(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) GCC participants account for 27% of entries in excellence awards.
Dubai — With barely a few weeks to go for the award ceremony of the eighth cycle of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award on May 27 Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and CEO Hamad Buamim said the response to the award from GCC-based companies who have been included in the participation process for the first time was excellent. He was speaking to Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview.
Held annually under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai the award’s performance programme encourages companies to adopt global best practices and improve their performance.
The overall award participation has gone up by 12.5 per cent in comparison to the seventh cycle with GCC participants accounting for 27 per cent. Since its inception in 2005 the award has honoured over 100 companies for contributing to the development of the national economy.
“Since the launch of this latest cycle a year ago we have held 10 events to raise awareness about the award and its participation process starting with an international conference attended by global excellence leaders; three best practices seminars; three full-day training workshops and three roundtable discussions attended by companies from neighbouring GCC countries” Buamim informed.
Since its inception in 2005 the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award has been expanding and reinventing itself to appeal to a large number of organisations seeking their rightful place in the realm of excellence.
In its quest to go international by the year 2020 when Dubai will host Expo 2020 the award has now expanded its scope to embrace all GCC businesses. Below are excerpts from the interview:
How many firms have participated and been honoured till date?
To date the award has honoured 109 companies out of the 1100 participating companies of different types and sizes representing various economic sectors in the UAE. The eighth cycle has received a large number of entries from the country and the GCC.
How has the GCC response been in terms of award participation?
We are very happy with the overwhelming response to the award from GCC participants for whom we have opened the doors for the first time. The participants coming from various economic sectors show the award’s appeal to GCC companies seeking recognition for their hard work.
The excellence award has attracted 27 per cent participants from neighbouring countries who represent various areas of the award category particularly the sectors of manufacturing service trade construction and finance. The GCC participation is dominated by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain who have account for a combined 73 per cent of the total.
Has the award promotion in the GCC allowed you to consolidate ties with GCC Chambers?
We promoted the award in the region mainly through our contacts with the GCC Chambers. In light of the award’s new strategy of fostering business excellence competitiveness and sustainable growth in the GCC we embarked on a roadshow to GCC countries. This was aimed to raise awareness of the concept of honouring business excellence among regional businesses the award’s participation assessment criteria and categories as well as the benefits of competing and benchmarking their performance against the best in the corporate world.
As a collaborative effort all the GCC Chambers involved will play an integral role in raising the standards of business excellence and contributing to the sustainable growth of the GCC economies.
Why is there a focus on innovation in the award’s current cycle?
The primary objective of the award is to promote a culture of business excellence and to encourage companies to adopt best international practices in institutional performance. Therefore the emphasis on innovation in the current cycle is in line with this year’s UAE Year of Innovation as well as the Dubai Plan 2021 with one of its key themes of innovation while also aligning with the GCC economies’ unified approach to a knowledge economy based on innovation.
The focus is on inclusive growth which will create a competitive business environment and ultimately enhance the competitiveness of GCC businesses across the world.
How has the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Conference and the overall Business Excellence programme evolved over the years?
Dubai Chamber launched the eighth cycle of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award during the International Conference hosted in mid-April last year. This conference whose aim was to highlight the importance of innovation as an essential capability for sustainable improvement throughout an organisation brought together speakers including local champions and internationally renowned business excellence experts to impart excellence know-how and share their experiences from around the world.
For the first time since its inception in 2005 the International Conference also commemorated the programme’s expansion across the greater GCC region — a paramount step towards cultivating world-class organisations in the region creating a competitive business environment and enhancing the reputation of GCC businesses worldwide.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Performance Programme is a one-year qualification programme developed to assist organisations on their path to excellence. Creating a solid foundation for learning the programme is designed to equip participants with the most leading-edge business excellence tools and resources that are required to pave the way to organisational progress.
How do organisations stand to benefit from participating in the programme?
The benefits for participating organisations are plenty. Besides being locally regionally and internationally recognised for their achievements in business excellence they get an independent assessment of their strengths areas for improvement and receive feedback reports to document achievements and plan progress. They acquire an organisational learning experience by comparing their practices against international business best practices.
What’s the assessment criteria of the award and what are the award categories?
The assessment criteria of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Performance Programme focuses on key areas of business performance such as leadership and strategy which are closely interlinked to customer workforce and talent management operations and processes innovation governance and corporate social responsibility. Overall the programme includes practices which are proven to lead to high performance outcomes in all types of organisations from a variety of industries be it small or large public or private sectors or for-profit or not-for-profit organisations.
The award whose categories include services finance trade manufacturing construction re-export and transport and logistics is open to all GCC companies regardless of their type of activity size or sector in which they operate.
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