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Although studies of national quality awards and their benefits in fostering organizational excellence are ample in many countries, such relevant studies are rare in United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE launched its Business Excellence Awards for the private and public sectors almost two decades ago. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to shed light on benefits that UAE organizations have experienced through the Dubai Quality Award (DQA) and to understand the adoption of key DQA implementation factors. It also discusses implications and provides direction for future research. This study would be useful for managers considering whether to embark on the path of excellence through the DQA.

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceived benefits of participating in a quality award process. A total of 13 organizations that received the award between 2010 and 2013 are studied. This limit was set to include as many organizations as possible while not allowing too much time to have elapsed. Secondary data files were received from Department of Economic Development of Dubai. Data were registered in a MS Excel® spreadsheet by categorizing them according to the description of organizational practice, company name and industrial sector. These were then analyzed to extract the benefits and to capture lessons learned in the process. The data were also analyzed in the light of DQA criteria and key actions were recorded.

The study highlighted six major perceived benefits of quality awards in the UAE context and the results achieved by winning organizations on their journey of excellence. This study illustrates the enabler and results sides of the DQA in terms of perceived benefits. The analysis of winning organizations shows that a few sectors have been notably awarded. Although, winning organizations in the past four years fairly represent the trading, finance and retail sectors, the DQA is still not sufficiently utilized by all sector organizations. The represented sectors are mainly service-oriented and demonstrate that the key enabler, customer focus, has been given its due importance. As such, these organizations understand customer satisfaction, customer engagement and customer appreciation.

This is the first step toward an understanding of the current status of best practices of winning organizations on the road to business excellence through the DQA. This can be further developed by measuring business performances through other methods. This study provides an objective depiction of the current level of best practices and perceived benefits of the DQA. This study would be useful for managers considering whether to embark on the path of excellence through the DQA.

Dubai Quality Award (DQA) is one of the quality awards that has been implemented in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the purpose of improving organisational performance. The objective of this study is to determine whether receiving the DQA has positive impacts on Human Resource Development Practices (HRDP) and organisational performance (OP) of the award-winning companies.

Secondary data relating to DQA scores were collected from the Department of Economic Development archive of UAE and primary data relating to HRDP and OP were collected from the individual DQA recipients. Data elicited were subjected to statistical analyses by using the structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. This was to identify the nature of relationships existing between DQA criteria and organisational performance outcomes through the mediating effect of HRDP.

The results indicated that winning of DQA significantly enhances organisational performance and that HRDP is a statistically significant mediator between DQA and OP. Based on the findings of this study, a model has been developed by linking the DQA criteria, HRDP and organisational performance.

Despite few of its limitations, this study is first of a kind in UAE that investigated the relationships among DQA criteria, HRDP and OP. The findings are expected to help the UAE companies to adjust their management policies and practices for enhancing their organisational performance. The findings can also be applicable to companies in other countries, especially Gulf countries that have similar awards such as DQA.

Organizations worldwide use national quality awards for improving organizational excellence. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched its business excellence awards for the private and public sectors almost two decades ago. Within the past dozen years, UAE companies have made considerable progress in introducing and developing their quality management systems. The purpose of this paper is to report the advance of UAE organizations in business excellence initiatives and highlight the contributions of the award-winning organizations in adopting business excellence approach.

This research used a qualitative approach to study award-winning organizations. Initially, secondary data were gathered from the Office of Department of Economic Development which is responsible for the administration of the Dubai Quality Award (DQA). Data were entered and categorized according to the description of organizational practice, company name, industrial sector and DQA criteria. The data were then analyzed using NVivo 10.0 software.

The DQA fosters and guides the excellence journey of aspiring organizations not only to win a quality award, but to strengthen their quality initiative through an informative assessment report. The DQA model was perceived by all organizations as a useful approach to quality improvement. Winning organizations have exhibited unique programs developed to embrace the DQA factors. Recommendations for aspiring organizations are discussed.

This paper should help managers to plan their journey toward business excellence and to create greater awareness of excellence frameworks and their usefulness when embarking on the path of excellence. This paper adds to the knowledge of the UAE’s excellence awards scheme and to the knowledge of business excellence best practices deep rooted in multi-cultural organizational environments. It highlights future research avenues for excellence frameworks.

While the literature has examined various motives and benefits of quality management frameworks, it is limited with respect to marketing related motives and benefits. More specifically, previous research has not considered empirically the relationship between marketing motives and benefits of quality award models. To address this, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between perceived marketing related motives and benefits and to analyze the influence of the sources of marketing motivations that lead companies to adopt this global standard for its perceived benefits in an Arab context.

A quantitative study to examine the relationships between the proposed motives and benefits using structural equation modeling was carried out.

The findings reinforce the view of marketing motives as a dynamic construct, which has an influence on quality awards model implementations. Also, the marketing related and performance drivers to implement the quality award model have a degree of influence on the benefits that is significantly higher than external related ones.

The main implication of this study is that marketing has a role to play in shaping an organizations “excellence” journey. It is yet another strategy to attract customers while striving for higher performance. Therefore, the motives for pursuing excellence should embed marketing related factors as well. The results will also enable aspiring organizations to refine their improvement methods, encouraging them to prioritize on their marketing motives and build on their excellence portfolios.

The paper proposes an empirically tested conceptual framework that examines vital issues concerning the internalization of the total quality management approach through award models, thus, providing valuable outcomes for decision-makers through business excellence frameworks.

The aim of this paper is to explore the implementation issues of the Business Excellence Model and the process of self‐assessment, from both management and employee perspectives, in a large government organisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the large Government organisation is indicative of the type of large indigenous organisation in the region. The organisation is part of the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP).

A multi‐level case study approach is used, involving repeated in‐depth interviews with managers (n=12) and a questionnaire with employees (n=96) to explore the implementation issues at all levels.

There was considerable variation in the implementation effectiveness across the different levels within the organisation. The top down approach had a resonance with the Middle East culture at management levels. However, insufficient participation and empowerment of lower level employees, especially amongst non‐indigenous employees, led to a lack of closure on corrective actions emerging from the self‐assessment process. Overall there was an acceptance of the business improvement side of total quality management (TQM) but there was a need for increased cultural acceptance of the people development aspects.

There is a paucity of multi‐level in‐depth studies relating to Business Excellence and self‐assessment in Middle Eastern organisations where a critical cultural perspective is adopted, even though there has been considerable resources expended by Government in initiatives such as the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of total quality management (TQM) internalization factors on the relationship between the proposed drivers (internal/external motives) and outcomes (external benefits and financial results).

Using a sample of quality managers, this study adopts a two-step methodological approach to explore the key components of TQM internalization via an initial exploratory study followed up with a quantitative study to examine the relationships between the proposed drivers using structural equation modeling.

The qualitative study revealed the key components of TQM implementation factors, namely top management commitment, middle management commitment and audits, training and employees’ commitment. The quantitative results show that a positive relationship between external motives and TQM internalization was not supported; yet, the results supported the influence of internal motives on TQM internalization. Further, the results revealed a significant relationship between TQM internalization and internal benefits but not financial benefits. Finally, a strong positive link between internal and financial benefits emerged.

The study findings are only based on the perceptions of quality managers and future research could test the proposed model using other units of analysis in order to fully capture the role of TQM internalization.

The findings show that award model adoption is a significant tool for quality improvement in organizations, a procedure that drives both internal and financial benefits. Further, the study points out areas that companies should emphasize in order to successfully implement a quality award model and therefore harvest its potential benefits.

The paper proposes an empirically tested conceptual framework that examines vital issues concerning the internalization of the TQM approach through award models, thus providing valuable outcomes for decision makers to improve service quality.

Quality awards played an important role in improving quality in private and public organizations. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated four quadrant strategy adopted by Sheikh Saqr Program for Government Excellence (SSPGE) for improving government performance in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaima (RAK) in the United Arab Emirates.

The methodology of this case is unusual as it mixes the experience of the authors with theory and literature. The first and second authors are, respectively, the senior consultant and the director general of SSPGE. The authors hereby present the integrated strategy developed and implemented by SSPGE in order to improve government performance in RAK. This paper first presents this improvement strategy along with the relevant literature, and then it outlines the results of its implementation.

The use of the four quadrant strategy helped government organizations in RAK achieve as successful launching of the government department award based on the EFQM excellence model. The average total score for all government departments was 311.0 in 2008. This indicates a huge improvement from the self-assessment score in 2007. It was also 106 points higher than the initially projected score for self-assessment in 2008. The average score consistently increased and reached 414 in 2012 indicating a 33 percent increase from 2008.

This paper outlines a four quadrant strategy that was successfully implemented by a government excellence program. This strategy can be used in other government excellence programs. It may also be adapted for use in large public and private organizations.

Most researchers focus on excellence strategies in organizations while this case addresses the strategy of an excellence program. This case also shows the importance of integration between the various awards categories, projects, and activities organized by the program. It also presents a successful case of linking activities of the program to the theoretical concepts of quality and excellence.

The success of an organization that is operating in a volatile industry and in an increasingly uncertain external environment depends on various factors. Although existing literature mentions factors that could be considered as prerequisites of success for the continuity of business, there is limited research done specifically in the fuel/energy logistics industry within the context of United Arab Emirates. Using case study as a methodology, the present authors aim at understanding the growth model and strategic success factors of an energy logistics company, established in Dubai, the “Tristar Group.” With a presence in more than 21 countries, the group has over 22 years of history with 4 major service offerings under its portfolio. During its tenure, Tristar has achieved more than 70 awards and accolades, both regional and global in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR), safety, quality, employee engagement, and strategic partnerships. The strategic drivers that have influenced the success of the organization include: responsible leadership and strategic agility, building a safety culture through strategic alliances, customer retention through service excellence, CSR and sustainability initiatives, employee empowerment & engagement, and enhanced service offerings through integrative growth strategy. In conclusion, the case study recommends the following future areas for research, namely, the impact of global scanning on corporate growth strategies, the types and nature of tools & interventions to be used for sustaining a safety led culture and the capabilities required for an organization to be resilient and anti-fragile.

Amid the COVID-19 world pandemic, there are few organizations that have proven to be recession proof. A Dubai-based company has managed to resist its second recession after the 2008 market downturn, with no lay-offs, cash flow problems, and over 80% customer satisfaction. NAFFCO, a world leader in manufacturing fire safety and security solutions, is the organization that beat the odds. The aim of this case study is to identify the drivers of success that contributed to the continuous growth of the organization, despite turbulences in the market condition. Six drivers were identified: (1) Situational Leadership Style, (2) Innovation through Kaizen, (3) Quality Focus, (4) Research and Development Philosophy with Knowledge Spillover Integration, (5) Esprit de corps, and finally (6) Corporate Citizenship. These drivers were cross-examined with respect to academic literature and an analysis of the deviations and commonalities have been presented. Based on the cross examination of different strategic drivers, suitable areas of future studies have been indicated to understand the magnitude of their effects including NAFFCO’s Oath!

Aster Retail (AR) is the retail pharmacy division of the Aster Dr Moopen's Healthcare (ADMH) Group. The group delivers healthcare services across the Middle East, India and the Far East, with a portfolio of hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres and retail pharmacies. AR, under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jobilal Vavachan, is well known for its people-centric approach, unique culture and innovative human resource (HR) practices. AR has won multiple awards for HR practices, service quality and business performance. In a recent corporate restructuring (2018), “Aster Primary Care” was carved out by combining the group's Clinics and Retail businesses. This case discusses the evolution of AR's HR journey and the challenges associated with integrating culturally diverse businesses without compromising the values of ADMH and its promise, “We'll Treat You Well.”