Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) is an international business hub that is located in Dubai. Since its establishment in 1985, this free zone has extremely expanded to incorporate over 6700 companies worldwide. It is strategically located between Jebel Ali Port and Al Maktoum International Airport, which are surrounded by an efficient and effective 6-lane highway infrastructure. These features make JAFZA a unique economic zone among other trading zones.
Notably, this Economic Zones World is at the center of various continents like Asia, Africa, and Europe. Therefore, it drives the UAE’s economy. JAFZA aims at providing sustainable business environment to all its stakeholders; for instance, supporting entrepreneurial diversities and worthwhile innovations to its partners. It has been encouraging clients’ participation; for example, it offered incentives like tax holidays for over 50 years and even implemented currency uniformity.
Moreover, the organization provides facilities like packing spaces, plots of land for office spaces and leasing, warehouses, which clients use as showrooms and storage facilities. Therefore, the organization offers a wide market to the entire clients.
JAFZA, just like other organizations have been experiencing managerial problems that require a strategic and inclusive proposal to mitigate. The organization has different departments that perform diverse roles in ensuring their clients’ satisfaction. As an international organization, it has employees from all the world’s continents. All cultures are unique. As a result, there is a cultural conflict, which is different ethnicity, countries, and gender.
Some employees believe that their culture is superior to all. This leads to lack of cooperation among the employees and departments in general. On the other hand, the organization deals with clients from varied backgrounds. Evidently, language barrier is a drawback that has affected the economic zone. Consequently, communication among stakeholders has been a major challenge. This has resulted to stereotypes and difficulties in integration among the stakeholders.
Additionally, JAFZA has a bureaucratic arrangement or structure. This scenario has made it difficult to pass information to the required destination without distortion or alteration and omissions. Moreover, there has been a challenge in obtaining feedback as the departments are operating independently. The lack of departments’ link poses a pronounced threat to the communication passage.
This scenario can also lead to dishonesty and untrustworthiness among the firm’s stakeholders. An organization that lacks honesty is surely preparing to fail. In addition, there is lack of information clarity, as not all employees can decode the messages intended to be acted upon. A wrong information interpretation, results to wrong action.
JAFZA has also been experiencing failure in their communication systems. Specifically, the organization cannot trace their clients if they leave and maintain their employees’ details should the employees lose their email IDs. This reveals a fault in the design of the communication system that the firm has been using.
These issues that JAFZA faces requires a proactive approach to ensure the success of the organization. Successful organizations always apply broader solution solving approach. In management, challenges are common issues that firms have to face and deal with pre-emptively.
If organizations can minimize their bureaucratic management and communication procedures, they can effectively enhance cohesive workforce. Subsequently, the employees will focus on achieving the firms’ strategic business objectives alongside meeting their personal goals.
The proposal aims at ensuring that JAFZA’s stakeholders work towards the realization of the firm’s objectives with minimum challenges that their solutions are within their reach. The success of the international business hub relies on the active and full implementation of the suggestions that will be put forward. Precisely, through effective and open communication in an organization, there will be development of strong relationship among the stakeholders such as suppliers, employees, customers, and government agencies.
JAFZA ought to carry out a survey on the means by which the communication and other prominent problems can be mitigated. For example, the firm can use of questionnaires. Stakeholders can fill on the possible solutions on the problems that they experience. The management can obtain varied ways forward by surveys, as this method covers wide clients’ base. Furthermore, the organization can use online services as another method to obtain solutions to their problems.
For example, they can use social sites like Facebook and Tweeter to reach the potential clients. Online services are mostly used by the youthful generation than the aging population. Currently, most employees are youths and this approach will effectively enable the firm to solve the problems it is undergoing. The management can slot in the stakeholders’ opinions in the strategies to eradicate these challenges.
JAFZA should expect the methodologies to propose a reduction in the communication procedures in the firm. This situation will not only minimize information distortion but also foster an open-communication environment. For example, adopting a flat or horizontal organizational structure will increase interaction between various departments that have not been interlinked. As a result, stakeholders will be motivated by this approach, as they will feel that their opinions are valued.
Likewise, there will be an option for improving the information storage systems. This involves improving the design on the communication infrastructure that ensures real time contact with the clients. Instant communication helps in quick and timely decision making thus assisting in ensuring consistent growth of firms.
The proposals on how to improve communication means and systems at JAFZA will eventually result to reduced cost of management. For instance, timely and precious transfer of messages among departments or other stakeholders will be realised.