Beyond Grey Pinstripes

     

University of Pretoria

All Participating Schools

     
University of Pretoria
University of Pretoria
 26 Melville Road
Illovo, Sandton
Johannesburg, GT, 2196
South Africa
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Demographic Information

Number of full-time MBA students (2011): 

30

Number of part-time MBA students (2011): 

207

Total duration of full-time MBA program: 

12 months

MBA faculty (Fall 2010): 

67

Females as percent of student body: 

50%
Who Are the Students? See what percentage of the 2010-2011 graduating class came to this MBA program from the private sector, the non-profit sector and government jobs
 
Private Sector (90%)
 
Non-profit (10%)
 
Government (0%)


Description of MBA Program: 

There are a number of core subjects offered on the Full Time Entrepreneurship MBA programme (FT MBA) that prepare students to manage the social, ethical and environmental issues that they face in business.  


These subjects include:


Human behaviour and performance in South Africa – which deals with organisational behavioural issues and includes insights into the history of our country and how this has shaped the local business environment.


Human Resources Strategy – the course not only provides students with an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework in South Africa as it relates to staff, but also highlights the importance of a viable human resource strategy especially for start-up or early stage businesses.


Strategy – the course content stresses the importance of competitive advantage as well as the usual considerations when developing a strategy.  The importance of external factors such as social, ethical and environmental issues are highlighted as an integral part of any strategy development process.



Leadership – an understanding of leadership approaches and theory is combined with the social and ethical aspects of leadership.


FT MBA students are required to select an additional five elective subjects, in addition to the core subjects, for a list of about 40 electives.  There are a number of elective subjects that deal with social, ethical and environmental issues and these include subjects such as:

  • Ethics
  • Various leadership topics
  • Doing business in Africa
  • Industry specific topics such as An introduction to Microfinance



Finally, the compulsory global module ensures that students travel to another destination country in order to immerse themselves in a global business environment.  



The experience not only allows for a consideration of the social, ethical and environmental issues in the destination country, but also presents students with an opportunity to reflect on these issues and how they are addressed through doing business in South Africa.
 



How does the MBA program 'walk the talk' of social and environmental impact?: 

The purpose of the GIBS sustainability project is to develop practical tools to enable environmental and social performance to be better integrated into the organisations’ core strategy and financial performance.


The sustainability team links research and education efforts with administrative activities, to implement programmes that reduce the environmental impact of operations.


GIBS is committed to extending its substantial contribution to preparing business for current and future sustainability issues.


GIBS runs several initiatives in this context, including:

  • Academic programmes (more details provided in survey);
  • Participation in international initiatives and organisations that promote sustainable / responsible practices (e.g. GIBS is a member of EABIS, a signatory to the PRME, and a member of AMBA);
  • Corporate social responsibility and investment activities (e.g. GIBS runs an underprivileged school feeding scheme, hosts the annual Spirit of Youth programme which encourages school leavers to make responsible career and life choices particularly in South Africa, encourages staff volunteering programmes and staff donations programmes which are matched by GIBS, sponsorship and investment in infrastructure development at underprivileged schools);
  • Campus greening initiatives (e.g. complete waste management on campus including 100% recycling initiative, a Permaculture garden supplying fresh organic produce to staff and on-campus restaurants, digital course packs and other class material instead of paper, an annual Carbon Footprint study and associated education drives, energy reduction initiatives and alternative energy feasibility initiatives);
  • Participation in the Deloitte Fraud tip-off facility which encourages staff to report fraudulent or unethical behaviour;
  • Employee & student health and wellness (e.g. annual wellness weeks on campus which allows staff and students to test their cholesterol, blood glucose and HIV status).

 

Academic Department

Course Name: GOVERNANCE, RISK AND PERFORMANCE
Instructor: John Ford

The purpose of this elective course is to introduce, at the level of the organisation, the concepts of corporate governance, risk management and performance measures to achieve corporate objectives and comply with regulatory and other obligations.

The first part of the course deals with questions of governance and risk. The focus is on the role of the board as the central player in the organisation’s governance system and as the custodian of its integrity and sustainability. This provides the framework for the rest of the course and understanding that the role of the board is crucial.

The second part focuses on the measures of performance with respect to such factors as finance, markets, innovation, legislative and regulatory compliance and environmental impact.

Course Name: Human Behaviour & Performance
Instructor: Jonathan Cook
Course Name: HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGY
Instructor: Albert Wöcke
Course Name: LEADERSHIP
Instructor: Dave Beaty
Course Name: STRATEGY
Instructor: Thabo Mosala
Course Name: SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Instructor: Donald Gibson

Sustainability has been mainstreamed into the political, social and economic realms rather than just being an issue that the ‘greenies’ and conservationists deal with. Society and business are also re-evaluating the role of business within society. Do businesses exist only to make a profit, the so-called single bottom line? What potential is there for business to contribute to solving social and environmental problems while at the same time making a profit? It is clear that worldwide, the business rules are rapidly changing towards a more ‘sustainable’ model and that there is a business case for sustainability. It therefore becomes an important business skill to understand how the rapidly changing sustainability movement poses both opportunities and risks to business. More importantly, understanding how sustainability strategies should be responding to difficult economic circumstances is currently central to business strategy.

This course, which builds on the material presented in the Macro-environment of Business Core Module, is structured to equip students with the understanding and tools necessary to re-evaluate their planning horizons, their ways of doing things and their value systems in their places of work, and individually. Two underlying themes in the course are long-term thinking and interconnectedness. While there is a fair amount of theory in the course, it is focussed primarily on the practical aspects of managing sustainability in a corporate sense. It therefore focuses on issues most relevant to business and society in Africa, such as corporate sustainability strategy in a developing context, ecosystem degradation, water, energy and climate change, mining, and social and environmental opportunity and risk.

Course Name: THE MORAL LEADER
Instructor: Jonathan Cook

This is not an elective on ethics, but an opportunity for participants as leaders to consider the bases of their life direction and where they are taking other people. So it deals with being moral in the sense of being responsible for the outcomes we produce and how we produce them. Thus the focus is on leadership and making appropriate choices

Course Name: WOMEN IN BUSINESS
Instructor: Des Clark, Nicola Kleyn

International and locals studies show that despite widespread acknowledgement of the benefit of gender-diverse leadership teams, women have been slow to advance into these positions.

The purpose of this elective course is to embark on a deep exploration of why this is the case, both locally and globally.

We start by examining the roles that women in business currently play. This sets the scene for us to explore how these roles have evolved historically. We then embark on a detailed investigation of why women have not advanced up the corporate ladder at the same rate as their male counterparts. Our exploration leads us into a discussion of how to navigate the current scenario and an exploration of how to create a new form of organisation that enables all members to reach their full potential.

Our sources of learning in this course include:

- Academic reading

- Films and images

- Deep conversations amongst ourselves and with prominent male and female leaders

- Peer coaching groups

Type of Offering

Tony Fitzjohn
Date: October, 2010

Born Wild is a story of passion, adventure and skullduggery on the frontline of African conservation. Following Tony Fitzjohn's journey from London bad boy to African wildlife warrior, his story tells of a series of love affairs with the world's most beautiful and endangered creatures – affairs that so often end in pain, for to succeed in re-introducing a lion or leopard to the wild is to be deprived of their companionship.

Lewis Gordon Pugh
Date: August, 2010

On May 22 2010, Lewis Pugh completed a 1km swim across Lake Pumori at an altitude of 5 300m under the summit of Mt Everest to draw attention to the impact of climate change on the Himalayan region. It took 22 minutes and 51 seconds. The water temperature was 2°C. This is one of the many times he has achieved the impossible to draw attention to climate change!

Resource Governance
Date: May, 2011

This programme is designed to expose participants to best practice and the latest thinking around the governance of resources and sustainable development and growth in Africa, drawing on examples from around the globe. The course is intended for participants from the private sector (in extractive industry companies), government policy makers and officials, and NGO representatives that are seeking to improve the prospects for sustainability in their projects and countries and planning in the regional African context and ensuring that Africa achieves its promise and potential. The 5-day course will bring together leading experts and practitioners in the realm of resource governance and sustainable development. Conferences will work with Frontier Advisory on this programme, specifically Abdullah Verachia.

Base of the Pyramid - Conference 2011
Date: June, 2011

An emerging academic school of thought and research stream is exploring how business can best engage low income communities and in so doing raise the economic and social wealth of both. This approach has been termed Base of the Pyramid (BOP). As part of our contribution to the Kellogg Foundation funded BOP Learning Lab, GIBS is hosting an international academic conference to explore the creation and dissemination of knowledge in this area.

Invitations to submit papers were sent out in April 2009. Papers to be presented at the conference have been finalised and can be found in the attached programme. GIBS welcomes registrations for non-presenter delegates to the conference.

Registration takes place on Sunday, 15 November 2009. The conference will run over two days from Monday, 16 – Tuesday, 17 November 2009 and includes an immersion excursion into the BOP market of Alexandra township.

Base of the Pyramid - Conference 2009
Date: November, 2009

An emerging academic school of thought and research stream is exploring how business can best engage low income communities and in so doing raise the economic and social wealth of both. This approach has been termed Base of the Pyramid (BOP). As part of our contribution to the Kellogg Foundation funded BOP Learning Lab, GIBS is hosting an international academic conference to explore the creation and dissemination of knowledge in this area.

Invitations to submit papers were sent out in April 2009. Papers to be presented at the conference have been finalised and can be found in the attached programme. GIBS welcomes registrations for non-presenter delegates to the conference.

Registration takes place on Sunday, 15 November 2009. The conference will run over two days from Monday, 16 – Tuesday, 17 November 2009 and includes an immersion excursion into the BOP market of Alexandra township.

Water Crisis
Date: May, 2010

South Africa is one of the driest countries in the world with erratic and unevenly distributed rainfall, and is currently close to the limit of using its readily available water resources. The forum will explore these problems and what can be done to contain them.

Equality?
Type: Debate
Date: May, 2010

Has South Africa successfully moved from an unjust society to a just one? Certainly not if we look at depressing facts such as the income inequality gap which is the worst in the Milky Way, criminally high levels of poverty, rampant violent crime, fragile race relations and other social and socio-economic trends. This debate asks one of the most critically important questions facing South Africa right now: whether or not the constitution retards the transformation of our society into a more just space.

Achieving a common national South African identity is a dangerous idea
Type: Debate
Date: March, 2010

The Gordon Institute of Business Science’s new series of Oxford-style debates hosted by South African political and social commentator, radio talk show host and former national debate champion, Eusebius McKaiser. In the first debate in the 2010 series we examine the possibility of a South African identity. Given the linguistic, cultural and other points of diversity, is there such a thing as a national identity? Is it dangerous, politically or otherwise, to even attempt to construct a national identity? Is the rainbow nation motif an historical myth? Or, might a common national identity yet be born? Invited speakers will speak to the motion and unpack these and other related nuances on the thorny question of whether a national identity is fraught with danger.

IPM Conference: Women in Business
Date: August, 2011

This conference was run as a joint venture with the IPM for the first time in 2010. It was decided that this would be an annual event, held in the month of Women’s Day (August) as the theme of the event will be ‘Women in Business.’ The theme of the conference is to explore the challenges, opportunities, trends and best practise for promoting the success of women in the workplace.

Mervyn King
Date: February, 2010

Transient Caretakers explores the state of the Earth – from climate change to the ongoing water and energy crises, and from issues of waste and garbage to tourism, transportation, urban planning and sustainability reporting. In addition, steps are mapped out for each person to implement changes in the household and garden, as well as to influence the actions of businesses and governments, to ensure that the Earth’s assets of land, air and water are passed on in the future.

Women in Business 2010 Conference
Date: August, 2010

The programme was designed to provide two days of practical discussion and keynote presentations; addressing the hands-on issues, challenges and opportunities that women experience in the workplace.

The Centre for Leadership and Dialogue
Business School Housing? Yes
Number of Faculty: 10
Contact Name: Anthony Prangley
Contact Email: prangleya@gibs.co.za

THE CAPACITY AND INSIGHT TO LEAD COMPLEX SOCIETIES

We work with a broad range of leaders and host strategic dialogue to resolve the most urgent and complex South African and global challenges.

Success in countries in transition requires a new generation of leaders who have the capacity and insight to lead their businesses, public institutions and social enterprises in an increasingly complex world.

Participants leave our programmes with new knowledge, motivation and the networks to create change in their own organisations and beyond.

Centre for Business Analysis and Research (CBAR)
Business School Housing? Yes
Number of Faculty: 8
Contact Name: Linda Sing
Contact Email: singl@gibs.co.za

CBAR has been created to nurture collaboration and identify critical synergies among the various programmes and initiatives undertaken at GIBS. The full weight of GIBS' renowned faculty and academic networks are brought to bear on delivering pertinent academic programmes and building a central core of knowledge and research to support business.

Over the past few years GIBS has initiated a number of programmes, the central purposes of which are to:

•bring to the fore the most critical and pressing issues facing businesses in developing countries
•extend and deepen the content of GIBS' academic core
•facilitate and enrich GIBS' interactions with broader society and the business context
•position GIBS as a leading expert on South African-focused management research.

These programmes take a variety of forms, ranging from both academic to practical, and are led by experts in their fields who wish to make a contribution to research, global best practice and sharing this knowledge with South African businesses to enhance competitiveness.

Relevant established programmes include:

• African Business Network
• Base of the Pyramid Hub
• Transnet Programme in Sustainable Development

Transnet Programme in Sustainable Development
Business School Housing? Yes
Number of Faculty: 2
Contact Name: Donald Gibson
Contact Email: gibsond@gibs.co.za

How business functions in the context of the interdependence of the economy, society and the environment forms the basis of sustainable business. Sustainability presents business with unique challenges that, until recently, were dismissed as relatively unimportant. However, the level of awareness and debate of key sustainability issues such as poverty, energy security, climate change, water and food security, has increased exponentially over the past couple of years. Notably, the King III Code of Governance for South Africa places sustainability, responsible leadership and corporate citizenship at the core of corporate governance.

In May 2008 GIBS established, with funding from Transnet, an academic programme in sustainable development. Directed by Donald Gibson the programme aims to mainstream sustainability into GIBS’ activities both externally through its teaching and research, and internally in its campus operations. The programme is made up of the following activities:

Academic modules – both core and elective

MBA and doctoral research

Executive Education courses and Company Specific Programmes

GIBS Forums, conferences and events

Greening the GIBS campus.

An organisational change model for successful HIV/AIDS workplace interventions
Author(s): Margie Sutherland; Richard Douglas

It is essential that the business community responds to the threat presented to
both economic and societal sustainability by HIV/AIDS. The National Strategic
Plan for HIV & AIDS has called for the private sector’s involvement in a multisectoral
response. No empirical studies exist on the process of change
management used in successful HIV/AIDS change initiatives in organisations.
This fine-grained qualitative research set out to meet that need. Ten experts were
asked to identify the sample of ten companies with HIV/AIDS workplace
interventions widely acknowledged to be successful. In-depth interviews were
conducted with the manager responsible for HIV/AIDS interventions at each of
these companies. The change efforts were found to be large scale and motivated
by a combination of a moral obligation and a persuasive business case and to
depend on nine crucial elements, along with commitment from the most senior
leadership in the organisation. Legitimate and expert power bases were most
commonly leveraged. A detailed model for the change management process is
offered which could assist organisations that wish to successfully implement
HIV/AIDS workplace interventions.

Journal Title: South African Journal of Labour Relations Volume: 33 Edition: 2 Page Numbers: 54 - 74
Managing virtual teams in multinational companies
Author(s): Margie Sutherland; Lizzy Mogale

Globalisation and advances in technology have led to the rapid increase in
permanent virtual teams in multinational companies as a form of competitive
advantage. The main purpose of this research was to identify perceptions on
leadership preferences and factors enabling or inhibiting the effective leadership
of virtual teams. The qualitative phase of this research generated in-depth
knowledge on the constructs for phase 2, which consisted of a survey of 59
respondents from four continents. The outcome revealed that socio-emotional
leadership capabilities are key to success in the leadership of multinational virtual
teams. Specific recommendations are made to virtual team leaders on the basis
of consistent views expressed by managers and subordinates on findings on the
relative importance of key leadership skills, plus the enablers and inhibitors of
managing virtual teams.

Journal Title: South African Journal of Labour Relations Volume: 34 Edition: 2 Page Numbers: 007 - 022