DED to honour quality and excellence in business on April 4

New logo of Business Excellence Awards will be unveiled at the ceremony

The Dubai Department of Economic Development will honour the winners of the Dubai Quality Award , Dubai Human Development Award and the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme , at the 17th Business Excellence Awards ceremony to be held on 4 April 2012, at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Part of DED’s efforts to promote a culture of corporate quality and excellence, the awards will highlight exemplary practices and initiatives that contribute to enhancing Dubai’s reputation as a competitive business destination and achieving sustainable growth.

The ceremony will also witness DED unveiling the new logo of the Business Excellence Awards, marking a new phase in the growth of the award as a measure of differentiation and success for businesses in Dubai.

His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED, said: “Spreading a culture of quality and excellence across the business community in Dubai is integral to making the emirate globally competitive, as envisioned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Exceptional standards of quality and excellence are also required to safeguard and maintain the growth momentum in Dubai.”

Al Qamzi added: “The strategic approach of the Government of Dubai, which is well-aligned to the drive for quality and excellence, has helped increase productivity in the various economic sectors, including the public sector. The Business Excellence Awards are now regarded as a strong testimony of the success individual businesses have achieved and their potential for future growth.”

“DED strives to enhance economic performance in Dubai by supporting the private sector and promoting public-private partnerships that raise the overall competitiveness levels. Since the private sector plays a vital role in economic development in Dubai we encourage the sector to participate in the Business Excellence Awards and benefit from the training programmes and guidelines provided by DED on quality and excellence as part of the award process,” said Mr Mohammed Bushanain, Executive Director Corporate Quality and Management Excellence, DED.

DED is also creating knowledge exchange platforms in its efforts to encourage organisations and employees to embrace quality and excellence. Under a recently launched partnership initiative between DED’s Business Excellence Centre and the Sharjah Islamic Banking Academy, the two organisations will host a conference titled ‘Vision2Reality,’ on the 2nd of May 2012 at the Grand Hyatt, Dubai. The conference will feature key note speakers in the financial domain and presentations from frontline financial organisations on the various aspects and best practices of business excellence.

The 17th Business Excellence Awards ceremony will bring together more than 1,000 officials from the private and public sectors, including representatives of the winners in the three main streams of the awards dedicated to excellence and best practices across critical disciplines.

Since its launch in 1994, the DQA has enjoyed the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who has been instrumental in driving the quality movement across the private and public sectors in the emirate. The DQA is the single most valuable framework for companies to implement a quality strategy to improve their effectiveness by involving all employees to meet objectives and achieve customer satisfaction at optimal costs.

The DQA winners are honoured in three categories – the Gold Category, the Dubai Quality Award, and the Dubai Quality Appreciation Programme (DQAP). The awards will be distributed in key sectors – manufacturing, finance, professional, tourism, services, trade, construction, higher education, and healthcare.

The Dubai Human Development Award recognises the long-term commitment of the private sector to the development of UAE nationals. It offers them the chance to develop and build career paths. DHDA is given in three categories – the Gold Category, the Dubai Human Development Award, and the Dubai Human Development Appreciation Programme (DHDAP). The award covers the trade, manufacturing, construction, professional, services, tourism, higher education, financial services and government sectors.

The Dubai Service Excellence Scheme is a one-of-a-kind initiative that aims to gain customer confidence and to make the experience of shopping in Dubai a pleasurable one. The scheme encourages, recognises and rewards businesses that keep Dubai at the cutting edge of best business practice. DSES is based on a set of clear standards or ethics for businesses to be implemented across relevant sections of each organisation.

The Dubai Service Excellence Scheme serves as a model for businesses to excel in their commitment towards customers. DED will honour the winners of Dubai Service Excellence Scheme award in two categories – best service performing outlets and brands.