Professional Services

Technology has yielded some great communication tools, but they are not relationship builders. Here, I share seven reasons why the personal touch will always be more effective than pixels on a screen.

While a final decision on the alliance is not expected to be made until March, 2013, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have stated that the benefits of the tie-up would far outweigh any reduction in competition. Such benefits include the ability to co-ordinate ticket prices and schedules.

Managing director Bridget Thomson talks about how the provision of commercial diver training is contributing towards South Africa’s development as a hub for oil and gas activities.

Most travellers would be unaware how fast their individual needs are changing, but understanding their behaviour keeps the leading global car rental brand Europcar ahead of the trend.

Through the work of its Respondez brand, Spanco Limited has introduced its outsourcing solutions to Africa’s thriving telecommunications sector.

Though still in its relatively early stages of development, Africa’s telecommunications market is lauded as being one of the fastest-growing in the world. Throughout the 2000s, mobile telephony across the continent, particularly in sub-Saharan nations, skyrocketed to the point where today it is substantially more widespread than its fixed line equivalent.

Running an airline is normally a deadly serious business but this South African operator has made a name for itself by poking fun at just about everybody.

Comair in South Africa could just well be the most unusual airline in the world. Operations director Martin Louw doesn’t much care for the term Jekyll & Hyde but it’s hard to deny there is something of the schizophrenic about Comair.

Since Hungary emerged from Soviet control, Magyar Telekom has been making rapid progress towards sustainability, recently earning an A+ rating from the Global Reporting Initiative. 

After more than four decades of Soviet control, the late 1980s saw a whole swathe of Eastern Bloc countries again become the masters of their own destiny. In Hungary, the transition occurred in 1989 and within just a few months, the country’s infrastructure was being modernised.

American Express Travel Services South Africa is developing its continent-wide American Express franchise network to meet the unique requirements of Africa’s rapidly growing oil and gas industries.

Mining appears straightforward, but success depends on a host of different activities and disciplines, making it difficult to predict future performance and easy to hide uncomfortable facts. MICROMINE produces a software suite that draws an accurate picture to support sustainable business and sound investment decisions.

Nobody's perfect. What quality or ability do you wish you had?

The ability to read minds! On a more serious note—wisdom. We acquire knowledge at a tremendous pace, and using it wisely is a real skill.

 What is the best business book you have ever read, and why?