Motawi Tileworks: Alfred P. Sloan Recognition
Motawi Tileworks was honored by Detroit Regional Chamber and Michigan Economic Development Corporation at a luncheon last Thursday in Ypsilanti. Motawi’s workplace practices include flex time, World Café strategic planning and Toyota-style lean manufacturing. “This award is especially important to me, because I consider it a pretty decent indicator of my overall performance as the owner.” states Nawal Motawi. “Since the employees are surveyed confidentially, they have nothing to lose by being completely honest. This year Motawi received an Honorable Mention, which is pretty good. However, last year we won the Sloan Award outright. I’m motivated in a positive way to do a better job and win a Sloan Award status next year. My secret hope is that it gets harder and harder to win because so many companies apply. The time for the idea of taking care of you employees first, even before customers — - has come. It simply makes good business sense and the research bears that out. I’m hoping to get a lot more competition for the Sloan Award next year — -and still win!”
The Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility are part of the When Work Works project, an ongoing initiative of the Families and Work Institute, the Institute for a Competitive Workforce (an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce), and the Twiga Foundation. Through When Work Works, these partner organizations provide research, resources, and recognition to employers nationwide. The project shares the results of research on creating effective and flexible workplaces that meet the needs of the 21st century. Now in its sixth year, the prestigious awards program expanded its application base to organizations nation-wide for the first time in 2009. With the introduction of an “at-large” category and 30 participating communities across the country, any organization in the U.S. was eligible for the award.
ABOUT THE FAMILIES AND WORK INSTITUTE
Families and Work Institute (FWI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that studies the changing workforce, family and community. As a preeminent think tank, FWI is known for being ahead of the curve, identifying emerging issues, and then conducting rigorous research that often challenges common wisdom and provides insight and knowledge. As an action tank, FWI conducts numerous studies that put its research into action and then evaluates the results. Its purpose is to create research to live by. For more information, see http://www.familiesandwork.org.
Motawi Tileworks is an art tile studio located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Tileworks specializes in Cuenca style polychrome tile, bas relief tile, and field tile for installation. Motawi Tiles are collected as individual art pieces and are assembled into beautiful, distinctive installations in homes and public places. For more information about Motawi Tileworks, please visit http://www.motawi.com.