The Aramex Company

In the world today, UAE has the aim of creating HR policies that are designed to increase and improve the size and quantity of government workers in the private sector. A higher percentage of emigrants more than locals are used in these private sectors and UAE is the only country to do so. In the labor law of UAE, which is in an even and steady change, attempt to reduce this drift by escalating the number of locals in the private sector (Allen & Galiano, 2017). The change provides more work opportunities for the locals in the UAE.

About Aramex

Aramex was created in 1982 as an express operator, that instituted itself into an international brand known for providing excellent customized services and exceptional multi-product offering. The various services offered by Aramex comprise of freight forwarding, domestic and international express delivery, consumer retail services, document management solutions, integrated logistics solutions, and e-commerce solutions. In 1997, Aramex became the first Arab company in the world, which trades its shares on the NASDAQ stock exchange. In 2002, Aramex went back to private ownership after five years of successful and fruitful trading. Since then, the company has continued to increase and expand as a private owned, creating more global alliances, and attaining stronger brand acceptance and recognition (Bogue, & Bogue, 2016). Conversely, in 2005, Aramex became popular and went public on the Dubai Financial Market. Currently, the networks of Aramex comprise of about 12,300 employees and 353 offices that provide transport and logistics solution to wholesale and retail customers universally. Besides, Aramex Company is a chair and is a founding member of Global Distribution Alliance that gathers and brings together more than forty prominent logistics and express providers from around the globe, everyone specializing in their area and together reaching to the world with similar, integrated principles and technology of Aramex.

Our Mission

To be renowned and recognized as the fifth global express and logistics transportation service in the world

Our Purpose

To make possible and permit regional and worldwide trade and commerce

Organizational Structure

Aramex is registered as a public joint stock company registered under the laws and regulations of UAE. The headquarters of Aramex Company is located in Amman, Jordan, and is known as General Services Office. Apparently, the headquarters accentuates its functions and responsibility as a service center and support unit to the operations of the company. In addition, Aramex Company is managed and controlled along two tracks (Bogue, & Bogue, 2016). For instance, geographically with cross-functional country-based, regional, and county senior managers, by service with top executives, and Aramex teams, which provides coordination of all the company's services on a customized basis to its clientele.

Perspective

To sustain and uphold our success of through competent and qualified workforce

Long-Term Strategic Goal

The company aims at promoting a sustainability-rooted culture of respect, care, entrepreneurship, innovation, dynamism, and resourcefulness for our customers and workers, where they become the number one competitive assets.

Strategic HR Plan

The HR manager at Aramex clearly indicated that the company believes that quality people generate, regularly produce exceptional, and quality service. Therefore, it is the duty of the executive to attract and uphold the finest skills and talents while providing and nurturing them with opportunities to successes and attain the set goals of the company (Balakrishnan, 2015). It is this strategic plan, which has driven the company to respond the universal predicament through working together with its workforce by capitalizing on the opportunity to the skills and potential of the workforce and securing their job positions.

Environmental Analysis

Companies function in a complex, varied, and dynamic environment. For this reason, managers need to be dedicated to performing regular analysis and evaluation of their environment before implementing or formulating the business strategies (Grosse, 2016). Apparently, the internal and external keep on changing from time to time, which cause issues and challenges that are never expected. All these factors can either affect an organization favorably or pose a threat. Therefore, the fundamental question that every manager needs to consider is identifying the underlying drivers that might affect the organization.

For this reason, the purpose of this interview was to find out the strategic planning practices that Aramex Company adopts and implements, and how the internal and external factors affect its strategic goals to create growth and sustainability of the business in the competitive environment. The external and internal environmental factors that influence Aramex are:

• Political factors
• Morale changes from the employees
• Cultural changes
• Threats from its competitors
• Financial changes
• Management changes
• Human Resources Management System

The company has a human resource system in place, which comprises of detailed and extensive policies that are part of the certified quality management system of the enterprise. The critical operations and functions of the human resource management are career planning, recruitment, personnel services, and training and development. It is vital to note that most of the human resource functions at Aramex Company are coordinated from the headquarters.

Further, Aramex Company has more than fifty-one active human resource managers in the world. For instance, the recruiting functions and responsibilities are shared among the headquarter office and the local stations (Jalal, & Al-Debei, 2013). Apparently, the smaller stations have one human resource manager per location. The significant achievement of the human resource system at Aramex Company is that it has made substantial investments in an HR management electronic tracking system. Hence, the company has significantly benefited by attaining excellent talent management, and the creation of employee payroll controls. The long-term of Aramex is to expand and widen the implementation of Human Resource management systems in all of its regions.

In addition, the company has updated its job titles, evaluation and grading structures, job descriptions, in all its networks. It ensures the viability and feasibility in matching the skills, expertise, and competencies of its workforce with suitable posts and training necessities. This kind of criteria empowers, motivates Aramex workforce to discover and find out their potentials, and significantly increases the retention rate of the workforce (Jalal, & Al-Debei, 2013). Aramex Company also aims and targets at attracting a high-level pool of young talent, which is an essential element of the values of the company. Further, the company firmly believes in investing in its workforce and creating homegrown talents. The HR manager stated eighty-one percentage of the workforce are etween18 to 40 years of age.

Short Term Contracting

Aramex also implements short-term contracting. For instance, when the short-term workforce is needed, the company hires employees through other businesses and agencies, which focus on the temporary supply of workers and labor. Consequently, the company significantly increases job continuity and safety for this type of workforce

Employee Engagement

A two-way communication channel between the workforce and the top management as it promotes and builds nurturing of intellectual assets and human capital. For this reason, Aramex significantly uses the internet, leadership conferences, retreats, customary and traditional team meetings to communicate with its employees. Apparently, Aramex has exploited its utilization of the internet through adding new improved tools, which motivate the sharing of ideas and interactions between the top management and the workforce. For instance, these technological tools comprise of email-newsfeed, video channel, and Aramex company blog. These technical programs and initiatives align with the one of the company's foundation standard referred as the principle of materiality and inclusivity (Juma, 2014). In addition, the company conducts research and surveys on the essential leadership to record and map its engagement efforts through ground couriers, and the workforce after every two years to measure the effects and impacts of the current business strategies of the company.

Gender Equality

Aramex Company supports and advocates for gender in the workforce through empowering and motivating women to grow with the vision and mission of the company. In fact, the company has maintained a certain percentage of the total amount of the female workforce, but Aramex aims at increasing the number of the women workforce in the future. It is evident that the policy of the Aramex does not keep out women from applying for any job position. Women working in Aramex are motivated to pursue their dreams and ambitions and grow within the company. The HR manager stated that the company had recognized a positive trend on the female workforce when applying for management positions. For example, women in senior and middle management positions consist of more than fifteen percent of the total control.

Salaries and Benefits

Aramex Company upholds a dedication to its workforce through providing competitive wages and benefits. For instance, an HR manager at the county level station does not predetermine a minimum wage; the company provides salaries, which surpass the recognized and fair living wage. In addition, the company monitors all the stations to make sure they comply with the local minimum wage laws and regulations. The HR managers ensure that the ratio of women to men salaries remain one to one in all the stations of operations at the company (Juma, 2014). Apparently, this is a significant example of the company's position against discrimination at the workplace. The manager said with a big smile on his face that there have been no accusations of inequality and discrimination in the company.

When it comes to hiring and recruiting of new positions, the company always employs from within instead of hiring new workforce for vacant job positions. This approach provides the labor force with great job satisfaction and motivation. The company also provides benefits to its workforce when necessary. For example, the employees are provided with health insurance in nations where the service is not supported and subsidized by the government (O’Byrne, 2013). Further, the workforce in Jordan is equipped with cancer insurance. Besides, Aramex Company pays for its workforce social security funds that provide the employees with a pension income when they retire. Furthermore, the company provides special discounts and offers to the labor force due to collective bargaining. Other benefits given to the employees at Aramex are special rates of eligibility for stock options, personal use of Aramex express services, and bonuses that are dispersed to all the staff in spite of the economic predicaments.

Caring for our Employees

Aramex Company continually monitors the satisfaction of its employees. The values of the company are to concentrate on providing a positive atmosphere of support, transparency, fairness, and a healthy working environment. In addition, the rights of the employees are clearly highlighted and identified through the company's policy and codes of conducts as to make sure that all workers recognize and are aware of their rights and feel safe at their working stations. Likewise, the handbook of employees at Aramex explains the major issues that concern the rights and satisfaction of the workers. For instance, one of the notable highlights is the Employee Grievance Process where the workforce is given the right and liberty to air their concerns and solve issues connected to victimization, inequality, harassment, and discrimination (O’Byrne, 2013). Consequently, a clear set of policies and procedures are established to address the aired concerns, grievances, and issues.

Aramex is committed to providing training and development opportunities to the workforce. For instance, in 2007, Aramex instigated and launched Aramex Corporate University as a virtual entity to offer managers and employees with the expertise and comprehension, which are needed to attain the long-term and short-term goals of the company (Sharpe, & Schroeder, 2016). Apparently, the university has the produced extensive development of delivery and training material. In addition, Aramex corporate university has developed and established standardized training material, organized, and delivered training materials to all stations of the company. Consequently, with the training from the University, all the stations can generate and develop customized training policies and plans founded on the extensive curriculum of the company.

Retention Practices

Employee retention is the ability of a company to retain and preserve its employees. In addition, employee retention rate is a statistics is utilized by the organization to evaluate and measure the efficiency of how well it retains its workforce. The following are some of the retention practices that Aramex implements in keeping its employees:

Focus on Talent Management best Practices

HR managers at Aramex implement talent management programs, which assists the company to hire appropriate and right employees from the beginning. Additionally, talent management programs give the employees direction they need, development, recognition, to perform and succeed working for the organization (Sharpe, & Schroeder, 2016). The managers are also trained on how to motivate, reward, recognize realistic goals, and giving feedback to the employees. The manager said that talent management programs had become a part of the Aramex organizational culture and it is something the HR managers do on a daily basis.

Get to know what is Important to your Employees

Aramex has retained its workforce through the HR managers knowing what is valuable and important to every employee. It is a vital retention practice is necessary for the top performer's employees as they give them more opportunities due to their experience and skills (Sharpe, & Schroeder, 2016). To do this efficiently, the HR managers develop strong working relationships with their workforce, and they are accustomed and familiar with the passions, frustrations, desires, and dissatisfactions of every employee. Apparently, the HR managers work with every worker to handle and the challenges and issues that can lead to employee retention.

Holding Stay Interviews

The HR managers do not conduct an exit interview with the employees that have made a decision to leave the company. Instead, they keep staying interviews with the employees that are ready to stay and work for the enterprise. During the stay interviews, the managers and the employees discuss issues such as:

• The top strength of the employees
• What the employees like and dislike concerning their role and responsibilities
• The things that satisfy and ignite their passions
• What makes the employees go to work on a daily basis and what would make a great day at work?
• Further, the HR managers and the employees discuss the issues that discourage the employees and make them yearn for the weekend

Apparently, the purpose and the goal of the stay interviews is to increase an excellent understanding of the managers to what encourages and discourages the employees. It ensures that the managers can work with the employees to establish a conducive, engaging, and satisfying work environment (Mahroum, 2016). The HR managers at Aramex conduct the stay interviews with every worker after their six months on their job positions. Further, the managers conduct numerous stay interviews with their solid performers and top talent employees. The stay interviews have significantly helped Aramex company have better communication, working condition, and the relationship between the employees and the managers.

Tracking your Turnover Metrics

The HR managers at Aramex also keep track of their turnover metrics. Apparently, the turnover metrics helps to examine the data through the department, location, and the manager. The turnover metrics assist the HR managers to uncover root causes of undesirable misbehavior with the employees and take proper actions.

It is evident that Aramex Company has benefitted from these retention practices and programs implemented by the HR managers. It is imperative to note that the cost of employee replacement can reach high as 60% of an annual salary of the employee's salary (Mahroum, 2016). Consequently, strategies and programs geared to assist an organization to counteract and offset employee retention and replacement costs, and minimize the indirect costs that the company incurs such as losing clients and decreased productivity.

Ethical Environment and Ethical HR practices

The core values of Aramex guide its commitment and dedication ethical and moral conduct. In fact, the company believes in excellence as a way of providing its services and endeavors to establish a permanent and lasting stakeholder sensitivity of its commitment to the superseding value. Additionally, the company motivates entrepreneurship and the avenue of a challenge from its workforce as a path to improvement, respect and value teamwork, and mutual relations (Allen, & Galiano, 2017). Aramex Company also promotes respect and diversity for the employees and stand in harmony and solidarity with the communities in which it operates through serving as an active corporate and social responsible organization.

The company strives to preserve and uphold these values in all actions it takes and the decision it makes, and clearly defining what to expect and commit to and from its stakeholders. Aramex aims at building and establishing a culture of integrity (Allen, & Galiano, 2017). For instance, the company manages its relation with its stakeholders in a manner that is steady and consistent with its core values and fosters a permanent assurance and conviction on their part. For this reason, the company chief sustainability officer leads and guides the actions and responsibility for human right in the company. Apparently, the policies, conditions, and practices of Aramex remained in accord with the standard and accepted labor and human rights.

The execution and implementation of the human right ethics at Aramex are incorporated within its business processes such as regular employee engagement sessions that are carried out in collaboration with external entities. Furthermore, a system and structure for reporting any violations are in place that permits for anonymous treatment and reporting. The managers of the company form a committee any time there is an infringement or violation to examine and take action of any occurrence. There are numerous human rights training conducted as part of the core training at Aramex, which is carried out on a frequent basis for all workforce.

Ethical Environment

Service Integrity

The recognition and reputation of Aramex brand rely on the confidence and trust of the public in its service integrity. For instance, the customers need to be in a position to believe the reality and credibility of the information they are given (Bogue, & Bogue, 2016). The service integrity ethic states that authorities such as security and customs officials must trust in the regulatory compliance, diligence, and discipline of the company. Additionally, the employees of Aramex must recognize and be diligent concerning the factors, which affect the service reputation and work collectively to protect and guard the service integrity. The HR manager indicated that the particular areas of service integrity that need to be given some attention comprise of relationships with customs, enforcement authorities, security concerns, and over-promising.

Financial Integrity

Another area that the company is ethical about is the financial integrity. Apparently, the financial integrity concerns all of the customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, government authorities, and business partners (Bogue, & Bogue, 2016). The HR manager stated that the financial reputation of the company is affected by the real and perceived integrity of all the people involved. The financial reputation of Aramex relies on the company's steadiness and consistency in offering complete, accurate, and timely payments, reporting, and maintaining accurate records always. Therefore, all the employees at Aramex significantly play a role in making sure the integrity of the company's financial records, transactions, and reporting are in order.

Legal Integrity

The company values and respects all the local, state, national, and international laws and regulations, as the management, believes that court cases, litigations, and fines adversely comprise and affect the reputation of the company. Hence, the employees of Aramex are supposed to commit and help in ensuring the company complies with the regulations and laws even those connected to intellectual property rights and copyrights.

Codes of Ethics

Equal employment opportunities

Aramex company recruits and hire its employs based on merit in spite of color, religion, marital status, disability, nationality, color, gender, health, and personal situations as long as the disability and health condition is not an obstacle to work performance. In this regard, Aramex implements the merit basis as a criterion of recruitment even in countries where the laws demand that particular job positions to be held by local nationals.

Safe, secure, and healthy working conditions

Aramex Company is dedicated and committed to offering healthy and safe working conditions in all its locations such as road safety. In fact, health and safety working conditions are regarded as vital in all business processes, decisions, and are a fundamental part of the organizational culture of the company. The security and health objective of Aramex is zero incidents where all the employees need to their best to foster and attain this goal (Juma, 2014). The company inspires and motivates its workforce to achieve a suitable and healthy work-life balance, and is dedicated to providing overtime instructions and guidelines.

Reasonable and Fair Treatment and Improvement Opportunities for all Employees

Aramex Company encourages and promotes from within and entrusts to making sure there is fair treatment for all the workforce is founded on merits such as advancement and training opportunities. The validity that the company includes is attitude, talent, and skills, and discrimination is not permitted at the company (Juma, 2014). Besides, Aramex Company is devoted to creating flexible conditions, which are comprehensive and accommodative to employees with special needs such as nursing mothers, and individuals with physical disabilities. Attaining this code of ethics significantly depends on the contribution of the workforce in offering their suggestions and concerns on ways the company can improve and advance in this area.

Respect for Diversity and Colleagues

The codes of ethics of Aramex company states that all employees at the company should be treated with honor and respect by the managers and other members despite the job position. Furthermore, the company does not put up with abusive treatment from its employees or people inside or outside the company. Although there are numerous job positions, all staff is equal. Aramex Company is a diverse working environment and is firmly dedicated to honoring and respecting the multiplicity of cultures, personal lifestyles, beliefs, and religions (O’Byrne, 2013). The company supports its workforce with rights to personal privacy and freedom. For instance, issues such as racism and harassment are not tolerated at Aramex Company. Harassment comprises of actions and behavior, which creates a hostile and threatening environment for other employees. Moreover, Aramex Company is firm in ensuring a culture, which is highly reverential of women, people of different color, religion, minorities, and ethnicities where they are treated as equal partners of the company. For this reason, the confidential and private data for all the employees at Aramex is treated with the deserved professional confidentiality by the superiors and HR managers and safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure.

Accountability

The ethics of responsibility is apparent at Aramex. For instance, the HR manager stated during the interview that trust requires accepting accountability and owning up to the actions of the employees. Thereby, the employees of Aramex are expected to be answerable and accountable for their actions. For Aramex Company, accountability is the foundation of trust and responsibility, and it does not entail reproof. Conversely, mistakes of misjudgment with good intention are tolerated and accepted as long as the employees have not violated a policy or law without rational validation. The HR managers argue that corporate reaction and reprimand should always be in proportion with the violation or misconduct of the employee and agreement with the policies of the company (Khayr Yaacoub, Abdul Aziz, Wehbeh, & El Debs, 2015). HR managers at Aramex believe that the company should not have a culture where credit is centralized, and blame is delegated. Further, this code of conduct states that no employee should be held answerable for an action for which he/she is not accountable.

Crisis and Emergency Management

Aramex Company is committed to supporting its workforce through taking all the potential measures to make sure that the entire workforce is safe in assisting in upholding their employment and livelihood. For instance, the company is committed to supporting its workforce in case of national crises and emergencies.

Conflict of interest

Another ethical principle that Aramex company implements is that every employee needs to consider the keen and best interest of the company as the primary criteria for their professional actions, and they should never comprise the interests of the company. In fact, no employee should try to influence the decision of a company for a personal gain (Khayr Yaacoub, Abdul Aziz, Wehbeh, & El Debs, 2015). Likewise, all employees should shun circumstances, which comprise a conflict of interest between them and Aramex Company. The company considers that a conflict of interest exists when an employee has a personal connection or interest, which may permit the judgment of the employee to be founded on reason rather than considering the best interest of the company. Further, the ethical principle of conflict of interest may comprise and connect to customers, agents, competitors, or recruitment, which involves an employee directly or a close member of the family. It is paramount, therefore for employees to inform their managers when the conflict of interest arises.

Business gifts and entertainment

Another ethical code of conduct at Aramex concerns business gifts and entertainment. It implied that presenting gifts and entertainment to employees and customers is a recognized and accepted the norm, which promotes first professional associations so long as it is not on purpose or identified as bribery and is in conformity with the published in financial policy of the company( Khayr Yaacoub, Abdul Aziz, Wehbeh, & El Debs, 2015). Therefore, the employees of Aramex are supposed to report to their managers concerning any business entertainment or gift they receive. The code of conduct states that all gifts and entertainment should be given or accepted without discussion or consultation with a regional station manager. Further, the code of conduct says that an Aramex staff should never give a gift that is alleged as a form, of corruption or bribery. Likewise, a team of Aramex is not supposed to receive an offer or gift that is purposed to influence his/her decision.

Recommendation

For Aramex Company to attain a competitive advantage over its competitors, and based on my study; I suggest and recommend to be executed with an immediate effect:

• Establish and increase reward and incentive programs, which motivate employees to improve their job performance
• It is vital for the HR managers to execute and implement performance appraisals to make sure accomplishment of the personal goals and accordingly attain the aims of a company
• Regular and constant development is needed for the selection and recruitment methods to ensure Aramex is up on the labor regulations and standards
• The company needs to carry out job analysis systematically to ensure suitable and proper job descriptions in place, which reflect actual responsibilities and roles of the employees.

References

Allen, K., & Galiano, M. (2017). Corporate Volunteering in the Global South. In Perspectives on Volunteering (pp. 99-114). Springer International Publishing.

Balakrishnan, M. S. (2015). Aramex PJSC: carving a competitive advantage in the global logistics and express transportation service industry. Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, 5(3), 1-54.

Bogue, R., & Bogue, R. (2016). Growth in e-commerce boosts innovation in the warehouse robot market. Industrial Robot: An International Journal, 43(6), 583-587.

Grosse, R. (2016). How emerging markets firms will become global leaders. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 11(3), 274-287.

Jalal, D., & Al-Debei, M. M. (2013). Developing and Implementing a Web Portal Success Model. Jordan Journal of Business Administration, 9(1).

Juma, M. L. (2014). Cargo Tracking System as a Competitive Strategy in Service Delivery (Doctoral dissertation, University Of Nairobi).

Khayr Yaacoub, H., Abdul Aziz, S., Wehbeh, R., & El Debs, R. (2015). LibanPost: a successful strategy for a private-public partnership. Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, 5(6), 1-17.

Mahroum, S. (2016). MAKTOOB in Amman: A Rose between a Rock and a Hard Place. In Black Swan Start-ups (pp. 143-159). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

O'Byrne, R. (2013). Moving logistics activities out: Single, multiple and even universal outsourcing. MHD Supply Chain Solutions, 43(6), 44.

Sharpe, N. R., & Schroeder, C. M. (2016). Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Middle East: Current Challenges and Recommended Policies. In Innovation in Emerging Markets (pp. 87-101). Palgrave Macmillan UK.