19th November, The way ahead, international vs. African Librarianship

Due to unforeseeable circumstance I could not attend the 17th and 18th lessons.

African librarianship is intertwined in the international librarianship. We as Africans should realise that there is a big space for us in the international arena where we can contribute, learn and create new knowledge. It is therefore our responsibility to put Africa in the global map.

16th November, Multiculturalism in the workplace

South Africa is still in its transitional phase of cultural transformations. We have identified the differences and similarities. We are aware of the fact that South Africa a needs a united workforce.

The visit to Constitutional Hill reminded us of the bitter painful past; we need to nurture and protect this democracy because never again should we as South African citizens should we destroy human dignity.



"Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another…"
Nelson Mandela, Inaugural Address, Pretoria 9 May 1994.

15th November, Dynamic organisation

For organisations to survive and to operate effectively and efficiently they need to plan strategically. The first step to strategic planning process is to understand the internal and external factors as they will affect the business and to continually evaluate these factors, this process is also called PENST analysis.
P = Political environment
E= Economical
N = Natural environment
S = Social Demographics
T = Technological Developments.

Conduct a SWOT analysis, know your competitors and analyse the expectations of the stakeholders. By doing this critical exercise you then have a clear understanding of your target market, their needs and expectations.

This is the stage where you have enough information to come up with a suitable Vision, Mission, Values, Organisation’s overall objectives, Division’s Objectives, Departmental Objectives, Team and individual KPA’s which includes performance and personal development.

12th, Knowledge Management, Web 2.0. social media and other tools

Knowledge management is critical to South African organisations as is to international organisations, organization should invest in facilitating and managing innovation and
organizational learning. Organisations should aim at leveraging the expertise of people across the organization. Managing business environments and allowing employees to obtain relevant ideas appropriate to their work solving problems. Managing intellectual capital and intellectual assets in the workforce such as the know-how possessed by key individuals. The government should begin increasing network connectivity. Rewards can be used as motivation for knowledge sharing.
Storytelling could also use as a method of transferring tacit knowledge. Communities of practice, best practice, competence management and coaching, mentoring relationships should be encouraged. Bjarke Gotfredsen demonstrated how Web 2.0 tools that are (wikis, social bookmarking, blogs, etc.) can be used to better incorporate knowledge management in companies.

11th,Strategic Organisation in Practice

I enjoyed the visit to the University of Pretoria’s Library Services and National Library of South Africa. It is very important to know where you are and where you intend to go, so strategies are used as living documents. However management should get their staff members involved in the crafting of this important document. Because at the end the staff should action the documented DREAM. The National library of South Africa is well positioned locally and internationally. NLSA plays a very unique role of preserving the South African literature, and digitizing rare and special material. What fascinated me is the fact that the community as the clients of NLSA are well catered and catered for, through access to Information Technology, books, study space etc. and I have recognized how the NLSA staff is knowledgeable, skilled and talented to a point where I would say these man and women are expects in what they do. The question is, is their management aware of this talent or even so are these people self aware of their strength and is their knowledge well managed for future and young librarians?

10th, Maximising Human Capital

The laws of the country need be considered in business dealings as this might cause the organization a lot of damage and money that is the constitution, Labour Relations Act, basic condition of employment Act, contract of Employment and common Law. The following are human capital critical in managing self brand, which is social capital, emotional capital, relationship capital and knowledge capital. During these competitive times each and every organization should strive to become an employer of choice. A lot of organizations have performance management systems in place but these systems are not managed properly, constructive conflict is necessary in organizations as it fore people to communicate and engage, however conflict should be managed.

9th, Organisational Leadership

1. leadership is a very complex phenomenon, that is why we turn to confuse it with management, however through this lesson the presenter managed to demonstrate different aspects of leadership in very simple and practical manner. I know that rather than say he is a born leader, I would say he was born with qualities that attracted people’s attention, because of those qualities people trusted and respected him, without considering the skills he possesses.

Leadership styles varies from situation to situation, normally early stage of organisation would be autocratic style (Telling), from 6-20 years persuasive style (Selling), 25-45 years consultative style (Consulting) and 45-60 years democratic (Joining) often we thought the style is related by a leader’s personality. As South Africans we should shape our leadership around the concept of Ubuntu as this defines us as nation. It is important to realise that at times it is required that one put on a leadership cap, that is where he pay attention to new trends, and craft visions.

They lead by principles rather than policies. In case where he puts on a management cap, then operation process have to be actioned in order to achieve the organization goals as prescribed by the strategic plan. I have mastered the art of coaching and mentoring and I am going to practice at my workplace. Self awareness is important in ones career and personal growth. It is crucial that Human capital is maximized.