Under the patronage of Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan the UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the Etisalat Academy today organised the '1st Seminar on the Future Vision of the Government' in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water. Dr. Rashed Ahmad Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, delivered the keynote speech at the seminar, which kicked off under the theme of 'Reinforcing the Concept of Competitiveness across the UAE Public Sector'.
During the first day speakers discussed the modern concept of competitiveness and how it is linked to the ability of the nation to raise the productivity of available human or material resources and how the competitive advantage of a country is now measured by its ability to achieve a high rate and constant standard of living for its citizens. The discussion panels also demonstrated some of the best practices and lessons learned from the international experiences in promoting the competitiveness of organisations and how it deals with the consequences of the global financial climate and participates in developing schedules to ensure the improvement and development of the business.
Speakers also discussed today the organisations ability to achieve organisational excellence while they continue working hard to reach the highest levels of achievement. Finally the speakers discussed the importance of choosing the best activities and maximizing the investment rather than simply competing on price or low wages.
During the second day, the seminar will host six workshops which will discuss the development of business leadership in a way that ensures the organisations' benefit, the importance of outstanding business practices to achieve business excellence, strategic planning as a way to define the organisation strategy or direction in order to meet certain objectives, the active role of the human resource development managements in achieving organisational objectives, the importance of the customer-centric approach, and at last the innovation in business sector which could improve performance and growth in terms of efficiency, productivity, quality, competitive positioning or market share.
David Brennan, General Manager of the Etisalat Academy, said: "The Etisalat Academy realizes the importance of the UAE government's vision in the area of developing and supporting the public sector through setting an ambitious growth outlook for the nation, supported by clearly laid out action plans. We are fully aware that maximizing the quality of services provided within the nation cannot be achieved without a real and continuous collaboration between different organisations across the UAE. This step comes as a part of our responsibility as the leading professional training and development centre in the region and through our commitment to play a key role in achieving the government's strategies."
Mariam Mohammed, Acting Director of Business Development at the Etisalat Academy and the General Coordinator for the Seminar, explained: "This Seminar is considered an excellent opportunity for business leaders and departments' managers in the public organisations to network with thought leaders in competitiveness and organisational excellence and benefit from the discussions on the world best practices and models. This seminar comes within a proactive step in which we aim to play a central role in reinforcing the concept of competitiveness in the governmental sector to help these organisations increase their excellence and provide best quality services to their clients. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the organisations and departments that supported us in this mission. I am confident that their participation will create an added value to this series of events we are organising."
This seminar comes within an initiative of three Seminars that are taking place this year. Each of the three seminars is designed to discuss a different theme. The first seminar which is taking place this week discusses strengthening the concept of competitiveness across the UAE public sector. The second seminar will talk about knowledge economy - the theory and the application, while the third seminar will discuss the strategic leadership development best practice.
