Emiratization
While ontology is concerned with the identification of different types of objects and phenomena, epistemology studies the nature of knowledge about them. To examine the concept of Emiratization, I chose realism, a type of ontology, which is a view suggesting that the physical world exists without being influenced by the perception of it. When connecting the notion of realism to the sphere of ontology, it is important to mention that realism proposes an opinion that people should perceive and examine the world as it is. Therefore, our minds and senses accurately show us the surrounding world as it is in reality. The concept of idealism in contrast to realism and suggests that the reality is mentally constructed, or immaterial. In my opinion, such a view cannot be used for exploring notions such as Emiratization, which is a social and political construct of the UAE government trying to engage more local workers in the private sector, rather than governmental.
Realism asserts that social concepts and objects exist in the world regardless of whether a researcher knows about their existence. The social concept of Emiratization should be explored from the realist perspective because it will exist in the world despite others’ knowing about its existence; thus, this notion exists independently from other views, opinions, actions, observations, and beliefs. To defend the pro-realist position in the ontological (or strong positivism in epistemological) debate regarding the social concept of Emiratization, it is important to give substantial evidence that the notion exists in reality and that it is accessible regardless of the human knowledge, actions, or the ability to describe its nature.
Because there is strong empirical evidence (studies by Forstenlechner, Randeree, and Knoglinger), which suggests that the concept is real and exists parallel to other beliefs and ideas, exploring Emiratization from the realistic point of view is the only rational approach to the research. Examining this notion from a positivist or relativist perspective will contradict the empirical nature of the phenomenon. Therefore, my ontological position in this research correlates with the view that the concept of Emiratization is independent of my knowledge about it.
The paper, therefore, aims at exploring the nature of Emiratization and determining the factors that contribute to its failure in the private sector. As stressed above, it is currently crucial to make sure that the unemployed members of the UAE society should be able to get an opportunity to explore their options as candidates for positions in SMEs. However, there has been no success so far in promoting Emiratization in the identified realm. A detailed analysis of the factors that contribute to the phenomenon, as well as the design of the strategies that will, later on, help manage the subject matter can be viewed as the primary objectives of the paper. It is expected that the approach that will be aimed at addressing the failure of Emiratization in the private sector will also help manage the unemployment issue by which the UAE can be currently characterized.
For instance, it will be a reasonable step to increase the number of residents among the workforce. For this purpose, one should consider the use of incentives and rewards, including both appraisals and financial opportunities. Specifically, the benefit package should be reconsidered so that the staff members could enjoy more flexibility and a larger number of options. Once the candidates are provided with a chance of retrieving an increased number of benefits and enjoy a greater variety of opportunities, they are likely to be more motivated to become a part of the private sector economy. Furthermore, it will be necessary to stimulate the employees to improve their competencies and train new skills. Financial encouragement, in its turn, is likely to play a pivotal role in the process. Once the target audience is provided with opportunities for professional growth, its members are likely to be more enthusiastic about working in the private sector.