from GOOD to GREAT The Journey Oracle GO Live! CSR PAGE 03 MEMORY LANE PAGE 18 TRAININGS PAGE 11

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1 Oracle GO Live! The world s best business information platform successfully implemented in the shortest possible time The Journey from GOOD to GREAT Group Corporate Office 1-A, Danepur Road, GOR-1, Lahore Tel: Fax: URL: Karachi Office Tel: Fax: Islamabad Office Suite No. 1402, 14th Floor, Green Trust Tower Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Islamabad. Tel: Fax: CSR PAGE 03 TRAININGS PAGE 11 w w w. m a s g r o u p. o r g MEMORY LANE PAGE 18

2 Page no TABLE OF CONTENTS Page no A WORD FROM OUR LEADERS Regular Trainings and Employee Development Programs are part of great workplaces. Even with all the advancements in technology occurring around the world, the value of human capital cannot be denied. Harnessing the innate energy of human capital is an art which EDITOR S NOTE Following the path to success is quite easy; building st CSR Engagement session 2014 CSR Recognition Ceremony has been given the name of Talent Management & Acquisition. It is up to the top echelon of any company to efficiently harness the pure efforts of their employees! to create a team oriented output. We urge the thy self by carving out each rung of the ladder is what management of MAS to manage and hone in on the competencies and a heart only yearns but few manage to do so. This is the way to live; to be the creator of your own success. People can be lucky but creating your own luck requires patience, stamina and courage. This th Pakistan France Business Alliance Award Ceremony Vallourec Seminar in Dubaii skills of their teams. This will be the inspirational journey of success, the journey from good to great for you and your team, both collectively and individually. That being said, in 2014, a series of trainings has been conducted and inspirational journey towards excellence and this old will continue to do so for similar purposes of competency development fable of the path from good to great is not easy. It and talent management. Further to the training objectives, it is hoped cannot be achieved overnight. It requires consistent hard work, mutual trust and trademark quality that can be relied upon. MAS has continued to achieve that target with insurmountable success and for that Consultative Selling Skills Training Ilmgah Annual Day Function Mr. Ali Hassan Executive Director that each one of you shall make that extra effort to transfer these learned skills to your job was a year of business remodeling, shaped around the restructuring processes carried out during the end of We were successful Mr. Basit Hassan Executive Director we are thankful to each member of the MAS family for in initiating and implementing the Oracle Financials system in record their collective efforts. But here is the interesting part, that journey from good to great never ends. Life goes on! targets are achieved and more are set out yet to be achieved and so on and so forth. The inspirational journey continues leaving behind a Finance for Non Financial Managers SK visit to Hi Tech Mr. Shaukat Hassan Director time to continue our smoother business operations. Also, trainings were given to each tier of employees within all regions. Oracle system is successfully working live. It is a proud moment for us all to be able to develop our company to such heights and pavethe way for continued development. legacy in its trail. While we have overcome much business challenges and achieved Do you Want to Know WHO YOU ARE? Do not Ask ACT! Action will Delineate and Define you Thomas Jefferson ZIC Lube Shops Opening Brazuca Innovative Pakistan Dynamic Dashboard Reporting with Excel Memory Lane Mr. Hassan Tahir Executive Director major milestones, so have you grown into productive and talented business entities. It is up to us to make our company, our homes, our community and our country a better place to live in, to be each other s support, to make life easier for each other. Be professional yet polite; be just yet courteous; live and let live. FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mr. Tahir Azim Director 01 02

3 HR and TCF officials imparting CSR Knowledge to MAS Employees 1st CSR Engagement Session 2014 in Partnership with TCF During the month of March 2014, MAS Group took the first ever initiative of employee engagement for community service. We took the CSR Initiative of generating 500 Community Hours in the year For this humanitarian purpose, we partnered with The Citizen s Foundation, a one of a kind not-for-profit organization with nearly 200 schools for the underprivileged throughout Pakistan. Employee Engagement Sessions were held by MAS within our Lahore Offices. Ms. Javeria Tariq educated the workforce on the meaning, values and what their objectives shall be for the completion of MAS Agenda Ms. Nazish Rizvi (Assistant Manager Volunteers) and Mr. Ahsan Raza Kazmi (Manager Resource Mobilization) of the The Citizen s Foundation (TCF) team shared the enlightening experience of the TCF Rahbar Cycle with our employees. And how they can take part in the future building and tarbiyat of their Young Generation. Employees showed a mutual interest in the beautiful concept of inculcating positive changes within the minds of youth and make them a product of their own decisions instead of a victim of their conditions. The widely held employee feedback was to conduct more of such knowledge sharing sessions consistently. MAS' TCF Volunteers standing with the Directors Mr. Ashraf (Manager IT) sharing his inspiring TCF Rahbar experience Mr. Danish Hameed Mirza (CP Engineer) receiving recognition certificate from Mr. Shaukat Hassan CSR Recognition Ceremony After the successful initiation of the 1st MAS-TCF Partnership, screening sessions were held within MAS for selection of Rahbar cycle volunteers. Seven working Saturdays, from morning 9 to 2, our selected volunteers went to their assigned TCF schools in the summer heat for the pure purpose of bringing a positive change within the society. To recognize their efforts, a Recognition Ceremony was later held where these volunteers shared their inspiring stories and achievements with us. Mr. Kashif Javaid (Sr. Sales Coordination Executive), Ms. Shumaila Hameed (Manager HR), Mr. Danish Hameed Mirza (CP Engineer), and Mr. Muhammad Ashraf (Manager IT) shared their volunteer stories in the meeting attended by Mr. Shaukat Hassan (Director), Mr. Tahir Azam (Director) and the Management Team of MAS. The volunteers were honoured with Dinner Vouchers as a token of appreciation. The Directors showed their further interest in such activities and motivated the team leaders to recruit more of their team members towards the noble cause. Mr. Ashraf proudly sitting with his TCF Group Mr. Kashif Javaid (Sr. Sales Coordination Executive) receiving recognition certificate from Mr. Shaukat Hassan Mr. Muhammad Ashraf (Manager IT) receiving recognition certificate from Mr. Shaukat Hassan Mr. Shaukat Hassan (Director) sharing his thoughts and appreciating the volunteer efforts at the ceremony Become a Volunteer Mr. Danish Hameed Mirza with his Group During the TCF sessions Do you want to make a positive change within the community? Our volunteering program is an ongoing process. Please send your details (Name, Your Team/Initiative) to csr@masgroup.org for your valuable involvement in MAS Aspire Team

4 Vallourec Training Seminar 2014 in Dubai The Management of 10th PFBA Trade Performance Awards Ceremony From L-R: Ms. Yasmin Haider (Event Organizer), Ms. Saba Hussain (Director Comm.), Mr. Jamil Hamdani (President PFBA), Mr. Shaukat Hassan (Vice President PFBA Northern Chapter) and Ms. Javeria Tariq (PFBA Coordinator) Pakistan France Business Alliance 10th Trade Performance Awards Ceremony Pakistan France Business Alliance is a platform to encourage and promote business, mutual understanding and friendly relations between the business communities of Pakistan and France. In recognition of their efforts, the Northern Chapter of PFBA organized the 10th Pakistan France Trade Performance Awards in Falettis Hotel Lahore on 25th April 2014 and was led by Mr. Jamil Hamdani (President PFBA) & Mr. Shaukat Hassan (Vice President Northern Chapter and Managing Director of MAS associates). Mr. Muhammad Sarwar, Governor Punjab in the presence of His Excellency Philippe Thiébaud, Ambassador of France in Pakistan honored us with his presence as the chief guest. The ceremony was made memorable by the awards handed over to the Pakistani companies that stood out in their trade relations with France. In the Oil and Gas Category, Mr. Ali Hassan (Executive Director) proudly received the Best Trade Performance Awards for MAS associates (Pvt.) Ltd. (From left) Mr. Ameen Zarkhan (MOL), Mr. Umair (From Left) Mr. Faisal Saeed (PPL), Mr. Shaukat (From Left) Mr. Javed Abbas, Mr. Muhammad Yunus, Javaid (PPL) & Mr. Saad Wajih (PPL) Hassan (MAS), Mr. Sohail Mallah (PPL) & Mr. Usman Hashmat (MOL) Mr. Muhammad Akram & Mr. Ahrar Hussain of OGDCL M/s Vallourec Oil & Gas, France, a leading manufacturer of Oil Well Casing Tubing, organized a two days Technical Training Seminar on 8th & 9th April, 2014 in Dubai. The training was focused on the basic principles associated with Oil Well Casing/Tubing; Manufacturing Process, Metallurgy, Specifications & Standards relevant to OCTG, Corrosion, Sour Service, High Collapse etc. The objective of the seminar was to impart latest technical information & development taking place in the OCTG (Oil Country Tubular Goods) and Oil & Gas industries which has direct impact on the well design and eventually provides guidelines for selecting the optimum casing and tubing required for a specific application. Mr. Ali Hassan receiving the Best Trade Performance Awards 2014 in Oil & Gas category for MAS associates. From L-R: Mr. Hamid Zaman, Mr. Abid Askari,Mr. Tahir Azam, Mr. Almas Haider, Mr. Dawood Barry and Mr. Ahsan Butt stand in honor of the national anthem. From L-R: Mr. Shaukat Hassan (VP PFBA Northern Chapter, Mr. Philippe Thiebaud (Ambassador of France), Mr. M Sarwar (Governor Punjab), Mr. Jamil Hamdani (President PFBA), Mr. Eric Noitakis (French Commercial Counselor), Mr. Ashiq Qureshi (Honorary Consul of France in Lahore) and Mr. Saeed Allawala (Vice Chairman) (From Left) Mr. Nadeem Ashraf & Mr. Muhammad Ayub of MPCL and Mr. Shahjahan Khan & Mr. Osama Ikram of MOL (From Left) Mr. Sajjad Ashraf, Mr. Ahmed Ghaffar, Mr. Umair Javed, Mr. Sohail Mallah of PPL (From Left) Mr. Shahid Hussain, Mr. Hamid Ali Riaz, Mr. Siraj Ali Avesi & Mr. Khizir Khakwani from OPL The MAS team enjoying the auspicious ceremony The winning team of MAS associates (Pvt) Ltd at the ceremony 05 06

5 Representatives from major E&P players in Pakistan like, OGDCL, PPL, MOL, MPCL & OPL enthusiastically attended the seminar. Their interactive participation was very encouraging and helped Vallourec to understand their requirements more clearly. We wish to extend our thanks & appreciation to all the participants and the Vallourec Team who came all the way from France & UAE and conducted a very well organized seminar. Mr. Tahir Azam (Trustee) sharing an anecdote with the kids at Annual Day Mr. Shaukat Hassan (Chairman) addressing the audience at Annual Day From L-R: Mr. Azhar Nawaz (Administrator), Mr. Durrani (Trustee), Mr. Waheed Alam Khan (MNA) and Mr. Shaukat Hassan (Chairman) presenting first prize to Ahmad Hanif. Ilmgah Annual Day & Prize Distribution Ceremony (L-R) Ms. Sounia Hakkou, Mr. Antoine De Chaumont, Mr. Azeredo Leonardo, Mr. Shaukat Hassan, Mr. Nadeem Baig, Mr. Ali Hassan, Mr. Antoine Caillard, Mr. Kamal Elbachiri & Mr. Usman Mr. Azeredo Leonardo conducting the presentation Participants having dinner at BBQ Delight Group Photo at the Vallourec Training in France Mr. Owais Naseem, Mr. Sajjad Ashraf, Mr. Ahmed Ghaffar & Mr. Muhammad Ahsen from PPL In order to celebrate the achievements of Ilmgah School as a whole and to commemorate the fantastic result scored by the students of class V in the Punjab Education Commission Examinations, an Annual Day was arranged on April 19, 2014 at Hi Tech Lubricants Warehouse office in Lahore. The honorable MNA, Mr. Waheed Alam Khan, graced the auspicious occasion with his presence along with the management, Mr. Shaukat Hassan (Chairman Sabra Hamida Trust), Mr. Tahir Azam (Trustee), Mr. Azhar Nawaz (Administrator), Ms. Qaisar Noreen (Principal) and faculty members of Ilmgah School. The children of Ilmgah were present in their colorful dresses, looking beautiful alongside their parents. The Hi Tech team was also invited at the event. After the recitation of Holy Quran, and display of children s remarkable talent in form of short plays, the prize distribution ceremony was inaugurated by the Chief Guest. Mr. Ahmad Hanif secured the highest marks in the Green Town area in 5th grade examination. The happy and motivated faces of everyone present were proof of the success of this function. Later on, the invited guests were entertained with a lavish dinner and the function concluded with sweet memories embedded in everyone s heart. B2B TRAINING SESSION ON CONSULTATIVE SELLING SKILLS As a sales person who is a problem solver, you must begin the sales process by asking questions about your prospect s business, seeking to understand how sales and revenues are generated, how costs and expenses are incurred and how profits are made. In consultative selling, you must put yourself in the position of the business owner or executive and try to see yourself as being personally involved in achieving the financial results for which he or she is responsible. This is what Mr. Amir Qureshi imparted to MAS employees during his session B2B Sales - Consultative Selling Skills on 21st of June 2014 at our Lahore Office. Beautiful Children of Ilmgah standing in honor of the National Anthem A bright student of Ilmgah presenting her speech while Ms. Qaisar Noreen (Principal) hosts the evening The kids of Ilmgah showing their nationalism at the event 07 08

6 Oracle-Go live During the first half of year 2014, a major milestone was achieved through implementation of Oracle Financials as core business information platform for Hi-Tech Lubricants Limited. The financials department from Hi-Tech and A.F. Ferguson (a member firm of PWC) have achieved the objective in a minimal time frame. A four prone strategy was adopted for the implementation: a) A gap analysis was done and overlapping and redundant functions were removed for efficiency improvements. b) A major objective of business process standardization was achieved through restructuring. c) Business processes reengineering was done to create coherence among business functions; and d) User trainings were carried out as per revised job responsibilities. To mark the completion of these major tasks, an Oracle Go Live! Ceremony took place at our Corporate Office along with the BOD and management of Hi Tech. The Board of Directors highly appreciated the efforts of both teams for the successful implementation. Children of Ilmgah enjoying the parade at Wahga border From L-R Mr. Amir Hameed (Account Assistant), Mr. Azhar Nawaz (Ilmgah Administrator) and Mr. Kamran Saleem (Warehouse Incharge) at Wahga Border Trip The smiling faces of children of Ilmgah at zoo Fun With Learning - Ilmgah Annual Trips Annual trips of the students of Ilmgah were arranged by Ilmgah management with a view to acquaint them with the historical background of our nation. One trip, comprising of the students of ECE classes, visited Lahore Zoo/Bagh-e-Jinnah on 21st February 2014 and the primary classes visited Jallo Park/Wahga border on 22nd February Transport for the students along with their lunch was arranged by the school for their enjoyment. The students enjoyed these trips and gained much knowledge about their city and country through these beautiful yet historical places. From L-R Mr. Imran (CFO), Mr. Muhammad Ashraf (Manager IT) and Shahzad Sohail (GM Supply Chain) celebrating Oracle Go Live! The Ferguson team at the cake cutting ceremony of Oracle Go Live! Audit, ISO & Budgeting Education Sessions (by P & A) The management of Ilmgah standing with the children at their memorable zoo trip As a key initiative, since start of the year, the Planning & Audit department had envisioned to conduct organization-wide education and training sessions. To begin with, in Jan-14, the Hi-Tech senior management was taken through a comprehensive knowledge session of Internal Audit and Sales Audit including a brief insight into the concepts of Risk and Control. Another education session encompassing the concepts, need, importance and key requirements of the ISO 9001:2008 quality certification was conducted. Adding to their objectives, the Sales Audit sub-division introduced the Sales management with a beta design of the Claims Management module, which aimed at automating the process of input and verification of distributor claims. In Apr-14, a series of cross-functional and dedicated trainings were conducted to ensure the overall success of their company-wide Budgeting and Forecasting initiative. Over all, the Planning and Audit department has been successful in dissemination of useful knowledge to ensure success based on mutual consensus and appreciation

7 Mr Javaid Akhtar joined the sessions as a motivational guest speaker Mr. Amjad Shahzad (Training Facilitator) educating the sales teams on selling skills Mr. Tahir Azam (Director) awarded training certificates to all attendees ater the session Five Ways to Manage Introverts at Workplace Shared by Mr. Junaidullah Minhas (Assistant Manager HR) Mr. Amjad Shahzad (Training Facilitator) with Sales Teams (ZIC & ZIC M) at Sales Refresher Trainings 2014 A salesman s product and field knowledge is a part of his essential competency; likewise, training is an important part of a salesman s job to enhance it. Any active salesman will face burnout over the course of time. The trick is never to forget the basic sales principals i.e. Prospecting, Engaging, Acquiring & Keeping (P.E.A.K.) Keeping the above aspect in view Human Resources and Sales Analysis teams, jointly, organized a sales refresher for our sales teams in Central Region in June 2014, as a follow up to the Business Communication & Sales training in 2013 by Mr. Furqan. Mr. Amjad Shahzad (Manager Sales Analysis) planned and facilitated the training and assessment of both ZIC and ZIC-M teams on four different areas like Product and Company Knowledge, Pricing and Competition, Selling and Technical Knowledge. The assessments were done with the aim of imitating appropriate action for sales people in future as well. FINANCE FOR NON FINANCIAL MANAGERS The mid of 2014 consisted of a wide assortment of training and engagement sessions outsourced and arranged in-house for the talent management of our employees. The first was a subject training on Finance for Non-Financials held at Corporate Office Lahore, dated 4th and 5th of April Dr. Safdar Butt, the training facilitator, provided non-financial managers with an understanding of essential financial terminology, concepts and applications. Some of your most productive employees people who are organized, good at solving problems, thoughtful, focused, and efficient may need a little extra support from leaders. That s because they re introverted, which makes it challenging for them to work well with others. Here are five strategies you can use to encourage introverts to step out of the shadows and become dynamic participants. SEE THEIR STRENGTHS, NOT THEIR LIMITATIONS. Introverts are often persistent, thoughtful, and hardworking. They are less apt to be distracted, and they frequently amass a great deal of expertise in their field. They make great researchers, for example, or may be good at IT security and problem solving and analysis. But in job interviews, they may seem shy and uncomfortable. When hiring, look at work history and talk to references before making a judgment. On the job, look at actual performance before discounting the wallflower as a poor team player. Let them shine in the right position. Assign the right tasks and know what positions your introverts will be best at. To use a baseball metaphor, you would never make a first baseman a pitcher, so it s important to place your introverts in positions that take full advantage of their personality, work style, and special skills and knowledge. For example, planning the office holiday party would be a poor choice; on the other hand, creating a list of inefficient practices and processes at your company might be a good choice. Don t let your extroverts dominate. Because extroverts are naturally more outspoken and become energized in groups, they can easily take over in staff meetings. Structure your meetings so that extroverts don t dominate discussions. Make sure everyone gets heard by specifically calling on introverts, or even asking them to deliver a presentation on their topic of expertise. Encourage introverts to take on leadership. Despite their natural inclination to shun the spotlight, introverted people can be thoughtful, humble, well-respected leaders. Help introverts get comfortable managing others by letting them run one-on-one meetings or small group meetings, as opposed to large staff meetings. Be sure to provide them with specific, constructive feedback on their effectiveness. Help introverts handle confrontations. Since introverted managers may avoid conflict, it s important to teach them that when they address a problem, they are merely addressing issues, not judging a person. Before they meet to address the problem, ask them to provide a written analysis of the issues on both sides. This, in essence, gives them notes for the meeting, and enables them to deal with the facts, rather than get tripped up by intimidation or fear of confrontation

8 Mid-Annual Meetings 2014 During the month of June, the brainstorming sessions of mid-annual meetings for ZIC and ZIC-M were conducted within Lahore offices in which our sales people joined us from all regions to share their inputs for sales growth and further development. The Board of Directors sat through the sessions for overview of the sales development procedures and for sharing their valuable input with the sales officials. New plans for the next spell of 2014 were chalked out and set out for the sales teams. The successful sessions were ended on a high note with gifts announcement for Best Sales Performance of the year. Mr. Omer Saeed Khan (Trainer) conducting a powerful session at the event Employees carrying out an activity session during the training Away Day Learning - Post Mid Annual Sales Meetings 2014 Employees gathered on a jubilant note To rejuvenate and synergize the MAS team spirit and motivation for achievement of the set targets of Mid-Annual 2014, a Learning & Activity Based Away Day was conducted on June 18th, 2014 at Green Fields with the Hi Tech team. The session consisted of engagement activities for all team members to walk down our inspirational road from Good to Great. Mr. Omer Saeed Khan (Training Facilitator) graced the occasion with his learning session to enhance the competency of the audience and to realize their true potential. An inspirational journey also contains joyous moments, thus, the day ended on a festive note, with an interesting cricket match between the teams of ZIC and ZIC-M. Mr. Ikhtiar Ahmed receiving the award of Mr. Imran Ulah of Best SE (N) from Mr. Tahir Azam Salesmen sharing their input at the meetings SK Team Visit to Hi-Tech For review of our business and sales operations and to provide their gracious input towards our successful growth into the future, the SK Team visited Hi Tech during mid-annual. They sat with our honorable BOD with the core objective of enhancing our expanding business operations for an efficient increase in our management productivity and business growth. Participants showing the success of teamwork through training activity A memorable moment with Mr. Tahir Azam during the cricket match Mr. Tahir Azam (Director) motivating the employees with his speech Senior Management of Hi Tech with Mr. Ji Won Park (Team Leader SK Lubricants) and Mr. Hyuk Jin Kwon (Senior Manager SK Lubricants) Participants performing enthusiastically during training activity 13 14

9 British High Commissioner s Visit to Our Mirpur Distributor A memorable visit by the British High Commissioner to AJKCCI was made in June. This productive meeting took place due to the special effort of our Mirpur Distributor, that such an honorable personality graced AJKCCI with his presence. MAS recognizes his efforts in this regard and is proud to know that our distributors are active in their respective areas to hold such meetings. Zic /Lube Shop Openings-Reaching Our Customers British High Commissioner during his visit to our Mirpur distributor ZIC marked the first half of 2014 with some major achievements. Reaching out to our external stakeholders and providing quality services has been the mission of ZIC. Therefore, we successfully opened ZIC Lube shops within 4 cities in North region of Pakistan. MAS Employees taking part in the Fire Safety session Mr. Hassan Zahid (Trainer) sharing his knowledge through practical orientation Promoting Occupational Safety Through Fire Safety MAS Mr. Kamran Saleem (Warehouse Incharge) executing the fire drill instructions As part of MAS CSR efforts, Fire safety training was conducted at Corporate Office and Lahore Warehouse on 11th & 12th of April respectively. The objective was to promote a health & safety culture at MAS while simultaneously training staff in first response for various forms of fires. The training workshop was conducted with practical exposure to fire extinguishers. Health and Safety Drills are an essential part of developing a safety culture within the organization. Mr. Khalil Ahmed (Admin Executive) putting his fire safety skills to the test The attendees of fire safety training sessions with Mr. Hassan Zahid (Trainer) Warehouse Fire Safety Team with Mr. Hassan Zahid (Trainer) and Mr. Durrani (GM Warehouse) Zic Lube Shop Batkhela openning (11th March 2014) ZSC Chakwal Opening (2nd June 2014) ZSC Mingora Swat Openning (10th March 2014) Promoting Occupational Safety Through Fire Safety MAS ZSC Rwp. B Openning (3rd Jan.2014) To manage today's dynamic business situations, business users need the ability to control the visualization and analysis of their data in real-time. MAS outsourced its employees for dynamic dashboard reporting in Excel. Mr. Asim Shahzad (Market Audit Officer), Mr. Umer Farooq (Sr. Accounts Officer), Mr. Nadeem Inayat (Internal Audit Officer) and Mr. Hamza Iqbal (Sr. Budgeting & Planning Officer) attended the training. The trainer trained them on how to visualize business data in a way that enables them to effectively monitor business performance without adding to IT overhead. The experience was quite a successful one for all attendees

10 Editor s Pick Brazuca-Innovation,Cost Reduction, Belief Written by Mr. Hamza Iqbal (Sr. B & P Officer) Memory Lane Pakistan may not have the privilege of playing in the FIFA World Cup 2014, or even think of getting into an international football tournament due to gloomy reasons, yet the business oriented individuals beg to differ. The hands of illiterate but skilled women of a small town of Sialkot are more capable to make Brazuca i.e. the most tested and advanced ball Adidas has ever produced (CNN, 2014) and in abundance, rather than using expensive automated machinery of China that was unable to fulfill the demand of The event of the year. According to FIFA ranking, the people of 164th ranked country with the imposed association of terrorism and general misery are more passionate about football and other sports than what is actually portrayed. Reviews of Brazuca suggest that the performance of the ball is superb and Argentine Lionel Messi has called the ball great, as has Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas (Washingtonpost, 2014). In addition, as surprising as it may sound, there was an efficient yet cost cutting technique employed by football manufacturers to produce these balls just by changing the pattern of rexine (artificial leather) panel cutting the most costly input in football production. Skilled cutters were able to increase the number of pentagon panels per rexine sheet by around This lead to about a one per cent reduction in total production costs which is quite a significant amount of saving in an industry with profit margins of about ten percent only. One of the researchers at Lahore School of Economics who was part of the Brazuca Innovation team added that, Just one innovation in one sector can have incredible ripple effects. People s salaries improve, education levels can go up and the quality of living can go up. Workers can be excited by new technology, if you can create a situation where they feel they won t lose out. Brazuca (Official ball of FIFA World Cup 2014) Made in Pakistan Five Facts About Pakistan To Be Proud of 1 In the last five years, Pakistan s literacy rate has grown by 250%, the largest increase in any country to date. ( 2 Pakistan is the first Islamic country to attain nuclear power. 3 Edhi is running the World s largest Ambulance network. 4 World s youngest certified Microsoft Experts Arfa Kareem (Late) and Babar Iqbal are from Pakistan. 5 Pakistan has the sixth largest military force in the world. In 1980, Mr. Shaukat Hassan, currently Director at MAS Group, went to Portugal with an influential Pakistani business delegation. Seen in the photograph are (From Left to Right) Mr. Amanullah, Mr. Periera (Trade Representative of Portugal in Pakistan), Mr. Yousaf Mandviwala and Mr. Shaukat Hassan