Recently there have been reports of Namibia experiencing a high number of rape cases including so called passion killings. A local daily reported that crime in the country is increasing with rape topping the list. We have also experienced unabated gender-based violence and in response the SWAPO Party Women’s Council has called on women irrespective of marital status to abstain from sex for at least three months.
The call was made during a recent meeting of the council which participants declared war to end gender based violence. They feel that men have turned into monsters instead of taking up the role of being protectors. So the council decided that the only way to end this was to abstain from sexual intercourse as a form of rebellion towards their male counterparts. The council feels that men do not respect women’s wishes when it comes to sex, adding that “no” should mean “no” if a woman refuses to have sex even if its her partner in a relationship. As the Deputy Secretary General of the party boldly puts it: “Maybe now we (women) have to demonstrate and sleep on our stomachs for men to see that we are fed up of this continuation of gender-based violence and passion killings every day.”

Background
In the previous article I discussed the measurement of innovation and laid down some basic metrics.  In essence, measurement leads to control and eventually improvement. Over the last year and a half, I have covered a lot of topics with regards to innovation, why it is important, the influence of organisational culture, deciding which projects to take on, moving from idea generation to implementation, etc.  I have prominently stated in the first article that innovation is not something mythical, a special gift, or a capability only reserved for the Apple’s and Google’s of this world.
 Innovation is a business discipline that can be learned, improved and excelled in. I am of opinion that, in general, the perception of innovation has changed in the business environment in the sense that organisations do not view innovation as “fuzzy” anymore, but organisations understand that is required to stay competitive and there is effort in organisations to make innovation “work”.  So on that note, I want to address the issue of entrenching innovation as a process in the organisation.]]> waldo@economist.com.na (Rikus Grobler) Columns Fri, 17 May 2013 16:33:50 +0100 http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3182-this-week-in-the-khuta-from-her-breast-grew-life http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3182-this-week-in-the-khuta-from-her-breast-grew-life

Other than the penguin species, I do not know of any other mammal in which the father takes care of the young when they are still young. According to documentary shows, (which have narrators with British accents thus making them legitimate) the penguin males after taking a quick course in parenting 101, take on the responsibility which is traditionally mum’s job in the animal kingdom. Reverting our eyes back to the human race unfortunately societal changes have meant that we too are a single parent society. Single mums are the new order of the day.
TV shows and films have turned the notion into a form of novelty. How often do we see an interview of a prolific member of society who states that they were raised by a single parent, the mother? Its almost a new fashion statement. Whatever the reasons, (some of which I shall mention) the growing phenomena is rapidly growing across the globe almost making it the new norm.]]> waldo@economist.com.na (Daniel Kavishe) Columns Mon, 13 May 2013 16:53:58 +0100 http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3169-the-new-interface-selling-is-still-important http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3169-the-new-interface-selling-is-still-important

A walk through one of the trade fairs is enlightening. There is a clear difference between local business and business from across the border. Businesses from outside the country come with agendas. Their representatives have to pay back with sales and contracts for their air tickets and accommodation, as well as the cost of the stand. Local businesses can be spotted by their introversion, They do not come to the front of the stand to sell, stands are often empty, or the people manning the stands sit to the back, engaged in leisurely conversation.
It is a sentiment echoed in the behaviour of local business, outside of fair grounds. There is a ‘come-to-us’ approach, in which customers are expected to make unaided purchase decisions, as well as a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ attitude which pays little heed to quality or post-purchase care. Most calls are answered eventually, but grudgingly and gracelessly. Motivation appears to be as low as energy levels on a hot summer day.
In the past few years, there has been some talk of innovation, in the same vein as a panacea for Namibia’s failed business ambition, however, even if Namibia were to come up with a cure for cancer, it could well end up unremarked or unnoticed, for want of salesmanship.]]> waldo@economist.com.na (Pierre Mare) Columns Mon, 13 May 2013 16:44:21 +0100 http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3141-this-week-in-the-khuta-will-the-tender-board-ever-pass-the-corruption-test http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3141-this-week-in-the-khuta-will-the-tender-board-ever-pass-the-corruption-test

The Tender Board has for various reasons been associated with corruption. Whether such suspicions are justified or not is difficult for me to say since no high profile official of the board has been successfully prosecuted in the past for corruption.
However, the absence of any prosecution does not mean that there are no corrupt individuals who sit on the Tender Board. It will be naive of anyone to think that only angels sit on the Tender Board. Be that as it may, one cannot help but notice recent attempts by the board to spruce up its image in the public eye. For what it is worth, I think it is a welcome development.
The route taken by the board is welcome in that, for years now the Tender Board has been living in secrecy. In the past, no reasons were given for an unsuccessful bid, and according to the Chairperson of the Board Ericah Shafudah, after the passing of the new Tender Board Act, expected to become law this year, the board will publish reasons why a company was not successful in its application for a government tender.]]> waldo@economist.com.na (Nyasha Francis Nyaungwa) Columns Fri, 03 May 2013 16:16:45 +0100 http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3139-private-portfolio-welcome-to-the-real-world http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3139-private-portfolio-welcome-to-the-real-world

Over the last few months I gained some first hand exposure to what it means, financially speaking, to become old and frail.
Much has already been said and written on this subject and there are many campaigns aloof to raise awareness of the financial implications of going into retirement and that this retirement can become a lengthy one.
Unfortunately it seems a feature of our human nature to address the many possible negative situations one may face in future with the attitude that this event will not happen to me or that it is too far in future to contemplate at all.
This attitude does help to maintain a positive outlook on life instead of just fretting about all things that may go wrong and thereby forget to live.
However, when one does get confronted with the reality then the coin drops but it may be just a little too late.
For this reason I like to share some of my recent experiences. Having spent some time visiting old age homes and frail care centres and having listened to conversations amongst the folk that reside or visited there, a few issues were hammered home again.

Background
In the previous article I discussed the role of project management in the innovation process.  To summarise, project management is the “execution tool” of innovation and brings structure to an inherently unstructured activity. The process has started out with an idea, the idea has been delivered, and now it has to be determined if the innovation delivers the value that has been envisioned in the ideation stage.  This is not a straightforward measurement, because innovation can take on so many forms, the benefits can be tangible or intangible, and sometimes it takes a long time before the actual benefits are realized.
Innovation measurement
How can you measure how well your organisation is doing with innovation? What metrics can you use? Most organisations find it difficult to measure innovation in any satisfactory way.  
The most common method to measure innovation has been to measure Research and Development (R&D) spending.  However, this view (or method if you want), has been challenged over the last couple of years.  In my view, this measurement is more applicable to manufacturing and product development environments. I also want to make the statement that I have not come across many organisations in Namibia that has a R&D budget. Another widely used measurement is Return on Investment (ROI).  Criticism on this method with regards to measuring innovation is that ROI-based assessments tend to embrace short term thinking and to exclude the development of long term, breakthrough, and discontinuous ideas and projects.]]> waldo@economist.com.na (Rikus Grobler) Columns Fri, 03 May 2013 15:58:29 +0100 http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3095-this-week-in-the-khuta-to-err-is-human-deal-with-it-and-move-on http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3095-this-week-in-the-khuta-to-err-is-human-deal-with-it-and-move-on

The biggest most anticipated night in Namibian music took place last weekend. A night with promises to rock and entertain the Namibian nation instead ended up being marred by complaints and disappointments of what is now called the worst Namibian Annual Music Awards ceremony to have ever hit the nation’s screens.
This year I got the privilege to watch them live so I personally bore witness to the mishaps that took place on 20 April 2013 at Ramatex. I cringed half way through the show and was so embarrassed I hid my face in shame. Most of the audience failed to understand why things where not falling into place and left to get a drink, hoping not to regret why they had wasted their time, money and outfits to attend the award show. Some even left before the presenters had said goodnight to the rest of the audience and viewers at home. Not even the chill in the air could compare to the cold atmosphere in the arena as the audience laughed at some of the guest presenters who could not read what was on the autocue. My immediate thoughts were, “where did they get these people who can’t read what’s in front of them and what are the South African guests thinking about all the blunders in front of them?”]]> waldo@economist.com.na (Melba Chipepo) Columns Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:13:18 +0100 http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3089-the-new-interface-communication-in-the-organogram http://www.economist.com.na/columns/3089-the-new-interface-communication-in-the-organogram

I had to do a bit of unexpected thinking this week about the way a communications department fits in the organogram and hierarchy, and the impact of its position on activities and reporting.
In the standard scheme of things, the basic approach of the undergraduate varsity textbook, the function will fall under marketing. This is typical because although there are numerous ways of handling the marketing function, umpteen different ways of doing a marketing plan and one-hundred-and-one things the department can do in real life, marketing in the real world has devolved to ‘those people who do advertising’.
This has a mirror in the shift of functions such as pricing, product aspects and distribution away from marketing to other functions in the organisation. In fact, ‘marketing’ is increasingly becoming known as ‘communication’, which is merciful because it absolves the marketing department from the need to make embarrassing admissions like, “We do advertising, but none of the other ‘big-folks’ stuff you would associate with marketing.”
The evolving nature of the organisation leaves a hole in the organogram where marketing used to sit. In a retail organisation the problem can be solved by placing communication alongside management and servicing of outlets and allowing it to act in a supporting role. If the organisation manufactures products, the function can support the brand managers.]]> waldo@economist.com.na (Pierre Mare) Columns Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:07:33 +0100