Introduction
The organization I work in, Dubai Government Human Resources Department (DGHR) is concerned with “the management, development, and governance of human resources for the government sector” (“Dubai Government Human Resources Department” par. 1). Apart from that, our activities are aimed at “updating human resources practices and leading and planning the processes of building national capabilities” (“Dubai Government Human Resources Department” par. 2). Human resources in Dubai and the UAE have particular features. The most noticeable ones are the share of Emirati population (that is 19% in 2015) as well as the low level of women involvement in the labor force (“The United Arab Emirates” par. 4; “Dubai Plan 2021 Enters Implementation Phase” par. 29). Youth unemployment in UAE equals 7.9% among male citizens, but it is 21.8% when female ones are concerned (“United Arab Emirates” par. 4).
Established in 2009 under the Law no. 31, our Department has been in line with the current efforts of the Dubai Government that are aimed at modernizing and Emiratizing the governmental human resources (“DGHRD” par. 1; “Dubai Human Resources Law Made Flexible” par. 1-5). In consistency with these ideas is our last, but not the least important goal: “providing a research base for generating and exchanging knowledge”, which is typically regarded as aimed at advancing and promoting modern methodology (“DGHRD” par. 2).
From the information presented above, it is obvious that our goals are challenging, and, in my opinion, my colleagues understand the significance of our work for the government. Indeed, it is us who ensures the influx of talent, knowledge, skills, and ideas into the government, and these resources are particularly valuable in the modern economic environment. As a result, I have always been proud to note the especially high level of motivation among my colleagues. However, as of recently, I have been noting the signs of uncertainty and confusion, if not apathy among us. It is, most certainly, a sign of a deeper-rooted problem, and the reason could be found on the managerial level.
In this paper, the symptoms are going to be discussed to define the problem, the reasons for its existence will be described as well as its consequences, and the causes of its persistence. According to Berman, “a good problem definition is one that incorporates the manifest symptoms and includes a set of viable strategies for leading the organization forward” (40). Therefore, suggestions for improvement will be described to provide a proper problem definition.
Problem Definition: Symptoms and Causes
The most noticeable symptom of the current problem, as it has been noted, is the apathy exhibited by some of my colleagues. Personally, I am not discouraged yet, but I can feel a growing dissatisfaction with my job and my job opportunities. In conversations with the colleagues, I have brought the problem up, and the conclusion that it is possible to make consists in the suggestion that they experience similar dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction could be the reason for the apathy that, however, is not exhibited by every worker as far as I can see. Therefore, the root of the symptom is the growing job dissatisfaction among my co-workers.
There is a number of factors that influence job satisfaction, and it is very likely that different workers consider different of them to be significant. In fact, this specific feature of human resources could be the reason for the fact that not every of my co-workers exhibits apathy. However, given the fact that there are several of us who experiences decreasing job satisfaction, it is possible to suggest that particular activity or strategy of our management is not adequate or suitable for us. Personally, I have the following suggestion concerning the reason for the decreasing desire to be involved and participate, which manifests itself in the form of apathy.
It would be expected of a human resource department management to realize the importance of human resources and the potential of the ideas that they can provide; however, I have noticed that initiative is not especially encouraged in my organization or, at least, in the environment I contact with. Personally I see a sign of significant human resource mismanagement in this respect, that is, the lack of seeking human resources out which is a variation of the problem #6, “missions are not being pursued,” as defined by Berman (30).
Obviously, pursuing goals without attracting an adequate amount of resources is an unreasonable line of action, and it is bound to affect the effectiveness of the organization. However, given the specifics of the resource, this line of action has first manifested itself in a different form, that is, in the discouragement of the employees. Having realized that their initiative is not very welcome, some of them seem to have decided not to exhibit any. Others, who find it necessary to realize themselves through their work, have a growing dissatisfaction with their job. In general, all these factors are bound to lead to dissatisfactory results that are described in the following section.
The Consequences and Persistence
It is a well-known fact that human resources are particularly important to an organization’s success (Sawang 248). While there are cultural specifics to the strength of the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance, it is a well-established fact that motivation and self-efficacy of employees are necessary for top achievements (Ng, Sorensen, and Yim 779-782; Cherian and Jacob 84-85). Consequently, creating a discouraging environment in which employees do not expect to make changes has naturally resulted in the decrease of their motivation. As such, the problem connected with the inadequate mission pursuing and resource seeking has led to job dissatisfaction and resulted in inadequate staff motivation due to the specifics of this kind of resource. It should be pointed out that the resources are available, but the managerial level does not appear to be interested in using them.
I believe that the primary reason for the problem persistence is the fact that currently the “gap between expectations and reality” (that is necessary for a problem diagnosis) is rather small (Berman 23). It is difficult to discourage the highly-motivated workers like my colleagues, and while we can feel the change, it may be not noticeable to an outside viewer. Apart from that, as a colleague, I notice the decrease in the motivation among my co-workers, but I do not notice any kind of impact on the quality of their work yet. This could be one of the reasons for neglect from the managerial levels: a sign of the problem that would be noticeable to them has not yet appeared. Still, I tend to think that the decrease in motivation has already cost our organization a number of ideas and improvements, and, as it progresses, it can begin to affect the quality of the work. This is why I think that the problem needs to be addressed.
Suggested Solution
Given the specific feature of the problem (its invisibility to upper managerial levels) I believe, we should make it visible. It is obvious that the view of the managerial actions and strategies can be very different for managers and their subordinates; in other words, it is the perception of managerial actions that matters for job satisfaction and motivation (Sawang 247-249). Consequently, I do not believe that the problem was caused deliberately and define the invisibility as a primary reason for its persistence. Managers did not receive (or, possibly, did not seek) adequate feedback from the subordinates, and we must change this. In case after that the problem is not addressed, this plan will need revising since, in such a situation, the reason for the problem persistence will be changed to reflect managerial neglect.
Conclusion
One of the specifics of the work in an organization like my own is the feeling of being useful and doing the right thing. Plain as it may seem, this is a perfect motivation in my book, and from what I see at the workplace, I am not alone in this opinion. To lose this reason for motivation, to annihilate it with human resource mismanagement appears to be a most unreasonable if not sinful line of action. Right at the moment the problem is almost invisible, and this fact appears to be the reason for its persistence. Still, if the problem is not addressed, it may cause much more harm than it is causing at the moment. Given the fact that the described problem is a variant of the issue of not pursuing the missions, the decrease of the effectiveness of mission achievement is to be expected. I believe that the problem should be addressed, and a more in-depth analysis of the situation should be performed by a team from our organization to identify the actions that are necessary for the solution.
Works Cited
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