PIONEERUNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MAGAZINE SPRING 2005

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION ACCENTURE’S HELP VENTUREMANAGING IN LIBERIA SPOTLIGHT ON UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

GOT WHATIT TAKES? THE ROLE OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

GOT WHATIT TAKES? THE ROLE OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Elitestatus

� Since its relaunch, the Scottish AlumniAssociation’s primary goal has been toencourage greater interaction between itsmembers, through a series of regular guestspeaker and networking events.

To date we have had a wide mix ofspeakers, ranging from entrepreneurs andpeople from private sector blue chips, torepresentatives of public sector bodies. Thesehave included: Jeff Watson, who is Head ofDelivery Ecommerce and Internet at Royal Bankof Scotland Plc; Wai-Yin Hatton, the ChiefExecutive of Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board;and John Robertson, who is OperationsDirector of Spirit Group.

The events have been well attended andthey provided useful insights into the roles andindustries of our speakers and the challengesthey face. Lively interaction among attendeeshas also been a main feature during thenetworking sessions that conclude each event.

Membership is free and is welcomed fromalumni and current students of USGSB fromacross the range of courses offered. Sowhether you currently live in Scotland, or visitoccasionally, you’re more than welcome to getinvolved by simply attending our events.

The next one will take place on 19 May atUSGSB, 199 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, from

6pm to 8.30pm. The evening will consist of apresentation from John Needham, who isDirector, Account Management Operations, atthe Royal Bank of Scotland.

John will talk about his career path sincecompleting the Strathclyde MBA. He willdiscuss changes in the financial servicesindustry, and some of the challenges andsuccesses of leadership in his current role.

John’s remit includes 14 customer andcorporate service centres, which employ morethan 5,000 staff who carry out back-officeprocessing and telephony services on behalf ofthe bank’s customer-facing businesses,including RBS, NatWest, Tesco PersonalFinance, Coutts & Co and RBS International.

If you are interested in attending this event,email your name and contact details toalumniscotland@gsb.strath.ac.uk. Places are restricted, so confirm yourattendance as soon as possible.

Please also email us your views on what youwould like the association to offer. With anexpanded committee now in place we are keento make the association bigger, better andmore effective. Let us know, too, if you’d like tobecome more actively involved in theassociation on a voluntary basis and one of ourcommittee members will get in touch.

Scottish association offersnetworking opportunities

2 PIONEER SPRING 2005

� At the end of last year wewere delighted to be told that we were listed in the top 50 MBAprogrammes in the world by theUK Government, confirming ourposition as a leading MBAprovider. We started 2005 withan undertaking to reinforce thegrowing knowledge that we areone of a handful of schools inthe world with tripleaccreditation. We instigated amarketing campaign in journalssuch as The Economist andBusiness Week to get themessage across that less thanone per cent of business schoolsare accredited by AMBA, EQUISand AACSB, with Strathclydebeing one of them.

Recent developments withthe MBA include the launch ofan Associate MBA scheme. This is aimed at those not readyto embark on the StrathclydeMBA but keen to experienceformally some elements of thecourse, meaning that individualscan participate in intensiveseminars at our centres.

A range of MBA specialismsis also now being offered inresponse to feedback fromapplicants who want the benefitsof the general MBA programme,but who from the outset knowhow they want their studies todevelop.

Strategic management andchange, operations and projectmanagement, entrepreneurship,and international businessspecialisms have been designed,allowing students at the electiveand project stages to focus ontheir chosen area.

Professor ColinEden, Director,University ofStrathclydeGraduate Schoolof Business

editorial

� Making theAssociation ofMBAs moreglobal is themission ofStrathclydeMBA alumnus

Steve Hooker, who waselected to AMBA’sinternational managementboard late last year.

Steve, who graduated in1989, is the DIY store chainB&Q’s general manager fordirect sourcing and isresponsible for the sourcing of all products from outsidethe UK.

“I would like to help makeAMBA a world-classorganisation that MBAsaround the world will want tojoin and remain in, benefiting

both UK and non-UKmembers,” he says. “Whilebusiness is global, theassociation is 85 per centUK-based and I want to seethat changed.”

Steve’s ideas to helpachieve this include virtualnetworking through the use of weblogs, electronicnewsletters, webcasts andweb meetings, helping localface-to-face networking – he is organising an initial meeting in Shanghai, forexample – and thedevelopment of some strategicalliances with other businessschools and companies.

AMBA has a professionalpaid staff for the day-to-dayrunning of the association forits 9,000 members. Steve’s

role has a strong strategicelement involving regularboard meetings and makingkey decisions such asrecruitment of the seniormanagement team. He hasbeen elected for three yearsinitially, but can stand for asecond term.

“I’m a great believer innetworking,” he says, “andone way is through theregional organisations’events. Also I’d like to askanyone who has thoughts onvirtual networking for AMBAto get in touch with me. Ineed people with experiencein this area to help get thisidea off the ground.”• Steve can be contacted by emailinghookeste@yahoo.co.uk

THE SCOTTISH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WAS RELAUNCHED IN2002. HERE IS A MESSAGE FROM ITS PRESIDENT, MATT WATTS

STEVE’S A MAN ON A MISSION FOR MBAs

SPRING 2005 PIONEER 3

JUST PUBLISHED� Professor Gerry Johnson’sbook, Exploring CorporateStrategy, is now in its seventhedition. Sales worldwide havereached over 600,000 in Englishlanguage editions alone.Richard Whittington, Professorof Strategy at the SaidBusiness School, Oxford, hasjoined Professor Johnson andDr Kevan Scholes for the newedition. � USGSB professorand Senior Fellow of theAdvanced Institute ofManagement (AIM), ChrisHuxham, and co-author Dr SivVangen, have a new book out.Managing to Collaborate: TheTheory and Practice ofCollaborative Advantage(Routledge) is based on 15years of research.

MASTERCLASSES� Dr Alf Hatton will give amasterclass as part of theContinuing ProfessionalDevelopment (CIPD)Masterclass Series on June22, entitled An ExperientialIntroduction to NLP(neurolinguistic programming)and Richer InterpersonalCommunications at TheTeacher Building, 14 St EnochSquare, Glasgow.

INDIA RESEARCH� Research Fellow ShameenPrashantham’s study on theinternationalisation ofsoftware SMEs in India hasbeen attracting global interest.The study relates toShameen’s doctoral workwithin StrathclydeInternational Business Unit.Shameen is currently assistingProfessor Gerry Johnson inUSGSB on two researchprojects.

SPEAKERS’ CORNER� The inaugural ScottishBusiness Strategy Challenge,organised by USGSB andGenesis Consulting, took placein April in the Barony Hall.Among the companies takingpart were ScottishPower,Clydesdale Bank, JacobsBabtie, Weir Group and CiscoSystems. � Tim Clissold spoketo a large audience as guestspeaker in February describinghis experiences of doingbusiness in China and hisbook Mr China.

and...

Research news

� Ian Percy, chairman of Kiln plc and CompaniesHouse Steering Board, paid credit to USGSB at theScottish plc Awards at Glasgow’s Hilton Hotel inMarch. He noted “the enormous amount of work andeffort” put into the research process.

Professor Percy was speaking as chairperson ofthe awards judging panel. “We are fortunate inScotland in having such a quality university sector,” hesaid. “One of the themes that came through to me inthis process is that we in Scottish business should bepartnering with that sector much more effectively thanI think many businesses do at present.”

He picked out the two new awards for‘innovation’ and ‘development of your people’ forparticular comment.

“Long-term sustainable growth and profitabilitycome from having an empowered, motivated, well-trained work force. Having quality people around whocan embrace change and keep their eyes on thehorizon is an essential ingredient.”

For the fifth year, GSB has acted as researchsponsor for the annual awards. Professor Susan Hartspoke on behalf of Strathclyde at the awards dinner,decrying “Scottish miserablism and the unworthyperformance of Scotland plc” and saying thatScotland should be celebrating success. She pointed

out that since last year the Top 500 list* reveals amajor recovery for the country’s leading companies – a64 per cent leap in profits.

She too picked up on the theme of innovation:“The new award category for innovation has no homefor negative traits, and our finalists here are buckingthis trendy discourse of depression.

“The Scottish Executive’s drive towards therejuvenation of the Scottish economy focuses ongrowing a healthy crop of innovative companiesworking at the leading edges of tomorrow’stechnologies, operating globally.”

Professor Nic Beech, Dr Phyl Johnson, Dr GeorgeBurt, Dr Tom Mullen and Peter McInnes of USGSB,together with business school colleagues ProfessorBrian Ashcroft and Professor Hart, were involved inthe judging interviews. BIS manager Christine Reidcarried out the research.

The winning companies were HBOS (Scottishplc of the year), Schuh (best private company),Royal Bank of Scotland (developing your people),Wolfson Microelectronics (innovation, and mid-sizecapitalisation plc) and Cairn Energy (shareholdervalue). Sir Fred Goodwin of the Royal Bank ofScotland was voted CEO of the year.* List compiled by Insider of Scotland’s top 500 companies.

Let’s celebrateour success

� Professor Charles Harvey is the new Dean ofStrathclyde Business School, as of May 1.

Most recently dean of Bristol BusinessSchool at the University of West England,Professor Harvey was previously Director of theSchool of Management at Royal Holloway,University of London.

He joined Bristol Business School in 1999 andraised the profile of the school in research, as wellas recently launching postgraduate programmes inpartnership with Tsinghua University in Beijing.

He said: “I’m thrilled to beappointed Dean of StrathclydeBusiness School, which is knownworldwide as a centre ofexcellence for managementeducation. I consider it a greathonour to be asked to lead aschool recognised for itscommitment to combining outstanding researchwith excellence in teaching and the developmentof future business leaders.”

New dean hails Strathclyde reputation

Professor Susan Hart speaks on behalf of Strathclyde University at the awards ceremony.

Making it into the executivesuite as a chief executivebrings up and downsides.Latterly, it has been thedownsides that have

gained both academic and practitionerinterest. The key questions are: just howfragile are our CEOs and what can we doabout it?

Being the chief executive of anorganisation is about being the lead stewardof resources and about acting responsiblyand effectively to please shareholders andstakeholders alike. This brings with it inevitable

tensions. There will, in the stewarding orleading of an organisation, always be tensionsbetween the interests of the differentstakeholder and shareholder groups. The roleof the CEO is often to negotiate, act anddecide within this space of tension:sometimes the villain, sometimes the hero, butusually the instigator of most things.

US-based leadership academics JamesMendil and Janet Dukerich highlighted sometime ago the extent to which we have a‘romance’ with the CEO role and love toattribute organisational successes and failuresto the actions of the CEO – more than any

other explanatoryelement of organisationalperformance. The turn ortrend post-Enron, however, hasbeen to mistrust and blame ratherthan trust and praise the actions andactivities of CEOs and their boards. Weseem to be falling out of, rather than in,love with them.

This turn in public opinion, andburdensome regulatory changesurrounding corporate governance inEurope and the USA, has heaped additionalpressure on already pressured CEOs.

Quite apart from the tension created frombeing in the lead stewardship role – balancingthe wants, needs and aspirations of multiplestakeholder groups – simply being the primeholder of power in the organisation bringsdifficulties. Kets de Vries, author of TheLeadership Mystique, describes the role ofCEO as one that involves being on a stageand under constant observation.

Others talk about employees’ favouritehabit of boss-watching. While it’s nice to be inthe limelight and have everyone’s attention –at least, when you need it – being in thelimelight all the time becomes problematic.Continued and close observation brings withit yet more inevitable potential fragility for theCEO. The more you are observed and talkedabout, the higher the chance of being misreadand misunderstood.

The paradox for the CEO is that they areso psychologically accessible to others andyet very rarely fully psychologically known intheir roles. They are accessible in terms ofbeing on stage, they are accessible as thesource of organisational success or failureand they are supposed to be accessible tosimultaneous and often competingstakeholder needs.

focus Management skills

4 PIONEER SPRING 2005

THE FRAGILITYOF THE CHIEFEXECUTIVE

Here are some generic rules of thumb that may act as a starting point for otheractions and activities concerning CEOs.

1 Ensure the hire is right in the first place. Succession and succession planning iskey to organisations and yet is very rarely engaged in or engaged in well. It is rare that a single hire, even a CEO, is going to turn an organisation round overnight.

2 Ensure that the newly-appointed CEO is strongly supported both in the early days of their appointment and in a continuing sense by the company chairman – someone within the organisation to whom they can and ought to speak to in confidence.

3 Ensure that the CEO learns to support him or herself by fully using time away from the organisation. It’s healthy for both the firm and the CEO to break away psychologically from the dependency of a ‘messiah’ complex where it’s believed the CEO has to be there or things will go wrong.

4 Think about outsourcing CEO support in terms of external coaching and mentoring. The relief of being able to speak the unspoken that does not have much of a place in the performance of the CEO role, such as self-doubt, often helps relieve the pressure of the inevitable job-related tension.

5 Watch out for churn rates. If the CEO that has been appointed isn’t right for thepost, then churn them fast – why wait two years? Conversely, if they are right, then patience beyond two or three years may well pay off.

SOUND FOUNDATIONS

CEO – THE TOP JOB, THE ASPIRATIONAL ROLE, THE CAREER MOVE YOU WANTTO MAKE NEXT. OR IS IT? DR PHYL JOHNSON EXAMINES THE PITFALLS

SPRING 2005 PIONEER 5

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1 Have a vision for yourorganisation and give direction.

2 Create a culture based on innovation and co-operation.

3 Listen to your customers and your staff.

4 Identify key areas to improve and focus on them until they are right.

5 Hire the best staff you can.

6 Develop a ‘learning’ organisation– invest in your staff through training and mentoring.

7 Share the load – let others do the day-to-day running of the organisation.

8 Utilise new technology, perhaps by improving communication with customers or creating new products.

9 Know when to lead.

10 Lead by example and make sure you have a management team that you can trust and which trusts you.

TOPTIPSFOR CEOs

Yet, according to Professor Cary Cooper,in the midst of all this accessibility, one of thebiggest sources of stress, tension and fragilityfor CEOs is their sense of isolation. They areisolated from their employees for obviousreasons: confidential knowledge, difficultand sensitive decisions. They can even beisolated from their senior executives, for whomthey also perform a role rather than appearin person as themselves. Their long hourseven keep them isolated from their ownprivate lives.

For a newly appointed CEO, the palpablesense of psychological and physical distance– no one wants to look like a suck-up or toomuch of a political animal and sit next to theCEO in meetings – is something of a shockthat requires not only initial adjustment, butalso continued management. One could

argue that in the void created by themanagement of this isolation, the self-destructive mode of the CEO that Kets deVries mentions can come to the fore. In themode of a Shakespearean tragedy, CEOs canend up making decisions and life choices thatcontribute to their own downfall.

Studies speak of ‘executive ill-health’,which can include long-hour fatigue, impactedfamily life (marital separation and difficultparenting relationships), physicalmanifestations of stress and mood disorders.All this is not helped by the fact that very few

CEOs seem to take the full allocation of time out that would help them recoverfrom a highly demanding role. A recentsurvey revealed that as many as 85 percent of CEOs don’t take their full annualleave allocation.

This trend may be related to the 21stcentury phenomenon described as ‘CEO churn’. What is being referred to here is the brevity of CEO tenure and therealisation that an incoming CEO usually has a two-year period to ‘get it right’(execute an effective turn-around) before theythemselves decide they can’t hack it or areremoved for their post.

This is less time than was afforded toincoming CEOs 10 to 15 years ago. And,according to some authors, this CEO churnfactor is part of the hubris that leads CEOstoward dramatic and high-profile strategicchange such as mergers, take-overs,acquisitions and revolutionary change, ratherthan opting for a slower pace of incrementalchange and growth.

� After 14 years of civil war inLiberia, the United Nations is nowin the west African countryassisting the people in rebuildingthe shattered state.

As civil affairs officer with theUN mission in Liberia (UNMIL),USGSB alumnus Tesfu Taddese(MBA Alligen) is tasked with thechallenge of helping to restorestate authority throughout thecountry following the peaceagreement signed by the variouswarring factions. He is assistingthe national transitionalgovernment to establish itsauthority by helping to build thecapacity of the Ministry ofPlanning and Economic Affairsand the Civil Service Agency topursue their mandate and duties.

“It’s a major challenge whereall veneers of normality have beenshattered by years of open and

disguised civil conflict,” said Tesfu.He has been in Liberia since

last June but it's not his first timethere. His first assignment withthe UN in Liberia from 1996-1997was as humanitarian affairs officer.This involved managingrehabilitation projects for formercombatants who had just beendisarmed by the UN and its westAfrican partners. This meantwriting guidelines for screeningproject proposals submitted by non-governmental organisations,screening submissions andpresenting them to a fundingpanel set up to approve funds.

Setting up his own consultingfirm in Addis Ababa and workingas a management consultant – forUN agencies in Ethiopiainterspersed with stints abroad onshort-term contracts for the UN –has given him a head start with

his new role.Operating in such an unsettled

environment means normal rulesdo not apply. “What I realise fromworking in a conflict situation isthat many of the managementdisciplines that apply in contexts ofnormality may not necessarilywork. When you have a non-functioning state, the problemsyou’re confronted with are differentfrom those in a functioning one.

“We know that the factions are lining up barely literate ex-combatants to be placed asofficials in ministries, commissions,agencies and public enterprises.Of course this bloats the civilservice, but do we have the rightto refuse the ‘guns-for-jobs’ swap?At what cost? Standards andcodes of behaviour expected of‘normal’ governments only serve tofrustrate local parties on whosename the missions are here in thefirst place.”

On arrival, Tesfu completed a survey of the human, systemsand infrastructural assets at the Ministry of Planning. He is also following up on the launch and implementation of acomprehensive programme ofreconstruction for the Liberianpolitic, economic and social fabric.

In addition, he has alsobecome a consultant to theGovernance Reform Commissionwhich oversees the transformationof all institutions in Liberia.

6 PIONEER SPRING 2005

LIZ MOODY IS DIRECTOROF THE CONSULTANCYICD PARTNERSHIP LTD

Liz, when did yougraduate?I did the MBA full-time andgraduated in 1992.So what was yourbackground before the MBA?I originally qualified as a PEteacher, but my heart justwasn’t in teaching, so Istarted work with a voluntaryorganisation while studyingfor a diploma in ManagementStudies. I then moved intopharmaceutical sales.Do you recall anymemorable momentsfrom your MBA studies?Almost too many to list! Ouryear group had loads of funpeople – we toureddistilleries, bagged Munros,had a fancy dress party, aBurns supper, a weekend jazzfestival, a volleyballtournament, five-a-sides andnumerous other nights out.Most memorable was ouryear challenge trip to Skye toscale the InaccessiblePinnacle. We ran down ascree slope which was a firstfor me and really exhilarating.What effect did the MBAhave on you?It changed my way ofthinking about many aspectsof business and helped me tounderstand my interests andwhere I felt my strengths lay.What are you doing now?I’m a director and consultantwith the ICD Partnership Ltd,which is a specialist customermanagement consultancy.We’ve been in operation forover two years now and havea terrific client base.What’s the mostmemorable thing fromyour career to date?I made the step from beingemployed to starting up myown business five years ago.I haven’t looked back sinceand every new contract wesign still gives me a buzz.Find out more about Liz’s business at www.icd-partnership.co.uk

Questiontime

People

Managementin a time of national upheaval

Managementin a time of national upheaval

OT-mail: An unnecessary, after-hours email sent to a supervisor orcolleague with the sole purpose of letting them know how late you worked,or how early you clocked in. Stealth parenting: Claiming you have a business appointment or break-fast meeting to hide from a less-than-understanding boss the fact you’rereally taking your children to school.Thought leadership: What occurs during a meeting when someonestates the obvious before anyone else can get it out.Tourists: People who use training classes as a way to get a breakfrom their jobs.

GET DEFUZZED IN OUR SEVENTH STROLL THROUGH THEJARGON ALPHABET

fuzzy words

� MBA alumnus Gib Bulloch spent a yearworking in Macedonia with the VoluntaryService Overseas (VSO) businesspartnerships scheme in 2000, assistingsmall businesses. His employers Accenturegave him the time out to do it and Gibreturned to work for them at the end of histime overseas – but the volunteering bugwasn’t entirely out of his system.

On his return Gib and a few othervolunteers from the VSO businesspartnerships scheme set up the AccentureDevelopment Partnerships (ADP)programme in 2002, a not-for-profit projectthat consults to Non-GovernmentalOrganisations (NGOs), foundations anddonor organisations. The project has grownsignificantly over the past three years and is now an independent charity, registered inthe UK.

Gib describes ADP as “a vehicle forchannelling Accenture’s capabilities toorganisations that wouldn’t normally haveaccess to them, organisations that wewouldn’t normally work with, in countrieswhere the need is greatest for our skills, butaccess is least”. He adds: “We don’t make aprofit for Accenture, but we don’t losemoney either and that means we aresustainable within Accenture.

“Following the tsunami disaster inDecember, a number of Accenture peoplewanted to help out in more practical waysthan simply giving money,” said Gib. “ADPis taking the lead role in providing support to organisations in affected areas. This, ontop of the existing work ADP has beendoing, means that we have a good pipelineof projects.”

Gib now heads all ADP activities, with acore full-time team of eight and many moreworking on projects in the field. Thoseworking on the ground in the developingworld come from Accenture’s mainstreampractice and volunteer to work for six monthsat a time on 50 per cent of their salary.

The ADP programme delivers the same

high level of innovation and best practicesenjoyed by all Accenture clients, but at ratesin line with development industry norms.

Initially ADP targeted organisations inthree main groups – donor organisations,foundations and NGOs.

“Organisations are starting to approach us as ADP grows and becomes better known in the market place,”said Gib. “There’s still a lot of businessdevelopment work that the team does inapproaching organisations in thedevelopment sector, and making them awareof how ADP skills and services can be

applied to their development needs.”Accenture staff have been involved in

providing organisational development forostrich farmers in Namibia, capacity buildingwith HIV/AIDS NGOs in sub-Saharan Africaand enterprise development in the Balkansand beyond. They have worked with NGOslike CARE in Bangladesh, WWF inCambodia and ActionAid in South Africa.

“We aim to be there long enough to havean impact, but not too long to createdependence,” said Gib. “Our teams transfertheir skills and knowledge to individuals inthe local organisations so our work issustainable after ADP leaves.

“Accenture staff are very enthused by thescheme and we have a very strong pool ofpeople wanting to do ADP. Those who’vebeen through the scheme return moremotivated, having learned new skills whichthey’re able to apply to their work back in thebusiness. They see ADP as a great way ofbeing able to do something fulfilling withouthaving to resign from their jobs at Accenture.ADP is therefore an integral part of theAccenture career.”

Gib and his team are rolling the schemeout to Accenture offices worldwide.

SPRING 2005 PIONEER 7

People

Gib pioneersscheme tohelp others

If you have any news or comments, contact Audrey Chisholm, Press & Publications Executive, University of StrathclydeGraduate School of Business, 199 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G4 0QU, or email audrey@gsb.strath.ac.uk

1: ADP teammember meetsbeneficiaries inCameroon.

2: Gib Bulloch gives an ADPpresentation to theInternationalFinance Corporation(part of the WorldBank Group) inBangladesh.

3: ADP teammember assesseslocal IT needs inVietnam.1

2

3

8 PIONEER SPRING 2005

PROFILE EMERGING MARKET

� Business is booming in the United ArabEmirates, a country that only came intobeing in 1971. While still heavily dependenton oil revenues, the UAE is protected fromperiods of low oil prices by successfulmoves towards economic diversification,large foreign exchange reserves andoverseas investments.

The UAE is a federation of sevenautonomous states: Abu Dhabi, Dubai,Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Umm alQaiwan and Ajman.

The population of these seven emiratesis estimated at around four million and isgrowing every year. The success of thecountry is attracting people from around theworld to live and work there. Approximately25 per cent of the population are nationals– with people from other Arab countries,the Indian subcontinent, the Far East andEurope making up the rest.

Perhaps the best known of the emiratesare Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Abu Dhabi hasapproximately 10 per cent of the world’sproven oil reserves and five per cent of thegas. It has significant investments financedfrom oil income. It is the dominant memberof the seven emirates, not least because ofits financial strength. The future for AbuDhabi will undoubtedly continue to beheavy investment in oil and petrochemicals.

Dubai has been forced to diversify and,necessity being the mother of invention,has been at the forefront of most newinitiatives in the Emirates, emerging as theregion’s service hub.

Dubai’s economy is based on itsreputation as an intermediate centre oftrade for the region, as well as its vibranttourist industry and thriving free trade zone.

More recent ventures such as theDubai Internet City and Media City havediversified the Emirate’s economy evenfurther.

The free zones are testimony toDubai’s forward-looking policy-making and its commitment topromoting balanced growth,economic diversification andencouraging foreign directinvestment. Within the free zones,multinational companies find thestate-of- the-art infrastructure and liberal regulatory framework that are conducive to quick andefficient operation establishment inthe region.

Incentives varybetween freezones, but

can include 100 per cent foreignownership, exemption from certain taxesand efficient transport and distributionfacilities.

Dubai’s rise to a position ofleadership as an international trade andcommerce hub can be largely traced tothe policies that created the free zonesand it continues to move forward withsimilar incentives and investments atgovernment level.

While the oil industry will continue todrive the UAE economy forward, itseems growth in non-oil industries willbecome increasingly importanteconomically.• USGSB’s local partner is the HigherColleges of Technology, Dubai and AbuDhabi. Tel: 00 971 4 208 9280 Email:sheida.mahdavi@hct.ac.ae

It’s important when doingbusiness to knowsomething of the culturesurrounding you as it’simportant not to offendyour hosts. In the UAE, withso many cultures present inthe population, the task ismade even more difficult.

Emiratis normallyentertain at home, but will often accept aforeigner’s invitation to ahotel or restaurant.

For Emiratis, eating withthe left hand is improperand the left hand should bereserved only for ‘unclean’

usage. No one should offersomething with the lefthand.

The standard greeting is‘As-salam alaikum’ (peacebe upon you) to which thestandard reply is ‘Waalaikum as-salam’ (andupon you be peace).

The basic working weekis five days, with the weekbeginning on Saturday.

Prayer times varyaround the year, but visitors should find outwhen they are and keep this in mind when makingappointments.

Where carpeted, shoes should be leftoutside the room to avoidbringing in impurities andmaking the carpet rituallyunclean for prayer.

Business dress isconservative and formal,such as dark business suits.

Visitors should checkwhat is expected of them ifthey are visiting during theholy month of Ramadan, aspecial religious time forMuslims. Visitors may berequested not to eat, drinkor smoke in public placesduring sunrise and sunset.

BUSINESS ETIQUETTE

Will you be part of theUAE success story?