Programme director
Chairman of the Regenesys Board
CEO of Regenesys
Senior managers and staff
Graduants and their families
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I thank you for inviting me to this graduation ceremony. I am honoured to join the graduants, their families and the staff of Regenesys.
I say congratulations to these worthy graduates in the fields of Business Administration, Business Management, and Public Management.
You have made your families, communities and the country very proud.
We trust that your achievements will not be yours alone but that you will attempt to lift others as you climb the ladder in your chosen profession in either the private or public sector.
In so doing, you will not only be planting back the seed of success for future generations, but you will also be making a short-term investment for long-term societal benefit as responsible corporate and public citizens.
I learn that today’s ceremony is special since Regenesys celebrates the graduation of the first group of Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduates.
This will stand Regenesys in good stead amongst other private providers of higher education and certainly expand on a reputation you have built in your institution’s existence.
Moreover, the fifty thousand (50 000) students who have enrolled in courses over the years are testimony to your institution’s lasting educational and social value.
Programme director,
I was tasked with an immoderate duty of reflecting on the challenges of forging ethical leadership in both the private and public sectors.
The words of Dr Martin Luther King are pertinent, I quote: “Cowardice asks the question – 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question – 'Is it politics?' But conscience asks the question – 'Is it right?”
Well, since business is socially based, it follows that it operates within a socio-political environment.
A socio-political environment at any given moment differs from country to country, from time to time, across generations.
Unavoidably, the character of the social environment impacts on the policies and vision of business.
At the same time there is a dialectical interplay between business and society, especially where the latter’s interests are represented by government, which creates the legislative framework for business to carry out its work.
So business will in turn extract its pound of flesh from government, and by extension, society, by giving vent to its concerns, anxieties and even council.
At the same time society at large, diverse as it is in its ideological makeup, has huge expectations on business, since, technically, society is the stakeholder of business.
This has always been the case since the emergence of industrialisation and subsequently, the era of corporate multinational companies and globalisation, which affects all humanity in profound ways.
Also, since society is not monolithic but is a historically fissured entity defined by contested interests, expectations on business will be complex and contradictory. While imperatives of human progress would propel our desire to reach the heights of success in our business endeavours, the means through which we reach such apex of success are not always ethically credible.
History is littered with such examples. We are sometimes taken in by the philanthropy from internationally acclaimed business magnates, when in fact their ascendance to wealth and power was steeped in less than desirable means in the first place.
So perhaps the best way to balance the cut-throat environment in which we must thrive in business should always be guided by our conscience, taken into account the abiding interest of humanity and the public good.
It follows then that the safest route to follow for any self-respecting business leadership is to align with the supreme laws of the country.
It may not always be easy to do so, but given the impartial credentials of the Constitution, it is not only safe to base business ethics on our Constitutional framework but also a sure way of ensuring that the ethical purview of our operation is just and fair.
This therefore, calls for business to espouse universal ethical principles that define the best interest of humanity. Some will argue that prescriptive ethics, with their attendant benefit of universal applicability, should guide every business in its daily dealings. Universally applicable ethical conception enables us to see life not only through the prism of profit, critical as it is to the survival of business, but also make us understand that if we destroy the planet through our operations, or unreservedly fleece society, there will be no one to do business with in the near future.
On this account, I would like to appeal to you to mind the results of your intended and unconscious actions.
For the sake of posterity, it is important for you to know your responsibility in ploughing back to your communities and crucially, giving back to our planet.
The BP Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a reminder of the path all of us need to avoid.
The consequence of this tragic episode may very well affect millions, most of who have stood to gain nothing from the mega-profits BP makes.
Generations to come, mostly from poor acres of planet earth, may be doomed to wallow in even deeper misery than their forebears for the environmental crimes of a few.
As a matter of fact maritime life in the affected area is reportedly devastated and the livelihood of many people destroyed.
Since environment is organic, these effects may affect not only the Gulf of Mexico, but, in time, the regional ecosystem.
It is noteworthy that this incident is not the only environmental damage wreaked by business activity.
At the level of social context, the recent controversies around Fidentia and commodity price-fixing have called into question the status of corporate governance and ethical leadership in the private sector.
What has emerged quite clearly from these cases of price-fixing is the imperfection of the system.
In a situation which allows for mergers and hostile takeovers, it reaches a point where competition is determined from within and in the process competition is removed.
The end result is that prices are determined by price givers, the monopolies, and not through the laws of supply and demand.
This is a reason why good governance has to be central in moderating the system through rules and regulations.
For any society to thrive, especially for the benefit of the poor, it has to have in place moderating mechanisms, plus checks and balances because the system in its nature is imperfect.
Programme director,
The examples mentioned above have placed a burden not only on the roles of executive management but the responsibility of company boards in ensuring due diligence with regards to company’s financial performance and the company’s impact on society as a whole.
One would like to believe that at least in part; the responsibility of boards of directors is to certify that society is not unduly impacted by negative outcomes of corporate greed.
It also places a responsibility on making sure that corporate practices are in line and guided by our Constitution’s Bill of Rights.
In a chapter titled, ‘Ethical leadership and corporate citizenship’, Professor Mervyn King is correct to argue that company boards have to endeavour to:
- “ensure that collaborative efforts with stakeholders are embarked upon to promote ethical conduct and good corporate citizenship
- ensure that measurable corporate citizenship programmes are implemented
- ensure that management develops corporate citizenship policies”.
Programme director,
In a world where the line between corporate governance and ethical leadership has become blurred, it is important to revert back to the fundamentals.
I want to believe this is a matter of central concern to the graduates themselves as they prepare to enter or return to the corporate world and the public service.
These graduates have to negotiate with several questions touching on their personal obligations to their companies versus their duty towards the public good.
Let us define what we mean by corporate governance and ethical leadership.
An international authority on the subject area, Sir Adrian Cadbury, characterises corporate governance as, I quote, “Concerned with holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals. The corporate governance framework is there to encourage the efficient use of resources and equally to require accountability for the stewardship of these resources. The aim is to align as nearly as possible the interests of individuals, corporations and society”. From this citation we can identify several generic factors, such as efficient use of resources and accountability that are associated with ethical leadership in both the private and public sectors.
I also want to believe these factors are universal in orientation and application as they touch upon the role of leaders at, for example, a global multinational company to national and local government.
Codes of ethics refer to moral values as well as the good and bad. Of course, individuals join institutions with their own subjective values of what is acceptable and not.
In organisations, what prevents different individuals from enforcing their own diverse values are the codes and values which an institution exercises for the collective good.
After all, an institution’s moral influence is seminal in ensuring that individuals uphold the integrity of the institution.
Each organisation and institution has an ethical culture which separates what is just and good from the bad and unjust.
According to the Ethics Institute of South Africa, ethics touch on good and fair conduct which “shapes the decision and actions of organisations and individuals making decisions on its behalf”.
If they are to have real meaning, codes of ethics need to be enforceable. If there are no mechanisms to enforce them, this leaves room for their manipulation and venality.
Our society is full of examples where unethical actions have had negative effects on the lives of ordinary people, especially on the poorest of the poor.
The Fidentia debacle has clearly demonstrated how multitudes of poor people desperate to keep the wolf from the door, impelled by blind trust, can be suckered into further poverty by the machinations of unethical entrepreneurs.
Ladies and gentlemenm,
As you will have noted, ethical considerations are not confined to the private sector only. In the political sphere, good ethical practice has had its own ups and downs.
Our fourth democratic government has put in place mechanisms to ensure democratic governance is a reality. Citizens of the Republic of South Africa have a stake in deciding on who are their leaders and there is a transparency in exercising governing powers and realising our collective developmental goals.
Centrally, it is enshrined in our constitutional democracy that citizens are able to exercise their right to participate in shaping and building our society irrespective of their race, class, religion or ideological orientation.
We see a direct link in the practice of ethical leadership and transparent and representative governance.
It is what we mean by servant leadership given that the opposite of servant leadership is self-seeking leadership.
By definition, self-seeking leadership places individual interests high above those of society and is subsequently liable to pursue ill-gotten wealth and fall into the trap of corruption and greed.
Self-centred leadership is an indication of unethical leadership which has forgotten its primary responsibility to the electorate, shareholders and ordinary employees. Such a leadership has sacrificed the principles of accountability.
As government, our core business is unambiguous. We are mandated to develop “programmes to redress poverty, underdevelopment, marginalisation of people and communities and other legacies of apartheid and discrimination”.
We have a duty to “facilitate a common programme towards the achievement of the electoral mandate and the enhanced integrity of state,” and to this end, we have committed ourselves to a specific value framework of being “resolute, selfless, purposeful in all we do to exercise self-control and to work with decorum (while emphasising) service excellence (and) results orientation”.
The realisation of this programme and mandate is based on this premise: we see ourselves as answerable to the needs of our electorate. We view our diverse constituencies as leading partners in shaping the direction which our work should follow.
Our purpose and vision draws its direction from the mandate of our constituencies in order to realise the common goal of building a better life for all.
This can only be achieved if the communication channels are open between us as public representatives and all the citizens of South Africa.
Therefore, ethical leadership speaks about privileging the forums for dual conversation, facilitating civic leadership and sacrificing the personal self for the public good. This is what is meant by putting citizens first in the drive for efficient and continuous service delivery and improvement!
Programme director,
Corporate governance is not only about accountable and ethical leadership, it also has a bearing on moral responsibility.
I am pleased that the graduates of this ceremony have chosen to enrol at an institution which takes a catholic view in its approach and values social commitment to our country.
At the same time, there are different imperatives why people join the public and private sector. There are undeniable imperatives that the graduates will follow as a result of choosing to pursue their studies in business administration and management.
Some of the graduates are set to start their own businesses while others will pursue employment in transnational companies, all driven, in the final analysis, by exigencies of the bottom line and maximising profit.
Others among the graduates will join or return to the public service. As you are aware, the imperatives of public service are different.
The bottom line here is to render quality service so that our people can receive value for their tax money. In simple terms, as public representatives, our duty is to make sure that what is budgeted for achieved with requisite efficiency.
However, being ethical and morally upright is universal!
Programme director,
I congratulate Regenesys for assisting all the graduates to reach their goals and ambitions.
I want to believe that the able staff of Regenesys is doing this in the full knowledge that the real world has its own imperatives. As such, the role of education and training is meant to prepare its learners for diverse professions with different motivational drives.
In this regard, I am further pleased that in awakening the potential of its learners such as the graduands today, Regenesys has “together with the Gauteng Department of Education, embarked on a project that involves taking a cluster of schools and turning them around (to) grow beyond their current successes”.
This is bound to enhance the skills levels of the educators and learners in terms of their managerial and leadership capacities for the ultimate benefit of our families and communities.
It is equally gratifying to hear about this institution’s leadership exchange programme which is a mechanism to enable leadership development in civil society and for a greater transformation agenda.
To the graduates, admittedly you have a noble and demanding task at your hands. The socio-economic context of South Africa requires that in your professional decisions you assist your organisations to perform optimally while ensuring that your personal desires make a difference in the lives of many in society.
While you pursue your individual goals, without a doubt you are obliged to also consider the implications of your actions on both the planet and the people.
In conclusion, my humble advice to you is to consider that, in your placement at various levels of your organisations, you are placed there according to the level of your incompetence so that you will need training to advance what you already learnt from institutions like Regenesys.
I urge you to do your bit in ascertaining that you improve upon your professional positioning by retraining yourselves even further so that your output is efficient, reliably satisfactory and admirable.
I congratulate you once again graduates, your families and the staff at Regenesys for your rare achievement. May your learning contribute to make a difference to your personal lives, the lives of your families and communities and to South Africa as a whole.
At the beginning I referred to the words of Dr Martin Luther King, allow me to close with his wise counsel, I quote: “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right”
I thank you and congratulations once again.
