United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates is a country located in the Southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula (this is located somewhere in Western Asia). The country is also sometimes referred to as “the emirates”. Its capital is Abu Dhabi, where most of the country’s businesses and major industrial headquarters are located. UAE is composed of the federation of a total of 7 emirates. An emirate is like the equivalent of a sovereign state only that it is ruled by a monarch. Most inhabitants from the UAE are Muslims; that is, they are under the Islamic religious sector. Nevertheless, the total percentage of the UAE population could be attributed to South Asians (50%), Emiratis (19%), Iranians & Other Arabs (23%) and East Asians, Caucasians & Europeans (8%). A census that was published in 2010 had estimated that the country’s current population amounts 8,264,000.
Background
There are several organizations—both government and non-government, that exist within UAE’s jurisdiction. One of the most remarkable organizations in UAE is the Abu Dhabi International Centre for Organizational Excellence or ADICOE. This paper will mainly focus on details about ADICOE, its nature & significance, how it operates, how it contributes to the growth and societal interests of the country, and other issues that could be relevant to its existence and operations. Testimonies and a SWOT & PEST analysis are also included in this paper.
The Abu Dhabi International Centre for Organizational Excellence
The ADICOE is an organization established with an objective to serve other organizations that seek excellence. With their performance-promoting programs, the organization has already established a good reputation in accomplishing its objectives. ADICOE operates and extends out assistance to different levels of organization. Large and complicated organizations down to merely an individual, as long as they are in line with ADICOE’s objectives—to achieve excellence, could benefit from the organization’s different programs and initiatives. One surprising factor about ADICOE is that it is willing and ready to introduce its goals to not only a domestic (within UAE) level of audience but also to possible adherers from nearby regions and international territories. This organization has such a huge vision. Even at an early phase of development, it has already touched and changed a lot of people’s lives—not to mention the organizational and possibly additional economic impacts that it caused to those people.
UAE Operation Management
The United Arab Emirates currently has one of the fastest-growing GDP among countries in the Middle East. According to a statistical study done in 2008, UAE ranks second (right next to Saudi Arabia) in terms of GDP value (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf); it ranks third on the same terms throughout the whole Middle East. Does this mean that the native country where the ADICOE is situated is already doing a good job in further improving the state of the country’s economy? Most probably not. ADICOE will not be any more necessary if the practice is already living with the seeds of excellence. The very evidence that the country needs to further improve its economic and business operations and processes is ADICOE’s existence.
The ADICOE works directly with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADDCI) as its subsidiary in implementing rules and making recommendations for small and large organizations, regardless whether they are for profit or not-for profit types. Therefore, the ADICOE should be declared as a semi-government organization or entity simply because of its direct relation to the ADCCI. By nature, ADICOE and ADCCI’s goals have similarities and they actually overlap. The former seeks out to other organizations so that they could realize the benefits of excellence—a way for them to achieve total quality management and business excellence (ADICOE, 2012). If most, if not all, of the businesses operating in UAE will be influenced by such principle, then it would be easier for the ADCCI to attain its goals which is to let the United Arab Emirates be recognized as a leading voice in the international business community. It could be seen that the two organization’s mission and vision are very much correlated. It would really be more efficient and effective if these two will merge their efforts and resources in developing a world-renowned business community.
Most of ADICOE’s operations are concentrated within Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the Emirates. Although they also conduct programs such as trainings and seminars outside Abu Dhabi, it is quite evident how they tend to maintain their focus on the capital city first. In fact, ADICOE is a member of several important domestic and international groups that are also committed to organizational excellence. Following is a list of organizations or associations which ADICOE is a member of. The ADICOE currently enjoys the privileges of a full member of these domestic and international groups.
Dubai Quality Group (DQG)
Emirates Quality Association (EQA)
Middle East Quality Association (MEQA)
Chartered Quality Institute (CQI)
American School of Quality (ASQ)
European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)
Before and After: Sustainability and Quality
One of the most significant programs that resulted to a lot of changes and improvements in Dubai was the Government Excellence Program that was launched in 1997. The program not only enables but also encourages both private and public sector organizations and other smaller groups to actively participate and respond to the shortcomings and challenges that may come or that already exist in the New Era. Overall, the program aims to bolster the country’s economy in case a domestic or an international economic problem arises—a scenario which is most likely inevitable especially since the new era for business and commerce had just begun.
There had been a lot of changes with the way how the public perceives “real improvement and excellence” ever since that program was launched and successfully implemented. Most of the improvements took place in public sectors because that was the primary target of that government excellence program back then. It was this first program that pushed the Emirates towards the path of excellence and competence. It is what drove them to strive and work harder and to finally abolish the spirit of mediocrity—an attitude that probably held the country back for quite some time.
Before these types of programs were introduced, the government departments as well as members of public organizations and companies used to ignore the value of friendly competition. Managers, supervisors, and all levels of personnel did not bother to do their best as long as they were doing what was right. That perfectly describes how mediocrity-centered the UAE citizens and workers used to be. But now, it is a totally different story. The tables were turned, thanks to the mind-changing effect of those government excellence programs. It successfully propagated the spirit of competition among government and private organizations together with their staff and personnel.
UAE and its citizens definitely deserve to reap the rewards of its hard work. According to a Mariotti (2001) “nothing good comes easy”. It was excellence and hard work that brought this great country to where it is now. Conclusively, such transformation would not have been possible if not for the first Government Excellence Programs that were done somewhere around the year 1997.
Additionally, bulk of the excellence programs that were launched that time focused on the quality and sustainability of an organization. These two were also crucial to the current success of UAE’s service industry. It was explained to the participants how sustainability and monitoring of internal and external opportunities, trends, risks and changes are related. The programs were also able to enlighten the public how quality could affect the growth and development of a business sector. Such were the main points that were most likely covered in such programs. As a result, most organizations in UAE are now practicing standardized and sustainable measures—two things that greatly contributed to their success.
Government Initiatives and Programs
The Abu Dhabi International Centre for Organizational Excellence offers a wide range of service to their beneficiaries, especially the ones from Abu Dhabi. It is their goal to make it a center for international business excellence after all. ADICOE offers consultancy, training and development, executive educational, human resources development, benchmarking, research and innovation, organizational excellence and competitiveness unit services and programs.
Such aforementioned programs and services are actually more concerned with quality.
Quality
Their consultancy services aim to provide technical and administrative support for organizations from the private and public sectors in UAE. ADICOE has worked hard to increase the quality and coverage of their consultancy programs and services. Before, they are only able to cover technical and administrative issues. Now, they can already cover issues concerning all areas of organizational development. Because of the positive effects of such programs, ADICOE has been receiving a lot of accreditations from third party organizations. Customer Service Management is Safety Management two of the key areas where ADICOE are good at. The International Customer Service Standard (ICS), Investors in People Standard (IIP) and Investors in Excellence (IIE) were all able to appreciate the quality of ADICOE’s consultancy services and its impact on other organizations—particularly in achieving excellence.
Sustainability
After their most recent accomplishments, the ADICOE has decided to set up and fully implement its own training and consultancy program. Several factors were considered before they were able to come up with such decision. Firstly, the field of consultancy and training & development are all emerging fields. Yes, these industries are quite new but studies have predicted that there will be a lot of opportunities for companies operating in these fields in the next few years. ADICOE leaders may have been wise enough to consider such factor. Secondly, setting up and establishing their own consultancy and training & development academy can ensure sustainability. Since the field where they are operating is still an emerging field, there is a good chance that they will be able to enjoy the fruits of their success for the next couple of years or even more. Therefore, their own consultancy and training academy could be considered as one of ADICOE’s efforts to make sure that their company as well as its services and programs will continue to exist.
Benefits for 2030 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
The Abu Dhabi International Centre for Organizational Excellence and the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry are working together to achieve their economic vision for the year 2030. According to their vision statement, by 2030, the different industries and institutions in the wealthy UAE should already be composed of emerging, established and visionary leaders. The ADICOE, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce plus to attain such goal through: strategically developing strong and consistent leadership qualities and abilities, providing a good foundation where emerging leaders could build and hone their leadership skills, training the current leaders so that they can adapt to the dynamic and fast-changing business atmosphere in the country and expanding their critical thinking and analytical abilities in both public and private sector environments. According to statistics, the overall estimated growth that major cities in the UAE will experience by 2030 is 12%. This estimated growth rate includes urban, industrial and organizational developments. According to the International Commercial News (2010), this 12% growth and development could be partly attributed to the efforts of organizations such as the ADICOE and ADCCI in influencing other organizations to gear towards a more competitive market and towards the path to excellence. According to the same source, the ones that will benefit the most from such growth are Al Ain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. These are not actually surprising for ADICOE because most of their excellence, training and development programs are concentrated on cities like Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Organizations and Tools
ADICOE uses different excellence and consultancy programs as their tools to implement and enforce excellence and quality to their customers. 6 well-established international business schools from the U.S. and U.K. are currently working with the ADICOE to develop an intensive 18-month program. This group of six schools includes Cambridge University, Oxford University, London Business School, Singapore Civil Service College, Cambridge Leadership Associates and the National School of Government UK.
According to reports (Turret, 2012), such program will benefit three levels of participants. First, the rising stars or those who have been working in a single company for 2-3 years as department head; second, the established leaders or those who are currently working as division heads; lastly, the visionaries or the ones at the most senior level (Turret, 2012).
Working with these international schools can help ADICOE further establish quality and competence in the region. There is no doubt that ADICOE will really be able to increase the quality of their services and programs by working with these schools. If the 18-month program turns out to be successful, future collaborations between ADICOE and this group could be inevitable; making their services and programs more sustainable.
SWOT & PEST Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Proven and Effective Programs and Services towards Excellence
Direct Collaboration with the ADCCI
Can Work with small and large organizations
ADICOE has been recognized and accredited by numerous regional and international excellence accreditation bodies
Weaknesses
ADICOE only currently focuses on major cities such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai which contradicts to their goal to make UAE a center of international excellence
Opportunities
Opportunities to work with International business schools and organizations
There are a lot of companies, organizations and businesses that could benefit from ADICOE’s programs and services
Threats
Industrial and Business Sectors that are not aware of ADICOE’s excellence programs and services
Lack of cooperation from other Organizations
Their focus on domestic and regional development could prevent them from realizing their international goals
PEST Analysis
Political
Complicated Tax Policies in the UAE.
Presence of Political Instabilities in the Middle East
Economical
Dynamic and Fast-Changing business and organization policies
Since ADICOE’s main goal has something to do with international organizations, the changes in the currency exchange rates.
Rapid Globalization
Social
Differences in Demographics
Technological
Availability of Technological Upgrades
Use of Technologies in Communication and Presentation
International Distribution Systems
Database Monitoring and Administration
International Benchmarking
One of ADICOE’s services is international benchmarking. The ADICOE works with the Global Benchmarking Network in monitoring and imposing international standards to all organizations operating in the UAE and later on in the whole region. Their involvement with GBN enables them to collaborate with other leading international benchmarking organizations—the GBN is an alliance of such organizations after all. Some of the processes involved in ADICOE’s international benchmarking program include formulation and provision of training courses, field visits and monitoring programs from global down to local levels of organizations. ADICOE’s efforts and their collaboration with an international benchmarking alliance such as the GBN, ADICOE enables them to better monitor whether the public performance is improving or otherwise. Such could also be an opportunity for ADICOE to better enforce international excellence standards.
Adoption to Local Practices
It is essential for ADICOE to adopt local practices despite their intentions to internationalize the public standards in UAE. Its efforts to integrate local and international practices include is evidenced by its collaboration with international benchmarking bodies. By communicating with such the participants in such networks, practical exchanges could be observed which in turn improves the integration of local and international practice.
Issues and Hindrances
ADICOE does not only have programs for organizational development; they also have ready programs for personal development. One of the issues that ADICOE currently face is the resistance to change. Most conservative organizations do not want to embrace changes even if that’s the key towards organizational excellence, perhaps because of their being conservative. This is one of the major hindrances to the operation of their excellence programs. The different demographics of organizational members could also be a significant issue. Training and development programs are usually different between different age groups.
Recommendations
The ADICOE is doing a good job in accomplishing its objectives. However, it is known that they are currently focusing most of resources and efforts in major cities in the UAE despite their claims that they are able to usher the organizational development needs of global, regional and local organizations. It would be more fruitful if they will also extend their services and programs so that organizations operating in other urban and rural areas could also enjoy the same benefits that organizations in major UAE cities receive. If they are not able to help develop and train organizations in other key cities, how and when could they realize their international goals?
Works Cited
Mariotti, J. (2001). The Grandfather Chronicles. Usit.net.
International Commercial News. (2010). A Global Source for Information on latest products, trends and services. ICN News.
Turrent, M. (2012). Leadership Training From Top Business Schools.
