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Posts Tagged ‘Strategy’

Saudi Female Engineers

24 Dec

Image via: David Castillo Dominici/freedigitalphotos.net

For everyone not familiar with the dynamics of the Saudi society, this piece of news would sound both shocking and funny at the same time, and not to mention embarrassing for us, Saudis!

Finally, and starting from the academic year of 2012/2013, Saudi females will be able to join the engineering school of King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah (read this)! Yes, Saudi females were not able to study engineering!! And please do not get so overwhelmingly excited, they will only be able to join either electrical or industrial engineering majors, not all disciplines of engineering!

Let’s look into this news from two major angels:

  • Academic: 

Let’s be positive here and say it is a good step that is coming pretty laaaaaaate! And let’s hope the rest of engineering disciplines will open their doors to females soon; I am not seeing why we cannot have female mechanical, chemical, and civil engineers!

  • Market Demand: 

For a country that has a lot of money and want to invest in its future, engineers and scientists are the ones usually carrying such a burden on their shoulders, so yes, the market demands a lot of qualified engineers. Ok, that was the theoretical part. Now let’s face reality, the real practice of engineering in Saudi is very minimal. That should not come as a surprise for a country that is totally dependent on imported technologies. We are not producing technologies and manufacturing methods, and consequently, we are not active in research and development. And guess what, engineers are needed in these sectors, the ones we do not really have!

Engineers in Saudi are mostly engaged in project management; they use their general knowledge of engineering in managing projects carried out by international vendors; the big players who really produce the technology!

The market in general is so competitive, add that to the remaining problems of the Saudi  job market such as being unorganized and dependent on connections rather than qualifications (i.e. was6a) and you would end up with this conclusion: with or without female engineers, the market is already a miss!

Lastly, the dean of the engineering school at KAU kept repeating and emphasizing on the initial salary of SAR15,000 ($4,000) that ‘HE THINKS’ Saudi engineers receive upon graduation, and I really hope the dean would retest his confidence after truly surveying the job market! I am not sure if the dean is familiar with the trend that started to get intense during the last couple of years among the big Saudi firms; the trend of depending on subcontracts and outsourcing! Without any clear guidelines or rules, these companies started to minimize their direct hires and outsource internal positions to subcontracts with very minimal benefits whether we are talking salaries or training and development. And of course that is done with the intention of saving more money, or let’s be honest, it is all about more profits and bounces for the big heads. So what you end up with is nothing but  poor quality employment conditions and underdeveloped staff!

Despite all that … welcome to the Saudi female engineers!

*Image Source

 
8 Comments

Posted in Human Resources, Saudi business

 

To be Fired Over the Phone

16 Sep

Image via The Atlantic/REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino

It is about 10 days since Carol Bartz, Yahoo former CEO, had been fired over the phone. And since then, there is something that is just not adding up or clicking in place to make this decision sounds acceptable to a lot of observers.

First of all, the way she was shown the way out is sooooo bizarre. It is against any managerial protocol to fire your top executive over the phone, or anyone for that matter (check this & this for comments on how rude that was). Maybe Yahoo’s board and its chairman did not expect this to happen and reach the public in the way it did, but that’s the digital age baby! And if Yahoo’s board cannot understand it, then that’s another point against the struggling company.

Secondly, the company put itself in a very awkward position because of what happened. It is like the board and the fired CEO are both playing a ball game of who is the true person to blame now. The way the board acted is stating that the CEO was behind all our mess. And the way the fired CEO responded by sending that ‘to all staff’ email is stating that ‘Yahoo staff, look at the idiots who are running the board, they just fired me over the phone.’ Such communication just show that the chemistry between the CEO and the board was lost. And this is a very devastating situation for any company, let alone a company that is trying to survive in a very competitive market (check this out).

Thirdly, what is the real reason behind the firing decision? Lack of of focus or strategic goal as the press release stated!! Shouldn’t this be taken as a point against the board because it was watching the top executive stumbling in the dark for three years without taking any action!! On a side note, it should be mentioned here that during her tenure as Yahoo’s CEO, Mrs. Bartz has been able increase net income of the company by about 52%, so it is not all about money!

What it could be then? Carol’s salty mouth as they say. How come that did not stop Jack Welch from being the superhero CEO of the century!! He was known for his salty mouth too, right?? And this discussion in particular would open the door for sexism debates. Is it acceptable of a male director to be ‘bossy’ and ‘having attitude’ in comparison to a female one?? That’s a looooooonge debate (for example, check this & this)!

From where I see it, Carol Bartz lacked the leadership charisma. She has not been seen, especially in her tenure as Yahoo CEO, as the leader who could lead and turn around the stumbling company. She could not communicate confidence in the company’s shareholders and staff. Her known salty mouth in interviews and conferences presented her as an arrogant, show-off person who like to talk rather than do.

Finally, Yahoo’s board of directors should also acknowledge that the lousy performance of the company is not only about its CEO. It is the company’s accumulated poor managerial performance over the years that led it to lose the market to tough competitors like Google and Facebook. The market will never wait for you to adjust and make progress.

It is a tough world!

 
4 Comments

Posted in General Management, Human Resources, Leadership

 

Al Marai, What did you do?

08 Jul

They increased the price of one of its products by one riyal, and it is like they opened the gates of hell!!

Overnight, Al Marai just turned to be the talk of the country, and especially, the talk of Twitter! Boycotting campaigns and accusations of theft and deceiving are all over the place!

Given that anyone has all the right to reject a certain product and even invite others to boycott it as long as he/she is providing some kind of logical reasoning. What happened with Al Marai is a bit different. It is something like an explosion of illogical, and in a lot of times superficial, reasoning and poor justifications all mixed with a tone of hatred and accusation of theft and deception. Which is to be honest, a very strange reaction to one of the icons in the Saudi business environment!

The following should not be taken as a defending attempt on behalf of Al Marai, I am quite sure they have what it takes to defend themselves, I will only be trying to defend the logic of business, from where I see it at least!

  • The Price!

In any industry, and for any product, specifying a price is the most challenging task ever. It is a mix of facts, market status, and aspirations. Facts in the sense of raw materials and production lines. The money, human resources, distribution lines costs, and so on. All these are hard figures that are built on management decisions to provide a certain product, in a certain shape, with a certain quality. And the facts might be the easiest part of the determining-the-price-process.

Then, there is the market status; who are our competitors and who are our customers? What are the prices in the market? What is the quality standards in the market? And most importantly, what is the economical status of the targeted market? The main question in here is, where does the company want to be in regard to all of this?

And finally, there is the aspirations of the company, what are the profits margins it is trying to achieve and keep, what kind of a message and values it is trying to provide?

In short, there is no book or research ever written in the logical human universe that states prices should be fixed along the whole product life cycle, or else, the company producing that product is nothing but a symbol of evil!

  • They were making profit, weren’t they?

Yes they were, and guess what, they are planning to keep it that way. For those been through Al Marai financial statements and arguing that it is making profits despite its claims of maintaining the production costs under control, there are two major points to put into considerations here: First, the remarkable increase in profits goes primarily  back to the brilliant accusations and product portfolio diversification strategy that the company embarked on few years ago. It is not  anymore a milk producing company, it is a food company (so to speak). Second, in a volatile economical situation, it is becoming harder and harder to rely on the historical data to make accurate assumptions about the current and future statuses. For a company working in a very sensitive market to the raw materials prices fluctuations, any observer to this market should have definitely noticed the instability the food market is going through globally.

  • Al Marai, the brand!

Let’s look into this from a different angel. I would guess that Al Marai could have kept the prices the same or even lower if it decided to compromise its well known quality standards.  The company is in the market since 1976, and there is a reason that most of its products are market leaders each in its respective segment. Al Marai branding philosophy has always been built on quality, and I believe this is what they should be emphasizing on in such current events.

 
2 Comments

Posted in Branding, Branding, Communication, Marketing, Saudi business

 

The Saudi Anti-Corruption Commission; The Fast & Furious

09 May

So by the approval of the Saudi cabinet of ministers on the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Commission, the royal decree that guided, or better to say, sponsored the idea of a national anti-corruption commission comes into effect.

As outlined in this announcement, the commission responsibilities revolve around combating all forms of administrative and financial corruption, following up on plans concerning the public interests to ensure fair execution and compliance to laws, that’s in addition to promoting transparency in all governmental work.

Quite goals to accomplish and objectives to satisfy. Given that the commission is just starting, we, as Saudis, certainly hope that it will reach those nicely put strategic goals. However, strategy won’t move unless carried on tactical wheels, so to speak. If it is legitimate to ask how Saudis are reacting to the announcement of such commission. I would say that they are full of hope, but yet skeptical! Public policies, for some reason or another, are usually doomed with slowness. Once you got caught at the web of bureaucracy, it is extremely hard to break out!

For that, and if they are willing to take my advice, for this commission to establish itself on the scene and to gain credibility and respect, I would say that they should adopt the slogan of ‘Fast & Furious.’

Be Fast: Do not allow much of a time to pass without issuing some kind of comments, reports, or even punishments against those practicing any kind of corruption or misusing power! I agree that the commission is new and it would definitely need some time to create its own organizational structure and culture, and I know that it will be dealing with sensitive cases that need to be investigated independently and thoroughly, but acting fast would give it an immediate presence on the scene and, most importantly, it will be taken seriously!

Be Furious: be furious in the sense of not adhering to normal and usual bureaucratic obstacles. And more importantly, not submitting to ‘Wasta’ and people of power and influence. After all, the King himself got your back! There are many managerial initiatives and techniques that could be used to maneuver obstacles and constraints. They just need fresh innovative minds, and the desire to embrace modern managerial practices!

 
7 Comments

Posted in Communication, Culture, General Management, Saudi business

 

SCTA; Dreaming is Not Enough

30 Mar

I do not want to sound so harsh on the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), but I have to honestly say that I cannot relate to, or should I say believe, most of their advertising and PR campaigns!! I mean … come on people … are we using the same dictionary to understand what the word ‘tourism’ means? or you have your own definition of it?!! (check out this earlier post about SCTA.)

Now check out this piece of news with me, SCTA is saying that by the year of 2020, the tourism sector in the country will be creating more than 2 million jobs! Now seriously, 2 million jobs!! Where and how? Reading such news would leave you under the impression that the tourism is actually booming in the country, the question is, where? I cannot see it!!

On the other hand, read about these 44 graduates with tourism management diplomas who cannot find a job in the claimed to be booming sector!! I said 44, not 44 thousands or any thing!!!

What is the point of this post?

The point is that we want to see real improvements, we would really love to see our country filled with tourism facilities and activities, real ones! and would love to witness its heritage and mixed cultures put into appropriate presentation. And all this being surrounded with a true tourism culture and services.

What we do NOT want to see or hear is promises after promises without anything that could be seen or touched first hand. It is more than 10 years now since the start of SCTA, and I believe 10 years are enough to start witnessing something real. Dreams are good to start with, but they have to be realized sometime soon!

 
4 Comments

Posted in Culture, Public Relations, Saudi business

 

If You Want To Reach Mars

20 Nov

If I came to you out of the sudden and told you that Saudi Arabia is preparing its first mission to Mars, there is a huge chance that you won’t believe me if you are a quite good person, or punch me in the face if you are into action movies!

It is not that Saudi does not have the financial resources to do it, we actually do, but we do not have the facilities, the will, the sought after rewards, in simpler words, we do not have the competitive advantage to do it!

That’s why nations, or companies working in nations, should carefully craft their strategical goals when attempting to start a certain industry in or import to its land! The environment any company works in usually plays a major role in determining how its future might turn to be Nations competitive advantages are built with long term plans; the environment that contains materials, technology, skilled manpower, suppliers, distributors, buyers, and eventually a reputable name takes decades to form. That’s why we know Japan for miniaturization of electronics industries, we know Italy for fashion and leather industries, we know the United states for technological industries. Michael Porter has a whole book that provide a lot of insights on this topic (here).

This is not meant to discourage nations of following their dreams and find a spot on the international scene. It is more of an indication that if you want to get bigger and better, you should plan it well. India and China have done that. India for example, invested a lot of time and money in technological education, and now its manpower is the best in anything related to IT and computer sciences. China realized that its competitive advantage is in its people, that’s why almost everything now is manufactured in China or at least part of it is! And they did not stop at that, after rooting certain industries very well in their environments, they are starting to innovate and be creative and come up with new products and services; they’ve got the competitive advantage in place. They are getting bigger, better, and their economies are in a race to take over the world!

If we really want to ever check a spot on the new globalized world, we should really start planning for our competitive advantages!

 
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Posted in Entrepreneurship, General Management, Leadership, Saudi business

 

True Leaders and Clowns

01 Sep

Days are passing by and the end of the year is around the corner. For a lot of companies and a lot of managers, these three last months of the year are so critical. It is time to revise plans, goals, budgets, and not to forget, performance appraisals are just around the corner.

In such heated situations, there are two types of leaders that you may encounter, or might be yourself:

  • True Leaders: Those who already have well crafted planes and smart objectives earlier that year. A lot of their goals have been accomplished or about to be completed. However, they might face some missed targets and deadlines here or there. In such situations, they calmly and logically sit to restudy the situation, and ask themselves and their team members a lot of why’s and how’s. They turn obstacles into opportunities and failures into lessons learned.
  • Clowns: Those who built their plans on vague inputs, poor data, and sometimes pure dreams!! Most of their goals are missed, if not all. But nothing will stop them from raising their voices and pointing their fingers on everybody around them, even their own team members. Whenever around one of those, you will start witnessing a lot of fightings during meetings, a lot of heated emails, and a lot of passing the ball theory practices!

Look around you and check; which type of managers are you pumping into more often?

 
6 Comments

Posted in General Management, Leadership

 

Sama; Another Sad Story of Saudi Aviation Industry

24 Aug

The Saudi low budget Sama Airlines is suspending its operations in the Kingdom starting today until further notice.

Should this be a surprise? I would say: No, it was expected!

The whole scene of civil aviation industry in Saudi does not look that good. Whether we are talking airports or airliners, It is a mess, to say the least!

Operating an airlines is a tough business, no doubt about it. Lots of head to head competition and very turbulent business environment. And when you are working in a messy market like the one both Sama and Nas had stepped in, the situation becomes even harder.

I am not sure what kind of business plans they had both studied to reach the decision that the Saudi market is an attractive investment opportunity. Maybe by only looking at the status of Saudia and how almost all Saudis agree that it suck! the idea of having a second airlines should’ve looked appealing. The fact of the matter is that Saudia is a company both owned and supported by the government. And what makes it even worse for commercial activities in such market is when the regulator (GACA in this situation) does not provide any guarantees to protect the fairness of competition. Maybe the new comers received some promises, but businesses are not usually built on promises, they are built on facts, at least when it comes to the market environment.

Now both of the companies are waiting for the promises to be fulfilled especially for fueling prices. It could be a tactic played by Sama to get the attention of higher authorities although it is a hugely damaging move to the company name (especially that Nas did not play along, if it was a tactic!!)

It is another sad story added to the book of sad stories of Saudi airlines business!!

 
4 Comments

Posted in Branding, General Management, Saudi business

 

The Golden Question

01 Aug

For any business owner or leader out there; the moment of truth kinda of question could be the following one asked by Jim Collins (according to this HBR blog post):

If your company went out of business tomorrow, would anybody really miss it and why?

Although it’s a simple question, its answer contains the essence of the organization, its soul, and its whole purpose of being alive and competing in the market. If a leader or a number of executives failed to answer such question, then there must be something wrong!

There are some interesting points the blog post is referring to in case a leader wants to know why his/her company should be missed. But let’s look at it from the other way around. Let’s see it through the eyes of you; the customer. Think for a moment of a company that you will be really missing if you heard now that it will be a history starting from tomorrow, and why would you miss it?

If you honestly answer this question, your answers will be almost the same as those mentioned in the HBR post, the answers that every business leaders should be aspiring to and working on having in his/her company.

Allow me to be the first to start … These are my choices:

  • Starbucks: This is by far my most favorite brand in the world. You could even say that I am emotionally connected to it. Noting that I am neither a heavy coffee drinker nor someone who spend a lot of times in coffee shops. But I admire it because I feel that they care. They care about the quality of their products and the quality of the services they are providing.
  • Sony: The Japanese electronic manufacturer will be my second choice. I trust whatever products they’re producing. Whenever I see Sony, I see high quality.
  • P&G: Proctor & Gamble, the known FMCG manufacturer. There are no choices whenever that one of the products to be choosing from carries this company name. They have a vast range of brands under P&G, and they are all my first choices especially in Health & Well being and Household care categories.

Now, what are your favorite brands and why?

 
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Posted in Branding, General Management, Leadership

 

Where Are the Solutions?

23 Jul

Just before the summer vacation sneaked in, I wrote ‘Tourism is a Business’ talking about how I, and mostly anybody I know, have never been persuaded by any local tourism activities.

Now, as most of the Saudi cities are living the so called ‘Summer Festivals,’ one of SCTA’s members went out on Arab News and talked about how these festivals are poorly organized, and how much they lack creativity and fresh ideas!

Most of the points he touched on like prices, transportation, diverse activities, and even electricity and water cutoffs, almost reach the level of agreement between those interested in the idea of local tourism, and we as customers are certainly interested.

The point is that if one of the organization’s members knows and can so eloquently list all these problems and shortcomings, I believe it is legitimate for us all to ask, where are the solutions??

 
4 Comments

Posted in Culture, Saudi business

 
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