DinarStandard Editors

Muslim Executives Can Raise the Bar of Global Business Leadership

The Annual ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) convention is a huge affair.  With an estimated 40,000 attendees this year in Chicago, the event was a professionally organized gathering with 100's of lectures and discussions on all sorts of contemporary and religious topics as well as a huge Bazaar of products and services that cater to the Muslim market (more on that later.)

DinarStandard was invited to speak at one of the sessions, titled 'Muslim Executives in the West - Their Next Steps...".  I am attaching the slides from that presentation which focussed on the opportunity that Muslim Executives have in not only becoming the best global business leaders of today but also in contributing and raising the bar of business leadership standards. 

The discussion was moderated by CAMP (Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals) President Ms. Urz Heer and the other speakers included Mr. Rushdi Siddiqui, Global Director of Dow Jones Islamic Index, Mr. Mohammed Gaber of PepsiCo, and Mr. S. Jafer Hasnain of Alliance Capital Management.

            

    

How Gulf Companies Can Build Global Businesses

The McKinsey Quarterly recently commented on ‘How Gulf companies can build global businesses.’  This frank assessment references companies based in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states who are using the petrodollar windfall to expand strategically into global markets.  The piece also states that expanding globally for such companies will require the development of distinctive capabilities and skills.

Some of the referenced investments include DP World $7.1 billion acquisition of the British port and ferry operator P&O in 2006;  Saudi Basic Industries (Sabic) $2 billion acquisition of the petrochemical division of the Dutch chemicals and pharma group DSM in 2002; Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) paying $1.3 billion for the Swiss company SR Technics, the leading independent supplier of aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul services; and, Kuwaiti logistics group Agility (formerly PWC Logistics) buying companies in Singapore and the United States as part of a drive to become one of the world’s top logistics groups.

The commentary however points out that in order for such investments to bear fruit for GCC players, the advantages that drove margins at home—high-income customer pools, cheap labor, protected markets, and low energy costs—won’t be transferred to external markets, and they will need to become more efficient abroad to be profitable/competitive there.

Some of the areas of focus suggested include:

• A strong customer service ethos
• Integration skills - especially important when the acquirer is buying a company to gain its capabilities
• Finding and retaining managerial talent
• A change in corporate culture
• Working within the governance structures of other business environments, which may be quite different from the GCC norm

From our point of view, in addition to the above points, the positive momentum of these strategic global investments now needs to be directed to building a business culture that focuses on ‘customer needs’ in all aspects of business operations - from market research, innovation, branding, product development, design, to communication.   As global business leaders will attest, building a global business requires major investment in knowing and serving the global customer. 

In addition, just as the traders of Arabia did in earlier days, these GCC global business leaders would not only gain from global trade but also have the opportunity to contribute to global business thinking around corporate scandals, environmental concerns, and social responsibility by sharing the business ethics and value system of Islamic culture.

Dr. Rafik Beekun Launches Blog - "The Islamic Workplace"

Dr. Rafik Beekun, (an advisor to DinarStandard.com) and Professor of Management and Strategy at University of Nevada, has recently launched a very informative blog titled "The Islamic Workplace" at http://makkah.wordpress.com/.

We have always looked up to the impressive array of contributions Dr. Beekun has made to Islam's perspective on modern business strategy.  He has also recently launched a new book 'Strategic Planning & Implementation for Islamic Organizations.'  This follows his other two books relating to Islam and business, namely 'Islamic Business Ethics' and 'Leadership in Islam' (co-authored with Dr. Jamal Badawi.)

Dr. Beekun intends to discuss on the blog ethics, leadership, diversity, seerah and strategic planning related posts.  The blog already is full of rich information including exemplary anecdotes, positive quotes and relevant videos.

Best of all, its all in the context of professional worklife, eg. work ethics, how to behave at the workplace, managing stress etc.  My favorite categories include 'Positive Quotes' relating to workplace, and 'Exemplary stories' which includes stories of personalities such as philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, Nobel Peace prize winner Dr. Yunus, and French Muslim soccer player Franck Ribery.

This is certainly one to be tracked.  So don't forget to add it to your RSS reader. 

Porter in Libya

Recently, HBS professor and business guru Michael Porter was in Libya to present a framework which proposes to help that country enter the global market.  From a business perspective one can’t think of a better choice to advise the Libyan government on its quest to support "one of the fastest rates of business formation in the world" and become a regional leader contributing to the "wealth and stability of surrounding nations" by 2019 – 50 yrs after Colonel Qaddafi took power in a military coup.  Professor Porter is the preeminent authority on competitiveness and economic development.  His insights and observations are no doubt informed by his knowledge of policies that have worked and which have failed elsewhere. 

In addition to the thoughts of international policy and business experts the 200 page report submitted to the Libyan government sought the opinions of 2,000 small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs as well as Libyan and foreign business leaders before drawing its conclusions.  These include energy sector reforms, diversification of the economy and a usual panacea for a country dominated by a planned approach to economic policy – privatization.

The key point here is to observe what type of implementation takes place.  Given its role in a number of regional organizations, Libya stands to gain significantly by positioning itself as a prominent player and delivering with sound economic policy promoting private enterprise and openness to international investment.  What the future holds will also be partially determined by the interplay between Col Muammar Qaddafi and his son Seif Qaddafi, who is seeking expert advice to assist Libya’s re-engineering, as well as Libya’s maintenance of an independent view toward regional and global economic participation. 

Dinar Standard will be watching...