Sending your child to a Dubai school is an expensive exercise. First you need to compare all the Dubai schools to find the right one for your child, and your wallet.  You can search by location, curriculum and eventually sort by fees and more importantly compare all the extra costs such meals, school fees and extra curricular activities.  According to a recent study by our team at Souqalmal.com, prices range from Dh2,500 a year to more than Dh90,000, depending on the establishment you choose, so it’s not a decision you can take lightly.

But as well as the fees, there are a whole host of other expenses to consider. From school shoes and uniforms to school trips, lunches, craft markets, book fairs, charitable donations, presents for teachers and more; sending a child to school is more than the standard fees.And it’s not just what happens in school hours that you need to consider.

Getting to and from school will cost too. If you are driving there yourself there is petrol to consider, otherwise a regular taxi fare or school bus fees will quickly add up. In addition to that, there is also the cost of what to do with the kids after school.

While non-working mums may shell out for after school clubs such as ballet, musical instrument lessons or extra tuition, working parents may hire the services of nurseries or nannies to care for their offspring after hours. It’s a series of costs that can see some parents spending thousands of dirhams on top of the standard fees.

Hala El Khoury, 29, from Lebanon, estimates she spends an extra Dh15,000 on her four-year-old daughter’s education on top of the Dh23,400 she already spends on fees.

This could double when her seven-month-old son joins her daughter at one of the Dubai schools.  While the extra amount is not a surprise to her, she does feel it is “too much”.

Qatar no longer holds the balance of power when needy banks come seeking equity. The terms of recent investments by the country’s sovereign wealth fund in Russia’s VTB and Germany’s Deutsche Bank suggest that the emirate can no longer extract unusually favourable terms.

Five years ago, a global capital freeze meant cash-rich Qatar could make Barclays and Credit Suisse offer equity at a big discount or hybrid debt with double-digit coupons. True, investing in financial firms in the midst of a historic crisis was risky. All the same, the juicy terms made it easier for Qatar to enjoy outsize returns.

Today it’s a different story. Equity investors are looking for cheap entry points back into the market rally. Qatar isn’t in need as a capital provider of last resort. So there were no bells and whistles with its latest investments. Of the $3.3 billion issue by VTB, the emirate is expected to be allocated shares worth around $500 million, and at the same 10 percent discount offered to existing shareholders as well as sovereign funds from Norway andAzerbaijan.

The careful stage management of Deutsche’s recent 3 billion euros placing presented even less scope for Qatar to bag a big bargain. The new shares were sold at close to the prevailing market price. Qatar picked up at least 100 million euros of the issue, the Financial Times reported. The days when it would bank roll entire offerings may have passed.

Qatar can expect lower returns from its new investments, although they also involve less risk. As a sovereign buyer, part of Qatar’s return from VTB may be political. A closer relationship with Moscow wouldn’t hurt Doha’s foreign policy goals. The two are at odds over how to resolve the situation in Syria. China used its 2011 investment in VTB as a platform to co-invest with the bank in potash miner Uralkali and gold miner Polyus – albeit with mixed success.

Qatar needs to find a home for billions of dollars raised from gas exports each year. Regulation disincentivising banks from investing in each other gives the emirate some advantages. But it is no longer the only answer to the financial sector’s needs.

He cited Singapore’s currency regime as an example that Gulf states could adopt.

Gulf Arab monarchies embraced fixed exchange rate regimes to stabilise their currencies and import low inflation from overseas. But their economic cycles have diverged from the United States in recent years as Asiabecame the Gulf’s dominant trade partner.

“We in the GCC need more than an outdated four-decade old simple uni-instrument, uni-tool macroeconomic policy framework,” Khalid Alkhater, Central Bank (QCB) Director of Research and Monetary Policy, said in a prepared speech seen by Reuters.

“This framework was suitable for the earlier stages of development. However, the world has changed,” said Alkhater, who has recently completed a scientific research study on the topic, adding it did not necessarily reflect the QCB’s official view.

Alkhater is due to speak at the Doha Forum later on Tuesday.

Any change to currency pegs to the dollar would be a sensitive issue in the Gulf Arab region, which has strong political and economic ties with the United States. Comments diverging from the official line are very rare.

Qatar adopted a currency peg after gaining independence from Britain in 1971. It has kept the riyal pegged at 3.64 riyals to the dollar since 2001, when it replaced pegging it to special drawing rights (SDR) used in 1975-2001.

A more active monetary policy may now be needed as Qatar plans to spend $140 billion on infrastructure, partly to prepare for hosting the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament.

As the World Cup draws closer, Qatar’s fiscal spending, its only policy tool, may become difficult to restrict due to the tournament building commitments and pre-planned diversification programmes, Alkhater said.

“We could potentially face a threat of a buildup of inflationary pressures over the next 10 years. Hence, we need additional macroeconomic stabilization instruments, namely monetary policy and exchange rate,” Alkhater said.

Inflation in Qatar climbed to 3.7 percent on an annual basis in April, the highest level since at least 2009, fuelled by rising rental costs. Bank credit expanded by 32 percent on average last year, the fastest rate since the global crisis started in 2007/8.

After days of rumours and user-driven panic about where the service is heading, the search engine giant has confirmed its purchase of the New York-based blogger site, and after a track record of ‘mismanaged’ acquisitions, such as Flickr, the chief promises not to screw things up this time around. In fact, both she and 26-year-old CEO of Tumblr, David Karp, have made several promises to ‘allay’ any concerns users may have.

“We’re not turning purple. Our HQ [office] isn’t moving. Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve – certainly isn’t changing,” writes Karp in his celebratory post. “So what’s new? Simply, Tumblr gets better and faster. The work ahead of us remains the same – and we still have a long way to go – but with more resources to draw from.”

As for Mayer, along with inserting a quirky GIF and the aforementioned ‘We promise not to screw it up’, she vows to run Tumblr independently and help it become even better and faster.

“We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going on,” she writes in a recent blog post. “We will operate Tumblr independently. David Karp will remain CEO. The product roadmap, the team, wit and irreverence will all remain the same, as will the mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve.”

As far as working together goes, Mayer adds that Tumblr can deploy Yahoo’s personalisation technology and search infrastructure to help users discover creators, bloggers and content they’ll love. “In turn, Tumblr brings 50 billion blog posts (and 75 million more arriving each day) to Yahoo’s media network and search experiences. The two companies will also work together to create advertising opportunities that are seamless and enhance user experience,” she writes.

For those of you out there who are still cynical about this long-term partnership – then allow Kipp to quote another sentence from David Karp’s post; perhaps the quirkiest one of all: “We also share a vision for Tumblr’s business that doesn’t compromise the community and the product we love. Plus, both our logos end with punctuation.”

Tumblr. and Yahoo! – now if that doesn’t convince you, nothing will.

*Photo Credit

Interestingly enough, we haven’t been told what measures would be used to get the residents to actually leave, but a similar scheme is happening in Saudi Arabia as we speak. Currently, expats make up 68 per cent of Kuwait’s population – approximately 2.6 million.

Come June 1st, a medical segregation at public health facilities will be imposed – whereby only Kuwaiti patients will be treated in the morning, while all foreigners resort to evening consultations and visits. This particular ruling came after complaints in parliament of Kuwaiti patients having to ‘wait’ for treatment due to the large number of expatriates.

And thirdly, the gulf state has recently started deporting expat residents for traffic offences, including driving without a licence, using their cars to carry paying passengers, jumping a red light for the second time, or breaking the speed limit by more than 40 kilometres per hour. So far, over 1,200 expats have been shown the door since the month-old crackdown began and violators can be deported without an official court order. In a nutshell, Kuwait appears to be on a ‘deportation spree’.

It is already difficult enough for any foreigner to obtain a driver’s licence as – according to a now decade-old decision – one must hold a university degree, earn at least $1,400 a month and have lived in Kuwait for at least two years.

The Kuwait Society for Human Rights described the deportations as “oppressive” and urged the government to stop, as it “violates the basic principles of human rights” and could tarnish the state’s image – particularly at a time when its human rights record is already under scrutiny.

In the same way that Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom maintains control of his application at Facebook, David Karp (Tumblr CEO) will stay at Yahoo! for at least four years, get a ‘windfall’ of cash and retain ‘a lot’ of control over the service. The upside? Yahoo intends to bring years of experience and established infrastructure to Tumblr’s relatively nascent advertising model.

Since Marissa Mayer took over as Yahoo’s CEO last summer, this has been her largest acquisition yet.

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Yahoo needs to be cool again. It needs a younger target audience – preferably one between 18 and 24 years old. It needs to invest more in marketing and become more ‘visibly’ trendy. And one of its main lingering challenges? Its aging demographic.

Kipp is slightly paraphrasing; these aren’t our words. Earlier this week, at JP Morgan’s Global Technology conference, Yahoo’s CFO, Ken Goldman, explicitly highlighted the company’s challenges and its need to slightly shake things up again. As it turns out, Yahoo’s possible $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr – a blogging platform founded by the now 26-year-old David Karp in 2007, with more than 86 million blogs – may serve as their path to ‘coolness’.

And why wouldn’t it? According to analysts, the site has the ’18- to-24-year-old sweet spot’ demographic, along with high levels of credibility among its users. The real question isn’t necessarily whether this move would be good for Yahoo, rather, would it be beneficial for Tumblr’s repertoire in the long run.

Whenever a billion-dollar tech acquisition is imminent, both excitement and heavy criticism are bound to follow. Countless reports have suggested that Yahoo’s board meeting on Sunday evening will decide whether the take-over is the right move for Yahoo!.

Interestingly enough, on the other end of the spectrum, are reports – or rather speculation – about the invasion of an outsider. Quite similarly to how Facebook ‘stole’ the acquisition of Instagram away from Twitter in 2012, rumours suggest that the social network will, could or should swoop in again and place a higher bid for Tumblr.

According to the Business Insider, it is very unlikely. Apparently, the notion that someone within the Tumblr team purposely sparked rumours of this so-called ‘auction’ to try and drive up the acquisition price was a believable one – until they were told that no such auction or offer will be made.

There are a few outcomes to tonight’s meeting. Either Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer will decide that acquiring Tumblr isn’t worth a billion dollars and that a strategic partnership, rather than a full-blown acquisition, would serve them well. On the other hand, Karp could also just as easily raise the price of his company drastically and not accept a penny under – or decide that he’d no longer like to sell it.

Either way, nothing is certain yet, and the fact that Facebook hasn’t yet made a public offer does not mean they won’t. At this point, it’s improbable but not impossible.

*Photo Credit

Since we’ve written about the card possibly a thousand times (here, here, here and here), it’s been called all sorts of names; one of the more positive ones being ‘wallet-stiffener’.

But the day when it will require a more prominent position in our wallet is drawing closer – some time in 2015, we’re led to believe.

According to a report by The National, not only is the Emirates Identity Authority currently ‘in talks’ with the Central Bank of the UAE to enable financial transactions on the card, but the government body is ‘keen’ to give the ID card a bit more functionality than a mere form of authentication.

Kipp feels relatively comfortable speaking for the majority of the population when we say we are just as keen, if not more so.

Currently, the authority is working with banks, telecom companies and other private and public sector entities to eventually maximise the use of the chip, for both the aforementioned entities, and residents.

“The trends show that the cards and payment industry is going more towards convergence, interoperability and integration,” said Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, the director general of the EIA at the Cards Middle East exhibition in Dubai.

The paper’s report further notes that the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Al Hilal Bank are already using the card for some of their services – including opening new accounts and registering for loans. However, Al Hilal is also experimenting with the possibility of using it as a pre-paid credit card.

“There is so much dependency on paper verification. We have to create a paradigm shift in the mindset of the government and government organisations to take this card and enable new and interesting initiatives,” added Mr Al Khouri.

We couldn’t agree more.

The last thing that Europe’s overcrowded aviation sector needs right now is Turkish Airlines. The ambitious flag carrier is doubling its fleet and splashing out on costly marketing in a bid for a slot in the global top 10. As investment stories go, it sounds pie in the sky. But the shares have performed well and a continuing discount suggests there is more to go for.

Travelling on Turkish Airlines was once so bad that locals joked that its initials THY (Turk Hava Yollari) stood for They Hate You. Today, the award-winning airline has become a symbol of Turkey’s wider vision for growth that capitalises on Istanbul’s position as a gateway between east and west. Istanbul’s new airport, due to open in 2017, will be one of the biggest in the world.

The strategy of exploiting Istanbul as a hub has precedent. The big Gulf carriers – Emirates, Qatar Airways andEtihad - have achieved success as each of their home cities have become a nodal point between east and west. Almost a quarter of passengers that fly with Turkish Airlines only enter the country to fly out again. And while Turkish Airlines doesn’t have the deep pockets of its Gulf peers, it does benefit from a large domestic market of 75 million people.

What’s more, the airline’s plans look realistic. The aim to more than double its passengers to 90 million per a year by 2020 implies a 10 percent compound annual growth rate, compared to 16 percent between 2004 and 2012, say analysts at local brokerage IS Investment.

Assuming the demand will come as forecast, the challenge will be to harness it without letting costs rise or quality slip. The power of the main union looks weak after a strike on Wednesday failed to disrupt services and analysts expect it to stay that way. Chief Executive Temel Kotil has denied reports of a boardroom struggle and will take a short break to look after his sick father. It will be important for him to return quickly.

Turkish Airlines shares have risen 204 percent in the past year but they still trade at only 8.2 times forward earnings. Its long-mooted partner Lufthansa, which has been forced to suspend its dividend and cut costs, trades on almost 13 times. And fast-growing Air China trades at around 12 times. The drag is uncertainty over the government’s 49 percent stake. But signs of operational success should both narrow the discount and make it more likely that the overhang will be removed.

Turkey is finally standing on its own two feet. That’s the message Ankara is sending to international investors with the payment this week of its last loan instalment the International Monetary Fund – all $422 million of it. It is the first time in 19 years that Turkey is free from debt to the fund, and it crowns a decade of reform under Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Turkey was in 2002 where many of its European neighbours are today. Its economy was reeling from a banking crisis, and the public purse was stretched. The AKP inherited from the previous government $24 billion of debt to the IMF, conditioned on a plan to fix public finances. Erdogan used the crisis as a chance to do what his predecessors had been unable to: cut spending and start a major privatisation programme.

Independence from the fund will help Turkey sell its juicy investment story. Total government’s net debt has fallen from 71 percent in 2002 to 28 percent of GDP at the end of last year, according to the IMF. Turkey’s banks are amongst the best capitalised in Europe and the country’s five-year credit default swaps already trade inside Italy’s and South Africa’s, suggesting Ankara will soon win a second investment grade credit rating.

Yet Turkey’s shortage of natural resources and a low rate of domestic savings mean it relies on foreign funding to fuel its growth now more than before. The country’s current account deficit was 0.3 percent of GDP in 2002 and it is expected to rise from 5.9 percent last year to 8.4 percent in 2018, according to the IMF.

Turkey’s economic strength now allows it to contribute to the fund’s resources – it has pledged $5 billion to that effect. As long as global risk appetite endures, the country can afford to turn itself from debtor to lender. That very condition is also why breaking free from IMF debt only deserves a cautious cheer.

Until Kipp actually read through the revamped post, sent out to its 200 million users, we hadn’t the faintest idea that ‘prostitution’ was a skill for which you can be endorsed on the professionals’ social network. In fact, what was considerably surprising is that LinkedIn deemed the problem significant enough to impose a blanket ban of such “unlawful activities” in writing.

In reality, this ban isn’t new. The professionals’ network has always forbidden the promotion of escort-related services. Only now, they’ve seen the need to slightly reword it and, in effect, cover up an obvious loophole. Previously, it simply stated that such ‘unlawful’ activities are banned, but as LinkedIn later realised, said ‘activities’ aren’t considered unlawful in all countries of the world.

Under a section in the user agreement, it specifically states that users should not undertake the following:

‘Upload, post, email, InMail, transmit or otherwise make available or initiate any content that: Even if it is legal where you are located, create profiles or provide content that promotes escort services or prostitution’.

Call us naive if you will, but who would have thought that the promotion of escort services – on what essentially is a business network – would turn into a growing epidemic?

“It brings complementarity to Dubai and to the region overall,” Mahmood Ebraheem al Mahmood, chief executive and chairman of ADS Holding, said of Abu Dhabi’s plan.

In an interview, he noted that other successful financial centres operated in close proximity, such as Tokyo andOsaka, London-Frankfurt-Zurich, and New York and Chicago.

Early this month the Abu Dhabi government said it would set up a full-service financial zone on an island near the city’s downtown. The zone would have its own administration and court system to attract banks and other firms from around the world.

The announcement prompted speculation that because of its oil wealth, Abu Dhabi could eventually become a major competitor to the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), currently the Middle East’s top financial centre. The DIFC is little more than an hour’s drive from Abu Dhabi.

Al Mahmood, who is also on the board of Abu Dhabi state investment fund Mubadala, said ADS, a major, privately owned financial firm based in Abu Dhabi, would establish operations in the zone. He took part in preliminary discussions with Abu Dhabi authorities planning the new financial centre.

Business types that are likely to flourish in Abu Dhabi include market-making, money markets, asset management, commodities trading and prime brokerage services – activities that currently lack sophistication and depth in Abu Dhabi, said Al Mahmood.

“We are looking at opening a door of a new set of services that wasn’t here. If you open this door, there will only be more traffic flow,” he said.

Because of the presence of big Abu Dhabi investment firms such as its sovereign wealth fund, the Abu DhabiInvestment Authority with estimated assets of $400-600 billion, Abu Dhabi has traditionally been a centre for “buy side” financial activity.

Now the emirate is providing an environment for sell-side services to cater to the buy-side requirements of Abu Dhabi and the region, Al Mahmood said. “The buy side is really going to attract a lot of the sell side to come in,” he said.

The private sector will be expected to take the leadership in developing Abu Dhabi’s financial zone, instead of leaving it to the government to build the zone, he said. The zone is to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year.

“Private sector players will make a big mistake if they don’t take advantage of that and try to invest there.”

Meanwhile, ADS Securities, a unit of ADS Holding, plans to expand to Singapore and Hong Kong to cater to its clients there and take advantage of growth opportunities in emerging markets in the vicinity of those two hubs, Al Mahmood said.

ADS offers trading in foreign exchange, bullion and precious metals, derivates and fixed income, as well as investment banking; it trades about $6 billion daily, a figure which could more than quadruple in the next three years, Al Mahmood added.

It all began when a shocking Emarat Alyoum article was published; stipulating that the punishment of illegally (without a licence) using certain services on Skype, like making telephone calls, would lead to jail time and a fine of no less than Dh50,000 and no more than Dh1 million.

The article – published in Arabic, only to later be picked up by Emirates247 – states that violators would be subject to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s (TRA) amended Article 71 of the Telecommunications Act.

As always, the reactions were mixed, but primarily stemmed from confusion and disbelief. Kipp, for one, found it extremely suspicious, but not entirely unexpected. Well, much to our relief, a lot of the information in the article was false and inaccurate.

Could you imagine how congested those jail cells would be? Half the country would be locked up, we’d have horrible chores to do and the meals, don’t get me started on how starchy those prison meals can be.

According to emailed statements and three separate Twitter posts by the TRA, many of the facts in the article aren’t factual and Article 71 of the Telecommunications Act does not apply in this context.

“TRA did not state the mentioned penalties in the @emaratalyoum article.”

“TRA confirms that there are a number of factual inaccuracies in the @emaratalyoum article.”

“Reference to the @emaratalyoum article; the provisions of Article (71) do not apply in this case.”

Well, there you have it folks. As it turns out, we won’t be skinned alive for making a phone call or two.

For one, they’ve promised to help combat obesity – after facing heavy allegations and criticism that they in fact, are major contributors to the epidemic – by no longer advertising or marketing to children under the age of 12.

Secondly, they will be transparently labeling all their products with calorie counts; a promise they originally made in 2009 and say they have now fulfilled. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, the company plans to offer low or no-calorie drinks in every one of the 200 markets they operate in.

Muhtar Kent, CEO, is working on changing the (incorrect?) perception that Coca-Cola contributes to obesity, specifically in America. He adds that currently, the world’s largest beverage company does not have ‘healthier’ versions of their product consistently across the world and that needs to change.

“The key here is to ensure that in every market where we operate to have no- or low-calorie beverages of our main brands available,” he said. “We all know that taking in calories is more fun than spending calories and we want to make  spending calories also a little bit of fun.”

A 16-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola contains 210 calories while a Coke Zero, a diet version of the drink, contains zero calories.

If you ask Kipp, while referring to their contribution to obesity as ‘major’ may be purely subjective, all companies producing sugar-laden products are, whether they like it or not, contributors in some shape or form.

To cease all adverts and marketing efforts targeted at children is a good move, nobody can deny that, but frankly, the idea that this initiative somehow encapsulates the solution is slightly ludicrous. Perhaps their efforts would be worthwhile knocking some sense into irresponsible parents.

For all of its wonders and its promise of a tax-free life, Dubai isn’t always a cheap place to live. And as there’s no taxation there’s no requirement for any services to be provided to most of us living here. For those of us fortunate people who have come from (usually) colder climes we often forget what our taxes paid for – infrastructure, social services and other meaningful things which I so often forget. We don’t pay taxes, we don’t receive services. Instead we pay for them based on wants and needs.

My question to you is has it come to a point where those in the Emirate would benefit more from a direct taxation system? It’d be clear and simple; you pay x and you get y. There’d be no additional charges on top unless the person wanted to put their child through a different school or go to a different hospital. Most of all, the beauty of direct taxation is that it is progressive and arguably fairer than a system whereby everybody pays the same no matter their level of income.

In effect, higher earners bear more of the tax burden based on their disposable income. The process is transparent and it’d take a significant burden off lower income employees who are disproportionately affected by all of the indirect fees lived on them.

The benefits could work both ways as Dubai would have a better estimate of what revenues could be spent on infrastructure projects and social welfare schemes. The elephant in the room on the taxation debate is civic rights. Normally, when you pay taxation there’s a certain expectation that you as a tax-payer should have in terms of how and where that money is spent and on the results.

Does direct taxation make sense? If it allows Dubai’s residents to have a clear idea of how much they’ll pay and the services that they’ll receive every month then yes it does. However, what would the implications be for the civic rights of the Emirate’s expatriates?

Taxation is normally considered to be a horrid issue, and one which every elected official the world over tries to avoid discussing. However, the debate may just be worth having if it makes living in Dubai more affordable for the majority of the people who work here and support the city’s existence. If taxation affords us all some transparency in terms of our outgoings and removes all those nitty, gritty costs that keep adding up whilst allowing for the development of good-quality schools and hospitals for expatriates then it may be the most sensible course of action. There may be a better alternative to Dubai’s tax-free living after all.

A British national with Arabic roots, Alex has spent ten years in the Gulf and has lived in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Alex lost his heart to journalism years ago, but he has worked with a range of multinational companies in the technology, energy and financial sector to develop marketing and communications approach to the region. He’s currently based in Dubai but calls Bahrain home.

After all, excessive absenteeism is a costly problem: not only can it cost a company in terms of profitability and productivity, it also can negatively affect other employees’ morale who may have to work overtime to deal with the increased workload of an absent employee. It bodes well for management to find ways to contain the excessive absenteeism, but is making disciplinary measures pricier really the way to do it?

I don’t think so. If a company is having a genuinely difficult time with excessive absenteeism – it is far more important to investigate the cause of this phenomenon, than to just punish an employee for displaying symptoms of a deeper problem. Why is this employee consistently choosing not to come into work? Perhaps this employee has an unfair abusive boss who pushes him to meet unrealistic targets? Or perhaps the working environment is unsatisfactory – from difficult colleagues, to poorly maintained wash rooms. Or does the employee have a personal problem for which they need to take time off to run errands which can only be done during working hours?

The list of possibilities could go on, but the first step to uncovering the issue at stake is communication. A private meeting set up in confidence can allow an employee the space to be open about the cause of their absenteeism. Next, a supervisor should mitigate, if not resolve, the cause. From redistributing the work load, investing in good infrastructure, or granting an employee some personal time off – an understanding could be reached to meet the employee half way.

It may also be a good idea for management to have a conversation with the employee’s direct supervisor. Is the supervisor well equipped and trained to understand what is at the root of her employee’s discontent? Is the supervisor doing anything to contain absenteeism? Which strategies does the supervisor currently employ to get her staff to follow company policy? An organisation which understands the limitations of its line managers may be able to address a larger issue at hand and prevent this from snowballing into a bigger issue in the future.

The simple fact is, if employees are consistently trying to find excuses not to come to work, there is something which is causing them to do so. Slapping on disciplinary measures or sick taxes is nothing but a cosmetic band-aid solution, which will not be beneficial in the long run. Management need to treat their employees as human beings, not one-dimensional robots. If an employee showed significant promise to warrant being hired, extending the courtesy of attempting to understand their psychological motivations can result in higher productivity levels.

Earlier this week, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) released a statement saying that the payment system in the three aforementioned neighbouring areas is now completely in place. To complicate matters further, some of the parking lots are classified differently and the fees are payable through text messages, silver and blue Nol cards, prepaid cards and coins. However, there are also reserved parking spaces designated for employees holding periodical memberships or passes.

In fact, the epidemic of the paid parking system has spread to residential areas, such as Jumeirah Lake Towers as well. An article in Emirates247 suggests that developers in JLT have lately started offering landlords the chance to purchase a parking spot for a rumoured AED50,000 – but there is no price cap – so it could be higher. Failing that, one can rent an additional space for Dh4,500 for a 12 month-period, D2,500 for a six month-period and Dh1,500 for a three month-period.

Kipp finds little sense in this – not that the previous state of parking was entirely functional, as more often than not you’d have a higher chance of finding a dancing mermaid than a parking space – but is the current alternative any better?

Maitha bin Udai, the CEO of RTA Traffic and Roads Agency, insists the move will have a positive bearing on the business community in the area, as it will ‘ease the traffic congestion at peak hours’ as well as prioritise the needs of employees.

“Streamlining the parking slots in this area aims to provide more effective solutions to cope with the growing traffic movement,” she said. Fair enough, but those same employees still have to shell out the cash to park, don’t they? And to make matters worse, those seasonal cards they pay for aren’t valid in other free zone areas where you pay-as-you-park.

She stressed that the RTA would book traffic violators who use the reserved parking areas, adding that the seasonal cards issued for the public parking were not valid for use in the free zone area.

All of this ambiguity and additional payment reminds Kipp of Dubai four years ago. When real estate price escalated to dangerously inflated levels, parking was the first causality. Over-charging for parking without the rationale or advantage of improving road congestion just reflects poorly on Dubai. Let’s hope the decision makers realise that before it’s too late.

Have you managed to secure your own parking slot? If not, what alternative have you taken – or have you resorted to leaving your car at home?

Arabian Business reports that the animal hotel will measure 835 square metres, will provide basic facilities for cats, dogs and other domestic pets and is currently 52 per cent complete. Kipp has also read reports stating that the hotel’s four-legged guests will have their own dressing and grooming rooms, therapy sessions, laundry services, playgrounds, air-conditioning, supervisors and vets.

Therapy sessions, laundry services and dressing rooms? Call us crazy, but that might just be a tad too much.

The animal hotel is part of a AED54.1 million project, aimed at providing services for domestic pets – and more specifically – their travelling owners. It’s due to be completed by the end of the year, possibly around November 2013.

Hussain Nassir Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality, says he hopes the project will “boost both trade and tourism”. Owners leaving their pets behind – in glorified luxury, it appears – can also monitor them online.

So, how many types are there? And, which one best describes you?

‘Styles’ or ‘types’ serve to distinguish one individual from the next. It is what makes them unique, as they stem from within the individual and remain fairly consistent throughout life; These features define what is termed ‘personality’.

In any given workplace, you will find that it is filled with people who have different personalities. Personality types are useful for understanding what motivates the behaviours of different individuals. Management can benefit from such information in that they will be better reach all employees within a company. However, in as much as one would like to think that people fall neatly into one of the several personality types, they may well display characteristics across the different types.  (personality type depending on the situation and their personal needs.)

So, what are the different types?

Type A

Type As are not necessarily focused on, and bothered by details; for them, it’s the big picture that counts. Goal orientation and pragmatism is the approach they take to problem solving. This aspect is what makes them very competitive. Such individuals are likely to be leaders and pioneers of change, posses entrepreneurial spirit and a resilient attitude – they are prepared to take risks. People who work with type A personalities report that it can be difficult because they tend to be bossy, impatient, and take on more than one challenge at a time. The problem with this, is sometimes they expect others to mirror their behaviours. However, these individuals get results and are high achievers – management benefit from their approach and way of working, particularly in terms of meeting business objectives.

Type B

Type Bs are people who thrive from being accepted and appreciated by others. For this reason, their behaviours are characterised by being highly social and good at building relationships. They value being recognised for their accomplishments. People who work with these types, report that they spend more time socialising with co-workers rather than completing work. The inability to focus may also characterise their personality. However, they are enthusiastic and have a natural willingness and ability to influence others and to accept change. Type Bs excel in roles that enable them to sell and market products and services, which could be an aspect of most job roles.

Type C

Type Cs are detail conscious. They are likely to be less competitive compared to both type A and type B personalities. Type Cs are governed by the desire to be ‘right’. Great effort is expended to ensure accuracy. Asides this, their approach to problem solving combines logic and rationality, above all else. People who work with type Cs report that they strive to control their own behaviour, as well as those of others. As leaders, type C personalities prefer to have all information made available to them prior to making any decisions.

Type D

Type Ds have a preference for stability and routine. For this reason they may be most resistant to change, when compared to the other personality types. Engaging in a role or duty that involves them having to undertake repetitive tasks for long periods of time tend not to phase or cause annoyance to Type Ds.  Those who work with type Ds report that they are good listeners, team players and thorough. Besides this, they tend to be organised and would struggle to thrive in work spaces that are  disorganised and cluttered. Type Ds are very good at masking their feelings and may avoid expressing their emotions, even when others are trying to ridicule or take advantage of them.

Personality tests are useful for understanding more about the way you think, interact with others, and cope under stress.

Please note that what has been presented above is only one perspective of how personality can be assessed – there are a few more approaches on offer.  Either way, ALL afford individuals with the opportunity to learn more about themselves and how they relate to others. Not only can this information prove useful in our personal lives, it helps out in our occupational and professional lives too.

If you would like to try out a personality test, there are many available online. However, you should always consult a psychologist for best advice, guidance and feedback regarding such tests. A basic version of a personality test can be found via the link below:

http://similarminds.com/big-5-word-pair.html

Jet is one of India‘s top airlines, but the price paid still looks a bit generous. Etihad is paying $380 million or a 32 percent premium for its minority interest. That’s on top of a 63 percent rise in the share price since mid-September when reports of a deal between the pair first surfaced. That type of premium is usually justified by a change of control. In this case, Jet founder Naresh Goyal will remain non-executive chairman, and retain a 51 percent stake.

Goyal has obviously driven a hard bargain, even though his company badly needed the funds. The airline has to repay $400 million each year. At the end of December, Jet had $134 million of cash on total debt of $2.2 billion and had already been forced to enter sale and lease back agreements ahead of the tie-up. With Etihad, it will have a deep-pocketed partner.

The premium reflects the importance of India to Etihad. Over the past two years, the airline has snapped up minority stakes in Air Berlin, Virgin Australia, Aer Lingus and Air Seychelles, but this is its biggest and most important deal yet. Only three hours away by air, India‘s population is more than 150 times bigger than that of the UAE and can provide traffic for Eithad’s routes to the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The success of Etihad’s bet will depend on the capacity of the two strong characters at the head of each airline to stay on friendly terms, in order to navigate difficult political waters. Goyal long opposed the entrance of foreign airlines into India. And Etihad Chief Executive James Hogan might want a bigger say in how the Indian carrier is run after handing over cash worth two thirds of Jet’s market value. Working together, the pair could be a powerful partnership. If they ever fall out, it could be a disaster.

It’s strange how at times CEOs willfully ignore marketing insights and trends and move forward based on their intuition. Let’s look at a couple of examples of doing it right or doing it wrong  Microsoft vs. Apple, and Walgreens vs. CVS.

Software giant Microsoft seemed to be convinced for a number of years that the business-to-business approach would keep it profitable. The company recently revisited that approach and changed its corporate strategy to embrace the business-to-consumer sector, a move which led to a revolution in corporate identity, but not in the brand or product lines. Things were moving so fast that the average consumer missed most of Microsoft’s messages. For example, the company killed Hotmail and introduced the web-based free email platform Outlook.com. This move seemed a bit strange to me. Hotmail already had great equity in the for-free email market. Why not add features and improve that experience? Outlook’s equity was with the Office suite; why reposition it as free web-based email? The move proved to be a deadly mistake. Though Microsoft is claiming a great number of users, I think numbers will soon stagnate. In the same vein, Microsoft outlets tried to sell the Bing search engine, supposedly to compete with Google. Google it? Or Bing it? It’s a no-brainer. Google owns the word search. The list of missteps goes on. It seems that Microsoft is exhausting its competitive advantage and draining its resources trying to chase Apple and Google. The company that led the world of software is running second or third in every category but software. This tells me that Microsoft should focus on and develop opportunities in areas it’s best at and known for if it wants to continue the legacy of Gates.

My second example is how Walgreens, the long-time pharmaceutical giant with 8,300 stores across the US, has handled the onslaught of CVS, the newcomer, now with 6,000 stores. CVS was formed in 1963, and Walgreens in 1901. Clearly, CVS has experienced phenomenal growth over the past two decades. Did Walgreens start focusing on its competition rather than on creating new opportunities? As CVS rose, Walgreens failed to innovate, and instead sought to maintain its position, while CVS, with its experience of larger retail spaces and wider offerings, offered consumers more value. The key question now is whether Wal-Mart will capture the low-priced medicine segment. It will be interesting to see how CVS and Walgreens react to Wal-Mart’s grab for that opportunity.

In the GCC, which is part of the Middle East, it has been interesting to watch three airlines—Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways—compete for the same audience, all seeking to make luxury their key concept. Emirates is by far the winning creator of that experience in the region as well as a giant player in the worldwide airlines industry. Clearly, Emirates focuses on the in-flight experience and the best destination in securing its leadership. What surprises me is how Qatar and Etihad are trying to offer the luxury concept that Emirates already owns. In what way do they imagine that this competitive approach will set them apart? Does Qatar imagine the tagline “your five-star airline” will deliver the intended essence? I think there is an enormous opportunity for these two airlines to innovate and differentiate to find new ways to serve their customers, rather than trying to imitate Emirates and contest a leadership position that brand already owns. Meanwhile, the Etihad and Qatar brands run third and fourth in the sector, and continue to be known as an option rather than a preference.

While we’re on the subject, let’s talk about Nokia and iPhone. If iPhone fails to showcase more innovations in the next year or two, Nokia could be the next leader. You think I’m crazy? Well, Nokia is heavily focused on innovation. Its only current downside is its Windows operating system, which seems limited in comparison to ISO and Android. The big question is, if Nokia were to accept Android as its operating system, would that make the innovation difference? I think that move would give Nokia new life in the smartphone category

I have always stressed that competitiveness can take you only so far, and that it will never give you the leadership position. Funnily enough, the old guard in a wide variety of sectors seems bent on taking a defensive stance, focusing on competiveness. Such efforts always fail eventually, because innovation and competitiveness are fundamentally incompatible goals.

Pegasus’ listing of around one third of its shares is notable partly for its sheer size. The $360 million offering is priced in the middle of its range, valuing the entire firm at $1 billion. That makes it the market’s biggest flotation since real-estate firms Emlak Konut and Koza Altin went public in 2010, according to Thomson Reuters. The valuation is pretty punchy too – at 14.9 times its trailing earnings, the multiple is in line with the European peer-group average, but a hefty premium to national carrier Turkish Airlines , according to one broker.

What’s more, Pegasus may signal the start of a more steady migration of family-owned businesses to public ownership. The vendor is the Sabanci family’s food-to-health investment firm Esas Holding, which also owns 12 percent of Air Berlin. Unlocking the wealth within Turkey‘s powerful family conglomerates is central to institutionalising the market.

Turkey wants to more than double the number of stock exchange listings to 1,000 by 2023. The potential is clear. The market value of stocks listed on Borsa Istanbul as a percentage of GDP is around half the level of India and two thirds of Germany. A new capital markets law passed at the end of last year brings the process of selling shares closer in line with the European Union and should improve disclosure, making Turkish companies better IPO candidates, says PricewaterhouseCoopers.

For now, the equity capital markets pipeline is dominated by secondary offerings from the government, possibly including Turk Telecom and Vakifbank. A smooth ride for Pegasus could at the very least encourage Ankara to finally sell off its remaining 49 percent stake in Turkish Airlines. At best, it could prompt Turkey‘s other business dynasties to introduce some new big names to the market.

Since the political unification of Saudi Arabia in 1932, almost four generations of Saudi social history have come to existence. The first two generations lived through the formation of the state and experienced the manifestation of the oil economy boom and welfare, but was not that much concerned with the slowly emerging social changes.

It was only through the third generation, around the end of the 1970s, that Saudi society started feeling the pressure and disgruntlement from some members of the community, who saw that the path of modernity adopted by the state is not the kind of change they would accept and aspire to. In fact, an incident that shook the country, the shocking raid of Makkah’s holy mosque by the Islamist militant Juhayman Alotaibi, was considered a disturbing sign of confrontations to come.

After that, Saudi Arabia’s progress toward modernity moved in a very slow and gradual pace through simple means, such as the newly developed media and the opportunity to travel abroad. Foreign workers and consultants started coming to the Kingdom to fill the labor gap without making a major disturbance to the social equation.

But perhaps what changed the speed of cultural change back again was the acceleration in economic shifts. The dramatic drift from a state driven economic society to a more open and free economy has left a strong social impact by losing much of the security provided by state care.

By losing the inherited sense of stability and security of a patriarchal economy, many Saudis started blaming foreign workers and western countries for their misfortunes. There were strong demands for hasty Saudization plans and the call for independence from the control of international organizations, rather than finding remedies in adopting more flexible modifications.

After much delay in the third generation’s social development, the young Saudi generation finds itself facing far more accelerating social changes. However, family values shaped by religion and traditions are securely enveloped in what can be described as a time capsule, and keeps us at bay from total change and outside influences.
Many young Saudis became aware that they are responsible for creating more autonomy for themselves — to bypass the inherited problems of delaying much needed social change. This has to happen so they can pursue the goals that their education abroad and various life experiences have led them to expect. But while some believe they are changing too fast and in the wrong direction, many others feel that society is not changing fast enough for them.

Supposing you have an empty water bottle, with your sole purpose in life to fill it with water. Every day, month or year, you are able to pour some water into the bottle. The first question is: where do you get the water? Water in this analogy is obviously your wealth and by working you create wealth; whether as an employee or an entrepreneur.

The purpose of the bottle is that it captures your stored wealth – it is not your business, although a lot of business owners seem to believe that their business is their wealth – this is only true in a minority of cases. In most cases, your business is the source of your wealth, but not your actual wealth. Business owners have to find ways of capturing their wealth, so they can exit their business at a time of their choosing, with the equivalent of the wealth they have created.

This is harder than it seems, as business owners spend so much of their time and energy creating and working in their business, that the question, “how do I get my wealth out of the business?” is often put to the bottom of the agenda.

I advise business owners to think there are two companies – I call them company A and company B. Company A is the business – its purpose is to create wealth (it is the source of wealth) and company B is the bottle – its purpose is to capture and store the business owner’s personal wealth. Unless the business owner has both companies, they run the risk that wealth will not be available at the time they want it.

In reality, the simile holds good for employees, as well as business owners. As an employee, you go to work every day, and at the end of the month, you pick up your salary (and maybe, if you’re lucky, at the end of the year, you’re given a bonus, too). This money goes into your bank account, and, unless you make a clear commitment in the opposite direction, it will flow out just as quickly, leaving you with little or nothing at the end of each month or year.

There are a few steps each employer can take before setting up that interview.

a)   Go through the CV and their LinkedIn profile and see if there are any mismatches.

b)   Prepare a list of questions that the interviewee would only know if they actually worked or experienced a certain role – the devil is in the details.

c)   References – there are two types of references; one would be the candidate’s previous employer and others would be his or her ex-colleagues. The reason why these two are both pertinent is because they usually have completely different – but equally important – things to say.

-The employer might be a bit harsh if things did not end well and might miss some important details; such as “this person is always late to work and missed a few deadlines, but they are meticulous”. This is also something social reputation won’t be able to tell you.

-The ex-colleagues may support the candidate’s social reputation to an extent, but they might also share insight that social platforms cannot show you. For example; the candidate might appear friendly and social; but does that make them a team player?

d)   Check the candidate’s Facebook timeline and Twitter to get a feel of what that person is like. Perhaps he/she is great at what they do, but won’t fit within your company’s environment. This may seem like a long process, but all you need is a few minutes on each platform to get a feel of what or how they would fit in.

Last, but not least, would be to look out for patterns in the candidate’s job history. Did he/she move jobs a lot? Did he/she have long periods of time without a job? This is also important as it can say a lot about their future commitment to your company.

Finally, once the social platforms have been screened, information put together and the interview is conducted; go with your gut feeling. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

When Sarah isn’t busy meeting clients and deadlines with Prototype, she’s got her detective cap on; finding new social networks as well as testing out new features and spreading the word along the way. You can reach her at sarah@prototype.ae.

We got thinking about what we would like to add to the list and here are our top three business ethos we would like to revive.

No more FOMO

FOMO otherwise known as ‘fear of missing out’ refers to an increasingly common worry workers have of being excluded from office events: the feeling of not being involved in major projects, in meetings or even in after-work socialising events.

The result? You feel crushed by a constant need to be switched on. You check your office email the first thing in the morning and the last thing before you go to bed. You never ever call in sick, even if you are on the coughing and sneezing up a storm. You work through your lunch break and only take vacation when HR forces you to.

If that describes you, you shouldn’t be alarmed, FOMO is a common symptom of our tiring modern day work culture, which is why Kipp would like to turn the clock back on this particular practice and go back to the days of when job security wasn’t just a fantasy. The days when taking a two-month vacation did not mean you were dispensable, but that you really earned a good break. The days when you could afford to take a day off from work if you were unwell because you did not live under constant fear that your colleagues will get passed over for a good project.

Corporate loyalty

There was a time when a resume which listed years upon years of employment with one employer was an indication of integrity, loyalty and stability. Now, it is more likely to be considered complacency and a sheer lack of ambition or drive. Kipp would rather go back to the days when growing with a company was rewarded and looked upon as an achievement. Sure, there are certain draw backs linked to getting into your comfort zone, but if you are putting in the hours, why shouldn’t the familiarity and loyalty you show to an organisation be considered anything other than positive?

Personal relationships with management

It is an unavoidable fact, the smaller a business is, the more intimate the relationship between management and employees tends to be. As more and more businesses went from family-run to corporate levels, real genuine relationships between the owner or CEO of the business with his staff seemed to ebb away too. When was the last time you had a real encounter with your CEO or MD? And no, those fleeting moments in the elevator do not count.

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Do you know the saying ‘no news is bad news’? I’m sure the people at Emaar do, and I’m sure that they will be judging the coverage of their last property sale over the past couple of days. There are only a few people who will not have been aware of Emaar’s latest launch of the Mira development, comprising villas that cost as little as a one million dirhams or less.

The project garnered wall-to-wall media coverage locally and globally. If you’ve been hiding in a cave or under a rock for the past couple of days, watch this clip of Emaar’s Mira villas sale and see for yourself.

From an organizational point of view, the sale on Saturday was a disaster. Several days beforehand the warning signs were there for all to see (and read about). For at least two days before the opening of Emaar’s sales office at 7am on Saturday morning several hundred people were already waiting, camping even, to purchase a villa in Emaar’s Reem residential community. Most of those people, it seems, were construction workers who were hired by real estate investors to ensure a place at the head of the queue for the 200 or so villas which would be released.

As D-day approached the scene was to become even more chaotic, with ‘scuffles’ as queue-jumpers took their chance to steal into the line. Local paper 7Days described how police had to be brought on-site to control the chaos; three police buses, six police SUVs and an ambulance were parked up outside Emaar’s office to restore order after Emaar’s own security failed to.

In scenes that have been described as a cattle market, buyers were told by Emaar that instead of being sold on Saturday morning as advertised, townhouses would instead be sold ‘tomorrow’. As is often the case here, tomorrow doesn’t mean tomorrow, rather a couple of hours after. Unfortunately, many of those people who wanted to buy for themselves took these announcements at face value and left.

Judging by the ensuring coverage today, most of those homes have been sold to real estate agencies that are already looking to flip them for upwards of 30 per cent premium online (prices per square foot at Emaar’s nearby development Arabian Ranches are double that of the Mira villas, which went on sale Saturday).

But while Emaar savours a PR coup, what damage has been done to its reputation? Does the company want to be viewed as incompetent if they failed to foresee the demand and ensuing events, or unscrupulous calculating if they did know what was likely to unfold on Saturday morning?

Why talk about it again, you ask? Well, it’s simple.

Last week, a certain brand in Dubai was excited about unveiling a new product and decided to adopt the evidently ‘trendy’ strategy of almost exclusively targeting ‘influential bloggers’ and other active members of the social media community. Why? To create buzz.

“That’s their strategy Kipp, if they want to invite bloggers, what’s to stop them from doing so,” we were told. Well, that would be all well and good, except for the fact that the media – you know, those that do it for a living – were essentially left out of it. Apparently, this brand will be holding an event for us two weeks later. You see, it’s not the strategy that upsets me, it’s the chronological order.

At this point, you may have already started to silently (or perhaps not so silently) label me as a ‘sour journalist’ that wasn’t invited to the party. Well, the truth is, attending events, conferences and even press trips is nothing more than work. Ask any journalist that attends 14 conferences a week and they’ll tell you it’s just another day at the office – there is no glamour – and certainly no intent to hunt for ‘goodies’.

Now, everyone has their own personal and professional views on bloggers – but the question of whether ‘bloggers are journalists’ still lives on. When speaking about our ‘digital counterparts’, marketers often use phrases like ‘influential following’ and ‘active’ social media presence to entice the brands they work endlessly to promote. It’s hard to really quantify what ‘influential’ means in this context, but I won’t digress.

What was astonishing for Kipp to hear was that ‘a blogger is a type of journalist’ because – aside from having studied, been trained and actually hired for the job – we apparently deliver the same quality of results. Really? In 2010, both PRWeek and PRNewswire teamed up on a study and discovered that 52 per cent of bloggers considered themselves to be journalists – and in essence felt entitled to everything that came with the package.

Kipp isn’t too surprised at this statistic, but we’re really unsure of who to blame.

Have brands really begun to believe that the media would be willing to trail behind bloggers; having to quote them when writing about something they’d been introduced to or told about before we were? Well, I can’t speak for fellow journalists, but one thing’s for sure – I have no intention of eating scraps off the floor.

Share your thoughts.

When Kipp spoke to David Robert, CEO of Great Place To Work Gulf (GPTW), he told us the first and most important step towards building a high-trust working environment is for the management – from the CEO down to the senior staff – to commit themselves entirely to it. According to him, it’s a trait they’ve seen in every single one of their ‘top companies to work for’.

GPTW Gulf is an affiliate of the global research, training and consultancy firm that recognises the best workplaces in over 45 countries. You might have heard of them through their ‘FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies To Work For’ list or – in the case of the gulf branch – the ‘Top Companies to Work for in the UAE’. In 2013, Microsoft got the first spot in the latter.

Previously, only the big names with large offices were able to qualify for this assessment – but the institute has recently decided to dig deeper and start searching for the UAE’s top small and medium companies (SMEs). The annual list will be based on confidential feedback of their staff and an independent culture audit of their HR practices by the Institute.

“We started to get inquiries from companies with only 30 or 40 employees but still wanted to qualify because they believed they were doing great things for their corporate environment and employees,” says Robert. Quite simply, it’s all about human relationships. Whether you’re an employee in France, the UK or Dubai, the same behavioural patterns in the workplace are going to drive your motivation.

If you really want to know whether the company you work for is great, then stop and ask yourself a couple of questions. Do you feel like just another number? Is your management consistent with their policies? Are you normally included in decisions that affect your immediate environment? Do you feel trusted and supported?

“There are lots of ways to look at this. I’d say that at all great places to work, we see consistency across different areas – the first being complete commitment from the CEO to the senior management towards creating a desired corporate culture,” adds Robert.

EFG Hermes is in a strategic limbo. The Middle East‘s top investment bank was to spin off part of its assets in a merger with Qatar‘s QInvest. The Egyptian regulator, though, appears reluctant to make a decision until accusations of corruption against the bank’s co-CEOs are resolved. With bankers betting the deal has been sunk by politics, EFG must now focus on closing the discount to the sum of its parts on its own.

The QInvest-EFG deal was driven by a desire to salvage as much value as possible from the bank following the uprising that precipitated the end of the Mubarak autocracy two years ago. The ties between EFG’s executives and the old regime have weighed heavily on the bank since. Its shares slumped 62 percent – almost three times the decline of the local index. Analysts estimate that EFG now trades at a discount of between 20 and 30 percent to the sum of its parts.

The bulk of EFG’s value is split between two disparate divisions. Its majority stake in commercial bank Credit Libanais, acquired in 2010, contributes roughly 62 percent of the group’s revenue. The investment bank brings in the remaining 38 percent. There are limited synergies between the two branches, but Credit Libanais’ stable business kept EFG profitable until the last quarter, when the Egyptian lender recorded a net loss. EFG also has a private equity unit and a minority stake in local real estate developer SODIC.

A breakup and sale of those assets would make sense if QInvest’s bid to buy the investment banking assets got a green light from the authorities. EFG did not exercise its option to buy a further 25 percent of Credit Libanais last year. Now, off loading a Lebanese bank at an attractive valuation may be hard, given the renewed political crisis in Beirut.

Without the regulator’s blessing, EFG has little option but to cut costs aggressively. The firm is well capitalised, with a debt-free balance sheet. The problem is that it will take time before the business outlook improves in Egypt. EFG has already cut its operating expenses 20 percent since the uprising. Keeping its independence will be a challenge.

I’m not big on surveys. There, I’ve said it. Journalists tend to like them because they fall into our laps in the form of semi-polished news handed on a silver platter. The downside is that all the statistical value they can offer goes out the window when you’ve got opposing human sentiment to argue with.

I recently attended Asda’a Burson-Marsteller’s (PR agency) conference to announce the results of the fifth edition of the Arab Youth Survey – an annual study that taps into the mindset of the Arab world’s largest demographic. The entire study is publicly available and there’s no doubt that it provides useful insights for those interested – even with the sample size from each country being arguably small, e.g., 200 from Egypt and 250 from the UAE.

Kipp was sincerely less cynical about its findings for one particular reason. We were told that interviews conducted with the survey’s three thousand participants (only Arab nationals between 18-24) were all held face-to-face – comissioned by polling firm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) - and no feedback was taken digitally.

Sixty percent were men and forty percent were women and no expatriates were surveyed.

To encapsulate the results of the study, ten major findings were highlighted. You can read them all here, but some of them included the majority of Arab youth feeling quite optimistic about their future; the UAE being chosen as a role model nation and most favourable country to live in, rising living costs still being their biggest concern, Arab youth being extremely influenced by social media and newspapers and TV losing their ‘trustworthy’ titles. Also, 88 percent of Emiratis feel the UAE, as a country, is heading in the right direction.

Admittedly, like any other survey, there were some gaping holes and unanswered questions. The study covered a wide range of topics but because of an absence of a specific focus, it did not delve as deep into each area as we might have hoped. For instance, we know that the UAE has been voted as ‘most favourable’ among Arab youth (frankly, no surprises there) but what we missed out on is the precise reasoning behind the choice.

Similarly, Arab nationals are apparently losing trust in newspapers and looking to websites and social media for reliability and influence, but we don’t know why nor do we know what constitutes a website (newspapers have websites too). For that matter, what constitutes news? Most Emiratis are proud of where their nation is heading but how are they judging that?

We know that ‘fair pay’ is still among the highest priorities of Arab youth but once again, how do we quantify ‘fair’? After all, there tends to be a substantial financial gap between government jobs and private sector ones.

There are still many more questions to be answered but if the theme of the study – “our best days are ahead of us” – is anything to go by, it looks like the Arab youth is significantly more optimistic than they were last year. The full report is embedded below.

Click here for the top ten findings of the Arab Youth Survey 2013

More specifically, I asked him how he felt about Facebook possibly rolling out a worldwide scheme (it’s in testing mode in the US and the UK as we speak) whereby users could message any person they wanted – be it a celebrity or just someone outside of their friend list – for a price.

Currently, in the UK, a select number of users can contact non-friends for about 4 dirhams (71 pence) and celebrities for close to 60 dirhams (10 pounds). Anyone under 18 can neither pay for a message nor receive unsolicited messages. Essentially, what Facebook is doing, is allowing us to bypass people’s privacy settings. Boy, they’ll never hear the end of it.

My colleague’s reaction, like others I’ve asked, was priceless. It was a muddled mixture of bewilderment, amusement and confusion. It would seem that our friend Zuckerberg (CEO and founder of Facebook) has shot himself in the foot with this one, I thought. Having repeatedly said in articles, blogs, interviews and to really anyone who would listen, that ‘Facebook is free and always will be’, he’s created a culture of freedom and connectivity. You can’t take that back Zuckerberg.

Next Page Kipper

A wonderful story dropped into my lap last week, written by the wonderfully talented Nadeem Hanif at The National Newspaper. The story, which was entitled ‘Dubai cost of living falls as rent, utilities and clothes drop in price’ began as follows:

Despite a widely held belief that rents and household bills have been on the rise, the Inflation and Consumer Price Index 2012 compiled by Dubai Statistics Centre showed inflation at minus 1.71 per cent.

Rents fell by 7.65 per cent, said the report, and were the main contributor to a group reduction of 6.19 per cent in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel.

After listing the main jaw-dropping statistic, which was supplied as part of Dubai Statistics Centre’s Inflation and Consumer Price Index for 2012, Nadeem went on to list the other official numbers for price fluctuations. If you have the time, do read the original piece to see if you agree.

What Nadeem then does is a delight to the readers out there. He puts the official statistics into context by doing his own anecdotal research:

Consumers say they are struggling to feel a drop in living costs, despite the official figures.

“I do feel it’s getting more expensive here and it looks like it will continue to do so,” said Amanda Friars, from the UK.

“I think the years of low rent are over now anyway so this year I’m expecting to pay more for that, as well as the usual price increases in food and drink that seem to happen every year.”

Here is my list of five tell tale signs that your job is ruining your life; some of which are all too familiar to me. I guess the old adage is true: hindsight is 20/20. If reading this also resonates with you, then it may be time to step back a little and question whether your job has become your life rather than what you do for a living.

You brag about time spent at the office

Underneath the moaning about long hours, workaholics shroud a hidden pride about the amount of hours they spend at the office. Strangely, they treat it as a competition among colleagues. For the most part, it’s one sided – who would want to be the winner of that game?

You can’t leave emails unanswered

In the age of the smart phone, the majority of us are guilty of this. Being connected is often unavoidable, but having the willpower to not read or reply to emails is imperative to guarding your days away from the office. You can never recharge if you never disconnect.

You see your colleagues more than your family

While this is often inevitable, if you find you are arriving home every night after your kids have already gone to bed then some major adjustments to your work ethic definitely should be made. Life is fleeting, and missing first words and first steps is never a price that should be paid to ensure projects are executed.

You skip or reschedule major life events for work commitments

I know people who changed their wedding date because they couldn’t leave work. Can you imagine rescheduling one of the most important milestones of your life to finish reports and make Power Point presentations? I’m sure many of you actually can, and that many of you actually have.

You don’t remember the last time you tried something for the first time

This realisation is what actually what led me to leave the corporate world in search of something that forced me to continuously learn different things. In a career we develop tunnel vision and focus all our energy into being good at one thing – our job. Employees who step out of this mindset and seek new experiences outside of the office not only lead more interesting lives, but are also more balanced than those who only receive mental stimulation from their jobs.

Maya Itani is a former brand manager at a multinational consumer goods company. She left the industry to co-found The Curve (thecurve-me.com), an online marketplace for adult classes in Dubai. She is still struggling to write a bio that doesn’t include her job title. 

We’re talking about fast, agile and stealthy predators that, remarkably, can take on a prey that is considerably larger than them because of their massive skulls and strong jaw muscles. They are capable jumpers both horizontally and vertically, outstanding climbers – often climbing while dragging heavy kills, which they hang on trees from which they then descend headfirst.They are also very good swimmers.

Much has been written about leopards; about their diversity, origin, habits and behaviour. They have been the subject of much discussion and debate, and have earned considerable attention and praise.

These beautiful predators are exceptionally adaptable, and this is perhaps the most significant trait they possess. While they are mostly associated with the savannah and the rainforests, they can be found as far as the Russian Far East, where temperatures reach lows of −25 °C, but they are equally as comfortable living in some of the world’s most humid rainforests and at the edges of some arid deserts.

Speaking of adaptability, nothing is more telling than their spots. The well-known proverb, ‘a leopard cannot change its spots’, is something that most of us have heard many times in our lives, yet a look at the different types of leopards suggests that this animal, as a matter of fact, has a variety of spots, patterns and colours.

Some have circular rosettes, others have more square ones; some are large, while others are small. Even the colour palette is different with yellow coats, pale and cream ones, darker golden hues all the way to the melanistic leopards that are totally black.

Admittedly, the above is the work of evolution over long stretches of time, though at times the behavior and the coat may show a sudden swerve, such the sighting of a rare ‘strawberry’ leopard in South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve, that confirms to us that this magnificent animal, in its continuous journey of adaptation, is capable of, quite literally, changing its spots.

Interestingly enough, the airline has had this plan running since last November (or January: conflicting reports) but this announcement has gained recent attention for two reasons:

Reuters reports that 1) the airline has just launched international flights to neighboring American Samoa, and 2) it coincided with a report by a Norwegian economist suggesting that airlines should charge obese passengers more. Now, not only does this plan affect the airline’s customers but its CEO, Chris Langton, makes two strong and arguably bold points in one sentence.

“There is no doubt in my mind that this is the concept of the future,” he says. “This is the fairest way of you travelling with your family, or yourself. People who have been most pleasantly surprised are families, because we don’t charge on the seat requirement even though a child is required to have a seat, we just weigh them,” Samoa Air Chris Langton tells Australia’s ABC News radio.

Langton says ‘aeroplanes always run on weight, irrespective of seats’. In essence, the more weight on the plane, the more fuel it will burn – hence airlines charging fliers for extra baggage weight. It’s not that the aircraft can’t handle it, it’s simply that more fuel will be consumed.

Tony Webber, a former Qantas Group chief economist between 2004 and 2011, confirms Langton’s argument (not directly) and poses his own set of reasons to back it up. “The rationale is simple. The fuel burnt by planes depends on many things but the most important is the weight of the aircraft. The more a plane weighs, the more fuel it must burn,” he writes. “If the passengers on the aircraft weigh more, the aircraft consumes more fuel and the airline’s costs go up.”

Webber makes another argument that airline fuel costs have increased significantly since the year 2000 ‘not just because of higher oil and jet fuel prices – although these are by far the most important drivers of higher costs – but also because the average adult passenger is carrying a bit more heft’.

On the positive, there have been some major technological developments (like the one below) and Tesco’s 3D Food Printer. We haven’t listed all of them, but here are some of the important ones below.

To keep up with the ever-changing needs of their readers, The Guardian has taken an enormous step into the digital abyss. The British paper is locking horns with Google Glass by offering its own augmented reality glasses called The Guardian Goggles; offering endless insight, opinions and ‘immersive liberal insight’.

He left us with a wealth of good advice that has come to be thought of as underhand or manipulative – hence the terms “Machiavellian” and “Old Nick” (as a reference to the devil). Some of this arises from his assertion that “men are wretched creatures, so you do not need to keep your word to them… A prince should not deviate from what is good, if that is possible, but should know how to do evil, if that is necessary. He should be a fox in order to avoid traps and a lion in order to frighten off wolves. Those who simply act like a lion are stupid.”

I don’t think his advice as underhanded, and would commend him to you as someone who has provided some very senior leaders (today’s CEOs) with some very sound guidance that has stood the test of time and can help you when thinking about your own life and business strategy.

I think his most famous book is The Prince, and there are several quotations that spring to mind, but I am going to focus on just two.

“A prince who is not himself wise cannot be well-advised. Good advice, whomever it comes from, depends on the shrewdness of the prince who seeks it, and not the shrewdness of the prince on good advice…. When trouble is sensed well in advance it can be easily be remedied; if you wait for it to show itself, any medicine will be too late because the disease will have become incurable… political disorders can be quickly healed if they are seen well in advance (and only a prudent ruler has such foresight). When for lack of a diagnosis they are allowed to grow in such a way that everyone can recognize them, remedies are too late.”

What Machiavelli is saying is that you can’t make a foolish person wise by the provision of good advice. It’s only a shrewd person who can see the value in any advice. Not only that, but that a leader must be able to foresee problems before they arise – any fool can see them once they have arisen. By which time, of course, they may not be solved so easily.

This is not just relevant to our leaders – we, too, have to accept its common sense. Every magazine and newspaper, every TV channel, every financial website and e-newsletter seems to contain financial advice – we are bombarded by financial information, with experts making predictions about the likely direction of this and that.

If we pay attention to all this ‘advice’ we will certainly lose money – it would be like backing all the horses in one race – you can guarantee to back the winner, but also the losers. We have to make up our own mind about what is sensible and then take advice about the details. Don’t let other people decide your direction.

“The populace is by nature fickle – it is easy to persuade them of something, but difficult to confirm them in that persuasion. Therefore one must urgently arrange matters so that when they no longer believe they can be made to believe.”

We see this ourselves – confidence is contagious and so is pessimism. It’s easy to persuade us that things are getting better or worse, but our belief is not conceptual – it’s tangible. To be sustainable, belief has to be supported by personal and direct experience. In the final reckoning, we believe what’s in our wallet; how our share portfolio has performed; whether we have been made redundant; how difficult it is for us to buy a property at a reasonable price.

Machiavelli’s book is full of good advice, and I recommend you read it. We all need advice, especially in areas that are important to us, but in which we lack sufficient expertise to make sound decisions – however, we cannot delegate the primary responsibilities of our life to someone else – we have to be accountable for these decisions and fill in the details with advice.

There cannot be anything more important to us than our own lives and those of our families; they depend on our effectiveness, our success and our ability to earn. Safeguarding our families against the immediate risks of illness and death and the longer-term risks of an insufficiently funded retirement require personal wisdom and technical advice – speak to a financial adviser to ensure your future is as secure as it possibly can be.

Peter Ellen is Operations Director at Nexus Insurance Brokers www.nexusadvice.com and has extensive experience in the area of sales management and leadership, sales and sales management development and operations management. He has worked in the industry for 28 years in senior management positions and as a consultant, working with regulators, product providers and distributors. To contact Peter for any insurance and investment advice please email him at peter.ellen@nexusadvice.com

Basically, they sell quirky and fun things that you wouldn’t normally find in traditional retail is how he puts it. His enthusiasm and belief in what he does is both audible and impressive, I must say. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that Desado has just crossed over 100,000 members in just under three months of operation. A leap that Chbib says he’s extremely happy about.

Aside from online advertising, they rely heavily on the ‘viral factor’ to spread the word and get ‘direct registrants’ to his site. A talking coffee mug that says “Oh, that’s hot” when you pour in coffee is something you’d probably share on a social network whether or not you buy it, he says.

Oh Kipp, not another e-commerce site, we hear you moan. Surely there are enough already, aren’t there? How can the market possibly not be overcrowded yet? Well, fear not; that’s the first question we posed to Chbib – who also happens to be Sukar’s ex-CEO (an established fashion site in Dubai).

“I can see why you’d think that,” he says. “And if you were talking specifically about the fashion part of e-commerce then I could partly agree with you that it’s getting closer to saturation – particularly because of the current big players in the market – but generally speaking as an industry, we’re nowhere close to it,” he insists.

Chbib was born and bred in Germany and so he brings a lot of Europe’s market insights and expertise to the table. He says that Europe isn’t even close to being overcrowded in terms of e-commerce despite the high market ratio it shares with traditional retail. “Basically, the Middle East is where Europe was 10 or 15 years ago, and where the US was about 15 to 20 years ago,” he says.

Penguin famously hates spam, spammers and anything spam-like. Spam to him is like, well, Spam. In fact, Kipp worries about angering Penguin because one of the activities he frowns upon is unnecessary repetition of keywords. And we’ve been saying sp*m quite a bit. The point is, as an online site that heavily relies on its traffic, the last thing you want to do is get on Penguin’s bad side.

The initial release had dishonest (that’s fair to say) websites in a digital panic frenzy, mostly because they engaged in ‘keyword stuffing’ and ‘shallow link’ schemes. According to this month’s report by Portent, a Seattle-based Internet marketing agency, Penguin’s accuracy is getting stronger and tougher by the day. It’s meant to tackle “the stuff in the middle;” between fantastic, high quality content and spam.

‘In the initial Penguin update, the only sites we saw penalised had link profiles comprised of more than 80 percent manipulative links. Within two months, Google lowered the bar to 65 percent,’ states the report.

A few months later, Google started to both automatically and manually penalise websites that had 50 percent manipulative links. Matt Cutts, described as a distinguished engineer at Google, stressed that Penguin shouldn’t be referred to as a penalty, as it’s actually just an algorithmic change that demotes the ranking of ‘cheating’ sites.

In layman’s terms, all webmasters, marketers and SEO professionals need to clean up their act. If you want to keep Penguin happy, don’t pay for links, participate in link farms, participate in content farms, build websites purely for link building, place excessive links within ‘comments’ sections of websites or really anything that doesn’t directly ‘market your product or spread relevant information’.

Instead, focus on actually engaging with the community, deal with reputable directories and for the love of god, be patient enough for organic growth to kick in. The misconception is that there is a war on SEO, when in reality – at least according to Cutts – it’s a war on spam.

He says there are people who continue to sell links, despite the fact that they don’t do any good. “That’s part of how SEO has a bad reputation,” he says.

If your content is worth it, it’ll spread itself.

Today, Kipp attended a roundtable discussion organised by Souqalmal.com (the comparison site Ambareen had founded) to bring the media, parents and school representatives face-to-face to discuss the shortcomings (for a lack of a better word) of private schools in this country and possibly the infrastructure of legislation that governs their practices. It was a heated discussion, to say the least. Heated, but fair.

I’ll be honest with you Kippers. When we left the discussion, we had a severe case of information overload. Interesting information, opinions and concerns no doubt – but an overload nonetheless. Also, towards the end, we had only just begun to scratch the surface of the issue, so there is a lot to relay and much of it was inconclusive, but Kipp will relay some of the more interesting points to you.

For starters, most of the contacted schools and representatives declined to be present (one can guess why) but the ones that agreed to attend were Clive Pierrpont, Director of Communications at taaleem, Saleha Khateeb, Registrar at Horizon School, Jonathan Price, Head Teacher at Jebel Ali Primary School and Diane Thorson, an assistant manager at GEMS Education.

The infamous 500 Dirham fee

Kipp was well aware of how sticky this subject is, but until we attended this morning’s discussion, we had no idea just how sticky. Some strong opinions were voiced – including our own – and the general notion was that not only does this expense seem unnecessary and unaccounted for from the parents’ point of view, but with many schools, it’s also a matter of unethical practice. Parents around the table shared their horror stories of being bulldozed into applying to a number of different schools – all of which asked for the 500 dh processing fee – only to later find their child had no chance of getting in.

It’s true that every school is obliged to pay a 500 dirham fee to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai each time a new student is enrolled, but that still leaves a lot of money unexplained and unjustified.

In a nutshell, most parents end up paying thousands of dirhams in ‘processing fees’ just for the mere hope of their child getting a decent placement. On the other hand, as Jonathan Price, Saleha Khateeb and Clive Pierrpont pointed out, while they do charge that 500 dirham fee, they make sure not to accept ‘registration requests’ unless there’s a valid chance of admission – meaning they don’t capitalise on false hope. And even then, they’re honest with parents about their refund policies.

Expatriates make up approximately two-thirds of Kuwait’s population (68%) and Labour Minister Thekra Al-Rasheedi said these cut backs are part of a nationwide initiative to ‘eliminate the phenomenon of a marginal workforce’ and restore the demographic equilibrium of the country. Currently, the state has about 600,000 domestic workers and slightly less than one million Kuwaitis of working age.

If it all goes according to plan, the expatriate population of Kuwait will be cut from its current three million (approximate) to one million by 2023. From April 1st (no, I don’t think it’s an April’s fool), Kuwait will cease to issue new work visas, but the fate of those already working in the country is still a mystery. Arabian Business reports that it’s still unclear whether existing visas will be renewed upon expiration.

There is no official term for this nationwide wipe-out yet, but it can only be what Kipp would describe as a much tougher version of “Kuwaitisation” – limiting companies to hiring only Kuwaiti nationals – with established inspection teams to ensure employers are compliant. This isn’t the state’s first move aimed at making alterations to its expatriate landscape; as it has recently proposed a law that only allows expats to access medical care in the afternoon unless it is an emergency.

Do you think Kuwait will benefit from this demographic reform and will other Gulf States take a leaf out of its book?

At the time, Salah Bu Farousha, head of Dubai Traffic Prosecution, insisted that the minimum age to obtain a driving licence should be raised from 18 to 21 years. He added that there were a “disproportionate” number of fatal crashes involving young Emirati and expatriate drivers. “Raising the age to 21 is necessary because the motorist would be more mature. Teenagers can use public transport until they can be trusted to get behind the wheel,” he added.

All in all, the idea was raised because most people agreed it would make the roads much safer. In fact, in September ’09, Arabian Business conducted its own internal poll, which found that 80 percent of respondents fully supported raising the age limit.

A month later, The National reported that Major General Mohammad Al Zafein, director of the Dubai Police traffic department, believed the minimum age to legally drive should be lowered from 18 to 16 – but he emphasised that this should only be possible after the child has received at least 100 hours’ practical training. The change would help solve the problem of untrained, underage teenagers getting behind the wheel illegally, he said at the time.

In March 2010, after months of discussions and studies, traffic officials in the UAE made a final and evidently unanimous ruling that 18 is in fact the perfect and most convenient legal age for driving. As an alternative option, a sample model was presented to them by experts from the European Association for Driving Schools, whereby a 17-year-old would be able to drive, as long as they’re accompanied by an adult over 30.

An officer from Abu Dhabi traffic police argued against it, pointing out that should there be an accident, two lives would be claimed instead of one.

And, finally, that brings us to the present day. This week, the Ministry of Interior has announced that it is now considering lowering the legal age for driving (legally, that is) in the emirates to ‘accommodate the needs of families that rely on their under-18 children to run daily errands’.

Of course, there will be certain prerequisites, including (and hopefully not limited to) setting up speed-monitoring systems to make sure these young drivers aren’t breaking the speed limit or being negligent, and a few other safety requirements that will be more elaborately discussed in the future.

Kipp wonders whether these discussions will ever amount to anything. The UAE has mixed feelings about this subject, to say the least. First it was raising the age, then lowering it, and then keeping it the same. Now they’ve decided that it’s time to consider lowering it again. In the past, there may have been many propositions, debates and discussions, but they’ve never materialised. Why should it be any different this time?

The controversy over the true value of Prince Alwaleed’s investment vehicle has some simple remedies. Kingdom Holding, with stakes in everything from Citigroup to Twitter, is at the centre of a bitter row with Forbes magazine over the exact size of the prince’s wealth. Part of the problem is that the Riyadh-listed company suffers from a tiny free float, limited liquidity, and puzzling share-price movements.

Kingdom has a listed value of $19 billion but only a 5 percent free float in a market where 30 percent is closer to the norm. Alwaleed wanted to list up to one third when it went public in 2007 but the firm and the regulator agreed at the time that it would be too much for the market to absorb. The problem is that stocks with small free floats are more susceptible to share-price volatility or even market manipulation.

The prince’s flagship firm is actively exploring its options to become a more liquid stock, according to a person familiar with the company’s plans. One way would be for Alwaleed to sell down. But that would look bad in the wake of the clash with Forbes and would send the wrong signal about Kingdom’s value.

Alternatively, Kingdom could sell some new shares. The difficulty here is that the firm doesn’t have an urgent need to raise cash and can ill afford to run an inefficient balance sheet.

Kingdom could of course issue stock in support of a big deal. The snag is that it would have to be a sizeable acquisition to result in a meaningful dilution of Alwaleed. And the target might be loath to take paper whose value is the subject of such a fraught debate. Still, investment banks could be hired to conduct an independent valuation.

The radical option would be to delist. That would be the least palatable for the prince. Fading into the background isn’t Alwaleed’s style and risks being perceived as failure in a region where initial public offerings are a symbol of pride. But if an illiquid free float is causing such difficulty, it is hard to see how the listing’s benefits outweigh its costs.

That reality was brought home to me a couple of weeks ago when I arranged a meeting between a good friend in public relations and an editor from Saudi Arabia. The editor in question is an experienced veteran of the publishing industry in the Kingdom and has been the number two at two Saudi-based publications. What may surprise some of you is that this editor is a lady. Yes, a woman. Isn’t the Kingdom a place where women fear to work, I hear you say? And that is why I say to you; get on a plane and travel.

The Gulf may be bound by a common language and religion, but beyond that there’s a wealth of diversity even in a country the size of Bahrain or Kuwait. It’s easier than you may think to discover local communities outside of the UAE and you’ll be surprised by the wealth of interaction between foreigners and locals (just please do avoid the malls where possible).

Traveling helps to break down the barriers that we build in our minds and underscores the changes that the region is going through; it also brings into relief the region’s rich history which many of us miss out on. There are the incredible sights of Madain Saleh outside of Madinah, the ruins of Dilmun underneath the streets of Manama, and the Red Fort in Kuwait’s Al Jahra district.

The beauty of being an expat is having the opportunity to absorb all that is wonderful about a foreign culture; I fear we often miss the chance to do just that if we don’t pick up our travel bags and get away from the modern world. I was charmed by Oman when I visited, a country that embraces its Arabic tradition and welcomes foreigners with open arms.

After the meeting my friend picked up the phone and called me to recount all the things that she’d just been told about Saudi and which she’d never imagined could be true. While I’m a journalist by profession, there’s much more that we can learn about the region from traveling and forging friendships than by picking up a newspaper or turning on the television. I was delighted to have helped her in seeing what for me was the real Saudi Arabia, a country of strong traditions and cultures, rather than the other sensationalised Kingdom we often read about over our breakfasts.

And trust me, all those stories you’ve heard about the region aren’t true. It is safe to leave the confines of the United Arab Emirates. You’re not going to get kidnapped, chased by the religious police, or be thrown into a jail cell during prayer times. Go out, enjoy and remember that there’s still much to discover about heritage, history and culture in a region that many of us have lived in for so many years and which we really do know so little about.

About the writer:

A British national with Arabic roots, Alex has spent ten years in the Gulf and has lived in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Alex lost his heart to journalism years ago but he has worked with a range of multinational companies in the technology, energy and financial sector to develop their marketing and communications approach to the region. He’s currently based in Dubai but can often be found at Dubai International Airport flying back home to Bahrain or some other (hopefully exotic) destination.

Seriously? Is this how as a parent looking for a place for her 18-month-old is spoken to?

For the record, when I was pregnant, I was busy working full time and learning how to be a new mum in a new country where I have no relatives as a support group.  I was not sitting around twiddling my thumbs thinking of what to do each second of the day.

So which part of the equation did I get wrong? I always thought that schools were there to set an example and provide children with an education to allow them to live in a society where they care for people around them, where they can adapt very easily and where they can build strong relationships. 
If that is the attitude the schools are projecting as their first contact to parents, what are they going to teach my daughter? How to be rude on the phone?

Now, as the founder of Souqalmal.com, which has now diversified in the comparison of UAE schools and nurseries, I wanted to bring up this topic of admissions within our next roundtable discussion to be held on March 26 between parents and schools.  The biggest hurdle of this event was to get schools to attend.

For many it was harder to get through to the principal’s PA than that of Harvard business School (trust me, I tried yesterday and got through first time).

“If we are interested we will let you know, if not, you will not hear from us”

“You must understand we get thousands of invitation every day and I need to filter and decide which ones the principal will look into”

Just shocking.

The experience has made me worry about my little girl being in an environment where the basic sense of politeness does not exist. Are these “institutions of learning” dedicated to the education of our future generations or are they businesses who fill up the order book and then stop caring?

In a world where corporations try to be increasingly customer-focused, it seems that some of the major schools in the UAE are doing the opposite.

It’s not all bad, though. Of course there are many schools that succeed in providing a very different experience. We will have the pleasure of hosting four different schools who projected the level of approachability, openness and engagement that one would wish for from an educational institution. They were a pleasure to interact with and they accepted to be part of the discussion on admissions process – already a sign of commitment and transparency towards parents.  Those are Jumeirah Primary School, the GEMS group, the Taaleem group and Horizon School Dubai.

This promises to be a very interesting debate… and hopefully provides a good platform to start addressing some of the broader issues and show the ‘right way’ forward.

Ambareen Musa is the founder and CEO of Souqalmal.com. Having moved to the Middle East in 2008, Ambareen worked as a consultant for Bain & Company – Middle East and focused on the financial services sector, before joining MasterCard Middle East and Africa to set up their consulting arm, before leaving two years later to become the founder of Souqalmal.com in 2011.

Dubai’s roads are deadly. This is a pure, statistically-backed fact that you simply cannot argue with. And if statistics don’t cut it for you, then answer me this. When was the last time you felt absolutely safe while driving in Dubai? And if you actually have a recent memory of it, then there’s a good chance you’re one of the drivers adding to the horror out there. Unless you’ve been driving on a deserted highway at four in the morning and, even then, I wouldn’t fancy my chances.

This isn’t just Kipp moaning about the horrors of driving in the emirate again – although god knows we’ve had our fair share of rants here, here, here and here.

The point is that, in the first eight months of last year, road accidents took the lives of 72 people in Dubai. Incidentally, this figure was an 11 percent drop from the year before, but still nowhere close to Dubai Police’s vision of having a ‘zero mortality rate’ on its roads by the year 2020.

Abu Dhabi, on the other hand, while working towards an identical goal of achieving absolute driver and pedestrian safety, hopes to get there ten years later. In 2012, the number of traffic casualties, fatalities and pedestrian deaths fell in the capital city by 20, 19 and 14 percent respectively.

As far as the public knows, both traffic departments work tirelessly to promote awareness of driving etiquette and safety in the emirates. They’ve used carrots, sticks and even a splash of Pavlov’s Dog methodology in their campaigns to get through to us. We’ve been told we’d be rewarded with white points if we just behaved ourselves. We’ve been told our black points could be erased if we drove well and attended awareness seminars. We’ve been threatened with increasingly expensive fines and consequences. Enough is enough.

The Dubai Traffic Department has decided to really take matters into their own hands with a new law. Technically, it isn’t new, but as The National reports; they’re making use of existing laws in the federal penal code to curb reckless driving. Any drivers caught driving over 200kph in Dubai will face criminal prosecution, which could probably lead to two years in prison or a handsome fine of 10,000 dhs (maximum). Or better yet, both.

The reasoning behind this strict implementation? Almost 15 percent of Dubai drivers fined for speeding every day are driving faster than 200kph. That’s ridiculous.

“Driving at such a high speed is a problem on our roads,” said Major General Al Zafeen, the head of Dubai traffic department. “The aim of this new procedure is to find an efficient measure to deter them. A fine is not enough.”

If you ask Kipp, this is long overdue. It might sound a little strange for a reckless driver to be charged in criminal court, but on the other hand, it makes perfect sense. There is absolutely no comprehensible reasoning to justify anyone driving at such a dangerous speed and subsequently endangering the lives of others on the roads – unless you have criminal intent. Your wife is in labour? Call an ambulance and drive behind it.

Currently, this new ‘policy’ has already been implemented in Al Warqa, an area in Dubai dubbed as being ‘popular for young drivers to race in’ but nationwide enforcement should soon be under way.

Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

In each of these situations, we make some calculation (not necessarily on a piece of paper) about the rewards associated with a course of action (higher income, more exciting holiday, shorter, faster journey) and the risks we are running (loss of income, personal injury or fatal accident). These calculations are guided by our judgement, based on previous experiences (ours and others’) of the likely success or failure of the different course of action available to us.

Without risk, there is no reward – we know this. Our lives contain an element of risk anyway, some of it out of our control (climate change, financial system collapse etc.) but our choices in life are guided by our judgement the risk-reward equation.

Saving and investing are no different from other activities we undertake. There are no ‘No Risk’ options (i.e. choices that enable you to achieve your goals that carry a guarantee that you won’t lose some or all of your money), but you can find options that run on a scale of low risk to high risk. The first question to ask, of course, is how much risk do you need to run to achieve your goals, and, basically, you can say that the higher the return you require on your money to achieve your goals, the more risk you have to run to achieve it.

However, once this question has been asked and answered, you can say putting your money under your bed will guarantee no gain in value, but the most obvious risk you run is the erosion of value through inflation (and you could be burgled, of course). At the other end of the scale, you could bet your money on a slot machine or a horse, where the rewards are great (you could double your money in a few minutes) but the risk is high (you could lose it all in the same time).

Estimating risk has situational components – crossing the road in the traffic might depend on how fast the traffic is moving and how fast you can run, whether you have done it before, and what you know about traffic accidents. Investment risk is no different.

Ask yourself the following questions…

How much of your money are you prepared to lose (or are able to lose) while searching for higher returns?

Do you think it would be better to put all of your money in one investment (or one type of investment) or spread it over several?

Do you have the right information to make the investment decision?

How do you rate your experience as an investor – expert, experienced, regular, novice or none-at-all?

How do you deal with uncertainty? (Higher risk investments tend to fluctuate in value more than lower risk ones. If you go for a high-risk high-return approach, you may have to tolerate ups and downs).

Most importantly, what sort of person are you? Are you the sort of person who looks for the rush of excitement or do you prefer safety and security?

Understanding risk and your own appetite for risk are key factors in being able to make investment decisions in line with your own personality, values, goals and pocket. If you talk to a financial adviser, he or she will be able to help you draw your own ‘risk profile’ and advise you on the sort of portfolio you should establish to meet your goals within your risk appetite.

It doesn’t matter whether you have $100 or $100,000 to invest, getting the right advice is critical to your financial well-being.

Peter Ellen is Operations Director at Nexus Insurance Brokers www.nexusadvice.com and has extensive experience in the area of sales management and leadership, sales and sales management development and operations management. He has worked in the industry for 28 years in senior management positions and as a consultant, working with regulators, product providers and distributors. To contact Peter for advice with any insurance and investment advice please email him at peter.ellen@nexusadvice.com

Kipp sits across and we discuss Alicia Keys. More specifically, we talk about her (as we both agreed) rather unusual role as Blackberry’s creative director. Like a few other brands including Polaroid (Lady Gaga) and Intel (Will.I.Am), Blackberry has recently appointed the singer to be much more than just a pretty face plastered on a product.

At the time, Keys said she is going to be working directly with developers and carriers on the platform, as well as with other artists. Andrej says these new appointments are happening because brands want to desperately connect with consumers and engage them on new and interesting levels.

But doesn’t it bother you that she carries the same title, I ask.

“No, it doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t feel badly about it and I know it’s just a title,” he answers. “We’ve done campaigns with regional celebrities too, but we didn’t call them our creative directors. If anything, wouldn’t you be flattered to have the same title, particularly if you admire that celebrity?” He tells Kipp they’re currently in the middle of a Samsung campaign called Canvas Collected and working with Mohammed Harib, the creator and voice of Freej, a Dubai-based animated show. They haven’t labelled him as a ‘celebrity creative director’ as such, but the role is similar.

Andrej says this trend is bound to gain traction and popularity because as we ‘consumers’ get smarter, more demanding and essentially harder to please – brands need to show us that they’re not just presenting a ‘pretty face on a logo’ anymore. All they’re doing is just looking for new ways to engage with consumers and humanise their products, he adds. In the world we live in, consumers have more power than ever before, and their voices are louder than they’ve ever been.

We witness regular revolutions on Twitter nowadays, he laughs. If anything, we’re the ones that have pushed brands into coming up with unusual tactics to get our attention.

What Andrej believes these celebrity creative directors will do – aside from taking on new roles – is possibly begin to produce content worth engaging with. He proposes the example of Alicia Keys possibly inviting fans to help create her next song. “Brands should keep in mind that they need to see it through. They need to choose celebrities that can help them create interesting content,” he says.

But why did having that famous face stop being enough?

“Consumers aren’t stupid,” Andrej retorts. “We won’t buy into it anymore. We all know the motive behind brands doing that and we’re becoming a lot more demanding.” When I bring up the critics that – despite celebrities having fancy new titles – will still see right through it, he says it’s all about how the company takes it from there.

“Well, that will all depend on how the campaign is carried out,” he concludes. “Brands are looking for more subtle ways to connect with you; a much less in-your-face kind of way. Now is the time for them to be brave and dare to try different things.”

What does it say to management if you don’t personalise a space?

Personalising your space indicates that you are getting comfortable and putting your mark. Though personalising your space isn’t a must, a starkly empty desk may send out the message that you consider this job transitory. So even if you have a minimal style, it’s natural to have a few of your personal touches on your desk. This personalisation could be anything from putting up your family photos and kids’ drawings to something simple like having your favourite office plant on the desk.

Is there such a thing as over decorating your personal space?

Just as the way you dress says a lot about you, your cubicle’s décor is also an indicator on your tastes and personality. Just as you wouldn’t want to go overboard in the way you dress, striking the right balance when decorating your cubicle is important.

How to strike the balance?

Your cubicle is where you work, so it has to be functional above all else. Bulky decorative pieces hamper your movement and productivity.

If you like personalising your wall with family pictures or artwork, it’s a good idea to reserve just one wall for these personal items.

Do not put up artwork or pictures that might be offensive to your team members, this also includes what you put up as your PC’s desktop image.

The office is a workplace not only for yourself but also your co-workers  so be considerate towards them and do not include items that in some way might hamper your colleagues’ productivity like loud objects or excessively-scented items.

The campaign, titled ‘The World Is Our Home, You Are Our Guest’ was created by M& C Saatchi.

Kipp is no expert on brand marketing, but it’s safe to say that any campaign of this magnitude takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to create a message that would leave a memorable and positive sentiment behind. In Etihad’s case, considering the three-year gap between campaigns, it’s even more pertinent; precisely because it is how the airline will be remembered for years to come. First impressions will be created and existing ones may be re-evaluated.

Peter Baumgartner, the airline’s chief commercial officer says ‘it’s not a rebranding exercise, but a continuation of our brand story drawing from the values of our home in Abu Dhabi and our inspiration from around the world’.

As we’ve already mentioned, we aren’t the experts and although a campaign can be aesthetically pleasing, how strong and unique is the message it sends out? And does it carry a strong defining concept? Kipp turns to a few branding and marketing experts in the region to find out:

Zak McKinven, Brash Brands:

This is an interesting direction for Eithad to take and it echoes the execution of last year’s John Lewis TVC (in the UK) where ‘Two Worlds Connect’.

The production value contributes to a well-shot ad which does communicate the brand very well. However, the tagline ‘The World Is Our Home, You Are Our Guest’ could possibly be construed negatively rather than in a positive way. A single, defining concept would really help in adding a sense of coherence to this campaign.

Alex McNabb, Author & Founder of SpotOn PR:

It’s a beautiful video. When it comes to the filming, the message it sends and the production value, you can’t fault it at all. The trouble with it is that it’s not terribly discoverable, and that’s what you want to create nowadays, digital discoverability. Telling a story through a campaign is an integration of mixed components and not just one element. As far as I can see, that’s a missed opportunity.

The production value is brilliant but putting all their ‘eggs’ and money in one basket and behind one single broadcastable commodity – as beautifully done as it is – is slightly old-fashioned. There should be content behind the ad and its tagline, and create that broader appeal beyond just a single minute of glory.

Scott Feasey, MD of Iris Middle East:

My immediate thoughts were that it is 10 times better than their last campaign.

I like the music, the very stylized, premium feel and the end positioning line. Although, personally I would say it is slightly pretentious and the split screen and frequent cuts makes you dizzy.

Overall I think this is a step in the right direction for Etihad, but it does leave me a bit cold. It doesn’t have the warmth or the emotion it should have – it feels too aloof, out of reach and just not for me.  If I am their guest, I don’t see it.

Said Aghil Baaghil, Marketing expert and author of The Power of Belonging:

The advert does deliver three important things; Luxury, World and Guest. I like how Etihad is a ‘modest luxury’ and simple brand, but my concern is that there are lots of airlines within the GCC battling for the luxury arena, but which one of them owns it? Secondly, I didn’t see how they differentiated themselves from Qatar and Emirates; they both seem to speak the same communication language.