Introduction of Business Leadership A Big
Challenge for UAE
In today’s dynamic business
global arena, where things are changing so rapidly, and competition is getting
intense with each passing day, it is imperative for every country to develop
certain skills and capabilities so that their business industry can face these
challenges. UAE has become such a dynamic and versatile business hub on a
global scale, and its contribution is changing the face of business in so many
ways, but UAE is lacking the essence of real leadership, as they have some
flaws in their overall system. That’s why they are not able to produce leaders,
who can take the challenge of the modern business world, and take things to the
next level. Still, the growth and development of business in the UAE are
phenomenal and this growth looks to continue in the future. However, the UAE
has to come up with some strategies so that they can develop their own business
leaders. The youth from UAE should be given enough opportunities to learn the
skills and capabilities of great leadership; otherwise, this leadership gap on
the local level will remain a major challenge for them. They have to change
their dynamics in different sectors, especially in the education sector so that
new business leaders are developed at a rapid pace.
The biggest challenge for UAE is
to turning their youth into business leaders. A research was conducted by
Oxford Strategic Consulting, which revealed that if all the strategic and
business leadership positions available in the country are filled by people of
UAE, then 64% of people from the country will have to become leaders so that
all positions can be filled by Emiratis. This stat is interesting as well as
alarming one because when the majority of people are lacking their contribution
as leaders, and if 64% will have to fill out the gap, then it means that there
are some serious problems and challenges in the overall system. It shows that
UAE has to take great steps to make some considerable strides in terms of
leadership development so that the country can develop its own leaders, who are
ready to take the challenge of the modern business world. The UAE has to make
some considerable changes in their education and technology as well as social
patterns to develop more leaders in the future (Savenius & Jackson, 2016)
Reviewing Leadership Challenges and
Opportunities
It is important to understand one
perspective that leadership issue is not only related to UAE, rather it is a
problem, which is also faced on a global level. Even in the developed world,
the leaders are lacking capabilities and methods to lead people in an effective
manner and they are facing various challenges. The Center for Creative
Leadership came with research, which was conducted by taking feedback from 763
business leaders from different parts of the world so that current leadership
challenges can be identified. The research found six challenges faced by
current business leadership around the world. First of all, the development of
managerial skills is a serious challenge along with the development of
employees so that they can also grow as leaders. The leaders are also facing
challenges to inspire others so that they can guide the real change. That’s why
leaders are also facing issues in leading their teams in an effective manner,
and they are also having problems in the management of internal stakeholders.
It shows that leadership is a challenge on the global level as well so the
world has to collectively respond to these challenges to produce great future
business leaders (CCL, 2019)
It is also critical to know how
females are being treated at a leadership role in the country, and what
challenges and opportunities are there. The issue is that when a broad concept
is looked at, it is vital to look at the female aspect as well because women
are also an important portion of society and if any challenge has to be
discussed for future participation, then the role and participation of women
cannot be ignored. So, if UAE has to deal with challenges of its leadership and
they want to develop leaders, they will have to develop great female leaders as
well so that women can also play their part and grow. A research study was
conducted to see the state of affairs regarding UAE women and their
participation as leaders. The researchers analyzed data from 954 business
organizations to get the results. The study found that in terms of department
leadership and top leadership positions, the women in the UAE were clearly
underrepresented. Their representation in the hospitality was slightly better
than other industries, but still, numbers were alarmingly low (Kemp, Madsen, & El-Saidi, 2013)
So, it is evident that leadership
issue is even severe in the case of women in the UAE, whereas their population
is increasing with the passage of time. It was revealed that 70% of students
studying in universities of UAE are women, which is such a large portion. It
means that so many women professionals come out of these universities, but
their participation and inclusion are not good enough to represent them on an
equal basis. There must be some challenges faced by women in this regard, which
are hindering their participation in the business field. It has been observed
that culture is one of the biggest issues for women to participate in different
fields of life, whereas women are found to be capable to perform their due
tasks and responsibilities. The overall social fabric is not cooperative for
women to participate in the business world, especially in leadership roles, as
corporate environment politics very much a hindrance in this regard. The glass
ceiling should be broken in the United Arab Emirates, but the issue has to be
addressed on the global level as well because women are also underrepresented
in the developed world (Langlois & Johnston, 2013)
The good thing for the UAE is
that lack of leadership as well as management crisis has been realized by the
rulers of the country. It is a fact that if any problem has to be dealt with
some concrete strategy, then the role of rulers will always is crucial because
they can lay the foundation with great government initiatives. Sheikh Mohammed
bin Rashid is the ruler as well as prime minister of Dubai, one of the biggest
business hubs in the world. In the latest statement, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
said in a tweet “There is no energy
crisis, or education crisis, or a health crisis in our Arab region. We have a
management crisis,” It is a great awareness shown by the leader as he has
felt the need for more leadership from the local region rather having leaders coming
from other parts of the world. His statement is also showing that leadership
and management crisis is not only the issue of UAE, but it is also a major
issue for the whole Arab world. They don’t have great and inspirational
business leaders to inspire their youth so they can also develop as leaders of
the future. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid also said that he has seen the essence
of narcissism in leaders, which is also a big issue. This realization on part
of rulers can be a new beginning for the UAE to start some serious initiatives
to deal with leadership and management crisis (Dajani, 2019)
The government has to take
considerable steps and introduce programs as well as facilitate any programs to
develop leadership skills so that the UAE can deal with challenges and crises
of leadership. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid has come up with so much insight on
the issue and it was asserted by him that government bodies must change the
work environment with viable changes in the next few months, and give employees
an opportunity to learn and grow. This kind of involvement on the government
level will pave the way for a new beginning in both the public and private
sectors. New policies and rules can be developed to initiate leadership programs
and allowing UAE youth to become future leaders (Dajani, 2019). It has been
observed that existing leadership is facing various challenges in the Middle
East region including UAE. It has been observed that corporate governance is
not at its best in the Middle East due to various cultural barriers. The top
management and CEO’s already working in the UAE has to step up and allow their
subordinates to become better in skillset and knowledge. They will have to
inspire young talent to learn new skills and capabilities so that the future
can be a bit better. If young talent will not be prepared for the future, then
UAE on the verge of a significant leadership gap in the coming years, which can
worsen the situation. It is like adding insult to injury if viable steps will
not be taken on an immediate basis (Fernandez, 2015)
It is important to look at
real-world challenges faced by UAE so that relevant solutions and
recommendations can be given to deal with those challenges. A report was
released with the title “Deloitte’s 2015 Global Human Capital Trends”
which gathered data from more than 3000 business leaders and HR professionals
from the Middle East. This report came up with four major challenges, which are
faced by the whole Middle East region. The first major challenge is a lack of
learning & development. The organizations do not have tools and programs to
encourage the activity of learning and development on a large scale. The other
primary issue faced by the region issues with HR practices, as it has to be
reinvented so that it can meet the challenges of the modern and global business
world. The employee engagement, as well as organizational culture, has also
been lacking in their performance, which is expected from a high-class business
environment. The most identified challenge for the Middle East region was
leadership. It is a top problem faced by organizations in the region as demand
is increasing, but there are not enough leaders to fill this gap (AG Reporter, 2015)
The UAE has to find viable
opportunities and solutions to deal with this leadership crisis, and one of the
solutions is to develop educational leadership. The country has to look at its
current educational system and bring reforms which can transform their system
into a great one to develop great leaders for the future. If they want to
compete on the global level with their local talent then education has to play
a big part in so many ways. If there would be the essence of educational
leadership, and educational institutions will prepare students for the challenging
business environment, then more leaders will emerge with the passage of time.
It has been observed that educational leadership is crucial as well s
fundamental for any country to compete on the global level. Moreover, the UAE
has to encourage international institutions to invest in their education and
learning sector with international level study programs and training
certificates so that more leaders are developed. Changing culture in this
regard will inspire more youth from UAE and they will show their real interest
to become future business leaders. This is how challenges can be turned into
opportunities (Zahran, Pettaway, Waller, & Waller, 2016)
Results and Discussions of Business Leadership A Big Challenge
for UAE
For the current research work,
the interview questions have been given in the Appendix 1. They are all about the biggest challenge
for UAE i.e., business leadership as per the current research work. By studying
the research articles of the previous studies, and based on their result and
the discussions it has been proved that it is actually a biggest challenge for
the UAE to better cope up with the issue of business leadership. The
UAE is required to come up with some strategies so that they can develop their
own business leaders. The youth from UAE should be given enough opportunities
to learn the skills and capabilities of great leadership. The interview
questions for this study include as given:
Question1: Evaluate the factors that affect
the business Leadership in UAE?
Question
2: What is the
effect of business Leadership for UAE?
Question
3: Describe the
main aspects for the business leadership in UAE and its effects?
Question
4: Do you think
improved practices and the strategies for the business leadership help to
increase the customer count for the organization?
Question
5: Is it the
biggest challenge for UAE to turn their youth into business leaders?
The
residents of UAE specially the youth has been selected in order to get their
responses regarding the interview questions. Mostly the respondents provide
with the similar responses. The overall summary of the respondent’s responses
is as given: the factors that better help to determine the business leadership
in the UAE include the position and the standing of the people, their
educational background, their highest qualification along with their experience
of having the business leadership in order to positively affect the market
& the industry trends. These factors tend to affect the business leadership
and the leadership styles in UAE.
As
far as the effect of the business
Leadership for UAE is concerned, it tends to have the direct as well as the
positive significant impact on the business practices along with the business
success. It also contributes positively to the business development. For the
main aspects of the business leadership in UAE, the leaders in a business are
the one who help in the formulation of the affective values, norms, vision
& the strategies. These better help to determine the motivation of the
employees in UAE.
The customer is the king for any
organization. They better help to increase the market share of the
organization. The more the business leaders make the affective strategies, the
better it helps to increase the count of the customers. For UAE, it is the
biggest challenge to train their youth to become the business leaders. The more
consideration for the factors, in order to train their youth, is desirable for
UAE.
Conclusion
of Business Leadership A
Big Challenge for UAE
After analyzing the range of
issues and challenges regarding leadership challenges in the UAE, it was
evident that the UAE is facing some serious leadership and management crisis.
Moreover, this crisis is not only faced by just UAE, rather the whole Arab
world is facing same kind of challenges, which shows that the issue is somewhat
related to society and the culture of the Arab world. The Middle East region
has to deal with these issues by developing a better environment breaking
cultural barriers and develop a new social fabric, which allows both males and
females to grow and develop as professionals as well as leaders. The role of
government is considered important in this regard as they can give a policy map
for both the public and private sectors to deal with a lack of leadership
challenges, and develop future leaders by inspiring the young talent of the
country.
References of Business Leadership A Big Challenge for UAE
AG
Reporter. (2015). Top Challenges Faced by HR in the Middle East.
Retrieved October 30, 2019, from
https://arabiangazette.com/top-challenges-faced-hr-middle-east-20150616/
CCL. (2019). The
Top 6 Leadership Challenges Around the World. Retrieved October 30, 2019,
from
https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/top-6-leadership-challenges/
Dajani, H.
(2019). Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid hits out at lack of leadership in Arab
world. Retrieved October 30, 2019, from https://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/sheikh-mohammed-bin-rashid-hits-out-at-lack-of-leadership-in-arab-world-1.875186
Fernandez, A.
(2015). The challenges facing CEOs in the Middle East. Retrieved
October 30, 2019, from
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/the-challenges-facing-ceos-in-middle-east-604700.html
Kemp, L. J.,
Madsen, S. R., & El-Saidi, M. (2013). The current state of female
leadership in the United Arab Emirates. Journal of Global Responsibility
, 4 (1), 99 - 112.
Langlois, A. L.,
& Johnston, R. A. (2013). The Development and Progress of Female
Leadership in the United Arab Emirates. Journal of Business and Economics
, 4 (10), 991-1010.
Savenius, N. B.,
& Jackson, W. S. (2016). UAE’s challenge to turn youths into leaders.
Retrieved October 30, 2019, from https://www.thenational.ae/business/uae-s-challenge-to-turn-youths-into-leaders-1.170608
Zahran, R.,
Pettaway, L. D., Waller, L. “., & Waller, S. (2016). Educational
Leadership: Challenges in United Arab Emirates. THE GLOBAL eLEARNING
JOURNAL , 5 (1).
Appendix 1:
Questionnaire
Name:
--------------Optional----------------
Designation:
---------------------------------
Question1: Evaluate the factors that affect
the business Leadership in UAE?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 2: What is the effect of business
Leadership for UAE?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 3: Describe the main aspects for the
business leadership in UAE and its effects?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 4: Do you think improved practices and
the strategies for the business leadership help to increase the customer count
for the organization?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 5: Is it the biggest challenge for UAE
to turn their youth into business leaders?
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