Abstract
Workplace discrimination is a significant bother for human resource managers in the oil and gas sector in Saudi Arabia. However, knowledge concerning how to address the problem of workplace discrimination in the sector is scarce. This paper aimed at providing a list of recommendations for human resource managers to address this issue by exploring the relationships between organizational culture and workplace discrimination. A self-created questionnaire was created to collect data to assess the effect of cultural diversity management and the influence of national culture on discrimination. A multiple linear regression model was created to determine the inter-relationships between the variables. The results provided empirical evidence that both cultural diversity management practices and the influence of Saudi Arabian national culture had a significant effect on workplace discrimination. The results were analyzed in the light of previous research on the topic along with the theory of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Lewin’s force field model. A list of four recommendations was created after the analysis of the research results.
Introduction
In recent years, organizational culture became the center of attention of scholars and managers due to its close connection to the overall performance of the company. Sveningsson and Alvesson (2015) stated that organizational culture indirectly affects the company’s profitability, as it is closely interrelated with the effectiveness and efficiency of the personnel. In other words, managers can improve the performance of employees by manipulating the values, expectations, norms, and practices inside their companies.
Discrimination at the workplace is a significant problem in Saudi Arabia, as it negatively affects cultural minorities. Fnais et al. (2013) reported that discrimination on the basis of religion prevents religious minorities from receiving adequate job opportunities in Saudi Arabia. Tlaiss and Al Waqfi (2020) stated that regardless of a decrease in discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia, females are still negatively affected by mistreatment in the workplace due to their gender. Addressing the problem of discrimination in the workplace is of utmost importance for business in Saudi Arabia.
This paper assesses the effect of organizational culture on discrimination in the oil and gas (O&G) sector in Saudi Arabia. The paper hypothesizes that the strong influence of the national culture and unmanaged cultural diversity negatively affect the organizational culture in the sector, leading to discrimination, xenophobia, and prejudice. The paper reviews the literature on the topic of organizational culture in the O&D sector in Saudi Arabia, identifies a current gap in the current body of knowledge, discusses methods that may help to close this gap, collects and analyzes data to define the interrelations between organizational culture and discrimination, and discusses the results of the analysis. The paper is concluded with recommendations that can help to decrease workplace discrimination in the O&D sector in Saudi Arabia.
Problem and Purpose Statements
Problem Statement
Discrimination is a significant problem for the O&G sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Nawaz, K. et al. (2020) stated that numerous organizations in the sector experienced discrimination with respect to gender and race. As a result, the effectiveness and efficiency of employees decreases, which negatively affects the bottom line of the companies. Moreover, the image of the companies and access to international human resources also decreases.
The problem of workplace discrimination is a widely discussed topic in modern scholarly and professional literature. Thus, numerous methods were developed for addressing workplace discrimination that proved their efficiency. Scarborough, Lambouths III, and Holbrook stated that the promotion of workplace diversity policy helps to fight discrimination on the basis of culture. Sekerka and Yacobian (2018) stated that organizational training about the emerging types of discrimination might help to reduce discrimination. However, most of the research that discusses methods for addressing the problem of workplace discrimination is applicable to European or US companies. There is little information available concerning strategies for addressing workplace discrimination in Saudi Arabia. Even less information is available about addressing the problem of discrimination in the O&G sector in the country. Thus, the problem this paper attempts to address is the lack of empirical evidence that evaluates approaches to addressing discrimination in the workplace in Saudi Arabia.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this paper is to inspect the interrelationship between the organizational culture and discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. In particular, this research aims at identifying factors that contribute to the spread of discrimination in the sector. These factors are expected to help human resource managers in the development of strategies for addressing workplace discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. The central practical contribution of this research is a list of recommendations that will help human resource managers in Saudi Arabia reduce discrimination in their companies.
Background
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, which implies that all the power belongs to the king. Even though the country does not have a legally binding constitution, the country passed the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia in 1992, which provides a description of the responsibilities and processes of the institutions within the country (GlobalEDGE, 2022). However, this document does not provide enough details to be called a formal constitution (GlobalEDGE, 2022).
The economy of Saudi Arabia is considered strong, as it is considered a High Income, according to the World Bank (GlobalEDGE, 2022). In 2020, the country’s GDP was estimated to be $1,627,278,285,458, which corresponds to $46,742 per capita (GlobalEDGE, 2022). For comparison, it 2020, GDP per capita was $63,500 in the US, $43,200 in Canada, and $40,300 in the UK (GlobalEDGE, 2022). However, despite high income, the country has a low rating country risk rating, which is associated with high uncertainty in the political and economic spheres due to numerous weaknesses and trouble that may affect corporate payment behavior (Coface, 2022). The country’s index of economic freedom is 60.7, which implies that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia needs to make changes to its trade freedom, property rights, tax burden, labor freedom, and other aspects to improve its current status (Heritage Foundation, 2022). Saudi Arabia is considered a developing country based on the tendency in its economic policies.
Oil and Gas Sector in Saudi Arabia
The O&G sector in Saudi Arabia is the key industry, as it makes a significant contribution to the country’s budget. In 2020, almost 50% of GDP and 70% of exports were attributed to the sector (Mordor Intelligence, 2021). The total revenues from the sector in 2020 were $33.5 billion, and they are expected to grow during the period between 2022 and 2027 at a CAGR of 5.51% (Mordor Intelligence, 2021). The growth is expected to be attributed to the development of unconventional natural gas reserves in the eastern Jafurah field (Mordor Intelligence, 2021). In other words, the sector is expected to grow due to the increase in the production of natural gas. The major players in the industry are Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Co., Saudi Aramco Jubail Refinery Company, Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Saipem S.P.A., and Bahrain Petroleum Company.
Research Questions
This research aims at answering three research questions listed below:
- RQ1: What are the unique characteristics and issues of organizational culture in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia?
- RQ2: What factors affect workplace discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia?
- RQ3: How can the problem of discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia be solved?
The first question will be answered using an extensive literature review concerning characteristics of organizational culture in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. The second question will be answered by conducting quantitative research to assess of influence of different factors on workplace discrimination. Finally, the results of the research will be used to form recommendations for addressing workplace discrimination in the sector.
Literature Review and Hypothesis Development
Definitions of Concepts
Discrimination
Discrimination is a complicated concept that was defined differently by various researchers. Dhanani, Beus, and Joseph (2017) define discrimination as “an employee or job applicant’s perception of unfair or negative treatment based on membership in a particular social group” (p. 152). This definition is in accord with the definition of workplace discrimination provided by Chung (2001). However, this definition takes into consideration only perceived discrimination, as discrimination may have negative effects on organizations only if the target of discrimination is aware of the fact (Swanson and Wotike, 1997).
In a broader sense, discrimination is viewed as injustice towards a group of people on the basis of demographical characteristics (Okechukwu et al., 2014). These characteristics often include nationality, race, language, gender, disability, and religion (Chung, 2001; McMahon, 2012; Swanson and Wotike, 1997). Since this paper focuses on workplace disability, it will use the definition provided by Dhanani, Beus, and Joseph (2017).
Culture
Culture is a multifaced concept, as it can be defined differently depending on the situation and context. A study conducted by Kroeber and Kluckhohn in 1956 outlined 156 different definitions of culture (Spencer-Oatey and Franklin, 2012). While the definitions differ, all of them agree that culture may be defined as a collection of practices, values, and expectations that unite a group of people (Avruch, 1998). Hofstede (2001) defined culture as the collective programming of the mind that emerged naturally to help people differentiate between members and non-members of a group. This paper defines culture in a narrow sense as a dynamic system of artifacts, values, and underlying beliefs that can characterize a group of people (Spencer-Oatey, 2008).
This research studies two types of culture, including organizational culture and national culture. While these two types of cultures have many similarities, they have two central differences that should be mentioned. First, representatives of national culture are a numerous and highly diverse group of people united on the basis of nationality, which is not always considered as a viable criterion for uniting a group (McSweeney, 2000). Organizational culture concerns a much smaller group of people with less mutual background. Second, unlike national culture, organizational culture can be managed effectively by the leaders (Lubis and Hanum, 2018). Thus, defining factors of organizational culture that negatively affect the effectiveness and efficiency of operations is crucial to be able to conduct a culture change.
Cultural Diversity
Cultural diversity is seen as a composition of a group differing in the characteristic that defines their social and cultural identity (O’Reilly, Caldwell, and Barnett, 1989). Loden and Rosener (1991) described two dimensions of cultural diversity, including primary (sex, ethnical background, age group, and physical qualities) and secondary (marital status, education level, religion, geographical location, and work experience) dimension. Ranaivoson (2007) defined cultural diversity as a combination of variety, balance, and disparity of characteristics, primary and secondary dimensions of diversity. This paper defines cultural diversity in the workplace as a characteristic of a group in terms of the combination of different national cultures.
Theoretical Context
This research is based on two central theoretical frameworks, including Lewin’s Force Filed Theory and Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimension. These two theories will be used to develop methods and hypotheses, as well as interpret the results. A brief overview of these theories is provided below.
Lewin’s Force Field Model
Lewin’s Force Field Model is a framework that facilitates the decision-making process developed by Kurt Lewin in the 1940s (Lewin, 2013). This model is based on identifying and quantifying factors that support change and factors that resist change and making the final decision about whether to implement a policy or a strategy. Lewin’s Force Field Model is based upon five steps that help to make the final decision. First, the proposal for change needs to be described in detail to understand its purpose, objectives, benefits, drawbacks, and implementation plan (Lewin, 2013). Second, a manager needs to assess internal and external drivers for change, which may be declining team morale, poor operations efficiency, and low-profit margins (Lewin, 2013). Third, factors that contribute to resistance to change need to be described. These factors often include dysfunctional organizational structure, obligations to customers or creditors, and a hostile legal environment. Fourth, the factors for and against change are quantified to understand the magnitude of influence of different factors. The final step is associated with making the decision about change implementation.
Lewin’s Force Field Model is used because decreasing discrimination may be considered an organizational change. In order to implement this change, it is best to reduce the possible resistance from the opposing forces preemptively. This paper will help to determine the aspects of organizational culture in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia that contributes to discrimination. According to the model, a manager can reduce the influence of resistance or increase the number of drivers for change to ensure a positive outcome.
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
In the 1980s, Hofstede developed a model used to describe the national cultures of different countries (Dellner, 2014). Originally, this model had four dimensions that helped to approach the description of a country’s culture from different angles. The four original dimensions were power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity (Dellner, 2014). The original research was followed by a series of studies that increased the number of assessed countries and the number of dimensions to six. The fifth and the sixth dimensions were long-term vs. short-term orientation and indulgence vs. self-restraint, respectively (Minkov and Hofstede, 2011). These dimensions are discussed in detail below.
- Power Distance Index (PDI). This index focuses on the distribution of power in the country and the acceptance of unequal access to power. High PDI usually means that the culture is inclined towards a strict hierarchy and disparities in power distribution (Hofstede, 1991). At the same time, high PDI means that the representatives of the culture tolerate the lack of access to power without significant discomfort (Hofstede, 2001). Low PDI implies that people are against strict hierarchy and enjoy a high level of participation in the decision-making process (Hofstede, 1991). Additionally, low PDI is associated with a high degree of equality and no clearly defined boundaries between ranks.
- Individualism. This dimension measures how much the representatives of a culture value being independent or being part of a group. A high individualism score implies that personal benefits are of utmost importance, while the benefits for the group are low (Hofstede, 1991). Reversely, a low individualism score means that representatives of the culture base their decision-making based on the benefits for the group, as they enjoy the protection of being a part of it.
- Masculinity. The masculinity index demonstrates how much the representatives of the culture prefer masculine values over the feminine. The masculine values include financial success, high achievement, and competition (Hofstede, 1991). The feminine values are assumed to be the focus on the quality of life, modesty, and tenderness (Hofstede, 2001).
- Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI). This index demonstrated how comfortable people felt in situations of high ambiguity. The higher the score, the more comfortable people take risks and try new approaches to their business.
- Long-Term Orientation Index (LTO). This index demonstrates how readily people sacrifice short-term benefits for a long-term goal. Cultures with low LTO scores are unable to focus on the achievement of long-term goals, which often leads to sticking to inefficient traditions (Dellner, 2014).
- Indulgence vs. Restraint Index (IVR). This index demonstrates how freely the representatives of culture can indulge in the gratification of their feelings. A high IVR score usually means that people tend to seek pleasure, while low IVR scores demonstrate that representatives of the culture tend to retrain from pleasures of life and promote asceticism (Minkov and Hofstede, 2011).
Discrimination in Saudi Arabia
Discrimination in Saudi Arabia is a significant problem in Saudi Arabia, as it affects numerous industries. Fnais et al. (2013) focused on discussing discrimination in the healthcare sector of Saudi Arabia. In particular, the study focused on residents of tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The results of the study revealed that more than 80% of the respondents experienced at least one type of discrimination or harassment on the basis of disability, culture, and gender.
Clarkson (2014) focused on discrimination on the basis of religion in Saudi Arabia. In particular, the study focused on the marginalization of Shia Muslims of Saudi Arabia in both public and private sectors. The results of the research revealed that regardless of laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace on the basis of religion, Shia Muslims are discriminated against severely. Such discrimination was demonstrated in “job advertisements excluding applicants from certain religious groups, measures preventing open practice of their religion and the requirement to refrain from public displays of religious symbols” (Clarkson, 2014, p. 2). Moreover, representatives of different religions were often physically hurt or verbally abused in public.
Tlaiss and Al Waqfi (2020) stated that females are often discriminated against in the workplace. Before recent times, human resource managers took only a formal approach towards eliminating discrimination in the workplace to build relationships with their western partners (Tlaiss and Al Waqfi, 2020). However, recently, a strong shift to the true development of female careers was noticed, which decreased workplace discrimination of women. However, the influence of national culture often becomes the reason for workplace discrimination on the basis of gender.
The negative effects of discrimination were clearly described by Buttigieg et al. (2011). Discrimination was found to be connected with increased workplace stress and anxiety, which implies that discrimination leads to negative psychological health outcomes. Additionally, employees are less likely to be satisfied with their work, which leads to increased turnover and decreased effectiveness and efficiency of labor. Additionally, discrimination is associated with increased costs associated with human resources and an unfavorable corporate image.
Influence of Organization Culture on Discrimination
Organizational culture has a direct impact on discrimination, which implies that changes in the organizational culture can decrease the level and the quality of workplace discrimination. Kartolo and Kwantes (2019) studied the interrelationships between organizational culture and discrimination. The research revealed that people were less likely to discriminate if it is against the internal norms of the organization. At the same time, people were less likely to understand that they were discriminated against in the organization, where discrimination was acceptable according to the cultural norms. This implies that people become less sensitive to discrimination in an environment where discrimination is acceptable, which leads to an increased cases number of cases of discrimination.
Castaño, Fontanil, and García-Izquierdo (2019) stated that organizational culture has a significant impact on gender discrimination. In particular, if gender stereotypes are a strong part of the organizational culture, the cases of discrimination are more likely to be numerous. Gender stereotypes often lead to problems with career women’s advancement, as these stereotypes affect the decision-making process concerning promotions and hiring of employees. In other words, discrimination may be embedded in the organizational culture as an underlying assumption.
Marcus, Aksoy, and Tesfa Alemu (2022) conducted research aimed at drawing connections between organizational culture and the unfair treatment of employees. The results revealed that changes in the organizational culture could influence the unfair treatment of employees. Similar conclusions were achieved by Heilman and Caleo (2018). Thus, culture change may be a driver to decrease discrimination. However, according to Lewin’s force field model, it is crucial to identify the forces that will resist change (Lewin, 2013). Therefore, it is central to identify the drawbacks of organizational culture in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia.
Organizational Culture in the Oil and Gas Sector in Saudi Arabia
The information about the organizational culture of companies in Saudi Arabia is scarce due to the absence of research on the subject. However, the review of the literature demonstrated allowed to description the organizational culture in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. Currently, organizational culture is impacted by two tendencies prevalent in Saudi Arabia. On the one hand, the country experienced increased cultural diversity, which has a varying effect on the companies (Esmail, 2019). On the one hand, cultural diversity “enables companies to cater for a larger variety of clients, offer a broader range of products, and has the potential to build more community credibility” (Ellemers and Rink, 2016, p. 49). Cultural diversity may be associated with increased innovation, leading to increased financial performance in terms of profitability (Lambert, 2016). Kim (2006) also stated that cultural diversity in the workplace might lead to enhanced organizational growth and improved ability to attract talents.
On the other hand, if unmanaged, cultural diversity may lead to communication problems, discrimination, and increased spending on decision-making (Amaram, 2007). Allen et al. (2008) also mentioned that xenophobia and prejudice might be the consequences of unmanaged cultural diversity. Currently, cultural diversity in the country is growing; however, the problem of unmanaged cultural diversity in the workplace remains unsolved, as in other Arabic countries (Al-Khalifa and Aspinwall, 2001; Felemban, O’Connor, and McKenna, 2014). Thus, Hypothesis 1 was developed:
H1: Effective management of cultural diversity has a negative impact on discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia.
Another tendency is globalization, which transforms the organizational culture in the sector. According to Determann (2012), the country experiences a transformation in the organizational culture by adopting western values. However, the influence of the national culture remains strong, which negatively affects the effectiveness of operations in the sector (Al-Khalifa and Aspinwall, 2001; Alofan, Chen, and Tan, 2020). There are several characteristics of national culture that should be mentioned to understand its influence on organizational culture.
It is beneficial to overview the national culture from the viewpoint of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. According to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Arabic countries have similar cultures in terms of all the dimensions, which can be seen in Figure 1 below.
According to Hofstede (1991), Saudi Arabia’s culture can be described as strongly inclined towards strict hierarchy due to the high PDI, high degree of collective values due to low individualism score, increased emphasis on success and competition due to masculinity score of 60, and low tolerance to ambiguity due to high UAI. According to Dellner (2014), high UAI also demonstrates that representatives of the culture feel comfortable when every part of their work is strictly regulated, which leads to an increased number of rules. A low score in long-term orientation means that representatives of the culture are prone to traditionalism and increased resistance to change (Minkov and Hofstede, 2011). Medium score in indulgence demonstrates that representatives of the culture are balanced in terms of gratification and self-restraint.
There are other characteristics of Saudi Arabia culture that go beyond Hofstede’s cultural dimensions that should be mentioned. Arabic culture is highly influenced by the religious traditions of Islam. Most representatives of Arabic cultures believe that the laws of Sharia are above state laws (Frangieh, 2018). Thus, people outside the Islamic tradition may be discriminated against. Additionally, family values are at the center of people’s lives, which implies that people value family overwork. This often means that people value personal relationships over business relationships (Al-Omari, 2008). These tendencies may be harmful to business and lead to discrimination.
Al-Khalifa and Aspinwall (2001) outlined several characteristics of organizational culture applicable to the O&G sector. They include increased bureaucracy, lack of freedom, the abundance of useless rules, low individual competition, high resistance to innovation, and low focus on quality. These characteristics negatively affect the productivity of the employees. Employees from Arabic countries are often the drivers of culture change. However, since the national Arabic culture is associated with increased resistance to innovation and traditionalism, they may discriminate against representatives of other cultures to protect their Status Quo. Thus, Hypotheses 2 was formulated:
Hypothesis 2. Strong influence of national culture has a positive impact on discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia.
Based on the literature review, the influence of national culture is understood as a combination of different factors. These factors include strong influence of Islam, a tendency towards collectivism, strict hierarchy, preference of tradition over innovation, and abundance of rules and regulations (Al-Khalifa and Aspinwall, 2001; Al-Omari, 2008; Hofstede, 1991).
Methods
Research Design
The purpose of this research was to identify the factor that contributes to workplace discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. Identification of these factors was expected to help to develop recommendations for human resource managers for addressing workplace discrimination in the sector. The literature review revealed two major aspects of workplace culture that can affect discrimination, including the strong influence of national culture and unmanaged cultural diversity. This research will focus on the assessment of the influence of these two factors on workplace discrimination by testing two hypotheses provided in Chapter 2 of this paper.
Since the purpose of this research is to test hypotheses, qualitative design is the most appropriate approach to achieving the purpose of this study. According to Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2019), the quantitative approach presupposes the use of highly rigorous statistical methods to answer the research question. Quantitative research helps to achieve a high breadth of research, as numerous respondents can be involved (Cooper and Schindler, 2014). On the other side, qualitative research is associated with exploring an understudied area of knowledge to acquire a better understanding of the problem. Qualitative research is used to analyze behaviors, experiences, and observations made locally (Basias and Pollalis, 2018). This research does not aim at exploring the experiences of the participants; instead, its purpose is to test hypotheses, which implies that the qualitative approach is more appropriate for the study.
There are two general types of data, including primary data (acquired by the researcher) and secondary data (available from open source). The use of secondary data was not considered for this research, as little information is available on the topic of interest. Primary data for quantitative research is acquired from observations of surveys. It was decided to use a self-created survey to collect data.
Sampling
The population under analysis is the employees of the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. Simple random sampling was used to ensure that an adequate number of participants was recruited. All the respondents were from Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Co., Saudi Aramco Jubail Refinery Company, Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Saipem S.P.A., and Bahrain Petroleum Company. Simple random sampling is the most popular type of probability sampling, as it allows equal opportunity for all the members of the population to participate in the study. A total of 40 participants were recruited for this research. According to Cochran (1977), the required minimum sample size for full-scale research is 119 respondents to ensure the reliability of findings with a 3% margin of error and alpha level of 0.05. However, since this was a preliminary study, a sample size of 40 was considered appropriate.
Data Collection Method
Data was collected using a self-created questionnaire that included 11 items. The questionnaire consisted of two parts, demographic questions, and content questions. Demographic questions helped to understand the characteristics of the sample, and the content questions were designed to measure variables. Age, gender, and nationality were also used as control variables in the created statistical model. The questionnaires were distributed among human resource managers of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Saipem S.P.A., and Bahrain Petroleum Company using emails. The emails included a short description of the purpose of the research, a form of informed consent, and a request to distribute the questionnaire among the employees within their companies. All the data from participants were collected automatically using Google Forms.
Measures of Variables
This research aimed at analyzing the effect of unmanaged cultural diversity and high influence of national culture on workplace discrimination. In other words, workplace discrimination was a dependent variable, while unmanaged cultural diversity and the influence of national culture were seen as independent variables. The research also used three control variables, including age, gender, and nationality. The association between the variables and the questions in the survey that were used to measure them are provided in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Measures of variables
Data Analysis
Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The dataset was created after cleaning the raw data that was used for data analysis. According to McClaive, Benson, and Sincich (2018), Pearson’s correlation and regression analyses are the most appropriate methods to study interrelationships between two or more variables. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the information about the sample and test the assumptions of regression analysis (Kaur, P., Stoltzfus, J., and Yellapu, 2018). The regression model is provided below:
The analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26. An alpha level of 0.05 was used to identify statistical significance.
Results
Descriptive Statistics
The final sample included responses from 40 participants, among which 25% were female, and 75% were male. A total of 13 participants (32.5%) identified their nationality as non-GCC, while 27 (67.5%) identified their nationality as GCC. The age distribution of the sample is provided in Table 2 below.
Table 2. Age distribution of the sample
Descriptive statistics were used to understand the pattern of distribution of the variables. Descriptives are provided in Table 3 below.
Table 3. Descriptive statistics
Correlation Analysis
Correlation analysis was conducted to identify of multicollinearity could have affected the results of the analysis. Pearson’s r analysis revealed that multicollinearity was not an issue, as absolute r coefficients were below 0.8 (McClaive, Benson, and Sincich, 2018). The results of the correlation analysis are provided in Table 4 below.
Table 4. Correlation analysis
Regression Analysis
Regression analysis was used to test two hypotheses introduced in Chapter 2. The created multiple linear regression model revealed that unmanaged cultural diversity and influence of national culture predicted workplace discrimination after controlling for gender, age, and nationality R2 = 0.543, F(5, 34) = 8.09, p < 0.001. The estimation of the coefficients is provided in Table 5 below.
Table 5. Estimation of the coefficients
The estimation of coefficients provided support for Hypothesis 1, as cultural diversity was found to have a significant negative effect on discrimination (p = 0.017). The analysis also provided support for Hypothesis 2, as a national culture had a significant positive effect on discrimination (p = 0.006). Additionally, the analysis revealed that nationality had a significant effect on the perceived discrimination in the company (p = 0.033).
Discussion
Discussion of Research Results
This research provided a significant contribution to the current body of knowledge concerning the effect of organizational culture on discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. First, the results revealed that there is a strong negative correlation between effective cultural diversity management and workplace discrimination. In other words, the more effective cultural diversity management, the less likely the representatives of the culture discriminate against their colleagues regardless of their cultural identity. The results of this research were consistent with previous research. Amaram (2007) stated that cultural diversity might lead to an increased number of cases of discrimination if unmanaged. Allen et al. (2008) also stated that xenophobia and prejudice are often the consequences of unmanaged cultural diversity. The contribution of this research is that the findings of previous research are confirmed for the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. In other words, this paper confirms that human resource managers can address the problem of workplace discrimination by managing cultural diversity effectively.
This finding can be explained by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions model. As it was mentioned previously in this paper, cultural diversity is understood as a composition of a group differing in the characteristic that defines their social and cultural identity (O’Reilly, Caldwell, and Barnett, 1989). In other words, cultural diversity is the co-existence of several national cultures within one organization. Different national cultures are different in terms of PDI, individualism, masculinity, UAI, LTO, and IVR. Thus, tension and an increased number of conflicts may emerge due to the differences in values and underlying assumptions. Conflicts may lead to discrimination due to the lack of understanding between representatives of different national cultures.
At the same time, this research provided evidence that the strong influence of Saudi Arabia’s national culture contributes to the discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. In other words, the higher the influence of the national culture of Saudi Arabia, the high the level of discrimination in the organization. This finding is consistent with the previous body of knowledge. Al-Khalifa and Aspinwall (2001) mentioned that the tendency towards collectivism often leads to the idea that everyone should have similar values. Additionally, the strong influence of Islam often leads to discrimination against other religions and females, as in the Islamic world, women are traditionally not expected to work.
The paper also revealed a tendency in the replies that was unexpected. In particular, the regression model analysis revealed that nationality was a significant factor that contributed to perceived discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. In particular, non-GCC respondents evaluated the degree of discrimination higher than GCC responders. This demonstrates that GCC respondents may be less likely to experience or notice the cases of discrimination, as they are the representatives of the dominant culture. The reason for the phenomenon is that representatives of the minority cultures are more likely to be the victims of discrimination than the representatives of the dominant culture (Chung, 2001; Okechukwu et al., 2014; McMahon, 2012; Swanson and Wotike, 1997).
The findings of this research are crucial from the viewpoint of Lewin’s force field theory. This paper identified possible drivers that may affect initiatives for decreasing discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. The model claims that a change is more likely to be successful if the change manager addresses all the possible resistances against change. The chances of success in the change towards decreased discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia may be achieved by decreasing the influence of national culture on the organizational culture and implementing efficient cultural diversity management practices.
Discussion of Limitations
While the results of this research may be used for generating recommendations, it is crucial to mention several limitations applicable to this paper. First, it is only a preliminary study, which did not include enough participants to ensure the reliability of findings. Second, there was no guarantee that the sample was an adequate representation of the population due to the inability to ensure that employees from different companies were equally represented. Therefore, sampling may have been a source of bias. Finally, the results of this research are applicable only to the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. Even though the analysis of national cultures revealed significant similarities among all Arabic cultures, this paper does not provide empirical evidence that the influence of national culture and cultural diversity management are significant predictors of discrimination in other Arabic cultures. Moreover, the results of this research cannot be applied to any other sector inside Saudi Arabia.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Human Resource Managers
Several recommendations can be given to human resource managers to decrease workplace discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. These recommendations were created using the results of the quantitative analysis provided in this paper, overview of scholarly and professional literature on the topic, and theoretical frameworks described in Chapter 2.
- Monitor workplace discrimination carefully. The analysis of the literature revealed that workplace discrimination might be a significant barrier to the efficiency and effectiveness of the employees (Buttigieg et al., 2011). Additionally, discrimination can lead to decreased employee satisfaction and turnover (Buttigieg et al., 2011). Thus, human resource managers need to conduct surveys that measure workplace discrimination frequently.
- Manage cultural diversity. Efficient cultural diversity management is one of the keys to reducing workplace discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia, as seen in the results of this research and in findings of previous studies (Allen et al., 2008; Amaram, 2007). Thus, human resource managers are recommended to learn and implement effective strategies for cultural diversity management that are most appropriate for the sector.
- Decrease the influence of national culture. The analysis revealed that the influence of the national culture contributes to workplace discrimination. Decreasing the influence of the national culture is expected to improve the situation concerning workplace discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. In particular, human resource managers need to focus on decreasing the influence of religion, collectivism, strict hierarchy, preference of tradition over innovation, and abundance of rules and regulations (Al-Khalifa and Aspinwall, 2001; Al-Omari, 2008; Frangieh, 2018; Hofstede, 1991). Thus, managers are recommended to design a culture change that will address these problems of the organizational culture.
- Utilize an applicable theoretical framework for change. Human resource managers are recommended to design change that is guided by an appropriate theoretical framework. This paper demonstrated that utilizing Lewin’s force field model was beneficent to explain the results of the research. Human resource managers can use Lewin’s force field theory or any other frameworks they find appropriate for managing culture change.
Recommendations for Future Research
Future research should focus on addressing the limitation of this study to increase the reliability, scope, and generalizability of findings. First, future research should aim at increasing the sample size to a minimum of 119 respondents to ensure the reliability of findings. Second, the scholars are recommended to use the methods described in this paper to study other sectors. Such an endeavor is expected to improve the generalizability of findings by assessing the effect of organizational culture on workplace discrimination in other industries of Saudi Arabia. Third, the researchers should aim at improving the sampling techniques to ensure that the principles of random sampling, which allow all the members of the population to have an equal chance of participating in the study. Finally, future research should explore the influence of other aspects of the workplace culture of discrimination.
Conclusion
This paper provided a significant contribution to the understanding of the phenomenon of workplace discrimination in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia. In particular, this preliminary study demonstrated that discrimination is of significant concern for human resource managers in the industry. Moreover, the research explored the inter-relation between organizational culture and discrimination. The results of the research demonstrated that two aspects of organizational culture in the O&G sector in Saudi Arabia have a significant impact on discrimination. The central contribution of this research is a list of recommendations for human resource managers that is expected to improve the situation concerning workplace discrimination in the sector using results of this study, synthesis of findings of previous research, and application of Hofstede’s cultural dimension model and Lewin’s force field theory. Additionally, the paper provided recommendations for future research to address the limitations of this study.
Reflective Report
The purpose of this report was to reflect on the lessons learned from carrying out the research on a business issue. First, I wanted to explain the reasons I selected the topic for my research. My main interest areas are employee relations and employment law. Hence, I thought about topics within those two broad headings that are of interest to me. Brainstorming helped to identify four topics for my research, including flexible working, workplace culture, stress, and discrimination. After carefully considering these options, I decided that it would be most appropriate to focus on discrimination in the workplace since I personally witnessed several cases of discrimination. I also enjoy learning about the concept of workplace culture; therefore, I decided to unite these two concepts in my research paper. I decided to focus on the oil and gas sector because I was sure I could acquire the needed sample to conduct primary research. In summary, the topic selection was a relatively easy task for me.
It was challenging for me to create a comprehensive research plan to put everything together. Even though I have a good sense of how to review literature, create hypotheses, and test for these hypotheses, it was difficult for me to understand what I needed to do exactly to develop a solution for the problem. The most difficult problem was creating a questionnaire to collect primary data that could be used for correlational research. I developed several versions of the questionnaire before I came up with the final questionnaire. The problem was that I tried to create a questionnaire without reviewing the literature. Thus, in the future, I will not try to attempt to create a research instrument without a thorough review of the literature.
Another problem I faced was the selection between using primary data and secondary data. Previously, I had very limited experience in collecting primary data. Thus, I was inclined toward using secondary data. However, I faced the problem of the inability to find relevant data concerning the correlation between the two concepts that were publicly available. I turned to collect primary data, which allowed me to gain control over the data I collected. Thus, I learned that even though primary data may be difficult to acquire, it allows better control over the data collection process, which is crucial for discussing topics that have not been discussed before.
The results of my research revealed that discrimination was a significant problem in Saudi Arabia and provided practical solutions to the problem. In particular, it provided a series of recommendations aimed at changing the workplace culture to decrease discrimination on different bases, including nationality, gender, and religion. While working on research, the problem of discrimination in Saudi Arabia and abroad sunk deeply into my heart. In the future, I would like to be able to use these recommendations to reduce discrimination in the workplace to ensure that all the employees have equal opportunities to develop and give their best to the firm’s success. Thus, this research had a significant impact on my ideas about my future career.
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