I recently caught up with Neeltje du Plessis, lecturer in communication
management at the University of Pretoria. She is busy working on a new textbook
with a chapter about the impact of isolationism on the corporate social
responsibility (CSR) of a country. The whole concept of isolationism intrigued
me, as it speaks to four of the ten elements that we take into consideration
when measuring an organisation’s reputation (strategic intent, strategic
alliances, value offering and corporate social investment).
For starters, I must admit, I had to do a quick Google search to get to
grips what exactly isolationism means. Broadly speaking, it has
to do with foreign policies institutionalised by leaders who are of the opinion
that their nations’ interest are best served by keeping the affairs of other
countries at a distance. The most relevant example of this is United States of
America (USA) president, Donald Trump’s ‘Keep America Great’ initiative, where
the core focus is on investing in American companies and levying high taxes on
imports.
Many, if not all, African countries are dependent on foreign investment
and especially social investment grants and many would not survive without them.
How will we be impacted in our own country if we were to adopt an isolationist
view? What would happen if we implemented isolationist policies? Would we be shooting ourselves in the foot,
or would we share even bigger returns and foster greater opportunities for
ourselves? Why are we not investing more in our own talent and
industries? Travel to any European city and you might be astounded by the
beautiful fruit and vegetables on display at their supermarkets, take a closer
look and you will see that it comes from South Africa. We have so much to give
in terms of magnificent produce, natural resources, and talent, and yet we
often relinquish it without our own people seeing it.
In the same vein, not having clear governance and policy structures in
place to protect what we have can also ruin our own industries. For example, a
few years ago South African chicken farmers were crippled by
the import of chickens and chicken products from Zimbabwe. There was absolutely
nothing wrong with our chickens; the imported chickens were just cheaper. If there was a lack of chickens in South
Africa, then importing and supporting the neighbouring country’s economy makes
sense. But we first need to get our own economy on its feet. If you are
importing and not supporting the local market you are not furthering the
country’s own economy. Isolationism touches not just on overseas markets, but
also our African neighbours that we all want to see grow while maintaining our
own strengths.
It all boils down to
balance. When we measure reputations,
all the different elements that we consider (ten of them) need to be in
balance. Similarly, in an era of isolationism, we need to be very mindful of
this balance. If we focus too much on isolating ourselves from the rest of the
world, we may be cutting ourselves off from the global trade opportunities and
learning new skills and trades.
With that said, we must
keep true to our own identify and first look for local opportunities and
businesses to invest in before importing products. If we take another example, cheap clothing
from the East has ruined the fabric industry in Africa: it is a lot more affordable
to buy imports than to invest in locally made fabric and tailors, and now we
are losing those skills which has been very much a part of the African cultural
fabric (pun intended).
We should be looking
after own people first; it does not help creating wealth for other countries
and our own people are starving. We need much tighter regulation and policies
regarding importing goods.
What
is the reality of isolationism on South Africa and Africa?
Africa is expressing a
definite desire to find and communicate a strong African identity: independent
of colonial influence, yet relevant in the modern world. African leaders want to
take Africa into a significant place in the world economy and culture within
the next 30 to 50 years, but on its own terms. This process includes finding an
alternative to the Western/US business capitalist business model through an
Africapitalism* model that can combine economic and social wealth equally;
again, finding balance.
In the United Kingdom
(UK) and USA the desire for isolationism started as social movements with
anti-globalisation protests and protest votes against ‘giving it all away’. This
has been actioned with Trump enforcing isolationist policies and the Brexit
vote that took place. In Africa we are currently in the social movement stage.
However, while the social movement media is focused on decolonisation as Africa
deals with its colonial past, it is very concerning that governments seem to be
selling vast tracts of land to Chinese interests.
Why is this important to know about?
Consultants,
business leaders, academics and new entrants in the world of work need to take
note that the worldview that governs relationships are changing. The rules are changing. Success is measured
differently. We are already in an era where the integrated report emphasises
social and environmental value that the corporation added during the financial
year, apart from merely financial performance. Corporations are taking a lot of
care in the kinds of programmes they are involved in and the partners they
choose in creating social and environmental value.
Delving deeper: How does this relate to CSR and why is this
important?
One aspect of business
that is affected by isolationism is CSR, a key reputational element.
Isolationism may affect the amount of resources committed to CSR programmes,
the scope of these programmes and the type of programmes that will be supported
through CSR programmes. These questions are important for non-profit
organisations, community-based organisations and vulnerable communities, as
they must understand how corporates make decisions about who to support with
their CSR initiatives. For example: if a company follows a more globalised
approach in its business model, its CSR decisions might include projects with a
more global focus, while a more inward focus could bring more benefit to local
community-based organisations. This is a simplified version of possibilities,
but it illustrates on a basic level the influence that a more isolationist
worldview could have on CSR decisions.
The good news is that in
many instances, government isolationist policy such as the USA policies, do not
influence USA corporate policies. Therefore, American companies active in South
Africa will still make their CSR decisions based on business principles, led by
investor pressure and stakeholder relations in their immediate environment.
What does isolationism mean for Africa?
This is not the end of
the story. We are on the brink of developing new ways of doing business and
communicating, to manage the expectations and report on the impact of business
success. The new way of doing business will be CSR and Communication led and it
will come from Africa to teach the world the balance.
So, are we in favour if
isolationism or not?
Isolationism by USA,
Europe and UK can hurt African countries in terms of government funded
programmes as government policies change to focus more on internal spending and
development.
Multinational
corporations are still motivated by shareholder, stakeholder and reputational
risk factors and will continue to invest in CSR programmes in the local
communities, but their success will determine the amount, scope and focus of
the programmes.
Africa’s desire to take
control of its own narrative and its own development might include measures to
encourage local business interests over multinationals, however the African
governments will define local businesses in their quest to de-colonise, which
might mean that the scope of some international companies’ activities might be
reduced where local companies are given preferential treatment in terms of
tariffs and taxes.
A new Africapitalism
business model might indicate that CSR becomes a major strategic determinant of
decisions in African businesses, which means that African isolationism is
eventually a good thing for CSR, but that it may take a long time.
*Elumelu, T. O. 2011.
Africapitalism: The path to economic prosperity and social wealth.
