The author of the considered article is Kasim Randeree, currently an Associate Fellow at Saἲd Business School, University of Oxford and Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management at Coventry University. The article “Strategy, Policy and Practice in the Nationalization of Human Capital: ‘Project Emiratisation’” deals with the phenomenon of Emiratisation – the process of the nationalization of human resources in the United Arab Emirates.
The need for the nationalization of human capital in the United Arab Emirates has been conditioned by the rapid development of the state’s economy at the end of the twentieth century. Economic growth financed by oil revenues has led to a great influx of cheap labor by a motivated foreign workforce. As a result, the percentage of Emirati nationals involved in the private sector is exceedingly low. Since the development of the knowledge-based economy is the primary goal of state officials, it should be placed in the hands of the national workforce. However, this task is considered very challenging, because many UAE nationals are not willing to work in the private sector due to poor working conditions, lower salaries, and the absence of prospects for promotion. Randeree studies the existing policies, laws, and protocols that address the process of Emiratisation – for example, the imposition of employment quota targets and the promotion of Emirati women at work – and suggests a generic model for the development of an Emiratisation strategy.
The information and ideas presented in the article suggest the descriptive and conceptual character of the research. As a descriptive piece, this article provides the reader with the data required to understand the main idea, as well as an introduction into the current economic situation in the United Arab Emirates. The article includes 2007 UAE census data and statistics regarding the 2006 UAE working population. Apart from statistics, the author gives a detailed overview of the then-existing laws and regulations relating to the process of nationalization in the United Arab Emirates. The conceptual character of the article is expressed through the author’s own ideas of how the Emiratisation strategy development should be implemented. Randeree introduces the concept of a generic model for the development of an Emiratisation strategy, which addresses three main aspects: career, knowledge, and recognition.
Randeree rightly claims “the need for preserving national identity,” especially given the influx of foreign workers (71). In fact, statistics show that Emirati nationals make up only 13.5% of the population of the United Arab Emirates. As Randeree states, expatriates gradually “dilute the UAE’s national identity” and increase the risk of “disruptive interference with economic and political decisions” (Modarress 201). The process of nationalization is a necessary step in the UAE’s policy.
Randeree believes that state officials and organizations need a well-developed strategic plan for Emiratisation, which includes “long-term expectations” and “shorter-term aspirations such as annual targets” to increase the number of nationals in the private sector (80). The following point also cannot be disproved, however: in addition to a plan, the United Arab Emirates needs to develop “effective regulatory and institutional tools and instruments to ensure achievement of Emiratisation targets” (Al-Waqfi and Forstenlechner 184). Randeree, like many other researchers, is convinced that human resource policies influence the successful implementation of Emiratisation possibilities. For example, Horinuki believes that human resource development is “one of the solutions to the demographic imbalance” (47), and Mohammad is convinced that this activity will help Emirati nationals become competitive in the UAE labor market (74).
Randeree states that the promotion of Emirati women at work is the key to successful nationalization. Mohammad agrees with this fact, saying that Emirati women have proved to be more flexible and adaptable than men (75). However, Arab society at large still needs to change its attitude towards women’s roles in the workplace and to dispose of the stereotype that women have “lower aspirations and lower engagement in the labor force because of expected family responsibilities” (Mohammad 81). With an increase in the number of working Emirati women, there will be less need for a foreign workforce. Therefore, state officials should pay more attention to the encouragement of Emirati women to work in the private sector.
Despite the fact that the conclusions drawn by Randeree in the article cannot be contested, there is one more important idea concerning the indicators of successful Emiratisation. Ingo Forstenlechner, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Business and Economics at United Arab Emirates University, suggests that successful Emiratisation “should not be simply measured by the number of nationals on a given business’ payroll”; instead, it should be measured by three figures: “length of the average service of nationals on the payroll, the promotional track-record of nationals, and the number and quality of on-the-job training/support provided to national employees” (13). Such an approach will ensure a more precise estimation of the results of Emiratisation.
As a recommendation for Emiratisation, Randeree suggests a generic model for the development of an Emiratisation strategy. This model focuses on three aspects: career, as relating both to the individual employee and human resource divisions; knowledge, as the necessity to encourage expatriates to transfer their skills to Emirati nationals; and recognition, as the provision of grants and scholarships to talented and promising professionals. This recommendation is more theoretical, rather than practical, which is why it is considered to be a strategic model of Emiratisation development. The Emiratisation process began almost thirty years ago, and so far has not brought substantial results, in part due to the fact that many researchers have proposed only strategic models of its development (Horinuki 57). Nevertheless, taking into account the fact that the article is of a purely descriptive-conceptual nature, this model is correct since it describes all of the key points required for Emiratisation.
In “Strategy, Policy and Practice in the Nationalization of Human Capital: ‘Project Emiratisation’,” Randeree has clearly defined the concept of Emiratisation, which implies a reduction in the number of expatriates, who make up almost four-fifths of the population of the United Arab Emirates. The author has also listed the main challenges in this process, which include, for example, the willingness of expatriates to work for low salaries in poor working conditions compared to Emirati nationals who request higher salaries, shorter working hours, and non-monetary benefits. As a possible solution to the problem, the author proposes an increase in the number of Emirati women in all working areas, not only in the fields of health and education. The author proposes a model of development for the Emiratisation process that would be aimed at the education and training of nationals, the financial encouragement of talented and promising professionals, and the cultivation of a productive knowledge exchange between expatriates and nationals. All points of the article are clearly stated and supported by statistical and analytical data and thus cannot be refuted.
References
Al-Waqfi, Mohammed A., and Ingo Forstenlechner. “Barriers to Emiratization: the Role of Policy Design and Institutional Environment in Determining the Effectiveness of Emiratization.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 25.2 (2014): 167-189. Print.
Forstenlechner, Ingo, Mohamed Madi, Hassan Selim, and Emilie J Rutledge. “Emiratisation: Determining the Factors that Influence the Recruitment Decisions of Employers in the UAE.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 23.2 (2012): 406-421. Print.
Horinuki, Koji. “Controversies over Labour Naturalisation Policy and its Dilemmas: 40 Years of Emiratisation in the United Arab Emirates.” Kyoto Bulletin of Islamic Area Studies 4.1-2 (2011): 41-61. Print.
Modarress, Batoul, Arib A. Ansari, and Diane L. Lockwood. “Emiratisation: From Policy to Implementation.” International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management 13.2-3 (2013): 188-205. Print.
Mohammad, Saeed H. A. “Analysis of the Obstacles Facing the Implementation of the ‘Nationalisation’ (Emiratisation) in the UAE Labour Market”. Diss. University of Liverpool, 2013.
Randeree, Kasim. “Strategy, Policy and Practice in the Nationalization of Human Capital: ‘Project Emiratisation’.” Research and Practice in Human Resource Management 17.1 (2009): 71-91. Print.