Abbas J. Ali

Islamic work ethic: a critical review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a coherent but critical treatment of Islamic work ethic (IWE). It explores the nature of IWE in the context of cultural and political evolution and offers a cultural and religious perspective pertaining to organization and management.Design/methodology/approach – It briefly investigates the economic and cultural conditions that facilitate the emergence of work ethics and the centrality of trade in Islamic culture. The paper, then, reviews the pillars and foundations of IWE and investigates various empirical studies conducted in various countries.Findings – IWE has economic as well as moral and social dimensions. These along with basic elements of IWE seem to provide the faithful with a sense of worthiness and strengthen organizational commitment and continuity. That is, work is viewed not as an end in itself, but as a means to foster personal growth and social relations.Practical implications – Offers managers and consults various avenues on how to design ...

Islamic Perspectives on Management and Organization

The dynamics of the global business environment necessitate that organizational assumptions and underpinnings are understood in their socio-cultural context. This pioneering book covers issues related to Islamic assumptions about organization and management, enabling readers to understand the challenges in managing corporations that operate in an Islamic environment.

Decision-Making Style, Individualism, and Attitudes toward Risk of Arab Executives

In their quest to better understand managers and their work around the globe, researchers have made significant progress in the methodological and conceptual domains of international and cross-cultural management. They have called our attention to the need for theories and instruments customized to capture attributes of a particular culture or society (e.g., Adler, 1983; Ali, 1987; Hofstede, 1980; Sekaran, 1983). In this study, three important work-related attitudes have been recognized as crucial for managerial performance, namely, decision-making style, identification with the philosophy of individualism, and risk taking. An extensive review of the literature indicates that there has not

Management Theory in a Transitional Society: the Arab’s Experience

Students of international comparative management have long recognized the impact of industrialization on developing nations. They detect that, in their quest for economic progress, the developing countries would face managerial and social problems. In the context of management, two issues stand out: the transfer of Western management techniques and practices, and the selection of appropriate models to achieve ambitious developmental goals. Among the developing nations, the Arab states provide a unique setting for social-science analysis and study, due to the complexity, direction, and rate of changes. Oil-based wealth has changed Arab societies, but its effects have not yet been sufficiently scrutinized (Ibrahim, 1982). The discovery of oil and the dramatic increases in oil revenue after 1973, while solving some of the economic problems of the Arab countries, created a totally new set of social problems (e.g., abrupt change in societal structure and lifestyle). The latter are

The Islamic Work Ethic in Arabia

ABSTRACT In an examination of the Islamic Work Ethic and the Individualism Scale (Ali, 1988) among 117 managers in Saudi Arabia, I found that the managers were highly committed to the Islamic Work Ethic and showed a moderate tendency toward individualism. In addition, the results provided further evidence of the reliability of both measures and that they were significantly and positively related to each other. Demographic and organizational variables had a minimal influence on managerial orientations.

Cultural Discontinuity and Arab Management Thought

Ali (1990) took the position that Arab management thought is fragmented and suffers from direction and identity problems. This position was strengthened during the Kuwaiti crisis (1990-91), its aftermath, and problems associated with the sharp decline in oil revenue after 1982 (e.g., curtailing public spending, privatization of state enterprises, and shift in group alliances). The crises were deep and uncovered how susceptible the Arab states were to foreign influences, pointing not only to the impotency of Arab political thought, but also to the failure of Arab economic and social systems and their inadequacy to deal with internal and external threats. The failure has various practical and theoretical implications for business. The most important one is that management thinking has not made progress in analyzing or in anticipating major events. That is, Arab scholars failed to predict the severity of the economic pressures faced by the Arab regimes, their foreign debt crisis, their urgent needs for cash flow, and their international and external obligations and expectations. There is general agreement among management scholars that there is no culture-free theory of management (Hofstede, 1993). Management is a product of individuals whose understanding is influenced by societal values, beliefs, norms, and work and social experiences. In societies where sociopolitical environment is conducive to business growth and development, management thinking has evolved into fairly

Islamic work ethic in Kuwait

Purpose – To investigation the centrality of islamic work ethic (IWE) in the lives of managers in Kuwait and provide a useful insight into the nature of work environment and organizational culture.Design/methodology/approach – The participants were 762 managers randomly selected from government and private sectors. Among participants 50 per cent were female; 73 per cent were Kuwaitis. Two measures were used: IWE and Loyalty scales. Correlation analysis and one‐way multivariate analysis along with frequency distribution were used to analyze the data.Findings – The results indicated that managers scored high on IWE and loyalty scales. There was a positive high correlation between the two measures. Demographic and organizational variables had significant influence on managerial orientations. In particular, it was found that expatriates scored higher than Kuwaiti managers on both IWE and loyalty and men scored relatively higher than women on IWE.Practical implications – Based on findings specific implications...

Organizational development in the Arab world

The Arab world has been a centre of international attention since the discovery there of oil in the early 1990s. Issues related to Arab management styles, practices and work orientations are neither known nor understood outside the region. Cross cultural negotiations and organization development activities are therefore carried out less effectively than they otherwise could be. Addresses the application of organizational development (OD) in the Arab world, specifies the peculiarity of the change process in the Arab world, and identifies certain societal qualities and their implications for OD practitioners/consultants.

Decision Style and Work Satisfaction of Arab Gulf Executives: A Cross-national Study

Work satisfaction and managerial decision style are crucial to the functioning of business organizations, and studies of these variables have been receiving increasing attention. Work satisfaction is closely related to individual well-being and is a major variable in organizational life. It is naturally a popular topic in both applied and theoretical studies [1-3]. Decision-making is probably the most important function of the manager, as it is the variable upon which the success or failure of any organization depends [4-5]. Increasing organizational effectiveness requires an understanding of the individuals perception of his job. Performance depends in large part on how individual managers are able to adjust to the psychological aspects of jobs, such as the types of rewards received, stress, and the perceived expectations of other members of the organization [6]. While psychological and behavioral problems are readily identifiable in many developing nations, most research in the behavioral sciences has been conducted in industrially advanced countries [7]. In their quest for economic progress, developing nations face major problems in improving the quality of work life, productivity,

Expatriates and host country nationals: managerial values and decision styles

Investigates managerial value systems and decision styles among expatriate and indigenous managers in the UAE. Provides support for the proposition that differences among expatriate and host country nationals are manifested in their value systems. Indicates that Arab expatriate and national managers display a high preference for participative and pseudo‐participative styles while foreign expatriates show a high commitment to consultative style. Finds work values to be significantly related to some decision styles.