Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) called upon private sector establishments in Oman to participate in the 2017 Sharjah Economic Excellence Award in the category of " Top 10 GCC Business" which was launched by the SCCI in early 2017.

The invitation was made during an introductory seminar hosted by the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) in its premises recently. During the seminar, a delegation from the SCCI gave a detailed explanation of the new category that was added recently to the Sharjah Economic Excellence Award, which is issued by the Sharjah Economic Excellence Network (shjSEEN).

Motivating creativity

H.E. Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of SCCI, said that organizing this seminar highlights the Sharjah Chamber's commitment to contributing to strengthening, bolstering, and developing relations between the UAE and Oman in a sustainable manner to serve their mutual interests.

Al Owais affirmed that the SCCI is always committed to coordinating with other chambers and federations in the Gulf in order to enhance the integration of the Gulf private sector in global economy by developing its establishments, capabilities, and performance in various sectors, and by enhancing the standards of quality, entrepreneurship, and innovation.

He also pointed out that holding this seminar in coordination with the Oman Chamber (OCCI) shows their mutual commitment to motivating private companies in various economic sectors to be creative, in addition to contributing to advancing and developing the Gulf business societies by encouraging them to improve their competitiveness.

Competitive environment

For his part, Abdulaziz Shattaf, Assistant Director-General for Members Services at SCCI said that the new category seeks to add a regional dimension to the award, and is motivated by the Chamber's commitment to bolstering the competitive environment among GCC business in order to improve the performance of the Gulf economy in general, boosting the efficiency of major economic establishments, and exchange of knowledge, expertise, and practices.

He added that the new category also seeks to contribute to improving the performance of major private sector establishments in the Gulf by promoting the model of excellence, improving performance, and enabling the growth of commerce and industry, which would enhance the culture of excellence and improve the quality of Gulf products available in global markets.

Adopting Quality Management

Nada Al Hajri, shjSEEN General Coordinator gave a comprehensive presentation about the award and the Top 10 GCC Business category, explaining the conditions, criteria, mechanisms, and dates for applying, in addition to the evaluation mechanisms and the advantages provided to the winners.

Al Hajri said that for the past 26 years, the SCCI has been committed to supporting businesses that seek excellence in achieving sustainability, which is why it launched the Economic Excellence Award program. The Award provides SME in various economic sectors in the Emirate with the expertise and strategies needed to apply the best global practices in their work. This was reflected positively on many entrepreneur projects

She explained that the award is a non-profit initiative designed to help private sector establishments in the GCC region to improve their performance. This was facilitated by the adoption of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), a comprehensive management model employed by more than 30,000 establishments around the world. It also provides a non-strict framework for building a comprehensive study for any establishment regardless of scale, maturity, and sector.

Al Hajri went on to note that for the past 20 years or so, the excellence model has been the primary plan for the EFQM members and for establishments in Europe and elsewhere for building the culture of excellence, employing good practices, promoting innovation, and improving results.

She also explained that this model helps establishments focus on the needs of principal patrons by learning innovation, improving performance, and improving the executive officers' ability to make the right decisions. Many of the establishments that adopt EFQM have become a role model for other establishments.

The SCCI started promoting the Top 10 GCC Business award category with an introductory tour in the GCC; starting from Kuwait then moving on to Bahrain, and now in Oman, then Saudi Arabia.

The category covers major private sector facilities in the fields of industry, trade, retail, real-estate, tourism, hospitality, construction, financial services, transport, logistics, education, health, and digital services.

The regional tour will include meetings with officials working in the field of quality and excellence management GCC chambers of commerce and industry. The tour will organize seminars in cooperation with chambers in the aforementioned countries.