General Description of the selected organization
Tamweel Company was introduced in 2004 and has grown to be the largest publicly owned Abu Dhabi real estate institution. Currently, the institution has financed property worth over AED 10 billion and offers services especially in financing the real estate industry. Besides, the company deals in brokerage among other activities. The company also participates in staff assistance programs that are aimed at instilling moral suasion in business. It serves as a subsidiary of Dubai Islamic Bank. The company has four branches across the United Arabs Emirate.
The vision and mission of the company are “to become the most admired leader in the financial industry regionally” and “to maximize shareholders value and become the first choice fiancé provider through securing the home base, product and service differentiation, and regional expansion”. It operates on the core values of reliability, professionalism, confidentiality, teamwork, and Islamic laws.
The board of directors is made up of seven members chaired by the chief executive officer and consists of Chief Business Development Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Risk Officer among other 2,000 employees. These employees work under the departments of development, finance, operations, and risks. The company has experienced series of financial swings which made the company withdraw from stock market trade in 2006 due to strong competition from the privately owned Abu Dhabi Estate Developer Company.
Basics of Management
Sustainable development is vital in business environment. Reflectively, this concept defines feasibility of a company and its solvency within a specified period of time. In business environment, sustainability is affected by forces in the market, decision science, corporate structure, and real financial management, in short ah long term. Therefore, a business organization must put in place stringent measures and strategies aimed and monitoring expansionary modules within feasible levels (Robins & Coulter, 2007, p. 125).
As a holding institution, the structure of the Tamweel Company is based on the three main segments; same as their corporate structural organization which is organized into franchises and other support structures. The first structural segment deals with the financial services as consumer dependant. It helps in provision of financial services. The second structural category is the support services. The focus of the segment is critical in adopting all matters related to technological advancements, offering solutions in the field of performance evaluation. The last segment of corporate structure deals with the internal control.
The topological structure of Tamweel consists of communication and operations management system which help in determining efficient performance and optimal resource use. Based on the credo emphasize, the Company stresses much on ethical behavior and customer satisfaction within accepted standards of moral obligation on the forefront, while the stakeholders at the bottom of the triangle (Philip & Gary, 2010, p. 29). This was implemented with the view of long term benefits. For any organization to make a success, it should be ready to make use of the information and knowledge (Robins & Coulter, 2007, p. 129).
The continuum of increasing the value of quality in the operation of human being lies in data, information, and knowledge. After conducting a thorough research on customers in the market, the management of this leant that customers preferred a single company contract. Based on needs of customers, the institution has an inclusive system incorporation that facilitates support of single contract point as the basis of the operations management model. It was identified to be the best strategy that would facilitate the company’s gain in long term operations.
Setting of goals by the company’s management started way back in 2004. Main purpose is towards provision of affordable, consistent, and reliable financial services to developers and aspiring property owners. Besides, the concept verifies risk proportions before informed decisions are made. This procedure is necessary in monitoring decision science and distribution of risk elements and forecasting into future swings in the economic climate market (Robins & Coulter, 2007, p. 119).
Moreover, the aspect of localizing labor and factors of production plays the most important role in management strategy of Tamweel Institution. This is because of the aspect of cultural relevance in terms of language, preference, consumption pattern, and unique policies that might be in the target market. Decisions made should be dependent on available resources such as investment portfolio, infrastructure, personnel size, experience and efficiency for a specialized high skill assignment requiring specific qualifications (Robins & Coulter, 2007, p. 169).
Tamweel is a vital example that has continued to emprise a quality management model that supports communicational culture, efficiency, and optimal resource use in it production lines. The final management strategy of the company is based on people and their values. Consideration of the internal relationships among workers, suppliers, and the management is to ensure that the company lives as per its promise. This ensures that customers get high quality products. The success of the strategy is made through investing in the communities and its stakeholders.
Marketing
Properly researched marketing plan determine the success and sustainability in penetrating a market with a new product. To increase credibility and maintain professionalism, product processes and feature should flawlessly facilitate a healthy and lifetime relationship between the company and its clients (Philip & Gary, 2010, p.61).
A properly designed market plan should be practical in presenting brand knowledge, awareness, penetration strategy, and passing information to target audience. In achieving these objectives, the plan should map possible competition, positioning strategy, consumer and market analysis, and geographical region of operation. Generally, these concepts are vital in forecasting and acts as a guide towards actualizing a marketing plan blue print. However, the plan should be flexible to market dynamics and embrace alterations where necessary.
Tamweel Financial Institution has changed the face of property financing development and application in U.A.E. Developed by its financial department, the company has come up with a flexible, affordable, reliable financial support packaged for short term and long term options. Therefore, it can be customized by a user to suit his or her needs depending on the financial demand, role, and even position in the real estate industry. In order to attract potential clients, the marketing strategy narrows down to property developers and aspiring home owners.
This ensures that financial information is correctly reflected besides saving time which is of essence in property development and purchasing. Tamweel’s financial service product is essential and readily available for multi million housing projects, than any other competitor in the region. Often, the expenditure budget for asset financing is often very high, factoring in the exorbitant interest rates (Philip & Gary, 2010, p.41). In the last decade, it was considered impossible to have a real estate financing firm operating on the Islamic Sheria. Interestingly, as a successful marketing strategy, Tamweel’s financial application promises to integrate and merge different financial service models and balance them with Sheria laws which are against volatile interest rates imposed on clients.
The current projections are sales across the fast growing real estate industry of U.A.E. The targeted sale is as a result of research and thorough review of the existing applications offered by competitors. Interestingly, Tamweel’s financial application promises to offer the best alternative at a cost effective price to rival competition and maintain acquired customers. Besides, the current projections target to offer training application for free to clients interested in introducing organizations into the same. Since the application has been piloted in Iran with success, it had minimal challenges in implementation and large scale roll out plan. Besides, the application is strategically placed to embrace cost efficient technological application as desired by potential customers who are out to cut cost of financing construction and property acquisition.
The long term conceptual map is to roll the application out to other regions and make sales to a tune of over six times the current projections. Since the product is self selling and self explanatory, there is little need of employing so many sales persons (Philip & Gary, 2010, p.41). Inspired by the need for proper financial service structure, the product has won confidence of many customers across the U.A.E real estate industry. For a start, the application sold at a discount of five percent for the first a thousand customers.
Besides this, it offered the most competitive price than any other product with less quality. In addition, it offered free training on corporate and individual interested in the financial package. To tap into private developers industry, the marketing strategy adopted pricing experimentation which called for offering trials by qualified personnel before sale. The recommendations from these clients were incorporated in the marketing schedule to make modifications where necessary. To scheme in this expansive market, Tamweel has embraced antagonistic value addition strategy by offering other after sales services such as free extra bargain, special training, and customary request.
The distribution channel encompasses a flexible sales team and series of public and private demonstration shows for potential customers (Philip & Gary, 2010, p.41). From a central position, the sales coordinator is in position to monitor sales and report figures to the right authority. Since the financial product embraces cost efficient technology, in terms of monitoring success, it is easy to make sales and convince customers to clear out unreliable and obsolete financial information that has remained an impediment towards real estate financing.
Operations Management
The initial step towards actualization of a quality operations management system involves research and creation of an informed and practical business plan. As a matter of fact, operations management actualizes a business plan (Nigel, Stuart & Robert, 2010, P. 121). Besides, the system monitors financial constrains and progress of each of these segments. The consideration of this is however, based on the contributions they make towards ensuring that the organizations continue to gain a competitive advantage in the market (Nigel, Stuart & Robert, 2010, P. 129).
The company has an optimal functionality within a competitive advantage parameter. In order to achieve this, its existing forms of system monitoring are periodically upgraded to introduce multiple operating system models such as ratio analysis in operation management that is compatible with tracking and analysis within and without the company across the three major segments. Basically, the operations management systems at Tamweel Financial Institution include aspect of cost, dependability, speed, quality, and flexibility. These variables determine success or failure in business.
These variables are achievable through value delivery, value addition, and creativity. Reflectively, these concepts are techniques and tools essential in the art of operations management (Nigel, Stuart & Robert, 2010, P. 98). However, this process is inclusive of the scientific aspects such as technical process of understanding the operations involved in operations management, their application, and evaluation criteria which is monitored by the support department.
Despite having this efficient operations management system, the company has not fully established a mechanism of monitoring progress at micro level and majorly depends on macro auditing in decision making and still has to deal with the risk of internal fraud and redundancy. It is apparent that Tamweel Company has efficient knowledge and experience in uniqueness of products and services in terms of their requirement in order to produce high quality products in its operations managed system, as presented in the diagram below.
Actual representation of the operation model at Tamweel Company comprises of six matrices that are dependent on each other. The above functions are connected at central point by strategic planning which encompasses “costing, speed, quality, flexibility, and dependability to create a smooth continuous operation tracking model” (Philip & Gary, 2010, p. 39) that operates like computer from one segment to another at Tamweel. The management of the company, through their resource managers, has realized that its success lies in the credo and corporate strategy rests on these values. The corporate strategies of the company are based on production, marketing, human resource, and efficiency monitoring units.
Being a company that provides financial services, its main objective is to ensure that their services have high capacity, affordability, efficiency, and quality. The second corporate strategy by the management is to create a decentralized system. This is to aid in governance structure (Nigel, Stuart & Robert, 2010, P. 118). The approach adopted by the management is to ensure that decision making process is shortened thus, avoidance of bureaucracy in its product lines. Furthermore, adoption of decentralization by management “is to ensure direct contact with customers who through research conducted, proposed for a contract point” (Nigel, Stuart & Robert, 2010, P. 79).
The third corporate operations strategy adopted by the management is to ensure long term operation. For implementation of the strategy, the management balances both the short term and long term consideration towards decisions making. Management that ensures long term obligations are fulfilled and considers mostly the role played by resources invested in technology, continued innovations in production of new products, and conducting intensive researchers in the market to identify fresh market niches.
Customer satisfaction is the focal point of the company in attaining competitive advantage in the market above other players. Specifically, Operations systems are employed in Tamweel Company to monitor and increase productivity at minimal error margins. This is possible because this model of operations management system allows for operations process competitiveness as it cut down unnecessary overhead costs from waste and underutilization (Nigel, Stuart & Robert, 2010, p. 109). Besides, it monitors wrongful use of resources or misappropriation in a production segment since each process must be accounted for.
Human Resource Management
The ever changing environment in business has continued to offer some assistance on how human resources managers consider employees in their companies. The success of a firm’s productivity depends on the organization of the human resource management. The operations management system of Tamweel Company makes an extension to the perceptions of the human resources managers as key contributors to the organizational culture. This is made possible through adoption of a communication model. Besides, it makes use of class theoretical illustrations on quality of human resources on operations management and monitoring performance. Reflectively, labour as a factor of production, determines the gross output, performance, and goal achievement at optimal resource use.
The company has done a lot to have a pipeline of talent to work towards achieving long-term objectives. Reflectively, the company has organized several tailored training and development schemes designed to help its people fulfill their potential. According to Maund (2001), training and development programs are both on-the-job and off-the job. These should be built around the core business values and is firmly aligned with the business strategy – developing skills that will support future growth of the business. The programme is designed for senior managers and is aimed at building leadership skills for follow up of changes within the workforce (Maund, 2001, p. 58).
The results of the programme are meant for statistical t-testing relevance of evaluation strategies adopted in reviewing employment terms and performance. Since this company has a fresh initiative for maintaining growth, it has adopted an inclusive career development plan. This works to ensure that the labour force is fully developed and well trained. Adaptation of this strategy has positively impacted on the training and development programme since the human resource management system has the aspect of innovation, skills, and motivation evaluation (Maund, 2001, p. 33).
At the end of every six months, performance reviews are carried out at for all the employees. During these reviews, employees engage their line managers in discussing their performances for six months. The employees are then rated based on the proficiencies and competencies they have shown during the period ended. Staff members are then given ratings for the skills and competencies they have shown over the past period. A comparison is then done between the ratings and the expected results as agreed upon at the beginning of the year, and also with expected skills profiles for these areas.
Such appraisals are important as they help employees to establish their performance in relation to the expectations from the business and expected outcomes as agreed during performance planning (Maund, 2001, p. 76). Further, the appraisals reveal gaps that may be inherent when executing duties. At the end of appraisal procedure the line manager and the staff member formulate a plan for further development for the next period. In the personal development plan, the employees set objectives based on the feedback from their performance appraisal and it is mandatory for all staff members to have such a plan (Mark, Adrian & Philip, 2012, p.53).
The whole interactive appraisal process is beneficial as it aids employees in developing a focused vocation trail. Further, the process is realistic. The gaps noted during the review process are bridged by training and development. These trainings also help in preparing the staff members for future managerial duties. The performance review process helps management to have a well-organized, effectual and motivated human resource base (Maund, 2001, p. 24).
Therefore, the major part of success puzzle for operations management delivery in this company operates on the periphery of the soft skills involving the timeless vision of organizational principles, defining value of the business, determining requirements, clarifying the vision, building teams, mitigating task, resolving issues, and providing directions for financial growth (Nigel, Stuart & Robert, 2010, P. 98).
Conclusively, Tamweel Financial Institution has management, marketing, human resource that directly impacts the operations channel as employees have motivational power to proactively participate in decision making process. As a result, the management policy oriented process has facilitated optimal performance which is specific to the goals and desires of the company.
Reference List
Mark, S, Adrian, T & Philip, L 2012, Research Methods for Business Students, 6th edn, Pearson, London.
Maund, L 2001, Introduction to Human Resource Management: theory and practice, Palgrave Publisher, London.
Nigel, S, Stuart, C & Robert, J 2010, Operations Management, 6th edn, Prentice Hall, New York.
Philip, K & Gary, A, 2010, Principles of Marketing, 13th edn, Pearson, London.
Robins, S & Coulter, M, 2007, Management, 8th edn, Prentice Hall, Alabama.