Using of the Business Excellence Model in ADMA-OPCO - Essay Example

Student Name: Instructor’s Name: Title: Use of the Business Excellence Model in ADMA-OPCO Course: Institution: Table of Contents Abstract 3 Introduction 4 ADMA-OPCO 4 Use of the business excellence model: 6 The EFQM model: Fundamental concepts 10 Comparison of EFQM with ADMA-OPCO Model for Excellence in Business 11 Benefits of the model to the company 12 Challenges faced in implementing the model 12 Conclusion 13 Bibliography 14 Abstract For the growth of any economy, the business excellence model has been a catalyst. To achieve excellence in business, various challenges have to be faced. One of these challenges is the implementation of best practices in all functional areas of the organization. In addition, organizations face the challenge of ensuring performance improval based on principles like the value of stakeholders, management of processes and maintaining their focus on customers. Proper use of the practices and frameworks of the business excellence model gives an organization the image of role model before its stakeholders. Use of the Business Excellence Model in ADMA-OPCO Introduction ADMA-OPCO has been striving to achieve excellence and has continually invested in the future through its focus that is uncompromising in terms value delivery and increasing of momentum in the business. The company strives to execute excellence globally and to ensure that it provides real value to its customers. The endeavors to attain excellence in virtually all the aspects of its businesses have borne fruit to the company. This has been evidenced by the number of awards that have been given to the company for its struggle for excellence. All the achievements made by ADMA –OPCO are in line with the company’s mission as well as the values that have been set by the company (ADMA-OPCO, 2011). This paper will investigate the use of the business excellence model in ADMA-OPCO in its quest for building the trust of customers and ensuring they are satisfied. A comparison shall be made between the model used by ADMA-OPCO and other models. Further, it will discuss how the company implements the business model for excellence along with how the company benefits and the challenges that it faces while executing the model. ADMA-OPCO The Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company is a chief gas and oil producer from the Abu Dhabi Emirate offshore areas. This company is the pioneer of petroleum firms in the Abu Dhabi Emirate, having been producing oil and gas for more than 45 years. Its concession is made up of two main fields: the Umm Shaif and the Lower Zakum. Crude is collected from the fields by giant structures of steel, supercomplexes, and the crude is then conveyed to Das Island where it is processed stored and prepared for export. The drive towards achievement of excellence is seen right from the vision of the company. The company’s vision is to be one team that is integrated and works effectively towards the production of hydrocarbons off offshore areas while looking forward to registering excellence in all the aspects of its business. In addition to its vision, its mission has the value of high performance, dedication and creativity of its members. The company is further driven to excellence by the values it has set, among them excellence and innovation. In the year 2011, the gold award for Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA) was won by ADMA-OPCO. This award is usually given to companies that tangibly demonstrate superior excellence in the organization via a process of meticulous assessment. Having passed through a very comprehensive process of assessment that is in accordance with European standards, the company was considered for the award. This was a demonstration of the company’s tireless journey towards achievement of excellence through a combination of various elements: passion, expertise, teamwork, knowledge, collaboration and innovation of the talented employees (Albawaba Business, 2011). This was further supported by the company’s well established system that embraces new technology as well as best practices in achievement of the objectives of the company in accordance with international standards. The company also won the ADIPEC 2010 Award for excellence in energy (UAE Interact, 2010). Several other awards have been won by the company including the 2010 performance of the year award for Middle East Oil and Gas Overall Exploration and Production. Other than quality to the customers, ADMA-OPCO is committed to ensuring the environment around it is safe. The environment is considered by ADMA as a vital resource and therefore ADMA-OPCO has made it its goal to ensure that the environment is fully protected (The Report, 2007). The development of the economy calls for proper utilization of the envitrionment and this made the ADMA company to integrate the three dimensions of social improvement, environmental protection and economic growth into one. It is through this that the company can achieve sustainable development. In the pursuit of a safe environment, ADMA has implemented a firm health, safety and environment systems of management while ensuring that the codes of practice are implemented in their operations. The facilities as well as projects used by the company, in accordance with The Report (2007), have been designed to very high standards of health, safety and the environment. Even amidst questioning of the industry’s contribution towards renewable energy, the company has ensured that they focus on making diligent decisions as dictated by their responsibilities. The company ensures that it takes the best decisions there can be to ensure that it still maintains the goals set by the company towards the environment and the social goals. Through this, the company is able to ensure competitiveness in the economic and the future well being of the company. Use of the business excellence model: The aspiration of ADMA-OPCO is to be excellent in all of their business aspects. The company has therefore been dedicated to ensuring the optimization of gas and oil production while ensuring maximum value is obtained in a safe socially responsible and sustainable manner. This has been done through the creativity, high performance and dedication of their teams. The company has ensured that each member makes their contribution to its core values, viz: leadership, people, accountability, innovation, teamwork, ethical conduct, learning and EXCELLENCE. These values are followed in the company’s daily activities. The model that the company uses in its pursuit of excellence is closely related to the EFQM model for excellence. To begin with, the company cherishes its customers and has therefore developed a customer focused approach. According to AkerSolutions (2012), the company works to build the trust and satisfaction of its customers as it believes that this is the key to its success. In its strive for universal execution of excellence, the company purposes to unsure that real value is added to its customers. This was demonstrated in the way the company collaborated with AkerSolutions and HHI while working on a contract at the ADMA-OPCO Umm Shaif Project. Further, the company’s health, safety and environment policy is keen to ensure that all people within the responsibility sphere of ADMA-OPCO are safe and their health is not at risk. The company ensures that its operations do not cause any harm to the environment and that they promote sustainable and conservation practices (ADMA-OPCO, 2011). Through this, the company’s deliverables are to have policies and procedures which will keep the health and environment safe. The company also monitors the operations for any hazards or risks and eliminates these where possible. HSE awareness is promoted throughout the company and a report made on the performance of HSE. These efforts towards sustainability and HSE have been rewarded by the number of awards that the company has won in HSE. In 2004, the company won 2 awards in the ADNOC’s competition on HSE for performance and innovation (Oil and Gas Directory Middle East, 2012). The company also won the ADMA-OPCO 2010 Award winner for HSE. This award is meant to raise the awareness in health, safety and environment areas as well as performance of HSE and sustainable development by recognition of outstanding achievements. According to ADMA-OPCO (2011), the year 2011 saw the deployment of a corporate excellence management system that would encompass the strengths of all preceding management and then match them with state-of-the art techniques of management, like the integrated strategy management and development and execution of operation. This shows that the company works to review its strengths and compares them with its current position. This is meant to lay a platform by which the company can be able to further improve on its current position. In addition, the company seeks to utilize the best available technology in carrying out its activities. Besides that, the company has also set up a projects support division that was given the mandate to establish a project support excellence center as well as project management for the support of ADMA’s programmes of projects. Through this division, projects carried out by the company are done in a consistent and disciplined manner and there is efficient planning, control of costs procurement, resource management and contracting. This division has been able to achieve the successful completion of two main projects without incurring any overruns in cost. In addition, the division has consistently achieved the corporate financial metrics used on projects (ADMA-OPCO, 2011). ADMA-OPCO also uses the finance division to improve the control and management of the company’s finance. This division introduced many system transformations together with new technologies that promoted various services offered by the company. These include the invoice payment, the iclick, capitalization of manpower, use of the oracle financing system, e-profiles and the contract release. Another division has been the commercial division which has greatly improved the commercial services of the company. The improvement of performance has further been achieved by the company through various other divisions that include the human resource division, the manpower development division, the public relations division, the legal insurance division, business support division and the corporate planning division. Each of the divisions set up by the company is meant to improve the services offered by the company in the various sectors categorized in the division. This excellence model used by the company is structured in a manner that drives towards the improvement of services offered by the company, ensuring that the company operates sustainably while also ensuring that the customers are satisfied. Through this structure, the company works to ensure that the competition it faces from other energy sectors, especially the renewable energy sector, does not limit its operations. This has been ensured by proper decision making and laying down of policies that favor the company as well as the environment. The operations of the company are strictly guided by the set principles and even the workers are made to strictly follow the principles and values set by the organization. The company also strives to be the best through continuous innovation and deployment of new technologies. This is a demonstration of the company’s drive towards continuous improvement as is required by the models of business excellence. The awards given to the company indicate that the company is operating in the required international standards. The EFQM model: Fundamental concepts The EFQM model has various concepts. First is the results orientation where excellence is based on the balance made between the satisfaction of the various needs of stakeholders who are relevant. These include the customers, employees, suppliers as well as the society at large. In addition, the model encompasses a customer focus. Since the customer is considered as the final product arbiter, customers should obtain quality in service as well as ensuring that the customers are loyal and they are retained. Obtaining customer loyalty and retention can be achieved through ensuring that a clear focus is made on the needs of both the existing as well as the potential customers. Besides, the concept of leadership and constancy of purpose is also mentioned in the EFQM model. This is because it is the leaders of the organization that can be able to create the clarity of purpose as well as the unity of this purpose in the organization. The leaders can create an environment that propels the people towards excellence (Bhatt, 2012). This model also focuses on management through processes and facts. All activities that are inter-related are managed systematically and the decisions on their operations are planed systematically. Any improvements are done using consistent information. In addition, the concept of people development and people involvement is also deployed in the EFQM. Everyone is involved in the organization through empowerment and sharing of values, as well as trust. The model also favors continuous innovation, learning and improvement which ensure that the performance of organizations is maximized. Development of partnership ensures that there are mutual benefits that are built on trust along with knowledge sharing and integration. Finally, the EFQM model supports the concept of public responsibility since it is purported to ensure the long term sustainability of the organization. An overview of the model presents it as a framework that operates on the basis of nine criteria. These are grouped into enabler (5) and results (4). The criteria of enablers contain what is done by the organization while the results criteria contain the achievements of the organization. Under the EFQM model is also the radar logic that proposes that an organization needs to determine what Results it aims to achieve, to plan and devise an Approach that it will use to achieve the results, to Deploy that approach in a way that is systematic for full implementation. Finally, the organization should Assess and Review its approaches through monitoring and carrying out analysis of the achieved results (EFQM, 2011). Comparison of EFQM with ADMA-OPCO Model for Excellence in Business The model for excellence as used by ADMA-OPCO is related to that demonstrated by the EFQM model. First, the company determines how it should carry out its operations and this is in the enablers’ category. It does this by properly utilizing the resources it has, implementation of the policies, through its processes, partnering with other companies like the Aker Solutions and through it proper leadership. The management of ADMA-OPCO is known to be the force behind the high standards of excellence that has been achieved by the company (ADMA-OPCO, 2011). The company then determines the outcomes that are expected of it. This is the results criteria. The results are categorized into customer results, people results, society results and the results for key performance. This can be demonstrated by the corporate social responsibilities of the company. An example is the program on environmental awareness that was launched in 2010 by the company (AMEinfo, 2010). The customer approach used by ADMA-OPCO is part of the concepts of the EFQM model together with the drive towards continuous improvement as seen in the various divisions set by the company. Benefits of the model to the company The company has greatly benefited from the business model for excellence through the innovations that have been realized in the company. The company has been a leading organization of innovation in gas and oil production as demonstrated by the ADMA-OPCO award for excellence that was received by the company in the year 2011 (ADMA Magazine, 2011). In addition, the company has developed the pride and desire to continuously drive towards improvement. It is this desire that has led to achievement of excellence for the last 5o years of the company’s operation (Oil and Gas Directory Middle East, 2012). The company also has successful leaders who have ensured that it is always on the drive to success. Furthermore, it has stakeholders and people who are engaged to the company and they are motivated to work for the company. All the workers in the company have a sense of common purpose and this brings their ideas together always, resulting in a constant upward trend in the organization. Finally, the company has achieved constant excellent results that include excellence performance in finance (ADMA-OPCO, 2011). Challenges faced in implementing the model One of the main challenges that are faced by the company is people development. People can be used as important resources and this presents the challenge to the company to ensure that they are well developed to meet the expected standards of work. To do this, the company organizes a Future Leaders Conference annually, a forum that it uses in developing and inspiring the young generation (Arabian Oil and Gas, 2010). Another challenge faced is the global goal towards use of renewable energy. But the company considers the two, renewable energy and oil and gas as industries that complement each other. The company believes that the two are both in the energy business and should therefore work to complement each other in providing energy to the country. While implementing the excellence model, this challenge comes in the way some of the strategies as well as the processes have to be laid down in a manner that ensures there is sustainability and the challenge posed by renewable energy does not overwhelm the company. It is worth noting that the company has been able to overcome this challenge through the decisions it makes and the diligence with which they conduct their processes (The report, 2007). While tackling the issues that are faced by the company, the company looks at the importance of the problem to the organization. In essence, the company turns the challenge faced into an opportunity by which it can utilize that challenge and turn it into an opportunity for improvement. This is seen in the way it uses the people as enablers, hence developing the people so that they can be used by the company as a means for how it can achieve the excellence standards required. The threat posed by renewable energy demand is utilized by the company to devise processes and make up decisions that will ensure that two sectors of energy co-exist rather than compete with each other. The technology required to ensure this is well deployed so that the company’s operations are up to standards. Conclusion The use of the business excellence model as used by ADMA-OPCO is related to the European standards set for the EFQM model. This model has propelled the company to excellence in its operations, its processes and its responsibilities as dictated by the society and the company’s objectives. The company has been particularly excellent in the innovation and the health, safety and environment sectors as depicted in the numerous awards it has received. Most of the success is attributed to the contribution made by management and its leadership but overall, a combination of people, management, resources and the processes used have played a key role in ensuring the company reaches the excellence standards. Bibliography ADMA Magazine, 2011, ADMA-OPCO Innovation and HSE Award Winners Announced, Vol 29, Iss. 604, Public Relations Division. ADMA-OPCO, 2011, Annual Review, UAE. ADMA-OPCO, 2011, Business Learning Kit, UAE. AkerSolutions, 2012, ADMA-OPCO Umm Shaif Project, retrieved on December 11th 2012 from . Albawaba Business, 2011, ADMA-OPCO clinches gold award at the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award, retrieved on December 10th 2012, from . AMEinfo, 2010, ADMA-OPCO Launches Environmental Awareness Program for School Students, retrieved on December 11th 2012 from . Arabian Oil and Gas, 2010, Adma-Opco Hosts Future Leadership Conference, retrieved on December 11th 2012, from . Bhatt Dilip, 2012, EFQM: Excellence Model and Knowledge Management Implications, retrieved on 11th December 2012 from . EFQM, 2011, Introducing the EFQM Excellence Model. The report, 2007, Abu Dhabi, UAE. UAE Interact, 2010, ADCO and ADMA-OPCO win two ADIPEC 2010 Excellence in Energy Awards, retrieved on December 11th 2012 from . Oil and Gas Directory Middle East, 2012, ADMA-OPCO Celebrates 50 ADMA-OPCO Celebrates 50 years of Excellence, UAE. Read More