
PICTURES: DON BAYLEY & SUPPLIED
Prof Sonn says various themes come up in these
conversations: “Sometimes the discussions deal with
difficult issues such as anger, racism and gender matters. Sometimes students come from an accounting or
engineering background and now have to become aware
of personal issues and relationship strategies to establish
trusted relationships with colleagues. This requires
emotional intelligence.”
Sometimes students find it difficult to break out of
their comfort zones and to engage with people “who are
Dr Babita Mathur-Helm, USB
not like them”.
“We seek out people like ourselves because it is
easier to engage with them. Engaging with people unlike us forces us to talk about the past,
and South Africa’s history often makes it difficult for us to tell our stories. Some African
students come from poor backgrounds, but I’m impressed by their ability to overcome barriers. People who are reluctant to engage with others deprive themselves of an opportunity to
establish relationships.”
Sonn says many students have never thought of themselves as leaders. “Some students
need to make the mind shift to consciously take up a leadership role.”
He says we have various identities – a universal identity, individual identity and group
identity. “There is a tendency to resist group identity because groups are often the basis of
inclusion and exclusion, and power systems that sustain the inclusion of some. But group
identity is important. We need to appreciate all aspects of all the identities. For example,
some students need to accept their whiteness. We are not educated to be culture conscious
– we are blinkered to the culture of others. We as leaders have to create new cultures in
which we can eventually expand our identities.”
He says journaling is a way for students to become more aware of themselves and their
responses. “You have to reflect on thoughts and experiences and learn from them, otherwise
you lose the insight they might offer. It takes discipline to journal, but we encourage this.”
Dr Babita Mathur-Helm says she sees her role in the one-on-one sessions as that of a
facilitator of growth. “I guide students towards a bigger vision. I help them to see patterns
between childhood experiences, behaviours and their current work life experiences in terms
of their relationships, their psychological needs and their internal conflicts. This helps them
to become aware of themselves, and to get clarity so that they can make wider choices.
“Sometimes they need clarity on the difference between leadership and management
roles as well as the will to lead. Sometimes they need empathy, without being judged, to help
them open up. In the process, they learn to accept themselves without judging and labelling.
They realise that they are experiencing a process and that it is not about the end-result.
Hence, they may not find answers to all their queries right away. It is about facilitating the
process to get them to that Aha! moment.”
Watch this Leadership DVD
For more information about the USB’s Leadership
Development programme, view the USB Leadership DVD at www.usb.ac.za under Multimedia.
“Before every decision that I make
I have to stop and think what the
consequences are and I think I’ve got
the Leadership Programme to thank
for that. Leadership is a process. Stick
with it … the benefits will become
apparent at the end of the course.”
– Adrian Nasson, part-time MBA
“Leadership made me
focus more on improving my strengths than
stressing about my
weaknesses.”
– Nontobeko
Mehlomakhulu,
part-time MBA
21
CURRENT | RECESSION-PROOF MOVES
Taking advantage
of bad times
Economies go through cycles of wealth generation followed by contraction – and even
destruction. Yet recessions keep catching us unawares. SIKONATHI MANTSHANTSHA
investigates the means to survive.
22
thing
‘Recessions can be a good
ey help
over the long term, as th
e itself
the economy to restructur
titive’
and become more compe
ate end in sight,
most businesses
and consumers will
no doubt be found
wanting on ways
to survive.
Even blue chip
multimillion-dollar companies have
succumbed to the subprime-induced recession. Does certain death await struggling
smaller businesses too? Or are there wealthcreating opportunities amid the bloodbath
of the stock and property markets?
Potentially, recessions can be a good
thing over the long term, as they help the
economy to restructure itself and become
more competitive, says Stellenbosch University’s Bureau for Economic Research economist Hugo Pienaar. Companies become
more streamlined and productive after realising that they need to cut out unnecessary
costs to survive. This includes job layoffs or
reduced salaries and paying off debt – thus
strengthening the balance sheet.
“Although never seen as a good thing,
recessions do flush out uncompetitive
companies and help consumers to cut back
on debt. If you can emerge from a recession
with a more streamlined and productive
company, then it was a good thing!”
Pienaar says a major negative effect of
recession is the drying up of liquidity in global markets. Money disappears, and companies that rely on credit to survive often fail,
as has occurred recently with some of the
developed world’s largest companies.
But where does the money suddenly
go then? “Money doesn’t go anywhere. It is
just that banks suddenly become reluctant
to lend,” says Pienaar. Banks reduce or
withhold credit supply, both to consumers
and other businesses, as a direct response
to the rising bad debts resulting from years
of easy money.
PICTURES: SUPPLIED
T
Those people and businesses that made
judicious use of the good times provided
by the longest economic growth cycle
SA has ever seen (2003 – 2008) will be
in a better position to take advantage of
the current economic environment and
to generate wealth for themselves, says
Professor Eltie Links, who teaches International Management Studies and Doing
Business in Africa at the University of
Stellenbosch Business School.
Saving during the good times is the
buffer that ultimately makes it possible to
secure future wealth by enabling you to invest profitably while asset prices are under
pressure, says Links. “When times were
good, you should have done the necessary
things like saving and taking good care
of your finances in order to last through
recessions.”
Links says people should always remember that good times never last. “Bad times
also never last, but you’ll find the bad ones
last longer if you didn’t make the necessary
provision during the good times.”
Now that the global economy has been
in recession for over a year with no immedi-
“In the local economy consumers are still
suffering from the interest rate increases
of two years ago and bad debt is high and
rising,” he says.
However, Pienaar sees a silver lining around the credit liquidity cloud as
the situation starts to normalise in the
European and US markets. “Unprecedented
government support there has helped
avert a disaster of the magnitude of the
Make provision:
Prof Eltie Links
Competitive
economy:
Hugo Pienaar
Great Depression.” He says the economic
situation would have been a lot worse
had the British and US governments not
intervened. They responded by injecting
billions of capital into some financial and
industrial institutions that were in danger of
collapsing. “Policymakers have learnt from
the mistakes committed during the Great
Depression,” says Pienaar.
That, however, is not immediately going to benefit the SA economy, as positive
growth can only be expected next year.
That’s according to Thebe Securities econo-
mist, Monale Ratsoma. He says the private
sector, like the government, has to move to
investment mode for growth to take place.
But for that to happen, confidence needs to
return to the economy.
When asked whether government has
to do more to aid that confidence, Ratsoma
counters: “What more can the government do?” With the successive interest
rate reductions since December 2008 to
pre-June 2006 levels
– coupled with the
government’s infrastructure investment
programme – much
has already been
done to stimulate
confidence in the
SA economy.
Investment mode:
Ratsoma says the
Monale Ratsoma
recession, which was
led by a sharp fall in
consumer spending
and commodity prices in SA, has provided
the country with a chance to restructure
its economy to move away from relying
on consumer-led expenditure. Instead the
country can focus on manufacturing and exports. “That is the ideal way to go. However,
the reality is that it’s not going to happen,”
he says. South Africa’s rigid labour dispensation prevents the country from competing
effectively with the likes of China on manufacturing. “Manufacturing is never going to
thrive in an environment where organised
labour is as powerful as it is in SA.”
Both Ratsoma and Pienaar agree that
the recession has provided many investing
opportunities, with asset prices currently
priced significantly lower than before the
recession. But to take advantage of those,
people need cash, and cash is scarce.
As Ratsoma observed, the global recession has largely bottomed out and the
economy is likely to have stabilised at the
lower levels. That signals the beginning of
the next economic cycle – growth. Both
Pienaar and Ratsoma agree that asset prices
currently offer great value, and as Links says,
investments around the current property and equity levels will see the investor
through the next recessionary cycle.
The best way to do that is to pay off
debt faster and then to take advantage of
the discounted asset prices like property and
shares, advises Links. “Don’t see this as an
opportunity to accumulate more debt.” Asset prices are significantly discounted – by
over 30% and sometimes by 50% for equities – on what they were two years ago.
Drowning in a sea of opportunity?
Send your comment to agenda@usb.ac.za
23
IN DEPTH | BASE OF THE PYRAMID
INITIATIVES PROFILED IN
USB’S BoP LEARNING LAB
Townships have become hives of enterprise. Between thirty and fifty thousand
small and micro enterprises (SMEs) exist
in the Cape Town township of Khayelitsha alone, and various big businesses have
launched joint business projects in that area.
There is, however, very little direct
interaction between corporates about the
effectiveness of their separate efforts in
townships, and how these can be expanded
or streamlined.
It has long been the contention of
University of Stellenbosch Business
School’s Prof Wolfgang Thomas that these
mutually beneficial activities should be
better coordinated.
Zakes Nyoni of the
Khayelitsha Business
Forum, with the
township sprawling
behind him.
Mutual
benefits
Will business initiatives between corporates and
township residents become a formidable force for
good? CLAYTON SWART investigates.
To this end, Thomas is now involved in
building support for business development
in the Metro-South-East area of Cape
Town. This area consists of Khayelitsha,
Mitchells Plain and Philippi East – which
are by far the poorest
areas of Cape Town,
but account
for about a
third of the
city’s entire
population.
Thomas
has for a number of years led the Base of
the Pyramid (BoP) Learning Lab at the
USB, a forum where companies and other
T
24
organisations aiming at bettering the lives
of the poor learn from each other and share
best practice.
This initiative, brought to the USB in
2006 by Prof Stef Coetzee, has now, nearly
three years later,
spread to greater
Sub-Saharan Africa,
with big
business,
academics
and NGOs
looking at how to “do business countering
poverty at the base of the income pyramid”.
According to Thomas, the current aim is
‘We want to bring
to
together efforts in order
create a formidable force’
PICTURES: CLAYTON SWART & DON BAYLEY
• SABMILLER – Integrating
smallholder farmers into the supply
chain of a multinational corporation
• THE BUSINESS PLACE – Helping to
foster entrepreneurship at the base of
the pyramid
• LEARN TO EARN – Helping people at
the base of the pyramid to achieve their
full potential
• NACHENGUE PROGRAMME
– Testing the solar energy option in
southern Africa
• SAFMARINE – Providing tools to
develop businesses at the base of
the pyramid
• PSITEK – Bringing affordable
telecommunication to emerging markets
• COLLECT-A-CAN – Working at the
base of the pyramid to help protect the
environment
• ABSA – Fostering entrepreneurship
at the base of the pyramid
• SANLAM – Offering micro-insurance
products at the base of the pyramid
• VODACOM – Bringing cheaper
phonecalls to the base of the pyramid
• GOLDEN ARROW – Meeting the
challenge of an efficient, affordable
public road transport system
• DANONE – Bringing healthy nutrition
to the base of the pyramid
• MASSMART – Bridging the gap
between the wholesaler and the
rural retailer
to respond to an urgent need for the establishment of a ‘Khayaplain’ business development agency, which would be funded by
the City of Cape Town as a public-private
partnership with the cooperation of business, parastatals and civil society.
Working with him is businessman
Zakes Nyoni, from the Khayelitsha
Business Forum, who says the problem is a
lack of coordination among the corporate
social responsibility (CSR) initiatives carried out by many companies and organisa-
disadvantaged people across the country.
However, they soon saw the value that this
created for all who became involved. Their
initiative now consists of containers with
phone sets placed in townships, enabling
people to make cheaper phone calls.
Entrepreneurs plying their
trade in Khayelitsha.
CASE PROFILE
HEALTHY, AFFORDABLE
YOGHURT FOR
THE PEOPLE
Danone Clover is contributing to better
nutrition in the lower income segments
through the production and distribution
of a yoghurt specifically developed for the
BoP market. Danone’s initiative has not
only involved a marketing effort in a segment of the population not traditionally
drawn to yoghurt, but has also helped create dozens of successful new micro-enterprises in the space of three years.
Danone’s customised product, labelled
Danimal, is sold exclusively to the lower
income segment, and through nontraditional distribution channels, such as
door-to-door sales at a price of R1. This
approach differentiates the product from
many other BoP initiatives, which generally involve offering the same product
through a modified business model, such
as discounted prices, different packaging
or different channels.
In terms of social impact, the project
has now created 286 Daniladies, and
35 Danimamas, who do door-to-door
sales. Several of these micro-enterprises
are succeeding beyond expectation, with
some individuals reaching sales figures
of over R700 000 per year and providing
employment to others.
tions in Khayelitsha, but also in similar
areas across the country.
“We want to bring together efforts in
order to create a formidable force. It is not
about giving people money, but about creating the right climate for small businesses
to realise there is help available for them.”
Nyoni says the goal is to have sustainable small businesses with owners that are
well trained in business with the help of
corporates – who also benefit by gaining a greater reach for their products and
services.
An example of a company doing business
in South Africa’s townships is Vodacom
– through its Community Phoneshop initiative. Prins Mhlanga, Vodacom managing
executive concerned with community services, explains that the company first had to
“fulfil its licence obligations” of providing a
certain amount of connectivity to previously
“This facilitated the creation of about
20 000 jobs, while some people even
became Vodashop owners after this experience,” says Mhlanga. Vodacom generates
about
R1 billion per
year from this
initiative, which
shows there is
real value in
doing business
at the lower end
of the market,
where mutual
benefits can be
derived for the
companies and
the communities.
Thomas says:
Prof Wolfgang Thomas, USB
“Most certainly,
a university or
business school cannot fulfil the critical
coordination role – at best we can sensitise the different players and facilitate the
process. It is up to the leaders in the different bodies or groups to work toward an
integrated process.”
Contact the BoP Learning Lab at the USB
via Prof Wolfgang Thomas at wthomas@usb.ac.za or
Nicolas Pascarel at info@reciprocity.co.za.
25
IN DEPTH | MASTERS OF BUSINESS
The
MBA:
?
y
t
l
i
u
g
t
o
n
r
o
y
t
l
gui
Marietjie Wepener, USB
Prof Julian Sonn, USB
Prof Wim Gevers, USB
They’ve been called anything from ‘mediocre but arrogant’
to ‘masters of the business apocalypse’. Are MBAs to
blame for the mess we’re in? JANA MARAIS investigates.
W
With so many role-players in the current
global financial crisis holding MBAs from
top institutions like Harvard Business
School (HBS), the MBA has been lambasted as a waste of time and even, in the
words of an HBS alumnus, damaging to
our economic health.
Given the MBA graduates involved
in the crisis, it is hardly surprising that
business schools, particularly in the United
States (US) and Europe, find themselves
in the firing line. In the US, high profile
MBAs from Harvard include former heads
of Merrill Lynch Stan O’Neal and John
Thain, former US Treasury secretary Hank
Paulson, former chairman of the Securities
and Exchange Commission Christopher
Cox and former president George W Bush.
Having been made the scapegoats,
MBAs at Harvard took an MBA Oath
recently. This pledge by graduating MBAs
received widespread publicity in the press.
On their website, www.mbaoath.org they
state: “Our goal is to begin a widespread
movement of MBAs who aim
to lead in the interests of the
greater good … Our longterm goal is to transform
the field of management
into a true profession,
one in which MBAs are
respected for their integrity,
professionalism, and
leadership…”
The financial crisis has forced business
schools to go back to the drawing board,
and many are reviewing their curricula to
place a larger focus on risk management,
financial modelling, corporate governance,
leadership, ethics, sustainability and, given
the shareholder status of governments in
what used to be private sector companies,
the relationship between government and
business.
“Part of the criticism against MBAs,
particularly those from the top international schools, is attributable to the levels
of assessment within the programmes. It is
so difficult to get into schools like Harvard
that once you’re in the programme, the levels of assessment are less stringent. People
are so bright that it is almost just assumed
that they’re working. If the assessment
procedures are unsuccessful, it means a
graduate won’t necessarily be able to price a
derivative,” says Prof Wim Gevers, head of
the MBA programme at the USB.
“Joe Public needs to blame someone,
so they go for the MBA. The problem is
not the MBA; the problem is the lack of
ethics.”
Prof Julian Sonn, leadership professor
at the USB, says many of the decisions that
were taken indicate a lack of responsible,
ethical leadership. “These are skills that can
be taught, and we see it as an important
part of our MBA programmes.”
Despite the fallout internationally,
South African schools have largely been
left unscathed reputation-wise by the
economic crisis.
“In South Africa, given the political,
economic and socio-political debate in
which we have been immersed for decades,
the issues (such as sustainability, ethics and
corporate governance) which today seem to
surprise richer countries have been part of
our academic concerns and hence our academic offer for many years. Recent events
have merely created a renewed focus on the
urgency of carrying on this debate and for
finding more permanent solutions,” says
Prof Eon Smit, director of the USB.
“I will argue that we have been sensitive to most of these issues that
schools are criticised for today,
not by being clever or having better foresight than our colleagues
in the USA or Europe, but by
being part of the South African
reality and the unique challenges that
we have to face,” Smit says. >
‘Joe Public needs to blame
e MBA.
someone, so they go for th
BA; the
The problem is not the M
cs.’
problem is the lack of ethi
26
MAIN PICTURE: DON BAYLEY
Har vard Business School
Gevers says the MBA remains a
highly sought-after qualification in
South Africa. “The MBA is still very
much in demand, and I can’t see that
this will change – it is an outstanding
qualification for equipping people for
management,” he says.
With the recession leading to big retrenchments and fewer career prospects
over the short term, many people who
have considered doing an MBA are
now applying, hoping the outlook will
be rosier by the time they graduate.
The USB has seen an all-time high
in student enrolment numbers this
year, with 247 students enrolling for
the full-time, part-time and modular
programmes. “We have seen a group of
highly experienced students entering the MBA. Of this year’s group,
32% have more than 12 years of work
experience and 34% are older than 37
years, says Marietjie Wepener, head of
marketing and communication at USB.
A career survey published by the
Association of MBAs in February
shows the MBA still helps graduates
to fast-track their careers and increase
their earning potential. According to
the worldwide survey, done last year,
MBAs received an average salary increase of 46% immediately after graduation, 129% three to five years later and
208% six to ten years after graduating.
Ten years after graduation 39% were
in senior management positions, while
13% were serving as board directors,
partners or vice-presidents and 11% as
chief executives or presidents.
“Almost everybody expects the
economy to stabilise by the end of next
year, which makes this a good time to
do an MBA. It will help you gain more
skills and experience, which in turn will
lead to better career prospects. You’ll
also find it useful if you want to start
your own business,” says Sonn.
Mokgadi Seabi, a twenty-something
journalist, is planning to start her MBA
studies next year. “I want to do it for
career growth, and I think the MBA is
the best degree to equip you with the
skills to be a successful manager. It’s an
all-inclusive deal – whether you want
to go into human resources, marketing,
communication, strategy or whatever,
the MBA covers it. In my opinion, it
doesn’t make sense to do anything else,”
she says.
Rynier Keet’s story
How he’s used his MBA to build
a business incorporating his MBA
training in everyday operations.
For Rynier Keet, MD of the award-winning
consulting firm Corporate Renaissance Group,
it was “absolutely worthwhile” to do a fulltime MBA at the USB in 1991.
Keet, who served 21 years in the South African
Air Force, says he had a clear objective: he
wanted to start his own consultancy firm, and
for him the MBA was the best route to gain
the necessary business knowledge.
“I use my MBA on a daily basis, and I have
encouraged some of our employees to enrol
too,” Keet says. “At a certain point in your
career it can add a lot of value.”
Leadership training is becoming an increasingly important part of the academic programmes
at business schools across the globe. At the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler
school, students participate in a seven-week leadership immersion programme. This includes
a four-day hike, where every participant gets a turn to lead the group, and two challenges
based on the popular television programme The Apprentice, with undergraduate students as
“employees”. Detailed feedback is given to individuals by faculty and fellow students.
29
IN DIEPTE | BEMIDDELING
Kortpad
na vrede
In Suid-Afrika word geskille
nog te maklik in lang uitgerekte
hofsake uitgespook. Daar moet
op alle vlakke gekyk word na
bemiddeling om geskille te besleg
én menseverhoudinge te bou, skryf
Anastasia de Vries.
V
Vrede baar vrede. Vredemakers moet vanuit alle oorde kom. Vanuit
die raadsaal ... en selfs uit die klaskamer. Prof Barney Jordaan, hoof
van die Afrika-Sentrum vir Dispuutoplossing (ACDS) aan die
Universiteit van Stellenbosch Bestuurskool (USB), glo dis hierdie
vredemakers wat die land se hoop op eenheid, vertroue, nasiebou en
gesonde gemeenskappe sal herstel.
Daarom droom hy van ’n land vol bemiddelaars, ’n land waar
strydende partye hul dispute in die skole, raadsale, gesinne of
gemeenskappe deur vreedsame bemiddeling pleks van grimmige
hofsake besleg.
Bemiddeling is nie slegs die domein van die bevoorregtes nie.
Ook nie van verkose leiers of selfs volwassenes nie. Vra gerus die
gemeenskap van Delft, ’n geweldgeteisterde woonbuurt wat sowat
34 km noordoos van Kaapstad en 7 km van Bellville in die WesKaap geleë is.
Die inwoners van Delft het in hul honderde op ’n koue, nat
Saterdag in Mei vir hul opleiding opgedaag: leerders van 12 laeren hoërskole, onderwysers en ouers, almal deel van die Delft-skoleprojek vir portuurgroep-bemiddelaars. Francois Botha, ’n voormalige
landdros, lei dié toetsprojek wat deur die USB gefinansier word.
Botha is in die ACDS as bemiddelaar opgelei.
“Julle is baanbrekers,” begroet Jordaan die leerders. “Vandag gee
julle die eerste tree in jul opleiding as bemiddelaars in jul skole.”
Hulle is die aspirant-vredemakers wat bemagtig sal word met die
burgerlike moed om self die euwels van dwelms, bendegeweld en
misdaad in hul gemeenskap om te keer.
“Bemiddeling leer die kinders dat daar ’n ander manier van leef is
30
’n Hoërskoolleerder
van Delft skryf hier oor
die kenmerke van ’n
bemiddelaar.
Prof Barney Jordaan,
hoof van die USB se
Afrika-Sentrum vir
Dispuutoplossing
én help hulle om self hul gemeenskap te verander. Dít is burgerlike
moed, die moed om jouself te handhaaf, met respek vir ander,”
sê Jordaan.
Naas die omgewings-, arbeids- en familiegeskille waarop die
ACDS hom rig, beoog die sentrum om ’n span internasionale
vredemakers op te lei en hulle ’n steunbasis te bied.
Die ACDS, wat ’n jaar gelede begin is, spog nou met ’n span
spesialis-bemiddelaars, onder wie sake- en regslui, én emeritus aartsbiskop Desmond Tutu as dié sentrum se beskermheer.
Dit is die ACDS se visie om dialoog en bemiddeling te bevorder
as alternatiewe maniere om meningsverskille en geskille op te los.
Dié Sentrum lei ook ander op en rus hulle toe met die kennis en
vaardighede om sake te beredder én menseverhoudings te red.
Twee leerders van Delft deel ’n
grap tydens hul opleiding as
portuurgroep-bemiddelaars.
Ouers, kinders en onderwysers is
deel van die USB se skoleprojek.
FOTO’S KRISTEN VAN SCHIE
esterse
‘Bemiddeling is nie ’n W
in
uitvindsel nie... Ons hier
r ’n
Afrika wéét mos van onde
sleg.’
boom sit om geskille te be
Sê Jordaan: “Bemiddeling skep ’n veilige ruimte waarbinne die
partye vertroulik met mekaar en die bemiddelaar kan praat. Op
dié manier kan die werklike strydvrae tussen hulle uitgepluis en
uitgepraat word. Omdat hulle gelei word om mekaar se kant van die
saak in te sien, word dit makliker om verskillende oplossings vir hul
eise te oorweeg.”
Vergelyk dit met die hewige argumentvoering in hofsake, wat
volgens hom meestal meer kwaad as goed doen. “As mense argumenteer, raak hulle gewoonlik opgewerk. Navorsing bewys as jou
hartklop meer as 100 slae per minuut oorskry, word jou vermoë om
na ’n ander te luister erg aangetas.”
Behalwe dat hofsake baie geld kos, is dit ook tydrowend. Almal
weet hoe oorvol ons hofrolle is met sake wat jare sloer om afgehandel te word. Terwyl nuwe sake voortdurend bygevoeg word, word
appèlle dikwels teen hofuitsprake aangeteken en kan dit tot vyf jaar
duur voordat ’n saak uiteindelik afgehandel is.
“En as die hofsaak uiteindelik geskik word, wat in die meeste
Vir meer inligting
besoek www.usb.ac.za/disputesettlement
of bel prof Jordaan by 021 918 4381.
gevalle gebeur, is die verhouding wat dalk oor jare tussen die
betrokkenes opgebou is soms onherstelbaar geskend,” sê Jordaan.
Dit is soveel anders as met bemiddeling waar begeleide onderhandeling tussen die verskillende partye die grondslag vorm – en die
kans groot is dat die geskil binne ’n dag of twee geskik kan word.
“Die praktyk het bewys dat meer as 60% van alle siviele en
kommersiële sake op die dag van bemiddeling geskik word. Nog
sowat 15% word binne ’n maand afgehandel. As bemiddeling deel
van die hoofstroom sou word, sal dit baie min oorlaat vir die oorvol
howe om te behartig. Die belangrikste is dat bemiddeling ’n gesprek
tussen die strydende partye aan die gang sit en dat ’n mens kan sê
jy is jammer sonder dat jy jou saak benadeel.
“Bemiddeling is nie ’n Westerse uitvindsel nie, al is dit dalk daar
verfyn,” sê Jordaan. Ons hier in Afrika wéét mos van onder ’n boom
sit om geskille te besleg. Inheemse geskilstrategieë, bodemkennis.
Ons kan die beste van die Weste saam met ons inheemse vredespotensiaal in bemiddeling gebruik.”
Só kan Suid-Afrika se mense die morele moed kweek om agente
van verandering in die land te word.
Summary: Give peace a chance
“All too often people end up in litigation over issues
that can so easily be resolved through mediation,”
says Prof Barney Jordaan, head of the USB’s Africa
Centre for Dispute Settlement. Besides being an
alternative to lengthy court cases, mediation can
also be a means of achieving the peace and understanding so badly needed in South Africa. The Centre
has launched a community mediation training project
involving 12 schools in Cape Town’s Delft township.
31
UP CLOSE | MBA STUDENT
PICTURES: CLAYTON SWART
A
A 50-cent discount on a whole chicken may
not mean much to many people – but when
you’re buying in quantities of over 30 000
cases of chickens for more than 170 stores,
scoring this small concession can put a smile
on many a store owner’s face.
The thrill of the bulk discount gives USB
MBA student, adrenalin junkie and Spar
Western Cape category buyer Rall Naude (31)
a rush similar to the high he gets from his
favourite outdoor pursuits – which is just part
of the reason why he was recently awarded
Spar Western Cape’s Think Retail Award.
The award is presented annually to a
highly motivated and client-oriented person,
in recognition of excellent services provided
to the company’s wide spread of retailers.
Naude, a category buyer of FMCG (Fast
Moving Consumer Goods), including all
frozen goods and fresh chickens, has worked
for his present company for four years, and
buys FMCG products on behalf of 170
stores in the Western Cape and Namibia.
He is thrilled with his Think Retail award
– especially because it is not awarded by a
committee, but voted on by Spar store owners
to reward someone at head office for going
beyond the call of duty.
“It means a lot to me that the award
came from the retailers, who in effect are my
customers,” Naude says. “I’ve been working
towards this for four years. Winning this
award is rewarding because it’s about quality
of service, and an acknowledgement by the
retailers that I’m always thinking about their
interests.
“FMCG is a very competitive market, and
I enjoy the rush of beating our competitors by
getting a 50c cut from a supplier. When retailers thank me for getting a better deal, that
puts a smile on my face.
At the end of the day, we
need our retailers to be
successful. Their success is
my success.”
Naude is driven by one
golden rule in his work life,
gleaned from the lessons
of the ‘father of modern management’, Peter
Drucker: “Quality in a
service or product is not what
you put into it. It is what the client
or customer gets out of it.” >
Think
Success
He has been fascinated by all things retail for
years, and was recently rewarded with a major
retail award. MBA student Rall Naude shares his
future plans with SIERAAJ AHMED.
‘My MBA studies have
helped to turn me from
a manager into a leader:
I see the bigger picture
and look at life from a
different angle.’
33
UP CLOSE | MBA STUDENT
PROOF OF SUCCESS:
Rall Naude’s coveted
trophy.
Naude, who started his MBA in January
2008, grew up in Paarl, and now lives in a
Cape Town suburb close to the sea, so that
he can indulge his other passion: extreme
sports, like surfing, kitesurfing and motocross (off-road motorcycle racing).
He has always been fascinated by
retail stores and the processes that go into
At the prompting of an acquaintance
two years ago, Naude started investigating
MBA programmes. “I’ve never considered
myself terribly academic, or someone
who enjoys sitting behind books – since
I’m such an outdoor person – but once I
started looking into it, the challenge was
irresistible.”
Eighteen months into his MBA
training, Naude is thrilled at the changes
in his personal management style.
“I definitely feel that the MBA has
helped to turn me from a manager into
a leader. Before, I didn’t really realise
there was a difference, but now I feel
more like a leader: I see the bigger
picture and look at life from a
different angle.”
His MBA training has helped him
feel more confident – not only in his own
abilities, but also in his interpersonal relationships with colleagues. “Often, we tend
to say ‘Hello, how are you?’ without really
listening to the response. Since I started
my MBA, I’ve learned to value people as
individuals more. My relationship with
employees has changed – it feels as if my
growth has helped them grow too. As an
example, I had always had a particularly
difficult relationship with one employee,
but in the past year, that relationship has
improved and the person has grown to
such an extent that it led to a promotion.
I felt that was a victory I could share in.”
Naude will write his final exams next
April, and hopes to finish his thesis and
graduate in 2011. After that, the sky’s
‘My relationship with
employees has changed
– it feels as if my
growth has helped them
grow too.’
making them successful, and completed
a National Diploma in Retail Business
Management via the Cape Technikon
(now Cape Peninsula University of
Technology) in 2001. After managing
various retail stores (including surf,
clothing, deli and grocery stores) and
spending a year in London to gain
overseas experience, he returned to South
Africa, completed his Bachelor’s degree in
Retail Business Management, and landed
a job as promotions coordinator for Spar
Western Cape. Eight months later he was
promoted to promotions manager for the
Western Cape and Namibia, and earlier
this year he was promoted again – to his
current position.
34
GOING PLACES:
The MBA is Rall
Naude’s launch pad.
the limit. “I want to climb the corporate
ladder and be a marketing director someday, and hopefully a managing director
at some later stage in my life.” Then he
adds, with a smile, “At some point, after
the MBA – using this strong foundation
– I will confidently be able to build on
my personal life, including marriage and
family.”
Rall Naude’s
tips for success
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Be prepared every day, whatever you’re
doing.
Try to smile always.
Surround yourself with people you like
– or learn to like them.
Believe in yourself.
Treat people fairly and equally, and
respect their values.
Always be honest in business. Don’t
have hidden agendas.
Network. Build relationships with
people.
Set goals for yourself.
Make time to relax, whatever your
favourite relaxation may be.
Travel. Learn about different people
and cultures; it helps you understand
people better and broadens your
horizons.
Be open to criticism, so that you know
when you’re doing something wrong,
and can learn and grow from it. And
be constructive when criticising others.
REGULAR | NEW KNOW-HOW
KNOWLEDGE CORNER
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
Information technology is touching our lives in
more ways than we can imagine – from the way
we communicate, eat and drink to the way we
run our professional lives. The resources below
provide new know-how, says AMANDA MATTHEE.
BOOKS AND RESOURCES AT USBI*
• Introduction to Information Systems: Supporting
and Transforming Business
– R Kelly Rainer, Efraim Turban, Richard E Potter
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc)
This handbook asks: What’s in IT for Me? It
places information systems in the context of
business.
RELATED BOOKS AT USBI
• Management Information Systems – Managing the
Digital Firm by Kenneth C Laudon and Jane P Laudon
• Information Technology for Management
– Transforming Organisations in the Digital Economy
by Efraim Turban, Dorothy Leidner, Ephraim McLean, James
Wetherbe
• Information Systems in a Business Environment
by PL Wessels, E Grobbelaar, A McGee, GTM Prinsloo
OTHER RESOURCES AT USBI
• Databases:
– Gartner
BOOKS ON KALAHARI.NET
WEBSITES
• The World is Flat: The Globalized
• Technology Review
Explores the benefits and
disadvantages of global
communication developments.
• BBC Technology at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
World in the Twenty-first Century
by Thomas L Friedman
• Wikinomics: How Mass
*USBI
The USB’s library – USBI – is an authoritative resource of local
and global publications, books, journals, newspapers and
databases in printed and electronic format.
For more information: Contact Henriëtte Swart on
021 918 4270 or at hs7@belpark.sun.ac.za, or visit
http://library.sun.ac.za//usbi/default.htm.
technology/default.stm
• The New York Times Technology at www.nytimes.
com/pages/technology/index.html
Collaboration Changes Everything
by Don Tapscott and Anthony D Williams
• iWeek Business Technology News
How small businesses can achieve
success by using an ecosystem of
partners to co-create and peerproduce value in the networked
economy.
• The USA-based Aberdeen Group at
at www.iweek.co.za
www.aberdeen.com for research findings on the global
technology-driven value chain
• CIO at www.cio.com for insight on IT’s role in
achieving business goals
• Competing on Analytics: The New
Science of Winning
by Jeanne D Harris and Thomas H
Davenport
• Economist.com at www.economist.com/science
• ITNewsAfrica.com at www.itnewsafrica.
com/?p=2590
High-performance businesses
compete by transforming data into
insights into results, and their secret
strategic weapon is analytics.
• OECD’s annual Information Technology Outlook at
www.oecd.org
USB MBA RESEARCH REPORTS*
Communication Technologies publications at
http://web.worldbank.org
• Electronic journals
– International Journal of Education and Development using
Information and Communication Technology; International
Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education
at www.technologyreview.com,
published by Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• The Promotion of Sustainable Development
in the Information and Communication
Technology Sector in South Africa 2007.
By Roelof Louw. Study leader: Prof SF
Coetzee.
• Business and Information Technology
Alignment: A Case Analysis at the Government
Institutions Pension Fund (Namibia) 2007.
By Tengovandu Kakeni Kandetu. Study leader:
Martin Butler.
*Available at USBI
• The World Bank’s Global Information and
USB WEBSITE
The USB’s website at www.usb.ac.za has
information on IT and related modules and
electives on its MBA. Also take a look at
News & events, and Publications for
IT-related articles, topics and more.
37
BROKKIES | SNIPPETS
ALUMNI NEWS
Alumni abroad help with
recruitment in major world cities
USB alumni helped to make the USB’s worldwide recruitment drive for
students a success at the World MBA Tour expo held in cities around the
globe earlier this year. As part of the MBA Tour, the USB recruits annually
in London, Frankfurt and Johannesburg; but for the first time this year was
represented in Dubai and Lagos. This is what alumni had to say about their
experiences. Alumnus Rhoda Olufunsho, based in Nigeria, said the expo in
Lagos received many students wanting to know more about studying at the
USB. Alumnus Dr Marise Heyns reported that potential students in London
were discerning, being well informed about the different options available to
them and what schools offered. Alumnus Lennart Lühnen, who represented
the USB in Frankfurt, said the USB drew interest from numerous people.
MBA alumnus Lennart
Lühnen (left) in action at
the Frankfurt expo
MBA alumnus Dr Marise Heyns (right) speaks to a
potential MBA student at the expo in London.
USB MBA alumni Paul de
Villiers, Sarel Meyer and
Anton Botha man the USB
stall at the Dubai expo
Rhoda Olufunsho
manning the USB
stall in Lagos
Gauteng alumni on the move
USB alumni in the Gauteng region have elected a new committee and are
actively planning future activities. For the first time, USB events such as
the Leader’s Angle speaker series and We Read for You, where the latest
business books are analysed for busy executives, have been presented in
Gauteng. Gauteng Alumni committee: (back) Robert Marshall (treasurer),
George Woods (chairman) and Heinz Fischer, and (front) Nirvanna Rampersad (vice-chair), Hendrik Louw and Heloise Nel (secretary).
New alumni branch for West Africa
The USB Alumni Association has launched an alumni branch for West Africa. The Association has branches across South Africa and abroad. Their purpose is to encourage networking
among members, on-going learning and growth, active participation in USB activities and
continued association with the USB brand. Picture: Interim chairperson for West Africa, Tope
Toogun, based in Lagos, Nigeria.
38
OUT AND ABOUT
A real cheetah, no lie!
National USB Alumni chairperson and
newly elected vice-chair of Gauteng
region, Nirvanna Rampersad, with fellow
alumnus, Luthando Vutula, at an alumni
function in the Gauteng region.
With a real cheetah as the ‘guest of honour’, the Gauteng branch of the USB
Alumni Association held a Nedbank/USB Alumni Association evening at the
bank’s headquarters in Johannesburg. Suitably, Byron the cheetah was placed
at the head of the boardroom table! The attendees were allowed to stroke him
– among whom chairperson George Woods (pictured) – while its caretakers
stood by. The aim was to raise awareness of the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife
Trust. Funds raised on the evening were donated to the Trust and the USB Future
Fund for MBA bursaries.
Alumni golf day swings
Twelve teams from various companies participated in the Western Cape USB Alumni
Association’s golf day in Durbanville, Cape Town. The event was held to raise funds
for the USB Future Fund, which sponsors MBA bursaries, and TSiBA Education, a free
tertiary education provider based in Pinelands. PICTURE: THE TOP FOURSOME WERE
Henry Tucker, Scott Hewitt, Pieter Sonnekus and Deon Joubert from Standard Bank
Financial Consultancy. They appear with Yondela Goniwe, USB alumni relations officer,
and Fritz Brand (far right) of the Western Cape Alumni Committee.
Eastern Cape alumni
elect new committee
USB-ED ALUMNUS
HEADS NAMIBIAN
PORTS
PICTURE: NAMPORT
Bisey Uirab, an alumnus of USB Executive Development (USBED), has been appointed as CEO of the Namibian Ports Authority, Namport. He completed a USB-ED Leadership Development
Programme for senior managers in 2007. Uirab, who also holds
an MBA, specialises in human resource management. He has
held senior HR management positions at MTC, the Bank of
Namibia, and in Somaliland.
For more information
The USB Alumni branch of the Eastern Cape has elected
a new committee: Susan van der Merwe (treasurer), Greg
Clack (chairman), Nothemba Mphati (secretary) and Pieter
Rossouw. Absent Pambili Booi.
... and to link up with one of the USB Alumni
Association’s regional branches, contact Yondela
Goniwe, alumni relations officer on:
+27 (0)21 918 4485 or usbalumni@usb.ac.za or sms
39841 at the usual sms tariff. Or find the list of the
USB’s alumni branches at www.usb.ac.za/alumni
39
BROKKIES | SNIPPETS
USB-NUUS | USB NEWS
Top-sakeleiers
op Adviesraad
Yolanda Cuba
Khanyi Dhlomo
Armien Tyer
Brand Pretorius
Ludo Ooms
Die USB se Adviesraad vir 2009/10 sluit nuwe vooraanstaande sakeleiers in, soos Yolanda Cuba, uitvoerende hoof van die Mvelaphanda Groep; Khanyi Dhlomo,
uitvoerende hoof van Ndalo Media; Armien Tyer, besturende direkteur van Sanlam Beleggingsbestuur; Brand Pretorius, uitvoerende hoof van McCarthy Bpk, en Ludo
Ooms, visepresident: Finansies en finansiële hoof van Janssen-Cilag EMEA Finance in België. Lede wat nóg ‘n termyn dien, is Marius Fürst, direkteur van maatskappye
(voorsitter); Stewart van Graan, besturende direkteur van Dell SA; Pieter Uys, uitvoerende hoof van die Vodacom Groep; dr Willem Barnard, direkteur van maatskappye;
Zarina Bassa, uitvoerende hoof van Zarina Bassa Investments; prof Jimnah Mbaru, voorsitter van Dyer & Blair Investment Bank, Nairobi; Simon Susman, uitvoerende hoof
van Woolworths; dr Johan van Zyl, president van Toyota SA; Peter Moyo, uitvoerende direkteur van Amabubesi; Alexander van Heeren, ere-lid van die Britse Koninkryk en
direkteur van maatskappye; Khutso Mampeule, uitvoerende voorsitter van Lefa Groep Beherend, en Desmond Smith, direkteur van maatskappye.
250
MBA se nuwe
Junie-klas vol
Die USB het vanjaar – vir die eerste maal in sy
geskiedenis – ’n modulêre MBA ingestel wat in
Junie begin. Die bekendstelling daarvan op ’n
ope dag is bygewoon deur Marie Willows, senior
kliëntediensbeampte van die USB, besoekers
Theresa Pakulski van Kaapstad, Rosalind Wilson
van Port Elizabeth en Dirk Harris van Pretoria asook
senior MBA-dosent Jako Volschenk. Altesaam 95
studente het vir hierdie program ingeskryf.
business students graduate
The Louis Group Business Academy, in association with USB Executive Development (USBED), held a graduation ceremony in Cape Town for 250 students who completed a 22-week
business course. Keynote speaker, Dr Franklin Sonn, chairperson of the National Education
and Training Forum and chancellor of the University of the Free State, shared motivational
thoughts on SA’s unique opportunities to build value-based business communities, while
Dr Alan Louis, CEO of the Louis Group, emphasised that success is not about winning, but
about growing and sharing. Picture: (Front) Frik Landman, CEO of USB-ED, Dr Louis, and
Michael Ansell, dean of the Business Academy, with the top five graduates (back) Elmari
Marais, Hamman de Vaal, Babajide Lawson, Chris Laubscher and Tarryn Woods.
Be passionate,
Kleinhans-Curd tells women
Important aspects for women are self-confidence and passion for the work they do,
said former Miss South Africa Amy Kleinhans-Curd, now a successful businesswoman with a staff of 300 people. She was the guest speaker at a workshop on Conscious Career Strategies for Women, designed and presented for women by women
and presented by USB Executive Development (USB-ED). This annual workshop is
aimed at women in managerial, leadership and administrative positions as well as
those considering a career change.
Top picture: Prof Eon Smit, director of the USB, Willemien Law of USB-ED, guest
speaker Amy Kleinhans-Curd, and Frik Landman, CEO of USB-ED. Bottom picture:
That’s more like it! Displaying self-belief are Lwanga Cenge, Zokhanyo Pikashe,
Niriksha Singh and Mpho Mogoba, with Amy Kleinhans-Curd (back).
40
Verkies tot EFMD-raad
USB commits
to responsible
education
USB’s Prof Laetitia van Dyk, head of the Centre
for Leadership Studies, and Daniel Malan, head
of the Unit for Corporate Governance in Africa, attended the Global Forum for Responsible Management Education in New York, where UN secretarygeneral Ban Ki-Moon stressed the need to train
future business leaders in corporate citizenship.
Educators representing 170 business schools in
43 countries reaffirmed their commitment to the
Principles for Responsible Management Education. The USB is the only SA business school with
membership of this initiative. Picture: Daniel
Malan with USB visiting professor Ollie Williams
from Notre Dame University in Indiana, USA, at
Prof Meshach Aziakpono
New
professor
appointed
Prof Meshach Aziakpono has
been appointed as professor
of Development Finance. He
will join the USB from February 2010. Aziakpono currently
lectures at the Department of
Economics and Economic History at Rhodes University.
• Professors John Westwood,
Bob Garratt and Jimnah Mbaru
have been reappointed for a
further term as professors extraordinaire, and Christo Nel as
senior lecturer extraordinaire.
Die USB se internasionale status is verder
versterk deur die aanstelling van prof
Eon Smit, direkteur van die skool, op die
raad van die European Foundation for
Management Development (EFMD) in
België. Smit sal in die stigting se EQUISakkreditasiekomitee dien. EFMD is ’n
internasionale vereniging met meer as
700 lede-organisasies in 82 lande. EQUIS
(European Quality Improvement System) is
die toonaangewende internasionale stelsel
vir gehalte-assessering asook die verbetering en bemagtiging van hoër opvoedingsinstansies in bestuur- en besigheidsadministrasie. Altesaam 115 skole in 33
lande is tot dusver geakkrediteer. Die USB
het EQUIS-akkreditasie in 2000 ontvang
– die eerste sakeskool op die Afrikavasteland wat deur die EFMD geakkrediteer is. Die toekenning is reeds twee maal
herbevestig. Prof Smit sal vir ’n termyn van
drie jaar in die EQUIS-komitee dien.
the UN headquarters.
Appointed full-time
Daniel Malan, formerly part-time lecturer in Ethics and Corporate Governance at the USB, has been appointed as
a full-time senior lecturer at the USB. Malan, who spearheaded the formation of the Unit for Corporate Governance in
Africa at the USB, has headed up this unit since July 2007. He was previously attached to KPMG.
First USB-ED programme
in United Arab Emirates
USB Executive Development (USB-ED) has for the first
time presented a Leadership Development Programme
in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The programme,
attended by staff of the Ministry of the Interior in
Dubai and London, was offered in association with
the Etisalat Academy. The picture shows the group of
participants in Dubai.
41
BROKKIES | SNIPPETS
Peace-making in Delft
A group of 240 young people in Delft are being equipped with mechanisms to cope with issues such as gender violence,
bullying, crime and conflict, and are learning more about democracy and diversity. The principle of conflict resolution through
peer mediation has been introduced in 12 selected primary and high schools in the Delft area of Cape Town – based on
a model in which the broader community participates. This pioneering peacemaker initiative, called the Delft Schools Peer
Mediation Project, was launched by the USB’s Africa Centre for Dispute Settlement. The project has the support of Archbishop
Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who is the patron of the Centre. “Instead of succumbing to gangsterism, drugs and other social evils,
the learners are now offered a set of dispute resolution tools to help them on the often tough streets,” says Francois Botha,
project leader and a former magistrate. “The project also creates opportunities and alternative futures for these young people.”
Picture: At the launch of the Delft project: (centre) Jerome Slamat, director of Community Interaction at Stellenbosch University, Francois Botha, Delft project leader, and Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, co-project leader, with mediation cluster leaders
(from left) Michelle Adonis, Akhona Baba and Tonio Gantana and (right) Mandisa Komani and Fungai Manhanga.
Biblioteek skenk boeke
Die Universiteit van Stellenbosch Bellvilleparkkampus Inligtingsentrum (biblioteek) het meer as 20 kartonne boeke aan die Hoërskool
Sizimisele in Mandela Park, Khayelitsha, geskenk. Ilse Morrison,
adjunkhoof van die biblioteek (middel), oorhandig die boeke aan
Mbuyiselo Peter, onderwyser, en Dominic Maruping, skoolhoof.
USB helps farm schools
From time to time the USB donates money to the
Durbanville Schools Foundation which assists local
primary schools on farms in the greater Durbanville
area. Instead of spending money on flowers at a yearend MBA Awards dinner, it was decided once again to
support the foundation. Picture: Loekie van Wyk and
Anton Berkovitz from the Durbanville Schools Foundation receive a cheque from Marietjie Wepener, deputy
director, Marketing and Communication of the USB.
Associate professor appointed to JSC
Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza SC, associate professor extraordinaire of the USB and
member of the advisory board of the USB’s Africa Centre for Dispute Settlement,
has been appointed by the President of South Africa as a member of the Judicial
Services Commission. Ntsebeza, one of South Africa’s most prominent political
activists during the apartheid era, became a commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up to investigate apartheid-era human rights violations, and
head of the Investigative Unit and Witness Protection Programme. He was the first
African advocate in the history of the Cape Bar to be conferred the status of silk. He
is chairman of the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust and a trustee of the Nelson Mandela
Foundation. He is also on the advisory board of the Foundation for Human Rights
Association and is chairman of the Arbitration Forum Limited.
42
Knowledge
is fragile
Black Swans are extremely
rare events with severe impact
that we did not see coming. So
says Taleb, author of The Black
Swan – the impact of the highly
improbable. Translated into 51
languages, this book was the
highest-selling essay in the world
in 2007 and 2008. The book
was discussed by Prof Eon Smit,
director of the USB, at USB-ED’s
We Read for You book forum held
at the USB, where the latest business books are analised for busy
executives. In essence, the book
illustrates a severe limitation to
our learning from observations
and experience, hence the fragility
or falsification of knowledge. If
9/11 had been foreseen, it would
not have occurred. Also, the
more unexpected a venture, the
more successful the implementation of it will be. This makes
the unknown more relevant than
the known. Positive examples of
Black Swans include the internet,
Google and JK Rowlings. Negative
examples include the market
crash of 1987, the bank failures
in 2008, pandemics and 9/11.
Taleb says we do not really understand history, because “history
does not crawl, it jumps”. Hence,
we should not overvalue factual
information. Instead, we should
adopt the attitude of a taxi driver
when asked: “What happens in
this country?” because his answer is usually “God knows”. For
more information about We read
for you, contact Jacky at
jacky.hector@usb-ed.com.

Die einde van `n era - University of Stellenbosch Business School

Transcription

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