Charity group project for Intro to Management - an experiment

A  school new year and new classes have started. I want to write about an experimental project I will be doing with my Introduction to Management class on the male campus - and ask for input from any reader who is involved in a charity in the UAE.

Past group projects in this class I have taught for 3 years now, have included a focus on Abu Dhabi Plan 2030, organizing a charity event on campus and focusing on an innovation introduced in an Emirati company in the last five years. Now I want (well am forcing) my students to be innovative themselves and organize something in collaboration with an organization operating in the UAE.

The project involves choosing a charity in the UAE, contacting them and working with them to discover their needs - then planning, organizing and leading an event, awareness campaign, fundraiser, etc and then explaining the results and all the feedback loops involved (the control phase). The final report will be a one page summary outlining the highlights of POLC and a five minute video of the POLC process they took.

Now, given cultural and other boundaries, the video will force them to be innovative and creative and sensitive (all things they actually excel at). I think it will go well, but then again (as any regular reader will know) I am extremely biased concerning the outstanding talents of my students.

The input I could need from you – do you run a charity that needs some support? Do you know of a charity that needs support? If so please contact me at the email listed in my profile.

Of course I will keep you updated as to the results of the project, and also keep you updated of several other completely awesome projects students in my other classes are working on.

Smile and courage J

IDRC paper development workshop or "Nerds at work to find solutions for some big problems" Day 5

Before I begin the last blog post (which is a little late I know) I want to thank the tireless coordinator, cheerleader and “research guide” Thomas Schott – he was the first to arrive and the last to leave – gave extra hours in the evening to ensure those of us who wanted to learn how to use Amos had the knowledge we needed to continue at home. Of course I use we in the sense of the group – I corrected an entire thesis once that used structural equation modelling, and so really had to understand it to make the right English edits, and that was enough for this lifetime J So that you Thomas for your efforts, your kind nature and your undying enthusiasm for the GEM project, MENA and your quest to be part of the bigger process of gaining understanding about entrepreneurship and the role of networks in this most important phenomenon.

We started the last day as we also did, with a group presentation (this time group 8 of 8) of their paper and preliminary results and then a discussion of the entire group with questions, recommendations and one or two nerd fights (which always ended with laughs and very good humour). Group 8 presented the role of networks on job growth – well the perception on the part of the entrepreneur on how many jobs he or she expects to create. Of course networks has an impact on this…

An entrepreneur’s network can roughly be defined as his or her “social capital” – which I tell students is like self-earned “wasta”. I came to the UAE almost three years ago knowing no one – and now I know a lot of people, in different industries and walks of life – through attending community events, volunteering, work, students, friends, etc. I have built my network which I use to learn about the environment in which I live and work – entrepreneurs do the same thing.

Back to the role of networks in expected job growth – use of professional (colleagues, etc.) and international (people living abroad or from abroad) seem to positively impact an entrepreneur’s expectation of job growth – why is another question and the team will work on that in the next while (manuscript due in September 2012!).

We also talked as a group about policy recommendations and how best to make them. Remember, we are all working on our respective GEM 2011 reports – these were the team leaders and members who attended the workshop – and our “sponsors” want/expect/need policy recommendations. One senior team leader reminded us that to write good policy we have to think like policy makers – what is the strategy, what is the vision, what is possible, what doesn’t cost an arm and a leg (ok, he didn’t mention the last item, but I know it is true in the MENA region especially).

We then did more spss training and I might have answered some student email while this was going on J

After our final delicious lunch (darn you Jordan and your excellent food, I gained weight last week!) each team presented a road map towards article completion in September. This represents our “contract” amongst the team members and with the larger group (and IDRC who funded this project). Because we need to publish our papers or it would be like we sang into the wind, it may be the most beautiful song every sung – but if it is not recorded it will have a very limited impact (e.g. none) on the world.

It was really nice that two of the people who mentioned on day 1 their lack of confidence in their English speaking skills, spoke for their groups. Smile and courage in action! It made me happy that the environment of the group and its positive atmosphere had allowed their confidence to grow …

Second to last we talked about forming a task force – made up of MENA researchers working in the MENA region on the subject of research into entrepreneurship. I hope something comes of it – but of course sustaining any taskforce requires funds – funds we lack. We will see though J And of course I will keep you all updated through this blog.

This was an amazing experience for me as a young professor (OK, not so young in age, but young in career) and I know that we all benefitted from it. It would be wonderful to repeat it – with PhD students and not necessarily on entrepreneurs’ networks, but on research in entrepreneurship in the MENA region. We need more understanding of it – we really do. On the last evening we went for coffee on a very nice street downtown and we saw a small scuffle of local teenagers (or young men) – of course I thought they wouldn’t be doing this if they were busy doing something else – but they might not feel prepared or able to do anything else – why? What can we do to help? What skills are they lacking? How can we best motivate them? What industries interest them most? See, there are way more questions than hours in a day – that is why we need to work together to come up with some understanding based on sound scientific research – kind of like building our house on stone and not sand.

I will keep you updated with paper links as they happen – and if you would like to donate money to start the task force I will put you in touch with the right people J 

P.S. - Thank you Nadia and the IDRC - without your funding and efforts this would not have happened - thank you for setting an example of what rich countries need to do to create sustainable solutions for the great challenges the MENA region faces.

IDRC paper development workshop or "Nerds at work to find solutions for some big problems" Day 1

So, day 1 of our paper development workshop funded by IDRC - or the Canadian international Development Research Centre (website in English) whose aim is "IDRC funds researchers in the developing world so they can build healthier, more prosperous societies".

There are 25 people here, from 15 MENA countries and Denmark. Many are senior scholars, but there are a few newbies like Dr. Victor and myself, and even a couple PhD students. We have 8 teams of 2-4 researchers per team and each team is looking at a research question on the question of entrepreneurs and the networks they use (e.g. who they ask for advice) and how that influences various aspects of entrepreneurship, e.g. innovativeness of new firms, and how certain "types" of people (e.g. women, youth) use networks in different ways.

We have a lot of data, from a lot of countries - it is from the GEM Reports from 2009 - 2011. GEM stands for the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor - a study of entrepreneurship that enables countries to obtain a portrait of their own "state of affairs" regarding entrepreneurship and who entrepreneurs are and allows countries to compare themselves with others (GEM Consortium home page). Dr. Victor and I are the team for the UAE 2011 Report - you WILL here more of it as the report is closer to publication.

So, enough background, what do 25 researchers do the first time they meet up - you guessed it we TALK! Thomas Schott from Denmark is the coordinator and Nadia Belhaj is the IDRC coordinator. Wow, we are kind of lucky to have the two of them - this workshop began with just an idea a year ago and now we are together - but why....

OK, a few:

1. Training in doing GEM research
2. Collaborate and work together across language, cultural and geographical boundaries
3. Publication

 As you may not know, less than 2% of the published scientific literature is published about or by scholars working in the MENA Region. Not a lot. We really need to support one another to make our footprint bigger - as they did in China, Brazil and what they are starting to do in Africa. Working together makes our research more robust, more relevant and just more interesting - because entrepreneurship research isn't about advancing theory (but we do need to do that to aid in understanding) - it is about studying a phenomenon that could help solve a (if not THE) major issue facing the Arab world today - unemployment (especially youth unemployment) and empowerment of groups who have traditionally had less power (e.g. women).

So, what we learn from the data, will hopefully help policy makers make better, more informed policy - to help solve problems before they become so big there is nothing left to do but clean up the mess.

So, I could go on, but I need to wake up at 6 to have time to have the yummy breakfast at the hotel before an 8 am start - yes, that early :) À demain!

Being innovative within boundaries

There is a very good article in today's National paper (today being May 19, 2012) - the link is here http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/emirati-women-and-workforce-in-a-clash-of-culture .

The article is by Ayesha Almazroui and she writes of the cultural boundaries women have when working outside the home - and how some women have been innovative within those boundaries, and how some have seen the boundaries as restrictions to break free of...

We always have choices when we have boundaries, and I am NOT one for pushing the limits and always err on the side of caution (just ask my students) - but I have also been one who expressed my "Connieness" within boundaries. I worked for eight years in a uniform (with a degree in History - Canadian and History of Science there were no other options). There was a rule to wear black shoes, so I wore Doc Martins, but there was no rule on shoe laces so I wore bright red plaid ones. My boss told me they weren't allowed (also helped that he was dumb and I had memorised the collective aggreement) - yet he soon realised he couldn't stop me short of changing the collective aggreement to ban coloured shoelaces.

Now, I know that each and every Emirati expresses their individuality with their abayas and kandoras- the stiching, the cut, the fabric, the colour, the use of contrasting fabric for the girls - and I know that the "boundary" of the National dress allows for absolute freedom of expression - it might be subtle, but I am able to appreciate that individuality everyday.

The boundaries that some women have as to their choice of workplaces is similar - they are still able to express themselves and feel fulfilled when they are innovative. Whether it be negotiating for that appropriate workplace, starting a homebased business, becoming a writer, starting a home based tutoring "space" to teach reading and writing to older women - organising sessions with older women for their sisters and cousins, to hear stories from the past and learn the older traditions.

There are always ways to be innovative within boundaries - there are always ways to contribute to soceity and find fulfillment that do not involve money changing hands. I advise my male students - many who would prefer their future wives do not work outside the home - to let their wives be innovative, let them feel they have an identity of their own definition - be creative with her to find something acceptable to all.

To my female students who worry about not being able to work outside the home I advise them to find their talents and express them through positive action - my Mom would hold craft sessions with the neighbourhood children and volunteered to come into our primary classes to teach crafts -

Boundaries are there - it's a fact - it is not about fair or not fair - it is about what is, instead of using energy complaining, use that energy to be creative and as a source of inspiration - it will create less conflicts at home and within yourself and you might just have fun :)

Arab and Emirati Youth – The UAE as a well-source for entrepreneurial development in the region

Since October I have been leading the 2011 UAE GEM Report with Dr. Victor Huang - since I moved here in August 2009 I have been very active with youth as supervisor of the Business Associations on both female and male campuses and with entrepreneurial organisations such as Tamakkan. Dr. Victor has been the supervisor of the ZU Entrepreneurship Club since its dynamic launch and has seen the development of the Club and its executive members as the have become among the youth leaders in entrepreneurship in Abu Dhabi. This blog is a result of our work, observations and long long hours of analysing mountains of data and our own anecdotal experiences.

The UAE is similar to the Arab world in that the majority of the local population is under the age of 24. Although there appears to be an abundance of resources, full and gainful employment of local Emiratis is and will remain to be a challenge in the coming decades. The reluctance of the private sector to hire Emirati youth, coupled with the saturation of government positions by mid-age Emiratis, foreshadows a great need for future entrepreneurial activity – self-employment – by today’s youth.

The challenge for the government and for entrepreneurial support agencies such as the Khalifa Funds, Intilaq and Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for SMEs, Tatweer and others, is complex, both because youth entrepreneurship in the Arab world in general, and in the UAE in particular, is little understood and the blueprints developed and used in other parts of the world are not suitable for the local cultural, economic, social and environmental context.

According to the data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report in 2011, the vast majority of Emirati early stage entrepreneurs choose to become entrepreneurs due to opportunity recognition and the desire for independence and autonomy, rather than through necessity or economic need. Although there is no current data or research on Emirati youth and the motivations for starting their own businesses, anecdotal evidence from our experience as professors and faculty supervisors of the Business Associations on the men’s and women’s campuses and the Entrepreneurship Club, Zayed University students, suggests that they are motivated by passion for their idea or project, a craving for independence and a craving to be well known as a successful business person – a “self-made” success.

Although this seems to be widely “known” and accepted that these are the motivators for Emirati youth, there is almost a complete lack of understanding of how to get from spark – to fully formed idea – to business model development – to financing – to opening the doors for business.

However, an understanding of the motivations and possible incentives is only part of the story. The sustainable economic, social, cultural and environmental needs of the UAE, and its diverse regions, need to be understood to develop “incentives” and guidelines for future Emirati entrepreneurs to follow and be inspired by.

This understanding can only be developed through on the ground research, talking with key young Emirati entrepreneurs, their Emirati role models who inspire them and youth advocates. Discussions with faculty at Federal universities supporting entrepreneurship needs to be carried out – to understand what is happening on the ground and what resources and support are needed to scale up successful initiatives. Enterprising high school teachers, who have proven track records of inspiring projects and support for their students, need to be consulted and their best practices gathered into a resource guide for teachers in all subjects and grades.

Oil was the key resource needed to drive the industrial age – and the UAE has been a source for this. Entrepreneurship, while not a magic wand for economic development and diversification, will be key in the developing the knowledge economy, especially in the Arab world. The UAE can be a source of innovative ideas and business concepts tailor made in the Arab world, by Emiratis and this will be the fuel for the sustainable knowledge economy of the future.

Azbas – Traditional Farms in the Modern World

This blog is based on a report written by three of the first ten male graduates of Zayed University – Ahmed Sultan, Obaid Al Zaabi and Yousif Ali. The general title of the assignment was Strategy in Traditional Industries. For the report presentation we visited Yousif’s family farm on the highway between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. I drank fresh goat milk and camel milk and we ended the long afternoon with a BBQ and karak around a campfire telling traditional ghost stories.

Only forty years ago many families around the UAE lived much simpler lives than today – instead of going out to the local ADNOC for milk, they would go out to the barn, choose a camel and come back with healthy, fresh and warm milk. Now, while the majority of Emirates live in an urban environment, they can still enjoy the benefits of having a farm – fresh milk, fresh hormone-free meat, and a weekend lifestyle that brings them back to days when the desert and a camp fire were the wide screen TV and satellite of today.

An Azba is a farm for livestock intended for personal, or family use. These farms typically have chickens, goats, camels, cows, sheep or rabbits – the combination depends on the family needs, the size of the farm. In particular camels can be used for breeding, race preparation or milk production. While some azbas might exist in “legal limbo”, the large majority are registered with the appropriate municipality and in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, with the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority. Fodder, water and veterinary care is provided by the municipality according to the number of registered animals on each farm.

Now to the strategy part – why have these farms when meat is so readily available in the supermarket? Why encourage young husbands and fathers to set up these farms for their families? Is there a strategic purpose to all this? Well, the answer is yes, there is a strategy behind this – and actually it is quite clever. As you might know, there are four main pillars or supporting walls to the Strategy of the Abu Dhabi and the UAE – that is sustainability in economy, culture, society and environment.

We know that sustainability means we want to preserve what we have so that it is there for the use of future generations and that it might mean modernising things (not Westernising), but that the best projects think of all four pillars. So, this is my interpretation of how Azbas fit into the sustainability strategy of the country (no secret information, just observation, listening and studying a few too many strategic plans from the region).

1. Economic – Diversifying the economy is part of the strategic vision of all the Gulf States, and really of all countries which are natural resource dependent. No – small farms will not create an industry that will be export focused, rather there could be a small “cottage industry” developed around the buying and selling of locally and traditionally raised meat, perhaps even organic meat.

2. Social – Social sustainability in part means that we have meaningful jobs and that we each contribute in some way to making society better for everyone. Owning and operating a farm is a wonderful way for young men and families to contribute to the food security of their families on one hand and the larger extended community on the other. Now food security might not be an issue for today or even tomorrow – but what if it becomes an issue? Well, with Azbas families know where their meat comes from, what the animal ate and how it was slaughtered (OK, that might sound brutal, but we all know that it is an important issue here).

3. Environmental – Yes, these farms use water – but raising meat locally means that it is not being shipped from oceans away – which reduces its “footprint”.

4. Culture – Emiratis from the desert, the sea and the mountains have the tradition of raising their own meat, trading it for things they didn’t have, and relying on their own labour to provide food for their families. While this is not necessary now, Azbas bring back that sense of “providing for” and living off the land (no matter how harsh that land was).

I told you it was clever – and maybe more complex than you thought. Our visit to the Azba was quite an experience and I know that my students look at them in a different way than they did before the assignment. These are not just farms to raise meat for families, there are actually a very strategic way to encourage hands-on sustainability. I hope that you will also have a chance to visit an Azba and taste sweet warm milk fresh from a camel – and listen to ghost stories around a campfire, told by very creative students.

Me petting a camel

Ghost stories around the campfire

Welcome to my new blog - Strategy in the United Arab Emirates. This blog will be updated with lessons I have learned from my undergraduate students (from all 7 Emirates) at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, lessons I try to teach my students and lessons we have learned from activities and discussions together - in class and in the field. If you have a question - please ask - if you want me to write on a specific topic - please ask - if you want me to give you the magic formula for strategic success, sorry wrong blog!