Arab Knowledge and Management Society (AKMS)
Encyclopedia
The Arab Knowledge and Management Society (AKMS) is a Jordan
-based regional
non-profit association
, established and chaired by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
, Chairman and Founder of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization
(Tagorg).
The Society
's main purpose is to facilitate knowledge
sharing and management
in Arab countries through promoting research and development
in those fields and offering programs and qualifications that support its purpose.
http://www.ijma3.org/Templates/InsideTemplate.aspx?PostingId=299
became aware of the necessity of coordinating their efforts by organizing themselves into an association.
Accordingly, the Arab Management Society was established upon the invitation of the chairman of TAGorg Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
on August 29, 1989 in Buffalo
- New York
, USA, and was officially registered in Amman
, Jordan
on October 10, 1990.
The society's name was amended to become the Arab Knowledge and Management Society (AKMS) on December 23, 2000, to emphasize the group’s objective towards a knowledge
society.
.
AKMS was the first Arab non-profit organization
to become a member of one of the technical committees of the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO). The Society was granted a membership in 1994 to join the most ISO/TC 176/SC2.
The Society’s membership in this committee is a representative
one, as active membership is limited to official national standardization institutions. It is worth mentioning that AKMS is one of only two Arab representatives that have joined the ISO/TC 176 committee, the other Arab organization being the Egyptian Standardizations Organization. So far, no other Arab organizations have joined this committee.
In 1998, the Society’s representative, Khaled Abu-Osbeh was elected to join a group of experts called ISO/TC 176/SC 2/WG 18. This group
was responsible for laying down the ISO specifications.
In October 2001, during the committees’ meetings held in the British
city
of Birmingham
, the Society was accepted as a member of the ISO/TC 176 committee and was invited to participate in the ISO/TC 176/SC3 committee, in recognition of its active role in the ISO/TC 176/SC2 committee.
In the year 2006, AKMS managed to secure cooperation
agreements with several international
organizations that work in the field of knowledge
and quality management
. AKMS was awarded membership of the British Institute of Quality Assurance
(IQA). The IQA membership has granted the Society several advantages, among which are the provision of all publications and data related to quality on a regular basis as well as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IQA to set up a mechanism for cooperation in the field of professional training and publications.
During that same year, AKMS activated its agreement with the International Standardized Testing Organization (ISTO). The agreement involved updating the Society's data on the ISTO website in addition to providing the Society with the marketing materials necessary to market the ISTO exams. Meanwhile, partnership with ICANN
was also enhanced through several cooperation agreements signed.
In July 2007, AKMS launched the first quality-specialized program in the Arab
region
; the Arab Certified Quality Manager (ACQM) program.
• Association with Canisius College
in New York
.
• Cooperation with the Center for Applied Studies in International Negotiation (CASIN).
• Partnership Agreement with the International Standard Testing Organization (ISTO).
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
-based regional
non-profit association
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, established and chaired by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh is the chairman and founder of the international Jordan-based organisation, the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization...
, Chairman and Founder of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization
The Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization , is an international holding company employing over 2,000 multi-disciplined professionals and operating out of 70 offices in the Middle East and North Africa, with representative offices in Europe, Asia and North America.The Organisation is a leading provider of...
(Tagorg).
The Society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
's main purpose is to facilitate knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
sharing and management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
in Arab countries through promoting research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
in those fields and offering programs and qualifications that support its purpose.
http://www.ijma3.org/Templates/InsideTemplate.aspx?PostingId=299
History
The idea behind the Society's set up came about when managers and businessmen in the Arab worldArab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
became aware of the necessity of coordinating their efforts by organizing themselves into an association.
Accordingly, the Arab Management Society was established upon the invitation of the chairman of TAGorg Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh is the chairman and founder of the international Jordan-based organisation, the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization...
on August 29, 1989 in Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
- New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA, and was officially registered in Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
on October 10, 1990.
The society's name was amended to become the Arab Knowledge and Management Society (AKMS) on December 23, 2000, to emphasize the group’s objective towards a knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
society.
Agreements with International Organizations
At the end of 1994, AKMS submitted a membership application that was approved by the ISO/TC 176 CommitteeCommittee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
.
AKMS was the first Arab non-profit organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
to become a member of one of the technical committees of the International Organization for Standardization
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
(ISO). The Society was granted a membership in 1994 to join the most ISO/TC 176/SC2.
The Society’s membership in this committee is a representative
Representation (politics)
In politics, representation describes how some individuals stand in for others or a group of others, for a certain time period. Representation usually refers to representative democracies, where elected officials nominally speak for their constituents in the legislature...
one, as active membership is limited to official national standardization institutions. It is worth mentioning that AKMS is one of only two Arab representatives that have joined the ISO/TC 176 committee, the other Arab organization being the Egyptian Standardizations Organization. So far, no other Arab organizations have joined this committee.
In 1998, the Society’s representative, Khaled Abu-Osbeh was elected to join a group of experts called ISO/TC 176/SC 2/WG 18. This group
Working group
A working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms . The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years...
was responsible for laying down the ISO specifications.
In October 2001, during the committees’ meetings held in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, the Society was accepted as a member of the ISO/TC 176 committee and was invited to participate in the ISO/TC 176/SC3 committee, in recognition of its active role in the ISO/TC 176/SC2 committee.
In the year 2006, AKMS managed to secure cooperation
Cooperation
Cooperation or co-operation is the process of working or acting together. In its simplest form it involves things working in harmony, side by side, while in its more complicated forms, it can involve something as complex as the inner workings of a human being or even the social patterns of a...
agreements with several international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
organizations that work in the field of knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
and quality management
Quality management
The term Quality management has a specific meaning within many business sectors. This specific definition, which does not aim to assure 'good quality' by the more general definition , can be considered to have four main components: quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality...
. AKMS was awarded membership of the British Institute of Quality Assurance
Institute of Quality Assurance
The Chartered Quality Institute , formerly known as The Institute of Quality Assurance , is the leading professional body for the advancement of quality practices in the UK, was originally founded in 1919 as the Institute of Engineering Inspection. It is a not-for-profit organisation and a...
(IQA). The IQA membership has granted the Society several advantages, among which are the provision of all publications and data related to quality on a regular basis as well as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IQA to set up a mechanism for cooperation in the field of professional training and publications.
During that same year, AKMS activated its agreement with the International Standardized Testing Organization (ISTO). The agreement involved updating the Society's data on the ISTO website in addition to providing the Society with the marketing materials necessary to market the ISTO exams. Meanwhile, partnership with ICANN
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
was also enhanced through several cooperation agreements signed.
In July 2007, AKMS launched the first quality-specialized program in the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
region
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
; the Arab Certified Quality Manager (ACQM) program.
Cooperation Agreements
AKMS has concluded several academic agreements through which it seeks to realize benefits for all members in the Arab world. Such agreements include, but are not limited to, the following:• Association with Canisius College
Canisius College
Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
• Cooperation with the Center for Applied Studies in International Negotiation (CASIN).
• Partnership Agreement with the International Standard Testing Organization (ISTO).