Rapid technological progress, from the internet, smart phones, cloud computing, to artificial intelligence and robotics have been both marvellous and frightening to watch as a new world unfolds before our eyes. Increasingly, automation and artificial intelligence have begun to reshape global manufacturing and supply chains. Amidst the Covid pandemic, the world is experiencing the ‘revolutionary’...
South Africa experienced a harsh week in July when the building anger, desperation and disappointment of our domestic communities’ historic inequality, poverty and unemployment erupted, bubbling and spitting hot….. It destroyed nearly everything in its path including 161 shopping malls, 11 warehouses, 8 factories, over 40,000 formal businesses, and 50,000...
Stroll down a busy street in any of South Africa’s major cities and you will come across some kind of informal economic activity. From street vendors selling sweets and toys, to people tailoring and creating garments out of their back yards, the South African youth have had to be creative in their means to...
It is assumed that organisations carry out corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives with the intention of bettering the communities in which they operate. However, whether the CSR initiative delivers on the desired benefits as envisaged, is not always easy to determine. Historically, companies focussed on the ROI that their CSR initiatives delivered. But this metric...
Volunteerism is commonly pictured as people physically assisting a community - building a house, cleaning up a park, reading to a child. But lockdown restrictions and the changing work environment means that this image may need to change as well. Companies are now confronted with the challenge of maintaining their CSR goals with limited...
The notion of philanthropy, community connection, employee engagement, giving, investment for impact, and extending a helping hand, have all been turned upside down when Covid hit the world. Many individuals have lost physical touch with their loved ones and replaced friendly pats on the back, hugging, kissing, and handshakes with...
In the early years of corporate CSR and CSI, executives and financial managers often regarded CSR and CSI as wasteful distractions from profit maximisation. In contrast, the younger generation has increasingly viewed CSR and CSI as natural extensions of a company’s strategic operations. In many companies, this has driven a CSR and CSI generation...
The South African economy was already in decline prior to the onset of the covid-19 pandemic but as we got hammered by the covid-lockdown restrictions in 2020, many struggling companies have had to implement cost and budget cuts. While these measures were pervasive across entire organisations, it was more severely felt in the ‘non-income...
Corporate Social Investment (CSI) can be defined as ‘the transparent and ethical investment and activities that an organization undertakes to impact society and the environment to accomplish four goals: (i) Contributes to sustainable development, (ii) Improves the health and welfare of society, (iii) Takes into account the expectations of stakeholders; and (iv) Is in compliance...
As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, the spotlight has shone on governments, economies, and the current state of leadership across the world. The virus outbreak has highlighted many cracks within the global system, particularly capitalism, globalization, and political leadership. However, to many people’s surprise, it has become apparent that female leadership in Denmark, Finland,...
