MagicMan
11-05-01, 12:32 PM
CONFIDENTIAL 20th June, 2000.
OMAN FM RADIO TALK VERBATIM TRANSCRIPT
(MAJID SAID NASSER AL-SULEIMANY INTERVIIEW
ON 12/6/2000 18.40 HRS).
Lakshmi (L) : Hello and welcome to the Guest of the Week. I am Lakshmi Konthaneth and this week our guest is Majid Said Nasser Al-Suleimany, Managing Director of Management and Marketing Development Consultancy. Welcome to the programme.
Majid (M): Thank you Lakshmi, it is a pleasure to meet you.
L: Well, it is a pleasure to meet you and have you here as our guest of the week because we have chosen a topic which you seem to be the most appropriate person to give us. Because today when I look at you today, you have done a transition you have worked more than 25 years in PDO.
M:- Yes, in PDO.
L and have made a transition in the Private Sector, being your own boss and providing jobs for other people.
M That is right.
L Could you tell us about this transition, was it difficult, lots of people have taken voluntary retirement.
M Okay. Two years ago there was a voluntary retirement in PDO, an option which, what I did was, ah ah I took this option and I never regret it upto now, because it was a good move for me, I think after working for PDO for 25 years, in different jobs in Human Resources, Training and Development, Resourcing and this kind of field.
When I finished my ah when I took my early retirement I went for this Intilaaqah project, which is a 9 months course which trains you how to run you own business, it gives you the work ethics, business ethics, and things to watch out for and how to run a business profitably. And this was I was sponsored for this course by National Bank of Oman together with the Intilaaqah project. When I finished this course, I got ah a Diploma from UK, Business Planning and Ownership ah course. Then I went around to start to think what kind of business I had already 2 or 3 ideas and then I thought of using my experiences in PDO, which is a field that I could develop as a business venture. And I went for consultancy business, mainly in Human Resources Development and Management, Marketing, Management, Information Technology and General Consultancy plus Training and Development.
L which is something you have been doing for the last 25 years.
M for the last 25 years already in PDO
L Human Resources in PDO.
M That is right. What happened then, that when I started going into business, I met a lot of problems. There is this Youth Fund, which helps young Omanis.
L Yes
M Unfortunately, because of my age, because I was already 50 actually over 50 I could not qualify for this project. So, I got assistance from Oman Development Bank, who were very kind to give me the Equipment and Furniture loan. But I needed some hard cash, because you have got to have people recruited, and all these kind of things, so I went around different banks.
Fortunately for me, Oman International Bank came out to help me to start this business, and I have been looking looking forward from there .
L Never looked back!
M Never looked back, ya that is right.
L You were a very lucky person you seem to have got the right resources, but obviously these organisations must have seen the resource in you to have supported you in this big way.
M And the main advantage, which I had was my experiences in PDO .
L Yes.
M they thought that with these years of experience and the line that I wanted to develop into business side was something they thought it was viable business-wise. But unfortunately as you know, Lakshmi, the market was down.
L Hmm
M during the last 2 years and no bank were willing to go in service side of business, in the sense that there were many experiences of bad debts one or two people not able to pay off their debts and all these kind of things. So when somebody new comes with a new idea, it was difficult for the banks to for example the bank which actually supported me was NBO, but they were not forthcoming in the loan, but OIB were, they came forward and gave me the loan facilities and everything. So I think the main problem is confidence from the business people to give especially the bank and institutions to support Omanis especially, who have ideas of going into business
L But in a way you know, you cannot blame them
M Ya it is true,
L ..because you never know who is going to be fruitful or who isnt.
M In actual fact there had been bad experiences.
L Exactly .
M To be honest and to be on their fair side there have been a lot of bad experiences and you can understand their reluctance not to go across.
L mmmm
M There have been consultances in engineering who have failed because of it is a long story but to make it short, payments were a problem and these kind of things. So I can appreciate ---- but I think the time now is moving --- is that a lot of Omanis want to start business, and I think this is the time that banks should be a bit a bit more flexible.
L mmmmmm
M I think there is a call for taking more risk taking. I mean that nobody should give loans for the sake of giving loans, just to show we are doing something for Omanisation, that is a wrong approach, I do not recommend that. But I think ah there is a room from where you can calculate more, and by being more flexible by giving loans.
L Right. Now you feel because I have been going through your articles in Oman Economic Review. You do feel that the only way forward for the country is Omanisation, although the expatriate community and Omanisation you feel is complimentary.
Now when we talk about Omanisation, you also need to look at Education and Training. This is how I view it. How do you see it?
M I think ah you are very right Lakshmi; because without training and development, you cannot make it Omanisation because it is not a question of putting someone who is wearing a dishdasha or Omani dress in a position. I believe the person must be effective and efficient both two words go together and to do that the person must be prepared - - . I will give an example of my own consultancy.
L mmm
M We had one young lady who came to join us and she could hardly speak any English, and she was going to work in an environment where consultancy is more English related than Arabic related, you know what I mean and it was a situation that we as a consultant took the initiative and effort to train her, we spoke to her in English all the time, and make her go for courses and training. Now, ok I was committed, I was looking at my old job in PDO, so I was putting in practice what I was doing in PDO in my own consultancy but I ask you how many people are prepared to do that? Very few people!.
L To take the time?
M to take the time and efforts! Because people say okay she is an Omani, she is there in the salary what you call it, a tick,
L mmmm.
M So the percentage is so reached. It is not a question of percentages it is a question of the person being useful to the organisation and she is also benefitting from that, ah and that is my outlook.
I feel that the Omanis now are given opportunities - the young Omanis especially now they should grab this opportunity and not just say because there is an expatriate there, I need that position you should show determination, efforts and commitment that you can do the job.
And the only way you can do that is I think first of all, is to develop yourself. How do you develop yourself? First of all learn the job on the job training, try to develop yourself try to find ah you know the problem we face is proactiveness, there is no proactiveness until you tell someone to do something, he or she then goes to do it but if you are working and you see a situation, ok you see a situation facing me and ok. What do I do about this?
L Initiative!
M Yes, initiative, ya ya you do not wait until your boss tells you to go and do something, and then you go and do it.
L How do you change that? How do you create this initiative?
M I think that - - by showing by example. For example, you know - for in my office all the girls and boys are young ones so it is easy for me to be like a father figure. I go to them and say whoever is there like, Malik, Nisha or ahhh Makia, whatever the guy - Makia, this is a problem, let us sit together, how we could have sorted this together, do not wait everytime to be to told to do this and this. Once you have been told, next time you know immediately how to -----
L You are also developing confidence -----
M That is right confidence and trust are the most important things, are people they know that you are the people are a bit shy, they feel that if it is a bad move maybe my boss is going to shout to me, even if boss will shout at you once or twice it is OK
L mmm
M The boss knows you have taken an initiative.
L Sure ----
M For example if the telephone operator is not there and the phone rings does not mean you should not pick the phone.
L Ya exactly --- you cannot be indifferent it is your job.
M Ya, you are part of the organisation. You do not say my job is typing and clerical why should I pick the phone I am not paid to be a telephone operator and this is what I tell them when we are working for an organisation, we have to be prepared to change roles, you know .
L What happens, how can in organisations, ahh I can see problems when this happens, when this initiative which you are talking about is not there how do you solve it it is almost a disease, as far as I am concerned in a company how can you solve that out?
M Ah it is very ---by changing the outlook of the person I mean by giving the person confidence. If he makes a mistake try to explain to him what was what could have been a better way to do it. If it is he or she had done something which is good, compliment her, I mean this is very good, good, OK what you have done. And it works. You will be surprised it works.
Because in the beginning when I had some people in my office, you could feel that the person is scared because these people for the first time since they came from Secondary Schools they went to college they have never worked. This is their first working atmosphere.
And I give you another example, one of the girls, in my office comes from Fanja. She is really a good girl unfortunately, for her because she cannot move from her place, so wherever she went for a job they said Are you going to move to the town? she says No, I am not there is no job Because people are scared if you have to drive all the way from Fanja everyday, which means it is a difficult situation.
L Yaah so that is another thing. And that OK we have talked about employers and employee, now for a person to be employee, to have the first break, is so important but I have been there before so I understand that but may be in a few years time I might forget where I was. But the point is someone ought to give the first break! But wherever you go as a first-timer, they say where have your worked? You do not have experience sorry we do not have a position.
M And that it the truth because, when you go to an organisation, they have your certificates
L Yaah
M Where have you worked before? This is the question of the chicken and the egg
L hmm (agreement)
M Does the chicken come first, did the chicken came first or did the egg came first?
Laughter
M and the bottom line, how do you get the experience if you do not get the opportunity first?
L Exactly!!
M You need to be forthcoming and say OK I take a calculated risk, I think this girl has got secondary school certificate, she has been going for a diploma course for 2 years, so I mean, she knows typing in English, she knows typing in Arabic, she speaks Arabic, she speaks English, I mean what stops you from giving her a chance. to her??.
L I have found a solution mine was to do a lot of free job you know to learn and get a lot of experience, somebody to back me up with a letter of experience but it may not be applicable to everybody so I still think this is still a problem which we see - - -
M I think it is a problem. The only way to get around this problem for people, like I said, is for people to take risks, there is not other solution. Because, ah the risks are in both sides, it is the employer and the employee the employer also, he is taking a risk by taking this staff, because as far as he or she is concerned, is a raw person.
L mmmm
M At the some time the staff is also taking a risk, because he does not know he may work there for 3 months, he or she may be terminated because he or she did not come to the mark.
L Yaah, but do you think it is a thing people should look into as part of education, practical training, practical hands-on experience helps -- - -
M At the present, if you look at the Vocational Training Institutes, lot of these people get education what I mean by education is theories
L mmm
M Theories, you know I mean how to do I mean typing they are not told to think if I am a bit forward in the sense you need to make a person be culturally tuned to a working atmosphere in that it is not typing, and MS word, Excel, it is also how to perform in the job. And how do you do that?
I think the best way to do is not to wait till you finish the training, maybe the best way is to take the tutor or mentor of that Institute to go with the student to go to a working situation - - - and together with the employers, see the performance of the student, and try to work together. It is not a question if the course is of 9 months finished you send the person to a Department or to a Company it is not that it is the co-ordination between the employer, the staff and the training institute.
L Now we have talked about your experiences which you brought in from your own works from your own career, your company how old is it now?
M Now, it is now approximately going to 18 months.
L 18 months
M Yaah
L and has it been an interesting experience for you?
M It has been. I am very confident in my business, because we are now getting business from very big companies, you know , we started Lakshmi, when we started on the outlook for small companies, we did not want to be too hopeful or too expectant, you know, so what we did is we paid attention to the Small and Medium Establishments (SMEs), like small companies of 20, 50, 100 people surprisingly that we are now getting business from big companies
L What do you do?
M Sorry, for example like a project we do for Omantel, Oman Fisheries ---
L Yaah so what do you do, basically advise them?
M It depends. For example for Oman Fisheries, we do actual training
L ah ok
M we give them, I am giving them my experiences in PDO in different fields of Human Resources plus we bring people from outside, expert lectures, like doctors, the new theories in Human Resources like 360 degrees, where the boss before looks down on the staff and writes a report, now the tables are reversed, the boss is in the centre, and the subordinates and everybody who is dealing with the boss are making value judgements on how the boss is performing.
L Really - -
M Yaa --aa
L so it is a change in scenario.
M It is a change in perception in Human Resources.
L It is how the whole world looks now on the boss - -
M It is how things are now developing now in Human Resources
L so my opinion counts?
M Yes, about your boss?
L For my boss
M Yes,
------laughter
L (laughing) that has been very interesting actually ------right ---this has been very interesting what is your future like ? Your vision?
M I look at myself, that we are actually moving offices now, to show how we are successful, from a smaller office to a bigger one . So I look at myself to be able to contribute whatever in my experiences and in my exposures to the benefit of not myself only but fellow Omanis also. And also to be honest I do not do it for free, for a profit
L Sure yes and that is why you are in the business.
M Yes of course and we have to pay bills etc at the end.
12th- Of course
M So, I am thankful the Marketing Team which we have got now 2 ladies one is an Indian lady, One Pakistani lady, Nisha and Saima, they are Marketing professionals, they have postgraduate qualifications, they are all determined we are all working together as a team it is beautiful - Omanis and Expatriates for the benefit of an organisation, it is a story to tell .
L Of course I think you said there a very important word there team!
M Team yes
L I think that is the most important element of any organisation we talk about employer and employees their tendencies, problem solutions, but if they work as a team ------
M and harmony
L and harmony yes all of us know our own roles, sometimes it is interchangeable, but I think boss is important yes the hierarchy is still important
M Yes, you cannot do without it.
L Yes.
M It is true. For example in my consultancy, we have every Thursday meeting, and anybody who has got anything to say is given free access, what you feel say it, if somebody has upset you, take out your feelings, at the end of the session there should be left no rancour or bitterness, this is how we should work together.
If you feel, somebody has upset you, do not wait till Thursdays, tell her whatever her name , whoever he or she is, sorry, I do not think this is right, you should not have done this.
Same time, I give them an opportunity, surprisingly also, I rotate the chairmanship I say today Naima you are the chairman tomorrow Fathiya you are the chairman he or she (co-ordinates the meeting)
L mmm I know that it means they know how you are , they know our position better now so they respect that position.
M Yes, that is true.
L Well, and the complications that go with it.
Laughter
L- Majid Said Nasser Al-Suleimany Managing Director of Management and Marketing Development Consultancy, thank you so much for being our guest of the week and giving us such a wonderful insight,
M Thank you Lakshmi, Thank you.
L You have been listening to the guest of the week and I am Lakshmi Konthaneth and our engineer has been Husna Al-Naamani and thank you for joining us and do join us once again next week.
MUSIC.
-------------
NOW YOU KNOW WHO IS MAGICMAN!!! KEEP SMILING!!
OMAN FM RADIO TALK VERBATIM TRANSCRIPT
(MAJID SAID NASSER AL-SULEIMANY INTERVIIEW
ON 12/6/2000 18.40 HRS).
Lakshmi (L) : Hello and welcome to the Guest of the Week. I am Lakshmi Konthaneth and this week our guest is Majid Said Nasser Al-Suleimany, Managing Director of Management and Marketing Development Consultancy. Welcome to the programme.
Majid (M): Thank you Lakshmi, it is a pleasure to meet you.
L: Well, it is a pleasure to meet you and have you here as our guest of the week because we have chosen a topic which you seem to be the most appropriate person to give us. Because today when I look at you today, you have done a transition you have worked more than 25 years in PDO.
M:- Yes, in PDO.
L and have made a transition in the Private Sector, being your own boss and providing jobs for other people.
M That is right.
L Could you tell us about this transition, was it difficult, lots of people have taken voluntary retirement.
M Okay. Two years ago there was a voluntary retirement in PDO, an option which, what I did was, ah ah I took this option and I never regret it upto now, because it was a good move for me, I think after working for PDO for 25 years, in different jobs in Human Resources, Training and Development, Resourcing and this kind of field.
When I finished my ah when I took my early retirement I went for this Intilaaqah project, which is a 9 months course which trains you how to run you own business, it gives you the work ethics, business ethics, and things to watch out for and how to run a business profitably. And this was I was sponsored for this course by National Bank of Oman together with the Intilaaqah project. When I finished this course, I got ah a Diploma from UK, Business Planning and Ownership ah course. Then I went around to start to think what kind of business I had already 2 or 3 ideas and then I thought of using my experiences in PDO, which is a field that I could develop as a business venture. And I went for consultancy business, mainly in Human Resources Development and Management, Marketing, Management, Information Technology and General Consultancy plus Training and Development.
L which is something you have been doing for the last 25 years.
M for the last 25 years already in PDO
L Human Resources in PDO.
M That is right. What happened then, that when I started going into business, I met a lot of problems. There is this Youth Fund, which helps young Omanis.
L Yes
M Unfortunately, because of my age, because I was already 50 actually over 50 I could not qualify for this project. So, I got assistance from Oman Development Bank, who were very kind to give me the Equipment and Furniture loan. But I needed some hard cash, because you have got to have people recruited, and all these kind of things, so I went around different banks.
Fortunately for me, Oman International Bank came out to help me to start this business, and I have been looking looking forward from there .
L Never looked back!
M Never looked back, ya that is right.
L You were a very lucky person you seem to have got the right resources, but obviously these organisations must have seen the resource in you to have supported you in this big way.
M And the main advantage, which I had was my experiences in PDO .
L Yes.
M they thought that with these years of experience and the line that I wanted to develop into business side was something they thought it was viable business-wise. But unfortunately as you know, Lakshmi, the market was down.
L Hmm
M during the last 2 years and no bank were willing to go in service side of business, in the sense that there were many experiences of bad debts one or two people not able to pay off their debts and all these kind of things. So when somebody new comes with a new idea, it was difficult for the banks to for example the bank which actually supported me was NBO, but they were not forthcoming in the loan, but OIB were, they came forward and gave me the loan facilities and everything. So I think the main problem is confidence from the business people to give especially the bank and institutions to support Omanis especially, who have ideas of going into business
L But in a way you know, you cannot blame them
M Ya it is true,
L ..because you never know who is going to be fruitful or who isnt.
M In actual fact there had been bad experiences.
L Exactly .
M To be honest and to be on their fair side there have been a lot of bad experiences and you can understand their reluctance not to go across.
L mmmm
M There have been consultances in engineering who have failed because of it is a long story but to make it short, payments were a problem and these kind of things. So I can appreciate ---- but I think the time now is moving --- is that a lot of Omanis want to start business, and I think this is the time that banks should be a bit a bit more flexible.
L mmmmmm
M I think there is a call for taking more risk taking. I mean that nobody should give loans for the sake of giving loans, just to show we are doing something for Omanisation, that is a wrong approach, I do not recommend that. But I think ah there is a room from where you can calculate more, and by being more flexible by giving loans.
L Right. Now you feel because I have been going through your articles in Oman Economic Review. You do feel that the only way forward for the country is Omanisation, although the expatriate community and Omanisation you feel is complimentary.
Now when we talk about Omanisation, you also need to look at Education and Training. This is how I view it. How do you see it?
M I think ah you are very right Lakshmi; because without training and development, you cannot make it Omanisation because it is not a question of putting someone who is wearing a dishdasha or Omani dress in a position. I believe the person must be effective and efficient both two words go together and to do that the person must be prepared - - . I will give an example of my own consultancy.
L mmm
M We had one young lady who came to join us and she could hardly speak any English, and she was going to work in an environment where consultancy is more English related than Arabic related, you know what I mean and it was a situation that we as a consultant took the initiative and effort to train her, we spoke to her in English all the time, and make her go for courses and training. Now, ok I was committed, I was looking at my old job in PDO, so I was putting in practice what I was doing in PDO in my own consultancy but I ask you how many people are prepared to do that? Very few people!.
L To take the time?
M to take the time and efforts! Because people say okay she is an Omani, she is there in the salary what you call it, a tick,
L mmmm.
M So the percentage is so reached. It is not a question of percentages it is a question of the person being useful to the organisation and she is also benefitting from that, ah and that is my outlook.
I feel that the Omanis now are given opportunities - the young Omanis especially now they should grab this opportunity and not just say because there is an expatriate there, I need that position you should show determination, efforts and commitment that you can do the job.
And the only way you can do that is I think first of all, is to develop yourself. How do you develop yourself? First of all learn the job on the job training, try to develop yourself try to find ah you know the problem we face is proactiveness, there is no proactiveness until you tell someone to do something, he or she then goes to do it but if you are working and you see a situation, ok you see a situation facing me and ok. What do I do about this?
L Initiative!
M Yes, initiative, ya ya you do not wait until your boss tells you to go and do something, and then you go and do it.
L How do you change that? How do you create this initiative?
M I think that - - by showing by example. For example, you know - for in my office all the girls and boys are young ones so it is easy for me to be like a father figure. I go to them and say whoever is there like, Malik, Nisha or ahhh Makia, whatever the guy - Makia, this is a problem, let us sit together, how we could have sorted this together, do not wait everytime to be to told to do this and this. Once you have been told, next time you know immediately how to -----
L You are also developing confidence -----
M That is right confidence and trust are the most important things, are people they know that you are the people are a bit shy, they feel that if it is a bad move maybe my boss is going to shout to me, even if boss will shout at you once or twice it is OK
L mmm
M The boss knows you have taken an initiative.
L Sure ----
M For example if the telephone operator is not there and the phone rings does not mean you should not pick the phone.
L Ya exactly --- you cannot be indifferent it is your job.
M Ya, you are part of the organisation. You do not say my job is typing and clerical why should I pick the phone I am not paid to be a telephone operator and this is what I tell them when we are working for an organisation, we have to be prepared to change roles, you know .
L What happens, how can in organisations, ahh I can see problems when this happens, when this initiative which you are talking about is not there how do you solve it it is almost a disease, as far as I am concerned in a company how can you solve that out?
M Ah it is very ---by changing the outlook of the person I mean by giving the person confidence. If he makes a mistake try to explain to him what was what could have been a better way to do it. If it is he or she had done something which is good, compliment her, I mean this is very good, good, OK what you have done. And it works. You will be surprised it works.
Because in the beginning when I had some people in my office, you could feel that the person is scared because these people for the first time since they came from Secondary Schools they went to college they have never worked. This is their first working atmosphere.
And I give you another example, one of the girls, in my office comes from Fanja. She is really a good girl unfortunately, for her because she cannot move from her place, so wherever she went for a job they said Are you going to move to the town? she says No, I am not there is no job Because people are scared if you have to drive all the way from Fanja everyday, which means it is a difficult situation.
L Yaah so that is another thing. And that OK we have talked about employers and employee, now for a person to be employee, to have the first break, is so important but I have been there before so I understand that but may be in a few years time I might forget where I was. But the point is someone ought to give the first break! But wherever you go as a first-timer, they say where have your worked? You do not have experience sorry we do not have a position.
M And that it the truth because, when you go to an organisation, they have your certificates
L Yaah
M Where have you worked before? This is the question of the chicken and the egg
L hmm (agreement)
M Does the chicken come first, did the chicken came first or did the egg came first?
Laughter
M and the bottom line, how do you get the experience if you do not get the opportunity first?
L Exactly!!
M You need to be forthcoming and say OK I take a calculated risk, I think this girl has got secondary school certificate, she has been going for a diploma course for 2 years, so I mean, she knows typing in English, she knows typing in Arabic, she speaks Arabic, she speaks English, I mean what stops you from giving her a chance. to her??.
L I have found a solution mine was to do a lot of free job you know to learn and get a lot of experience, somebody to back me up with a letter of experience but it may not be applicable to everybody so I still think this is still a problem which we see - - -
M I think it is a problem. The only way to get around this problem for people, like I said, is for people to take risks, there is not other solution. Because, ah the risks are in both sides, it is the employer and the employee the employer also, he is taking a risk by taking this staff, because as far as he or she is concerned, is a raw person.
L mmmm
M At the some time the staff is also taking a risk, because he does not know he may work there for 3 months, he or she may be terminated because he or she did not come to the mark.
L Yaah, but do you think it is a thing people should look into as part of education, practical training, practical hands-on experience helps -- - -
M At the present, if you look at the Vocational Training Institutes, lot of these people get education what I mean by education is theories
L mmm
M Theories, you know I mean how to do I mean typing they are not told to think if I am a bit forward in the sense you need to make a person be culturally tuned to a working atmosphere in that it is not typing, and MS word, Excel, it is also how to perform in the job. And how do you do that?
I think the best way to do is not to wait till you finish the training, maybe the best way is to take the tutor or mentor of that Institute to go with the student to go to a working situation - - - and together with the employers, see the performance of the student, and try to work together. It is not a question if the course is of 9 months finished you send the person to a Department or to a Company it is not that it is the co-ordination between the employer, the staff and the training institute.
L Now we have talked about your experiences which you brought in from your own works from your own career, your company how old is it now?
M Now, it is now approximately going to 18 months.
L 18 months
M Yaah
L and has it been an interesting experience for you?
M It has been. I am very confident in my business, because we are now getting business from very big companies, you know , we started Lakshmi, when we started on the outlook for small companies, we did not want to be too hopeful or too expectant, you know, so what we did is we paid attention to the Small and Medium Establishments (SMEs), like small companies of 20, 50, 100 people surprisingly that we are now getting business from big companies
L What do you do?
M Sorry, for example like a project we do for Omantel, Oman Fisheries ---
L Yaah so what do you do, basically advise them?
M It depends. For example for Oman Fisheries, we do actual training
L ah ok
M we give them, I am giving them my experiences in PDO in different fields of Human Resources plus we bring people from outside, expert lectures, like doctors, the new theories in Human Resources like 360 degrees, where the boss before looks down on the staff and writes a report, now the tables are reversed, the boss is in the centre, and the subordinates and everybody who is dealing with the boss are making value judgements on how the boss is performing.
L Really - -
M Yaa --aa
L so it is a change in scenario.
M It is a change in perception in Human Resources.
L It is how the whole world looks now on the boss - -
M It is how things are now developing now in Human Resources
L so my opinion counts?
M Yes, about your boss?
L For my boss
M Yes,
------laughter
L (laughing) that has been very interesting actually ------right ---this has been very interesting what is your future like ? Your vision?
M I look at myself, that we are actually moving offices now, to show how we are successful, from a smaller office to a bigger one . So I look at myself to be able to contribute whatever in my experiences and in my exposures to the benefit of not myself only but fellow Omanis also. And also to be honest I do not do it for free, for a profit
L Sure yes and that is why you are in the business.
M Yes of course and we have to pay bills etc at the end.
12th- Of course
M So, I am thankful the Marketing Team which we have got now 2 ladies one is an Indian lady, One Pakistani lady, Nisha and Saima, they are Marketing professionals, they have postgraduate qualifications, they are all determined we are all working together as a team it is beautiful - Omanis and Expatriates for the benefit of an organisation, it is a story to tell .
L Of course I think you said there a very important word there team!
M Team yes
L I think that is the most important element of any organisation we talk about employer and employees their tendencies, problem solutions, but if they work as a team ------
M and harmony
L and harmony yes all of us know our own roles, sometimes it is interchangeable, but I think boss is important yes the hierarchy is still important
M Yes, you cannot do without it.
L Yes.
M It is true. For example in my consultancy, we have every Thursday meeting, and anybody who has got anything to say is given free access, what you feel say it, if somebody has upset you, take out your feelings, at the end of the session there should be left no rancour or bitterness, this is how we should work together.
If you feel, somebody has upset you, do not wait till Thursdays, tell her whatever her name , whoever he or she is, sorry, I do not think this is right, you should not have done this.
Same time, I give them an opportunity, surprisingly also, I rotate the chairmanship I say today Naima you are the chairman tomorrow Fathiya you are the chairman he or she (co-ordinates the meeting)
L mmm I know that it means they know how you are , they know our position better now so they respect that position.
M Yes, that is true.
L Well, and the complications that go with it.
Laughter
L- Majid Said Nasser Al-Suleimany Managing Director of Management and Marketing Development Consultancy, thank you so much for being our guest of the week and giving us such a wonderful insight,
M Thank you Lakshmi, Thank you.
L You have been listening to the guest of the week and I am Lakshmi Konthaneth and our engineer has been Husna Al-Naamani and thank you for joining us and do join us once again next week.
MUSIC.
-------------
NOW YOU KNOW WHO IS MAGICMAN!!! KEEP SMILING!!