Services

With broad global resources, deep industry expertise, a proven track record of achievements and successes, MERIT can mobilize the right people, provide logical solutions and utilize the most advanced technologies to help clients become high-performance businesses and governments that can successfully reach and even exceed their objectives. Clients retain us because we logically address their critical challenges and current business dilemmas, in both event-driven and long-term scenarios. Many of our new engagements come from existing clients which is a testament to our ability to consistently deliver results.

Merit’s consulting portfolio comprises of services that have proven to strengthen the day to day functions within the client’s organization. From formulation of Business Strategy, Balanced Scorecard, Operational Plans to Organizational Design and Human Resources Management system, Merit professionals have at every step strived hard to set up a solid base of operation for the client. Merit’s financial services through audits, feasibility studies, financial budgeting and development of accounting policies and procedures have enabled the client to have a sturdy financial structure. Merit has been heavily involved in extensive Market and Economic Research that are fruitful in supporting the client to evaluate their current state of affairs and work towards achieving improvised and effective solution. Merit’s services pertaining to Risk Management System, Business Process Reengineering, Procurement and Inventory Management and others have time and again enabled client to reach to their optimum performance and success.

With Merit’s broad skill set and services, we help clients that operate in dynamic markets to shape their understanding of the future so they can thrive in these demanding conditions. Merit’s services are a blend of rigorous methodologies and techniques that deliver real-world results for clients around the world.

Corporate Governance Advisory

Merit credits effective governance to be more than a check-the box list of minimum executive management policies and duties. Even the most thoughtful and well-drafted policies and procedures are destined to fail if executive management is not committed to enforcing them in practice. Merit Corporate Governance services apart from being the implementation of defined roles and responsibilities are also enable installation of good Corporate Governance principles within our client’s organization.

The professional at Merit support the client in the formulation of a well adaptable Authority Matrix which provides uniformity and clarity in the application of policies and procedures to the various levels of organization.

Corporate Strategy Design

Strategy is what drives the enterprise. It defines what the company is, where it wants to be, and how it plans to get there. Every strategic effort embodies a design and requires executive and management skills. Merit brings with it the creativity, imagination, experience, and hard work that enable us to cater to the strategic requirement of clients.

Merit’s approach towards corporate strategy design is more detailed oriented both in essence and practically. From development of the strategy fundamentals to strategy analysis, from strategy formulation to strategy translation, from planning operations to the execution, Merit professionals go all the way to ensure that every step in corporate strategy design is conquered through precision and focus thereby yielding the exact deliverable required at each phase.

1 . Strategy Fundamentals

This governs the formulation of the Vision, Mission and Core values that inspire and serve as the guiding principles for the client on how to operate their business at present and in the future.

2 . Strategic Analysis

Merit finds it imperative to ensure that its strategic analysis encompasses attributes such as identification and evaluation of data relevant to strategy formulation, defining the external and internal environment to be analyzed, and identification of analytical methods that can be employed in the analysis. Analytical methods and tools are keys to ensuring that consistency and an appropriate level of rigour is applied to the analysis. They aim to sharpen the focus of the analysis and to ensure a methodical, balanced approach.

  • Strength, Weakness Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) analysis – Merit professionals use it to define the objective and the internal and external factors prevalent or affecting the clients organization. 
  • Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE) analysis - Merit professionals use this examination to understand the various environments that an organization operates in through scanning of the external macro-environment in which an organization exists 
  • Porter’s 5 Forces analysis –Merit professionals use it to understand the strength of an organization’s current competitive position and the one it may look to move into. It is the identification of where power lies in a business situation.
  • Value Chain analysis –Merit professionals use it to identify the separate sets of activities that add value for the client and are considered to be a source of competitive advantage. Merit professionals provide clients a way to analyze product lines in search of growth opportunities.
  • Benchmarking – Through the customized benchmarking studies developed by Merit consultants the direct analysis relevant to client business is made possible. Merit has managed to  increase client’s service quality, gain insight into businesses of similar nature and their best practices and advice client’s on qualitative and quantitative measures of service that increase operational effectiveness. 
  • 7 Stages to Sustainability (7SS) model – Merit professionals apply this model to understand how the organizational elements are interrelated from internal and external perspectives, identifying Partners inputs and expected outcomes by engaging organizations and citizen as required, developing collaboration road map,  and putting together solutions for sustainability.
3 . Strategic Guidelines

Merit utilizes effective strategic analysis tools such as Portfolio Analysis, Market Research, and Financial Analysis and core competencies to comprehend the business environment and the interaction of the client’s organization with this environment in order to increase the organization’s capacity to deployand redeploy its resources intelligently. The strategic guidelines developed by Merit focuses on the identification of the goals, strategic themes, value gap decomposition and financial modelling.

4 . Strategy Formulation
  • Scenario Analysis – Merit offers Scenario Analysis through defining the problem, gathering the data, separating certainties form uncertainties, developing scenarios that will be used in the planning. Through such efforts, Merit is able foresee the unknowns and therefore plan measures to counteract or mitigate their impact.
  • Value proposition – The value proposition canvas created by Merit adds value for the client’s customers and help design products and services that are welcomed by the customers.
  • Strategy Map - Strategy maps developed by Merit have allowed organizations to effectively communicate their strategy to their employees and other corporate stakeholders, thereby increasing engagement in the strategic process.
5 . Translate the Strategy

To enable the successful and effective translation of the strategy from a practical perspective, Merit develops balanced scorecard that identifies the organization’s strategic objectives, Critical Success Factors (CSFs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), targets and initiatives. Balanced Scorecard formulated by Merit professionals have helped clients to identify the aspects that best link the business's vision and strategy to its results. Through such efforts, the clients have been able to bridge gaps and recognize short-term milestones and long-term targets.

6 . Align Organization and Plan Operations

Merit has seen many of our clients double their business effectiveness through our services in Strategic Plan, Strategic Risk Plan, Operations plan, Budget/Business Plan. Merit experts have succeeded in designing processes and plans that build bridge between the strategy and day-to-day operations.

Once Merit’s professionals have accomplished development of the strategic and operational plans, the client will get a clear set of practices to align their business requirements, improve profitability and maximum utilization of resources to yield the results expected.

7 . Strategy Execution

Merit support clients in the strategy execution process thereby helping them to execute and communicate the developed strategy in most accurate and affect way possible so that success along the way is recognized, celebrated and leads to enduring impact.

Merit ensures that all levels of an organization are engaged in and executing the same unified strategy. Merit experts work with managers to monitor strategy execution and provide data driven decisions. Client management and employees are supported with the tools needed to have the right comprehension of their strategy. During the process Merit ensure that staff members have visibility of the overall strategy they are meant to be implementing.

Financial Advisory

As the global market place continues to expand and shift, it becomes more and more complex to manage and build a business. Comprehending the financial needs of our clients, MERIT provides a spectrum of resources and strategies that address the financial complexities. These include Financial Due Diligence, Financial Evaluation, Financial Planning, Merger and Acquisitions, development of Financial Strategies, Financial Management Systems and Finance & Accounting Policies and Procedures.

Merit specializes in providing businesses solutions and financial advisory pertaining to evaluations, strategic analysis, budget forecasting in light of industry trends and global market conditions. Merit provides independent and objective critical thinking in situations that are urgent, high-stake and most pressing in demand. Merit professionals possessing the requisite credentials and expertise are deployed to understand the client’s goals, anticipate evolving market trends and deliver excellence to advance each client’s financial and strategic goals.

1 . Financial Diligence

Merit’s financial due diligence contributes to the business success by helping identify the critical business success factors and presenting highly transparent financial information.

2 . Financial Evaluation

Merit provides businesses with independent assessment of their fair value. The assessment includes deep analysis of the existing financial situation, Cash flow and financial statements projections, Implementation of different valuation methods and comparative analysis of results.

3 . Financial Planning

Development of a Business Plan – The business planning process incorporates the following steps:

  • Understanding the business historical performance, and strategies
  • Performing industry & market analysis and developing an adequate marketing plan
  • Conducting Performance management & risk analysis
  • Assessing the business value under different scenarios
  • Providing assistance in the financial plan and budget implementation
  • Conducting Feasibility Study, Investment Planning and Risk Assessment 
  • Assessing & evaluating existing projects
  • Analyzing the competitive environment
  • Assessing the current and future supply & demand in the market and advising on business capacity needs
  • Determining the required capital resources and financing strategies
  • Performing in-depth analysis and forecasts of income and cash flows
  • Evaluating the benefits, risks and overall value of investment
4 . Merger and Acquisitions

The Due Diligence Process – Merit performs a thorough business assessment to uncover all information that could impact the merger and acquisition deal. Such assessment covers:

  • Business Structure, history and prospects review
  • Review of the market potential and competitive environment
  • Overall financial review
  • Management and organizational structure review
  • Information technology review
  • Building Strategy
  • Develop strategy and objectives
  • Create acquisition/integration plan
  • Perform pricing valuation
  • Represent the client in all merger and acquisition negotiations
  • Identify suitable sources of finance and assist in financing 
  • Support in execution
  • Assist in implementing merger and acquisition
  • Close the transaction
  • Monitor the integration process to increase the probability of long-term success.
5 . Financial Strategies

The consultants at Merit can advise customers on financing strategies that help achieve profitable and non-profitable entities' financial goals. The financial strategy services include:

  • Project financing wherein Merit professionals assist client in developing a capitalization strategy (the optimum debt/equity mix) that will ensure business success. Assessments are based on current capital market trends, current conditions affecting industry environment, and the competitive environment.
  • Initial Public Offering wherein the client is guided by Merit experts on the Initial Public Offering process and procedures.
  • Private Placement wherein the support by Merit presents opportunities for clients to raise capital and take their business forward towards massive growth potential.
6 . Financial Management System

Merit considers financial management to be the most essential part in the management of an organization. In order to achieve the organizational objectives, there is a need to link strategic plan with financial resources, organize, control, monitor and manage financial resources and budget. Merit has succeeded in developing sound financial management system and budgeting modules for clients that has enabled them make efficient use of their resources, fulfil comments to stakeholders and prepare for long term financial stability.

7 . Finance and Accounting Policies and Procedures

In compliance to the client’s vision, mission and mandate, the experts at Merit create accounting Policies and Procedures that aims to establish financial accountability and transparency. Through the structuring of the policies and procedures Merit aims to demonstrate the commitment it has towards supporting client’s in establishing a sound financial management system along with a consistent basis for decision-making that is complemented by proper administration of the financial operations and compliance with different accounting standards such as IFRS, IPSAS, etc..

Market and Economic Research

Merit offers customized Economic Research services to client’s on a wide variety of topics from economic conditions, business trends in the market to economic forecasts, projections, economic impact analysis etc. Merit has been part of various research projects and studies ensuring at every step to respond to the requirements of the clients and assit both public and private sectors to deal intelligently with present challenges and plan for the future. Merit’s effort in Market research has allowed informed development to the decision makers with the most up-to-date and accurate socio-economic and demographic data analysis.

Merit approach and methodology towards conducting Market and Economic Research is mainly attributed to meeting with stakeholders to receive qualitative and quantitative input, preliminary overview of the laws, directives, resolutions, focus groups, in-depth interviews and discussion with the client. Such interactions enable Merit professionals to gather a good insight about the current state of affairs and the expectations of the client and stakeholders.

Merit elaborative research methodology has created a difference for clients for they see creativity and innovation as a byproduct of our efforts. Merit interpretation of results yields more extensive insights to inform key strategic decisions, planning or investment decisions. Every project methodology that Merit professionals undertake is bespoke designed, assuring clients of a rigorous and focused research approach.

Merit independent researches on economic development, education, housing market, family development, real estate, shares and bonds and many others has assisted clients in furthering the social and economic development in the United Arab Emirates as well as internationally.

Organizational Design and Human Resources Solutions

Globalization represents many challenges and opportunities for both organizations and employees. It is difficult enough to achieve business success, let alone being successful across boundaries, time zones, legal systems, cultures and socio-political contexts; thus, MERIT provides services to help companies face up to these challenges through our effective Organizational Design and Human Resources Management Solutions. 

Merit’s organizational support allows client’s to develop and leverage their strategic capabilities thereby providing them with a competitive advantage. Merit professional help create the right organizational design by identifying the structural, cultural and relationship gaps within an organization, by addressing the concerns of the major stakeholders and by defining the processes and information flow that will sustain the desired outcomes.

Merit believes in linking human resources function with the strategic objectives of an organization. Such efforts enable Merit professionals to provide sturdy and functional Strategic Human Resources Management system that allow organizations to remain flexible enough to adapt to changing times and changing legal circumstances along with helping the organization to evaluate its current Human Resources policies and procedures.

Through creating an effective Human Resources Management system Merit fosters a sense of team spirit and camaraderie within the client’s organization.

1 . Organizational Structure

Merit has successfully formulated optimal organization structures for clients operating in various industries. The structures provide well defined lines of authority and communication of positions at various levels starting from the Top Management leading to the Senior Manager and along with support level staff.

2 . Job Description

The Job Descriptions developed by Merit cover classified set of organizational, administration and functional roles that have enable client’s employees to vigilantly identify their particular responsibilities towards their respective division/department.

3 . Behavioral Competencies/Soft Skills

Merit believes that competencies are the basic functional and behavioral requirements to successfully perform on the job, whereas Soft Skills being behavioral in nature also enable employees to perform their work better. Merit Human Resources expert diligently divide soft skills into various levels that clearly define and are based on the hierarchy of the positions. Master Behavioral Competencies Dictionary and Chart developed from client comprehensively explains the type of competency required for each level of employee.

4 . Job Placement

As Career planning is becoming essential to helping participants establish a long-term career trajectory, Merit consultants are reputed to develop the most effective job placement strategies.

5 . Grading Structure and Salary Scale

Merit utilized the Decision Band Method to formulate its Salary Scale making it a logical and equitable basis on which to compare jobs within an organization. The Salary Scale enable projection of assumed future salary increases taking into account the organization’s pay policy, Civil Services laws, labor laws, benchmarking with other operators in the region, organizational structure and other factors to establish an effective system for recruitment, promotion and annual salary review purposes.

6 . Recruitment Plan

Merit considers Manpower and Personnel planning as an important development in human resources management that will support organizations in achieving their goals and objectives. The Manpower Plan developed by Merit experts allow analysis of human resources needed on board by with the right set of skills, competencies and within approved financial budget.

7 . Performance Appraisal System

Merit has successfully formulated various Performance Appraisal Systems for clients that cover vitals aspects such as evaluation of the performance,  annual assessment policies, staff training and development, methodology for determining the training needs, preparation of the annual training plan, types of development training courses, career planning, etc.

8 . Training Plan

Merit Training Plans are created in a manner that they are flexible enough to meet the employees training needs. Considering training as an essential element for employees to maintain pace with changes to the working and corporate environment, Merit consultants develop training plans that improve effectiveness and productivity, customize the learning of the employee to the required business needs and keep the staff motivated.

9 . Succession Planning

Equipped with knowledge of the latest market and industrial trends, Merit supports clients to maximize the success of their business through effective succession planning. The succession plans formulated are practical in nature and customized to meet the client’s long term business goals and objectives. During the course of the planning process with the client, Merit’ experts take into consideration the organization expansion plan, products and retail services, existed staff capabilities and other factors. Relying on the effectiveness of Merit’s robust succession plans clients have been able to manage achieving targets with thriving results and recruit professional workforce with advanced set of knowledge, skills, and abilities that support organizational stability and sustainability.

10 . Localization Plan

Merit through its experience with various clients both locally and internationally, comprehends the importance that Governments around the world pursue towards empowering their nationals citizen. With the diverse range of businesses booming everywhere, the need of the hour is to populate National workforce that possess dynamic business skills to lead the way into the future. Merit’s experts through deployment of effective Localization plans have encouraged recruitment of skilled national workforce thereby enabling organizations to maintain pace with the labor market demands and meteoric economic growth. Special consideration during plan formulation is given to the recruitment of women nationals who are encouraged to contribute in the economic development and building of their country and community.

11 . Human Resources Policies and Procedures

Merit develops Human Resources policies and procedures for client that establish framework and set standards guiding employees to conduct themselves along with the mandatory rules and regulations that are required to be adhered. Merit believes that all employees share responsibility for protecting the well-being of their organization and for adhering to norms of behavior. Merit covers a wide range of policies and procedures within its manual such as Recruitment polices Employment procedures, Allowance and Benefits, Confidentiality and Code of Ethics, Employee Rights and Responsibilities, End of Service and others.

Project Management Services

As pioneers in project management consulting, Merit enhances client’s business by providing effective Project Management Services that help clients improve their project performance, identify risk at every step of the way and provide successful outcomes that are crucial for business success. Merit has diligently provided time-tested project management approaches to various clients thereby enabling them run their operations smoothly and meet a set of evolving challenges, functions, and services.

1 . Project Mangement Office Deployment

Judging by the organization’s culture, operating practices and present state of affairs, Merit consultants help clients to improve and manage organization portfolio by developing project management charter, communications plan, identifying the needed resources and setting performance measures to achieve organization requirements and targets.  

2 . Resource Management

During the process of Project Management, Merit support clients to analyze their human resources and capabilities thereby enabling them to use talent effectively and streamline resource deployment. Merit consultants enable client to determine how many project managers and support staff is needed to execute projects, assess competency, build job descriptions and delineate roles and responsibilities.

3 . Vendor Management

Merit consultants support the client in managing vendors by drafting their Request for Proposal (RFPs), technical scoping and service requirements to ensure terms and conditions are met by the vendors as per the expectation of the client. Merit acts on the clients behalf to ensure all parties associated with projects meet their commitments.

4 . Project Budget Management

In the early stages of the project life cycle, Merit consultants plays a pivotal role in the planning process by building consensus with the client team to work on each task elements of the project and support client in developing costs estimates and financial budget to allow comprehension of how it will be utilized and expended over time of the project. The Financial Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that our consultants formulate allows clear identification of project phases and tasks that will be undertaken to produce the expected project deliverables within the determined budget, realizing that the budget associated with certain tasks might change during the course of the project.

5 . Financial Project Management

Merit team of financial experts liaise with client to help them maintain a sound financial framework though out a project. Merit provides advice on modern techniques for managing and engineering the uncertainties and financial risk inherent in projects and designing appropriate financial instruments and tools to optimize the performance throughout the life cycle especially in areas related to balance sheets, expense reports, income statements, capital gain, risk and investment funds.

6 . Induction of Change Management

In coordination with top management, Merit consultants will focus on strategic issues and facilitate change accross the organization. Common areas of focus for this type of transformation includes identifying areas of opportunity and growth, creation of implementation plan for deployment, competency evaluation and demand management of both projects and operations work.

7 . Risk Monitoring and Reinforcement

Merit consultants help perform periodic reviews to identify any risk during the course of the project. If these reviews indicate something is going awry, it serves as a trigger to immediately initiate actions required to address the issues so improvement efforts do not falter.

8 . Project Review and Recovery

Merit consultants will perform periodic reviews to ensure that the project does not veer off track, report the current hindrance, and help support in resolving problematic technical issues.

Risk Management Advisory

Merit has established itself as trusted risk management advisor to renowned clients from around the world. Due its Dynamic presence in the market Merit offers a broad range of financial risk management service. Through risk-adjusted performance management methods and tools Merit has been able to provide robust financial risk management frameworks that contribute to better decision making and enhance performance. Merit’s solutions take into consideration the risks that can be managed locally or in-house, those that should be insured and those that should be mitigated or eliminated. Clients are efficiently assisted by our professionals in avoiding the spread of risk across the operations and deploying resources that effectively manage risk at the enterprise and individual levels. 

Merit consultants have been in the forefront of providing clients the solutions to manage risk, predict hidden risks and control the impact of risk. The leading imperative for Merit prior to embarking on any project is to bridge any existed gaps through deployment of effective risk management practices and systems in compliance with regulatory requirements and the determination to create a robust risk management framework.

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