Literature Review
Introduction
This chapter is a review of literature with respect to the topic of discussion namely, the emiratisation policy as practiced in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The relevant sources have been retrieved from article journals, books, and other credible online materials. The key objective of including the literature review section in research is in order to assess the level to which the researcher has examined the topic in question, and their mastery of such content.
ADNOC. (2010). Developing our Natural Resources Responsibly: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) 2010 Sustainability Report. Abu Dhabi: Supreme Petroleum Council of Abu Dhabi. Retrieved from https://www.adsg.ae/membership/Documents/ADNOC/2010/Sustainability_report_ENG_2010.pdf
Article
ADNOC, in its 2010 report, acknowledges the daunting task faced by the global oil and gas industry in endeavoring to strike a balance between economic development and growing energy demands, amid issues of climate change and energy security both at the national and international level. Towards this end, ADNOC has made tremendous strides in its attempt to diversify energy supply in Adu Dhabi. Specifically, ADNOC is committed to ensuring that Abu Dhabi’s natural gas production has been enhanced from its existing gas reserves. ADNOC is also actively engaged in efforts to expanding the existing natural gas supply network, shipping, and processing facilities. This is aimed at facilitating consumption in the national and international market.
Analysis
This particular source is relevant to the Emiratisation policy as popularized by the UAE government. This is because by seeking to diversify energy supply; it means that the existing jobs in the oil and gas sector in the UAE will be secured. It also means that new jobs will be created to cater for the needs of thousands of young citizens in the UAE who are in dire need of job opportunities. By endeavoring to stimulating demand for oil and gas resources for both the national and international market, ADNOC is in fact seeking to sustain the Emiratisation policy.
Application
The article is relevant to the topic at hand because it talks about how the Abu Dhabi government can enhance its capacity to meet national and international demand for oil. This involves, among other things, expanding its existing gas reserves.
Conclusion
This article talks of how the national ADNOC can improve its national resources responsibility, and effectively meet the Emiratisation goal.
ADCO. (2012). Sustainability Report: From a Majestic Past, Towards a Sustainable Future. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved from http://static.globalreporting.org/report-pdfs/2013/e76d22d53d1992f482b636acdefc0ee4.pdf
Article
ADCO acknowledges it should assume responsibility in fostering a culture of sustainability, not just within the company, but also for their suppliers as well. Towards this end, ADCO has made a commitment to utilize local distribution and suppliers with the intention of supporting the local community to uplift themselves. According to ADCO, “in 2012, 100% of our suppliers were sourced from the local market” (ADCO, 2012, p. 21). Even in its hiring policy, ADCO is fully committed to the Emiritisation policy. For example, employees are given access to coaching and mentoring services, in addition to being granted full-time study leave. Moreover, ADCO grants its female employees “administration positions in the fields with daily commute” (ADCO, 2012, p. 22).
Analysis
This particular source has effectively captured the Emiratisation policy not just in terms of hiring locally, but also in terms of seeing suppliers from the local market. Moreover, the report demonstrates to us that ADCO is in line with the “Emiritasiation target of 75% by 2017” (ADCO, 2012, p. 22).
Application
The article is crucial in dealing with employment relations as they relate to the emiratisation policy, and a sustainable oil and gas sector.
Conclusion
This article is ideal in depicting the plans by ADCO for a sustainable future of the oil and gas sector in the UAE.
ADNOC. (2013). ADNOC Distribution: 2013 Sustainability Report. Our people. Retrieved from
http://adnocdistribution.ae/media/1415/adnoc-distribution-report-2013-en.pdf
Article
ADNOC is committed to creating a healthy and safe working environment for its employees. The company continually challenges itself, along with its various partners to ensure that its operations are carried out in a sustainable manner. One way in which it has achieved this is by expanding ADNOC distribution across the UAE, a move that has led to the creation of additional jobs for the UAE citizens. In addition, ADNOC has also cooperated with the private and public stakeholders in its health and safety environment efforts.
Analysis
The source is relevant to the Emiratisation policy because it seeks to ensure that employees in the company work efficiently and lead meaningful lives by guaranteeing safe and healthy working environment. While the source has not deftly addressed the issue of how the workforce, it, nonetheless examines how the existing workforce can be made comfortable by safeguarding their health and safety in the workplace.
Application
The article would find application in the health and safety department of an organisation as it deals with ensuring a safe and healthy working environment for the employees.
Conclusion
The article would be useful in enhancing employees’ efficiency through improved healthy working conditions.
Al Ali (2008). Emiratisation: Drawing Nationals into the Surging Economy. Retrieved from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1741944&show=abstract
Article
Al Ali (2008) conducted a study whose aim was to evaluate the Emiratisation policy, along with its antecedents from the context of “national policy impacting private sector organizations’ cultures, working conditions and job specification” (p. 2). The study design involved the use of both a quantitative and qualitative survey involving 20 executives as the participants, drawn from the relevant authorities and enterprises in the public sector within the UAE. The study findings revealed barriers to the Emiratisation policy in the form of low skills and standards of education of potential employees, lack of trust among employers that the UAE nationals were ready for the Emiratisation policy, and inadequate English.
Analysis
This source is very relevant to the topic at hand. Not only does it seek to explore the Emiratisation policy, but is also endeavors to explore the various barriers to the policy. Furthermore, the paper acts as a source of literature on social capital because of its rich theme in Gulf literature. It would thus be useful for future related studies that seek to undertake an in-depth analysis of the impact of the Emiratisation policy on the UAE workforce.
Application
The source would find application in organizations in the UAE as they try to explore barriers that face the Emiratisation policy and how to overcome them
Conclusion
The article is an important addition to the existing literature of challenges facing Emiratisation.
Chartouni, C. (2011). Emiratisation Policies in the UAE: An Intrafirm Bargaining and Matching Approach. Economics. 2-3.
Article
In her paper, Chartouni (2011) has made use of the intra-firm bargaining methodology in an attempt to examine the UAE government policies whose goal is to reduce levels of “unemployment among UAE nationals” (Chartouni, 2011, p. 2). According to Chartouni (2006) “The “Emiratisation” policies cause a firm’s costs to increases as the number of expatriates increase in proportion to the number of national in a firm” (p. 2). Such costs are often viewed b the companies “to constitute an implicit form of taxation on the hiring of expatriates” (Chartouni 2011, p. 2). Consequently, firms seek an incentive to attract more national labor and in this way, end up increasing the national’s bargaining power, in addition to influencing their wages.
Analysis
This source has explored a very important aspect of the Emiratisation policy namely, the use of expatriate labor in place of the local workforce. It also makes use of employment models that show how the bargaining power of the national increases majority of them gets jobs locally. Again, this further goes to fulfill the goals of the Emiratisation policy, which seeks to create employment for the locals, even as the number of expatriates is reduced.
Application
The article would find application in government policies involved in implementing procedures that apply to Emiratisation.
Conclusion
The article is an important addition to the already existing information on how the emiratisation policy can increase the bargaining power of Emiratis.
Forstenlechner, I, Madi, M.T, Selim, H.M and Rutledge, E.J. (2012). Emiratisation: Determining the Factors that Influence the Recruitment Decisions of Employers in the UAE. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 23(2) 406-407.
Article
Forstenlechner et al (2012) have sought to examine the factors impacting on the recruitment decisions made by employers within the UAE with regard to Emiratisation. On this, the authors have reported on the overhauling exercise being experienced by the labor market in the Arab Gulf. They report that “the private sector is increasingly being ‘obliged’ to more actively support nationalization programmes” (Forstenlechner et al., 2012, p. 406). The study’s research findings revealed that high reservation wage demands and lack of the necessary educational qualifications did not have a lot of influence on Emiratisation as did “the perceived lack of vocational oriented motivation and the ambiguities over the differing rights afforded to employees” (Forstenlechner et al., 2012, p. 406).
Analysis
The source has explored the Emiratisation policy into details and is thus very relevant to the topic. It has also examined the important factors that impact on the recruitment decisions made by the various employers in the UAE and which in turn affect Emiratisation.
Application
The article would be useful in helping the UAE government to understand the motives behind employers in the UAE in their hiring exercises
Conclusion
The article has helped to shed light on the factors that influence the recruitment decisions of employers in the UAE with regard to Emiratisation .
Koji, H. (2011). Controversies over Labour Naturalization Policy and its Dilemmas: 40 Years of Emiratisation in the United Arab Emirates. Kyoto Bulletin of Islamic Area Studies.
Article
In conducting his research, Koji (2011) aimed to examine the controversies and dilemmas that surround the Labor Naturalization Policy in regards to the 4 decade long Emiratisation policy as practiced in the UAE. To do so, Koji (2011) has analyzed various economic-political controversies on this issue, and how they have emerged. He reports that since the inception of the state-building period, the Gulf countries have introduced large numbers of Asian and Arab expatriate workers so much, that there are now more expatriates than the national population. However, “these labor force and demographic problems have been critical factors in the process of state-building and economic development” (Koji, 2011, p. 1). At the same time, Koji (2011) reports that the federal government in the UAE has now acknowledged that over-reliance on expatriate workforce leads to the development of a demographic imbalance between expatriates and nationals, and this harms the local society by causing unemployment.
Analysis
In this article, Koji (2011) has examined the various controversies that surround Emiratisation and in the process, he has shed light on activities that the UAE government and other governments in the UAE could adopt in an attempt to ensure that the goals of the Emiratisation process are achieved.
Application
The article would be of immense use to the UAE government as it endeavors to find a balance between the nationals and expatriates workforce.
Conclusion
The article is a clear indication that if the UAE government does not find a balance between its expatriates and nationals, this could end up harming the local society by creating unemployment.
Nour, M. S. (2013). Technological Change and Skill Development in Arab Gulf Countries. Cham: Imprint: Springer.
According to Nour (2013), “the Gulf countries have strategic importance in the global economy because the region holds 40% of the world’s oil reserves and therefore affects the trends of oil supply and market” (p. 23). Even as the heavy dependence on oil seen the region enjoy increased economic development, it has further resulted in serious problems that the Gulf countries have to contend with seeing as oil is an exhaustible resource, prices of oil tend to be unstable, and volatile an uncertain oil revenues. Nour has also touched on the high levels of unskilled foreign employees and its effect “on the labor market in the Gulf” (Nour, 2013, p. 23)
Analysis
Nour (2013) has touched on the effects of the dependence of Gulf countries on oil, including the issue of the employment of foreign workers. This is exactly what the Gulf region countries are trying to overcome by ensuring that the Emiratisation policy is affected.
Application
The article is useful to policymakers in the Gulf countries in that it shows the dangers of over-reliance on oil resources, and hence demonstrates the need to find sustainable energy sources.
Conclusion
The article is ideal in trying to find useful solutions to the emiratisation policy.
Phillips, J.J., & Connel, A.O. (2004). Managing Employee Retention. Routledge. Business & Economics.
Article
Phillips and Connell (2004) have endeavored to examine how in the past decade, employee retention has turned into a perplexing and serious issue for various forms of organizations. They further note that “managing retention and keeping the turnover rate below target and industry norms is one of the most challenging issues facing businesses” (Phillips & Connell, 2004, p. 11). More importantly, the authors note that employment retention shall be a significant issue for various organizations in the coming years, and that there is need to address this issue as a matter of urgency.
Analysis
While this particular sources has not directly addressed the issue of Emiratisation, it has, nonetheless dwelt on a pertinent issue that pertains to it namely, employee retention. While Emiratisation is concerned with ensuring that more locals get jobs as the number of foreign expatriates reduces, unless the Gulf countries can confronts the challenges of employee retention, they may also fail to retain these local workers as well.
Application
The article would be of immense help to the human resource department of organizations in the UAE on how to enhance employee retention
Conclusion
The article shows the importance of confronting employee retention issues by organizations.
Taylor, S. (2002). The employee retention handbook. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Article
Taylor (2002) contends that over the past few years, the difficulties surrounding the recruitment and retention of employee have been on top of the agenda of majority of the human resource departments in UK organizations. In the process, employee relations and performance management issues have been rendered less urgent. This, according to Taylor (2002) is due to a tightening labor market in which there are fewer job openings cropping up so that it becomes increasingly harder to replace existing labor force. The demographic trends have also influenced the recruitment and retention of employees as the working population becomes increasingly aged.
Analysis
Taylor has not addressed the issue of Emiratisation at all, but the issues of employee recruitment and retention that he brings forth are important because the lessons and experiences of an aging population in the UK labor force could be helpful to the UAE in developing labor policies.
Application
The article would find use in the human resource department of various organizations in the UAE on how to deal with an aging workforce. It would also be of use to the relevant government bodies involved in the development of labor policies.
Conclusion
The article is a clear depiction of the need to ensure a diverse workforce form an age context as a means of avoiding the ensuing challenges
Salehi, R (2012). Emiratisation and Its Implications on Managing Workpalce Diversity: A Case
Study of Private Sector Firms in Dubai, UAE. London: King’s College London.
Article
Salehi (2012) argues that the highest expatriate population is to be found in the UAE. Salehi (2012) further argues that when the government authorities in the UAE decided to implement the Emiratisation policy, this over was informed by the need to increase the number of locals working at the various private sectors in the UAE. However, Salehi (2012) notes that despite the dedication shown by the government, the policy was not very successful in attaining the desired local employment targets owing to unsupportive organizational strategies. In addition, the initiative was also negatively impacted by relationships and perceptions between expatriates and Emiratis.
Analysis
Besides examining the effects of Emiratisation on managing workplace diversity, the article has also further shed light on the dearth of existing literature on the impact of nationalization policies on human resource management (HRM) policies.
Application
The article is of use to the human resource department in various organizations in the UAE on the need to manage workplace diversity.
Conclusion
The article clearly shows that in the absence of supportive strategies, nationalization initiatives such as emiratisation cannot work.
Al-Ali, J. (2006). Emiratisation in the local labor force of the UAE: a review of the obstacles and identification of potential strategies. Proceedings of the 20th ANZAM (Australian New Zealand Academy of Management) Conference on “Management: Pragmatism, Philosophy, Priorities”, 6-9 December 2006, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton.
Article
Al-Ali (2006) reports that nearly 89% of the entire population in the UAE is made up of non-natives. In spite of this, UAE nationals experience a relatively high rate of unemployment, even as they constitute a mere 9% of the entire workforce in the UAE’s public sector, as well as only 1% of the workforce in the private sector. The paper by Al-Ali (2006) sought to examine the barriers to Emiratisation, in addition to provide plausible suggestions on how Emiratisation can be increased. On this, the author reports on the need to address personal factors like skills, experience, and education, organizational capital like English language, culture, and human resource strategy, and social capital in the form of nepotism, gender inequality, and lack of trust. Analysis
The paper has endeavored to explore the key obstacles that have been responsible for failure of Emiratisation; in addition to providing useful strategies, which if implemented, could prove useful in enhancing the Emiratisation exercise, if not making it a success.
Application
The article is useful to scholars and government planners involved with the implementation and improvement of the emiratisation policy
Conclusion
This article is a clear indication of the need to overcome obstacles involved in the emiratisation
Overall Statement
I strongly support the arguments put forth by the authors in this literature review. There is no doubt that the emiratisation policy was necessary in order to create jobs for the emiratis but more importantly, it was needed so that the emiratis could also gain job-related skills. Indeed, the strategy adopted by ADCO to make use of local distribution and supply networks for oil and gas will go a long way in uplifting the local communities by creating jobs. The evaluation of the emiratisation policy as done by Al Ali (2008) is fitting in the current context because it has revealed the various barriers facing the emiratisation policy, including lack of trust among employees and low skills and standards of education of potential employees. Other challenges of the emiratisation policy have also been examined by Chartouni (2011), including an increase in a firm’s cost but crucially, the author notes that emiratisation increases the bargaining power and wages of the nationals. Political-economic controversies impacting on emiratisation have also been examined by Koji (2011), who rightly argues that an over-reliance on an expatriate workforce results in an imbalance between the nationals and expatriates.
Overall Conclusion
While there are many challenges and hindrances facing the emiratisation policy, including an increase in the cost of a firm, not being readily accepted by employees, and the impact of potential employers in their decision making process, there is no doubt that this nationalization policy has been of immense benefit to the emitatis. Besides seeing their income and wages increase significantly, the program has also resulted in them gaining additional skills in effect increasing their competitiveness in the global market, and that of the oil and gas industry for which they se
References
ADNOC. (2010). Developing our Natural Resources Responsibly: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) 2010 Sustainability Report. Abu Dhabi: Supreme Petroleum Council of Abu Dhabi. Retrieved from https://www.adsg.ae/membership/Documents/ADNOC/2010/Sustainability_report_ENG_2010.pdf
ADNCO. (2012). Sustainability Report: From a Majestic Past, Towards a Sustainable Future. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved from http://static.globalreporting.org/report-pdfs/2013/e76d22d53d1992f482b636acdefc0ee4.pdf
ADNOC. (2013). ADNOC Distribution: 2013 Sustainability Report. Our people. Retrieved from http://adnocdistribution.ae/media/1415/adnoc-distribution-report-2013-en.pdf
Al-Ali, J. (2006). Emiratisation in the local labor force of the UAE: a review of the obstacles and identification of potential strategies. Proceedings of the 20th ANZAM (Australian New Zealand Academy of Management) Conference on “Management: Pragmatism, Philosophy, Priorities”, 6-9 December 2006, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton.
Al Ali (2008). Emiratisation: Drawing Nationals into the Surging Economy. Retrieved from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1741944&show=abstract
Chartouni, C. (2011). Emiratisation Policies in the UAE: An Intrafirm Bargaining and Matching Approach. Economics. 2-3
Forstenlechner, I, Madi, M.T, Selim, H.M and Rutledge, E.J. (2012). Emiratisation: Determining the Factors that Influence the Recruitment Decisions of Employers in the UAE. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 23(2) 406-407.
Koji, H. (2011). Controversies over Labour Naturalization Policy and its Dilemmas: 40 Years of Emiratisation in the United Arab Emirates. Kyoto Bulletin of Islamic Area Studies.
Nour, M. S. (2013). Technological Change and Skill Development in Arab Gulf Countries. Cham: Imprint: Springer.
Phillips, J.J., & Connel, A.O. (2004). Managing Employee Retention. Routledge. Business & Economics.
Salehi, R (2012). Emiratisation and Its Implications on Managing Workpalce Diversity: A Case
Study of Private Sector Fimrs in Dubai, UAE. London: King’s College London.
Taylor, S. (2002). The employee retention handbook. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.