Character Based Training in the workplace

I am also doing two day advanced training on Character First Principles in the workplace. What a missing training programme in the workplace today. Just note the following statements:


“SA has the worst economic crime rate in the world – with asset misappropriation, money laundering, bribery and fraud topping the list of white collar crimes, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers global survey released this week.

SA is estimated to have lost more than R600m to economic crimes in the past two years, with analysts saying that this does not bode well for the country’s efforts to woo foreign investment.




PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Louis Strydom said 72% of companies in SA had fallen prey to economic crime in the past two years, compared with 43% globally.

Source: Institute for FUTURES RESEARCH: Issue 671, 19 October 2007

Rampant theft by SA Post Office workers has infuriated the world’s leading Internet retailer Amazon so much that they will no longer send goods to SA by post.
Anyone wanting to order directly from the US-based website must now pay for a private courier service – adding about R420 to the price of a DVD or book.
SA’s postal status makes the country the pariah of Africa, since no other African country has had postal deliveries scrapped. The only other African country that cannot use the cheapest standard postal service is Nigeria, although Amazon still trusts Nigeria’s post office if buyers pay a slightly higher expedited shipping rate.
Source: Institute for FUTURES RESEARCH: Issue 700, 20 June 2008

A survey released by TNS Research Surveys found 90% of respondents thought corruption had become a way of life in SA, and 85% thought there was corruption at high levels of the government.
Ninety percent said corruption should be eliminated.
But one in five was happy to buy pirated DVDs and CDs, and a quarter knew people who had bought stolen goods.
Source: Institute for FUTURES RESEARCH: Issue 701, 27 June 2008

Telkom estimated it had lost about R977m as a result of copper cable theft in the period 1 April last year to the end of March this year, compared with R718m the previous year, Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri said. The figure included the cost of replacement, cable security and the estimated outbound revenue losses Source: Institute for FUTURES RESEARCH: Issue 702 4 July 2008

A quarter of SA’s small businesses were reluctant to expand or employ more people after having been exposed to crime, according to a study commissioned by the Presidency. Hardest hit were the smallest, most vulnerable companies, and the most successful entrepreneurs.
It was estimated that smaller businesses could expect to lose at least 20% of annual turnover to crime through direct and indirect costs, which could mean the difference between the survival and failure of a small company, especially since half the companies interviewed had no insurance.

Source: Institute for FUTURES RESEARCH: Issue 704 18 July 2008