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Business Ethics Training (1 day)
Managers who make sound ethical decisions under pressure and lead a unit where doing the right thing is normal.
A company's ethics decide its reputation, and South Africa has seen what happens when leaders look the other way: collapsed share prices, lost contracts, criminal charges and staff who no longer trust management. Most ethical failures start small – a gift that should have been declared, a target met by cutting a corner, a complaint that was never followed up. This business ethics training helps managers recognise those moments and act on them.
Over one day, delegates explore how values, ethics and organisational culture shape results, and apply the principles of corporate ethics to their own unit. They work through real dilemmas – conflicts of interest, pressure to hit targets, privacy and the use of workplace technology, harassment complaints and when to blow the whistle – using a simple decision-making model. The South African framework is covered as general guidance, not legal advice: King IV's call for ethical leadership, the Protected Disclosures Act, POPIA and the duty to report corruption.
The day ends with practical work. Delegates analyse their own unit against ethical principles, identify the gaps, and draft recommendations to strengthen shared values, the code of conduct and day-to-day ethical practice.
Why this course
For your organisation
- Lower risk of fraud, corruption and reputational damage
- Managers who model and enforce the code of conduct consistently
- Safer, clearer channels for staff to raise concerns
- Practical recommendations to strengthen your ethical culture
For your delegates
- A simple model for working through ethical dilemmas
- Confidence handling gifts, conflicts of interest and pressure from above
- Clarity on when and how to blow the whistle – and how to respond when someone does
- A gap analysis of your own unit's ethics
What delegates will be able to do
- Explain how values, ethics and organisational culture connect, and how they affect business results
- Describe the organisation's legal, economic, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities to its stakeholders
- Recognise common ethical dilemmas and work through them with a structured decision-making model
- Balance personal and organisational ethics when they pull in different directions
- Handle privacy, workplace technology and harassment issues with respect for employee rights
- Explain when and how to raise a concern, and respond properly when a team member reports wrongdoing
- Assess their own unit against the principles of corporate ethics
- Recommend practical ways to strengthen shared values, the code of conduct and everyday ethical behaviour
Who should attend
Managers in all sectors – especially heads of department, section heads and divisional heads who lead several teams – as well as supervisors, HR practitioners, compliance and risk staff, procurement teams and members of social and ethics committees who need to apply ethical standards in daily decisions.
Course outline
Day 1 – Ethics in everyday management
What business ethics is – and why it pays
- Ethics, values, morals and the law: how they differ
- Why ethics determines reputation and long-term success
- The benefits of managing ethics deliberately
- The cost of ethical failure: lessons from corporate collapses
- Ethical leadership and King IV, as general guidance
Values, ethics and organisational culture
- Stated values versus lived values
- How culture shapes behaviour when nobody is watching
- The manager's role in setting the ethical tone
- Who is responsible for what in an ethics programme
- Practical guidelines for managing ethics at work
Responsibilities and rights
- Legal, economic, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities
- Obligations to employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers and the community
- When business and social responsibilities conflict
- Employee privacy, POPIA and the monitoring of email, phones and systems
- Preventing and responding to harassment
Making ethical decisions
- Balancing personal and organisational ethics
- Common dilemmas: gifts, conflicts of interest, confidentiality and pressure to meet targets
- The rationalisations that lead good people astray
- A step-by-step ethical decision-making model
- Practice: working through workplace dilemmas
Whistle-blowing and speaking up
- When to raise a concern and through which channel
- Weighing the criteria and the personal risks
- Protection under the Protected Disclosures Act, as general guidance and not legal advice
- Managers' duty to report corruption and fraud under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act
- How a manager should respond to a report
Building and sustaining an ethics programme
- Analysing your unit against ethical principles
- Writing or strengthening a code of ethics that people follow
- The internal ethics audit
- Keeping the programme alive: communication, training and consequences
- Drafting recommendations and a personal action plan
How it is delivered
One day, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to 20; dilemmas tailored to your sector on request. Workbook, dilemma cards, an ethics gap-analysis template and a personal action plan included. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.
What our clients say
★★★★★ 4.8 on Google from 790+ reviews · word-for-word quotes from signed letters of reference, from clients on this and/or related BOTI courses
“The training was practical, engaging and relevant to our workplace environment, providing participants with valuable knowledge and practical skills that could be applied in their respective roles.”
“The facilitator was excellent and took time to ensure that the employee understood the content and was able to apply the learning in order to develop the portfolio of evidence.”
“The facilitator who conducted the training was professional and tailored both the schedule and environment to ensure that learners had a safe space to share authentic, real-life experiences”
Frequently asked questions
Can you run this course at our offices?
Yes. Most groups are trained at the client's premises anywhere in South Africa; we can also host it at a BOTI venue or deliver it live online.
How many people can attend?
From one delegate to groups of 20. The price per delegate drops as the group grows – see the price table, or ask us for a quote.
Is it accredited?
No – it is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Can the course use our own code of conduct?
Yes. Send us your code of conduct, ethics policy or whistle-blowing policy beforehand and the facilitator builds the exercises around it.
Is this legal training?
No. Legislation such as POPIA, the Protected Disclosures Act and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act is covered as general guidance so managers know when to escalate. For advice on a specific matter, consult your legal or compliance team.
Can you run this course in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban?
Yes. We train on site at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and across South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online so a team spread over several offices can attend together.
Related courses
Ask a consultant for a written quote
A BOTI consultant emails you a written quote, usually within 15 minutes (Mon–Fri, 08:00–17:00). After hours, we reply on the next working day. To speak to someone now, call 011 882 8853.
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