In This Issue

Read our exclusive cover story entitled CRIMES OF BBBEE CAPTURE! | ARE CONSULTANTS DEFRAUDING EMPLOYEES OF THEIR ENTITLEMENT? by Dr Ivor Blumenthal, CEO, ArkKonsult, as well a host of other topical management articles written by professionals, consultants and academics in the April/May 2019 edition of BusinessBrief.

This article may appear counter-intuitive, given the huge amount of rhetoric and conjecture which abounds outside of workplaces where Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) has been mindfully implemented. There is a huge amount of negativity which exists where BBBEE has failed to be successfully implemented, and even more fake news from owners in those companies which have failed to, or where they have simply refused to, implement any kind of BBBEE solution at all.

As South Africa enters an election year, the issue of black ownership continues to be a dominant aspect within the country’s transformation landscape. This was clearly articulated in the ANC 2019 election manifesto address by president Cyril Ramaphosa when he reaffirmed government’s commitment to working with the financial sector to increase industrial and enterprise financing for black industrialists as well as small businesses and cooperatives.

An often-used metaphor to describe the concept of business is the armed forces. You have the general at the top and a series of levels of hierarchy below – right down to the lower ranks who go off to fight the war as soldiers, sailors or pilots.

Corruption has become as much a part of the South African identity as Seven Colour Sundays or biltong. Eradicating something that is woven into our nation’s fabric seems like an impossible task, and is a possibility only if whistleblowers are prepared to take a stand.

South Africa’s current woes are in large part a result of a large-scale breakdown in ethics (both personal and professional) and good governance practices. One only needs to look at the goings-on at Steinhoff, KPMG, Eskom, SARS and VBS Bank to see the impact that unethical behaviour, large scale looting and unchecked business practices have had on the South African economy and on South Africans, whose confidence in the leadership of this country and those in business is at an all-time low.

Read our exclusive cover story entitled WHISTLEBLOWING | THE COST OF COURAGE! by David Loxton, Head, Africa Forensics & Cyber, as well a host of other topical management articles written by professionals, consultants and academics in the February/March 2019 edition of BusinessBrief.

The Council of Higher Education (CHE) has established itself as South Africa’s primary protector of the Holy Grail of Higher Education Qualifications - at the cost of the dignity of our working citizens.

Cyber-attacks are increasingly becoming more and more sophisticated, and the magnitude of their impact across all industries globally is at an all-time high. A number of reports in the last two years revealed that the BRICS economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) were found to be amongst the largest victims of cybercrime. According to VM Advisory*, South Africa is listed as one of the ten globally most vulnerable countries to cyberattacks.

Mobbing is ‘bullying on steroids’, a horrifying new trend where a bully enlists co-workers to collude in a relentless campaign of psychological terror against a hapless target. (This is different to flash mobbing in a workplace which can be a form of a strike where employees do something collectively to draw attention to an issue).