ME PoV Winter 2011 issue

About this issue

The F word.

It’s everywhere. Love it, hate it. Subscribe to it or not, the F word is everywhere: in advertising, newspaper articles, program events…it seems as if anywhere you turn, the F widget is there.

With over half a billion subscribers, and its founder Mark Zuckerberg as Time Magazine’s Man of the Year, Facebook has permeated, well, life! And it is not alone. It seems people are documenting their every waking moment on a host of social media outlets such as Twitter and MySpace. whilst social media may provide a great portal for business, companies should be mindful that what lies behind the door may pose a big threat to their brand image.

Talking of media, have you heard the one about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s lawyer filing a formal complaint to investigate how “sensitive” police material regarding his judicial case leaked into the public domain?

In what some have termed as a ‘taste of his own medicine,’ the irony behind the man who was the subject of such scrutiny because of sensitive and confidential material leaked to millions of people worldwide being himself subjected to such a breach of confidentiality, is not lost on anyone.

So, hero or cyber villain? The jury is still out on that one. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, it has revealed the risks behind today’s increasingly digitized, server-based world.

Click the link on the left to access the Summer 2014 issue. Alternatively, you can read each article separately by clicking below.

Wikileaks: who is(n’t) safe?

In light of the Wikileaks disclosures and the huge publicity they have engendered, what should companies do to protect their data?

The recent publicity resulting from the disclosures made by Wikileaks and the subsequent support for/ attacks on its founder Julian Assange have brought data security and cyber wars back onto the agenda of governments and company boards. No longer is data security the domain of technical specialists within the IT and Risk departments: espionage has gone mainstream.

Click here to read the full article.

Export controls and the new Iranian sanctions

Export controls and the new Iranian sanctions are compulsory laws and regulations that have the potential to affect all industries and every part of the business supply chain. In order to avoid violations and their subsequent penalties, companies should be aware of these laws and regulations for all relevant jurisdictions and implement comprehensive and effective compliance policies.

Click here to read the full article.

Knowing me, knowing you

Social media and networks are increasingly permeating company life, offering business of all sizes a channel for their marketing, communication and recruitment strategies and allowing them to reach larger audiences across geographies and generations. But whilst social media may provide a great portal for business, companies should be mindful that what lies behind the door may pose a big threat to their brand image.

Click here to read the full article.

Hospitality 2015

The next five years will herald the era of a consumer-led brand focus for the hospitality industry. Consumers are changing faster than ever in both attitude and behavior. Adoption of the right strategy presents the Middle East region with an opportunity to be a game changer in the global tourism industry.

Click here to read the full article.

A balancing act

A rate of over-supply in the property market can be beneficial. But how much is too much? And what are the effects of too much available property on the market?

Click here to read the full article.

Integrating distressed assets

As the economy improves and M&A growth recovers, the move to purchase distressed assets (assets that are in default, under bankruptcy protection or heading toward such a condition) has become a significant vehicle for growth by acquirers. Transactions involving distressed assets tend to be significantly discounted and can represent the deal of a lifetime.

Click here to read the full article.

Internal audit in the public sector

The role of internal auditing can be identified as involving three main elements evaluation and improvement of risk management, control and governance processes. Auditors use tools such as financial audits, performance audits and investigative and advisory services to fulfill each of these roles.

Click here to read the full article.

Is there a PR manager in the house?

There are those who ascribe to the adage that there is no such thing as negative publicity. But perhaps better than negative publicity is 'free publicity', otherwise known as PR. How well do companies in the Middle East understand Public Relations and how can they make use of its full potential for their business?

Click here to read the full article.

Mind the gap

Increased spending on education coupled with the dire need for enhanced governance, internal control and risk management systems, are raising the risk profile of the education sector in the GCC today. What should governments do?

Click here to read the full article.