Strategic Project Environment: Lusail Real Estate Development Company

Topic: Real Estate Words: 3453 Pages: 12

Introduction

In the context of sustainability, Qatar is one country that is developing sustainable projects. Lusail city is among the projects financed and controlled by the government to develop a green city. It is a revolutionary project that will become a one-of-a-kind state-of-the-art city in the region and beyond the world. By incorporating sustainability ideas into the foundation of a city plan, the city incorporates Qatar’s National Vision 2030. The project is being carried out on behalf of Qatari Diar by Lusail Real Estate Development Company. The main goal is to create a city that promotes a smart and environmentally friendly lifestyle by giving everyone access to a sustainable and comfortable way of living. The Lusail city concept will also incorporate smart planning and a seamless fusion of cities to guarantee that the city offers a distinctive living experience. As a result, the organisation through the project has incorporated operations that promote sustainability.

An organisation can be affected by variables in the external environment in addition to its internal environment. The necessity for businesses to adopt CSR is one of the ideas spreading in the macro environment. This has led to sustainability being more important and the main topic of discussion. Additionally, modern consumers are becoming more and more conscious of the negative effects of climate change. The government and other stakeholders are concentrating their efforts on environmental preservation measures. For instance, Qatar’s authorities have joined efforts worldwide to encourage nations to have zero carbon emissions. Because of this, businesses like Mazaya Real Estate Development and Lusail Real Estate Development Company are forced to adopt sustainability through implementing sustainable operations.

Strategic Project Environment

In the recent past, the real estate industry has been redefined by the ever-changing market conditions and shifts in consumer behavior. Lusail Real Estate Development Company, based in Qatar, is currently working on Lusail city (DMS Projects, 2022). This is considered a major project due to its uniqueness and incorporation of sustainability. The city goes beyond the typical concept of a modern city due to its futuristic reflection of incredible ideals and ideas. Furthermore, upon its completion, the city will feature new places to live, work, and shop, as well as all of the social services that a community needs, such as schools, medical facilities, recreational areas, and shopping complexes (Rizzo, 2020). The main purpose is to ensure that all the stakeholders are satisfied with the city’s development.

The government of Qatar has placed sustainability at the core of its investment approach. They have invested heavily in ensuring the country becomes sustainable to enhance its performance and attract tourists (Rizzo, 2020). For example, projects such as Lusian city are being financed by the government to demonstrate to the world that there is a possibility of having a sustainable city in the country. Based on this, organisations such as Lusail Real Estate Development Company, Mazaya real estate development, and others are forced to embrace sustainability by adopting sustainable operations. Therefore, Lusian city is a project due to its focus on promoting corporate social responsibility.

Background

The Lusail is among the world’s biggest development projects being undertaken in Qatar. It is a visionary development set to become a unique state-of-the-art city in the region and across the globe (Harmon and Truby, 2019). The city encompasses Qatar’s National Vision 2030 by taking sustainability principles into the core of a city plan. Lusail Real Estate Development Company is undertaking the project on behalf of Qatari Diar. The city goes beyond the normal concept of a contemporary city due to its futuristic reflection of great aspirations and ideas. It will cover a large area of 35 square kilometers and will be home to about 200,000 people (DMS Projects, 2022). In addition, the city will include new places to live, work, and shop as well as all the social amenities that a community needs, like schools, medical facilities, places to have fun, and shopping centers. Thus, Lusail is a project designed to meet the needs of individuals and the community by promoting a technologically advanced lifestyle.

Lusail Real Estate Development Company operates in the real estate industry. The sector is among the most successful businesses in the area of construction (Hefnawy, Bouras, and Cherifi, 2018). I choose the Lusail City project due to its emphasis on environmental stewardship. The city is being developed with a variety of eco-friendly and sustainable features. The project is important because it promotes using innovative ideas that take the sustainability principle. The primary purpose of this project is to build a city that fosters a smart and green life by offering a sustainable and comfortable lifestyle experience to everyone (DMS Projects, 2022). In addition, the Lusail city project will ensure that the city offers a unique living environment by integrating smart planning and a smooth combination of cities. The influencers are the government of Qatar, media, bank, owner, CEO, board of directors, and employees of the company.

Evaluation of External Influences on The Project

PESTEL Analysis

Political Factors

Political factors are aspects such as government stability, taxes, policies, and trade restriction on organisations. Qatar is politically stable because an absolute monarchy governs it with all powers vested in Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al- Thani (Brannagan and Reiche, 2022). The stability of the country is attributed to the monarchial form of government. Apart from stability, the government has been working closely with other countries such as the US, China, Turkey, and others. The relationship enabled Qatar to host international events and conferences on the economy, religion, politics, and world cup 2022. In addition, the country has favorable taxes imposed on businesses to foster their operations. As a result, Qatar provides a conducive political environment that supports the growth of organisations and projects.

Economic Factors

Economic components consist of aspects that determine the financial health of a country. It includes factors such as gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, unemployment, and inflation. According to official data from the World Bank, the (GDP) in Qatar was worth $179.57 billion in 2021 (Trading Economics, 2022). In 2021, the inflation rate for consumer prices in Qatar was 2.3%. This is within the normal rate of 2%, indicating that the prices of products are stable. The unemployment rate was 0.26% in 2021, which decreased by 0.04% from the rate recorded in 2020 (Trading Economics, 2022). This is an indication that the majority of individuals in the country are employed. Additionally, a low unemployment rate shows that many people have disposable income. Therefore, Qatar has a stable economy owing to its high GDP.

Social Factors

Social components comprise a society’s demographics, trends, and values. Qatar has a total population of about 2.9 million inhabitants (Dergaa et al., 2022). However, among these statistics, Qataris represent approximately 15%. Qatar is considered a home to people from different cultures. Some nationalities living in the country are Sri Lankan, Nepali, Arab, Indian, and Filipino. Qatar has established a goal of becoming the most open nation in the middle east. The most dominant religion is Islam, comprising about 86% of the entire population (Alsharif et al., 2019). Apart from Islam, some commonly known religions are Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Although the official language is Arabic, English is widely used in the country. As a result, Qatar is a good place to work and live, and it is normally easy to make friends.

Technological Factors

Technological aspects are factors that affect a country’s degree of technology and innovation. Qatar is among the countries in the world that have accepted and incorporated new technology (Schnell, 2020). The nation is shifting from an energy-based economy to a technology and knowledge-based economy. For example, the transformation can be seen with its focus on building tech cities across the country. The local IT market is growing tremendously, with most of its population using social media (Schnell, 2020). This is an indication that contemporary businesses have the ability to thrive through digital marketing. Organisations are able to reach their customers via the internet effectively. Therefore, the government of Qatar continues to invest heavily in technology.

Environmental Factors

Environmental components represent aspects that affect nature and ecology. Recently, Qatar has placed a lot of emphasis on tourism to increase its revenue. The sector is growing quickly, attracting the interest of travelers from around the world (Salahuddin and Gow, 2019). Along with the country’s natural features, a huge number of tourist attractions have been constructed, increasing its attractiveness to both domestic and foreign visitors. However, Qatar must address a number of environmental issues because it is among the hottest regions on Earth. The temperature gets extreme, forcing them to place air conditioning in public spaces like streets and outdoor marks. Therefore, other environmental issues include pollution, ocean acidification, and sandstorms.

Legal Factors

Legal factors are laws and regulations established by a government for organisations operating in the country. In Qatar, the legal system consists of Islamic law and civil law. The government’s labor acts protect a country’s rights and wellbeing. For example, in a week, employees are supposed to work a maximum of 48 hours, excluding breaks (Fargues, Shah, and Brouwer, 2019). However, there is no required minimum pay rate for workers in Qatar because the country has no minimum wage. A fair living wage must be negotiated directly with the employer via collective bargaining or another negotiation process. As a result, the country has a favourable legal environment supporting business operations.

Advantages and Disadvantages of PESTEL Analysis on The Project

There are several merits and demerits of PESTEL analysis on the Lusail city project. The analysis promotes the development of strategic thinking within the project. For example, since the analysis shows that Qatar has emphasized technology and innovation, the people handling the city must align with new technology. The analysis offers a mechanism that allows the project to determine and exploit new opportunities. However, accessing quality information from the macro environment is often time-consuming and costly. This shows that the project manager should set aside adequate funds to run the process. Thus, the project owner should consider the advantages and disadvantages of the analysis.

Porter’s Five Forces

Table 1: Porter’s Five Forces

	Porter’s five forces	Explanation
	Competitive rivalry (High)	There is high competition among real estate companies in Qatar. The market is dominated by a few industry players who control operations (Rahdari, Mehan, and Malekpourasl, 2019).
	The threat of new entrant (Low)	In the real estate industry, it is not easy for an individual to start an organisation. One of the barriers is the high capital required to begin operation (Rahdari, Mehan, and Malekpourasl, 2019).
	The threat of substitute (Low)	It is hard to find a substitute for the services and products offered in the real estate industry.
	Bargaining power of buyers (high)	The buyers in the market have several companies to choose from to offer the services and products. Other than Lusail Real Estate Development Company, there are various firms that a customer can select.
	Bargaining power of suppliers (Low)	Since there are many suppliers in the market, the companies have different options. This reduces the bargaining power of the suppliers in the industry (Rahdari, Mehan, and Malekpourasl, 2019).

Industry Related Influences

The real estate industry is among the fastest-growing economies in Qatar. Most of the companies in this sector are embracing technology to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of production (Rahdari, Mehan, and Malekpourasl, 2019). Existing firms are forced to adopt new technologies and innovations to survive this disruption. Apart from technology, most organisations are promoting sustainable operations owing to the pressure from the government to reduce their carbon footprint. In addition, the intense competition in the real estate industry is another force that affects businesses (Rahdari, Mehan, and Malekpourasl, 2019). For organisations to perform effectively, they must be able to deliver quality products and services to customers. Therefore, the real estate sector has forces that determine organisations’ operations.

Project Stakeholders

Internal Stakeholders

Table 2: Internal Stakeholder Analysis

	Stakeholders	Role
	Cosette Adam (CEO)	He is the highest-ranking individual in an organisation responsible for making managerial decisions. One of the key tasks is developing, communicating, and implementing corporate policies and strategies (Javeed and Lefen, 2019). In the Lusail city project, the CEO provides adequate support from management. In addition, he ensures that the project gets adequate funds for smooth operations.
	Board of directors	The company’s board undertaking this project is integral in promoting effective operations. The board’s primary objective is to secure the company’s prosperity by jointly managing the business while appropriately serving the interests of its shareholders and important stakeholders (Javeed and Lefen, 2019). They assist in the creation of policies, rules, and standards for corporate governance. This ensures that all stakeholders have standards that guide their operations.
	Employees	Employees are among the most important human resources to an organisation. They contribute effectively toward the successful functioning of an organisation (Javeed and Lefen, 2019). In the Lusail city project, the employees perform the assigned tasks to help realize the established objectives. They follow the set standards to ensure the organisation achieves the anticipated quality.

External Stakeholders

Table 3: External Stakeholders Analysis

	Stakeholders	Role
	Government	The project is funded and controlled by the government of Qatar. They ensure the project receives adequate funds for smooth operations and offer appropriate guidelines to achieve the expected objectives (Javeed and Lefen, 2019). In addition, the government provides a conducive environment for the project.
	Banks	Banks are financial institutions that assist individuals and organisations with various financial aids, enabling them to operate smoothly. Some banks facing the challenge of financing the Lusail city project are Barwa Bank, First Gulf Bank of Abu Dhabi, and Qatar International Islamic Bank.
	Media	The main purpose of the media is to relay information about current events. They ensure that relevant stakeholders are informed about the progress of the Lusail city project. For example, the media assist in conveying the vision and mission of the project to people across the globe.
	Customer	Customers are important stakeholders of an organisation because they purchase the products and services. The responsibility for expressing project needs and ensuring that specifications are satisfied at project conclusion rests with the customer (Javeed and Lefen, 2019). Additionally, the consumer should be in charge of outlining their demands during customer engagements.

Critical Appraisal of The Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility

Balanced Scorecard

A balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system. It consists of financial, customer, internal process, and growth perspectives (Oliveira et al., 2021). From a financial perspective, Lusail Real Estate Development Company has emphasized the effective use of resources and financial performance. The organisation believes its success depends on its ability to use the available resources and avoid wastage effectively. The management understands that its profitability is linked to its ability to reduce the cost of production through the appropriate use of resources. In addition, financial productivity is a good indicator of success in the market because it shows its strength in revenue and sales. Therefore, the company’s financial perspective reveals its focus on meeting the financial needs of its stakeholders.

From a customer perspective, the organisation majors in customer satisfaction and retention of relevant stakeholders. Customers are at the center of the innovative platform for the real estate company undertaking the project (Oliveira et al., 2021). At the company, customers are included in the systems through enhanced communication and feedback mechanisms. This ensures that requirements are obtained and incorporated into the project to enhance satisfaction. The organisation’s success depends on its ability to retain major stakeholders such as customers and employees. Additionally, the other stakeholders that the company should consider retaining are the government of Qatar for more contracts and banks for financial needs. As a result, customer satisfaction and retention are metrics used to determine its success.

For internal operations, the company views the quality and efficiency of the performance of its products and services. The organisation ensures that only skilled and experienced individuals are hired (Oliveira et al., 2021). This is also to ensure that tasks are performed effectively to achieve the set objectives. To achieve the anticipated objectives, the company ensures that all stakeholders are involved in the process to understand their needs. This is done to ensure that all operations are geared towards achieving the requirements obtained from customers and other relevant stakeholders (Oliveira et al., 2021). The company conducts regular reviews to determine whether they work according to the established rules and standards.

The growth perspective includes employee training and corporate cultural attitudes. Due to rapid technological change, it is becoming necessary for employees to be in constant learning mode (Oliveira et al., 2021). Lusail Real Estate Development Company ensures that its employees are regularly trained to equip them with emerging skills in the market. The organisation knows that its performance depends on the level of satisfaction of its employees. In addition, the company has corporate values aligned with the government’s needs and other stakeholders such as employees. For example, the organisation has established a culture where its operations comply with the established policies. Therefore, the growth aspect is achieved by meeting the needs of relevant stakeholders.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Table 4: Comparison of CSR of Different Organisation and the Project

Elements of CSR	CSR of Lusail Real Estate Development Company	CSR of Mazaya real estate development	CSR of Lusail City Project
Environment	The organisation develops, implements, and monitors environmental strategies, policies, and programs that enhance sustainable development (DMS Projects, 2022).	Al Mazaya Holding Company participated in the international campaign “Earth Hour,” which is observed internationally on the fourth Saturday in March annually for one hour to raise awareness of the dangers of climate change (Mozaya, 2022).	The project is the first development in Qatar to endorse the Global Sustainability Assessment System. The purpose of the system is to promote a limited impact on the natural environment.
Health and Safety	As part of its commitment to the Qatar National Vision 2030, Lusail has implemented stringent occupational health and safety policies. Their dedication to requiring all developers and contractors in Lusail City to adhere to the highest safety standards is reflected in the OHSAS 18001 certification (DMS Projects, 2022).	Mazaya focuses on the need to support charity centers and events to ensure the stability of society. This is based on the belief that the support is from the company’s deep-seated belief in corporate social responsibility and humanitarian help.	The city will be hygienic because all the garbage travels through a vacuum network to the recycling facility. The underground pipes will carry sewerage to a treatment facility outside the city, where it will be processed, and all waste grey water will be used to irrigate the city’s green spaces.
Customer and community	The main focus of the company is to make sure that the needs of the customers and communities are met. The organisation uses customer and community satisfaction to measure its performance.	The company’s primary goal is to ensure that the requirements of its consumers and communities are addressed. Customer and community satisfaction assess the organisation’s performance (Mozaya, 2022).	The smart city will use cutting-edge technology to create a tranquil and secure environment upon its completion. An operational control center will control the whole city’s systems and operations.

Conclusion

Due to the increasing significance of CSR, Lusail city project is considered a unique one, especially in Qatar. The real estate sector has recently been reshaped by the changing market conditions and alterations in consumer behavior. Lusail Real Estate Development Company, based in Qatar, is currently developing Lusail City. Because of its distinctiveness and incorporation of sustainability, this is considered a big project. Because of its futuristic reflection of magnificent ideals and ideas, the city goes beyond the traditional concept of a modern metropolis. In addition, when completed, the city will have new locations to live, work, and trade, and the social services such as schools, medical facilities, recreational spaces, and shopping malls that a community requires. Thus, CSR is a concept being adopted by organisations to enhance their productivity.

Apart from the internal environment, an organisation can be influenced by factors in the external environment. One aspect propagated in the macro environment is the need for businesses to embrace CSR. This has caused sustainability to gain relevance and become the center of focus. In addition, contemporary customers are becoming increasingly aware of climate change’s adverse effects. Other stakeholders, such as the government, focus on environmental protection mechanisms. For example, Qatar’s government has joined the world in promoting zero carbon emission in their countries. As a result, companies like Lusail Real Estate Development Company, Mazaya Real Estate Development, and others are compelled to embrace sustainability by implementing sustainable operations. As a result of its emphasis on promoting corporate social responsibility, Lusian City is a project.

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