Introduction
The success story of the Emirati Company Al Mansoori Group is attributed to its corporate culture. According to the company’s website and a corporate video released on Youtube in 2013, the company has become one of the most trusted and admired organizations providing oil exploration and manufacturing services, especially in training, engineering, and development (Saeed Corporate Video: Al Mansoori Group – Abu Dhabi). The company was established in 1971 in Abu Dhabi, where its headquarters are still located. After years of operation as a single unit, the company decided to diversify its operations, creating two holding units, the Al Mansoori Petroleum Industries and Al Mansoori Petroleum Services, which are designed to provide manufacturing and fabrication services respectively.
Besides, the official website reports that the company now covers about 24 countries throughout the world. In the 2013 corporation video, three corporate leaders at Al Mansoori Group provide a brief reporting of their company’s practices and mode of conducting business. Arguably, the company has adopted practices that aim at creating a family of employees, integrating individuals, and creating and retaining qualified personnel, which amounts to a corporate culture defined by dimensions of collectivism, low-power distance, and long-term orientation.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the corporate culture employed and promoted at Al Mansoori Group. The paper attempts to analyze the company culture based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, with a review of the company’s website and corporate video clip.
The corporate practices at Al Mansoori
Before critically analyzing the corporate culture at Al Mansoori, it is worth examining its corporate practices that build a corporate culture. Based on the video and website, it is clear that the company has set forth a culture defined by specific practices and modes of business.
First, the company’s leaders argue that the company was established to adopt technology and provide quality services based on technological and innovative advancement. The video claims that the company thrives on grasping local conditions, establishing owned assets, setting discreet procedures, and a set of comprehensively developed safety standards for its employees and other parties. The company’s mission, vision, and focus are tailored towards the provision of high-quality services. To achieve this, the company has established a corporate culture that attempts to recruit and retain high performing, dedicated and qualified individuals. The employees are retained over a long period. To achieve this, the group has developed a culture of uniting all its employees as a single “Al Mansoori Family”. Every person joining the company after recruitment is integrated into the micro-society as an equal member of the larger Al Mansoori Family. Work performance is done through teamwork, with every family member expected to be a part of the team.
An analysis of the culture established at Al Mansoori Group, UAE
From Hofstede’s point of view, the corporate culture developed through corporate practice at Al Mansoori Group can be explained using three dimensions- collectivism versus individualism, long-term orientation versus short-term orientation, and low power versus high power distance.
The culture of low power distance at Al Mansoori Group
According to Hofstede’s view of culture, power distance is the degree to which members of a given society expect and accept equal or unequal distribution and exercise of power (Hofstede and Hofstede 233). In a society with high power distance, members expect and accept an unequal power distribution. On the other hand, in a society with low power distance, members expect and appreciate an equal distribution of power. Thus, at Al Mansoori Group, a culture of low power distance has been established. For instance, the directors at the company have shown that they have successfully established and maintained human resources in terms of “our people”. They do not consider themselves as corporate rulers. Rather, they act as leaders of the Al Mansoori Company and family. Thus, they enhance the sharing of responsibilities, information, and ideas. In this way, employees expect and appreciate an equal power distribution.
Collectivism versus individualism
According to Hofstede’s model, societies tend to promote an individualistic or collectivist culture. In a culture with a high degree of individualism, people and families are expected to stand on their own and struggle individually towards achieving their goals (Hofstede and Hofstede 277). People are judged according to their individual ability to achieve goals and compete with others. On the other hand, in a society that promotes collectivism, individuals are expected to work together towards achieving their goals. Such societies encourage collective responsibilities and roles.
Al Mansoori’s culture of long-term orientation versus short-term orientation
According to Hofstede’s cultural model, societies tend to be long-term or short-term oriented in their goal setting. Short-term oriented societies tend to set short-term goals while long-term oriented societies tend to promote a long-term focus on certain goals (Hofstede and Hofstede 198). At Al Mansoori, the corporate management has established a culture of setting long-term goals with an aim of promoting better standards of living and a good environment for the employees, the company, and the society in general. As such, a dimension of long-term orientation defines the company’s culture.
Works Cited
CORPORATE VIDEO: Al Mansoori Group – Abu Dhabi. Dir. Moiz Saed. Abu Dhabi: Studio 54. 2013. Web.
Hofstede, Geert and Gert-Jan Hofstede. Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. New York, 2009. Print.