The Middle East has seen a huge pick up in business ideas in the past years and is now turning to best business practices to ensure corporate sustainability, according to world renowned corporate strategy gurus.
Dr. David Norton and Dr Robert Kaplan, inventors of the Balanced Scorecard, have come to Dubai to run a 2-day Masterclass: ‘Managing Strategy and Risk in Dynamic Times’. The Masterclass is part of a 5-day Leaders Presents Balanced Scorecard Forum 2010 that is being held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Dubai from 27 March-1 April.
Senior executives, ranging from CEOs and directors of corporate strategy, through to finance and IT managers, have been discussing the direct correlation between clearly translating corporate strategy into measures and company performance. ‘Research shows that an organization that introduces a Balanced Scorecard can on average increase the level of shareholder value by almost 30%’, said Dr Norton.
Regular visitors to the Middle East, both Norton and Kaplan underlined the importance of strategic sustainability in an organization. Having worked among others with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, the Bahrain Electricity and Water Authority and the Abu Dhabi Government on the implementation of a balanced scorecard, they gave an excellent insight into the growing sustainability of regional businesses and government organizations. They also underlined that it is the leaders’ responsibility to catch out the changes in market trends and react to them by adapting the corporate strategy. Kaplan gave the example of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the UAE. He said His Highness had recognized the oncoming changes of the oil resources eventually coming to an end and with his visionary leadership started to introduce a strategy of economical diversification for Dubai.
The theory of the Masterclass will be followed by real life success stories from institutions as varied as the Canadian Blood Services, the Bahraini Ministry of Works and Infosys Technologies, presented during the 2-day Forum starting today. ‘I am looking forward to those sessions, to discuss the examples in more detail’, said Nader Nazmi Mohammad, Planning and Performance Management Advisor at the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipal Affairs. ‘We are in the second year of the Balanced Scorecard implementation and I am keen to learn about other companies’ experiences with the process’.
Balanced Scorecard Forum 2010 developed by IIR Middle East was in collaboration with Palladium Group and sponsored by Addima Consulting, CLCI and additionally Harvard Business Review as the Team Challenge Award sponsor.
For more information on the BSC Forum 2010 please visit http://www.iirme.com/bsc
‘Leaders Presents’ is a new division of IIR Middle East designed to provide the IIR delegate a new level of conference experience. Born from the success of the Annual Leaders in Dubai Business Forum, Leaders’ events stand out from the rest by providing a superior level of speaker, ensuring up-to-date topics and maintaining an all-around level of excellence throughout the execution of their events. The flagship event – Leaders in Dubai – is a meeting of over 1,500 of the regions’ most eminent business leaders from across all industries who come together with some of the most popular business, economic and political leaders from across the globe – to network, learn and debate on the future of business and to share their experiences. Leaders Presents has launched a number of other highly successful events recently including the acclaimed Management Innovation Forum, which was launched in 2007 and met with rave reviews, and the Middle East Business Achievement Awards which honors regional business leaders for their excellence and contribution to business. 2009 sees the development of a variety of ‘Leaders Presents’ events – all of which promise to evoke thought and creativity, and give real value to the delegates who attend. Speakers, current and past at ‘Leaders Presents’ events include, Colin Powell, Jack Welch, Bill Clinton, Richard Branson, Kofi Annan, Michael Porter, Her Majesty Queen Noor, Tom Peters, and Malcolm Gladwell.
