Integrative Research Project
Abstract
This research project aims to establish how the organization can increase its competitive advantage by requiring supply chain vendors to meet ENOC’s standards. A qualitative research methodology was used, and the research design is to carry out semi-structured interviews over the telephone. The semi-structured interview allowed interviewees to expand on their thoughts and experiences while the researcher guides the conversation to say on the topic. Interviews were performed over the telephone with employees at ENOC and employs with ENOC’s supply chain vendors to collect data. The data analysis was carried out by evaluating the results of the interviews. The results of the interviews were coded into similar groups of information and interpreted. The researcher evaluated the interview results by looking for patterns in the data about efficiency and good communication experiences. The interview with the managers and executives underscored the prevailing belief at ENOC that the effective management of the supply chain was necessary for developing and sustaining the competitive advantage that is required to spearhead the recovery of the organization from the slump experienced during and after the global recession. The importance of communication between the organization and the supply chain vendors was also underscored. Some degree of inefficiency in communicating the change effectively to the employees was noted, a fact that led to resistance. Training of the middle-level managers on organizational communication is recommended to help them improve the collaborative and horizontal communication between the various departments and stakeholders in the supply chain. It was also recommended to perform a gap analysis of the stakeholders in the supply chain to help the organization understand these needs and reciprocate by creating an environment that enables the vendors to meet the organizational standards. It was also recommended to create and encourage horizontal communication systems in the organization to enhance collaboration, problem-solving, and information sharing and conflict resolution, elements that contribute to the increased productivity of the organization. ENOC should strive to ensure that its activities in the supply chain embed the effectiveness that is required to see the organization recover fully from the aftermath of the global recession. The loss of revenue and decreased productivity can threaten the continued growth of the company. However, the interview with the managers and the executives in the organizations showed an understanding of the position of the company, its challenges, its competitive edge, and the requirements to ensure that the company not only recovers from the effects of the global recession but also sustains the improved performance. Some of these challenges include the problems related to poor communications, defective supply items, and how the supply chain vendors deal with waste. One of these ways is ensuring that the supply chain vendors meet and surpass the standards of the organization. To meet the standards of ENOC business and supply chain processes good communication between the company and the supply chain vendors is essential. To ensure this is achieved, the implementation of the recommendations highlighted above is necessary. This will help ENOC improve its competitive advantage.
Chapter One: Introduction
Introduction
Background and research problem:
ENOC is a major oil marketer that operates in the United Arab Emirates. The main responsibility of the company is to market various oil products manufactured within the UAE to local customers as well as foreign clients. However, due to the global financial crisis and the rapid drop in global oil prices, the company is facing major financial difficulties.
The themes identified in this study are customer satisfaction and Emiratisation. The study will try to identify how the themes identified have contributed to the company being in its current position and how they can be used to effectively solve the problem the company is facing.
Research question:
The research questions for this study will be:
How Emiratisation has contributed to ENOC’s financial difficulties
How customer satisfaction can be used to help ENOC recover from its current financial difficulties.
Chapter Two: Literature Review
Introduction:
Devising business models that meet the customers’ demands, satisfy regulatory agencies and carrying out business with sustainable methods to alleviate climate change and other environmental problems as much as possible (Boons et al., 2013; Lee & Casalegno, 2010). The types of methodologies addressed here have been implemented at ENOC or in the UK energy sector. At the heart of the management methods, are customer satisfaction, emiratisation, customer satisfaction, and operational theory. These three factors are seen as the potential answer to meeting new management milestones for Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC). Emiratisation is a UAE government initiative to reach full employment for UAE citizens; and the employment must be skilled or professional. The application of the policy has been proceeding with far more success in the public sector compared to the private sector.
Dr. Marcus Wiesner the CEO of Aon Hewitt Middle East warned that many Emiratis companies view the Emiratisation as a race to hire all the best local talent possible but the companies neglect to develop a strategic plan or a management system to gain success in the long term (Wiesner, 2015). This implies that it may be not as desirable a strategy among many companies due to its negative image in the recruiting and hiring of local talent. However, ENOC announced through a press release that the management strategy was having a positive effect on their business. This is attributable to the fact that the company has been able to hire and train some of the best talent in the country.
Furthermore, in an effort to increase growth, the company is dedicated to increase customer satisfaction by monitoring the company with performance assessments. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is the methodology applied because since it is highly respected and applied in many different sectors around the world. The BSC is a straightforward method of measuring performance in terms of customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. The leadership and top management of ENOC support the use of BSC and expect to use the method as a driver to enhance the strategy of diversification that that is imperative for business success (“ENOC achieves,” 2013).
A change in ENOC business management strategy is no surprise because of the dip in profits that the company experienced with the global financial crisis coupled with the dip in prices for fuel. The company is privately owned and UAE counts on ENOC to be a leader in initiating sustainable and diversified strategies for promoting UAE workers. The company sells fuel and related products domestically and exports to Saudi Arabia within a partnership structure with Saudi Arabia’s Aldrees, a company that operates at least 450 service stations. ENOC has shown a willingness to take risks and to reach across the borders of the UAE to promote the company.
Strategic transformation at ENOC:
Several studies provide information about strategies used in the energy sectors to meet customer satisfaction by applying management techniques that bring supply chain vendors in line with the companies using their services and buying their products. Galadari, Verma, and Lemaitre (2013) undertook a case study to observe and evaluate the strategic transformation at ENOC. A challenge that cannot be ignored is the resistance to change of employees and vendors, especially after many years of establishing a comfort zone. This leads to change resistance, which in turn leads to reduced company growth over the years. Furthermore, it may also lead to poor performance by employees because of the lack of motivation. The robust revenues in 2012 reached approximately $15.6 million from the downstream services and items the gas company offers.
Firstly, the strategy was planned by reviewing the status quo and “to assess the external environment . . . the strategic challenges (near-and-long-term) and hammer out a strategy.” (Galadariet al., 2013, p. 3). The BSC management tool was the choice of CEO Saheed Khoory, he was familiar with using BSC and other energy companies in the region had already adopted BSC (Galadari et al., 2013). ENOC’s leadership and top management personnel were trained to use BSC, produce strategy maps, and learn how the method can be focused on a particular issue and developed to meet challenges Galadari et al., 2013). The BSC aids managers in developing appropriate objectives, metric systems and key performance indicators (KPIs) (Galadari et al., 2013). This is attributable to the fact that it provides managers with an effective tool for analyzing various business processes. Based on the results leaders can make the necessary decisions to improve and enhance a particular process.
The framework built for ENOC rested on the four cornerstones listed below.
Robust and sound method
Active involvement from top leadership to drive change
Assist employees to further develop their personal competencies
Provide robust governance at ENOC
Government Policies:
Hannon, Foxon and Gale (2015) researched the “demand pull” of government policies used to maintain and support Product-Service Systems in the energy sector. Their study specifically focused upon UK Energy Service Companies (ESCos) (Hannon et al., 2015). Product Service Systems (PSSs) are attractive for different sectors because they address move to sustainable enterprises paired with healthy economies (Hannon et al., 2015).Hannon et al. (2015) recommends the application of the ‘demand pull’ method in order to overcome some of the barriers that challenge its use. Part of the case study focused on the “regulatory, economic incentive, informative and procurement policies” that have the potential to support the energy company (Hannon et al., 2015, p. 900). The researchers made recommendations on how to develop policy on the issue of PPS.
A balance must be reached between policies that offer financial incentives and the regulatory constraints that from the disincentives,
The support of the government policies can be felt even if the support is indirect,
Market structures need to be developed to support PPS,
PSS activity can be enhanced by local actions, and
Make the focus to develop stable frameworks (Hannon et al., 2015).
Barriers still exist that government policy cannot address even if all the above recommendations are implemented; one of the most challenging is customer satisfaction (Hannon et al., 2015).
Customer satisfaction in the UAE:
Research by Ghazal et al. (2016) addressed the issue of customer satisfaction in the UAE paired with perceived usefulness of a proposed device to aid consumers in saving energy targeted. (The devise is described as a smart plug system with Wifi sensors interfaced with a Smartphone to monitor electricity use.) The researchers developed a questionnaire in Arabic and in English. A video describing the item and its benefits was shown to the respondents before they filled out the questionnaires. The pool for to find the respondents consisted of developing a database of 970,000 of potential respondents and sending e-mails explaining the study. The researchers applied a computer simulation model in order to validate their results that were gained through two experiments, one with, and one without the hands-on experience with the items. The researchers conclude, “Environmental concerns impact positively the perceived usefulness and satisfaction with the proposed system.”
Gas sector reforms and customer satisfaction:
Gas sector reforms and how domestic customers are influences was the topic of research by Poupeau (2009). The research was perceptive was organizational sociology. The researcher focused on the impact of distribution networks on customer satisfaction with the French gas network as the factor. Interestingly, one of the outcomes was the attitude of gas network operators who catagorized customers based the difficulty level of a customer’s request. In other words, one category was a direct request (from a good customer) and the operator used a conventional process already used many times before (Poupeau, 2009). When the customer’s request was difficult to resolve (a bad customer), the operator had problems finding a solution (Poupeau, 2009). One of the conclusions was that the study demonstrated the many tools that operators have to use in order to deal with “mass market” requirements instead of concentrating on “individual made-to-measure solutions’ (Poupeau, 2009). The gas network distribution network was found to be an important factor in producing customer satisfaction.
Customer values:
Customer values were assessed in an exploratory study concerning business-2-business markets (B2B)(Keranen & Jalkala, 2013). ENOC is a B2B market because, for example fuel, service and related items are sold at service stations. The methodology consisted of in-depth interviews with 18 managers (Keranen & Jalkala, 2013). The resulting evaluation of the interviews identified five essential process and 11 related activities for B2B markets customer value assessments(Keranen & Jalkala, 2013).The five processes identified were “value potential identification, baseline assessment, performance evaluation, long-term value realization, and systematic data management” (Keranen & Jalkala, 2013, p. 1307).
Summary
In conclusion, this literature review addressed issues pertinent to ENOC and to businesses operating within the UAE (in particular, the energy sector). The published research shows that management for customer satisfaction is a priority to businesses in the UAE. This is mainly because it is important for any company to ensure that customers are happy. This in turn helps build customer loyalty leading to increased revenues and profits for the company.
Hannon, Foxon, and Gale (2015) evaluated the “demand pull model,” and recommended that ESCos can benefit from PPS, and offered ideas of how government policy can be developed to support energy related businesses. Policy support must be coupled with customer satisfaction because meeting the demands is the number one imperative for business success (Hannon et al., 2015). Poupeau (2009) identified the importance of the gas distribution networks on customer satisfaction. Keranen and Jalkala (2013) carried out a research project specifically designed to engage individuals in the UAE. Their methods were highly successful, so their research method should be studied when undertaking studies in the UAE that are energy and environmentally related. Finally, the literature examined above provides sufficient information with regard to the research topic.
Chapter Three: Methodology
Research Methodology and Data Analysis
A qualitative research methodology will be used and the research design is to carry out semi-structured interviews over the telephone. The semi-structured interview allows interviewees to expand on their thoughts and experiences while the researcher guides the conversation to say on topic (Creswell, 2016). Interviews will be carried out over the telephone with employees at ENOC and employs with ENOC’s supply chain vendors to collect data.
The data analysis will be carried out by evaluating the results of the interviews. The results of the interviews will be coded into similar groups of information and interpreted. The researcher will evaluate the interview results by looking for patterns in the data about efficiency and good communication experiences (Mertens, 2015)
Research Plan
Chapter Four: Research Analysis
Introduction:
For this section of research, an article review will be carried out on two major research themes causing the problem under analysis. The two selected themes are customer satisfaction and emiritisation. Under each theme, researcher selected and summarized five articles. In total ten summaries were completed. The summaries provide an insight into knowledge relating to the problem under research.
Theme 1: The impact of customer satisfaction
Introduction
This theme has been selected because customer satisfaction plays a major role in the business. If customers are not satisfied with the offerings of the business, they can choose not to bring their business here and the impact will be felt by the business. Problems with customer satisfaction are therefore very significant to the business.
Summary 1: Achieving customer satisfaction through integrated products and services
ENOC is facing financial problems because of the world financial crisis and falling oil prices. Being an oil marketer, the company has faced problems because of customers not being able to buy many of their products because of the world economic crisis. The falling oil prices also mean that the margins for the company have fallen significantly. Other products sold by ENOC at its service stations have not been able to compensate for these shortfalls. This article looks at increasing customer satisfaction using integrated products and services. Many companies fail to exploit for additional income using integrated products and services. These products and services go with the initial purchase made form the company. When exploited properly, they give additional value to the customer for the original products or services sought. Customers will be willing to pay for these additional services because of the additional value they will get. This gives the company an opportunity to earn additional revenue. Satisfied customers are also likely to become loyal to the brand, which will guarantee sales in the long term. Integrated products and services can therefore be used to increase revenue for the company, which can help the company to overcome its financial difficulties.
Summary 2: Market share Customer satisfaction relationship
ENOC is a company that is tasked with exporting petroleum products from the UAE. As a result, its marketing deals in four major categories of products. The company deals with aviation fuel, LPG and other natural gases, lubricants and bulk industrial products such as diesel and fuel oil. As a result, the company deals with many customers and has a large market share. In neighboring Saudi Arabia, the company works with vendors who sell the company’s products. This article shows that there is a negative relationship between market share and customer satisfaction. This is primarily based on the premises that once a company has a large market share, it is dealing with numerous individual customers. The company therefore has to come up with a general product that caters for all the customers. This means that the general product will cater for the specific needs of each individual. This lack of specialized products or each customer leads to less customer satisfaction. The company therefore needs to come up with strategies that help it differentiate its products to create virtual market segments that will allow it to offer specialized products to its clients that help to increase customer satisfaction.
Summary 3: The effect for requests for positive evaluation on customer satisfaction ratings
Increasing customer satisfaction has been identified as one way in which ENOC can improve its financial performance. Increasing customer satisfaction will lead to customers being willing to spend more with the company. However, many companies have usually opted to reward (or punish) employees based on the reports given by customers on customer satisfaction. An employee will usually be rewarded if a customer expresses that they were satisfied with their services while an employee can be punished if the report from a customer is negative. Furthermore, because of these measurements and consequences, employees are likely to ask the customer directly for positive feedback. For example, an employee can ask a customer to report that they were satisfied with the service offered. This usually has an effect on the way the customer will view the service offered and how they view the company as a whole. Usually, a customer will report positively if they are satisfied with the service offered. However, putting the customer under pressure to report positively is likely to make the customer unsatisfied. They can opt not to seek the service from the company because of this. The company needs to evaluate how it uses customer satisfaction ratings so as not to pressure employees into pressuring customers for positive feedback.
Summary 4: Creating a new standard of service
Every company has its customers. These people provide the market for the goods or services provided by the company. The aim of any company should therefore be to deliver value to its customers. However, in the global marketplace, there are many companies offering similar products and therefore targeting the same markets or customers. Customer satisfaction is what will make a company stand out over its competitors making it attract more customers and therefore earn higher revenues. Currently in the business world, it is vital for the company to understand the factors that contribute towards customer satisfaction. For example, in the hotel industry, friendly and helpful staff plays a major role in customer satisfaction. In ENOC’s industry, it is paramount that the right products are delivered in a timely manner. The company will therefore need to understand the factors that contribute to customer satisfaction in its industry. During training of employees, the company will focus on these factors to ensure that employees will be able to interact with its customers in the proper way and deliver its products in the required manner. This will create customer satisfaction. Satisfied customers are more likely to conduct more business with the company.
Summary 5: Towards a better measurement of customer experience
Increasing customer satisfaction has been identified as one of the ways in which the company can solve its existing financial difficulties. Increasing customer satisfaction will lead to customers being willing to doing more business with the company and also attract new customers for the business. However, it is important to understand customer experience. This article looks at various ways of understanding customer experience and therefore customer satisfaction. It is important to differentiate between good quality products and services with customer experience. Good quality products and services contribute a great part towards customer satisfaction but they are only part of the experience. Many things that affect customer satisfaction are not directly related to the product itself. For example, a restaurant can offer the best dishes in a ton. However, if its waiters are unfriendly, people will avoid this restaurant and opt for other restaurants with friendlier waiters although their food might not be the best. This is an example that shows the difference between quality and experience. Both quality and experience will play a part towards customer satisfaction. It is therefore important for the company to understand how to measure customer experience in order to increase customer satisfaction. This will help the company achieve its goal to using customer satisfaction to increase revenues.
Conclusion
This theme provides an insight into how the company can use different aspects of customer satisfaction towards solving its problem identified as financial hardships as a result of the global financial crisis and falling oil prices. Customer satisfaction will usually not cost the company much but it will give the company a competitive edge in the market.
Theme 2: The impact of Emiratisation
Introduction
Emiratisation is a program by the UAE government to ensure employment for its citizens in skilled and professional positions in the country rather than opting for expatriates. This program has a significant impact on business in the country because citizens are being given responsibilities that are new. It is therefore important to have strategic business plans that ensure the long-term growth of the business rather than concentrating on the short term impacts of Emiratisation.
Summary 1: Emiratisation, determining the factors that influence the recruiting decisions of employers
ENOC is a major UAE company that employs over 3500 individuals. The company is facing financial difficulties because of the global financial crisis and falling oil prices. Labor is usually one of the biggest costs that a company faces. When a company is in financial trouble, one of the first and most common strategies used to reduce costs is to streamline the workforce. Emiratisation is a government strategy that aims at providing skilled and professional employment to citizens of the UAE in positions within the company that would have previously been filled by foreigners. This article looks at factors that an employer considers before hiring an employee. These are social, cultural, economic, regulatory, motivational, and educational. These are very important factors when an employer is considering an employee to hire. For instance, foreigners in skilled and professional positions are more likely to attract higher wages as compared to locals. If the company wants to reduce its costs, it can opt to replace the highly paid foreigners with cheaper locals. However, this article discovers that economic and educational factors are not usually the major factors employers consider. On the contrary, employers prefer employees who are more motivated to do the job.
Summary 2: The impact of Emiratisation on job description issues
ENOC is a company operating in the UAE acting as a marketer for oil products. The UAE government has the Emiratisation program that aims to provide employment for skilled and professional citizens in companies operating in the country. However, Emiratisation has major issues concerning job description. A job description is a statement declaring the duties and responsibilities of an employee in an organization. The job description allows an employee to know what is expected of them in the role they play within the organization. A clear job description is therefore very important for individual employees and for the organization as a whole in order to achieve the objectives of the organization. The Emiratisation program requires companies operating within the company to hire professionals and skilled workers from among the citizens rather than hiring foreigners. However, this has led to major problems for organizations. They are forced to hire people who fit the criteria of being citizens. However, their education does not fit in the job description. This results in a situation where unqualified people hold critical positions in the organization resulting in losses for the company. It is therefore important for ENOC to consider the impact of Emiratisation on its job descriptions and eventual financial performance.
Summary 3: Controversies over labor naturalization policies and its dilemmas; 40 years of Emiratisation in the UAE
The governments of the UAE have advocated for Emiratisation for over four decades. However, the issues that forced the government into that decision remain unsolved decades later. The UAE are citizen minority states. This means that citizens of the country make up a lower proportion of the population. This is because foreigners provide most of the labor in the country. The economies of the UAE depended on oil until recently when diversification has started. The education system has changed and more money invested in trying to make the citizens competitive in the markets. However, despite Emiratisation, there are still over 30000 unemployed citizens despite there being over 4 million foreign workers. Being a local company, ENOC is affected by Emiratisation and the factors that contribute to citizens not being employable. First, citizens do not prefer to work in labor-intensive industries. However, most of the work available is still labor intensive. Secondly, local workers are not competitive in the market. They lack motivation, education, skill and experience when compared to foreigners. A company must be willing to take up this cost when hiring local employees. Thirdly, locals prefer government jobs because of availability of benefits. The private sector is seen as more demanding and most work is based on performance contracts. A company like ENOC trying to recover from financial difficulties will therefore be affected by Emiratisation.
Summary 4: Emiratisation from policy to implementation
Emiratisation is a positive program that aims to provide skilled and professional employment to the citizens of the UAE. Private and public companies operating within the UAE are affected by this policy. However, major mistakes have been made in the implementation of this policy. Many companies have suffered because of just effecting the changes without having a strategic plan for long term sustainability. There are a number of factors that must be considered before an employee is hired. First, they should have the required skills and education to fit the job description. Many companies will also look at the motivation of the individual to perform the tasks they will be assigned. However, many locals are not motivated enough to perform labor-intensive duties. There is also a preference for government jobs over private jobs because of benefits such as job security and working hours. On the contrary, many private companies will hire employees based on performance contracts. The contract stipulates target that an employee should meet within a certain period. Hiring motivated employees will lead to the company not being able to meet its targets. ENOC should try to establish whether the Emiratisation policy has contributed to it not being able to meet its targets. Despite falling oil prices and the global financial crisis, unmotivated employees could also have resulted in the company’s financial difficulties.
Summary 5: Strategy, policy and strategy in naturalization of human capital; project Emiratisation
ENOC is a UAE based company that is tasked with marketing oil products. The global financial crisis has resulted in the company facing financial shortfalls. This problem has been further complicated by the falling oil prices in the global market. Despite these major problems, the company is also faced with the government policy of Emiratisation. However, Emiratisation has faced major problems since its inception. It is important to note that since it is a citizen minority country, the UAE has major problems in providing employment for its citizens despite relying on foreigners for most of its labor. The demand by the government for companies such as ENOC operating within the emirates to give priority to locals in hiring further adds pressure to the current situation of the country. In order to get out of the current problem, the company will need the best-qualified and motivated people working towards the objective. However, locals are usually not well educated and lack the motivation required for the difficult tasks. The company forced to hire locals in certain positions might therefore lead to the company facing greater financial difficulties as it will not be able to determine the cause of problems and effect the changes necessary to reverse the situation.
Conclusion
Emiratisation is an affirmative policy that is meant to provide employment for the minority locals over foreigners. However, it has faced problems ever since its inception. The company affected by Emiratisation will have a significant impact on trying to overcome its current problems.
Chapter Five: Findings and Discussions
Findings from Literature Review 1
The first literature review explored the growth strategies employed by ENOC through business models that respond to the demands of the customers, satisfy the benchmarks set by the regulatory agencies and embed sustainability in the core business practices by addressing climate change and other environmental problems (Boons et al., 2013; Lee & Casalegno, 2010). One of the methods highlighted was customer satisfaction. This is achieved through the Emiratisation operational theory where companies in the United Arab Emirates hire the most skilled local human resources based on the understanding that a skilled labor force with offer superior services to their customers.
In addition to revamping the human resource sector, the companies are also investing in strategy development as recommended by (Wiesner, 2015). This has led to the application of the Balanced Scorecard because of its proven success in the strategic management of many organizations. The literature review also identified prevailing problems at ENOC that might undermine the effectiveness of the Balanced Scorecard approach. The major problem identified was the resistance to change. This problem is best resolved by training the leaders and the top management in the organization on how to drive change and how to motivate the employees to embrace the required changes.
Other recommendations that were made included increased policy support from the government. Policy support is important to create an enabling business environment for operators in the energy sector. The policy support will enable ENOC to meet further the demands of their customers. For instance, increased gas distribution networks will help improve the efficiency and ease of service delivery, a factor that weighs in significantly on customer satisfaction.
Findings from the First Interviewee: Saif Humaid Al Falasi, CEO of ENOC
As the chief executive officer of ENOC, Saif Humaid Al Falasi was best placed to corroborate the themes and issues highlighted in the review of the literature, especially about their relevance in his organization and the business environment in the United Arab Emirates. When asked about the competitive advantages of the organization, Saif Humaid Al Falasi listed them as the accredited behavioral skills programs and the numerous development initiatives and acquisitions. The development initiatives implemented at ENOC were in response to the recent global economic recession and the need to recover from its aftermath. Additionally, these initiatives give ENOC a competitive edge over the rivals in the energy sector (MENA Herald, 2016).
When asked how the company was expected to post and maintain strong results, the chief executive officers outlined the importance of the diversification of revenue streams, valuing the employees and stakeholders, and managing the growing business footprint effectively. These responses are in line with the first objective of the project which entails determining the efficiency of ENOC and its supply chain vendors. By highlighting the value of the stakeholders and embedding effectiveness in the management of the business network and linking to the achievement of strong results by the organization shows the reiterates the importance of the issues highlighted in the review of the literature.
The other objective of the project was to determine the human resources that are linked between ENOC and supply chain vendors to evaluate communication. Firstly, the chief executive office reiterated the need for the supply vendors to meet the standards established by ENOC to ensure the compliance with the quality objectives and the regulations in the industry. To this end, the chief executive office identified the assessment of the supply, trading, and processing business segments as well as observing the mission and vision of the organization. Concerning the efficiencies of the organization’s supply chain, the chief executive officer highlighted its robust integrated business model as one of the installations that help the organizations maintain efficiency and also solve the challenges presented in the supply chain (MENA Herald, 2016).
When asked about the factors of human resources that are linked between ENOC and supply chain vendors, the chief executive officer identified the understanding of the individual and collective needs of the human resources as an important factor. The other factors that were identified were upholding the values and capitalizing on the experience of the employer and other stakeholders in the supply chain. The factors underscore the importance of the human resources in the business dispensation of ENOC. They underscore recognition of the importance of the human resources component as emphasized by the Balanced Scorecard approach that the organization uses.
Part of the objectives also involved determination how the communication between the vendors in the supply chain and the organization could be improved. When the chief executive office was asked to comment on the easy through which the communication between the supply chain vendors and the organizations could be improved, he reiterated the efficiency of the supply chain management as the most appropriate approach. In his conception, an effective supply chain management would ensure that ENOC created and sustained a competitive advantage which would translate into improved productivity in the organizations. These are sentiments with which Li et al., (2006) agree.
Findings from the Second Interviewee: Tayyeb Al Mulla, MD of Supply, Trading & Processing (STP)
The management principles and the direction of the company should be communicated all tiers of the organizational management. This is important to ensure that there is synchrony in the management principles and approaches that are applied all the different hierarchical levels of the organizational structure (Tripathi, Tripathi & Reddy, 2008). The interview with the managing director of supply, trading and processing allowed the researcher to determine the veracity and consistency of the operations and management practices at ENOC with this argument.
The managing director highlighted the importance of the security of the supply chains and the distribution functions of the organization as the competitive advantages of the company. In qualifying his answer, the managing director underscored the importance of the distribution functions in the supply, trading, and processing department to help the other functions of the business meet their mandate and objectives. For instance, the distribution channels for gas, and the retail of fuel relied on the activities of this department.
There was congruence in the response of the managing director with that of his chief executive office when asked about the requirement that the supply chain vendors should meet the standards established by the company. In his response, the managing director emphasized the need to improve the supply chain management at all points and also to align all the decisions and principles in supply chain management with the mission and vision of the company. This is important because it entrenches the values of the company in its core and peripheral business operations.
The efficiency of the supply chain was an important objective of this project. The response of the managing director that supply chain management was important in ensuring efficient distribution functions in the supply chain was similar to the one given by the chief executive office. The use of metrics can help evaluate the areas in the supply chain that are lacking in efficiency (Ferrell, 2013). These areas can then be targeted to ensure that all the stakeholders in the supply chain are satisfied in line with the ideals of the customer satisfaction (Peace, 2010).
The assessment by the managing director regarding the human resource factors that are linked between the supply chain vendors and ENOC was similar to the assessment given by the chief executive officer of ENOC. They both emphasized the need to understand the individual and collective needs of the supply chain vendors, the need to uphold the values of the organization and also capitalize on the experience of the human resource. The congruence of the assessment of the two leaders in the organization is an indicator of effective communication and the synchrony of the management principles at different management levels in the organizational structure.
Findings from the Third Interviewee: Zaid Al Qufaidi, Managing Director of Marketing
The assessment and the responses were given by the managing director of marketing were remarkably similar to those given by other executives in ENOC. However, he noted that the communication between the supply chain vendors and the organization could be improved through the use of horizontal communication systems. This entails the exchange of information between the departments and people who operate at the same level in the organizational structure. This recommendation is important because it contributes significantly to the productivity of the entire organization. Horizontal communication is also important because it enhances the collaboration between departments and information sharing. These two aspects improve the problem solving and conflict resolution functions in the supply chain (Harris, Harris & Nelson, 2008).
Findings from the Fourth Interviewee: Burhan Al Hashmi, Managing Director of Retail
It is understandable why the managers of different departments would list the developments in their departments as contributing to the competitive advantage of the organization. The responses by the managing director of retail at ENOC were characteristically similar to those given by the earlier managers. However, he advanced the recommendation for horizontal communication as an improvement of the communication between the supply chain vendors and the organization. In his view, collaborative communication was necessary to achieve the efficiency required in the supply chain. Collaborative communication is a variant of the horizontal communication channels. As argued by Harris, Harris & Nelson (2008), collaborative communication entails sharing information an expertise between departments in the same hierarchical level in the organizational structure.
Findings from the Fifth Interviewee: Sina Khoory, Executive Director of Shared Services
While the responses of the executive director of shared services were similar to those of other managers and the chief executive officer, his recommendation for the improvement of communication was very significant. In his conception, the communication between the vendors in the supply chain and the organization can be improved through training the stakeholders on the art of communication and its importance to the organization. Grunig (2013) emphasizes the important of training on communication, especially for the middle-level managers who act as the link between the lower tiers in the organizational structure and the executive management. Grunig (2013) further emphasizes the importance of teaching the managers the role of public relations.
Advantages and the Limitations of the Research Project
One of the limitations of the research project is that the degree of generalizability of the results in other organizations within the same area of study because of the use of the qualitative research design. This element is caused by the fact that qualitative research designs do not employ statistical tests to determine whether the results of the study occurred due to chance or whether they were statistically significant (Atieno, 2009). However, the use of the semi-structured interviews allowed the respondents to expand their thoughts and views regarding the themes in the questions that were presented (Creswell, 2016). This allowed the researcher to collect in-depth information from the respondents.
The sampling in the study also offered the research project some advantages. It was a deliberate move by the researcher to sample from the middle level and senior managers at ENOC. This is advantageous because these are the managers who have access to the information that the researcher required for the sufficient completion of the project. However, the use of the telephone to conduct the interview limited the researcher because he only relied on the verbal communication from the respondents. Leathers & Eaves (2015) emphasizes the importance of non-verbal communication in an interview. Non-verbal communication can tell the researcher when to seek clarification. Take notes on the nonverbal cues can also benefit the data analysis phase.
Chapter Six: Recommendations
The requirement by ENOC that the supply chain vendors meet their standards is not misplaced. The interview with the managers and executives at the organization underscored the importance of this aspect. To ensure its achievement, the following recommendations are necessary:
Training of the middle level managers on organizational communication. As identified earlier, the middle level managers link the lower tiers with the executive section of the organizational management. Training these managers will help them improve the collaborative and horizontal communication between the various departments and stakeholders in the supply chain.
A gap analysis of the stakeholders in the supply chain is also required. This requirement is based on the responses of the interviewees that to enable the supply chain vendors to meet the standards of the organization, ENOC has to understand their needs individually and collectively. Performing a need assessment will help the organization understand these needs and reciprocate by creating an environment that enables the vendors to meet the organizational standards.
It is also recommended to create and encourage horizontal communication systems in the organization. While vertical information is important for the flow of information from the lower tiers to the higher tiers where the organizational decisions are made, the interview and review of literature supported the importance of horizontal communication in the organization. Among other factors, horizontal communication will enhance collaboration, problem solving, and information sharing and conflict resolution, elements that contribute to the increased productivity of the organization.
Chapter Seven: Conclusion
In conclusion, ENOC should strive to ensure that its activities in the supply chain are characterized by the effectiveness that is required to see the organization recover fully from the aftermath of the global recession. The loss of revenue and decreased productivity can threaten the continued growth of the company. However, the interview with the managers and the executives in the organizations showed an understanding of the position of the company, its challenges, its competitive edge, and the requirements to ensure that the company not only recovers from the effects of the global recession but also sustains the improved performance. One of these ways is ensuring that the supply chain vendors meet and surpass the standards of the organization. To ensure this is achieved, the implementation of the recommendations highlighted above is necessary.
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