AIMICT.ORG AIMICT Newsletter

Transcription

1 FEBRUARY 2017 AIMICT.ORG 1

2 IN THIS ISSUE Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization Represents AIMICT at ISO/TC 176 Meetings in the Netherlands AIMICT Conducts Human Resource Management Program in Oman AIMICT Releases Results of PQM Exam for Examinees in Jordan and Palestine AIMICT Redesigns Website AIMICT to Organize PQM Course and Examination Upcoming Course in Advanced Leadership Program The Role of Customer Satisfaction in ISO 9001 Certification Processes Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Management Rank as Top Technology Challenges 2

3 TALAL ABU-GHAZALEH ORGANIZATION REPRESENTS AIMICT AT ISO/TC 176 MEETINGS IN THE NETHERLANDS ROTTERDAM - Representative of the Arab International Society for Management Technology (AIMICT) and International Executive Director of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh & Co. Consulting Mr. Khaled Abu Osbeh took part in the meetings of the ISO Technical Committee 176 (ISO/TC 176) and its sub-committees that have been recently held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Society participated in the event upon an invitation from the Netherlands Standardization Institute (NEN). More than 200 quality experts from 60 countries tackled significant issues related to the future of the ISO 9000 standard that is considered the most important of the 25,000 standards issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the past 69 years. HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, AIMICT chairman, has been always keen on the Society s constant participation in the 176 Technical Committee meetings since 1993 in its capacity as the sole non-government Arab member in the committee, Abu Osbeh said. He also underlined the significance of such meetings that enable the Society to simultaneously transfer the latest updates in the field of quality management standards to experts in the Arab world in conjunction with their counterparts from all over the world, so that they will be familiar with the amendments and updates before their issuance. The attendees mainly discussed the finalization of the amendments to the ISO 9004, 10005, 10006, and mainly after the release of the ISO 9001:2015 in September last year. The ISO 9004 and ISO succeed the ISO 9001 in their importance in a series of specifications of quality management systems; as the first quality management standard focuses on the advancement of the performance of the institutions following the acquisition of the ISO 9001 certification and provides guidance to organizations to support the achievement of sustained success, while the second gives guidance on the application of quality management in projects. Abu Osbeh also participated in the Arabic Translation Committee that convened with the participation of representatives from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and discussed the translation process of the recent 9000 ISO family and their guidelines. TAG-Org is translating more than 15 international standards in cooperation with Arab standardization entities to be issued in Arabic along with the other ISO official English, French and Russian languages. The ISO/TC 176 is considered the most important among the 240 technical ISO committees. 3

4 AIMICT CONDUCTS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN OMAN MUSCAT - The Arab International Society for Management Technology (AIMICT) conducted Human Resource Management course for a host of participants in Oman. HRM program includes various topics mainly HRM, modern changes in HRM, strategic HRM, basics of HRM, HR planning, training and development of HR, HR recruitment and performance management, salaries, privileges, and benefits in addition to the effective roles of a HRM manager. The 40-training hour HRM program is certified by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) and targets workers and those interested in the field of HRM. AIMICT RELEASES RESULTS OF PQM EXAM FOR EXAMINEES IN JORDAN AND PALESTINE The Arab International Society for Management Technology (AIMICT) released results of PQM exam conducted for a group of participants from different sectors in Amman, Jordan, and in Gaza, Palestine. AIMICT REDESIGNS WEBSITE To keep up with the latest technology trends in website development, AIMICT will have a new layout for its website in collaboration with Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization s Website Development Department. The newly designed website will allow for easier access to AIMICT services and alignment with the AIMICT s Mobile Application. AIMICT TO ORGANIZE PQM COURSE AND EXAMINATION The Arab International Society for Management Technology (AIMICT) will hold new sessions of the Professional Quality Manager (PQM) course during March 2017 in Amman. PQM program aims at providing the participants with the necessary knowledge to implement effective quality practices in quality and strategies implementation frameworks, and at developing and promoting researches and applications in the field of quality principles and practices. The program addresses a number of important knowledge frameworks such as Essentials of Quality Management, Total Quality Management Tools, Core Concepts of Leadership and People Management, 4

5 Strategic Planning in Quality Management, Customer Focus for Business Excellence, and Supply Chain Management. The program, accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) - UK, targets companies managers, heads of units and departments, quality control officers, and professionals seeking to improve their productivity. Those who wish to register should contact the Society s management and fill the registration application through the following link: UPCOMING COURSE IN ADVANCED LEADERSHIP PROGRAM The Arab International Society for Management Technology (AIMICT) will hold a new program of Advanced Leadership in March 2017 in Amman. The Advanced Certificate in Leadership aims at providing participants with the required knowledge and skills related to organizational leadership and culture, the methods that can be implemented to lead organizational change, identify and tackle obstacles, produce best practices to improve staff motivation. The 20 -hour program, accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) UK, targets companies managers, heads of units and departments, quality control officers, and professionals seeking to improve their productivity. Those who wish to register should contact the Society s management and fill the registration application through the following link: THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION PROCESSES Customer satisfaction is vital for a business to continue thriving. Gone are the days when people barely knew other options as monopoly was the name of the game; with multiple competitors vying to get a dip from their wallets, the interest of today s customers have become volatile as vapor on a hot summer day. Customer satisfaction is inarguably a key indicator of a business health. Basically, more customers mean higher sales. The benefits of customer satisfaction, however, go far beyond the initial purchase; it creates resonance that can increase profits for your business. A Forbes.com article citing Larry Freed s Innovating Analytics says that not only do 5

6 businesses benefit from customer satisfaction through retention and product upsell, they also attract more customers through word of mouth, when customers talk positively about them in channels of wide coverage like social media. Customer satisfaction in ISO 9001 If you re targeting ISO 9001 certification from companies like International Standards Authority, it s important to understand that even though it s centered on processes, customer satisfaction is still a fundamental. What the customers actually want may not be exactly what the business has been offering. The standards for customer satisfaction can only be set and monitored as soon as the customer requirements are established. In ISO, customers does not merely refer to the end consumers; it includes every member of the supply chain such as the assemblers, dealers and distributors. Each contributes to the creation of the final product and its movement from the manufacturer down to the final user. You need feedback from each of these customers to determine whether or not you satisfy the specified and perceived requirements. These requirements may relate to your manufacturing, servicing and delivery systems, communication and financial requirements, etc. The satisfaction of each collectively determines the effectiveness of your Quality Management Systems (QMS). Customer satisfaction is primarily gauged using feedback, which may be gathered through customer complaint forms, direct communication, questionnaires and surveys, outsourced data collection and analysis service, and media and industry research. Methods initiated internally use certain performance indicators to gauge the effectiveness of customer satisfaction-related processes. Data collected can help improve your QMS and provide ideas on how to further enhance your product s value. Registrars, such as International Standards Authority, that provide ISO certification 9001 requires continual gathering of information to be analyzed and evaluated against the set standards during audits. Your chosen registrar will also expect reports detailing how you define customer satisfaction indicators, your data collection methods and frequency, review and evaluation, rooms for improvement, timeline, delegation and follow-up. Routinely review your customer feedbacks and trends and do the necessary improvements to maintain the ideal customer satisfaction rating. CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT RANK AS TOP TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES Cybersecurity and privacy issues, along with infrastructure management and emerging technologies, rank as the top technology challenges organizations face today, according to a just-released survey report from global consulting firm Protiviti and ISACA, a global business technology professional association for IT audit/assurance, governance, and risk and information security professionals. The 6

7 survey of 1,062 IT audit and internal audit leaders and professionals found that IT audit is also becoming more involved in major technology implementation projects within organizations. In the survey, respondents were asked to name the top technology or business challenges their organizations face today. The top 10 responses: IT security and privacy/cybersecurity Infrastructure management Emerging technology and infrastructure changes transformation, innovation, disruption Resource/staffing/skills challenges Regulatory compliance Budgets and controlling costs Cloud computing/virtualization Bridging IT and the business Project management and change management Third-party/vendor management It is no surprise to find security, technology infrastructure and emerging technologies atop the list of challenges that IT auditors see in their organizations, said Gordon Braun, a managing director with Protiviti and global leader of the firm s IT Audit practice. Yet, we find the other challenges listed to be just as critical to companies, from resource and skills gaps to ongoing transitions to cloud and virtual networks. Additionally, as more and more organizations rely on third parties to support critical applications and infrastructure, the need to excel at managing vendor relationships has increased dramatically. Many organizations have not sufficiently addressed maturing their vendor management practices, and the resulting business risks can be significant. According to the ISACA/Protiviti survey, titled A Global Look at IT Audit Best Practices, in large companies (greater than US$5 billion in revenue), 26 percent of IT audit functions have a significant level of involvement in major technology projects, while 45 percent have a moderate level of involvement. IT audit is most frequently involved in the post-implementation stages (65 percent). Seeing greater involvement by IT audit in significant technology projects is a positive trend, especially considering the dynamic nature of technology and critical risks related to security and privacy, said Christos Dimitriadis, Ph.D, CISA, CISM, CRISC, chair of ISACA s board of directors and group director of information security for INTRALOT. This is also notable because a substantial percentage of IT projects tend to run over budget and behind schedule and fail to achieve the desired objectives. Having IT audit bring a mindset of risk and control to these projects can be highly advantageous. Dimitriadis continued, However, our results show that IT audit is more involved in the postimplementation stages of these projects versus earlier planning and design stages. We believe there is an opportunity for organizations to derive the most value from their major IT projects by engaging IT audit earlier rather than downstream in the projects. With a solid foundation of assurance on the front end, organizations can have the confidence they need to be innovative and fast-paced in pursuit of their business goals. 7

8 Greater Audit Committee and Executive Engagement In a majority of organizations (55 percent), the IT audit director regularly attends audit committee meetings. This represents a 6 point jump from the prior survey results (published in late 2015) and reflects a long-term trend in the survey findings since 2012, when less than one in three IT audit directors attended audit committee meetings regularly. There s no question that cybersecurity and emerging technologies are now a regular topic at the board level, said Braun. Audit committee members, in particular, are seeking greater assurance around critical IT risks and controls internal audit and IT audit leaders must be prepared to demonstrate audit coverage of key areas and articulate where the highest risks remain. Another notable trend is the growing number of IT audit leaders who are reporting directly to the CEO. While still not a large number (for example, 13 percent in North America, 26 percent in Europe), these figures, as well as those from other regions, represent notable jumps from the 2015 survey results. It s possible that in at least some of these instances, the chief audit executive is serving as the IT audit director, which is positive to see in that it provides the IT audit function with greater executive and board visibility, said Dimitriadis. This also is a logical development considering the increasing technologydependence of organizations and the integral role the IT audit function plays in helping management identify key risks and ensure the proper controls are in place. Risk Assessment Frequency The Protiviti/ISACA study also found that among large companies, 90 percent conduct an IT audit risk assessment. However, a majority (55 percent) only do so on an annual or less-frequent basis. Considering the growing risk landscape resulting from cybersecurity threats and emerging technologies, ISACA and Protiviti suggest that more organizations consider an approach that includes continually reviewing the IT risk landscape and adjusting IT audit plans accordingly. 8

9 For more information The Arab International Society for Management Technology Majd Farahat - Executive Director Tel: (0962-6) Fax: (0962-6) info@aimict.org AIMICT.org This newsletter is published by: The Arab International Society for Management Technology AIMICT 2016 Reproduction is permitted provided That the source is acknowledged 9