at the Movies Presented by: JvR Academy & The Ethics Institute

Humanity has always learned through stories, be it in narrative form (books and writing), or in the oral tradition. Stories act as an extension of our experience, forcing us to engage with the ethical challenges

characters’ in the story face and ask ourselves “what would we do?” if put in their situation.

In the modern world, story telling continues, though mostly in the form of television and movies. In these sessions, we will make use of business ethics, moral philosophy and the behavioural sciences to look more closely at the ethical challenges faced by characters in films. This experiential method is used to

help us ‘live’ these experiences and truly understand how ethics can be applied.

If you are a professional and require continuous professional development (CPD) points for ethics, you can earn five (5) ethics points for attending. However, this is a fun and informative session

and a worthwhile experience for everyone, so bring your partner and enjoy the show!

The sessions are facilitated by Dr Paul Vorster. Besides being an avid film enthusiast, Paul holds a PhD in Industrial Psychology and is a Senior Research Specialist at The Ethics Institute.

Join our expert facilitators in the fields of ethics for a five-hour entertainment and learning experience exploring professional and

organisational ethics through film.

2 August 2019 , JOHANNESBURG: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room(2005)

13 September 2019 , CAPE TOWN: The Insider (1999)

10 May 2019 , CENTURION : A Simple P lan (1999)

The Insider Venue TBC, Cape Town

Friday, 13 September 2019, 12h00 to 16h30

This Oscar nominated film is a fictionalised account of a true story based on the 60 Minutes segment about Jeffrey Wigand, a whistle-blower in the tobacco industry. The film covers his personal challenges as well as the legal

struggle that followed. In this session, we will examine the role of whistle-blowers in organisations, the challenges and fears they face, and the concept of ethical courage and how it is portrayed in the film.

STARRING: Al Pacino, Russel Crowe and Michael Gambon

ENRON: The Smartest Guys in the Room Discovery Head Office, Sandton, Johannesburg

Friday, 2 August 2019, 12h00 to 16h30

This award-winning documentary chronicles the collapse of the ENRON Corporation, which is still considered the greatest corporate scandal of the 21st century. The film examines the rise of the organisation and how its culture

may have resulted in serious ethical breaches that lead to the its downfall in 2001. The effects of the scandal were far reaching, implicating audit firm Arthur Andersen, as well as numerous prominent banking institutions.

In this session, we will look closely at the unethical decisions and organisational culture that lead to collapse.

Furthermore, we will look at the darker side of human nature and how ‘social forces’ were used as an instrument to manipulate employees to unknowingly engage in ethically questionable activities. Additionally, we will more

closely examine the ‘Dark Triad’ (a set of personality characteristics observed in destructive leaders) and how the leadership at ENRON embodied this concept. This session holds great value for corporate South Africa, as the

ENRON disaster looks all too familiar when compared with recent corporate scandals.

A Simple Plan Leriba Lodge, Centurion, Pretoria

Friday, 10 May 2019, 12h00 to 16h30

Brothers Hank and Jacob, along with their friend Lou, discover a crashed plane with $4.4 million sitting on the remnants of the backseat. The pilot and crew are dead. The trio decide to create a ‘simple plan’ in order to keep the money, but things do not turn out the way they imagined. In this session, we will look closely at the concept of the

‘slippery slope’ in ethics and how to avoid it. Additionally, we will delve into some classical moral philosophies discussing scenarios such as Immanuel Kant’s Axe and how it has valuable lessons to teach us about making the

right ethical decisions in the modern world.

STARRING: Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton and Bridget Fonda

You can register to attend any of these three events – but hurry, they fill up fast and space is l imited.

Call The Ethics Institute on 012 342 2799 or email Kgothatso Tshabalala on

kgothatso@tei.org.za.