A blog written by Constance Van Horne (Dr. Connie), Associate Professor of Management working in Abu Dhabi about strategy and teaching strategy in the UAE.
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Showing posts with label Strategy in the UAE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Strategy in the UAE. Show all posts
Wow! What a wonderful class... This term I am really concentrating on the Strategic Process and the importance of implementation... As regular readers of this blog know I like to use heritage and traditional industries and stories from the past to teach us about strategies to use in the future... So instead of sitting in a classroom for two hours we went to the Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival about 15 minutes away from campus.
The Festival runs until December 14 and there is a video here:
We arrived and went into the main tent... We were greeted by the wonderful people from the National Center for Documentation & Research and were given a tour about the early recorded history of the UAE, in and around Dibba, Fujairah to present day. The heart of the photographic exhibit was about the implementation and realization of the vision of uniting the Emirates into one country.
Our guide, Mr. Farman Al Marzooqi, Director of Corporate Communications, had so many wonderful stories and background for the photos... And of course this was supplemented with additional information from my students.
The next photos will take us on a brief tour of what we learned....
Mr. Farman begins at the first recorded record of the current UAE from the archives of Portugal about the port of Dibba (yes my students did a research project on eco-tourism in Dibba and you can read about it here)
Pointing out the mosque in the first Portuguese settlement was still in existence! (I didn't say I have had the pleasure of spending hours on the site)
You can read about Marco Sosa's book about Al Bidya Mosque here (also on my blog)
Before the UAE was the UAE there were treaties of agreements with the other Emirates and countries in the current GCC (Sheikh Zayed's vision of a united country required long term planning, commitment and work)
The details of the flag :)
HE Ahmed Al Souwadi announces the UAE to the world! Vision realized!
The first UAE Cabinet
Students and professor fascinated with the photos and stories
A medal from Queen Elizabeth to Sheikh Zayed
Sheikh Zayed and his sons
Sheikh Zayed and Nelson Madela on his official visit to the UAE
An excellent tour through the history of the UAE - from vision to reality!
A gift from the organizers - I could not believe my luck to receive this book - I cannot wait to start reading!!!!!
My photos do not do justice to the story told by the photos of the process taken from the Trucial States to Sheikh Zayed the First to the realization of "Etihad" - the vision of Sheikh Zayed - and then to the present day.
Strategy is not a plan we write on paper - strategy needs to be implemented, adjusted, reevaluated and worked on.... but when it is done well, the word impossible does not exist.
I heard from the people there that this exhibit will be moved to the Nation Center's offices in the new year... you know I will be taking my next strategy class there... if you are in the UAE and have time before the 14 - please go for a visit.
There is a strong tradition and long history of falcon hunting in the UAE and the larger region. I have held falcons at different times and seen them hunting in old videos... but have never been to a working falcon farm - of course, given my tremendous luck as a professor here - last month our strategy class went to such a farm.
We went to the farm around 8... at the end of a long afternoon of Al Ain adventures (the first INCREDIBLE azba story will follow this one).
I will let the photos do the talking... It really was a strong lesson in the efforts made by individual families to keep tradition alive through modern methods and a strong love of their culture.
Khalid explaining the new methods used to train falcons - in the past it was just releasing birds, then small hot air balloons were used and now small guided aircraft are used to get very high and very precise (so the bird doesn't gt lost!)
Everyone was fascinated and asked loads of questions - many hadn't been to a falcon farm before - we also heard about a new falcon competition sponsored by Sheikh Khalifa (the President of the UAE) to keep the tradition alive and ensure it is passed on to younger generations
Really cool to have all the falcons behind us
Heading to the long and huge barn that holds the falcons... it is 800 metres long and there are huge fans for cooling and at then end there is an air conditioned "room" for the falcons from colder climates to go to (I may have picked up a few feathers)
A gift of a feather to me :)
Khalid placing the falcon on my hand (yes I have 2 feathers in my hair)
Walid from RAK who had also never been to a falcon azba
Beautiful bird - she is called heart for the heart shaped markings on her back
A dinner hosted by Abdullah's family and Khalid's family - it was delicious
It was a great way to end an amazing day... keeping tradition alive is as much about the future of the UAE or the "modern" UAE as it is a thing of the past. While hunting is almost exclusively done in other countries - the training and use of these falcons is very much a concern for many families in the country. We were all grateful to get a glimpse of the vision of this azba and the constant stream of innovative methods being used for training... Thank you Khalid (and your family and team of course) for organizing this!
Last Spring I gave a final exam asking my students (two groups of young Emiratis from all seven Emirates) to address the issue of Emirati male youth unemployment and develop a strategic framework as if they were consulting for the government. I have finally compiled and analysed their answers. I will start with the general introduction and then go through the visions, missions, long term objectives, SWOT, Strategic Decisions, Priority Decisions, Gathering Resources and then Implementation.
I think there are some thoughtful and wise pieces of advice from these students... as many of them begin their jobs (yes, mainly in the army and public sector), we can at least be assured that there are some bright young minds starting their careers!
Much worldwide attention has been given to boys in the Arabian Gulf. In November 2012 The Economist wrote an article “Where are the jobs for the boys?” highlighting the upcoming “job crunch” in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates – where 90% of Emiratis are employed in the public sector. Young men in particular are not eager to gain the necessary skills through higher education to qualify for public sector or high skilled jobs. In May 2012 the New York Times published a piece “In the Gulf, Boys Falling Behind in School” highlighting an education system that is seen as failing the young men of the region. These articles highlight the enormous challenges faced by an education system which does not appear to be meeting the needs of the future generation of young men and the future knowledge based economy of the UAE...
The first step in any strategic plan is to develop a strong and forward thinking vision. Many students wrote of a vision for vocational training, through hands on experience and apprenticeships with "masters". Others spoke of creating programs to ensure youth were prepared for rewarding and productive work - exploiting natural talent and all working to ensure the Nation continues its quest for sustainable economic diversification and strengthen industries.
On to the mission... (and the fine ideas continued). The programs and plans put forward were often seen as in compliment to current educational institutions and universities. They spoke of equal access across all Emirates and encouraging training programs with private industry. The mission was not only to provide training and skills to the currently unemployed, but better prepare youth still in school to better meet the needs of the future economy.
The strategic objectives were bold - but also based on long term needs over short-term results. Some were specific - "By 2018, increase students' ability to enter university without any preparation years from 22% to 40%". Some were were general - "Create incentive and reward programs for students who excel in their studies" and others saw the need to have increased community involvement in the education system.
Next came their SWOT analysis which they then used to make their "strategic decisions" and then their priority decision. Their analyses were solid, and provided a logical and thoughtful foundation to their decision making process.
The strategic decisions called for the inclusion of the relevant stakeholders to be part of any process - public and private organisations and policy makers and of course the motivated youth themselves. Some decisions involved lowering the starting salary of public employees (yes, this idea came from them) and developing programs for youth to understand the needs of the future economy. Creating more ties with schools (high schools and universities) so that young people understand the world of work and private firms understand Emirati culture in a clearer way.
One of the most well developed answers for the key strategic decision involved the creation of a motivation program - in particular for young men to acquire and develop skills that will be needed in the knowledge economy. Others focused on the development of a vocational program to target the key areas of strategic industrial growth for the nation.
The required resources named weren't just human or financial - but involved active efforts to encourage the participation of all key stakeholders.
Each student described a plan (in more or less detail, not everyone gets an A or B!) to implement their decision and outlined the metrics they would use to judge success.
The issue of (un)employment in the Arabian Gulf and the wider Arab world is not going to be a simple one to solve - as my students described it will involve work on the part of all stakeholders and new "ways" of training than have typically been used in this region. I also liked that they saw the need for a motivated and active youth population to take advantage of new training and employment opportunities.
A few weeks ago (yes, I am a horrible marker and put it off as long as possible, even when I am curious as to what students think) we watched a video in class (above to watch) call Farewell Arabia. It documents the first years of Sheikh Zayed's reign as the ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (before the UAE was the UAE).
The assignment was to watch the video, watch what strategic tactics (or tools or methods or habits) were used by Sheikh Zayed and write a one page mini-essay of how they could be modernized - or if modernization was necessary! Most of the students had seen the video before (I have seen it several times before of course, I used it when I taught Leadership and in previous Strategy classes we just watched it and had discussions).
Through the pages chicken scratch (I say that with love of course) there was wisdom, pride and a deep understanding of the importance of maintaining the past and their heritage in building the future.
There were clear themes of how they understood that Sheikh Zayed worked at achieving his ambitious vision for the Emirate and later the country. They were, his clear vision, balance, strong communication skills, development of education, healthcare and infrastructure and the importance of heritage, culture and religion.
Clear vision
The first was that they all saw that the clear vision of what could and would be was the guiding light in all the decisions that were made. Also this vision was clearly communicated to citizens and to the experts that were brought in to advice, educate and build.
Balance
They saw and heard about the difficult balancing act of maintaining and holding on to the past and developing for a better, more prosperous future. This balance led to tolerance, gathering information from a variety of sources and making decisions with care and love.
Strong communication skills
Each student spoke of the daily meeting or majalis where really anyone could come and speak with Sheikh Zayed, to air grievances, ask for assistance and for any reason really. These are still held today and also twitter is used by many Sheikhs today to communicate ideas, decisions and hopes for the future with citizens, residents and the twitter sphere in general. Of course communication is more about listening than speaking - and my students made this clear to me.
Developing education, healthcare and infrastructure
Many students talked about the ways in which education (for both boys and girls) was a priority right from the beginning - of course it still is and now there are universities in the country and many scholarship opportunities for going to the best universities in the world for graduate and post-graduate degrees. Healthcare is also still a priority - and while the old traditions seem to be losing ground to modern medicine, there is still many wise women and men who practice the old ways. Ports, airports, highways and linking the people within the country and linking the country to the outside world are still priorities - and decisions in the past (and now) are made for decades in the future, not for next year.
Heritage, culture and religion
Above all, the students said that Sheikh Zayed was a Muslim and also a man of the desert, and with a strong love of tradition, poetry, and the old ways. The students all expressed the fears of too much modernization and losing the old traditions - and it all goes back to balance doesn't it?
Yes, this semester has really focused on traditions, traditional industries and looking at the past to help us build the strategies of the future. This semester is not done yet - I am not sure what will be next, but you are sure to hear about it shortly after I experience it.
*Updated* here is a video of the after dinner traditional singing: Video
You must think we do nothing but field trips! This semester has been field trip full - but really they are done without missing classes, believe me (or ask the students) there are plenty of boring ppt presentations they need to suffer through and reading and writing and thinking!
Yesterday we went to Ajman, one of the smaller Northern Emirates, to visit a horse ranch. Of course, nothing is as simple as that and the following narrative through photographs will introduce you to another glimpse of the wonderful Emirati culture.
For regular readers I know you are beginning to see patterns in the strategic fundamentals of these traditional industries - if not, no worries I have and intend to spend some time writing this summer about it. Most likely academic writing, but maybe some blog writing too!
Without further blah, blah, blah here is the story!
Canadian water, Canadian timbits, excellent driver :)
Arriving in Ajman, didn't recognize my students dressed in Western clothing!
Ajman has lots of green and smells very fresh :)
The BEST legaimat I have ever tasted, thank you to all the Moms who are spoiling us with delicious food!
Emirati donut hole vs. Canadian legaimat!
I need the recipe for this! Seriously wanted to bring the leftovers home!!!!
We couldn't go from the house to the farm like normal people - I rode in the dune buggy through the dunes. Sand EVERYWHERE - scary, but I even rode back so it wasn't that bad :)
Stuck (yes, there is a theme of getting stuck in the sand on these trips!)
No tow rope - so they used what was on hand - or on their heads!
This is sooooooooooo not going to work!!!!!!!!
Push!
Go this way - turn turn!
More digging, sun setting!
Yippee!
Thomas - might have bucked me off because I scared him when he scared me!
The gang!
Horse feed!
Saddles...
The stables
Wow - pretty horse!
Hay from the US - the hay from Sudan gives the horses worms!!!!
Tack - the farm (like the camel farm) is so well organised!
wonderful moment - camel rancher talking to horse rancher about medicines, traditional and Western!
Where we were!
I bet she is wondering when we are leaving....
Preparing the bbq! (Yes, no trip is complete without a diet busting meal or two or three!)
Yousef reciting one of his poems...
Soooooooo yummy!
And the oud and drum come out after the meal to cap a wonderful trip!
