Description
A subset of the fields of business and commerce, business development comprises a number of tasks and processes generally aiming at developing and implementing growth opportunities.
Reports Study on Management development in the Arab Gulf States Stephen Wilkins
Abstract
Introduction
The huge oil and gas reserves of the Arab Gulf States (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) have made them some of the wealthiest countries in the world. The economies of the Arab Gulf States have expanded rapidly since the 1970s. Due to the shortage of both skilled and unskilled labour, most countries relied heavily on expatriate labour, both in the oil and gas industries and in the economy in general. For example, Abed et al. (1996) estimated that expatriates account for nearly 90 per cent of the United Arab Emirates labour force. Since the early 1990s, several Gulf countries have experienced slower rates of economic growth, and with relatively high birth rates and the increasing participation of women in the workforce, unemployment among nationals has become a serious problem, especially among the young, who are increasingly educated. Securing employment for nationals has become a key priority for all of the Gulf States. Governments have developed a range of strategies to increase the participation of nationals in the labour force, especially in the private sector. These have included the creation of national development plans, improving education at all levels, introducing vocational training, changing visa regulations to limit the entry of new expatriates and, in some cases, introducing legislation that forces particular industries in the private sector to employ quotas of nationals. In countries such as Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman, the governments have encouraged nationals to take up employment in all types of professions and trades and at all levels, and nationals have been willing to do so. In countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), however, nationals are reluctant to take up employment in most parts of the private sector (the main exception being banking and financial services) and they will certainly not consider manual or unskilled jobs or those that lack status. Many will only consider working in the private sector if they secure managerial positions which command attractive salaries and acceptable working conditions. Although in most of the Gulf States there is a lack of reliable data on the amounts being spent on training and development, it is widely accepted that it has increased 260
significantly during the last decade. A survey by Wilkins (2001) of large business organisations in the UAE found that 73 per cent had a formal training and development strategy, 68 per cent employed a training manager, 73 per cent had a training centre, 38 per cent employed six or more fulltime trainers and 67 per cent delivered management development programmes. Much of the management development activity that is delivered by organisations is targeted at nationals. Many organisations are reluctant to invest in training and development for expatriate employees because they are expected to come already qualified and experienced in the first place, and because of the higher rates of labour turnover in the region it is often felt that such investment is not cost-effective.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Aims of the study
Although a great proportion of management development activity is provided specifically for nationals of the Arab Gulf States, programmes are usually delivered in the English language by Western expatriates. The aim of this study is to investigate the appropriateness of one specific management development programme and to identify the factors that may impact upon its effectiveness in the Arabian Gulf region. In particular, the study aims to assess whether language and/or certain aspects of culture either hinder student learning and development or present particular difficulties for trainees or trainers.
employees are motivated by internationally-accredited qualifications that may help their career progression; employers desire a means by which they can assess the effectiveness of their trainers and training departments; NEBSM has developed an effective regional network of verifiers and advisors who provide the support and guidance that is required by centres; NEBSM qualifications are reasonably priced and, as verifiers are employed locally, verification costs are minimised; many trainers and HR professionals from the UK are already familiar with the NEBSM qualifications; there are no local alternative management development qualifications in existence; and NEBSM is well recognised and respected internationally as it has been in operation for over 36 years and currently awards over 40,000 certificates annually in many different countries around the world.
Method Four groups of students (37 candidates) at Dubai Polytechnic provided written feedback about their programmes (Introductory Certificate, Certificate and Diploma in Management) and participated in group feedback discussions during the 2000/2001 academic year. Course monitoring documentation and staff reports/feedback at Dubai Polytechnic were also referred to. A number of NEBSM centre co-ordinators and external verifiers participated in a series of semi-structured interviews and two group meetings. NEBSM programmes at Dubai Polytechnic NEBSM programmes have been offered at Dubai Polytechnic, the educational institute of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, since 1999. The Polytechnic currently offers the Introductory Certificate, the Certificate and the Diploma in Management. During the 2000/2001 academic year the Introductory Certificate enrolled ten candidates, the Certificate 14 (one group of eight, one of six) and the Diploma had 13 candidates. Programmes are offered as open enrolment courses for individuals who usually pay their own tuition fees, although several candidates are 261
National Examining Board for Supervision and Management
Several large business organisations, educational institutes and training providers in the Arabian Gulf region offer management qualifications accredited by the National Examining Board for Supervision and Management (NEBSM), which is based in the UK. Most centres offer the Introductory Certificate and the Certificate in Management. Some offer the Diploma in Management or NVQs in Management and several are planning to introduce the new Team Leader Award. NEBSM qualifications are becoming increasingly popular in the Middle East for a variety of reasons, which include:
sponsored by their employers, and as in-house programmes for individual organisations. During 2000/2001 the Polytechnic delivered only one in-house Introductory Certificate programme for eight candidates from the government's Department of Immigration. Course content Most of the management development that is delivered in the Gulf States resembles closely the curricula of Western business schools. The NEBSM qualifications are fairly standard management development awards that cover the topics required by the UK's national standards for management. For example, Certificate level programmes cover the management of people, activities, information and resources. Although the concept of management development itself is heavily influenced by Western objectives and values and Western social and cultural thought, most training professionals in the Gulf believe that the curricula of Western universities and awarding bodies (such as NEBSM) are suitable for the Gulf region also. The candidates at Dubai Polytechnic agreed unanimously that the content of their NEBSM programme was useful and relevant. The NEBSM external verifiers, who personally interview every Certificate and Diploma candidate upon completion of their programme as the final form of assessment, also reported that the majority of candidates were satisfied with the content of the NEBSM programmes. Organisations rely on management development not only to improve their productivity, resource utilisation and organisational performance, but also to improve the individual's performance, to reward individuals for their loyalty and effort, and to prepare them for career progression. No longer do training professionals expect management development to build only technical expertise; there is now the expectation that individual skills (e.g. interpersonal skills and leadership skills) will also be improved. The NEBSM programmes aim to both impart knowledge and develop skills, and as all assessment is ongoing and work-based, relevance to the organisation is ensured. The trainers In many developing countries, whether or not to rely on expatriate management
development professionals is a common dilemma. Most business and training organisations in the Gulf States have to use expatriate trainers, as there are very few indigenous training professionals in existence. When using expatriate trainers there is always the danger that the local needs will not be accurately or adequately assessed or understood. There are many aspects of the local culture that may be unfamiliar to expatriate trainers, e.g. organisational culture and the allocation of responsibilities within organisations, local labour economics (many workers that have to be managed in the Gulf region are very low paid and poorly motivated), the influences of religion (important in the Arab world) and the expected style of leadership and communication. As most Arabs prefer to talk rather than to read or write, it is usually relatively easy for trainers to build rapport with a group of learners. Trainers need to use face-to-face interaction to produce the trust, support and encouragement that are required for candidates to learn effectively. The school systems in the Gulf States generally adopt didactic, teacher-centred learning, and this encourages students not only to respect their teacher but also to never question or challenge them. The behaviour and expectations of candidates undertaking management development may be heavily influenced by their schooling, and therefore it may be difficult for a trainer (or their employer) to accurately assess their own performance, as trainees often prefer to be uncritical. Many believe that if they are ``nice'' to their trainer then their trainer will be ``nice'' to them and ensure that they pass their programme. However, if a weak candidate fails to pass a programme then they will very often blame their trainer or lecturer and will fail to recognise or accept that they have insufficient ability or did not work hard enough. Some candidates wrongly believe that they will pass their programmes even if they fail to submit written assignments or projects. It is necessary for trainers to be imaginative with regard to the learning strategies they adopt and the training materials they use if they are to stimulate the interest of students and overcome the cultural barriers to achieving effective student-centred learning. They also have to be good communicators
262
with strong interpersonal skills and they need to be supportive and able to empathise with students in order to motivate them and ensure their participation in class activities. It can sometimes be particularly difficult to get females participating in mixed gender groups, because males and females are segregated in many aspects of day-to-day life. Delivery of programmes Expatriate trainers are aware that didactic methodologies provide very few opportunities for learners to develop interpersonal skills or other skills required for management or to motivate learners through involvement and participation. NEBSM advise centres in their programme guidelines (NEBS Management, 1998) to minimise their use of formal lectures. Dubai Polytechnic have done so and make training sessions as practical and interactive as possible. Much learning is achieved through problem solving, management games, group work, role-play and class discussions. Case studies are used, but only if they are directly relevant and applicable to the Gulf region. The centre has developed a bank of local cases which ensure effective contextualisation of the management theory. Candidates are particularly interested when analysing local cases and local examples of implementation of best practice. Though candidates find case studies useful, the majority do not like reading, therefore case studies are usually kept as short and concise as possible. Although Arabs like to converse and share their ideas, they are usually wary of exposing their weaknesses, and as a consequence some individuals may feel threatened by the group and therefore need encouragement to participate fully in class activities. For this reason, forced questioning of individuals is often not a suitable strategy for the classroom until all candidates feel relaxed with each other and the trainer. The lecturers at Dubai Polytechnic have observed that Arab students often participate in lessons more effectively when they are separated from their normal work colleagues. The majority of candidates are prepared to share their experiences with strangers from other organisations and they are keen to learn about practice in other organisations. Arab culture emphasises status in all areas of society, family and work. Many managers are eager to be selected for a management
development programme as it demonstrates, to some extent, their managerial status and the increased likelihood of them being promoted. However, in the classroom, candidates still often observe the position and status of others in the workplace, even if they are from different organisations. A junior supervisor will rarely disagree or challenge an older, more senior manager, even if they are on the same programme. Expatriate trainers may wish to treat all students as equals, but they should be aware of each student's position in their organisation and even their position in society (in case they are from a particularly well-known and influential family) so as not to upset or offend anyone. Language issues The official national language in all of the Gulf States is Arabic. However, the common language of business, trade and commerce is English. This is the result of a number of things, including historical connections with Britain, the fact that a high proportion of labour originates from non-Arabic speaking countries and the desire to engage in international trade. The importance of the English language in the Gulf region cannot be underestimated. For example, a survey by Wilkins (2001) found that while no large business organisations in the UAE deliver training only in the Arabic language, 41 per cent use only English. Furthermore, over half of the companies participating in the survey reported that they deliver training to improve employee language or communication skills. Virtually all managers employed in larger business organisations in the Gulf States are expected to be fluent in the English language. While most expatriate managers are fluent in English, many local Arab managers completed their schooling with only a very basic knowledge of it. Many are fluent in conversation but they rely on secretaries or junior managers to write letters and reports. Before enrolling candidates on internationally accredited management development programmes such as NEBSM it is important to ensure that candidates have sufficient ability in reading, writing and speaking English. Many educational institutions do not, however, force applicants to either take an English language test or to prove their ability by some previous test or academic qualification. English tests for entry to all professional programmes at Dubai
263
Polytechnic are either taken voluntarily by applicants or on the insistence of the admissions tutor concerned. In 2000/2001, almost half of all applicants for the NEBSM Certificate in Management who took the Polytechnic's English test failed to achieve the required score (which is intended to equate to IELTS level 4 or TOEFL 450). Upon failing to achieve the required score, candidates are never then accepted onto a management programme; instead, they are advised to take an English course and then to retake the entry test at some later time. Most trainers reported that it is difficult to teach local Arab students in the same style that they would to students from Englishspeaking countries. Students who hold bachelor degrees or advanced diplomas delivered and assessed in English at local universities and colleges often still lack confidence and fluency in reading and writing in the English language. Trainers have to remember to continually explain much of the terminology they use. If they do not, despite the fact that students do not understand, they will not ask for clarification or explanation; more likely they will just sit quietly perhaps nodding their heads as the students who do understand what is said might do. This will happen because candidates will not want to expose their weaknesses and lose ``face'' in front of other students, who may perhaps also be their work colleagues. While it may be expected that local Arab candidates are unfamiliar with technical terms, many which often derive from Western culture, candidates often also do not adequately understand everyday language and particularly colloquial language. Lecturers at Dubai Polytechnic adopt a range of learning strategies that aim to overcome the language constraints and limitations of students. Student-centred learning, which makes frequent use of discussions, team games, role-play and video, have proved to be effective. Additional language teaching is often built into programmes designed for individual organisations, such as that delivered for the Department of Immigration, but otherwise it is offered as an optional paid-for extra for all individuals. The teachers of English not only teach English for academic or business purposes, but they also attempt to develop the study skills required by candidates for their professional development, skills which were
not previously developed or needed in their secondary education. Many candidates openly confess that they believe their weakness in communicating in English is the biggest problem preventing them from participating effectively in management development training or from gaining promotion in the workplace. However, while many employers are prepared to pay educational institutions to deliver management development programmes some are not prepared to pay for extra language tuition. Evaluation of management development The effectiveness of management development can be assessed in many different ways but, fundamentally, organisations expect to see some clear improvement in both individual and organisational performance. For programmes which lead to achievement of a qualification it is likely that the desired outcomes of employer and employee will be different; employers want to see changes in behaviour which lead to improved results while employees are primarily concerned about achieving career progression and/or a higher salary. However, it should be recognised that in order for employees to achieve career progression they usually need to first achieve organisational objectives. Organisational culture and management style must encourage (e.g. through rewards) and support (e.g. by providing the necessary resources) the individual manager if he or she is to effectively apply the knowledge gained and skills developed through management development. The effectiveness of management development may be most accurately assessed by measuring and evaluating the improvements in individual performance. Educational institutions are not generally in the position to assess workplace performance so must find other ways to measure the effectiveness of their programmes. All institutions will consider their student pass rates and student retention. Most will also have standard documentation that seeks to record student feedback. This is particularly useful to trainers working in cultures that are new or unfamiliar to them. The NEBSM Certificate and Diploma in Management require the completion of a number of work-based assignments and one extended project or management report. These assessments ensure that candidates can
264
see the relevance of the management theory learnt, that they are able to analyse aspects of both individual and organisational performance and they provide a means by which employees may suggest or encourage changes that may improve individual or organisational performance. In many cases, candidates are able to quantify the extra revenue generated or the cost savings resulting from their suggestions and employers may then find that they have recouped the cost of the management development many times over.
Conclusions
The fact that each year more organisations and educational institutes in the Gulf region are deciding to start offering NEBSM qualifications indicates that the awarding body is fulfilling a need in the market. NEBSM external verifiers report that both candidates and employers are generally extremely satisfied with the NEBSM qualifications. The trend of globalisation in trade, commerce, communication and management thinking has encouraged organisations to believe that the NEBSM curricula are relevant and appropriate in the Gulf States. Despite this, the Arab world does have its own unique culture, which should not be ignored. This study found that misunderstandings and conflict may occur between trainer and trainees if the trainer does not act in the way expected by trainees. There is evidence, therefore, to suggest that cross-cultural training should be given to all expatriate trainers not suitably familiar with the local culture, customs and traditions. This study also revealed that competence in communicating in the English language is a major factor in determining which employees are selected for management development and the extent to which they are likely to benefit from being on a management development programme. Most assessors, verifiers and centre co-ordinators agreed
(some reluctantly) that they have sometimes had to lower their expectations of the language ability of candidates. At the present time, none of the British awarding bodies operating in the Gulf region have issued clear and detailed guidelines on the extent to which this is permissible or desirable. It may be argued, however, that if the prime objective of management development is to improve management performance then some flexibility with regard to language is sensible. Some managers may not even use or need to use English in their place of work. There are, however, a variety of strategies that may be adopted to help trainees overcome the language barrier. Holm and Strauss (1998) identified as possible strategies teaching trainees English, using more demonstrations and videos, using a combination of training techniques and translating materials into Arabic. The last suggestion is what one enterprising NEBSM centre in Kuwait has recently done; it had the entire NEBSM syllabi and guidelines translated into Arabic and it is now accredited to deliver the programmes in Arabic. There is evidence to suggest that other centres should also review their management development strategy and delivery and then make appropriate changes which will improve the effectiveness of their provision.
References
Abed, I., Vine, P. and Vine P. (Eds) (1996), The United Arab Emirates Handbook 1996-1997, Trident Press, London. Holm, K. and Strauss, C. (1998), ``Industrial training issues in the Middle East'', Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 30 No. 7, pp. 242-5 NEBS Management (1998), NEBS Management Programme Guidelines, NEBS Management, London. Wilkins, S. (2001), ``International briefing 9: Training and development in the United Arab Emirates'',
International Journal of Training and Development,
Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 153-65.
265
doc_287316729.docx
A subset of the fields of business and commerce, business development comprises a number of tasks and processes generally aiming at developing and implementing growth opportunities.
Reports Study on Management development in the Arab Gulf States Stephen Wilkins
Abstract
Introduction
The huge oil and gas reserves of the Arab Gulf States (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) have made them some of the wealthiest countries in the world. The economies of the Arab Gulf States have expanded rapidly since the 1970s. Due to the shortage of both skilled and unskilled labour, most countries relied heavily on expatriate labour, both in the oil and gas industries and in the economy in general. For example, Abed et al. (1996) estimated that expatriates account for nearly 90 per cent of the United Arab Emirates labour force. Since the early 1990s, several Gulf countries have experienced slower rates of economic growth, and with relatively high birth rates and the increasing participation of women in the workforce, unemployment among nationals has become a serious problem, especially among the young, who are increasingly educated. Securing employment for nationals has become a key priority for all of the Gulf States. Governments have developed a range of strategies to increase the participation of nationals in the labour force, especially in the private sector. These have included the creation of national development plans, improving education at all levels, introducing vocational training, changing visa regulations to limit the entry of new expatriates and, in some cases, introducing legislation that forces particular industries in the private sector to employ quotas of nationals. In countries such as Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman, the governments have encouraged nationals to take up employment in all types of professions and trades and at all levels, and nationals have been willing to do so. In countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), however, nationals are reluctant to take up employment in most parts of the private sector (the main exception being banking and financial services) and they will certainly not consider manual or unskilled jobs or those that lack status. Many will only consider working in the private sector if they secure managerial positions which command attractive salaries and acceptable working conditions. Although in most of the Gulf States there is a lack of reliable data on the amounts being spent on training and development, it is widely accepted that it has increased 260
significantly during the last decade. A survey by Wilkins (2001) of large business organisations in the UAE found that 73 per cent had a formal training and development strategy, 68 per cent employed a training manager, 73 per cent had a training centre, 38 per cent employed six or more fulltime trainers and 67 per cent delivered management development programmes. Much of the management development activity that is delivered by organisations is targeted at nationals. Many organisations are reluctant to invest in training and development for expatriate employees because they are expected to come already qualified and experienced in the first place, and because of the higher rates of labour turnover in the region it is often felt that such investment is not cost-effective.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Aims of the study
Although a great proportion of management development activity is provided specifically for nationals of the Arab Gulf States, programmes are usually delivered in the English language by Western expatriates. The aim of this study is to investigate the appropriateness of one specific management development programme and to identify the factors that may impact upon its effectiveness in the Arabian Gulf region. In particular, the study aims to assess whether language and/or certain aspects of culture either hinder student learning and development or present particular difficulties for trainees or trainers.
employees are motivated by internationally-accredited qualifications that may help their career progression; employers desire a means by which they can assess the effectiveness of their trainers and training departments; NEBSM has developed an effective regional network of verifiers and advisors who provide the support and guidance that is required by centres; NEBSM qualifications are reasonably priced and, as verifiers are employed locally, verification costs are minimised; many trainers and HR professionals from the UK are already familiar with the NEBSM qualifications; there are no local alternative management development qualifications in existence; and NEBSM is well recognised and respected internationally as it has been in operation for over 36 years and currently awards over 40,000 certificates annually in many different countries around the world.
Method Four groups of students (37 candidates) at Dubai Polytechnic provided written feedback about their programmes (Introductory Certificate, Certificate and Diploma in Management) and participated in group feedback discussions during the 2000/2001 academic year. Course monitoring documentation and staff reports/feedback at Dubai Polytechnic were also referred to. A number of NEBSM centre co-ordinators and external verifiers participated in a series of semi-structured interviews and two group meetings. NEBSM programmes at Dubai Polytechnic NEBSM programmes have been offered at Dubai Polytechnic, the educational institute of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, since 1999. The Polytechnic currently offers the Introductory Certificate, the Certificate and the Diploma in Management. During the 2000/2001 academic year the Introductory Certificate enrolled ten candidates, the Certificate 14 (one group of eight, one of six) and the Diploma had 13 candidates. Programmes are offered as open enrolment courses for individuals who usually pay their own tuition fees, although several candidates are 261
National Examining Board for Supervision and Management
Several large business organisations, educational institutes and training providers in the Arabian Gulf region offer management qualifications accredited by the National Examining Board for Supervision and Management (NEBSM), which is based in the UK. Most centres offer the Introductory Certificate and the Certificate in Management. Some offer the Diploma in Management or NVQs in Management and several are planning to introduce the new Team Leader Award. NEBSM qualifications are becoming increasingly popular in the Middle East for a variety of reasons, which include:
sponsored by their employers, and as in-house programmes for individual organisations. During 2000/2001 the Polytechnic delivered only one in-house Introductory Certificate programme for eight candidates from the government's Department of Immigration. Course content Most of the management development that is delivered in the Gulf States resembles closely the curricula of Western business schools. The NEBSM qualifications are fairly standard management development awards that cover the topics required by the UK's national standards for management. For example, Certificate level programmes cover the management of people, activities, information and resources. Although the concept of management development itself is heavily influenced by Western objectives and values and Western social and cultural thought, most training professionals in the Gulf believe that the curricula of Western universities and awarding bodies (such as NEBSM) are suitable for the Gulf region also. The candidates at Dubai Polytechnic agreed unanimously that the content of their NEBSM programme was useful and relevant. The NEBSM external verifiers, who personally interview every Certificate and Diploma candidate upon completion of their programme as the final form of assessment, also reported that the majority of candidates were satisfied with the content of the NEBSM programmes. Organisations rely on management development not only to improve their productivity, resource utilisation and organisational performance, but also to improve the individual's performance, to reward individuals for their loyalty and effort, and to prepare them for career progression. No longer do training professionals expect management development to build only technical expertise; there is now the expectation that individual skills (e.g. interpersonal skills and leadership skills) will also be improved. The NEBSM programmes aim to both impart knowledge and develop skills, and as all assessment is ongoing and work-based, relevance to the organisation is ensured. The trainers In many developing countries, whether or not to rely on expatriate management
development professionals is a common dilemma. Most business and training organisations in the Gulf States have to use expatriate trainers, as there are very few indigenous training professionals in existence. When using expatriate trainers there is always the danger that the local needs will not be accurately or adequately assessed or understood. There are many aspects of the local culture that may be unfamiliar to expatriate trainers, e.g. organisational culture and the allocation of responsibilities within organisations, local labour economics (many workers that have to be managed in the Gulf region are very low paid and poorly motivated), the influences of religion (important in the Arab world) and the expected style of leadership and communication. As most Arabs prefer to talk rather than to read or write, it is usually relatively easy for trainers to build rapport with a group of learners. Trainers need to use face-to-face interaction to produce the trust, support and encouragement that are required for candidates to learn effectively. The school systems in the Gulf States generally adopt didactic, teacher-centred learning, and this encourages students not only to respect their teacher but also to never question or challenge them. The behaviour and expectations of candidates undertaking management development may be heavily influenced by their schooling, and therefore it may be difficult for a trainer (or their employer) to accurately assess their own performance, as trainees often prefer to be uncritical. Many believe that if they are ``nice'' to their trainer then their trainer will be ``nice'' to them and ensure that they pass their programme. However, if a weak candidate fails to pass a programme then they will very often blame their trainer or lecturer and will fail to recognise or accept that they have insufficient ability or did not work hard enough. Some candidates wrongly believe that they will pass their programmes even if they fail to submit written assignments or projects. It is necessary for trainers to be imaginative with regard to the learning strategies they adopt and the training materials they use if they are to stimulate the interest of students and overcome the cultural barriers to achieving effective student-centred learning. They also have to be good communicators
262
with strong interpersonal skills and they need to be supportive and able to empathise with students in order to motivate them and ensure their participation in class activities. It can sometimes be particularly difficult to get females participating in mixed gender groups, because males and females are segregated in many aspects of day-to-day life. Delivery of programmes Expatriate trainers are aware that didactic methodologies provide very few opportunities for learners to develop interpersonal skills or other skills required for management or to motivate learners through involvement and participation. NEBSM advise centres in their programme guidelines (NEBS Management, 1998) to minimise their use of formal lectures. Dubai Polytechnic have done so and make training sessions as practical and interactive as possible. Much learning is achieved through problem solving, management games, group work, role-play and class discussions. Case studies are used, but only if they are directly relevant and applicable to the Gulf region. The centre has developed a bank of local cases which ensure effective contextualisation of the management theory. Candidates are particularly interested when analysing local cases and local examples of implementation of best practice. Though candidates find case studies useful, the majority do not like reading, therefore case studies are usually kept as short and concise as possible. Although Arabs like to converse and share their ideas, they are usually wary of exposing their weaknesses, and as a consequence some individuals may feel threatened by the group and therefore need encouragement to participate fully in class activities. For this reason, forced questioning of individuals is often not a suitable strategy for the classroom until all candidates feel relaxed with each other and the trainer. The lecturers at Dubai Polytechnic have observed that Arab students often participate in lessons more effectively when they are separated from their normal work colleagues. The majority of candidates are prepared to share their experiences with strangers from other organisations and they are keen to learn about practice in other organisations. Arab culture emphasises status in all areas of society, family and work. Many managers are eager to be selected for a management
development programme as it demonstrates, to some extent, their managerial status and the increased likelihood of them being promoted. However, in the classroom, candidates still often observe the position and status of others in the workplace, even if they are from different organisations. A junior supervisor will rarely disagree or challenge an older, more senior manager, even if they are on the same programme. Expatriate trainers may wish to treat all students as equals, but they should be aware of each student's position in their organisation and even their position in society (in case they are from a particularly well-known and influential family) so as not to upset or offend anyone. Language issues The official national language in all of the Gulf States is Arabic. However, the common language of business, trade and commerce is English. This is the result of a number of things, including historical connections with Britain, the fact that a high proportion of labour originates from non-Arabic speaking countries and the desire to engage in international trade. The importance of the English language in the Gulf region cannot be underestimated. For example, a survey by Wilkins (2001) found that while no large business organisations in the UAE deliver training only in the Arabic language, 41 per cent use only English. Furthermore, over half of the companies participating in the survey reported that they deliver training to improve employee language or communication skills. Virtually all managers employed in larger business organisations in the Gulf States are expected to be fluent in the English language. While most expatriate managers are fluent in English, many local Arab managers completed their schooling with only a very basic knowledge of it. Many are fluent in conversation but they rely on secretaries or junior managers to write letters and reports. Before enrolling candidates on internationally accredited management development programmes such as NEBSM it is important to ensure that candidates have sufficient ability in reading, writing and speaking English. Many educational institutions do not, however, force applicants to either take an English language test or to prove their ability by some previous test or academic qualification. English tests for entry to all professional programmes at Dubai
263
Polytechnic are either taken voluntarily by applicants or on the insistence of the admissions tutor concerned. In 2000/2001, almost half of all applicants for the NEBSM Certificate in Management who took the Polytechnic's English test failed to achieve the required score (which is intended to equate to IELTS level 4 or TOEFL 450). Upon failing to achieve the required score, candidates are never then accepted onto a management programme; instead, they are advised to take an English course and then to retake the entry test at some later time. Most trainers reported that it is difficult to teach local Arab students in the same style that they would to students from Englishspeaking countries. Students who hold bachelor degrees or advanced diplomas delivered and assessed in English at local universities and colleges often still lack confidence and fluency in reading and writing in the English language. Trainers have to remember to continually explain much of the terminology they use. If they do not, despite the fact that students do not understand, they will not ask for clarification or explanation; more likely they will just sit quietly perhaps nodding their heads as the students who do understand what is said might do. This will happen because candidates will not want to expose their weaknesses and lose ``face'' in front of other students, who may perhaps also be their work colleagues. While it may be expected that local Arab candidates are unfamiliar with technical terms, many which often derive from Western culture, candidates often also do not adequately understand everyday language and particularly colloquial language. Lecturers at Dubai Polytechnic adopt a range of learning strategies that aim to overcome the language constraints and limitations of students. Student-centred learning, which makes frequent use of discussions, team games, role-play and video, have proved to be effective. Additional language teaching is often built into programmes designed for individual organisations, such as that delivered for the Department of Immigration, but otherwise it is offered as an optional paid-for extra for all individuals. The teachers of English not only teach English for academic or business purposes, but they also attempt to develop the study skills required by candidates for their professional development, skills which were
not previously developed or needed in their secondary education. Many candidates openly confess that they believe their weakness in communicating in English is the biggest problem preventing them from participating effectively in management development training or from gaining promotion in the workplace. However, while many employers are prepared to pay educational institutions to deliver management development programmes some are not prepared to pay for extra language tuition. Evaluation of management development The effectiveness of management development can be assessed in many different ways but, fundamentally, organisations expect to see some clear improvement in both individual and organisational performance. For programmes which lead to achievement of a qualification it is likely that the desired outcomes of employer and employee will be different; employers want to see changes in behaviour which lead to improved results while employees are primarily concerned about achieving career progression and/or a higher salary. However, it should be recognised that in order for employees to achieve career progression they usually need to first achieve organisational objectives. Organisational culture and management style must encourage (e.g. through rewards) and support (e.g. by providing the necessary resources) the individual manager if he or she is to effectively apply the knowledge gained and skills developed through management development. The effectiveness of management development may be most accurately assessed by measuring and evaluating the improvements in individual performance. Educational institutions are not generally in the position to assess workplace performance so must find other ways to measure the effectiveness of their programmes. All institutions will consider their student pass rates and student retention. Most will also have standard documentation that seeks to record student feedback. This is particularly useful to trainers working in cultures that are new or unfamiliar to them. The NEBSM Certificate and Diploma in Management require the completion of a number of work-based assignments and one extended project or management report. These assessments ensure that candidates can
264
see the relevance of the management theory learnt, that they are able to analyse aspects of both individual and organisational performance and they provide a means by which employees may suggest or encourage changes that may improve individual or organisational performance. In many cases, candidates are able to quantify the extra revenue generated or the cost savings resulting from their suggestions and employers may then find that they have recouped the cost of the management development many times over.
Conclusions
The fact that each year more organisations and educational institutes in the Gulf region are deciding to start offering NEBSM qualifications indicates that the awarding body is fulfilling a need in the market. NEBSM external verifiers report that both candidates and employers are generally extremely satisfied with the NEBSM qualifications. The trend of globalisation in trade, commerce, communication and management thinking has encouraged organisations to believe that the NEBSM curricula are relevant and appropriate in the Gulf States. Despite this, the Arab world does have its own unique culture, which should not be ignored. This study found that misunderstandings and conflict may occur between trainer and trainees if the trainer does not act in the way expected by trainees. There is evidence, therefore, to suggest that cross-cultural training should be given to all expatriate trainers not suitably familiar with the local culture, customs and traditions. This study also revealed that competence in communicating in the English language is a major factor in determining which employees are selected for management development and the extent to which they are likely to benefit from being on a management development programme. Most assessors, verifiers and centre co-ordinators agreed
(some reluctantly) that they have sometimes had to lower their expectations of the language ability of candidates. At the present time, none of the British awarding bodies operating in the Gulf region have issued clear and detailed guidelines on the extent to which this is permissible or desirable. It may be argued, however, that if the prime objective of management development is to improve management performance then some flexibility with regard to language is sensible. Some managers may not even use or need to use English in their place of work. There are, however, a variety of strategies that may be adopted to help trainees overcome the language barrier. Holm and Strauss (1998) identified as possible strategies teaching trainees English, using more demonstrations and videos, using a combination of training techniques and translating materials into Arabic. The last suggestion is what one enterprising NEBSM centre in Kuwait has recently done; it had the entire NEBSM syllabi and guidelines translated into Arabic and it is now accredited to deliver the programmes in Arabic. There is evidence to suggest that other centres should also review their management development strategy and delivery and then make appropriate changes which will improve the effectiveness of their provision.
References
Abed, I., Vine, P. and Vine P. (Eds) (1996), The United Arab Emirates Handbook 1996-1997, Trident Press, London. Holm, K. and Strauss, C. (1998), ``Industrial training issues in the Middle East'', Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 30 No. 7, pp. 242-5 NEBS Management (1998), NEBS Management Programme Guidelines, NEBS Management, London. Wilkins, S. (2001), ``International briefing 9: Training and development in the United Arab Emirates'',
International Journal of Training and Development,
Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 153-65.
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