Prof André de Villiers
2011
Forces of Change facing the Food Industry
• Where we come from (analyse)
• What we’re faced with today (understand)
• Managing our future (implement)
(Based largely on: Tincture – passing the buck and bucking the system,
André Gadfly and Peter Smacker, 2010. www.tincturesite.com )
Talking as: ‘The Ex spurt Gadfly’
Africa and South Africa have changed rapidly since
1960
• British imperialism, Afrikaner nationalism, African nationalism
• Pressures for liberation from 1960 – many dictators in Africa
• The powerful elite rule Africa
• Lost: ‘Ideal of democracy in Africa’ (Smuts was a co-signatory when
UN was founded in 1947 – ideal still not in place
• Communism was a real threat until 1989
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Leopold Scholtz: Gooi wal teen despote, Beeld, 25/1/11)
Two Opposing Paradigms
• 1994: ANC is established as hegemonic power during Codesa
(Anthea Jeffery: The people’s war); Power corrupts, absolute power
corrupts absolutely; arrogance of power
• The losers: A truly competitive spirit and non-racialism. Stance:
Moral low ground (David Bullard: be glad your head has not been
knocked off); future more important than past
• The winners: A powerful elite, high expectations, entitlement (now
it’s our time), retribution for past suffering, BEE must be applied
rigorously. Stance: Moral high ground (Everyone must be equal);
the past is more important than the future
The Constitution – A lighthouse at the Southern tip
of Africa
The Constitutional Court (CC)
• Laws to be implemented by humans; interpretations?
• All avenues exhausted before approaching the CC
• Value statements of Constitution can be interpreted very differently
depending on paradigm (Equality: Western= before the law, in
competition; ANC= eventually everyone is same)
• Relief only after a lengthy and expensive process
• Only those with deep pockets, the indigent and those with ‘sexy
cases’ can successfully approach the CC (State of the Nation, David
Gleason)
Is government subverting our Constitution?
• Clear signs that government pays only lip service to the
Constitution
• Legal amendments & erosion through ordinary legislation
(Scorpions)
• SCOPA is now toothless; judiciary not independent
• Dysfunctional service delivery
• Apathy of knowledgeable people
Government’s Load
• Has increased sharply – from 10 million to 50 million (dependency
breeds dependency) – tax base 6-7 million
• Rural communities in Europe and the Far-East were not a load on
their governments (Schlemmer)
• Africa and SA rural populations are not self-sustainable and are
rapidly urbanising and becoming government’s burden
• The potential job creators are mainly in urban areas (Intellectual
capital prefers bright lights)
• High expectations plus materialism (fancy cars)(
End Result
• Highly dependent population
• Limited entrepreneurial effort
• Race important to government – not to those at grassroots level
• Little competence in government (cadre deployment)
• Infrastructure falling apart (including legal controls and
governances in food industry)
• Dissatisfied & apathetic citizens; low involvement of intellectuals
• Slow growth economy; unemployment; growing uncertainty
Part 2: What we’re faced with today
• Growing income and inequality gaps
• Powerful elites: both in government and industry
• Poor service delivery - denial and blame abounds
• A ‘winner takes all society’; arrogance abounds
• Jobless growth; demand for ‘decent jobs’? (Chinese?)
• Many who are overpaid and many who are underpaid for their
competence (are food technologists fairly compensated?)
• Complex systems seldom punish the guilty or reward those that
contribute fairly (golden handshakes vs retirement)
Systems and System Thinking
• Jan Smuts: Holism and evolution (1926); first systems thinker
• “The individual springs from universal Holism, and all his
experience and knowledge ultimately tends towards the character
of regulative order and universality” (Smuts, p225).
• System: Any structure or process consisting of two or more
interactive elements, created for the purpose of realising specific
objectives.
• We are developing in the direction of: ‘regulative disorder’
The Ecological and Resource Sub-system
• Global and RSA populations (7 bil; 50 mil); Over-population*
• Environmental Burden = Population X Affluence X Tech.
• Food security: Low in Africa, RSA declining, rising food prices
• Land restitution and security of land tenure; two very different
paradigms on land ownership; effect of ‘Kill the boer’ on future
food supply? Agricultural policy has negative effects
• South Africa remains a mining economy; powerful elite, AMD
• Protein: ‘Time to eat the dog?’ (R&B Vale); household the key
• Bees (not BEEs); Water quality: E. coli – crops, products
The Educational & Knowledge Sub-systems
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The ‘human capital development pipeline’ – end streams?
Poor discipline and respect (1976: a watershed, only politics)
High drop-out rate
Mathematics and natural science limitations
Academic/scholarly culture in decline; academic freedom?
Short termism and occupational focus (practice not principles)
R&D in decline (Except: SAN Space Agency); 1,5 researchers vs 1112 per 1000 in developed countries
• Should we have priority research areas for R&D???
The Social Sub-system (Zumanomics – Parsons)
• Inequality (The Gini-Coefficient: RSA 0,57)
• Adult literacy rate (68 vs 90+ for many developing countries)
• Low life expectancy (48 vs 70+ for most Eastern countries)
• High debt levels (78% of disposable income)
• Tendency to stereotype on colour
• Clare Graves and the Biopsychosocial Development Model (1970) –
developmental stations rather than race count most; lack of
communication between different stations a problem
The Government and Infra-structure Sub-systems
• Cadre deployment policy (Will continue: Zuma- ANC 99th yr)
• Cost insensitivity – waste of resources, corruption unstoppable,
golden handshakes (SABC: Mpofu+Mokoetle)
• Political (legislative), executive/administrative and legal subsystems without separation of powers; meddling
• Lack of work ethic; denial of problems; maintenance lacking
• Misplaced priorities (changing names not fixing jails)
Government and infra-structure (continued)
• Poor service delivery; degradation of infra-structure
• Political affiliations rather than competence count (Zuma clean up
of civil service)
• No urgency, deadlines not met, crisis management abounds
• Responsibility not accepted – no accountability (SCOPA)
• A complete lack of principled leadership
Truly a management catastrophe!
The Legal and Security Sub-systems
• Violent crime sets SA apart (History of People’s War, lawless
mindset)
• Police brutality increasing (Growing sense of power)
• Powerful elite above the law (Winnie vs a policeman)
• Low percentage of successful convictions (jurists not up to it)
• ISS: Criminal (In)justice in SA = NPA key problem
• SANDF: deployment capacity limited
Part 3: Managing the Future
• Scenarios not forecasts; being more or less correct better than
being totally correct or totally wrong
• The Dinokeng Scenarios – 2009; A think tank
(www.dinokengscenarios.co.za) - Ramphele Mamphele
• Bear in mind ‘Sustainability’: Sustainable development is
development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs
Thinking
• “What I propose, therefore, is very simple: it is nothing more than
to think what we are doing” (Hannah Arendt, German-Jewish
philosopher, 1958)
• What we’re doing to each other, our economy, our ecology, our
grandchildren’s future, our democracy, our future on this planet
(the only habitable one in the cosmos).
• I propose that we also start doing what we are thinking! (P)
• Do we ever allow any time for it???
Triple Bottom Line
Integrated
Sustainability
Social
Equity
Economic
Prosperity
Environmental
Quality
Social Imperatives:
• Satisfy basic human needs
• Health and safety of people
• Increase equity & empower
• Increase local self-reliance
• Guarantee participation and
accountability
Economic Imperatives:
• Sustain economic growth
• Maximise private growth
• Expand markets
• Internalise costs (it is ethical)
• Efficiency and Productivity
• Shareholder value
Environmental Imperatives:
• Respect carrying capacity
• Conserve and recycle capacity
• Reduce wastes/ product design
• Biodiversity
• Ecosystem integrity
• Appropriate technology
Anti-intellectualism vs Scientific mindsets
• The process of dumbing down degrees and qualifications to fit
(quick) fixed outcomes; academic freedom?
• A degree at Wits for Sangomas (Witchdoctors), Power balance
bracelets; Muti murders in RSA
• Alternative medicines, homeopathy, chiropractice, slimming aids
• Indigenous knowledge of plants with active substances (Hoodia
gordonii, ‘Kougoed’, sweeteners)
• Risks of food poisoning will increase (Luandle, Cape – ‘expired 2003
food’ - Jan 2010)
The importance of Intangible Assets in an Enterprise
Intangible Asset Management
• Knowledge: only valuable when it is harnessed and used so that it
creates value (in the enterprise)
• Difference between Knowledge management and Information
management (Managing competence vs making decisions)
• Negative effects of shortermism, quick fixes and super-charged
career expectations
• If you can measure it you can manage it
• Requirement of understanding the processes and the competencies
to deliver each product/service
Intangible Asset Management vs Technological
Fixes
Paul Strassmann* states: “…it is not computers that make the
difference, but what people do with them. Elevating
computerization to the level of a magic bullet of this civilization is a
mistake that will find correction in due course. It leads to the
diminishing of what matters the most in any enterprise: educated,
committed, and imaginative individuals working for organizations
that place greater emphasis on people than on technologies”
*(The squandered computer – debunking Grosch’s 1965 law about cost and computer capacity;
much of the research was in USA food corporations)
"The guy who invented the
wheel was an idiot, the guy
who invented the other
three he was the genius”.
Intangible Asset Management – Managing the
Higher order competencies of a business
 Fusion competence: Opportunity identification, Leveraging
opportunity, Initiative and Strategic direction
 Technological competence: A product or service to be delivered
(factory processes)
 Business process competence: A delivery structure
 Network competence: Relationships along the value chain and in
the market
 Human competence: People to produce the output (Brains 90% +
Brawn 10%)
Challenges facing Food Technologists
• The need for professionalism – is it ‘good (sustainable) business and
also good HACCP practice’?
• The necessity for integrity and ethics – admit mistakes
• Design of food products: adding the right amount of value for the
market (minimal packaging, semi-processed)
• Poisons, residues and additives
• Recycling, reuse, landfill impact
So how should South Africans think?
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The future, not the past is what counts
Our future is in our own hands
Don’t allow politicians to rule us – we rule them!!!!
If they don’t perform, fire them!!
Your vote is your strength
You have responsibilities as a citizen.
“I would ask the oracle how we as civil society could best
learn to be better stewards of democracy. Because we get
the leaders we deserve. I would ask the oracle how we
could re-inculcate the values that drove so many of us to
sacrifice so much for this democracy to be born. A dream
that has been replaced by rampant materialism, greed,
corruption and total disrespect for basic human values…
We need to get back what we have lost.”
( www.dinokengscenarios.co.za , 2009)
It’s about values and paradigms
 Richard Dowden: Africa – altered states, ordinary miracles - p336
“In Africa traditional concepts and social controls have been
weakened or forgotten, but they have not necessarily been
replaced by a new moral code to fit the world’s new realities”
 In Science truth is absolute and normative; in African culture truth
is very relative; mystical rather than scientific mindset
 In ‘truly developing’ countries: ‘Leaders create a better tomorrow’;
the work ethic and competence counts
 In backward countries: Low respect for life, failing infrastructure,
materialism, greed, expectation of miracles
Democratic System Requirements
• Responsible and Accountable leaders (sound governances,
create trust and certainty, not cowboys)
• Responsible, & educated/informed voters – demanding
performance and discipline (financial and moral)
• ‘How’ not ‘who’ of ruling party (Africa and strong leaders)
• Investment culture (labour laws, human capital, ethics,
government supportive (can’t create jobs))
• Transparency; information used intelligently (illiterates?)
• Discipline in the system; shame don’t reward misdeeds!
“We the people are the rightful masters of both
(Parliament) and the courts, not to overthrow the
Constitution but to overthrow the people who
pervert the Constitution” (Abraham Lincoln,
Congress replaced by Parliament)
Do you realise that the government is
perverting our Constitution in many ways?
Can you recognise a perversion?
Are you willing to do something about it?
Note from Israeli prime minister to the
Egyptian government in February 2011:
“Please don’t break down the pyramids we’re not going to help you again!”.
And South Africa?
That’s it - Thank you!