Fifty-three per cent ranked 'a strong vision' as management's top priority required to consolidate a company's direction, said a recent survey.

Following a strong vision, a defined management structure was essential to manage growth, said the Business Management Survey conducted by IIR Middle East.

Subsequently, setting proper key performance indicators (KPIs) and positive employee communication followed respectively on business people’s wish-lists, it added.

“Post crisis, it makes sense for corporations to look to their business leaders for visionary direction to lead businesses back into growth and expansion mode,” Dr Robert Kaplan, renowned management guru and professor at Harvard Business School.

“Being a regional business hub with a highly developed infrastructure and a multitude of global businesses in operation, UAE companies have a good foundation to rebound back and lead their region. Visionary leaders are therefore essential to understand the past and rebuild the future.”

These issues coupled with a focus on office of strategy management (OSM) are being discussed and debated at the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) Forum in Dubai, which opened on March 26 and will run up to March 31 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

The OSM is an approach that organizations could take to help close the gap between strategy development and execution. Implementing the right OSM brings together people responsible for formulating strategy with those responsible for executing.

“Many organizations throughout the world have already established an Office of Strategy Management,” says Dr David Norton, director and founder, Palladium Group. “In practice, the OSM has become an essential ingredient for any organization that wants to ensure the survivability of its strategy management system.”

Dr Norton, along with Dr Kaplan, will discuss the BSC enablers while focusing on core competencies and capabilities for effective strategy management. He will discuss these issues with decision makers from the private and public sectors.

Interactive sessions at the forum will cover live 'risk assessment' meetings, a ‘Let's Talk Strategy’ discussion and award winning regional public and private sector case studies. – TradeArabia News Service