Interpersonal communication and diversity climate: promoting workforce localization in the UAE

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com AbstractPurpose -This paper aims to identify the rudiments of an organizational communication framework which can serve as a facilitator of a positive diversity climate, which, in turn, could enhance the integration of locals into the expatriate-dominated workforce of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As UAE citizens constitute a small minority of the workforce, the local style of communication is not, ipso facto, the dominant one in organizations. Design/methodology/approach -The study elicited 458 Emirati respondents' narratives of positive and negative workplace communication experiences. The authors identified emerging themes to highlight the key features of interpersonal interactions likely to foster or hinder a supportive diversity climate. Findings -The critical incidents reported are interpreted in terms of UAE cultural traditions, more specifically, the communication patterns valued by local workers. Research limitations/implications -Outside of the Arabian Gulf, there are perhaps no other national workforces that are so multicultural that local communication strategies are overshadowed. This research is, therefore, a pioneering attempt to re-establish a preference for indigenous communication practices to facilitate the workforce localization policies that are present in many Gulf countries. Practical implications -The communication preferences identified could inform the implementation of an organizational communication model centered around indigenous communication preferences, including the communication strategies that would be most effective for organizational leadership to use. At the same time, this could contribute to the creation of a positive diversity climate that, in turn, could decrease levels of attrition among Emirati employees and enhance workforce localization. Originality/value -This study represents an innovative attempt to construct a communication model around which a positive diversity climate can coalesce and, in so doing, it serves as an initial contribution to the management of diversity within the context of Arabian Gulf workplaces.

The Middle East context: an introduction

“…Research by Saleh and Kleiner (2005) reiterates the above point for American companies stating that if they want to be successful in the Middle East then they should develop an understanding of the local culture, politics and people of the region. Along similar lines, Goby et al (2015) highlight the usefulness of the creation of a positive diversity climate based on Arab cultural traditions in managing the diverse workforce (comprising both locals and expatriates) in the region. A further rapidly emerging HR research and practice theme in the Middle East is related to 'human resource development', which not only focuses on the development of locals, and helps put them in jobs, but also focuses on issues related to the impact of Arab management styles on the effectiveness of cross-cultural negotiations and organisational development activities in the region (see Kolachi and Akan, 2014).…”

“…A further rapidly emerging HR research and practice theme in the Middle East is related to 'human resource development', which not only focuses on the development of locals, and helps put them in jobs, but also focuses on issues related to the impact of Arab management styles on the effectiveness of cross-cultural negotiations and organisational development activities in the region (see Kolachi and Akan, 2014). In this regard, Matherly and Al Nahyan (2015) propose the need for effective governance of national-expatriate knowledge transfer to build competitiveness, whereas Goby et al (2015) highlight the need for the development and practice of an interpersonal communication and diversity climate framework in order to facilitate workforce localisation in countries which mostly have an expatriate workforce such as the UAE. Al-Rajhi et al (2006) reveal the challenges for HRM in the region regarding the adjustment of impatriates.…”

“…Such policies have major implications for the management of workplace quotas (Matherly and Al Nahyan, 2015), talent management (Singh and Sharma, 2015), interpersonal communication and diversity management (Goby et al, 2015), and for making such nationalisation programmes successful (e.g., Al-Waqfi and Forstenlechner, 2014).…”

“…In particular, the oil-rich countries have been making serious efforts to reduce their dependence on oil and develop other sectors, which need skilled human resources (e.g., Manafi and Subramaniam, 2015;Obeidat et al, 2014). Similarly, many countries in the region have been concentrating on the development of 'locals' and reducing the number of 'foreigners' due to the pressure of rapidly growing populations, and to provide jobs to their natives (see Goby et al, 2015;Matherly and Al Nahyan, 2015). In this regard, many countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have been pursuing 'nationalisation programmes' (i.e., to reserve jobs for locals).…”

“…Such developments have serious implications for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region, and due to serious concerns for security, a large number of multinationals have pulled out of the disturbed parts of the Middle East, leaving a significant vacuum for economic growth. Such developments have many socio-economic and human resource (HR) implications, such as dealing with increasing unemployment and human capital management (e.g., Goby et al, 2015;Matherly and Al Nahyan, 2015;Singh and Sharma, 2015).…”