Strategic Management in Family Development Foundation

This report explores the role of strategic management in achieving performance excellence of Family Development Foundation, Government of Abu Dhabi. It delves into external environmental analysis of Abu Dhabi followed by SWOT of the government. The report takes into account the framework of strategic management and the entire study would take place under the inspiration of Abu Dhabi Vision 2030.

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN FAMILY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
1.
Strategic Management in Family Development Foundation
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Table of Contents
2. Overview and significance of the proposal study:.......................................................................2
3. Aims and objectives:....................................................................................................................3
4. Relevant literature:.......................................................................................................................4
4.1. Strategic management:..........................................................................................................4
4.1.1. PEST of Abu Dhabi:......................................................................................................5
4.1.2. SWOT:...........................................................................................................................7
4.2. Women empowerment and economic development:............................................................8
5. Research Design..........................................................................................................................8
6. Methodology................................................................................................................................9
7. Ethical issues.............................................................................................................................10
8. Assumed Outcomes...................................................................................................................11
9. Implications...............................................................................................................................11
10. Expected timescale:.................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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2. Overview and significance of the proposal study:
The development and security of women and children are empirical to the development
of family as well as society. The World Bank reports that the rate of participation of women in
the labour force in Abu Dhabi has increased in the high income while it has fallen in the middle
income group. Women continue to acquire more jobs in the low income bracket while the
percentage of women employees shows rise in the national statistics. However, in spite of these
encouraging statistics, women needs more empowerment to be able to improve their social status
at par with their male counterparts. Strategic management can be used to achieve further
development and lay stronger foundations of the families in Abu Dhabi. Family Development
Foundation is organ of the Government of Abu Dhabi which strives to improve and strengthen
the status of women.
Figure 1. Ratio of female to male labour force participation (%)
(Source: Datatopics.worldbank.org. 2018)

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It is evident from the graph above that Family Development Foundation has achieved
success in empowerment and development of women. This means that the body has achieved
success in the area of laying stronger family foundation based on greater economic development
of women which in turn enable mothers to meet the needs of the children better. This has led to
greater economic condition among the families in Abu Dhabi. The report would explore
application of strategic management in measuring the performance management excellence
achieved by Family Development Foundation. The paper would take into the account the
framework of strategic management namely external environment analysis of Abu Dhabi
followed by SWOT of the government. This would pave ways for the body for finding out
the gaps in its present effort, thus laying foundations of its future objectives to boost
performance of the government body. The entire study would take place under the
inspiration of Abu Dhabi Vision 2030.
3. Aims and objectives:
The primary aim of the report would be delving into the role of strategic management in
achieving performance excellence of Family Development Foundation, Government of Abu
Dhabi. Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 would act as a driving force towards achievement of the
objective. It is a term coined by the government to mark 2030 as a year when the city aims to
achieve a very high degree of development in all respect right from social to economic
development surpassing all the other Middle East economies. It is evident that Abu Dhabi Vision
2030 is largely a macroeconomic development. This necessitates to carry out macroeconomic
analysis of Abu Dhabi in the light of the vision. This third objective would be to carry out
SWOT analysis of FDF to find out how the body can use the macroeconomic factors to align its
operations with the vision.

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4. Relevant literature:
The literature review section would first delve into two strategic management namely
PEST for external environmental analysis of Abu Dhabi and SWOT analysis of the FDF. The
entire section would be aligned to the main objective of research which is measurement
performance management excellence in FDF. This would necessitate the third theme of the
literature review, woman empowerment and family development.
4.1. Strategic management:
The term strategic management allows organisations to align their resources towards
achievement of predetermined goals. Wheelen et al. (20147) define the term strategic
management as the process in which business organisations use their resources and
capabilities to secure predetermined goals. Too and Weaver (2014) point out in this respect
that government bodies today use strategic management methods to align their resources to
achieve their goals. Strategic management in other words enable them to improve their
performances. Nankervis et al. (2016) support this view of the previous authors and point out
that it has become significant for government bodies to apply strategic management to achieve
their goals of social development. This is because compared to the immense agenda of the
government bodies, the resources required to support the agendas are scarce. This scarcity of
resources necessitate to allocate resources strategically to achieve high level of performances.
Malekpour et al. (2017) add to the discussion by opining that the government bodies enjoys these
resources including human resources and financial resources by the virtue of the macroeconomic
conditions in the countries or region over which lie within their jurisdiction(s). Wu, Ramesh and
Howlett (2015) though do not oppose this opinion and point out that the capability of the
organisations to utilise the external environmental factors strategically also plays important roles

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in achievement of the performance excellence. This makes it pertinent to take into two models
namely, PEST of Abu Dhabi and SWOT delve into external environmental conditions of the
country and organisational factors of FDF which contribute towards achieve of high performance
excellence in the body.
4.1.1. PEST of Abu Dhabi:
The city of Adu Dhabi is the political capital of the United Arab Emirates and is the seat
of the Government of the United Arab Emirates. The city as a result occupies the central position
as far as the political factors are concerned. The United Arab Emirates is a member of OPEC, the
United Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council (Abudhabi.ae. 2018). It can also be pointed
out that the government has bilateral connections with several other countries both from the
eastern and western hemisphere. The government of Abu Dhabi acts through various
departments which intend to ensure development of the city. It can also be pointed out that the
Government of Abu Dhabi plays key in not only making laws and also in the area of economic
planning. This is evidebt from the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. The government has set a target of
achieving a very high degree of economic, social and infrastructural development within 2030.
The government also plays as the most important player in integrating public and private sector
organisations to achieve this aim. This means that the government is not only a policy maker but
a facilitator of socio-economic development, thus having strong influence on the other macro
environmental factors (Ecouncil.ae. 2018). It can be pointed on out from this discussion that the
government through its departments, pivotal roles in ensuring social development of sections of
the society like women. This is evident from the presence of UN-UAE Liason Office for the Gulf
Cooperation Council (Uae.unwomen.or. 2018). The high level of performance of women
empowerment in Abu Dhabi is echoed in one of the editions of the National, which is one of the

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leading editorials in the country. The articles mentions that the UAE ranks highest in terms of
gender equality among the GCC countries (Cookman 2018). These facts support the fact the
government organisations of Abu Dhabi deliver high performance in the areas of women
empowerment and family foundation.
It can be pointed out that functioning in the areas of women empowerment and family
foundation calls for immense amount of economic resources including human resources,
financial resources and technological factors.
Figure 2. GDP per capita income of the UAE
(Source: Tradingeconomics.com. 2018)
The graph above shows that the per capita income of the UAE increasing which means
that the government of the country can allocate more capital to support the empowerment
initiatives of Abu Dhabi Government. This would enable the government strengthen its social
developmental efforts. This high rate of social development would enable the country to achieve
its target macroeconomic position it wants to achieve among the Middle East nations through its

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plan Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. Bruton et al. (2015) mentions that Abu Dhbai being the second
commercially important city of the UAE has an immense network of banks which provide the
government the gateways to acquire capital to support its initiatives. Llopis et al. (2015)
strengthens this opinion by mentioning this availability of the capital enable the government
bodies of Abu Dhabi acquire technological resources from technologically developed countries.
Iyengar, Sweeney and Montealegre (2015) mention that this availability of technology has
played a crucial role in spreading awareness about the importance of women empowerment.
Technology undoubtedly has enabled the Government bodies like FDF strengthen their women
empowerment and family foundation development activities, thus attributing towards high level
of performance of the former in these areas.
4.1.2. SWOT:
An analysis of the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of Family
Development Foundation shows that the body draws largely on the macroeconomic factors of
Abu Dhabi mentioned above. Knudsen, Moon and Slager (2015) mention in this respect that the
political stability and economic wealth of Abu Dhabi attributes FDF with immense strategic and
economic strength. Mergel (2016) mentions that internet allows the government body to create
awareness about family foundation and women empowerment among the people in Abu Dhabi.
Thus, it can be inferred from the discussion that availability of financial resources and
technological prowess allows the government body to form strategies to achieve its objectives.
The weakness of the body is attributed by resentment among certain social groups against
women empowerment which hinders the performance of the body. Houston et al. (2015) point
out that the government body uses social media as a part of its strategic management to spread
awareness about the importance of women empowerment to achieve its goals. Thus, in other

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words social media is an opportunity which enables the government body to drive its women
empowerment initiatives. Jenkins (2015) however points out that terrorist groups which are
against women empowerment do pose serious threats to the high performances of FDF.
Bilateral relationship of the UAE with other countries provides a great opportunity in reducing
terrorism and ensuring performance of family development as well as women empowerment
activities of FDF.
4.2. Women empowerment and economic development:
Women empowerment and economic development of countries are directly related to
each other. Peeters and Ateljevic (2017) mention that women empowerment enables economic
development due to increased involvement of women in the commercial activities. Stromquist,
(2015) mentions that empowerment of women provides the business organisations with more
workforces which boosts their productivity. This is because educated women are capable of
carrying on professional responsibilities. This high amount of productivity enables organisations
to earn higher revenue which enables the government to earn higher taxes. This high amount of
tax enables allocation of more funds towards women empowerment activities of government
bodies, thus attributing to their high performances.
5. Research Design
Descriptive research design has been chosen for the analysis of the subject. Descriptive
research focuses towards observation of a given subject matter to develop essential implications
concerning the same. The research helps towards understanding the extensive significance of a
given research topic. In order to help the research design interpretative research philosophy has

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been used. Interpretative research design is referred to as the in depth research concerning a
given subject. Qualitative investigation is required for the same and is greatly employed towards
gathering the most relevant implications from the study (Lewis 2015). Interpretive philosophy
has been effectively used in the study towards structuring the presentation process. The family
development foundation of Abu Dhabi is an important organization in the context of UAE. The
various initiatives of the organization towards effectively contributing towards the vision 2030
has been effectively analyzed and evaluated subsequently. Descriptive design has helped towards
developing a better understanding of the subject. The business perspectives that were required to
be provided were possible through the effective utilization of the descriptive design process. The
subject required the essential observational study of the workings of the Abu Dhabi based
organization. Moreover, essential analysis of the vision 2030 was made through the
implementation of the descriptive design process.
6. Methodology
Inductive research approach has been used for the study. Inductive research approach
focuses towards the usage of the known contexts against untested assumptions to generate
effective conclusions. This type of research approach is mostly utilized in cases of qualitative
researches. The nature of the subject that is taken for the research necessitates the utilization of
better qualitative approaches towards research. The inductive research process takes a general
idea and examines the same through various perspectives to reach a significant conclusion. This
has been used in the research since essential information was required to be crucially analyzed in
regards to the operations and functional activities concerning the Abu Dhabi family development
foundation. The generalized notions are developed from the specific to the general. Hence,
practices of the Abu Dhabi family development will be specifically analyzed in order to develop

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a more generalized idea of its significance towards the vision 2030 of the government. The data
collection as mentioned before has been highly qualitative. Qualitative data have helped to focus
towards all the essential aspects that guide the functional progress of the organization (Lewis
2015). The data has been evaluated in accordance with their significance in relation to the
subject. Inductive approach has helped towards the formation of better ideas in relations to the
subject matter. Various theories related to leadership and progressive growth will be considered
for the effective presentation of the research. The research will however, not be based on
hypothesis as the future proposition of the organization will be assessed.
7. Ethical issues
There are essential ethical issues connected with the gathering and presentation of data
that need to be strongly considered. The most important data that will be considered for the
research are qualitative data. Thus, it can also be said that the major analytical aspects of the
work will essentially depend on assumptions or theories that are gathered from previous works
(Marczyk, DeMatteo and Festinger 2017). Some of the most important analytical aspects will be
derived from the information gathered from previous works. Thus, it becomes much important
that the ethical issues related to the gathering of secondary data need to be strongly considered.
The study will be done through the essential consideration of the rules of plagiarism that are
recognized across the various academic frameworks. Each of the important previous documents
that will be used will be properly cited and significantly referred to while presenting the data.
The previous researchers, authors or writers will be given the due credit for their work. The
research will not be taking credit for any findings that have not been exclusively generated
through the report. No manipulation of data will be done in the research. Only relevant data

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related to the subject and accurate in regard to its significance will be provided. The writers will
not be using any unfair means to gather research data.
8. Assumed Outcomes
There are many assumed outcomes of the research. This is especially in relation to the
significance of the subject towards the wider implications that should be ideally formed. The
most important outcome of the research is that FDF has the capability to achieve superior
performances in line with Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. The significance of strategic management
towards enhancing the performance of the family development foundation will be focused on as
an essential outcome. The essence of the economic vision of 2030 towards the growth and
development of the UAE will be an intended outcome of the study. Moreover, the study will
essentially focus towards providing all the essential aspects connected with the performance
management systems that are utilized in the Abu Dhabi family development foundation. The
overall significance of the foundation in the context of the national growth and development of
the country will be understood through the outcomes. Additionally, extensively understanding
the prospects of the organization towards contributing towards the success of the Abu Dhabi
vision 2030 will be an essential study outcome. It is important to form definite ideas about the
significance of strategic management and performance management systems towards enhancing
the developmental prospects of organization and their greater implications.
9. Implications
The objectives that are developed for the study are aimed towards the greater
understanding of organizational operations. The implications of the study will be that an essential
growth plan can be understood or developed. The limitations identified by the study can help the
family development foundation to develop better plans to address them. Additionally, the study

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will be much important towards projecting the vision and mission of the UAE government and
its progress towards realizing the greater economic and developmental goals connected with the
vision 2030. The implications of the study will further help in the development of significant
ideas related to the organizational management. The far reaching significance of strategic
management and performance management can be essentially realized through the study (Smith
2015). The developmental aspects of an organization and its effective connection with the
developmental aspects of a country can be effectively analyzed through the study. UAE is a
rapidly developing country and the various strategies that are being implemented towards
consolidating its position in the path of realizing its greater goals can be extensively discussed
through the study.
10. Expected timescale:
Activity
nos
Particulars Time(months)
1 Macroeconomic analysis of the UAE and particularly Abu Dhabi 6
2 SWOT of FDF 3
3 Formation of target performance which FDF is capable of
achieving according to activities 1 and 2.
1
4 Measurement of actual performance of FDF 12
5 Monitoring and taking steps 6

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