O' JIT January 2007

Centre for Business Knowledge

JANUARY 2006






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First Newsletter for 2007

Happy New Year and welcome to JIT 2007.

It promises to be a great year with world economies still booming – albeit at a slightly lower level than 2006, a Cricket World Cup next month and the Rugby World Cup later in the year.

You have all received earlier mailings of O’JIT, giving you progress updates in terms of where, when and how you were going, this newsletter will be the first one that you receive whilst on secondment.

As this also goes out to previous year’s Secondees, many of them will be thinking how quickly the last year has passed us by. No doubt they will also be green with envy at the adventure our 2007 Secondees are experiencing. We do have a number of Secondees who are on their second and third JIT Secondments. A special welcome to all our multiple JITters Adele Dempsey, Liesl Pottas and Villiers van Veen, Sahana Vaidya, Wessel Boshoff, Caroline Lloyd, Johann du Toit, Cato Botha, Ross Clarke, Claire Campbell (now van Huysteen), Marguerite Potgieter, Alwyn van Jaarsveld and Jurgen Terblanche. Well done.

The main purpose of this Newsletter is to keep in touch and let you know what is happening back home and to keep you advised as to new secondment opportunities. We will also update you about Andre and Mariana’s travel plans and short and long-term career opportunities for after your secondment. Also of course we will include snippets of information and pictures supplied by your fellow Secondees. This is a very important section of O’JIT, so we need to hear from you.

We really like the stories and pictures about your work and play, but even more, we love the juicy bits on your fellow Secondees, for the “Back Page”. We are reliably informed that Villiers has received a number of e-mails from highly eligible and desirable “bachelorettes” following the publication of his picture in the last edition of O’JIT. Who knows, for the unattached, this may be your big year!

The experience gained by the JIT Team over the past few years, has certainly benefited the Secondees. With a few minor exceptions, all the visa and travel arrangements went very smoothly and there were very few glitches. The JIT Team certainly deserve a good pat on the back for a job very well done. We have Secondees throughout the US, UK, The Netherlands, Scotland, Luxembourg and Norway, and hope to have a couple of long-term players in Holland, Norway, Bulgaria, Bahamas, Bermuda, Channel Islands and in the near future.. A listing of Secondees by cities, has been published later in this newsletter.

Just about all of you are now at your Receiving Offices and hard at work – although evidence suggests that the team in California may not be quite as hard at work as we hoped. They have already managed to fit in a weekend of skiing at Lake Tahoe.

By all accounts the plans put in place seemed to have worked pretty well. We are aware that one of the Secondees destined for Scotland was turned back at Heathrow because his visa was not in order. This came about because he did not read the visa application pack carefully and has ended up costing E&Y a great deal of money – both in terms of having to provide a second air ticket and also lost revenue for about 10 days. Guys, please read the documents sent across to you and make sure that you follow the instructions carefully.

Many of you saw out 2006 in landmark cities such as London, New York and San Francisco. The accommodation arrangements also seem to be up to the usual high standards and feedback thus far has been very positive.

The only other significant problem was that two Secondees were separated from their baggage – based on our understanding of what transpired, it seems that the delays in flights leaving from Heathrow as a result of the pea soup fog resulted in a number of bags being left off flights. One suitcase was even found without a name tag on it! Both sets of luggage have been traced and by the time you receive this Newsletter, will hopefully be reunited with their owners.

This should serve as a reminder to the rest of the Secondees. The insurance limits on lost baggage are of the order of R1500 for lost luggage. In the event that a suitcase goes permanently missing, you are paid out up to R15 000 by TIC If the contents are worth more, you need additional Baggage Insurance or cover through your own short-term insurance. This is particularly important for your return journeys, when most of you will be bringing back thousands of dollars, or pounds, worth of clothing and other stuff purchased while you were on secondment. Please make sure you have appropriate levels of cover.


Finally, remember that the primary reason you have been accepted on the JIT Programme is to work (and play, time permitting). Your predecessors on the Programme have a track record that is nothing short of superb. We expect nothing but the best from you and know that you will not let us down.
News From Home

The shrinking of the Global Village, means that most of you have access to news from home at the touch of a button! It probably means that this section is somewhat superfluous, but herewith the major news headlines of the past few days:
§ An interesting aside, is that Tony Yengeni is to be released on parole on Monday 15th January, after serving 4 just months of a four year sentence!
§ Another interesting political headline that caught my eye, was the fact that despite denials, Tokyo Sexwale seems to be stepping up his bid for the Presidential race. It seems that one of the platforms that he will be basing his campaign on, is also the crime situation. He plans, according to a recent press article to make jails less accommodating, by banning smoking!! Whilst we all know this strategy would be strongly endorsed by our esteemed Minister of Health, how about reintroducing hard labour and chain gangs to fix the roads!! Mind you, given the ease with which criminals escape from maximum security cell at Pretoria Central the mind boggles at what could occur if hardened criminals were simply chained together under the “watchful” eyes of warders and let loose to roam on our streets.
§ On a brighter note the Proteas managed a series win against India and have the first test against Pakistan in the bag
§ One can’t but wonder at the planning that has gone into the cricket season. By the time we arrive in the West Indies in 6 weeks time for the World Cup, we will have spent the majority of the current summer playing 6 Test matches and only a couple of One-Dayers as a warm-up! The Editors prediction for the World Cup is that we will not get beyond the Semi’s despite our current ranking of 2 in the ODI lists.
§ The Rugby Season also got off to an early start with the Bulls registering a 25-19 win against the Stormers – can you believe it, rugby in January!! It must have been unbelievably taxing as the temperature when they kicked off was 32 degrees. Good news was that Schalk Burger was back and had a great game. My bet for the Rugby World Cup in France later in the year is that we will get to the Final. I am completely disregarding the disastrous year-end tour to the UK, when we sent a half-baked side across. I really believe that Jake knows what he is doing and, barring injuries to key players, the Boks should acquit themselves well.
§ On the money front, the JSE finished last week at 24 535, a touch down, and the Rand closed at R7.28 to the Dollar and R14.06 to the Pound then – OK for those in the EU, it closed at R9.42. Unlike last year, when I recommended you to put everything, including your mothers-in-law, into the market, I am somewhat more cautious this year. I think gold, Rand hedge stocks and Resource stocks still have a way to go, but believe that a major correction could be heading our way.
§ The build up to US Presidential elections could be very interesting. Iraq will no doubt be a key focal point and I have no doubt that the Republicans will feel the wrath of the American citizens at being dragged into a completely pointless war. I am equally sure that Mr Blair’s supporters will similarly jump ship and that the West’s two super-powers will have completely different leadership structures in the near future.

Where is everybody
JIT is now covering half the world and this is where your fellow Secondees are currently based:
Number of receiving offices
27
Number of South Africans overseas
72



Offices where you will find our JIT members: Can you insert the names of each secondee under the city??

Amsterdam
Jersey
Guernsey

Leeds
London
Rotterdam
Bristol

Edinburgh
San Francisco

Birmingham, UK

Luxembourg


San Jose
Baltimore
Manchester, UK

Dallas

Houston
McLean, DC
Sofia, Bulgaria
Roseville, USA

New York

Southampton, UK
Reading, UK

Newcastle, UK
Washington DC

Philadelphia
Oslo, Norway
Cape Town/Cleveland










Letter from America – In Memory of Michael Gobregts
January 2006 started with very sad news. One of our Secondees, Michael Gobregts, was tragically killed in a road accident. This occurred whilst he was travelling from Cape Town to Johannesburg, to join E&Y in Johannesburg.

Michael, a Secondee on the 2005 Programme, completed his initial secondment in Chicago. He found the American lifestyle fascinating and whilst on secondment sent us a letter detailing the differences that he had experienced, between life in the US and SA. Not only did we find it hilarious, but we believe that he makes some very pertinent points. We believe that the points he makes will help those who have entered the US for the first time as they are based on hard won experience. In memory of Michael, we are publishing the letter he sent us:


Hi everyone
From the 4 months in the US, I realised that there are a lot of differences to what I'm used to in South Africa. SO I decided to draw up a list for myself (and for you to read as well)
Hope you enjoy and find it interesting.
Michael

These are some of the differences I experienced from my time in the US.

Differences experienced between the USA and South Africa

1. Metric system compared to the crazy pounds, miles, inches
how can you rectify water freezing at 32,0018 F and boiling at 212,0118 F? Doesn’t 0C for freezing and 100C for boiling sounds so much easier?
1ton in America doesn’t equal 1ton as to the metric system. 1ton metric =1000kg, but not with pounds used
It’s really hard converting everything the whole time, and I mean – Everything!!

2. Driving on the right hand side of the road, compared to being used driving left. Every thing is on the other side, even the trains, escalators and the way people walk on the side walks (not that everyone does that)

3. Wall plugs in the US have no on/off switches, you just plug it in and hope nothing will shock you….Also, the Voltage used is 120V, in SA it’s 240V – so a lot of SA appliances don’t work properly in the US. Like a 240V hairdryer will only go one slow speed, etc. and my hair clipper bought in the US will burn-out in SA.

4. Also light switches work the other way around – in the US, when the switch button is down, then the light is on.

5. Kettle? What’s that? You don’t get normal electric kettles in the US. They still use ones you put on the stove or you use a coffee brewing machine. Would have thought the most advanced country in the world would know what an electric kettle is….

6. Internet access and speed is just amazing in the US! Compared to home, DSL lines (which is fast in SA) for a R1000 a month (for the Americans- $165), you get a relative fast line. DSL in the US is old news. You can plug into the cable decoder and have free fast internet access for as long as you want-maybe in 2020 in SA we’ll have that, but then al the cables probably would have been stolen by that time….Also wireless internet almost anywhere, even in coffee shops like Starbucks you can have free wireless access. Really amazing!


7. Renting movies in the US, you can keep some of them for up to a week, and if you don’t return it, it just gets charged to your credit card as a movie purchased.


8. Electronic products and other stuff in the US are SO much cheaper and you can even easily order everything online. Compare that to food, you don’t know how they price these things. You can easily order a nice book online for $10, but can pay for a bread $3.15, or 2 pieces uncooked chicken for $5. Or spend easily on night out for dinner and a few drinks $150, but you can buy a digital camera or a Play Station 2 for that amount.

9. The different spelling still gets to me – using ‘z’ in most of the places used to use ‘s’ and spelling words differently, like a cheque is spelled check, etc

10. Like most people know, cars are just bigger, better and faster in the US and gas consumption is that last worry for the US. Also cars being so cheap relative to salary earnings, make fuel consumption probably not that important. Old cars are not that common and even their old cars here have at least twin airbags and electric windows.

11. Also the cars are ALL automatic, from the more than 4months in the US, I only observed 1 manual (or in the US – “stick shift” in Holland called a clutch car) car. (and I really checked out a lot of cars!)That just shows, comfort in the US is everything, and the fact that automatic vehicles use more fuel, also don’t influence their decision.

12. “Tekkies”, “jersey”, “sms”, “garage” are the words I can not use = it’s “sneakers”, “sweater”, “text” and “gas station”

13. A lot of the buildings in the USA don’t have a 13th floor (like where I stay) and their 1st floor is the ground floor-meaning in SA you get ground, then 1st floor - Why this also is different I ask you…?!

14. On the trains they use the term “Watch the GAP” compared to London “Mind the GAP” – this probably because the USA was not allowed to use the same as UK or different again.

15. Coke, etc is called Sodas in the US, as to SA calling all of it cool-drink. Probably the soda makes sense.

16. In SA you buy a burger and chips, meaning French fries and a burger, but in the US you must say fries, otherwise they give you a packet of Lays, etc. So it’s a “…burger, fries and a soda thanks..”

17. Smoking rules are very different in each state – some places like Chicago, London and Amsterdam you can still smoke in bars and smoking sections, New York – no where! And prices differ from state to state and I thought SA was expensive, try New York with $8.15 (+-R50) a pack! And then in Fort Lauderdale you can by packets for +- $3.50 or else you order them over the internet and pay $3/pack. – (for the Americans, you pay + - $2.20 in SA)

18. Cell phones – in the US you pay for incoming calls as well, so there is no “please call me” messages here, because you can’t receive calls or sms’s if you don’t have money on your phone. A bit weird for a country that is so far ahead regarding technology.

19. Meals are great here, the Americans are not shy giving big portions, so when you buy something to eat, you get more than enough. Not like in SA where they try to save on every corner they can.

20. For food products and any other consumer products, it’s al about making life easier for everyone. Every packet, box, etc. has an easy opening thing on it, really making things so much easier.

21. There are much less homeless people in the US as any South African would imagine, but for certain places you still get a lot of beggars. In San Francisco I encountered much more beggars than I have in Cape Town. But begging for cigarettes is just as bad in New York and San Francisco as in SA.

22. Paper size, A4 is the most common paper size used for letters, printing, etc in SA and in other parts of the world. But in the US they use all different kinds of paper sizes. The one that is the regular size like A4, is size 5” x 11”, I think.

23. Shoe sizes are also different, so instead of me wearing a normal 11 or 12 UK size, I need to by a 12 or 13 US size.

24. No open fires in the Cities like NYC, so SA braais (BBQ’s for the Americans) is not actually an option in the city, although a lot of people have Weber braais and use them in the city.

25. I’ve met a lot of very friendly people in the US and the stories that they are unfriendly, is a generalisation. NYC is the only place where you might think people are unfriendly, but actually it’s just the busy life that makes people act the way they do sometimes. Like in SA, people from the smaller towns are much friendlier in general.


Andre and Mariana’s January / February / March 2007 visit.

Andre will be leaving in late January to visit all the Receiving Offices. Mariana Nagel, will be joining him for the US leg of the journey. He will be meeting all the Receiving Office Coordinators, JIT Secondees and a number of Partners in the various offices. Andre plans to meet with each one of you to discuss how you have settled into your new environments, to understand any problems you may be having and to review your performance to-date. He will also be discussing potential options with you, for when you complete your current secondments, Shonna is busy setting up dates and time for all (with a few exceptions) to have dinner with them during the trip. Please can you all make sure that you get to these meetings with Andre and Mariana.

The Back Page
Thanks to those of you have already dropped us a line, we really appreciate the effort you make. We also really believe that your news is of interest to other Secondees and our JIT Alumni. So please keep the letters rolling and remember we want SPICE!!!!!.


Big Mac Index:
We thought that you would find the Big Mac index, as published by the Economist, interesting – particularly as this is the staple diet for many of you whilst on secondment. It certainly provides an interesting perspective of the cost-of-living around the world. And no, we will not entertain any requests for increased per diems if you happen to be in Norway or Switzerland

Country
Price of a Big Mac (US$)
United States
$3.10
United Kingdom
$3.75 (£1.94)
The Netherlands
$3.82 (€ 2.95)
Luxembourg
$3.23 (€ 2.50)
Switzerland
$5.05 (CHF 6.30)
Norway
$7.00 (€ 5.40)
South Africa
$2.15 (R15,50)


We are in the process of setting up a blog, where you can post photos and news. Will get the address to you as soon as we have it running.

We haven’t had much news from the 2007 Secondees. You are way behind the 2006 Group, who were really superb! So come-on guys, let your JIT Coordinators know what is going on. They will forward all the stuff to me and I will include it in the February edition. Without your input, these news letters are really difficult to write

Best regards

Andre, Mariana, Shonna, Debbie, David and Robyn

The JIT Team