IFR 40 institute for FUTURES RESEARCH 1974 - 2014 www.ifr.sun.ac.za IFR Annual Conference & Futures Thinking Workshop 23 – 24 October 2014 Leriba Lodge, Centurion This year the IFR will be hosting its annual conference and workshop on Thursday, 23 and Friday, 24 October at the Leriba Lodge in Centurion. We take great pleasure in inviting you, a valued Associate, to join us at these events. As always, the main purpose of the conference on Friday, 24 October is to present to you various topics that we believe are affecting the outcome of societal issues – both at home and abroad. The speakers on each topic are renowned experts in their respective fields. The conference will be preceded on Thursday, 23 October by an interactive workshop titled, Flirting with ambiguity, facilitated by Dr Steyn Heckroodt. The rationale for the workshop is that expansion of any nature contains the elements of risk and return. However, as businesses we tend to shy away from ambiguity in the market as this contains an embedded increase in the risk factor, pertaining to our strategic choice of whether to expand or not. With the economic growth experienced on the African continent, companies appear to be more tolerant of the risk contained in the ambiguous nature of the African markets, which is different for her different countries. Also, companies are eager to probe entry modes for internationalisation on the continent. Given this increased interest to expand on the continent, elements of environmental scanning, scenario planning and entry mode decisions have once again occupied agendas in many a boardroom. During the workshop, you will be exposed to the tools that will enable you to flirt, or even dance, with ambiguity as you become acquainted with a toolkit that will enable strategic decisionmaking, risk mitigation and sustainable growth. In addition to the insights and analyses offered, attendance of the workshop and conference will also ensure valuable networking opportunities. Venue: Leriba Lodge, Centurion (clickable link) www.ifr.sun.ac.za Thursday, 23 October 2014 Workshop 09:30 Coffee and registration 10:00 • The Power PESTLE framework for environmental scanning • Basic scenario planning • Strategy selection • Entry mode decision-making (Hofstede indices) 12:00 Lunch 13:00 Practical application of the toolkit of decision-making in order to become acquainted with its use and interpretation. The application will be based on a recent case-study pertaining to a strategy of internationalisation, making use of Hofstede’s indices in dealing with political risk and cultural distance between countries of expansion. 15:00 Closure Friday, 24 October 2014 Conference 08:00 Coffee and registration 08:30 Welcome and introduction: Prof André Roux, Director, IFR 08:40 South Africa: Key factors that will determine whether we slide into the mud or step onto the high road Prof Piet Naudé, Director, USB 09:15 Agriculture: Will it really be able to deliver three square meals a day to all? Maj-Gen (ret) Chris van Zyl, Assistant General Manager: Policy Liaison, head office of TAU SA 10:05 A credit insurer’s view of the economy: Luke Doig, Senior Manager, Investments and Economic Services CGIC 10:55 HIV/AIDS is not over: Prof Debra Meyer, Head of the Department of Biochemistry, UP 11:45 Refreshments 12:05 Separating myths from facts – Positively understanding the real dynamics and intricacies of doing business in Africa: Isaac Nkama, Director: Facilitation Africa Cybercrime: There is no escape: Prof Louis Fourie, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Knowledge and Information Technology Services, CPUT 12:55 13:45 Closure 13:55 Lunch institute for FUTURES RESEARCH Click here for online registration form IFR 40 1974 - 2014 www.ifr.sun.ac.za Introduction to speakers Luke Doig Luke Doig’s function of senior manager: Investments and Economic Services at Credit Guarantee Insurance Corporation (CGIC) includes administration and implementation of the company’s investment strategy, overseeing country and industry appraisal, providing strategic planning input and domestic economic analysis and commentary. He is a regular contributor to the media on economic matters and speaker at conferences. Doig currently serves as a trustee on the firm’s pension fund. He obtained his MComm (Econ) from the University of Johannesburg in 1994 and a Senior Management Diploma from USB-ED in 2007. He received the 2010 Thomson Reuters Economist of the Year Award for most accurately predicting the Econometer indicators. Louis Fourie Louis Fourie is deputy vicechancellor: Knowledge and Information Technology Services at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Over many years he has been involved in various research projects and consultations in the IS field. One of his focus areas has been cybercrime, cybersecurity and cyber-law. In 2004 Prof Fourie received the USB Sanlam award for research and in 2009 he was nominated as CSSA Western Cape ICT person of the year based on his contribution to the field of ICT. Dr Steyn Heckroodt Dr Heckroodt is an international expert on systems thinking and business strategy. As co-founder and executive director of Lateral Dimensions, the strategy consulting concern, he empowers businesses by enhancing their sustainable competitiveness. He is a faculty member at USB Executive Development and has also acted as facilitator for the Business School of The Netherlands, the Da Vinci Institute and Stellenbosch University’s Institute for Futures Research. He recognises that the core problem within organisations is “the very thinking by which decisions are made”. Dr Heckroodt, an international speaker, leaves audiences and businesses thinking differently and hence empowers them to make powerful and insightful strategic decisions. Prof Debra Meyer Prof Meyer is the head of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Pretoria (UP). She holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California, Davis, USA. Prof Meyer is the recipient of numerous research awards including the NRF/NSTF TW Kambule awards institute for FUTURES RESEARCH in 2004 and 2010 and the prestigious Young Scientist Award from the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World in 2005. Her research has contributed over 35 publications in international journals. She is on the editorial boards of two international journals and serves on the board of directors and as a trustee of a number of organisations, some of which are multinational. Prof Meyer is now the anchor of her own science show on KykNet called Debra ‘Deel’. Prof Piet Naudé USB’s new director, Prof Piet Naudé, started at USB in September. He is a well-known academic, public speaker and column writer. Before taking up this position at USB, Prof Naudé was deputy vice-chancellor responsible for teaching and learning at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth. He has more than twenty years’ management experience at a university. Prof Naudé received all his qualifications, including a doctorate in theology and a master’s degree in philosophy, cum laude at Stellenbosch University. Isaac Nkama Isaac Nkama’s interest in and exposure to cross cultural affairs started with his schooling at the International School of Bonn, West Germany, followed by the International Schools of Lusaka, Zambia and Lesotho. He is a chartered marketer and holds an MBA and MSc in Leadership (Corporate Governance). Working with major corporations, he specialises in Africa expansion business strategy. He spent eight years as director of Business Development: Africa for one of the world’s two largest aircraft manufacturers, and has held other senior positions. He is on the SA Institute of International Affairs Board and a former member of the Presidential Black Business Working Group. Widely travelled, he understands Africa’s cultural, commercial and political environments practically. He has built a strong network of high-level business and political contacts on the continent, and has been an observer to several elections. Chris van Zyl Chris van Zyl joined the SA Army in 1966 and after a year’s junior leader training at The Army Gymnasium he studied at Stellenbosch University’s of Faculty of Military Science at the Military Academy at Saldanha where he graduated in 1969. As an officer in the South African Artillery (Field Branch), Major general (retired) van Zyl gradually found himself appointed in general service positions, including that of the aide de camp to the state president. After the post-1999 restructuring, his final appointment before retirement was general officer Commanding Regional Joint Task Force West based at Silver Mine, Cape Town. Van Zyl was appointed as the safety and security manager at TAU SA in 2003 and currently serves as assistant general manager: Policy Liaison at the head office of TAU SA in Silverton. Click here for online registration form IFR 40 1974 - 2014
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