CHANNEL AFRICA, PART OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION (SABC), DOWNSTRUCTURES IN THE POST-APARTHEID UNORGANISED WORLD

Co-ordinates:

Unorganizer: Hans-Dieter Winkens

E-mail: winkensh@global.co.za or winkensh@sabc.co.za

Web address: www.sabc.co.za/units/chanafr/index.html

Company: Channel Africa, a unit of the SABC

Headquarters: Johannesburg, South Africa

 

Since the early 1990s, South Africa has been undergoing a fundamental transition from the restricted, old, organised apartheid world to a new, largely unorganised society with freedom of movement and universal elections.

As was to be expected, this revolution has permanently affected all individuals, companies, institutions and politicians in South Africa. Thus, in preparation and response to the newly-legislated Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the country’s monopoly broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), engaged in radical downsizing, including the compulsory sale of many local radio stations and liberalisation in particular of local commercial radio. These efforts further stimulated the establishment of numerous private and independent community radio stations throughout South Africa.

Among the SABC units grappling with this revolution is Channel Africa, a pan-African short-wave radio network, broadcasting in English, French, Portuguese, Kiswahili and two other African languages. Radio, especially short-wave radio remains a vital means of communication and information dissemination in Africa. The general lack of infrastructure means that there is heavy reliance on battery operated, and, more recently, wind-up radios not requiring batteries (designed in England and built initially in South Africa before being moved to Brazil).

Executive Editor at Channel Africa is Hans-Dieter Winkens, the essential architect and visionary behind the move to cope with the new unorganised world by downstructuring. 54-year old Hans has seen both sides of the coin, having emigrated to South Africa from the post-WW2 ruins of nazi Germany as a young boy and having, decades later, worked as an administrative assistant in the former Afrikaner-dominated regime in Soweto, where Johannesburg’s black people were forced to live under apartheid.

It was the injustice that Hans observed during his work in the townships that ultimately led him to join the SABC, which was then one of the prime organs of preservation of the status quo. He soon took on the role of Full-Time Shop Steward in a trade union, which was seeking economic equality through traditional, organised routes. As one of the prime movers in negotiations between the union and the SABC management, Hans helped smooth the SABC’s transition to the unorganised world at a time of radical management changes.

The fairness and integrity he showed in those negotiations established his reputation to the extent that he was called on to take on the job of Executive Editor of Channel Africa. The previous man in that position had been dismissed because of fraudulent misuse of funds and his predecessors had ruled with an iron hand, mainly for their own benefit. The low worker morale caused by the absence of leadership and vision appeared to be beyond help. Indeed, it had been the major reason why Hans had initially refused to consider getting involved. One of the other reasons was that the new South African government had not committed itself to continued funding, but had intimated that the foreign broadcaster had to become self-supporting.

Shortly after joining Channel Africa, and grappling for a method to bring about the necessary fundamental change in the company culture, strategy and structure, he turned to the Internet and located the unorganization web site www.unorgan.com

Soon after, he e-mailed unorganisation’s Simon Buckingham, commenting:

"Dear Simon, having been unable to tear myself away from your magnum opus on my PC, I marvel at the commonalities I am able to share with you. I just wish I also shared your clarity of mind and expressive abilities. I can personally vouch for the veracity of your observations and analyses of both the German and South African examples quoted!

As a "deep" participant in transforming the broadcasting environment in this country, I just hope our liberators can continue to resist the temptation to revert to simple reorganisation (and refer to it as re-engineering).

Thank you for writing a virtual "manual" to what our mutual guru [Tom Peters] calls "Thriving On Chaos". I promise to remain a frequent visitor to your site(s) and wish you much success in spreading the "gospel".

Hans-Dieter Winkens"

Intuitively following "workerist" sentiments and reading "unorganization" spurred Hans to use downstructuring, RATHER THAN restructuring or downsizing, to less painfully achieve the necessary transition. To this day, and despite a continued absence of firm state assurances, he has steadfastly maintained a policy of not engaging in forced retrenchment. The pressures of change have nevertheless moved more than 20% of Channel Africa’s total work force to either resign or accept a voluntary retrenchment "package". Among them were quite a few, whom Hans knew would thrive on the challenge of "work" versus "job and position", were encouraged to go.

Downstructuring within Channel Africa involved the following initiatives:

1. "Learn to live your dream!" was the message to the small [more than 90] group of broadcasters in six languages. "Channel Africa is in the business of enhancing capacities for informed decision-making in the daily lives of millions of Africans all over the continent. It does so by way of providing appropriate news and information upon which such decisions may be based. As long as the window of state funding remains open, let’s get ourselves empowered to become excellent performers in that area. Let’s foster the African unity that will be so essential for the continent’s future, by becoming the foremost "afrocentric" news and information content providers to broadcasters all over the continent and the world. Let’s make that vision and mission WORK!"

2. "Positions" and the rules and policies entrenching the hierarchy, such as job descriptions - which coerced employee compliance and constrained employee growth - were abolished. All employees were encouraged to assume the title of "partner" and each partner was set free to change and expand their role and to realise their full potential. Basically, Channel Africa’s "employees" were told to decide for themselves by their actions who stays in the company and in which areas the company will remain active.

Crucially, however, the company’s leadership did not merely abolish administration and controls, but provided the newly liberated employees with the technological tools to support them in the transition.

3. Digitalisation - Channel Africa had been the first unit at the SABC headquarters to install digital audio recording and broadcast technologies. Despite clear advantages over the old analogue production techniques, Hans found that the systems had been severely under-utilised. The rapid switch to digital technology meant that some analogue specialists faced the choice of learning to use the digital technology or to transfer to other units still using analogue technology. Fear of the unknown and of their own capacities - as well as uncertainty of management reaction - had essentially suppressed system utilisation and development.

Hans dispelled the handicapping myths and replaced "We can’t!" with "Let’s DO it!". Virtually all Channel Africans, even partners who had for years been cooped up in administrative desk jobs, are now doing digital audio editing and are harvesting programme material. Soon, they will all be challenged to try their hand at web authoring and webcasting via Channel Africa’s new web site. And their personalities, capacities and capabilities will also feature, perhaps opening up new opportunities for them and for Channel Africa.

4. Supply of mobile field technologies - Hans told Channel Africa’s employees that, despite relatively good line links, news gathering did not start and stop at the company’s headquarters. [Incidentally, the structure of the SABC headquarters building still bears stark reminders of the old, rigidly structured apartheid days, when its strangely arranged elevators were separated for white and non-white people]. The newly mobile correspondents, liberated from their office desks, were given access to cellular and direct-to-satellite mobile telephones. When travelling around Africa on assignment, the correspondents can now use the mobile phones to file their reports from wherever they are, and occasionally call in and ask for advice or help.

Channel Africa "employees" were also encouraged to purchase PCs with modems and sound cards so that they could start working from home.

5. Partners are given access to all but the most private and personal (e.g. salaries) data pertaining to Channel Africa’s operations in a concerted effort to encourage debate around expenditures and value for money activities or ventures. Hans argues that such openness is essential in building team accountability and will eventually act as a self-regulating force, preventing misuse of funds. He says: "All our partners are perfectly capable of maintaining their complex economic lives. So why should they not become involved in the economics of Channel Africa? We are all mutually accountable to the South African people in the application of their tax Rands!"

Different "employees" responded differently to these changes according to their personal instincts and beliefs. As Hans e-mailed Simon:

Apropos unorganisation, I’m having the normal backlash from people who would prefer to be employees rather than partners and would like to revert to titles and positions linked to remuneration. Also finding it slow going with progress on entrepreneurial incentives. Establishing criteria for performance excellence through consultation and consensus is also an uphill battle, what with the multitude of perspectives brought to the discussion by so many different cultures. Non-performance linked incentives I have introduced relate mainly to Channel Africa’s [new Technology] partnership infrastructure, like sponsored Internet access, peripherals such as CD-ROM, sound cards, software, etc. IF prospective partners acquire their own PCs. That way, I can provide links for them to study and be inspired by while they are at home and set the scene for their greater independence and participation."

"So many changes, so little time! What with a dozen people climbing off the bus this month due to fear of the unorganised future, new people clamouring to be part of our new way of life, new people starting, people coming for basic introductions to the wonderful world of technology, etc. In the latter category, I now have a TV and film set designer/ dresser/ marionettist/ effects maker/ .... in her 40s learning to manipulate the mouse herself through playing solitaire on one of our machines and thus acquainting herself with the new tools in order to acquire the vital skills and thus ensure her own future.

Many regards Hans."

[That PC-trainee, NOT a Channel Africa employee, was subsequently forcibly retrenched by the SABC on recommendations by McKinsey consultants. She became one of more than 1,000 victims of outmoded bottom-line driven downsizing].

As was pointed out, a great many people felt neither willing nor able to reinvent themselves and left Channel Africa altogether. They accepted severance packages, known within the SABC generally as "retrenchment packages". Their future is uncertain though, and dependent on personal attitude change: some took the sizeable sums for leaving and invested in new businesses based on their hobbies and interests. These people no doubt found new enthusiasm and drive. Others simply went home and wondered how they could get their economic life onto another track.

Those partners who were able to change their attitude and who were flexible and energetic enough to accept the challenges and opportunities from their new-found freedom thrived. For example, a young female reporter with a sparkle in her eyes took a satellite mobile phone and went off to cover some political elections in a remote African country. This was exclusive and groundbreaking coverage of a significant, yet virtually ignored event. As a result of the quality of such exclusives, this reporter subsequently received two job offers from other broadcasting companies covering Africa.

She declined both offers, and remains with Channel Africa, but both she and Hans know that she and other such partners now have job choices and alternative stages upon which they can perform and earn a living doing what they do best - empowered to DO it.

As we have seen, not all of the Channel Africa employees thrived in the fundamentally different unorganised world. Of course, it cannot yet be said that downstructuring has been an overwhelming success.

But then again, the positive transition to the post-apartheid world necessitated a fundamental transition from outmoded organised ways and means can never be achieved without some difficulties. You simply cannot reverse decades of folly overnight.

The greatest advantage of using downstructuring rather than downsizing or restructuring to reinvent Channel Africa was that the new leadership put "employees" in charge of their own destinies and future prosperity. Instead of being helpless at the hands of their managers, and subject to their decisions, hapless victims when decisions turn sour, the employees were given the choice: "Reinvent yourself and your job … or leave!".

 

NOTE: Simon Buckingham, the "unorganization" author, visited South Africa in May 1997, and met with Hans and the Channel Africa team. He was interviewed on radio discussing unorganization on "Talk Back with Will" on SAfm, an SABC unit, and on Channel Africa itself. This case study was drafted by Simon and then edited for accuracy and completeness by Hans.

 

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