January 20, 2006	Friday	Zilhaj 19, 1426

Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, Jan 19: The National Productivity Organization (NPO) is organizing a conference on ‘Productivity for National Competitiveness’ on January 28, 2006. The objective of the conference is to achieve business excellence. Beside, highlighting national quality policy and plan, the NPO will also launch Pakistan National Quality Award (PNQA) for all segments of trade and industry, including small and medium enterprizes.

This was stated by Saquib Mohyuddin, chief of NPO, at a meeting with Union of Small and Medium Enterprizes (Unisame) here on Thursday. He said that Pakistan should develop a competitive, sustainable and fast-growing economy that creates national prosperity.

Mr Mohyuddin said that with the increasing impact of globalization on business, the scope for competition is no longer limited to national boundaries or to the particular industrial sector.

Therefore, he said that the business excellence model, envisaged by the PNQA, is based on universally accepted standards that are found in the US Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the European Quality Award and the Malaysian Quality Award, (Prime Minister’s Quality Award).

Keeping in view the importance of the SMEs and their role in the economic development, he said NPO would invite Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver to speak on the SMEs subject in the forthcoming conference being held in Karachi.

The conference will deliberate on common objectives of national development and will help in development of the country, said Mr Thaver.