Al-Shamsi

Al Maya Group plans expansion, By Saifur Rahman, Staff Reporter

2006-03-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

Retail industry in the UAE is growing and diversifying. New shops are opening in every shopping mall since it’s the best place for locating the retail store or any shop in UAE. Stores like Al Maya should co-op with the expanding market, otherwise they will be lost in the desert with every-day-new business concept striving for existing as well as potential customers. The opportunities that Dubai offers are very unique. It has been witnessed a new opening of shopping malls every now and then, which gives the retailers and businesses the opportunity to invest, grow, and expand.
Studying this case from Gary Hamel's leading the revolution' frame work is most suitable here. One of the frame works, Core strategy, is more applicable. Under core strategy, there is mission, product/market differentiation, and basis for differentiation.
The groups' Business Mission has been clearly stated by the senior company official. "Within the next twelve months, we are going to have a total of 25 Al Maya Supermarkets." The official also added: "All our supermarkets have witnessed a strong double-digit growth year on year in retail sale, which proves that we are on the right track." The company's expansion is concurrent with the projected growth the stores are planning to. With the increase demand from the customers, and with the new opportunities that are available in Dubai, there is the potential for growth, accompanied with the opportunity for success.
Product/market scope which includes the geography and product segment is the focus Al Maya. The stores are located at the heart of where households living. For example, Al Murooj branch is located in the middle of a huge complex with so many apartments, and households. Also, it's next to Al-Murooj hotel that's newly opened in Dubai with hundreds of rooms and apartments. The other branches, also, are being located in the center of where people live, and not only that, but mainly in compounds where thousands of people are living.
Basis for differentiation is clear in the statement of the official: "I think a growing number of consumers will shop at the neighborhood retail outlets which offer them a great deal of convenience. So, we do not have any plans to enter the hypermarket race." Al Maya is trying not to enter the hypermarket business since they have no great deal of expectations in that. They, rather, believe and expect that customers are feeling more comfortable shopping at retail shops.

Qatari Firms Blacklisted for Woeful Treatment of Indians

2006-03-15T21:53:00.000-08:00

It's very strange for a country that is trying to play a very leading role in the Middle East to have issues about labor conditions. Qatar, one of the members in the GCC, is one of the world's leading countries in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries. It has been noticed how the current Emir is trying to change the whole country for the good of the society. Organizations across the fields, social, economic and political have been formed. But still, Labor Law has not been yet well-established.
Qatari nationals have long been known for earning the highest salaries among Gulf States. And the issue of talents and expertise should be the focus, rather than the nationality of the worker. Since we are all humans and looking for equality, salaries, compensations and benefits should be, ideally, standardized according to different criteria, not the nationality.
I believe that the action undertaken by the Prior Approval Category (PAC) is a wise one. According to Baron, issues, interests, institutions and information are crucial to any firm. Non-market issues, like this case, could be disastrous if it continues to grow.
Issues of labor laws are the focus of large organizations in the world, and countries are entitled the big responsibilities. Firms in whatever country should be obliged to provide a "good life" for their employees.
Interests who are laborers and employees in this case are the focus of the study. Labor law should force these companies to provide their employees with adequate wages and salaries, good working conditions, specified working times and in case of over-time jobs, it should be clear what the worker expect to earn. Not only that, but also providing their employees with compensations and benefits such as airline tickets, paid holidays, and health care. Moreover, providing safe working conditions that enable workers to accomplish their duties.
Qatari Institutions should learn from countries how to deal with such issues. UAE, for example, has more foreign workers than Qatar. We can not deny that labor laws are not clearly defined within the Emirates, but there are places where the workers can go to complain about un-fair working conditions or any issues related to their jobs. A deposit that all firms should provide for any foreign worker which in equivalent $800 in the bank that could be used in cases where firms do not pay their workers, have solved a lot of problems.
Institutions whether governmental or not are all trying to defend the labor and preserve their rights. The Ministry of Labor in the UAE has done a good job in that. Unless Qatar takes a serious action regarding labor law, other countries who are providing laborers to Qatar will take a similar action.
Information that has been gathered by the embassy can be easily found since Indian laborers in Qatar are available in large numbers in Qatar, and other states in the Gulf.

AUS- MGT-406
Humaid Al-Shamsi
Section-1 ID# 2987

NEWYORK POST -- 'CLINTON VS. CLINTON' INC.

2006-03-06T08:10:00.000-08:00

NEWYORK POST
'CLINTON VS. CLINTON' INC.

Reading some articles regarding the Dubai Port World ownership deal of key United States' ports like New York and Miami is making us very anxious to know the latest and the up-dates. It has been a dilemma that went through several legislature and administrative sides. Opponents from different political and non-political parties within the administration or beyond are [stuffing] their fierce attack on the deal. Senator Hillary Clinton is one of them.

The various articles that I have read from local magazines and news papers are dealing with the case form different angle. The various articles seem to be talking about the couple-Bill and Hillary, and as if they would like to raise the issue of opposite views and spread gossips. The local papers and magazines are way talking in beyond that to political and economic perspective.

The couple-Bill and Hillary Clinton, although working and supporting together and in the same direction, they are still human beings; with different views. That's normal. The up normal thing is the extreme directions; one completely agree and lobbying for, and the other completely disagree and welling to convince the congress to place tanks and troops to the ports owned by P & O in order not to let the deal move on. Ex-president Bill Clinton and the current president, Bush, are both agreeing and showing full support to make let the deal move in the right direction; since both of them are aware of the issue form all-angles, and have the [bigger picture] if we could say.

If it's about the security, that Sen. Clinton claims, then the DP World will not reject that, since they are sure nothing wrong have been encountered with their strategies pursued.

Maybe she needs to know more about other Arabs and Arabic government who are owning and controlling some of the key businesses in the United States and different parts of the world, with no security issues involved with that. Or maybe, out of sarcasm that I have heard from some business leaders, that Bill Clinton did not share with her the money back from the speeches held in Dubai.

Humaid AL-Shamsi
ID 2987
AUS- MGT- 406

Selfishness Has Its Value to the Economy by By Peter Brown

2006-02-15T22:36:00.000-08:00

Talking about buying a product or a service from companies that are having some issues regarding employees' compensation or hourly rates is controversial. For the article I am referring two, two issues have been addresses.

Here, we have to draw a distinction between buying from a discount store and buying from a company that has a bad reputation. Well, for the first case, buying from discount stores, like Wal-Mart, or Kmart or any other discounts stores is something normal. Having said that, we have to admit a fact that is normal and human nature tend to do; which is the natural tendency of people to bargain or to negotiate prices. Thus, one should not get confused when some people carry on a boycotting manner to buy from a company with bad reputation and simultaneously show a tendency to buy the product of that company. Humans, in general, try to buy products and services with the least price paid possible. This is something we, almost, all agree on.

Regarding the Wal-Mart's way of operating the business, according to the article, "is meeting resistance from the coalition of labor, civil rights and community groups that have declared it to be their corporate enemy No. 1." Having said that, this behavior is very dangerous and may drive the organization to strikes, or any negative actions, unless Wal-Mart responds and takes an action. It’s the strategy that should be altered in order to suit for the majority's interests and also with accordance to what is legal and possible and what is not. The political parties within the US' government may interfere, which will not enable the organization to be any better off.

Talking about selfishness is something that differs from society to another. Some of them are socialists; favoring the group work and the good of the majority, which is totally not the case in the USA, in China, Cuba and Russia, rather. And others are Pragmatic, caring much more about time, work and performance, also, with less care and concern to others. This pragmatic view is something natural for big and more advanced societies like the US and other European countries like UK and France, but in a much less scope. In fact, being selfish means different things when we talk about it across-cultures.

AUS- SBM
MGT- 406 – Section 1
Humaid Al-Shamsi
ID # 2987

Effect of Danish Boycott Patchy

2006-02-08T00:24:00.000-08:00

Public anger in the Islamic world, in general, has been attributed to the disrespectful act of a Danish and Norwayan Magazine and newspaper cartoons. It was a mistake that they are now admitting, after the losses these two countries incurried and will continue to incuss if they did not take a serious action. The Islamic world count for a huge percentage of the global economy; which is one of the largest consuming market for European and westren products and services. Boycotting dilemma occurs in the Middle East and all of the Islamic countries and KSA is no exception.

The boycotting effect is indirectly killing and forcing companies, if not economies as a whole, to collapse and go down. The decrease in sales of Saudi diary companies is not only attributed to the association the public have between the diary products and Denmark, but als to the fact "the majority of the poplutaion is conservative." Therefore, boycotting will have a greater effect.

The Danish and Norwayan administrations are facing a challenging situation. Most of their products are being boycotted. They should not neglect the fact that boycotting has played an important role in the year 2001 and 2002, when the Arab world started boycotting USA and UK products due to the war of Iraq and Palestinian/Israili Situation, which caused losses in Billions of Dollars to both countries. They should not neglect the importance of the "Buyer Power" and its great effect on the purchasing in general. Buyers now are not welling to buy these products that have Danish and Norwayan origins, and if it continues to happen, greater losses will cause the economies to go under severe conditions and, at the end, will cause losses in jobs and increase in unemplyement rates in both countries.

Unless they provide a suffecient prove that this will not happen in the future or anytime under the cover of "freedom of expresseion" or "freedom of speech and media," Muslims will continue to cause these losses for both economies. But even though, it needs a very long time for Muslims to forget what has happen, which may last for a decade; some people claim.

Regarding Saudi Diary Corporations, they should now play a very important role in the society of teaching them the facts about the company and being more transparent. Also, they should place enough advertisements in the local newspapers to "save the face" and to show goodwill for the society.

Relationship dynamic which refers to "the nature of interaction between the producer and the consumer" is very direct in this case. They have responded to the requests of the customers, removed some Danish products, however, they need to do more than that.

Humaid Al-Shamsi
AUS-- MGT-- 406
Section 1 ID # 2987

Google is Destined to fail in China

2006-02-01T04:13:00.004-08:00

International Business, like the one Google -the world famous search engine, is implementing could encounter severe problems in the future or present. Going global, or international, requires companies to adapt to changes in the host-country environment that assures success. One of the things worth mentioning in here is the difference between cultures in this world. Google, according to the article, is not welling to adapt to changes in the environment of the host-country.

Culture is one of the important success factors. This drives us to talk about one of the most famous culture-studies Gurus, if we can call him- Geert Hofstede. According to Hofstede: "Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster." http://www.geert-hofstede.com

Google is operating in a Western culture- the United States of America, which is characterized by high rates of "Individualism", defined according to Hofstede as "A High Individualism ranking indicates that individuality and individual rights are paramount within the society. Individuals in these societies may tend to form a larger number of looser relationships." This kind of bahavior is totally not acceptable and not implemented by the citizens and the society of the host country- China.

Another important thing is the "Wealth Potential" or how is your business concept going to make money- which makes us wonder if Google has a concept that is unique enough to enter this market and gain a competitive advantage.

The rivals of Google can do better if they implement the strategies that retains the culture's values and norms, not other culture's; along with the concept and strategy.

MGT 406- Section 1

Humaid Al-Shamsi
ID # 2987

Google is Destined to fail in China

2006-02-01T04:13:00.000-08:00

Test Post

2006-01-21T11:46:00.000-08:00

Test Post for MGT 406 at AUS