Term Project Report

Course: Emerging Organization Model for Developing Countries

Instructor: Abdul Hameed Khan
Company: 10 PEARLS
Submitted By:
Ibad Sheikh

S. M. Ahmer

Asad Ali Butt

Muhammad Raahim
About The Company:

10Pearls is a tech based startup which was founded by Imran and Zeeshan Aftab
in 2004, with its head quarters being located in Washington D.C. 10 pearls mainly
deals in software development for which it has won numerous awards, their
softwares are mainly towards helping business with product design, development
and technology acceleration.

10 pearls started off as a startup consisting of two people working from a kitchen
that with time has grown into a company of 450 people working for it from 7
different locations worldwide which include Washington DC, Dubai, Karachi,
Toronto, Medellin, New York, and San Francisco.

What is basically a tech startup?

This is a question that is often asked but with no simple answer. However, the
most common answers for this question are:

 A tech startup is a company whose purpose is to bring technology products

or services to market. These companies deliver new technology products or
services or deliver existing technology products or services in new ways.
 A tech startup is a company working with a purpose of bringing technology
products or services to market to solve a problem where the solution is not
obvious and success may not be guaranteed. One of the best definitions
comes from Steve Blank the author of the book “The Startup – Owner’s
manual.” He defines startup this way: “a startup is an organization formed
to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.”

Common culture in tech based startups:

When it comes to the culture and the business model of tech companies there is
no singular culture that is followed everywhere, the organization model differs
from company to company depending upon the circumstances which are unique
to each tech company such as the customer base they’re catering to, the kind of
product that they are offering, the need for physical work location and any other
possible factor that can influence the way in which an organization is ought to
function. However, based on a survey there are some traits which tend to be
common in new gen tech companies such as 10 pearls which are:

 Open and honest two-way communication

 Workplace Flexibility (likely not surprising but reinforcing of the many anecdotes)

 Perceptions of fair reward and recognition

 Fair division of workload

 Taking action on the results of employee surveys

 Motivating people

Organizational Structure at 10Pearls:

10Pearls follows a functional organizational structure, whereby the CEO governs

all organizational affairs and is responsible for the key decision making. Day to day
affairs are managing by the Managing Director of the organization, who is based
in Khi – Pakistan and plays a critical role in governance.

CEO
Imran Aftab

Managing Director
Zeeshan Aftab

Chief Technology Directors Software

Director Human Capital Chief Financial Officer
Officer Services & Projects
Sana Hussain Pete Niestroy
Ghazanfar Ghouri Hassan Abbas
10Pearls and Its Culture:

According to 10 Pearls they are a human centered business which believes in

working for the well being of people and by people they are referring to all their
stake holders whether they are their employees, customers, business partners
etc.

The term ‘human-centered’ gives us a great hint of what the core idea is that lies
behind the culture at 10 pearls which is the importance that they give to an
individual and his/her rights as a human.

In a statement by the representative being interviewed it was affirmed that at 10

pearls ‘We believe that the success of a company is ultimately measured by its
impact on people’ which further strengthened the idea of ‘human’ being the core
idea for the development of their culture as it showed that everything being done
at 10 pearls is in one or the other way fueled each n every task that 10 pearls
performs as a company such as creating a world class digital experience practice
for its customers, creating professional development programs for its employees.

When it comes to the organizational culture the main element at 10 Pearls is

employees as its conduct with the employees is what makes the majority of the
culture’s essence and 10 Pearls emphasis on employee development programs
proved that how keen they are on their employees growing alongside the
company itself.

One of their very strong initiatives for employee empowerment and development
is what they the ’10Pearls University’.
What is 10 Pearls University?

The 10Pearls University: Center for Continuous and Advanced Learning caters to

all of our employees’ diverse backgrounds (science, engineering, art, business,
and more). It helps each of the employees and gives them an opportunity to
enhance their skills, encourage them to take bold initiatives. 10 pearls does all
this in the hope to create leaders that can help bring innovation in the world.

How does the 10 Pearls University help the employees?

There are various activities and events that take place in order to develop the
employees such as:

Internal Onboarding and Professional Development

After making it through 10Pearls’ competitive hiring process (for development

positions, we receive more than 6000 applications each year), new employees
take part in 10Pearls University’s Bootcamp, which includes rigorous training on
emerging technologies in addition to a number of soft skill trainings. After the
bootcamp, all employees continue to learn from a blend of in person-trainings,
webinars, and collaborative events (hackathons, code challenges, etc.)
throughout the year. Through our mentorship program and partnerships with
world-renowned tech experts, we foster an environment of connected learning.

Community Events

10Pearls University also hosts a number of public events and trainings aimed at
engaging and nurturing the local tech community. Industry liaison initiatives
provide an opportunity for likeminded technologists to learn from and challenge
one another. We host several events a month, from informal tech meet-ups to
speed coding competitions and presentations from tech experts from companies
like Google and Microsoft. Notable community events and meetups include
Docker and Kubernetes event, first ever Golang Community Meetup in Pakistan,
Flutter Meetup, Ministry of Testing Meetup and Women in Tech Meetup.
Workshops

10Pearls University conducts workshops and training sessions on advanced

technologies to enhance and hone the skill sets of the abundant technical talent,
building on individual growth and improvement. These workshops are aimed
towards demonstrating the power of cutting-edge technologies used to solve real
world problems and are targeted towards professionals in varying disciplines. The
workshops include Docker, Angular 2.0, Microsoft Azure sessions etc presented by
experts from the community.

Cutting-Edge Technological Trainings

To promote the spirit of learning, 10Pearls University holds advanced technical

trainings for industry professional, where external trainers and motivational
speakers are invited to share their knowledge.

Women in Tech

Diversity and inclusion are among our core values at 10Pearls. Since our founding
in 2004, we made a commitment to empowering women and supporting
programs that encourage women to pursue careers in tech. By hosting events
such as female only hackathons, and engaging in partnerships with local tech
groups such as Circle Women, 10Pearls has become a premiere destination for
women in tech. We aim to attract and retain a talented and diverse workforce in
both D.C. and Karachi, and as of January 2018, 50 percent of new hires at 10Pearls
are female.

Seminars, Webinars & Hackathons

10Pearls University hosts seminars and webinars to keep the community up to

date with the latest technological breakthroughs all over the world. These consist
of speeches, and discussions to promote a learning environment in the company.
Different hackathons and testing competitions are also arranged to encourage
people to test their proficiency in programming and ability to work in a high-
pressure environment. Most notable competitions include Women Tech Quest,
Immersive Reality Code Jam, and CodeFest.

How Teams Function at 10Pearls

Since the company follows a functional organizational structure, 10Pearls has a

fixed team structure in the company. Mentioned below are all the major
departments that exist and work in harmony for accomplishing business
objectives.

Quality Development
DevOps
Assurance Teams

Human
Administrative Marketing
Resource
Division Team
Division

Business
Development
Team
Each department reports to a Director, and is ultimately divided in various teams,
with each team reporting separately to a Team Lead. The Team Lead is
responsible for communicating all business requirements and oversee the
progress of each progress while reporting directly to the Project Manager. All the
available designations are mentioned below, which exist in the organizational
hierarchy.

 Intern
 Trainee
 Executive/Developer
 Senior Executive/Developer
 Team Lead
 Project Manager
 Director of Division