How Might Emirati Culture Affect Teamwork in UAE Government - Essay Example

?Introduction Culture plays a crucial role in deciding upon the effectiveness of teamwork. Irrespective of the nature of the culture, be it from any country or belonging to any religion, whenever there is a need for teamwork, culture is the main integrating factor and as everyone knows, unity is the aspect that needs to be achieved for any teamwork to become a success. There have been immense explorations done on analyzing the relationship between the western culture and teamwork. But, when it comes to the Arab culture, there is no need to mention that there is plethora of differences when compared with the Western culture. Hence, the following paragraphs discuss about the current research that is going on with Arab culture and teamwork and in the process, we will try to establish the influence of Emirati culture on teamwork. Emirati Culture Shihab, M. (1996). Human Development in the United Arab Emirates. Economic Horizons 17(66), 9–31. With a labor force that comprises personnel from over 200 countries, the importance of organizing efficient teams and ensuring that their collective performance is not counterproductive to the development and financial growth of the establishment is quintessential in the UAE context. One of the biggest plus points of a multicultural society like UAE is the fact that creativity levels are higher in such teams which could yield significant financial gains for the company and are therefore of utmost importance to the management and in turn to the organization. (Shihab, 1996) Darwish A. Yousef. (2001). Islamic work ethic – A moderator between organizational commitment and job satisfaction in a cross-cultural context. Personnel Review, 30(2), 152 – 169 According to the research conducted with the participation of more than 400 Arab employees, it is found that the Islamic work ethic directly influences their organizational commitment and also affect the manner in which their thought process about doing work. Contrastingly, the studies have also revealed that the cultural effects are nullified in this relationship and there is no effect of it. It is also to be noted that their supportive working principles are majorly affected by the Islamic work ethic with the prime attributes involved in it being the culture of the employees, their experience, age and qualifications in education. (Darwish, 2001) Whiteoak, J. W., Crawford, N. G. & Mapstone, R. H. (2006). Impact of gender and generational differences in work values and attitudes in an Arab culture. Thunderbird International Business Review, 48: 77–91. doi: 10.1002/tie.20086 The study examined here indicates that the people are still deeply rooted in holding on to their cultural work ethics but they have let go of certain traditions that had clasped them to the individualistic nature of working. The paper suggests that the current and future generations are looking forward for teamwork but the concept of gender and the attitude towards women still remains a questionable perspective in the minds of Arab and people continue to feel uncomfortable about women going to work. (Whiteoak, Crawford & Mapstone, 2006) Ashencaen. C, S., (2007). Culture, gender and the influence of social change among Emirati families in the United Arab Emirates. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 38 (4), 575-587. The structure of families in Emirates is explored and the influences of parents on children in both social and professional aspects are explored. High importance is placed on the decisions made by parents on child’s future in terms of marriage and choosing career. Their interpersonal relationships are also affected by the expectations of the parents. The changes in social trends have directly influenced the way in which children are developed and roles and responsibilities that are shared by parents. (Ashencaen, 2007) Sidani, Y. M., & Thornberry, J. (2009). The Current Arab Work Ethic: Antecedents, Implications, and Potential Remedies. Journal of Business Ethics, 35-49. The industrial development is currently being hindered by the work ethics of Islam, the report suggests. Several antecedents that could have acted in promoting such a work ethic are explained. It includes the role of religion, the structure of the family, its orientation and philosophies, the educational system followed in the country, political perspectives and the role of leadership. Several solutions are provided which includes devising the role of managers in such a way that they are not being negative about the work ethics of the employers and about being open to listen to their necessities. (Sidani & Thornberry, 2009) Teamwork Al Rawi, K. (2008). Cohesiveness within teamwork: the relationship to performance effectiveness – case study. Education, Business and Society. Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues. 1(2) Emerald Group Publishing Limited. doi: 10.1108/17537980810890284 The benefits of working with teams are much higher than that of individuals. Teamwork implies a dynamic process of transfer and acquisition of ideas, information, knowledge and data which increases productivity and efficiency. The collective pool of talents, creativity, knowledge, energy and skills that are incorporated in a team translates in to tangible performance results. Moreover, there is also an increase in trust, interpersonal skills, better communication and an overall work culture that is based on interdependence rather than independence (Al Rawi, 2008). Crotty, S. K. & Brett, J. M. (2009). Fusing Creativity: Cultural Metacognition and Teamwork in Mutlicultural Teams, Working Paper Series No.09-05 The principle of co-existence is respect for and maintenance of, in particular, cultural differences, although the principle generalizes to all differences (Crotty & Brett, 2009). In a multicultural work atmosphere there is room for sharing of ideas by the team members within their own cultural context enabling diversity and higher creativity levels. This brings us to the idea of metacognition which consists of two basic processes occurring simultaneously, namely keeping a watch on one’s own progress during the process of learning and making necessary changes in personal strategies if the progress is not as desired. (as cited in Crotty & Brett, 2009). Post Conference Report of Key Findings, Ideas, and Recommendations for The Abu Dhabi Emiratisation Forum Improving Retention by Harnessing Motivation. (2010). [online]. retrieved from http://aimevents.net/emiratisation_forum/Docs/EMIRATIZATION.pdf. [accessed 26 Feb. 2011] The biggest challenge for organizations is to retain their staff, it is important that they analyze the factors which help retention of skilled, educated and high-performing nationals in the labor force. According to H.E. Omar Bamadhaf who is the Chairman of Sundus Management Consultancy ‘organizations need to assess the culture, systems and individuals’ needs and ensure the HR team has a framework in place that aligns their activities to the overall business’ (Abu Dhabi Emiratisation Forum, [ADEF], 2010). By involving employees and increasing employee autonomy with flexibility and support, Emiratis are more likely to consider a long term commitment with the organization. Byrne, M. (2011). Multi-cultural business dealings. [online] retrieved from http://www.smeadvisor.com/2011/01/multi-cultural-business-dealings/ [accessed 26 Feb. 2011] The need for high cultural meta cognitions in the work place can be understood with a simple explanation. Talib Al Hashimi who is an expert on the subject of Emiratisation and the Managing Director of Next Level (Byrne, 2011) compares the UAE workforce to a transit lounge in an airport where people of different nationalities and cultures come and go and in some cases even interact but with no sense of cooperation or mutual co-existence. This kind of a workforce will not yield creative output for the establishment. It is as if they are all under the same roof but going about their own ways with no proper interaction whatsoever. Our understanding of cultural metacognitive skills and fusion teamwork is essential to change the ‘transit lounge’ workplace to a highly creative, efficient and productive work environment where expatriates do not feel out of place and nationals are able to express their individuality and culture in the best possible manner. Ali, A. (1993), Decision-making style, individualism and attitude toward risk of Arab executives, International Studies of Management and Organization. 23(1). The cultural differences played a major role in deterring the nationals from continuing in their work place. The insensitivity of management to cultural differences and competition with peers and expatriates in particular made it all the more difficult for the locals to adapt to their work environment. Since the Emirati culture lays more importance on family and personal relations, they found it difficult to overcome family pressures, contribute long hours to work and adhere to shift schedules. With a more relaxed outlook on life and less regard for strict punctuality, they were unable to meet conventional requirements of a corporate environment. Other issues which retarded the inflow of Emiratis into the work force included a lack of perspective towards career progression and personal development, a lack of mentoring and coaching, a lack of teamwork and collaboration and a lack of performance based culture. Some employees had unrealistic expectations regarding promotions and growth in the organization and therefore were more likely to be disappointed at the gradual process of occupational progression. (Ali, 1993) Ali, A. (1996). Organizational development in the Arab world. Journal of Management Development, 15(5), 4 -21 The management styles of the organizations should be molded according to the Arab tradition in order to succeed and sustain cooperation from the native community. Molding doesn’t mean that the entire organizational perspectives to be Arabic culture oriented but measures should be taken in a manner that cultural aspirations of the workgroups are obtainable in the work environment so that the cohesiveness of working as a team is progressed effectively. (Ali, 1996) Conclusion As mentioned above, culture always plays an integral role in determining the team performance. It is the responsibility of the managers to understand the cultural obligations of each employee and attend to their needs so that no one is allowed to feel being an outsider in the team. There might be situations where people would like to prefer individualism in their working mode and may opt out of any team work. Managers should be able to understand such behaviors and should motivate them by stating the advantages of teamwork. On a final note, one can get hold of an effective performance, if he is able to succeed in harmonizing the thought process and working culture of the team as well as understanding the variegated cultures necessities of each individual belonging to the team. References Shihab, M. (1996). Human Development in the United Arab Emirates. Economic Horizons 17(66), 9–31. Darwish A. Yousef. (2001). Islamic work ethic – A moderator between organizational commitment and job satisfaction in a cross-cultural context. Personnel Review, 30(2), 152 – 169 Whiteoak, J. W., Crawford, N. G. & Mapstone, R. H. (2006). Impact of gender and generational differences in work values and attitudes in an Arab culture. Thunderbird International Business Review, 48: 77–91. doi: 10.1002/tie.20086 Ashencaen. C, S., (2007). Culture, gender and the influence of social change among Emirati families in the United Arab Emirates. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 38 (4), 575-587. Sidani, Y. M., & Thornberry, J. (2009). The Current Arab Work Ethic: Antecedents, Implications, and Potential Remedies. Journal of Business Ethics, 35-49. Al Rawi, K. (2008). Cohesiveness within teamwork: the relationship to performance effectiveness – case study. Education, Business and Society. Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues. 1(2) Emerald Group Publishing Limited. doi: 10.1108/17537980810890284 Crotty, S. K. & Brett, J. M. (2009). Fusing Creativity: Cultural Metacognition and Teamwork in Mutlicultural Teams, Working Paper Series No.09-05 Post Conference Report of Key Findings, Ideas, and Recommendations for The Abu Dhabi Emiratisation Forum Improving Retention by Harnessing Motivation. (2010). [online]. retrieved from: [accessed 26 Feb. 2011] Byrne, M. (2011). Multi-cultural business dealings. [online] retrieved from: [accessed 26 Feb. 2011] Ali, A. (1993), Decision-making style, individualism and attitude toward risk of Arab executives, International Studies of Management and Organization. 23(1). Ali, A. (1996). Organizational development in the Arab world. Journal of Management Development, 15(5), 4 -21 Read More