ARTICLES ON VUCA
Environment emergency overtakes technological advancement as the most significant challenge to global business
CEMS alumni survey reveals that 43% of professionals now believe that the environmental emergency is the biggest challenge international business leaders will need to tackle in the 21st century, well ahead of technology (27%).
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The promises and perils of Africa's digital revolution
Exponential digital advancement across Africa, spurred on by the COVID-19 crisis, is indeed a game changer. But its impact – the good and the bad – requires a more nuanced and intelligent analysis if we really are to build back better.
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Can we risk our society’s future on a system that produces the leadership we experience?
The events of the past two weeks have brought into sharp focus the devastating results of selecting leaders based on popularity over other criteria. To avoid shipwrecking our country, it’s time to design a better system of stewarding our collective needs.
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Becoming a businessperson is not a straightforward journey for all
Building business skills to improve livelihoods is increasingly being recognised as a mechanism to lift communities out of extreme poverty. But in many survivalist communities, the principles of business can clash with the existing values of the community.
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COVID-19: Impact investing’s inflection point
As South Africa marks the anniversary of its first lockdown we reflect on our journey toward a post-COVID economic recovery and how the systemic shift toward impact investing and other financial innovation may point the way to lasting change in the country.
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Q&A with John Luiz on the future of globalisation
The extraordinary spread of the Covid-19 virus over the past year has highlighted various vulnerabilities associated with globalisation. We asked the UCT GSB's Prof John Luiz for his views on the future of this model.
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UCT GSB accelerator guides entrepreneurs through pandemic
Battered by COVID-19 lockdown, fledgeling entrepreneurs needed all the help they could get in 2020; the Solution Space at the UCT GSB quickly went online to make sure they were not left out in the cold.
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Reimagining the future of tourism
Having received a hammer blow from COVID-19, South Africa’ tourism sector needs to find innovative ways to bounce back.
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Building an agile hospitality industry
As local tourism begins to pick up, the hospitality industry is feeling some relief from the massive blow it sustained during lockdown. Some might even be feeling that things are returning to how we knew them to be. And while we should savour this little bit of hope, the truth is things have changed forever and we must change along with them.
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Reimagining the future of tourism post-COVID-19
The UCT GSB’s Solution Space recently hosted a virtual Future of Tourism Bootcamp where participants were given the opportunity to develop innovative solutions to solve challenges amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic within the tourism industry.
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UCT GSB's new programme prepares students to lead internationally
Dr Beverly Shrand, spoke with Cape Talk about the UCT GSB's new programme, the CEMS Master of Management specialising in International Management (MIM).
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SA’s youth hit hard by COVID-19
A survey conducted with young South Africans has revealed that many have had to borrow money to survive as a result of COVID-19, with a significant number plunged deeper into unemployment.
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Let’s tap into the defiant optimism of our young people this Youth Day
As protests around structural inequality and racism rage across the world, we need to re-ignite efforts to give young people a voice at all levels of society, but especially as leaders.
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Young people can lead the response to COVID-19
Youth Day reminds us of the role the young people have played in the past to drive change. In a world that is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, their vibrant energy and mobilising ability is needed more than ever — especially on the African continent.
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The future of work: implications for management education
Does management education need to change to equip graduates for the future of work?
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Embracing the unknown can make you a better leader - Jerome Thomas (EMBA)
COVID-19 is giving leaders everywhere a crash course in living with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). Fortunately, says Jerome Thomas, he got a head start with his EMBA at the UCT GSB.
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Will COVID-19 be the catalyst for the most devastating economic crisis of our time?
COVID-19 erupted in a macroeconomic environment that is a rich cocktail of economic contraction and contradiction. History teaches us that if we don’t pay attention to this — we risk underestimating the magnitude of the crisis that we face.
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UCT GSB teaching case study surfaces a business model of agility in action
The global pandemic is forcing businesses around the world to change the way they operate. One South African company, Yuppiechef, is demonstrating that the principles of customer centricity and agility are core to successful adaptation.
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Q&A with Dr Solange Rosa on social innovation and its role in building a better world
Dr Solange Rosa, Interim Director of the UCT GSB's Bertha Centre explains why social innovation is thriving amidst this pandemic, and what we can do to ensure that the benefits it is bringing can be sustained in the longer term.
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Webinar: The broader economic implications of COVID-19
Former UCT GSB economist, Barry Standish, hosted a free webinar in April for UCT GSB alumni on the broader financial and economic implications of COVID-19.
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Strategic agility is key to business survival during this crisis — and beyond
As the COVID-19 pandemic advances, some companies have been able to change strategic focus to stay afloat in new and innovative ways. Here’s what their actions have to teach the rest of us.
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Trust in times of crisis: Why we need to trust our governments
The Edelman Trust Barometer released in January, exposed some rather discouraging truths, not only about the global state of the world, but also about South Africa.
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Video interview - Out of the box thinking can help small businesses weather the storm
Dr Tim London chats to the Bertha Centre's Natasha Dinham, about a number of measures investors can take to ameliorate the effects of the COVID -19 crisis.
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Video interview - How can Govt better support small businesses during COVID-19?
Dr Tim London interviewed UCT students and researchers, Zaakir Essa and Georgina Borros from Phaphama on their study of a particular group of small businesses that are facing real threats from the impacts of COVID-19.
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Life after lockdown: Welcome to physical distancing and the contactless economy
When lockdown ends, it is likely that people are going to want to have safe spaces to meet up in and have fun. What can visitor attractions do now to make sure they are ready?
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Strong leadership in times of crisis
Taking the reins of Zimbabwe’s largest building society during the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly been challenging, but GSB alumnus Mehluli Mpofu believes that his leadership philosophy built on team work and problem-solving will help steer the institution he leads through these trying times.
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We are not at war with COVID-19
The rhetoric of war, and the unfortunate term ‘lockdown’ are even more misplaced in this crisis because it takes people to change a society, not simply putting stringent rules or regulations in place and enforcing them through the barrel of a gun.
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Video interview - How are companies adapting their businesses to cope with COVID-19?
Dr Tim London spoke with Mignon Reyneke, an associate professor of Digital Marketing at the UCT GSB, about some of the companies that are trying to deal with the fallout of COVID-19 by doing things differently.
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We need to mobilise communities in the global fight against coronavirus
While scientists and big pharma work on vaccines, innovations and solutions developed at the community level will be key to slowing the spread of the virus.
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Everything has changed: The world and South Africa's economy after COVID-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world: It is possible that it will take years for the global economy to recover, which will have dire implications for South Africa’s economic prospects.
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Great leaders are made in times of crises; who will step up?
The COVID-19 crisis is giving leaders everywhere a test of unimaginable proportions. Right now we need calm, agile and decisive people at the helm across all sectors to ensure that we survive and go on to thrive again - and President Ramaphosa is setting a good example.
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The globalisation of an epidemic and the epidemic of globalisation
COVID-19 respects no borders and has laid bare some of the vulnerabilities of globalisation. Going forward, we need to look more deeply at how to build a world that protects global supply chains more effectively — and the all people that depend upon them.
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Could the Covid-19 crisis offer us a window of opportunity to build social cohesion?
A national disaster declared on top of a technical recession and a standoff between the ANC and its alliance partners means that we can expect the SA economy will remain in a downward cycle for the foreseeable future — our only hope lies in building social cohesion in the face of crisis.
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COVID-19 could be a chance to rethink, disrupt and plan for the future of your business
While COVID-19 is expected to wreak havoc on the South African economy, the full extent of this is yet to be determined. But even in crisis, there are always opportunities for innovation.
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