Overreliance on Expatriates, Cultural Diversity in the Workplace in the UAE - Assignment Example

Human Resource Management Name Course Lecturer Date Question 1 Human resource managers attain a sustainable competitive advantage through strategic utilization of people in the organization. However, the process is always slow and such managers need a constellation of enthusiasm, energy and hope to become effective. Managers who possess skills and experience in understanding change, developing moral purpose, motivation, knowledge building, coherence making and relationships increase the level of commitment from organizational members that in turn lead to positive results. Moral purpose is an important aspect that managers strive to achieve in the organization. This occurs naturally if the manager develops a passion and treats all members fairly. The manager will therefore increase the potential to have many follower and network teams (Fullan, 13). When moral purpose is inculcated on members, it becomes possible for the organization to make a difference by achieving the desired changes. It also makes it effective for managers to lead people in problem solving and enhancing their accountability for solutions. Such managers need to be more innovative, to understand the objective and changes and lead them. According to Axtmann and Annegret building strong relationships is core for the leader to attain the organization common goal and achieve a continuous communication. Through their emotional intelligence of the manager potential positive impact promote competitive advantage. It is therefore a process the manager engages in creating, controlling and maintaining good organizational relationship. A manager also strives to build knowledge from the social context of discussions and sharing. Through team work and collaboration people share in and across their organization, they therefore end up in a process of creating knowledge. Attaining organizational goal, require an enhanced knowledge and internal commitment. Continuous training, seminars and workshops on members ensure the ability of human resource manager to evaluate the short-term and long-term inputs and outputs. This can be through the internal and external consultation. Knowledge increase individual competency as well as the organization when it is applied. Manager promotes coherence making even in conflict scenarios. It is possible to evaluate the organization by the alternative possibilities provided in such occasion and enhances collaboration. This is always a continuous process implemented in stages and demands. A manager achieves it by re-assignment, change of roles, and control to bring about coherence. The strategic objectives of an organization depend on knowledge, skills, creativity and continuity and agents who internalize and develop objectives (Truss and Kelliher, 371). The aim of organizational objectives is to increase performance, value, efficiency and productivity. This therefore corresponds to the strategic objective of human resource. Human resource interconnects the organization objectives to potential people through delegation, motivation and control. Gulf Oil as an example has been a famous brand in the world, as their management provides high quality services and products. To ensure continuity, managers have facilitated a smooth succession process by working closely with subordinates. By incorporating remuneration and skills development, employees in turn enhance performance, delivery, reliability and productivity. HRM awareness of mutual benefit allows the company and their employees understand each party’s needs and expectations, and therefore build respect for both parties to share and benefit. Q.2. Overreliance on expatriates Overreliance on expatriates has influenced human resource management in UAE. According to (Sparrow, 125) outsourcing in UAE has been brought about by the increasing need for technical skills, managerial skills and administrative competencies. Pre-selection, orientation and planning have enabled HR management to develop long-term effectiveness through the expatriate. Most managers, competent with headquarters operations and familiar with UAE are globally recruited and this has promoted to an increase in expatriates. HR managers have been dynamic and adaptive in the face of globalized economy and have therefore, continuously adapted to issues related to tolerance for ambiguity, behavioral flexibility and non-judgementalism. Interpersonal skills, low ethnocentrism and cultural empathy have developed in UAE organizations and particularly with the HRM. Managers sought in this face have shown competency by exercising belief in their mission, holding on to their career path and showing interests in overseas experience. Above all they have shown interest in the UAE culture as a host country. Most sought managers for human resource management in UAE have to prove their willingness to adopt new patterns of attitudes and behavior as most organizations in UAE are becoming globalized, and therefore they have increasingly sought the role of expatriates for the international assignments. For efficient communication, multilingual expatriates, who also know Arabic as a host country language and non-verbal communication are sought as core in management. The reason for expatriate increase in UAE is for strategic critical tasks to be accomplished. Expatriates role has been incorporated specifically for corporate control and their reasoning in a vital global market. They also facilitate the UAE organizations to enter into new markets and develop competencies in international management. Multinational corporations in UAE have improved their capability in managing these expatriates before, during and after organizational assignment. Good management and a proactive response to crisis involving the expatriates have been elevated for organization to retain the experienced expatriates. Organizations have become competent in effective planning for selection of overseas expatriates for their assignments. The expatriates have been retained for managerial reasons even long after they return to their home country. Essentially, HRM roles have improved in information, management of crisis, communication and contribution to emergency plans in the face of overly overseas reliant state. Competent leadership has then increased in the face of expatriates. Such leaders continuously offered professional counseling that helps such employees deal with psychological problems from family situation, language barriers, hostage and evacuation. Most organizations have promoted the well-being of the expatriates’ workforce through compensation, benefit issues, reassignment, legal, health security and safety issue (Truss and Kelliher, 378). Such improved benefits are emphasized today in UAE as a pull and retention factor for competent HRM expatriates. Human resource management has improved in way of dealing with crisis. Since most of the expatriates work on a contract, goals and performance are set at the onset. Crisis management in the face of expatriates has also improved in preparedness, responsiveness, and recovery of sound and normal operations. Corporate HRM practices and policies have improved to facilitate better crisis management for the expatriate. Cultural Diversity in the Workplace A distinctive feature in UAE today is an increased and rich diversity of cultures. UAE heritage derives from racial mix of the different civilizations. Islamic cultures have the dominant status as Arabs are the dominant race. Other cultures however, are practiced freely with free intermingling of many different cultures. This explains their cultural attitudes and values in workplaces. Numerous beliefs in issues like fatalism and hierarchy are experienced in such cultures. This explains the complex state of HRM in UAE. The multi-cultural and multi-religious nature of populations results in increase demand for competent human resource management in the organizations. Managers in UAE have experienced an increased multicultural, multilingual and multinational inflow of employees and workers. Such multiple backgrounds create opportunities and greater market segmentations for products and services. Global economy, in which UAE is a prominent player, has been in tap of a large pool of talent from different part of the world and significant number of workforce has come from Europe, China, India, and Africa to offer services in technology, products and services development (Suter, 6). A new way that defines managers’ relationship with the subordinates and colleagues has therefore emerged. Management has therefore resulted to adopt a participative and humane relationship to promote trans-cultural effectiveness. Diversity has demanded competency in management of human resource. Effective managers are enhancing sensitivity to different cultures, races, nationalities, and sexes. The aspect is required for global managers in this UAE industrial development. As (Zayani, 48) argues the managers have learnt to transcend the childhood acculturation to respect different cultures. The manager has therefore built cross-cultural partnerships for enhancing respect, mutual trust and obligations. They are also engaging in innovative cross-cultural creativity to solve problems and resolve conflict. Efficient managers have successfully constructed third cultures in varieties of scenes and operations. These goals can only be accomplished by managers transformed for trans-cultural creativity. Human resource managers has therefore, removed fear, discerned the needs, aspirations, interests, values and passions of their subjects and engender trust. The situations faced by the managers and leaders are constantly changing, highly complex and very difficult to interpret. Human resource managers outsourced from overseas in UAE has integrated external consultants. Having a good diversity on various region managements, and network of potential consultant, they have influenced organizational development. Human capacity based on knowledge and efficient problem solving has been adopted through ‘management by objective’ style (Team, Diversity, 4). By this they have pushed efforts to get the workforce agrees with the management. When employees and management perspectives vary widely, in most cases there is always a dilemma on what to do, how and why to work. Expertise has therefore, been in need as such organization may risk stagnation and increasing competition. Managers have to counter time as a factor, and motivate every available potential to contribute to the objective. Evaluations based on achievable objectives are promoting most managers to increase the use of the subordinates in the best way to assure the organization of competency and productivity. As such managers are neutral on contact cultures from multiple racial, and cultural groups, it becomes possible to focus particularly on organizational objectives. Changes in technology As (Mirza, 30) observes, global competition has demanded managers to make better and faster business decisions. UAE companies are now investing in technology as a critical way to speed up and improve management decision making. Changes in technology have solved most human resource management dilemma that could not have been possible in technological deficient organizations. Communication, learning, implementation and evaluation have been timely for UAE organization. There are ways in which technology use has improved HRM. Operations have been streamlined, and managerial work has become efficient. Since most organizations have departmentalized their operations, managers efficiently supervise them through the technology. Efficient and timely services have improved departments’ relations. Technology has played a transformational role since it has removed the barriers to horizontal integration. Internal task allocation and differentiation has been altered by external one by facilitating outsourcing in HRM. Staffing and benefit departments have increased the use of external recruiters, personnel agencies, record keepers and actuarial consultants for defined and short-term benefits. Significantly, technology has brought about new phenomena of open work, where individuals and groups can work from whichever place, anytime using any technology. Online conferencing and efficient communication has opened up new management scenarios where HRM need to delegate responsibilities to groups in dispersed regions. However, the organization has to provide modern technology to the employees for convenience. This aspect has reduced the workload for central supervision, by allowing flexible working place and time. Organizations therefore, have got diverse employees contact, working at multiple time zones. There are choices for employees to work within the workplaces, at home or in between creating flexible work schedules and better structures that has provided a balanced professional and social life for the employees. Technology has encountered the distance of the parent organization management and its affiliates. Subsidiary organizations have been efficiently managed through efficient and timely sharing of information, feedback and activities enabled through technology. Most UAE organizations have therefore, enhanced customer satisfaction and promoted a strong productivity of their employees by the use of technology. Training in HRM has immensely relied on outsourcing. Technology has allowed managers offer training for subordinate managers and employees while providing resources for home-based employees. Technology has therefore, reduced transactional work and increased outsourcing responsibilities. Coordination of such teams needs managers with promising career and technical elites are widely sought due to the dynamism of technology. As corporate team’s works in diverse location, the problems they face everyday promote the dire need for skills and knowledge which has to be developed through technology. HR managers have utilized technology to train the virtual teams in research and development. Combination of technological opportunities involved with UAE has therefore attracted different talents. This has particularly increased concerns for administrative and control oversight due to its sophisticated nature. As companies continue to analyze the need for technology, the question in human resource that faces it is the user and the aim it will satisfy. In UAE the HRM has taken into account the needs of their clients, services providers and themselves before implementation. Technology has contributed to cost savings, increased credibility of HR and superior services in UAE organizations. References Axtmann, Annette, and Annegret Dettwiler. “The visit: Observation, reflection, synthesis for training and relationship building.” The visit Observation reflection synthesis for training and relationship building 2005. Fullan, Muller. Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass 2001. Mirza, Shahnaz, Human resource management and technology. New Delhi, India: Serials Publications, 2010. Sparrow, Paul. Handbook of International Human Resource Management Integrating People, Process, and Context. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Suter, Brigitte. “Labour Migration in the United Arab Emirates: Field Study on Regular and Irregular Migration in Dubai.” System 2005: 1-93. Print. Team, Diversity. “Diversity leadership guide.” Diversity Management Office October (2006): 2-5. Print. Truss, Mankin, and C Kelliher. “Strategic Human Resource Management.” Ed. R S Schuler & S E Jackson. Human Resource Management14.4 (2010): 365 - 382. Zayani, Mohamed. “Media, cultural diversity and globalization: challenges and opportunities.” Journal of Cultural Diversity 18.2 (2011): 48-54. Read More