Best Practices Day held

In what has now become a highly anticipated corporate event, Best Practices Day 2008, was held at Karachi Sheraton Hotel on November 6' 2008. The conference was managed by Sidat Hyder Morshed Associates and was the first of three events being held to highlight and share best practices among over 500 participants representing Corporate Pakistan.
For the past seven years, corporate leaders and thinkers from different organisations, industries and sectors have gathered together and shared their best practices and success stories at this forum.
The lead sponsor for the Day was English Biscuit Manufacturers while other sponsors included JS Group, Tuwairqui Steel and Hilton Pharma. Associate sponsors were Johnson and Johnson, Zong and Dadex and HBL. Media sponsors of the event included CNBC, Business Recorder and FM 89 while the official courier was TCS.
The need for an increased focus on best practices is significant in the current environment in which we operate. Trying times change business imperatives and as businesses shift focus towards meeting these challenges, they feel it more necessary to chart their courses with little margin for error whilst looking for sure-fire returns.
Therefore, businesses have realised the importance of best practices and the need to share and learn from each other. BPD serves as a platform to reflect the varied interests of businesses in Pakistan and the upcoming global changes in the economic context.
The event was distributed among four concurrent sessions to allow the participants the flexibility to move around and attend whichever session they wished to.
The combination of speakers and topics ensured coverage of best practices in various functional domains as well as industries and types organisations in existence. The event invited both local and multinational representation with a view to highlight different approaches and management styles.
The Chief Operating Officer of English Biscuit Manufacturers, Naveed A Khawaja gave an interesting presentation on 'Leadership through Best Practices.' He highlighted the best practices that have been adopted in EBM in the context of strategic planning and the visionary leadership, which have provided the impetus to the company's success.
A concurrent session featured the Senior Manager, Makro Habib Pakistan, Rafi Ahmed Kazmi who talked on the new 'Supply Chain Management Concept' that emphasises on serving customers 'At the Door Step.'
Further, he stressed on the new system of international barcodes, GSI that have been implemented in Makro with a view to optimise operational efficiency and reduce costs. In another presentation, 'Customer Services' Sardar Fahad Qayyum, Director HR and Franchising, BBQ Tonight provided insight into high quality standard.
Emphasising on the 'Operations and Quality Management' aspects of K&N's operations, the company's Chief Executive Officer, Khalil Sattar gave valuable information on the structure and processes of their organisation. The Head of Logistics, Tuwairqi Steel Mills, Dr Parwaiz Khan in his presentation 'Know how + Do how = ATHC (AL-Tuwairqi Holding Company) spoke on the measures taken by the company to reinforce retention of specialised and experienced professionals.
Omer Morshed from Sidat Hyder Morshed Associates talked on 'The Future of Insurance in Pakistan' and emphasised the changes that the industry is likely to witness in the upcoming months.
Further, Best Practice Day event focused highly on people management. Dr Razi Azmat, Head of the HR, HBL spoke about the progressive practices and schemes that have been implemented in the bank with a strong focus on retention of employees. The Director HR, Unilever Pakistan, Haroon Waheed emphasised the need for 'Employee Engagement' and highlighted the importance of engaging employees.
Engaged employees are more comfortable in their workplace and look for an adult to adult relationship with enhanced commitment and productivity. It also inculcates a mature behaviour, which makes employees feel that they are responsible for their own career progression to a large extent.
The Director, Corporate Affairs, 'Jahangir Siddiqui', Nadia Munawar in her presentation on 'Brand Transition' talked about the significance of branding as the backbone of business strategy and for that there is a need to be consistent with customer experience.
Finally, Mom A Malik, CEO from Agility spoke about Agility's efficient Supply Chain practices. Out of two panel discussions, first dealt with the topic of 'Alternative Energy-An Effective and Efficient Resource' with eminent speakers Dr Jafar Nazir Usmani, Vice President, TMT Ventures; Dr Naseem A Khan, Vice Chancellor, Hamdard University; Muhammad N Duja, Chief Executive Officer, Ducon Energy Management Systems, Mazhar Ilqbal Shaikh, GM, Technical National Engineering Corporation, Robert D'Orr, Director, Anderson Consultancy Pvt. Ltd in the panel.
A lively question and answer session followed the first session. More than 500 representatives of Corporate Pakistan attended the Best Practices Day 2008. This event has been established as a premier forum for sharing the best practices and procedures across companies and industries and creating an atmosphere of sharing. -PR