Motawi Tileworks in Ann Arbor was recently named a winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility.

Motawi staff with one of their custom public murals.

Motawi Tileworks was honored by Detroit Regional Chamber and Michigan Economic Development Corporation at a lunch in September. Motawi’s workplace practices include flex time, World Café strategic planning and Toyota-style lean manufacturing.

“We have worked hard to increase productivity during the economic downturn," said co-owner Nawal Motawi in a press release. “In January, we asked employees for assistance in devising cost-cutting measures to avoid layoffs.The result was a substantive list of new cost cuts for our studio...

“Providing a balance between work and family life is especially important in these challenging economic times,” added Karim Motawi. “Keeping a positive and flexible work atmosphere allows everybody to work to their fullest potential with out adding to the stress caused by national conditions.”

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.

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