Former President of the Republic of South Africa and Patron of theThabo Mbeki Foundation

This very interesting book is being published when we, South Africans, have recently celebrated an eventful thirty years of democracy - Democracy@30! It is natural that a significant part of our celebration or observance of this important anniversary will be a critical or analytical assessment of our relatively new democracy, its strengths and weaknesses, its successes and failures. Happily, there will be many and varied voices that will be involved in this process of a collective assessment of where we have been and how we got to be where we are today. Necessarily such reflection will also be about our future because each one of us entertains the hope to be at a better place tomorrow.

The processes visualised in the succeeding paragraphs are about the important matter of knowledge. Some time ago I had an interesting occasion to address the challenging question of the ‘Democratisation of Knowledge and its Role in the Betterment of Society’. As part of the process of addressing this question, I cited two quotations. One of these was written by the eminent but self-taught 19th century English biologist and anthropologist, iiiThomas Huxley, who said: “The known is finite, the unknown infinite, - intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of inexplicability. Our business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land, to add something to the extent and the solidity of our possessions.”

Bheki: I am grateful for this opportunity. May we kindly begin with your seminal work, Let Africa Lead, in which you pose the powerful, quotable quote: “If not now, when? And if not us, then whom?” Looking at the continent today, would you say Africa is leading itself out of the coordinates of poverty and its image as a pariah continent? If so, what are some of the most prominent examples? If not, why do you think we are still struggling to lead ourselves out of the poverty narrative and pariah status?

Reuel: Thanks a lot. You’ve asked a number of important questions, and if I fail to address them adequately and comprehensively, you will flag the aspects that I have treated too scantily. In essence, I don't believe we are succeeding. What success we have is limited. Let's start with the Maghreb region - which includes Egypt and the Carthage - there is a long, proud history with Egypt, hieroglyphics, the River Nile, and early scientific agriculture. This region could rightfully claim pride of place where the deep sense of African history is concerned. However, I don't believe the Maghreb region is doing particularly well today. In Egypt as we speak now, it is somewhat difficult to tell who the president is. Libya was badly scuttled following the demise of brother leader, Colonel Gaddafi. Then there's Tunisia, which once seemed to herald a new dawn with its revolution, very little seems to have emerged since then. Morocco, meanwhile, is somewhat nondescript. There is a sense in which it identifies with Africa but given its proximity to the Mediterranean and Southern Europe, there remains a strong Eurocentric pull. I spent time in Morocco during my tenure at Eskom, and I observed how they see themselves as more civilised, being just a hop away from Spain and Italy. Overall, the Maghreb region is not making the kind of progress it ought to be making.

Organisations range from single owner-operators to huge global conglomerates. How an organisation is structured is influenced by how it is owned and what the organisation is aiming to achieve. Large global organisations with thousands of employees must work differently to a self-employed local electrician. Differences will be found in organisational design, such as how the organisation allocates tasks or meets goals. These differences help to identify an organisation’s structure and recognising this structure can help determine the communication channels most appropriate for that organisation. Organisational culture is also affected by organisational structure and design, and it can influence employee behaviour.

This chapter first defines an organisation by type and then describe the elements common to all organisations, including the level of formality, specialisation of tasks, chain of command, span of control and centralisation of decision-making. Every organisation is different; while the basic structural elements are similar, the combination of these elements results in unique organisations.

This chapter explores objectives for communication, emotional intelligence, and strategies to improve our communication in a professional context.

We communicate for a variety of reasons including to be social, to express ourselves, to share information, to persuade and to entertain. Communicating in a professional context largely relates to communication that occurs on behalf of an organisation or for a professional outcome. Effective professional communication helps you form connections and builds relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and customers, and can have a positive impact on productivity.

This chapter looks at aspects of professional communication, including emotional intelligence, and intra- and interpersonal communication, and describes how they influence communication competence in professional communication. We review a variety of communication styles and how they might affect influence and impression management. Finally, we discuss differentiating thought processes to enable professional communication aimed at achieving the best outcome in a given situation.

The internet is a global communication tool that is used to create and share vast amounts of information. The internet and all its associated technology are so ubiquitous that we cannot imagine a world without it. Such a force driving social change has not been seen since the invention of the printing press and the advent of global literacy.

Digital connectivity has become integral to our personal and professional lives. It has evolved into a fundamental necessity, shaping how we communicate, collaborate and engage in various aspects of our personal and work environments. It is continually evolving rapidly; our current machines, platforms, programs and applications will soon be superseded. As a business professional, you must keep learning new skills, adapt and constantly move forward to stay abreast of technological change.

This chapter explores online and digital spaces for organisational communication and outlines strategies business professional should consider when engaging with online audiences. It offers best-practice advice for creating and managing personal branding for a digital environment.

In business, meetings often occupy a great deal of time. When run well, they can be productive and improve interpersonal relationships. When run poorly, they can seriously damage productivity and morale. Meetings are not useful if attendees feel they have wasted valuable time in their incredibly busy workday.

This chapter explores planning and running successful meetings. It considers the rationale for holding meetings and classifies several meeting types and their level of formality. The discussion then identifies the key roles in planning, preparing, running and recording meetings to ensure productivity and the delivery of outcomes. After the purpose, types, roles and documents of meetings have been outlined, the chapter examines the factors necessary for effective meetings.

Being able to communicate persuasively is a key skill you need to master to be an effective professional communicator. Many messages we create or receive have some persuasive element – we regularly communicate with the intention of getting others (and sometimes ourselves) to act in a certain way, or change or reinforce behaviours, attitudes and beliefs. Effective persuasion centres on your relationship with your audience, and their willingness to be persuaded. While those in leadership positions can sometimes use their authority to make people act, most business professionals will need to create motives for people to act or believe in their reasoning.

Effective persuasion can have a dramatic influence on the success, effectiveness, and achievement of objectives for organisations.

In this chapter we explore theories and strategies for professional persuasion. You will use your knowledge of your primary and secondary audiences as a means of engaging in successful communication understand where the audience fits in the persuasive communication process, and how the audience’s motivations and knowledge can help shape messages so they are acted on as intended.

In this chapter, we outline examples of two common forms of business writing in a contemporary business context: informative writing and persuasive writing. While there are many forms of informative writing (such as media articles, descriptive essays, manuals and reports), the chapter focuses on one important business genre, reports. Similarly, while there are many forms of persuasive writing (such as advertising, proposals, letters of application and professional tenders), we’ve selected proposals (a specific report format) as an example of persuasive writing. Finally, in the Extend your understanding section, we briefly explore eight key writing strategies and techniques that will enable you to write with more confidence and effectiveness. Of course, many of these can be used outside the business context in your personal life to craft better messages to achieve your goals.