RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

IN HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
Randeree, K. (2009). Strategy, Policy and Practice in the Nationalisation of Human a!ital" #Pro$ect %miratisation&,
Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, '(('), (')9'.
Strategy, Policy and Practice in the
Nationalisation o H!"an Ca#ital$ %Pro&ect
E"iratisation'
Kasim Randeree
A(STRACT
Nationalisation of the human resource is the desired and articulated policy of all rulers of
countries that form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In reality, however, the policy has been
dogged with difficulties in implementation from its inception as it faces seemingly insurmountable
hurdles, such as a demographic imbalance caused by a high proportion of expatriates woring in
the region, the challenges of public and private sector employment, the role of national women in
society, the reliance on expatriate employment, high rates of unemployment among poorly trained
nationals, and cumulatively the need for sustainable development as well as the effective
governance of human capital. !ithin this context, governments, including the government of the
"nited #rab $mirates ("#$), have decided to tacle the challenges faced by $miratisation as a
nationalisation endeavour. %his paper examines &$miratisation', with a view to evaluating the
success of the policy as well as its shortcomings to this point in time. (urthermore, the paper
draws light on principles which may direct the strategy for human resource management ()*+)
in this context. %he outcomes of the research are of potential value, in particular to human
resource departments ()*,) in the GCC seeing to nationalise a proportion of their worforce.
INTRODUCTION
*iddle %astern countries are largely !ercei+ed as ha+ing economies of limited com!etiti+eness in a glo,al conte-t.
.his situation is largely due to the !olitical, economic, en+ironmental and societal challenges these nations face.
.he /nited 0ra, %mirates (/0%) is no e-ce!tion, as it faces many challenges including current and future
demogra!hics (*aloney '991), em!loyment of its national 2or3force (Ru!!ert, '991), sustaina,ility issues,
educational concerns, as 2ell as di+ersity and gender related !ro,lems (Randeree 2004a). 0 2ell designed
nationalisation !rocess, o,$ecti+ely a !olicy for reducing the demand for e-!atriate 2or3ers, for human resources,
3no2n as %miratisation in the /0%, cou!led 2ith encouraging the acti+e !artici!ation of the national %mirati
2omen in mainstream commercial society, including the !ri+ate sector, can hel! in alle+iating many of the
!ro,lems in the /0%. .he challenge for the rulers of the /0% is to engage the national human resource (HR) in
education and em!loyment, mo+ing in ste! 2ith ad+anced nations 2hilst res!ecting 0ra, and 5slamic tradition.
0 historical analysis of the 0ra,ian 6ulf indicates a series of distinct e+olutions of human resource acti+ity in ci+il
society resulting in the de+elo!ment of regional economies 2itnessed today (0,dalla '99'). .his has ultimately
resulted in the emergence of the need for !reser+ing national identity through nationalisation, 3no2n as
%miratisation in the /0%. 5nitially, during the !eriod running from the !re 5slamic era u! to circa '900, tri,al
dis!utes and the a!!ro!riation of 2ater 2ells and gra7ing land as 2ell as herding camels 2as the !redominant
commercial acti+ity (Hourani '99'). .his 2as follo2ed ,y an e-!ansion of trade 2ith %uro!e and 0sia and the
,eginning of seafaring and !earl di+ing, circa '800 to '990. .hese early acti+ities 2ere seen as incom!ati,le 2ith
5slamic tradition in relation to the !artici!ation of 2omen and fa+oured male !hysical a,ilities. .hus, 2omen 2ere
e-cluded from commercial !artici!ation, 2ith an em!hasis on domestic duties. :uring the '990s, 2ith the
disco+ery of oil and the first signs of the de+elo!ment of affluent society, the education of 2omen ,egan, 2ith the
State of Ku2ait ta3ing the lead in '9;( (.alhami 2009). 5t 2as only after its formation in '9(', that the /0% ,egan
educational !rogrammes 2hich included 2omen. .hough oil 2ealth ,rought affluence, the a,sence of economic
necessity meant households continued to ,e su!!orted ,y men.
6 countries, ra!id de+elo!ment financed ,y oil re+enues resulted in ro,ust economic gro2th, infrastructure
de+elo!ment and the e-!ansion of !u,lic goods !ro+isions. 5n order to su!!ort and sustain this gro2th, in the 2a3e
of a shortage of su!!ly of nati+e la,our, foreign 2or3ers !rimarily from the 5ndian su,continent 2ere im!orted to
fulfil this role (Halliday '9((). <+er time, a num,er of 6 countries ,ecame de!endent on chea!er and more
=ualified e-!atriate la,our. 5n addition, e-!atriates generally 2or3 longer hours, acce!t lo2er 2ages, and tolerate
!oorer 2or3ing conditions and more !hysically demanding $o,s as o!!osed to /0% nationals (*c*urray '999).
onse=uently, in most 6 countries, o+er 40 !er cent of the la,our force are foreign (*aloney '991, Ru!!ert
'991). >urthermore, ra!id gro2th in the region and the need to di+ersify the economy ,eyond income generation
through oil ,ased re+enue has led to an influ- of e-!atriate 2or3ers in ser+ices and construction industries in
!articular. Ho2e+er, as the 3no2ledge ,ased economy e-!eriences continued gro2th, the nation has recognised
that long term de+elo!ment should ,e !laced in the hands of a gro2ing national 2or3force. 0 further salient
o,ser+ation is that an increasing reliance on %mirati nationals 2ill com!el greater 2or3ing togetherness 2ith the
e=uality of o!!ortunity for the em!loyment of %mirati 2omen, in order for the goal of %miratisation to ,e realised.
5n truth, nationalisation !rogrammes amongst 6 countries are !ro+ing !ro,lematic. %miratisation, ?atarisation,
Ku2aitisation, Saudisation, @ahrainisation and <manisation ha+e all ,een modelled on a =uota ,ased system for
increasing the num,er of nationals in the !ri+ate sector and simultaneously reducing the !ro!ortion of e-!atriate
la,our. <nly '2 !er cent of em!loyees in the /0% are %mirati nationals, and similarly, '( !er cent of em!loyees in
the State of ?atar are ?atari nationals, '1 !er cent of Ku2aitis in the State of Ku2ait, 21 !er cent of Saudis in the
Kingdom of Saudi 0ra,ia, 98 !er cent of @ahrainis in the Kingdom of @ahrain and the most successful, the
Sultanate of <man, 2ith 94 !er cent of their 2or3force ,eing <mani. .he uni=ue as!ect of %miratisation, that
demogra!hically seems to ,e in the 2orst situation, is that the /0% go+ernment is ,oldly changing its !osition, ,y
a,andoning the region&s =uota ,ased !olicy for the foreseea,le future.
:ue in !art to the ad+ancement and com!arati+ely li,eral nature of the /0% in com!arison to other countries on
the 0ra,ian !eninsula, the international community loo3s to the /0%, and the city of :u,ai, in !articular as a
model for a ne2, !ros!erous and sustaina,le 2'st century *iddle %ast. Recent research ,y Randeree (2004,)
thro2s light on the ne-t e+olution, 2ith the seeds of de+elo!ment of the 3no2ledge ,ased economy (since circa
'990), su!!orted ,y a lo2ered rate of illiteracy, access to glo,al information through the 5nternet and the
emergence of 2ell educated %mirati 2omen in cor!orate leadershi! !ositions, and a gradual li,eralisation of social
and !olitical +ie2s in the /0%, in !articular.
Past research (Halliday '9((, *aloney '991, Randeree 2004a) are indicati+e that there are a num,er of challenges
facing %mirati society and ,y im!lication the 0ra,ian 6ulf region, that need to ,e addressed if change and
ad+ancement en+isaged ,y the region is to ,e realised. Pre+ious research has indicated that in order for !ros!ecti+e
3no2ledge ,ased economies in the 0ra,ian 6ulf region to succeed, they must first utilise their entire human
resource and encourage increased !artici!ation of 0ra, 2omen in the 2or3!lace (Randeree 2004,). .his !a!er
aims to go further, ,y analysing and recognising the im!ortance of %miratisation as a dri+ing force for change in
HR* in the +ision for a modern and inclusi+e 0ra,ian !eninsula, 2or3ing in tandem 2ith the greater inclusion of
2omen as 2ell as o+ercoming the !ro,lems faced as a result of the need for demogra!hic change in relation to
e-!atriate em!loyment.
.his !a!er gi+es a critical re+ie2 of the ma$or issues concerning the human ca!ital de+elo!ment of the 3no2ledge
,ased economy in the /0%, focusing, in !articular, on the challenges facing %miratisation. .hese include
%miratisation of the !ri+ate sector, the role of the %mirati 2omen, an a!!reciation for the im!ortance of the former,
current and future role of e-!atriate em!loyees and the need for education and training.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHA))ENGES TO UAE NATIONA)ISATION
.he /0% is located at the southern ti! of the 0ra,ian 6ulf and has three neigh,ouring countries namely" .he
Kingdom of Saudi 0ra,ia, the State of ?atar and the Sultanate of <man. .he total area of the /0% is 1;,400 3m2
and it has a tro!ical desert climate 2ith +ery little or no annual rainfall. 5t is go+erned ,y a federal system founded
on 2 :ecem,er '9('. .he union is formed of se+en emirates" 0,u :ha,i, :u,ai, Shar$ah, 0$man, /mm al ?u2ain,
Ras al Khaimah and >u$airah, 2ith 0,u :ha,i city as its ca!ital (amera!i- '991). .he /0% are inha,ited ,y a
di+ersity of cultural grou!s. 5n addition to %mirati /0% nationals, there are +arious 0ra, grou!s as 2ell as other
0sians including 5ranians, >ili!inos, 5ndians, %uro!eans and 0mericans. .hese are collecti+ely 3no2n as
e-!atriates, often a,,re+iated as e-!ats (6aad 2004).
.he !o!ulation of /0% in 200; 2as estimated ,y the /nited Nations (/N) at 2,998,000 2hich !laced it as num,er
';' in !o!ulation among the '9; nations of the 2orld. 5n that year a!!ro-imately 180,000 !eo!le 2ere %mirati
nationals, 2ith 98 !er cent of the %mirati !o!ulation ,eing under '8 years of age. >e2er than one !er cent of the
total !o!ulation 2as o+er 48 years of age and 24 !er cent of the total !o!ulation under '8 years of age, 2ith an
a+erage age of mortality at 49 for males and (; for females (<,ermeyer '992). .here 2ere '14 males for e+ery '00
females in the country in 200;. 0ccording to findings documented ,y the /N (2009) the !ro$ected !o!ulation for
the year 20'8 is ;,811,000. :ata from a /0% census statistic ,y 0l @ayan (2001) is indicati+e of the high
!ro!ortion of e-!atriates residing in the /0% as com!ared to the national %mirati !o!ulation.
0n analysis of the demogra!hics of the city of :u,ai alone !ro+ides many clues as to the issues emanating in
relation to human ca!ital that the country as a 2hole is facing. .he demogra!hic data of :u,ai indicates that it is an
uni=ue city, e+en in a glo,al conte-t. >indings ,y the *adar Research 6rou! (2009) indicate that the city ran3s
highest in the 2orld for male to female ratio (2.42 male to ' female), 2or3force to !o!ulation ratio (41.;; !er cent)A
e-!ats as a !ercentage of the total !o!ulation (12 !er cent)A !o!ulation gro2th !er annum (se+en !er cent), and
!o!ulation under 48 years of age (99.;8 !er cent). .he :u,ai *unici!ality&s Statistical Bear,oo3 of 2009 states that
:u,ai has a !o!ulation of circa '.' million, a!!ro-imately one third of the three million inha,itants of the /0%, ,ut
co+ers an area of only 9.9 !er cent of the /0%. Cith a female !o!ulation of only 2( !er cent, significant issues of
gender and e=uality are raised. Po!ulation gro2th is e-tremely high due to the influ- of foreign male e-!atriate
2or3ers and 2ith a gro2th rate of 2omen at only three !er cent, issues of sustaina,ility and %miratisation ,ecome
!rominent. >urthermore, a !ro!ortionately high 2or3force cou!led 2ith a reliance on e-!atriate em!loyees im!lies
that issues of 2or3ing conditions, continuity, transience of the 2or3force and sta,ility are raised. %+en though in
'910 only 1000 2omen 2ere em!loyed in :u,ai com!ared to o+er 40,000 today, em!loyment le+els significantly
fa+our men and is dis!ro!ortionate com!ared to de+elo!ed countries (Randeree 2004,). Statistics !u,lished ,y 0l
@ayan (2001) sho2 that in 200( the %mirati !o!ulation !ercentange is only at ';.8 !er cent, and of the o+er 4.99
million !o!ulation most /0% residents are from the 5ndian su,continent. 0 succinct summary of the !ertinent data
is !resented as .a,le '. Ne+ertheless, data for the region in terms of demogra!hic statistics are still rather
fragmented and often contradictory de!ending on the sources utilised. %m!loyment data and information
collection and dissemination re=uires greater systemisation according to #.anmia&, the National Human Resources
:e+elo!ment and %m!loyment 0uthority.
.a,le ':emogra!hy of the /0% ,ased on 200( census data !u,lished in the 0l @ayan ne2s!a!er
Nationality #bsolute population -
.otal 4,99;,929 '00.0
%mirati 1(8,4'( ';.8
0ra, %-!at 12;,4;; '2.(
5ndian 2,;4(,(;2 ;4.8
Pa3istani 122,9'9 '2.(
@angladesh 819,898 9.'
>ili!ino 2(9,402 9.;
Sri Dan3a '09,42; '.4
5ran '00,;09 '.8
Ne!al 9;,949 '.9
hina ;2,4;( 0.8
<ther 0sian '8',2;9 2.;
<ther 0frican (2,98; '.'
%uro!e and 0ustralia ';9,4;0 2.'
North 0merican 9',;89 0.4
Nationality #bsolute population -
South 0merican 9,'(( 0.'
Note" .ranslated from 0l @ayan (2001).
%miratisation to date has ,een largely unsuccessful, ,ut more recently, the /0% go+ernment has ,een trying to
re+italise the !olicy. 0n analysis re!orted ,y .anmia (2004) is sho2n in >igure '. .he star3 reality is that in 2004,
o+er 82 !er cent of the 2or3force 2as em!loyed in the !ri+ate sector 2ith /0% nationals constituting less than t2o
!er cent of that +alue. 5n the same year, the insurance sector had achie+ed fi+e !er cent %miratisation and the
,an3ing sector reached four !er cent. .hese figures indicate a need for a strategic rethin3 2ith a com!rehensi+e
!lan for e-ecution ) #Pro$ect %miratisation&.
(igure . !oring population proportion -
%-!atriate human resource is a factor 2hich cannot ,e neglected. 0 study ,y Richardson and *cKenna (2004)
noted that e-!atriates ha+e +ery different relationshi!s 2ith their host and home countries. 0s a cause and
conse=uence of de+elo!ment in the /0% e-!atriate human resource is a large !ro!ortion of the human ca!ital.
0lthough ad+ancement in economic terms in the /0% has ,een outstanding, according to Randeree and haudhry
(200(), the consideration for the 2or3ing class e-!atriate needs analysis. .he 0sian construction 2or3er for
e-am!le, often has limited or no material !ossessions in his nati+e land and is often des!erate for 2or3, fre=uently
,ecause he is com!elled to settle the de,ts in his homeland. 0 =ualitati+e sur+ey carried out as !art of a ,roader
research on this to!ic, ,y Randeree and haudhry (200() has unco+ered a serious lac3 of $o, satisfaction. Cor3ers
cite an a,sence of $o, security, !hysical surroundings 2here 2or3 is often ha7ardous 2ithout ade=uate safety
!recautions, most of their 2or3 ,eing under e-treme 2eather conditions, they com!lain of no !ros!ects for
!romotion, senior management handling of their 2or3ers is considered inhumane, !ay for 2or3 done is on
occasion not recei+ed on time and is insufficient to li+e an a+erage lifestyle in the city and the accommodation that
is !ro+ided is meagre for an indi+idual&s needs, 2ith often a do7en or more 2or3ers to a single room in a,sence of
healthcare and recreational facilities. >urthermore, there is a lac3 of organisational commitment, 2ith 2or3ers
ha+ing no sense of loyalty to2ards their em!loyers since 2or3ers feel their !sychological contracts ha+e ,een
+iolated ,y their em!loyers, and a large !ro!ortion of the 2or3ers 2ho come from de+elo!ing countries ta3e u!
loans to !ay man!o2er su!!ly agencies for finding them 2or3 in the 6ulf. Ho2e+er, this issue is 2orth dedicated
research and out of the sco!e of this !iece of research. Chat is nota,le is that the e-!atriate 2or3er is the ma$or
!ro!ortion of the 2or3ing !o!ulation as sho2n in research findings ,y .anmia (2004), and de!icted in >igure '.
PU()IC AND PRI*ATE SECTOR CHA))ENGES
5n terms of %mirati em!loyment, go+ernment sector $o,s are considered most fa+oura,le ,y most %miratis.
om!ared to the !ri+ate sector, salaries are generally higher, non monetary ,enefits are ,etter and hours of 2or3
tend to ,e shorter (>eulner '919). *any !ri+ate sector esta,lishments o!erate on '0 hour days, si- days !er 2ee3,
2ith a s!lit shift day. 5n contrast, the go+ernment sector o!erates on a single shift, eight hour day, and is a fi+e day
2ee3 system.
%+en in the go+ernment sector some $o,s remain challenging in the conte-t of %miratisation. 0n e-am!le is the
forensic medicine !rofession. Since the announcement in 2004 that :r >atima 0l Khumairi ,ecame the first /0%
national 2oman to s!ecialise in forensic medicine, the !rofession has recei+ed considera,le attention, not only
from researchers in leadershi! for 2omen in the *iddle %ast, ,ut more recently from ad+ocates of %miratisation
!olicy. .his +ocation is essentially faced 2ith three !ro,lems 2hich ma3e it unattracti+e to /0% nationals. .hese
challenges are the desira,ility of such a !rofession gi+en the nature of its 2or3 content, the lengthy !eriod of
academic study re=uired to ,ecome =ualified, and the com!ara,ly lo2 financial return to ,e gained from such an
in+estment in educational de+elo!ment. Ho2e+er, the !otential for future %miratisation of the !rofession is such
an interesting challenge that a successful model for %miratisation could ,e de+elo!ed from this e-am!le into a
,roader conce!t, and !erha!s, a ,enchmar3 for %miratisation success. 5n order to address such a demanding set of
circumstances, the *inistry of Eustice recently colla,orated 2ith the *inistry of Health to see3 a solution. .his
endea+our culminated in the signing of a *emorandum of /nderstanding 2ith a +ie2 to de+elo!ing an agenda to
train /0% nationals 2ith the re=uisite s3ills in forensic medicine 2ith the su!!ort of ,oth the *inistry of %ducation
and the *inistry of Higher %ducation and Scientific Research.
0s society e-!ands and the !ri+ate sector flourishes there is greater urgency to find alternati+e 2ays of addressing
%miratisation issues (ameron 2002). >or instance, there is the gradual re!lacement of e-!atriates 2ith nationals
through greater !ri+ate sector em!loyment of nationals. .his e-am!le, ho2e+er, !resents a dual !ro,lem. >irstly,
!ri+ate sector em!loyers ha+e negati+e !erce!tions of nationals as ,eing less !roducti+e than e-!ats and so there is
an un2illingness to em!loy them, des!ite the fact, that outside the free 7ones any !ri+ate esta,lishment must ,e 8'
!er cent o2ned ,y an %mirati (0ngell '914). Secondly, %mirati nationals are legislated to higher salaries than
e-!ats for the same 2or3, 2hich translate into higher costs for firms. >urthermore, nationals themsel+es are
reluctant to ta3e !ri+ate sector em!loyment. >or e-am!le, there is the !erce!tion of lo2er !ri+ate sector salaries,
and smaller ,enefits com!ared to the go+ernment sector. <ther 2or3 related issues include religious o,ser+ance,
2hich translates into the need for nationals to ,e afforded greater fle-i,ility in 2or3ing hours (ameron 200;).
.hough legislation has ,een de+elo!ed restricting immigration (Shah '998), it is li3ely that the demogra!hic
im,alance ,et2een %mirati and e-!atriate 2ill continue to e-!and for the foreseea,le future, so long as the /0%
continues to de+elo! and e-!and its infrastructure.
5n 2009, the *inistry of Da,our issued a decree ma3ing it mandatory for com!anies in the trade sector 2ith an
e-cess of 80 em!loyees to achie+e a target of t2o !er cent %miratisation. .he *inistry has categorised com!anies,
such that those achie+ing the re=uired t2o !er cent are in ategory 0 2hereas failing organisations are in either
ategory @ or . .he im!lications are that those com!anies in ategory 0 2ould see a reduction in transaction fees
2hile those in the other categories faced fines and increased fees, and com!anies not coo!erating 2ith the *inistry
regulations for %miratisation faced sus!ension of transactions. 5n 2004, a total of 29; com!anies 2ere recorded as
uncoo!erati+e, less than half that of the !re+ious year.
<ne of the greatest organisational de+elo!ment challenges facing the !ri+ate sector is in attracting /0% nationals to
2or3 for them. urrently, nationals !redominantly !refer to see3 em!loyment in the !u,lic sector due to ,etter
conditions, ,etter salaries, more com!rehensi+e !ac3ages, shorter 2or3ing hours and $o, security. 0ccording to the
/0% 6o+ernment&s 2e,site (200() 2hich =uotes statistics from a study entitled #0ttitudes to the Pri+ate Sector& it
2as found that only a little more than '0 !er cent of students at 0,u :ha,i Comen&s Higher ollege of .echnology
2ould li3e to 2or3 in the !ri+ate sector after graduation, e+en though 94.8 !er cent of them e-!ressed a desire to
2or3. Ho2e+er, encouraging %miratis to 2or3 in the !ri+ate sector 2ill re=uire ,road coo!eration. 0s the *inister
of Da,our, :r 0li ,in 0,dullah 0l Kaa,i stated.
F%m!loying nationals in the !ri+ate sector is a $oint +enture ,et2een three grou!s the go+ernment, the
!ri+ate sector and nationals themsel+es. 0 national em!loyee must ,e !re!ared to enter the mar3et
and the !ri+ate sector has to !ro+ide a suita,le en+ironment for a career !ath. .he role of the
go+ernment is to coordinate efforts in this regard.G (%miratisation of Pu,lic 2004)
?uotas set ,y the *inistry of Da,our for %miratisation in !ri+ate firms ha+e largely not ,een met in certain sectors.
*inistry statistics for the third =uarter of 2004 sho2 only 9.2 !er cent of !ri+ate sector trade organisations meeting
=uota targets. .he data has led to some disagreement among interested !arties. *any !ri+ate organisations are
sce!tical of %miratisation !olicy and are of the +ie2 that /0% nationals ha+e demands in terms of em!loyment
conditions and ,enefits !ac3ages that are too difficult to meet and the nature of some $o,s are sim!ly unattracti+e
to %miratis. Ho2e+er, the National Human Resource :e+elo!ment and %m!loyment 0uthority .anmia has stated
that such a +ie2 is not re!resentati+e of the reality and !laces the onus in the hands of the !ri+ate com!any to
create an atmos!here that is attracti+e and fa+oura,le to nationals. 0ccording to the *inistry of Da,our,
%miratisation targets of t2o !er cent 2ere ,eing met ,y the commercial sector, 2ith 11 !er cent meeting their
targets, (92; out of '089 com!anies in 2004) and 90 !er cent of com!anies e-ceeding the targeted e-!ectation. <f
these 92; com!anies, 81 !er cent 2ere in :u,ai, 28 !er cent in 0,u :ha,i and '; !er cent in Shar$ah and four !er
cent in other emirates. .hese statistics are significant as in actual num,ers, ;,498 %miratis 2ere recruited in 2004
com!ared 2ith only 289 %miratis recruited into the commercial sector in 2008.
0 +ariety of sectors are meeting the challenge and im!lementing %miratisation !olicy in the !ri+ate arena. @an3s,
for e-am!le, are leading #the charge& in the !ri+ate sector, dri+en ,y a strong strategy for %miratisation. 0 num,er
of ,an3s ha+e recorded increased %miratisation !ercentage of 20 to ;0 !er cent 2ith Shar$ah 5slamic @an3 (S5@)
ha+ing in e-cess of 80 !er cent of their em!loyees ,eing %mirati nationals ,y the ,eginning of 200(, 2ith a further
four !er cent increase en+isaged ,y the end of 200(. .he ,an3 has achie+ed the highest rate of nationalisation in the
,an3ing sector among all 6 countries and has 2on se+eral a2ards for training and %miratisation, as the
education and training o!!ortunities o!en to %mirati national em!loyees at the ,an3 are e-tensi+e and include
degree le+el =ualifications in ,an3ing.
>inding e-!erienced %miratis is also a challenge. <rganisations face difficulties in identifying 2ell =ualified and
e-!erienced national em!loyees to occu!y !ositions in sectors such as technology, construction and manufacturing.
5n addition, 2hen suita,le indi+iduals are identified for these !ositions, they are in a strong !osition to negotiate
high salaries, 2ith demands often e-ceeding the salary and ,enefits a2arded to their e-!atriate su!eriors.
HUMAN CAPITA) AND THE *ISION +OR A ,NO-)EDGE (ASED ECONOM.
.he disco+ery of crude oil and its commercial !roduction in the /0% created a ne2 economic situation that 2as
reflected in the a+aila,ility of su,stantial financial resources on one hand, and the in+estment of such resources ,y
the go+ernment for de+elo!ment on the other (Khan 2008). .he country has emerged into the mainstream of
modernism o+er the !ast 90 years, 2ith an economy dri+en ,y oil and natural gas and more recently tourism. .he
!o!ulation has ,een directly influenced ,y the ra!id de+elo!ment 2itnessed ,y the country in recent years.
.he /0% is go+erned ,y a loose, ,ut su!!orti+e federation, 2ith each of its se+en emirates retaining considera,le
autonomy o+er !olitical, economic and financial affairs. .his situation has ena,led a +ariety of different economic
!olicies to ,e !ursued ,y indi+idual states. Hence, 2hilst 0,u :ha,i has focused on de+elo!ing its e-tensi+e energy
resources, holding o+er 90 !er cent of the oil reser+es in the /0%, the other emirates ha+e sought other economic
dri+ers, as their oil reser+es are relati+ely limited. .rade has ,ecome :u,ai&s sta!le, 2ith the emirate ree-!orting
o+er /SH'0 ,illion annually. Successful strategies are re!licated in the other emirates and the resulting increase in
com!etition dee!ens the mar3et and allo2s for the s!read of ,est !ractice.
.his !rocess has ,een su!!orted ,y hea+y in+estment in infrastructure in the /0%, !rinci!ally in :u,ai, 2here
2orld class air!orts and na+al !orts ha+e ,een ,uilt. :u,ai is undergoing a /SH'.9 ,illion air!ort e-!ansion and
has an o!en s3ies !olicy 2hich has led to o+er '00 airlines connecting through :u,ai 5nternational 0ir!ort.
Ho2e+er, it has ,een the esta,lishment of #>ree Iones& that has led to the /0%, and in !articular :u,ai, to ,e used
increasingly as a ,usiness hu, for the region. .hese 7ones grant '00 !er cent foreign o2nershi! and e-em!tion
from ta-es, tariffs and local regulations. Ee,el 0li >ree Ione (E0>I), !art of the emirate of :u,ai, is itself home to
o+er 2200 com!anies from o+er '00 countries, including many %uro!ean and 0merican ,lue chi! cor!orations.
:u,ai has ,een at the forefront of this !olicy and has mo+ed into creating dedicated industrial or ser+ice 7ones in
an effort to attract clusters of leading com!anies 2ithin targeted sectors. :u,ai&s most recent !ro$ect, :u,ai
5nternational >inancial entre is am,itious and it is ho!ed to su!!ort the de+elo!ment of a regional ca!ital mar3et.
5n a region that is amongst the most e-!ensi+e and time consuming to start a ,usiness, the free 7ones in the /0%
are attracti+e !ro!ositions. onse=uently, o+er the last t2enty years, :u,ai has ,ecome the leading ,usiness and
trading hu, in the *iddle %ast. 5n other areas, too, :u,ai is e-celling. 0lthough construction and real estate
in+estment ha+e !ic3ed u! across the *iddle %ast o+er the last t2o years, :u,ai has seen the most acti+ity, 2ith
in+estment in :u,ai&s real estate sector accounting for o+er 20 !er cent of the /0%&s 6ross :omestic Product
(6:P). .his is one reason for the /0% sho2ing the !oorest rate of nationalisation among all 6 countries, as the
,oom in the construction sector ine+ita,ly means a reliance on gro2th in foreign uns3illed la,our, due to reluctance
of nationals to do such 2or3, 2hich, in turn, statistically im!acts annual demogra!hy. Hence, a ree-amination of
!olicy in the /0% ,ased on the reality of the situation is needed, to culminate in the !roduction of a strategy that
reflects the real needs for the nation, rather than achie+ing %miratisation through the im!osition of targets and
=uotas ,ased on false e-!ectations.
:ata from the *adar Research 6rou! (200;) cites that :u,ai&s 20'0 +ision for a 3no2ledge ,ased economy is a
strategy for de+elo!ing a model for gro2th and de+elo!ment in the region and further that a 3no2ledge ,ased
economy, as defined ,y the Corld @an3, rests on four !illars, 3no2n as &5nfrastructure#, &5ncenti+es#, &5nno+ation#
and &5ntelligence#. 5nfrastructure relates to the information society infrastructure, the dissemination and !rocessing
of information and ho2 effecti+ely a society gi+es !eo!le access to afforda,le and effecti+e information and
communications. 5n this regard the /0% is !erforming 2ell, 2ith high mar3et !enetration in mo,ile technology,
e-ceeding many de+elo!ed countries. 5ncenti+es relate to the economic and institutional frame2or3, !ro+iding a
sta,le macro economy, a com!etiti+e en+ironment, a fle-i,le la,our mar3et and ade=uate social !rotection. .he
/0% is continually im!ro+ing in this s!here, though more needs to ,e done. 5nno+ation, ,rings together research
and ,usiness acti+ities in commercial a!!lications of science and technology, 2ith emerging sectors such as
!harmaceuticals, ,io technologies and nano technologies and 2ireless communication systems. >inally, 5ntelligence
refers to education systems, 2here citi7ens ac=uire, share and use 3no2ledge. .he /0% needs to !erform
significantly ,etter in this area, 2ith in+estment needed in education, fundamental and a!!lied research and
e+entual mechanisms for safeguarding intellectual !ro!erty in the commercialisation of resulting assets. .he
inade=uacy of efforts in this regard has negati+e im!lications for %miratisation, as it im!acts the ,uilding of human
ca!ital in the form of retained 3no2ledge on a national le+el.
.he /0% has set its sights on $oining the ran3s of the 2orld&s leading 3no2ledge ,ased economies 2ith a
com!rehensi+e strategy to enhance 3no2ledge dri+en de+elo!ment (0ra, Da2 ?uarterly '994). .he nation see3s to
transform itself into a 3no2ledge ,ased society and 3no2ledge ,ased economy ,y the year 20'0. .o achie+e this
o,$ecti+e it has set itself many strategic targets. @y 20'0, it aims to generate 28 !er cent of its 6:P from 3no2ledge
,ased industries and see3s to raise the role of >oreign :irect 5n+estment in the country&s economy to four !er cent
of 6:P, 2hich 2ill !lay a role in creating $o, o!!ortunities in the country (:u,ai <utsource Ione 200().
*ore recently, His Highness Shei3h *ohammad @in Rashid 0l *a3toum, Jice President and Prime *inister of the
/0% and Ruler of :u,ai, announced the esta,lishment of a /SH'0 ,illion fund for the de+elo!ment of 3no2ledge
,ased economies in the 0ra, *iddle %ast. .his +ision, set out at the Corld %conomic >orum in *ay 200(,
e-!ounds se+eral 3ey as!ects of de+elo!ment. .hough his +ision is li3ely to im!act the 2ider *iddle %ast, lessons
can ,e dra2n 2hich indicate areas of challenge 2hen addressing the issue of %miratisation. >or e-am!le, the 0ra,
2orld needs '8 million $o, o!!ortunities immediately, 2ith an estimated 18 million $o,s needed o+er the ne-t 20
years. .he /0% currently creates a!!ro-imately ;00,000 $o,s !er annum 2ith o+er 98 !er cent of its non oil sector
economy ,eing fuelled ,y the ser+ices sector. 5n order to meet this challenge, there is a need to de+elo!
infrastructure, to ,ridge the 3no2ledge ga! ,et2een the 0ra, and the de+elo!ed 2orld and to increase s!ending on
fundamental and a!!lied research to res!ecta,le le+els. Ho2e+er, the need for infrastructure de+elo!ment,
!articularly in the conte-t of construction, 2ill continue to result in high demand for e-!atriate uns3illed and semi
s3illed 2or3ers, as 2ell as su!!orting ser+ice em!loyees, from South 0sia and the >ar %ast, for the foreseea,le
future. .hus, there 2ill continue to ,e a demogra!hic im,alance of total human ca!ital in the /0%, until such time
as the rate of increase in infrastructure de+elo!ment ,egins to decline.
EDUCATIONA) OUTCOMES AND -OR,+ORCE RE/UIREMENTS
.he /0% e-!erienced ma$or challenges during its !rocess of nation ,uilding and economic de+elo!ment. <ne of
these challenges 2as, and remains, the education, training and de+elo!ment of the national human resource to
ena,le it to !lay an acti+e role in su!!orting and contri,uting to the country&s ra!id de+elo!ment. .his 2as a
com!le- tas3 gi+en that, until '942, 2hen oil !roduction started in 0,u :ha,i, the country had $ust 20 schools for
fe2er than 9,000 students, mostly ,oys. Ho2e+er, the education sector has de+elo!ed dramatically through the
introduction of go+ernment and !ri+ate sector educational esta,lishments offering a range of educational le+els and
e-!eriences (0ra, Da2 ?uarterly 2000). .hus, the /0% has enshrined for men and 2omen, ,oth in its constitution
and through the commitment of the rulers of the +arious %mirates, the rights and o!!ortunities for education for all
its citi7ens (Randeree 2004a). %ducation has ,ecome im!erati+e in the ac=uisition of a higher standard of li+ing
(Hutton '998), though criticism is still le+ied at educational esta,lishments for their educational outcomes not
,eing rele+ant or com!ati,le 2ith the changing needs of the la,our mar3et. >urthermore, according to the Corld
%conomic >orum (laros K Iahidi 2008), access to education is one of the !rimary indicators of 2omen&s status
and is the root of 2omen&s emanci!ation. .hough the /0% has the second highest 6:P in the 0ra,ian 6ulf, it is
lo2est in terms of !ercentage 6:P s!ent on education. Ho2e+er, the num,er of girls com!leting secondary
education is 11 !er cent and 49 !er cent of %mirati uni+ersity graduates are 2omen. >urthermore, according to
Corld @an3 statistics, female illiteracy dro!!ed from 29 !er cent to 2' !er cent ,et2een '990 and 2000, 2hereas
male illiteracy only dro!!ed from 29 !er cent to 28 !er cent during the same !eriod. .he educational le+el in the
country also !lays an im!ortant role in sha!ing the ca!a,ilities of /0% nationals to ,e a,le to com!ete in the
2or3!lace. %ducation is a national !riority, es!ecially in the light of technological re+olutions and scientific
ad+ancement 2itnessed ,y the entire 2orld 2hich could only ,e encountered ,y a 2ell de+elo!ed and effecti+e
educational system. .he /0% go+ernment, in an effort to im!ro+e the standing of the national 2or3force through
%miratisation, is 2or3ing 2ith educational institutions to ensure that %mirati nationals gain the re=uisite
educational =ualifications and can ma3e a smooth transition into the 2or3!lace. 0n e-am!le of this is the
agreement signed ,et2een Higher olleges of .echnology (H.) and the *inistry of Da,our and Social 0ffairs in
the late '990s, gi+ing !riority to students graduating from H. in recruitment for $o,s in all sectors.
.he e-!erience of %maratis in national de+elo!ment and economic gro2th is similar to neigh,ouring 6
countries. .he distincti+eness of the %marati e-!erience lies in its history as a de+elo!ing country, though the /0%
shares similar constraints 2ith other 6 countries, in terms of the a+aila,ility of an educated and e-!erienced
local 2or3force. .he socio !olitical and economic circumstances of the /0% during most of the t2entieth century,
cou!led 2ith the lac3 of modern educational facilities !rior to '9(', has resulted in its under de+elo!ment as 2ell as
a shortage of educated citi7ens (*iddle %ast Research and 5nformation Pro$ect '9(8). .his !redicament affects all
sectors, ,ut is !articularly acute in the !ri+ate sector (@ahgat '999).
.o address the dis!arate com!osition of the 2or3force, many 6 countries em,ar3ed on training and
de+elo!ment !rogrammes in order to !romote the em!loya,ility of nationals in the la,our mar3et (Khalaf K
0l3o,aisi '999). .his 2as accom!anied ,y go+ernment mandated nationalisation !olicies, 2ith mechanisms to
stem the inflo2 of foreign 2or3ers. *easures to control the gro2th of foreign 2or3ers ty!ically included mandated
targets, as 2as the case for %miratisation of the !ri+ate sector. 0dditionally, com!anies introduced attracti+e
incenti+es for %miratis, 2ith the go+ernment gi+ing !referential treatment to com!anies adhering to %miratisation
!olicy (Ru!!ert '991). *oreo+er, com!anies are in+esting in educational and training initiati+es, 2ith s!ecialists in
curriculum de+elo!ment and instructional design of training !rogrammes for staff ,eing em!loyed in larger
organisations. Ho2e+er, em!loyees fre=uently lea+e an organisation after com!leting a training !rogramme. .hese
!rogrammes are often costly to set u! and im!lement, and conse=uently, there is a significant im!act on return on
in+estment for the organisation concerned.
.raining can ta3e !lace in a num,er of locations and is largely de!endant on the nature of s3ills and 3no2ledge
,eing im!arted to the !artici!ant. *ost commonly in su!!ort of %miratisation strategy is the de+elo!ment of
%uro!ean style a!!renticeshi! schemes, mandatory in house training cycles and local or regional training or
retraining e+ents. 0dditionally, scholarshi!s from em!loyers allo2 nationals to see3 =ualifications o+er a !rolonged
!eriod of study a,road, ,ut these are often reinforced 2ith a conditional contract of em!loyment to ensure the
em!loyee remains for a minimum sti!ulated !eriod of em!loyment on return. S3ills and 3no2ledge transfer from
e-!atriates to /0% nationals is also an issue 2hich needs to ,e addressed. %m!loyees and e-!atriate residents, may
fear sharing their 3no2ledge 2ith their %mirati counter!art or su,ordinate, as the latter 2ill ,e seen as a threat to
the sta,ility of the former&s !osition.
THE ,E. TO SUCCESS+U) NATIONA)ISATION 0 THE EMIRATI -OMEN
<+er t2o thirds of uni+ersity graduates in the /0% from go+ernment uni+ersities are %mirati 2omen. Ho2e+er,
2omen as a 2hole account for less than '2 !er cent of the entire 2or3force of the country. >urthermore, if the
num,er of em!loyees in the areas of Health and %ducation 2ere remo+ed, the figure 2ould ,e su,stantially less.
Chat is 2orse is that +ery fe2 of those 2ho ma3e it to the la,our mar3et, ma3e it to the ,oardrooms or u!!er
echelons of leadershi! and management.
0ttitudes of 2omen in the /0% are changing. Boung 2omen are $oining the 2or3force and the challenges they face
are a source of much intrigue in the international media (@@ Ne2s /K %dition 2008). >urthermore, 2omen are
di+ersifying into sectors and acti+ities not traditionally occu!ied ,y 2omen. >or instance, .J !resenters, forensic
scientists, :ot om entre!reneurs, medical !rofessionals and ta-i dri+ers (for female clients) are amongst some of
the 2ider !rofessions 2here 2omen are !laying an acti+e role. onse=uently, the direction of the /0% in the
gro2ing 3no2ledge ,ased economy is changing.
.he su!!ort for 2omen in education and in the 2or3force is 2ell su!!orted ,y those in !o2er. HH Shei3h Iayed
,in Sultan 0l Nahyan, the late President of the /0%, said, as cited in the /nited 0ra, %mirates Bear,oo3 (200;).
F.he means to de+elo! a country and modernise its infrastructures is a magnificent ,urden that should
not ,e ta3en u! ,y men only. .he loss 2ould ,e huge, for 2omen 2ill ,e !aralysed 2ithout any
!artici!ation and !roducti+ity. 5t 2ould lead to an un,alanced rhythm of life. Hence, 2omen&s
!artici!ation in !u,lic life is re=uired and 2e must ,e !re!ared for it.G (!. 2;')
FNothing could delight me more than to see 2oman ta3ing u! her distincti+e !osition in society.
Nothing should hinder her !rogress. Di3e men, 2omen deser+e the right to occu!y high !ositions,
according to their ca!a,ilities and =ualifications.G (!. 2;')
Such !artici!ation has ,een esta,lished since '9(9 2ith the creation of the :u,ai Comen&s :e+elo!ment Society, a
!ioneer of the 2omen&s mo+ement in the /0%. .he /0% Comen&s >ederation 2as esta,lished a year later.
ommittees formed 2ithin this organisation esta,lished a +ariety of 2omen&s acti+ities. .hese committees include
those dedicated to religious affairs, childcare, social affairs, cultural affairs, s!orts, heritage and the arts. Some of
their acti+ities include running nurseries and 3indergartens thus, !ermitting mothers to go out to 2or3. <ther
acti+ities include the dissemination of nutritional information for !regnant 2omen and ne2 mothers, a /nited
Nations (/N) :e+elo!ment Programme for re+i+ing the close association of some of the country&s 2omen 2ith the
land, classes for tailoring, em,roidery and house3ee!ing, missions to rural areas and mothering and childcare
classes su!!orted ,y /N5%>. >urthermore, they facilitate the free ,orro2ing of li,rary ,oo3s, an acti+ity that has
indicated rising le+els of social and literary consciousness in areas formally of high illiteracy as cited ,y the /N
(200;). .hese acti+ities are on the 2hole su!!orti+e of traditional +alues, ,ut do not address the ,roader issues
relating to the 3no2ledge ,ased economy and the !artici!ation of 2omen.
0ccording to harles Handy ('999), the management style of 2omen fulfils the demands of ne2 organisations
,etter than their male counter!arts. ontrary to some stereoty!ical +ie2s, Handy ('999) argues that 2omen are
,etter managers ,ecause of their =ualities of ada!ta,ility, the a,ility to $uggle se+eral tas3s at a time, are o+erall
more interested in getting things done rather than see3ing status or title, they are more instincti+e and intuiti+e
than men, tough, ,ut tender focused and friendly. >urther criticism, !articularly in the *iddle %ast, is that a
2oman&s role as mother and house2ife 2ould ,e im!ossi,le if she 2ere to ta3e on an additional role outside the
domestic arena. Ho2e+er, these $udgments are ,eing !ro+ed 2rong ,y the gro2ing num,er of energetic young
2omen in the region 2ho are !ro+ing that a ,alanced life is !ossi,le together 2ith gro2th in daycare centres in
addition to centralised family su!!ort. %mirati society is ,ased strongly on family ties and often !arents of female
/0% nationals are reluctant for their daughters to $oin the 2or3force, es!ecially in the !ri+ate sector. .his has, in
!art, resulted in Cor3 from home initiati+es to !ro+ide solutions 2hich can act as an ena,ler for locational
fle-i,ility for 2omen choosing to stay at home and raise a family 2ithout sacrificing their careers. .he idea has ,een
2idely used in North 0merica and %uro!e, and has ,een successfully ad+anced to facilitate $o,s in areas including
5., telemar3eting as 2ell as in administrati+e acti+ities. 5n the 2or3!lace, De2is ('99() states that formal #family
friendly& !olicies, including fle-i,le or reduced hours of 2or3 and !eriods of lea+e, designed to hel! em!loyees to
,alance 2or3 and family demands, ha+e the !otential to challenge traditional models of 2or3 and organisational
+alues.
entralised families allo2 for daycare !ro+ision 2ithin the family unit. .his, together 2ith the ease of hiring
domestic hel! in the /0% allo2s 2or3ing mothers the gro2ing freedom and fle-i,ility to $oin the 2or3force. >or its
!art, the federal go+ernment has facilitated this acti+ity ,y enshrining its su!!ort for 2omen and their rights in the
2or3!lace into la2. /0% Da,our Da2 thus, ensures that a 2oman&s remuneration is e=ual to that of a man&s if she
!erforms the same 2or3, that she recei+e 98 days maternity lea+e 2ith full !ay and e+en allo2s ,rea3s for
,reastfeeding, or lea+ing 2or3 one hour early for '1 months !ost !artum (*inistry of Da,our '910).
0 female !o!ulation of only 2( !er cent in :u,ai raises significant issues of gender e=uality. .he male !o!ulation
gro2th is e-tremely high due to the influ- of male e-!atriate 2or3ers. %m!loyment le+els significantly fa+our men,
2hich is dis!ro!ortionate com!ared to the Cest as a!!ro-imately only 20 !er cent of the la,our force in the 2ider
*iddle %ast are 2omen. .hough all 2omen in :u,ai (%mirati and %-!atriate) re!resent only '' !er cent of the total
2or3force, %mirati 2omen seem to ,e doing rather 2ell amongst nationals, re!resenting 9' !er cent of the total
%mirati 2or3force in :u,ai. Ho2e+er, one third of all female em!loyees in :u,ai are housemaids (2ho account for
only 8.8 !er cent of the total 2or3force) and only t2o sectors, education and healthcare, demonstrate em!loyment
le+els 2here 2omen e-ceed men. >urthermore, the ma$ority of %mirati 2omen 2or3 for the federal go+ernment
(:u,ai *unici!ality 2009).
0lthough 2omen in %mirati society ha+e a 2ay to go to2ards achie+ing full e=uality, yet societal attitudes need to
change to2ards their role if it is seen to ,e anything more than merely an increase in the num,er of 2omen in the
2or3force. .hough 2omen are still deterred from certain !ositions such as the /0% armed forces or the !olice
force, %mirati society has made ad+ances in the !romotion of %mirati 2omen at 2or3. Ho2e+er, more has to ,e
done in su!!ort of the understanding that e=ual o!!ortunity is more than a courtesy, ,ut rather the right of all
citi7ens. *any still need to ,e educated that 2omen do not ha+e to !ro+e that they are as intelligent or ca!a,le as
men are, and that they are fully functional mem,ers of society (Ce,, '99().
IMP)ICATIONS +OR A STRATEGIC EMIRATISATION P)AN
.o im!lement %miratisation !olicy efficiently, organisations are li3ely to ,e challenged to identify e-isting s3ills of
their %mirati 2or3force and s!ecify 3no2ledge ga!s. .hese actions ha+e !otential to ,ecome the !rere=uisites for a
detailed !lan for em!loyee training, !erformance monitoring and ,enchmar3ing. .he under!inning 2ill facilitate
2ithin the %miratisation model integrates this need 2ith an understanding of com!ensatory transition, 2here,y
the term of the contract for the e-!atriate is fi-ed and non rene2a,le, 2ith an ade=uate re2ard system in !lace to
ma3e this 2orth2hile. >urthermore, organisations are li3ely to ,e o,liged to ree-amine their organisational
structure and ma3e a!!ro!riate modifications to su!!ort change management 2ith the o,$ecti+e of im!lementing
%miratisation successfully.
%miratisation as a conce!t does ha+e forces 2or3ing to its detriment. *ost nota,le is economic migration, the high
rate at 2hich e-!atriate 2or3ers continue to flo2 into the country, largely ,ecause of more attracti+e em!loyment
o!!ortunities, ,etter standards of li+ing and higher incomes, as 2ell as ,etter healthcare and educational ser+ices
for themsel+es and their families, 2hich are to ,e found in the /0%. Ho2e+er, there are ad+antages too, as
multiculturalism and di+ersity, such as that o,ser+ed in the /0%, !ro+ides for a greater !ool of talented and
e-!erienced indi+iduals. .his, in turn, enhances inno+ation and creati+ity 2ithin society.
%miratisation is not only recruiting /0% nationals to re!lace e-!atriates, rather it is a ma$or !rocess that re=uires
training these nationals to ac=uire the s3ills and com!etencies for the assigned 2or3, to ensure a successful
%miratisation !rocess. 5n /0%, according to the *inistry of Da,our (200(), the !rocess of %miratisation has ,een
=uite successful in go+ernment and ,an3ing sectors. :ecisions ta3en ,y the *inistry of Da,our such as
%miratisation of HR* !ositions in all com!anies e-ceeding one hundred em!loyees, reflects the seriousness of the
go+ernment 2ith res!ect to the !rocess of %miratisation, though the /0% 6o+ernment Strategy re+ealed in the
second =uarter of 200( see3s to ree-amine %miratisation legislation in regard to this and other !ositions. .he
decision for the HR manager !ositions 2as initially ta3en in Eune 2004 and initially stated a time limit of '1
months to achie+e the target, ,ut ,y 0ugust of the same year, it 2as realised that this 2as unrealistic, so the decree
2as re+ised to ;4 months, or !rior to Se!tem,er 2009. 0dditionally, a financial !enalty 2ould ,e le+ied to
organisations lagging ,ehind the target rate of %miratisation, 2ith the !roceeds ,eing utilised for training and
de+elo!ment !rogrammes for %mirati nationals. >ines collected ,y the *inistry of Da,our amounted to /SH9'.;8
million in the year 2008. <ther decisions, such as %miratisation of the Ras 0l Khaimah fishing industry, 2ith a !lan
to allo2 only %miratis to sell, trade and hold auctions at fish mar3ets, are as a conse=uence of the articulated need
to eliminate domination ,y any other single demogra!hic, in this case 0sian fish traders.
0mong foreign ,an3s o!erating in the /0%, HS@ has ,een a leader, achie+ing 90 !er cent %miratisation. 0mongst
/0% ,an3s, :u,ai 5slamic @an3 (:5@) 2as recently a2arded #@est %miratisation %< 02ard& and has, to date
achie+ed %miratisation of 98 !er cent of its total 2or3 force, the highest in the entire ,an3ing sector across the
country. :5@ has a training !rogramme called #%marati& geared to2ards im!ro+ing ,an3ing and !rofessional s3ills
of /0% national graduates. .his is a si- months !rogramme, the first t2o months ,eing s!ent at a training facility
and the remaining four months ,ased at one of their ,ranches. :u,ai Corld also has a youth focused !rogramme of
the same name. Shar$ah 5slamic @an3 (S5@) has three !rogrammes, #*ehnati&, an internshi! !rogramme for
nationals graduating from state funded colleges and uni+ersities, !ro+iding !ractical training o!!ortunities in the
,an3&s de!artments and ,ranchesA #@edayati&, a !rogramme for :i!loma graduates for training in 5slamic ,an3ing
s3ills andA #Ru2ad&, an intensi+e three year training !rogramme aimed at !re!aring /0% nationals to occu!y
leading !ositions. .he National @an3 of :u,ai (N@:) is also in+ol+ed in leadershi! training. 5t hosts a #Programme
for 0ccelerated Dearning& (P0D), a graduate training !rogramme to !re!are national em!loyees for su!er+isory or
managerial roles, 2hich runs o+er an '1 month !eriod. /0% nationals also re!resent o+er ;0 !er cent of the
em!loyees of the *arine :e!artment in the !orts and marine facilities at Ee,el 0li Port (a di+ision of :u,ai Ports
Corld) and more are interested for a!!ointment to the !ost of Sea a!tain. .heir successful %miratisation dri+e
has ,een credited to attracti+e em!loyment !ac3ages as 2ell as the nation&s traditional affinity for the sea and
maritime !ursuits.
Ee,el 0li 5nternational Hotels is home to the #0l @a2a,a %miratisation Programme&. .his initiati+e is a !artnershi!
2ith the %miratisation .as3 >orce for .ourism, an idea de+elo!ed ,y the :e!artment of .ourism and ommerce
*ar3eting in 2002, to !romote %miratisation of the tourism, hotel and catering industries. .he #0l @a2a,a
%miratisation Programme& encom!asses a host of initiati+es to de+elo! /0% nationals and transfer 3no2ledge from
s3illed e-!atriates to national em!loyees. >urthermore, 20 international hotels are !artici!ating in the #*aharat&
!rogramme !ro+iding on the $o, training for /0% nationals 2or3ing in the hotel and tourism industry, 2ith a
!lanned e-!ansion into the retail sector. 5n general, the industry sector has ,een +ery acti+e in !romoting and
!ursuing %miratisation. <+er the !ast fi+e years, the num,er of /0% nationals 2or3ing in the industry has risen
from '8 to 420, !artially due to the terms of the scheme including a minimum 2age for /0% nationals of
a!!ro-imately /SH'900.
5n the construction sector, the glo,ally acti+e infrastructure de+elo!er, %maar, is notica,ly in+ol+ed in
%miratisation !rocesses. .he !rogramme ,egan in 2008, and is called #0fa=& or hori7on. .his !rogramme is in four
distinct areas" (a) the #%maar Deadershi! Programme&, (,) the #*anagement 0ssociate Programme&, (c) a
!rogramme for e-!erienced %mirati !rofessionals, and (d) the #%m!loyer of hoice !rogramme&. .he financial arm
of the com!any, %maar >inancial Ser+ices, has achie+ed a !henomenal 9' !er cent %miratisation in the >inancial
@ro3erage Section, 2ith an o+erall %miratisation le+el of nearly 90 !er cent, including (8 !er cent of to!
management, 99 !er cent of mid le+el management and 21 !er cent of administrati+e staff ,eing %mirati nationals.
.raining and em!loyment o!!ortunities for /0% nationals are also ,eing targeted in areas 2here considera,le
gro2th is e-!ected. >or e-am!le, ,oth :u,ai 5nternational 0ir!ort (:50), one of the fastest gro2ing air!orts in the
2orld, and the Ee,el 0li ity 0ir!ort Pro$ect, 2ill see a considera,le increase in the need for s3illed fuel o!erators.
.o address this re=uirement, %N:P has de+elo!ed the #.amheed& training !rogramme in colla,oration 2ith @P,
Shell and %marat, for /0% nationals to ,e trained and em!loyed as fuelling o!erators, initially at :50. .he
!rogramme is designed to !ro+ide on the $o, as 2ell as in class training at :50 o+er a !eriod of '' months, 2here
nationals learn s3ills in logistics as 2ell as the technical as!ects of a+iation fuel su!!ly. @y training em!loyees in the
re=uisite s3ills, em!loyers often face the !ro,lem of losing the em!loyee shortly thereafter, as they ha+e found more
lucrati+e career o!!ortunities else2here. .hus, hiring, de+elo!ing and retaining =ualified /0% nationals remains
challenging. Some of the training o!!ortunities offered include leadershi! de+elo!ment !rogrammes, such as that
instigated ,y %mirates 0irlines. .he airline, 2holly o2ned ,y the 6o+ernment of :u,ai, has achie+ed ;8 !er cent
%miratisation of their senior management as 2ell as '2 !er cent of their coc3!it cre2, aircraft licensed engineers
and mechanics.
.he #/0% National a!acity :e+elo!ment Programme& 2as co initiated ,y :u,ai *unici!ality and Iayed
/ni+ersity. .he one year !rogramme 2hich leads to an internationally recognised certificate from the 5nstitute of
*otor 5ndustry (5*5) in the /K, 2as de+elo!ed to train /0% nationals in technical and mechanical fields 2ith a
+ie2 to graduating s!ecialist %mirati automoti+e electricians and mechanics. 0gain, the !rogramme 2as
deli,erately aimed at addressing s!ecific industrial needs 2ith educational !rogramme, in this instant the needs of
:u,ai *unici!ality for s!ecialists in the electrical and mechanical fields.
learly e+ident in all of these endea+ours in !ri+ate industry as 2ell as in go+ernment organisations, is
commitment. Hallmar3s of all the initiati+es are a clearly articulated strategic !lan, a long term +ision for
%miratisation and ac3no2ledgement of the role and im!ortance of foreign !artici!ants. 5n line 2ith this a!!roach,
the go+ernment fa+ours a three !ronged strategy" (a) to im!ro+e the mo,ility of all 2or3er&s including e-!atriatesA
(,) to ad+ance the !roducti+ity of %mirati citi7ens 2here,y no $o, is considered off limits, and %miratis can
com!ete 2ith foreign nationals on a #le+el !laying field&A and (c) to integrate the out!ut of educational
esta,lishments 2ith the needs of the la,our mar3et. 0ll of these measures are designed to create an authentic
%miratisation !rocess.
%+en 2ith such a concerted effort challenges remain. >or e-am!le, in order for sustained de+elo!ment of a national
2or3force, organisations 2ould ,e ,est ser+ed 2ith national em!loyees ,eginning at entry le+el !ositions and
2or3ing their 2ay through the organisational hierarchy. .hus, 2hen mem,ers reach the ,oardroom le+el, they ha+e
gained significant e-!erience, resulting in ,etter decision ma3ing through a more thorough understanding of the
,usiness !ractices of the organisation. .he current reality is that educated %mirati nationals ,elie+e they ha+e a
right to senior !ositions 2ithin one or t2o years of $oining a com!any, and this !ers!ecti+e does not ade=uately
!re!are them for management decision ma3ing roles, and conse=uently, reflects in !oorer organisational
!erformance.
0nother area for im!ro+ement is encouragement of %miratis into semi s3illed 2or3, such as ta-i dri+ers or !etrol
!um! attendants. .hese, and other +ocations, that ha+e ,een nota,ly successful in the Sultanate of <man, are
reflected in their successful <manisation !rocess. <ther seemingly undesira,le !ositions are ,eing filled ,y /0%
nationals, such as retail cashiers, successfully demonstrated ,y the international retail chain arrefour. @ased on a
re+ie2 of the !ractices and challenges, it is e+ident that the Human Resource :e!artments (HR:s) and Human
Resource (HR) !olicies im!act the success of the nationalisation !ossi,ilities.
+EDERA) )EGIS)ATION AND CORPORATE PO)IC. ON EMIRATISATION
<rganisations are li3ely to !rofit from a clearly articulated internal !olicy and strategic !lan for %miratisation. .his
document may com!rise of a +ision of long term e-!ectations, tem!ered 2ith shorter term as!irations such as
annual targets for increasing the num,er of /0% national em!loyees in the com!any and the mechanisms ,y 2hich
these targets 2ould ,e achie+ed. .hese o,$ecti+es should ,e a realistic e-!ression of desired outcomes,
accom!anied ,y time de!endent and tas3 ,ased models for each !hase of the im!lementation !lan. 5t is e+ident
that HR:s in the /0% need to focus their energies, at least in the short term, on s3ill ,ased %miratisation !olicy.
S3ill ,ased %miratisation refers to e-amining e-isting demand and matching suita,ly =ualified and s3illed %mirati
nationals to these !ositions as a matter of !riority. .his is cou!led 2ith s3ills transfer from e-!atriate to %mirati
2ith a!!ro!riate com!ensation for the former.
HR:s 2ithin organisations ha+e a +ariety of techni=ues for handling their %miratisation !rotocols, !olicies and
!rocedures. >or some organisations, /0% Nationals are gi+en !riority at the time of recruitment for all situations
+acant that may arise in any organisational di+ision and at any le+el, su,$ect to the a!!licants& =ualifications and
e-!erience. <ther organisations 2or3 on a =uota ,asis, trying to achie+e targets laid do2n either ,y la2 or
internally through the de+elo!ment of !olicy. >inally, organisations may ha+e stricter guidelines in terms of the
reser+ation of certain roles ,eing #ring fenced& for %mirati nationals. .hese are often senior managerial !ositions
and are su,$ect to com!etency and !erformance le+els of a!!licants, 2here, if no suita,le national a!!licant is
found, the !osition remains +acant.
Degislation set out ,y the *inistry of Da,our includes the issuance of a decree for %miratisation of all HR managers,
!ersonnel managers and most secretarial !ositions in !ri+ate com!anies, 2ith 2or3 !ermits for e-!atriates no
longer !ermitted in those !ositions since Euly 2004. onse=uently, foreign nationals holding secretarial !osts
2ould lose their $o,s ,y default at termination of their fi-ed term contracts or e-!iry of their la,our cards. .his may
include indi+iduals 2ho ha+e had longstanding commitments to their organisations and 2ho ha+e made a
recognisa,le contri,ution to the com!any, ,ut 2ill not affect a!!ro-imately '0,000 !ri+ate sector secretarial staff
currently 2or3ing for small ,usinesses 2ho are e-em!t from the !olicy. >urthermore, !ri+ate firms ha+e ,een gi+en
an o!t out mechanism through the !ayment of 40,000 0%: !er annum to the *inistry of Da,our 2hich 2ould ,e
earmar3ed for training %mirati $o, see3ers. 5n an effort to counteract the effect of the !olicy, therefore, a num,er of
HR:s changed the designation of their secretaries 2hilst 3ee!ing them in the same or similar roles. Ho2e+er, not
all com!anies ,elie+e this to ,e a useful ste! for2ard in the %miratisation !rocess. 0ccording to an 0*% 5nfo
(2004) !ress release, in addressing the /0% national students summer !rogramme, Bahya ,in Saeed 0l Dootah of
S. S. Dootah 6rou! said"
FCe ha+e all the ingredients that ma3e our economy strong and com!etiti+e glo,ally and 2e ha+e to
,oost /0% nationals !artici!ation ,y im!ro+ing education and !ro+iding the highest standard of
hands on !rofessional training to hel! them to achie+e their full !otential rather than ,o- them in
secretarial and administrati+e $o,s. <ur doors are o!en to all /0% nationals 2ho !ursue challenges in
engineering, energy, real estate de+elo!ment, hos!itality, finance and management.G
Shei3h *ohammad ,in Rashid 0l *a3htoum sho2ed his agreement, stating.
F0s im!ortant as secretarial $o,s are, and all $o,s are im!ortant, 2e need to ha+e /0% nationals in
more im!ortant roles and res!onsi,ilities.G
.he *inistry thus, considers $o, =uota systems, ,eyond those already in !lace, as ,eing counter!roducti+e in the
current economic climate, though e-!atriates 2or3ing in targeted !ositions are naturally 2orried a,out losing their
$o,s. >urthermore, those 2ho are in !ositions 2hich are su,ordinate to a !ost earmar3ed for %miratisation, 2ould
not ha+e an o!!ortunity for future !romotion. Eo, insecurity and dissatisfaction amongst e-!atriates and the
conse=uences to moti+ation and organisational commitment 2ill ,e im!acted significantly, to the detriment of the
goals of the organisation.
Protocols can ,e de+elo!ed ,y organisations that are aiming to im!ro+e their %miratisation status or achie+e target
num,ers of national em!loyees. 0t !resent, organisations in+ol+ed acti+ely in %miratisation of their 2or3force are
gaining !ositi+e e-!osure for !roacti+ely engaging 2ith the issue and many com!anies ,elie+e it is in their interest
to de+elo! an a!!roach to increasing the !ro!ortion of %miratis 2or3ing for them. Ne+ertheless, the introduction of
%miratisation !rotocols, !olicies and !rocedures !resents com!anies 2ith the challenges. 5n !articular, resistance
to the transfer of s3ills and 3no2ledge from e-!atriate to national em!loyee, may com!el to im!lement contractual
o,ligations on the !art of the e-!atriate em!loyee to assist in the de+elo!ment and training of /0% nationals, if
re=uired. 0d+isa,ly, this action might ,e ,alanced 2ith a!!ro!riate com!ensation or re+ised remuneration for the
foreign em!loyee.
Darger organisations are li3ely to e-tend the HR de!artment so resources can ,e dedicated to %miratisation to
co+er as!ects such as recruitment, !olicy, !rocedures, !erformance a!!raisal and training. .his e-!anded
de!artment could also facilitate initiati+es to o+ercome resistance to change among e-!atriate em!loyees and
acti+ely su!!ort lin3ages to e-ternal ,odies, such as .anmia, are further !ossi,ilities. 0 clearly articulated,
trans!arent %miratisation !olicy 2ould allo2 HR* !ersonnel to 2or3 2ith e-!atriates to2ards rede!loyment or
!ro+ide career ad+ise for them to see3 alternati+e em!loyment in another organisation. .hus, there are a num,er of
2ays to o+ercome or reduce the im!act of resistance to change are associated 2or3 related ,eha+iours. 0n inclusi+e
a!!roach to change management, 2here e-!atriate em!loyees are in+ol+ed in the change !rocess from the initial
!hase, along 2ith their %mirati counter!arts, 2ith o!inions of ,oth ,eing +alued and res!ected, has considera,le
merit. .his inclusi+e strategy might ,e e-ercised as discussion forums, em!loyee suggestion systems, and to ha+e
#o!en a+enues& to senior management.
>rom the theoretical and em!irical under!inning of the t2o !re+ious sections a generic model for he de+elo!ment
of an %miratisation strategy has ,een generated. .he frame2or3 of this strategy is e-!ressed as >igure 2. 0 2ritten
descri!tion of a strategic +ersion 2ill com!liment the frame2or3 of >igure 2. .his articulated discourse 2ould ta3e
account of re=uirements sti!ulated ,y the *inistry of Da,our, and 2ould include a mission statement, !olicies,
!rocedures and !rotocols to ,e ado!ted and a detailed s!ecification in the form of a Sco!e of Cor3 document to
fully articulate aims and o,$ecti+es, =uality management techni=ues, systems to ,e incor!orated such as
onfiguration *anagement tools and information and data management, as 2ell as ,udgetary re=uirements and
,enchmar3ing for ,est !ractice.
(igure / Generic model for organisational implementation of a )*, for $miratisation
.he content of >igure 2 forms the ,asis of a !lan for ,oth the indi+idual %mirati national as 2ell as the HR:. .hree
3ey areas 2ould ,e addressed. >irstly, career de+elo!ment in+ol+es ,oth the indi+idual em!loyee, in terms of a
,es!o3e !ersonal de+elo!ment !lan, and the %miratisation di+ision, in terms of train the trainer 2or3sho!s.
Secondly, 3no2ledge refers to transfer of s3ills from e-!atriate to %mirati, 3no2ledge retention and organisational
learning. >inally, recognition is a,out identifying high !erforming indi+iduals for !ro+ision of scholarshi!s for
e-ternal training or further education. 5n !ractice the notions e-!ressed in >igure 2 could ,e e-tended more
,roadly to !erformance related !ay and ,onus schemes.
entral to the !henomonon of %miratisation are the HR:. .his !ro!osition is sho2n in >igure ; that has fi+e
!eri!heral circles that are connected ,y full lines to the central circle. .hese full lines disclose all e-ternal ,odies
2ould ha+e t2o 2ay communication 2ith the HR:. >or e-am!le, the *inistry of Da,our is res!onsi,le for
disseminating information regarding legislation and go+ernment !olicy to the organisation, ,ut also should recei+e
feed,ac3 from the HR: for %miratisation, on a!!ro!riateness, challenges and !ro,lems, to assist the *inistry in
future decision ma3ing. .he *inistry&s communication should include u!dates on target re=uirements, changes to
!olicy and !enalty information for non com!liance or inade=uacy of !erformance.
(igure 0 Integration of )*, for $miratisation with external bodies
>rom a re+ie2 of the !u,lic and !ri+ate sector challenges it is e+ident that an em!hasis on training and education is
a 3ey to the success of effecti+e nationalisation. .he HR: 2ould ha+e o!en communication 2ith uni+ersities and
other institutions for higher education to ensure ade=uacy of educational outcomes of graduates $oining the
com!any, as 2ell as !ro+iding further education su!!ort for em!loyees, 2ho ha+e ,een a2arded scholarshi!s for
see3ing a!!ro!riate =ualifications. .raining institutes !ro+ide continuous !rofessional de+elo!ment courses. .hese
could ,e either in house or off site !rogrammes. .he :ata ollection entre 2ould o+ercome the !ro,lem of
information flo2 2hich e-ists 2ith regards to %miratisation. 5t may ,e formed as a su,sidiary to the federal
go+ernment in a similar manner to the <ffice of Statistical 5nformation of the :u,ai 6o+ernment, for e-am!le,
2hich deals 2ith census and other data, or may ,e !art of an inde!endent human resource de+elo!ment authority,
such as .anmia. >inally, the role of organisations such as .anmia, should ,e e-tended to that of an ad+isory grou!,
2here,y the HR: for %miratisation of any organisation can gain 3no2ledge of de+elo!ments in %miratisation
!rocesses as 2ell as for2ard contri,utions, to de+elo! a ,ody of 3no2ledge on learned ,est !ractice. .his could ,e
disseminated through ,est !ractice !u,lications, 2or3sho!s and training e+ents.
CONC)USION
.his !a!er has outlined the ma$or as!ects of %miratisation, the nationalisation scheme of the /0% a leader in many
as!ects among its counter!arts in the *iddle %ast, and the challenges 2hich emerge from such an analysis.
0lthough %miratisation ,egan in the early '990s, to date, it has ,een largely addressed at the state le+el, through
im!osition of em!loyment =uota targets in the ,an3ing and finance sectors, or through %miratisation of certain
!ositions, such as HR managers and secretaries. .his o,ser+ation is indicati+e of underlying challenges 2hich
a!!ear to ,e slo2ing do2n and on occasions disa,ling success of %miratisation endea+ours. 0mong the 3ey
challenges is demogra!hic im,alance 5nformation from the *adar Research 6rou! (200;), that sho2s though it is
the 2ish of the *inistry of Da,our to %miratise o+er 80 !er cent of the 2or3force of the 2hole /0% ,y 20'8,
e-!atriate la,our accounts for nearly 10 !er cent of the 2or3force in :u,ai, 2ith o+er 80 !er cent ,eing 5ndian
men. /nem!loyment amongst /0% nationals estimated to ,e ;4,000, 2ith currently o+er 80 !er cent of them
dra2ing ,enefits under social security legislation.
.he demogra!hic im,alance is largely due to the fact that these e-!atriate 2or3ers underta3e 2or3 that the nati+e
!o!ulation is un2illing to do. %+en so, the reliance on e-!atriate males and the under utilisation of %mirati females
im!lies that the gender and nationalisation ga! 2ill continue to gro2. Ho2e+er, the scarcity of a nati+e male
!o!ulation can enhance $o, o!!ortunities for females in an effort to hasten %miratisation. Docal la2s and
regulations gi+e 6ulf em!loyers e-tensi+e !o2ers o+er their e-!atriate em!loyees, often to the detriment of the
rights of their em!loyees. Chile e+eryone is e-!osed to such !ractices, uns3illed 2or3ers 2ith !oor le+els of literacy
from South 0sia and the >ar %ast, 2ith a lac3 of understanding of their statutory rights, are the most li3ely +ictims.
0nother issue 2hich needs to ,e addressed is $o, !erformance of %mirati nationals. .he com!any must articulate
its 3ey !erformance indicators for em!loyees, ,ut for sustained de+elo!ment of staff HR: should de+elo! a longer
term strategy, com!rising of !erformance measurement tools for em!loyee e+aluation, 2ith a clear set of outcomes
related to, for e-am!le, a need for rede!loyment, consideration for accelerated !romotion schemes and training or
re training. .he HR:s should also ta3e measures to !ro+ide channels for ease of communication 2ith national
em!loyees to gauge the success of %miratisation !rogrammes, as 2ell as to address concerns. <ne ,y !roduct 2ould
,e raising the le+el of moti+ation and !roducti+ity among the /0% national 2or3force, and thus, reduce the high
rates of attrition e-!erienced ,y many com!anies. .hese moti+ational efforts could, of course, ,e su!!lemented ,y
re2ard schemes such as !erformance related !ay, other forms of a2arding ,onuses or enhancement thus,
dis!laying a recognition that a !ositi+e 2or3 directed mindset can ,e !ersonally fulfilling as 2ell as !aying financial
di+idends.
.ools for HR* discussed in detail this !a!er are oriented at addressing the challenges and ,eha+iour of
%maritisation in the /0% and e-tendi,le to the other !arts of the 6 countries, aiming for the success of
nationalisation !olicies. .he !a!er has further endea+oured to dra2 light on areas for im!ro+ement in education
and training, !u,lic !olicy, !ri+ate sector in+ol+ement, gender !artici!ation, %mirati and e-!atriate relationshi!s
and HR*, from the !ers!ecti+e of %miratisation of the 2or3force in the /0%. .he outcomes of the research ha+e
further indicated that the /0% e+er increasingly a!!ears to ,e a ,enchmar3 for the 2ider *iddle %ast in terms of
the de+elo!ment of a sustaina,le 3no2ledge ,ased economy through effecti+e utilisation of its human ca!ital. .he
+isi,ly accelerated rate of gro2th in the countries of the *iddle %ast, South east and 0sia Pacific regions ha+e also
thus, an e-!anding re=uirement for e-!atriate human ca!ital to cater to the res!ecti+e needs, in the a,sence of a
ro,ust national 2or3 force. .his !a!er !ro+ides insight into different facets of HR* to facilitate nationalisation as a
!olicy and !ractice. .raining and 3no2ledge transfer, incenti+es and attracti+e 2or3 conditions and terms are tools
highlighted for HR !ractices and !rocedures to consider in order to facilitate nationalisation. .he im!lications are
se+eral, starting 2ith, in the case of the /0%, the mandate to ha+e only nationals o!erating the HR functions.
Nationalisation as a re=uirement has a t2o fold conse=uence on HR*. .he first is in terms HR* ha+ing to ado!t
multi!ronged a!!roaches to facilitate nationalisationA and second, ada!tation of HR* functions themsel+es to ,e
o!erated ,y nationals, as +isi,le in the case of the /0%. .he characteristic challenges faced ,y HR* functions in
countries 2ith interest to encourage nationalisation are to moti+ate nationals to acti+ely !artici!ate in the interest
of the national economy, to raise the s3ill sets among nationals, to !ro+ide a conduci+e 2or3 en+ironment and
ena,le nationals to recognise and a!!ly their !otentials. .he !a!er !resents salient notions and tools to foster
nationalisation, counteract the conse=uent side effects and o+ercome the e-!atriate reaction. 5n addition to the role
of Human Resource :e!artments HR:s and !olicies esta,lished ,y the *inistry of Da,our and go+erning ,odies,
the !re+ailing education systems ha+e a ma$or im!act on ma3ing the en+ironment conduci+e for nations to ad+ance
in !ractice. .he HR* modifications for addressing the needs and conse=uences of nationalisation !olicy and
!ractice in the /0% may ,e oriented to other 6 countries 2ith the interest in nationalisation and further to the
2ider 0sia Pacific region.
AUTHOR
,r 1asim *anderee is a Decturer in the >aculty of @usiness at .he @ritish /ni+ersity in :u,ai and Jisiting
Decturer at .he /ni+ersity of *anchester in the /nited Kingdom. He has an academic career s!anning '8 years and
is the :irector of the <rganisational Studies Research 6rou! 2ith s!ecial interest in Pro$ect *anagement,
*anaging Peo!le in <rganisations, Deadershi!, <rganisational .heory and Practice and Dearning. :r Randeree has
editorial res!onsi,ilities 2ith fi+e international $ournal !u,lications and has !u,lished o+er 90 !eer re+ie2ed
articles. He is a *em,er of the 0ssociation of Pro$ect *anagers and the 5nstitute for Deadershi! and *anagement.
%mail " 3asim.randereeL,uid.ac.ae
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