In May 2009, news of Deutsche Bank’s spying operations became public. Over a period of six years, the bank’s corporate security department had conducted secret surveillance of certain employees, board members and shareholders. Deutsche Bank had hoped to use the knowledge gained to its advantage in court or in the media. Thus, the bank faced the possibility of legal action instituted by the people it had spied on. Furthermore, news of the spying operations had the potential to damage Deutsche Bank’s reputation as a trustworthy institution.

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In late June 2012, the results of a long-term investigation by the United Kingdom’s (UK) financial watchdog, Financial Services Authorities (FSA), revealed that derivatives traders and bankers at Barclays bank had been colluding to influence submissions that influenced the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the European Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR).

In September 2011, news of Bank Saderat Iran’s involvement in an embezzlement operation became public. Amir Mansoor Khosravi, an Iranian businessman, had used fraudulent documents from Bank Saderat to obtain bank loans that amounted to US$2.6 billion.  At the time, the fraud was the biggest in the history of Iranian banking and those implicated faced harsh penalties, including death sentences.  As Iran’s public prosecutor investigated the case, senior officials at Bank Saderat denied having any knowledge of the fraudulent operation.

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On 11 November 2015, Carlos Brito, chief executive of global leading beer brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), presented his final offer of US$105.5 billion (£69.8 or £44 pounds per share), to acquire its rival, SABMiller, which the company accepted. The acquisition process had started in September and just over a month later, on 13 October, SABMiller had accepted the offer in principle, but had certain requirements before it would accept. Such a massive transaction could well present hurdles – one being anti-competitive issues.

South Africa had the most rapidly growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world. By 2001, 4.2 million South Africans were infected with HIV. However, the development of a comprehensive HIV/AIDS policy and subsequent action by the government was noticeably absent. A critical role had emerged for business to provide AIDS education, prevention and health care to employees, particularly considering that they would have to bear many of the costs associated with an infected workforce.

It was mid-2008 and Zackie Achmat, founder of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) − widely regarded as one of the most successful HIV/AIDS activist organisations in the world − sat in his office in the historic Westminster House in Adderley Street, Cape Town considering the future. The organisation was facing two related challenges that he was unclear how best to address. Firstly, it was in urgent need of improved professional day-to-day management and administrative skills if it was to sustain its successes of the past 10 years.

“We almost woke up a little bit too late,” said Clifford Mkhize with a wry smile as he discussed his company’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. It was April 2005, and the consequences of the HIV/AIDS pandemic were becoming increasingly obvious. The private sector was taking more responsibility for what had initially been regarded as a public health and social issue, as businesses became aware of the implications of its failure to take proactive steps to halt the epidemic. Mkhize considered his company’s response so far.

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In July 2006, Daleen van Schalkwyk, chief pharmacist at the Johannesburg Hospital, was preparing to move the pharmacy’s outpatients department (OPD), or dispensary, from the temporary accommodation, back into its refurbished premises. The pharmacy, tainted by a history of long queues of frustrated patients, was now presented with an opportunity to change negative perceptions. However, considering the severe resource constraints of public health, her concern was how existing processes could be improved to deliver an efficient, high-quality service.

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In 2004, Dr Brian Brink, the man charged with managing mining group, Anglo American’s (Anglo’s) response to the HIV/Aids pandemic, conducted a review of Anglo’s HIV/Aids policies. In his assessment, the results were lacking: 35 000 Anglo employees were HIV positive. He believed that the root of the problem was that the number of employees voluntarily electing to be tested for HIV was disappointingly low.

It was October 2005. Commercial director of the successful low-cost South African airline, kulula.com, Gidon Novick, struggled to find a solution to the airline’s flight delays which impacted negatively on its customer relations. The turnaround time of its aircraft needed to be reduced dramatically for kulula.com to stay competitive, but how could this be achieved?

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