Introduction Emirates Integrated Telecommunication Company [EITC] is a public limited company that operates in the United Arab Emirates’ telecommunication industry. The firm was founded in 2005, but it was rebranded as Du in 2006. The firm specialises in mobile and fixed line telephony services, digital television services, and Internet services. A workforce of over 2000 employees sustains the firm’s operations. Du’s vision is to enhance customers’ lives, anytime and anywhere. In a bid to achieve its vision, the firm has adopted a holistic approach in its strategic management in order to achieve business excellence. Subsequently, the firm is focused on delivering value to customers, shareholders, and the overall community. Moreover, Du is committed to nurturing its workforces’ talent in order to increase its innovativeness. Use of strategic tools/instruments In its quest to achieve business excellence, Du has appreciated the importance of adopting effective strategic management practices. Consequently, the firm has integrated diverse strategic management tools as explained below. 7S McKinsey Model Du appreciates that its long-term success depends on its efficacy in responding to changes in the macro and micro business environments. Subsequently, the firm is committed to establishing synergy amongst the various internal organisational elements. In a bid to achieve this goal, the firm has integrated the 7S McKinsey model as one of its strategic tools. This tool has enabled Du to manage the ‘hard’ and the ‘soft’ organisational elements. The hard elements include the implemented organisational systems, strategy, and structure. Conversely, the ‘soft’ elements mainly relate to organisational culture and they include the organisation’s staff, skills, style, and shared values. The 7S McKinsey model enables Du to assess its success in achieving its mission and vision. Additionally, the model has enabled the firm to nurture a high level of internal collaboration, hence its success in implementing organisational change. Value chain analysis Du recognises that its ability to achieve competitive advantage depends on how it differentiates its operations. Subsequently, the firm has integrated value chain analysis by identifying its support and primary activities. The primary activities include the inbound and outbound logistics, operations, marketing, and sales. Conversely, support activities include the firm’s procurement processes, firm infrastructure, technology, and human resource management. Value chain analysis enables Du to evaluate its differentiation and cost advantages. Benchmarking Du operates in an environment that is progressively becoming competitive due to investment in research and development on information communication technologies. Despite the intense competition, Du intends to attain an optimal market position by delivering value to its internal and external stakeholders. The firm has adopted benchmarking as one of its strategic management tools in order to compare its performance with the industry average and that of its core competitors. Moreover, the firm has benchmarked its operational policies and procedures on the set industry rules and standards. Formal strategies versus emergent strategies Strategic planning comprises one of the fundamental elements in Du’s operation. The firm invests a substantial amount of resources in formulating its strategic plans. Some of the formal strateg