Write five reflections on the current macroeconomic situation and labor market conditions in GCC countries
In the article under analysis, the current macroeconomic situation and the labor market in GCC countries is characterized by several changes that cannot be understood by huge and small organizations. The oil price fall has a considerable impact on the development of the economic relations in the region: on the one hand, people suffer from the unpredictable domino effect, and, on the other hand, people face several new organizational opportunities.
First, the author of the article underlines that the Gulf region suffers from shaky economic confidence and recruitment market fears (Gyton par. 1). Such a situation proves the fact that the countries cannot stabilize the macroeconomic situation but continue depending on the oil export and the price changes. This kind of uncertainty turns out to be the root of many other problems and challenges GCC countries could face in 2016 and the coming years.
Second, several organizations cannot understand the falls of oil prices and cannot predict the possible outcomes of such price changes in regards to their development. Some organizations are ready to identify their opportunities, adjust to the current changes, and promote some improvements to facilitate their work. However, many organizations continue taking steps that hurt employees.
A slowly stabilizing market is another condition that could be used to describe the current macroeconomic situation in the GCC countries. Though there are no clear explanations and examples of how the process of stabilization takes place, it is possible to presume that organizations just cannot accept and make use of all opportunities available at the same time.
There is also a statement that workforce investment remains low (Gyton par. 2). People are not interested in taking new jobs and developing their skills. People want to have guarantees and the abilities to choose and compare the conditions under which they could work.
Finally, it is also stated that several oil-exporting countries (that are the representatives of the MENA region) have already lost a considerable sum of money in revenue. Such outcomes should make the countries think about some changes and improvements that could help them to achieve a certain portion of stabilization.
In general, the current macroeconomic situation and labor market are not stable. The GCC countries are challenged a lot by oil price changes and the necessity to think about organizational restructuring.
Identify five challenges faced by the businesses and HR departments in GCC as a result of the current macroeconomic situation and labor market conditions in GCC countries. Scan both internal and external business environment
Regarding the current macroeconomic situation and labor market conditions, it is possible to say that the businesses and HR departments in GCC have five main challenges to deal with. First, the author pays certain attention to the concept of retention in the article. Notable implications are offered to organizational structures to make people understand their importance in organizations.
Then, the strategies to promote recruitment are offered because the companies need mid-to-senior managers and retraining employees (Gyton par. 5). Companies are challenged by the necessity to investigate the current labor market and make choices in regards to the needs and obligations of companies.
There is also a need for motivation in the individual business. Companies have to refresh their strategies and think about the possibilities to reduce unemployment rates from 11.6% to 7% by 2030 (Gyton par. 9). HR departments have to involve employees (Sharma, et al. 14) using improving education and promoting enterprises.
Lack of control in the form of macroeconomic disruption is another challenge for HR departments. It affects several spheres and industries in different ways, and Gyton admits that it has its negative outcomes in hospitality and tourism in particular (par. 8). Many HR departments are challenged by the necessity to understand the causes of such disruption and clarify what steps could be taken to improve the situation and help employees to overcome the possible problems.
Finally, in the article, it is possible to discover the challenge of leadership development in the form of the poor presence of properly trained middle managers, who can carry the burden of the organization (Gyton par. 6). Leadership development is a crucial aspect of the work of businesses and HR departments that touch upon the emotional control, inspiration, and guidelines that cannot be neglected by employees (Sparrow, and Cooper 157).
Evaluate the effects of the challenges (presented in step-2) on the HR Strategies of organizations in GCC
Each challenge has its outcomes on the HR strategies of organizations in GCC. For example, the effect of retention could be observed in the necessity to focus on three areas including nationalization, efficiency, and budget optimization (Gyton par. 3). The peculiar feature of this challenge is its possibility to involve the representatives of different departments in the discussion of the same problem. Besides, HR departments cannot give a clear answer but continue offering their predictions and visions for 2030.
The effect of recruitment includes the inevitability of downsizing teams and retraining employees who should learn how to complete their functions i.e. IT, finance, and procurement (Gyton par. 5).
Regarding the importance of motivation in HR departments, it is possible to underline the idea of rebalancing strategies and helping employees to understand their possibilities and the true worth of their roles in organizations. Economic rebalancing is hard to predict. Therefore, constant monitoring and analysis are required for GCC companies.
The challenge that is connected with the lack of control has its outcome in the spheres of retail and manufacturing. Such changes make employers take certain steps to refresh their companies and offer some simple strategies for the improvement of education or enterprise promotion to achieve considerable changes in the future.
Finally, the importance of leadership development results in the demand for consultants and consultancy organizations which could explain organizations in which lean process improvements are available to them at the moment.
Recommend five HR strategies to overcome the challenges
The main challenges and their outcomes have been identified and discussed in the previous section. Now, it is necessary to analyze the situation described in the article and offer five HR strategies that could help GCC organizations deal with oil price changes. HR strategies could be divided into overarching and specific relating to different aspects of HR management and developed by organizations independently because they focus on specific intentions and needs (Armstrong 124). The importance of retention is an all-around module that includes the necessity to hire the right people and keep them interested in what they have to do (Lashley 17; Sushil 765). The strategy of resources could be offered to attract and retain people, who are properly qualified in certain business issues.
The recruitment challenge could be solved with the help of the reward strategy that helps to define what a company is eager to do at the moment and what goals and achievements could be set for a certain period. People should understand what they have to do to achieve the goals of the company and meet their professional needs. At the same time, they should have an opportunity to identify personal needs and abilities that prove the fact that they are ready to take the required steps and promote the required improvements and changes.
The strategy of learning and developing is offered to solve the problem of motivation. Employees have to be provided with an environment in which they could not only have access to a certain number of opportunities but also be encouraged to study and improve their qualities. It is not enough for GCC organizations to expand the private sectors and improve education. It is also important for companies to make sure that employees want to develop independently and meet their own needs.
The necessity to deal with macroeconomic disruption includes the development of numerous refreshing strategies. Knowledge management is one of the possible strategies that could help to create and capture the required portion of knowledge to be used during performances. Besides, employees have to be taught how to adapt their theoretical knowledge to certain real situations and make decisions that are properly grounded.
Finally, the strategy of employee relations should help to improve the challenge of leadership development using the development of appropriate relationships between employees, their leaders, and other stakeholders, who could make significant contributions. The establishment of trustful and professional relations between all members of a team is a key to success in the battle against oil price falls or other challenges the GCC labor market could face with. The combination of all these strategies and each strategy separately promote the required changes and improvements in a short period.
Works Cited
Armstrong, Michael. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page Publishers, 2006.
Gyton, Georgi. “Labor Market: HR to the Fore as Business Hit ‘Reset’.” CIPD, n.d. Web.
Lashley, Conrad. Empowerment: HR Strategies for Service Excellence. Routledge, 2012.
Sharma, Suparn, et al. “Corporate Social Responsibility: The Key Role of Human Resource Management.” Human Resource Management: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities, edited by Rae Simons, Apple Academic Press, 2011, pp. 9-18.
Sparrow, Paul, and Cary L. Cooper. The Employment Relationship: Key Challenges for HR. Routledge, 2012.
Sushil, Sarika. “Motivation and Retention: HR Strategies in Achieving Quality of Work Life.” Global Journal of Management and Business Studies, vol. 3, no. 7, 2013, pp. 763-768.