African Public Relations Association (APRA) and the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) Africa have joined forces to gather insight into the State of Ethics and Public Relations (PR) in Africa. How important is ethics in Africa? What role does PR play on the African continent?
Reputation Matters® is conducting the research on behalf of APRA and PRCA.
Please will you be so kind as to complete and also to share the survey to help foster as many insights as possible:
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact the Reputation Matters Team: research@reputationmatters.co.za
Many thanks!
#ethics #publicrelations #research #Africa #reputationmatters #APRA #PRCA #PR #communication
These interactions have stirred up numerous emotions, but above all, it made
me furious for several reasons:
It has made the tender process frivolous. What is meant to level the playing field,
has turned into a mockery of the tender process. A tender is something that is
meant to give everyone the same opportunity to pitch for a project. It’s
supposed to be a very specific process and set of rules evaluating everyone
against the same point system. It’s meant to be about what is best for the
organisation, not the individual and certainly not for lining their own
personal pockets.
Although tenders take numerous hours and dedication to compile, we have never
shied away from participating in tenders. It’s a process that I’ve always felt
confident in participating in, specifically regarding the strict regulations
that I always imaged needed to be followed, respected, and adhered to. It’s one
of those endorphin-filled moments when you’ve been put through your paces, done
absolutely everything possible to showcase your skills, methodology and
credentials and you receive that letter that reads that your submission has
been approved, and you receive your purchase order (PO) number. It’s
exhilarating when your hard work pays off.
Cheating is cheating. I am flabbergasted by the audacity of these
requests. Not only does it go against our value of respect, but it also
compromises our integrity. Everyone is bemoaning loadshedding and the state of
our economy, but by cheating the system through fraud and corruption is exactly
how we got into this mess as a country. It must stop somewhere, or rather
with someone. We, as individuals and as organisations need to say ‘no’ to these
requests, no matter how enticing it might sound.
I do wish that it was easier to report these things. Not so long ago, (excluding
the two incidents in January 2023), I had someone approach me out of the blue
wanting us to be part of a project that listed pretty much everything that we have
to offer. He wanted to help us get the project with no paper trail. Alarm bells
immediately went off, and I indicated that it all sounded incredibly unethical,
and asked the caller to confirm his name and position at the organisation,
‘chief auditor’ (of all things) he confidently shared! When I put the phone
down, I immediately phoned the Department but there was no answer on the
landline however I did manage to get the details of the spokesperson who was rather
dismissive. When I mentioned the reputational implications of the whole
situation, he merely suggested that I report it to the South African Police
Services (SAPS) or the Hawks. I called the Hawks, but there was no answer, sent
an email, but the reply I received pretty much referred me back to the website
where I got their initial contact details from.
As much as I would want to report these latest incidents, I highly doubt
that I would get very far since there is no hard evidence or paper trails
(emails, letters, WhatsApps or SMS’s). That is why these tender fraudsters are
so adamant about not wanting things recorded, not wanting to meet at the office
and they would rather use personal channels of communication. Keep an eye out
for this.
For me it is all in the name; Reputation Matters. We want to
build great reputations, we want to work with organisations that align with our
great values, which is the acronym for growth, respect,
excellence, authenticity and trust (GREAT). However, the organisation must want
to improve their reputation, we can’t build a reputation if it means
compromising our own values and reputation in the process by mocking the system
through bribery. Sometimes a reputation is so beyond repair a whole rehaul is
needed. What do I mean by that? I mean that in order to rebuild the reputation will
require replacing the entire leadership, executive and management teams.
Reputations are built from the example that leaders set and what they tolerate.
Sadly, don’t be fooled by a Code of Ethics in their annual reports.
It is actions, not words that show ethical behaviour and someone’s integrity. I
double-checked, all the entities that have approached us for the ‘something on
the side’ have beautifully written paragraphs in their annual reports about
ethics and integrity and how their management teams are committed to it. Annual
reports are not meant to be glossy covers and fancy words, it needs to be
actions that are not only lived, but that people are held accountable for.
I am convinced that there are still good entities out there who want the
best for their organisations and are not just in it for themselves. Entities who
want to build cultures where everyone thrives and not just places where only a
few benefit from cheating a system for personal gain. I have to believe this,
it has to be true if there is any hope for our country.
If in doubt, here are three lessons that we have learnt that hints towards
a tender probably being dodgy and you should steer very very far away from it:
🚩 Inside information: You have very
specific information about a tender before it is made public.
🚩 Audit trail: When personal
telephones and email addresses are used to contact you about a tender.
🚩 Meeting times: When you are
requested to attend a meeting to discuss a tender outside of work hours and not
in the office building.
So, my question is, is there a point to even consider tenders? Has a winning
bid already been allocated even before the tender documents have been penned
down? How do we regain the trust in the tendering process?
So for now, until I get more clarity on ethical tendering, we’re out, no
‘somethings’ will be forthcoming from us.
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