Are some organisations cults?
Thought piece by Annie Ou Yang No matter where you go in life, there are always rules for behaviour, written or unwritten, that need to be followed. In many ways, we are like schoolchildren waiting for school to end to be freed from all…
To nudge or not to nudge?
Lead article by Dr Paul Vorster Have you ever wondered how many of your decisions are really your own? It is scary to consider the age-old question of whether we as humans have agency in our world or what we would call ‘free will’. In…
More than ever before, South Africa needs moral heroes
Thought piece - Dr Paul Vorster Mass lootings, violence, political destabilization, and anarchy. You would be forgiven for believing that this must be some other war-torn country we all read about or see in the news. But you would be…
Local government: Flawed people or flawed system?
Lead article – Kris Dobie Good ethical leadership in local government is a rarity – and I have a premise about why this is the case. As of recently, this premise is also grounded in research, which should give it some more credence. The…
Applauding whistleblowers isn’t enough
By: Prof Deon Rossouw Whistleblowers played a key role in exposing fraud and corruption in both private and public sector organisations involved in state capture. Without the vital information disclosed by whistleblowers the exposure of…
Coding entrepreneurs in KiSwahili?
By: Dantia Richards Unlike some fathers teaching their children the names of their preferred rugby team players, the first thing my father taught me at the age of four (1979), were the names of all the then heads of state. I can still…
Parasites and parastatals
By: Dr Paul Vorster The Zondo Commission, an inquiry into state-capture, has revealed some very unsettling things. Our parastatals or state-owned enterprises are embroiled in so many unethical decisions and actions it staggers the mind.…
Does one swallow make a summer?
By: Liezl Groenewald South Africans have recently again been made aware of the poor treatment whistleblowers receive. In their testimonies at the State Capture Inquiry during March 2021, two specific whistleblowers, a former partner at…
Was I brave and strong and true?
By: Rehilwe Senatla Was I brave, strong and true? I navigated through standards as opposed to grades in my schooling. This is a time when school would begin with prayers at an assembly session every morning. This session in my school would…
Combining ethics and compliance: A systems psychodynamic inquiry into practices and outcomes
By: Prof JJ de Klerk University of Stellenbosch Business School This article is a condensed version of the original scientific article that was published in: Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility, and can be obtained at:…
How we contribute to protect whistleblowers
By: Liezl Groenewald The whistleblowing landscape has changed significantly over the last years. High profile cases have prompted new whistleblower protection regulations and legislation across the globe. But whistleblowing is no longer…
Loyalty: A destructive comfort zone
By: Leon van Vuuren Referring to a potential decision on the longevity of the office of the current Public Protector, Ralph Mathekga posed the question as to where the loyalty of the ANC caucus will lie when a decision about this needs to…