Aminu Mamman

Emiratization as a strategic HRM change initiative: case study evidence from a UAE petroleum company

Nationalization programmes that are designed to encourage and support the employment of nationals in preference to expatriates have become a key feature of HRM throughout the Middle East, with countries such as Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates adopting politically led nationalization initiatives. A literature review is presented that identifies a dearth of academic research relating to these initiatives within the context of the Middle East. The paper argues that this weakness in international HRM literature has implications both within the Middle East and in terms of more general international theory building in relation to issues such as the transferability of HRM systems and practices. In later sections of the paper, a case study of Emiratization in practice is presented with a view to identifying and exploring issues surrounding the implementation and evaluation of organizationally based Emiratization programmes. The case study findings demonstrate some of the complexities surrounding issues such as management commitment, quantitative evaluation methods, resistance to change and the role of expatriates in implementing Emiratization programmes. A number of implications and subjects for future research into Emiratization are identified. These implications relate to: the reasons underlying the scarcity of HRM literature on nationalization initiatives; emotional perspectives on nationalization methodologies; strategies for dealing with resistance to nationalization within organizations; issues surrounding the design of Emiratization programmes; and the role of expatriates as key stakeholders in nationalization programmes.

Attitudes to pay systems:an exploratory study within and across cultures

The present study investigates employees’preferences for criteria that are used in pay systems, namely, performance, cost of living, tenure, educational qualification, collective bargaining, skill, market rate, responsibility and special demands. The study also explored variation and similarities of employees’preferences for the criteria across four countries, namely Australia (N = 162), Indonesia (N = 100), Malaysia (N = 129) and Hong Kong (N = 39). The results indicate that the respondents prefer multiple criteria to determine their pay. Preferences for length of service and educational attainment were found to be significantly different across countries, particularly between Australian and Asian samples (Indonesian and Malaysia). This variation is, in part, attributed to cultural differences. Other variables, such as age, educational qualification, position, and industry sector, have been found to be significant correlates of preference for pay systems. Implications for reward management have been disc...

Transferability of Management Innovation to Africa A Study of Two Multinational Companies’ Performance Management System in Nigeria

Horwitz et al. (2006: 807) have argued that ‘the debate regarding convergence/divergence perspectives in the cross-cultural diffusion of human resource management (HRM) practices is a somewhat simplistic one.’ The authors are of the view that because convergent similarity of HRM practice exists at a nominal level, the notions of hybridization and crossvergence are better in explaining HRM practices and their diffusion across countries. While the authors focused on exploring explanations of the differences in HRM practices, the article provocatively challenges researchers and experts to explore the question of whether Multinational Companies (MNCs) should adapt Human Resource Management Innovation (HRMI) and if so, why? And how? The main aim of this article is to investigate the following questions: (a) Given that MNCs transfer HRMI to developing countries, which policy should guide the transfer (polycentric or ethnocentric?); and (b) Given that host-country nationals (HCNs) are not passive recipients of HRMI, what are the implications of the policy (polycentric or ethnocentric) for MNCs? The result of our investigation and the review of literature suggest that the MNCs’ performance management (PM) policies are partially ethnocentric, but the practice, as perceived by some HCNs (employees), is polycentric. For example, some HCNs perceive some degree of nepotism and patronage in the system. Also, many felt that their line managers were biased against them. Similarly, a significant number of HCNs felt that their views are not taken into account during PM review and they do not receive feedback from their managers. The implications of the findings are then discussed.

Managerial perceptions of the role of the human resource function in Sri Lanka: a comparative study of local, foreign-owned and joint-venture companies

As debates on HRM continue, we contend that a number of important issues have not been given the adequate attention they deserve. One of the neglected issues, which we seek to explore in this paper, is the question of whether HRM models are being practised in developing countries. The specific context for the research is Sri Lanka. Therefore, the central objective of this paper is to explore one main research question, which is: To what extent does HRM play a significant role in organizational strategy processes in Sri Lankan organizations? The research is guided by four hypotheses. The hypotheses are based on the assumption that local Sri Lankan organizations will differ from MNCs in the way they deal with and practice HRM. The findings from the investigation reveal no significant differences between MNCs and local companies in relation to the research questions. The implications of the findings are discussed within the context of diffusion and convergence of management practices and the role of drivers of globalization.

Contradictions in international tertiary strategic alliances: the case from down under

Reports the dilemma faced by Australian universities in their international strategic alliance effort. While the 22 respondent universities espouse such motives as altruism, scholarship, and expansion into new markets as the reasons for entering into international strategic alliances, the true motives appear to be at variance with the former. Arguably, until the contradictions between the espoused and true positions are resolved, Australian universities may not realise the full potential of their international collaborative activities. Suggestions for resolving the discrepancy are offered.

Factors hindering the adoption of HIV/AIDS workplace policies: evidence from private sector companies in Malawi

Private sector companies have a role to play in addressing HIV/AIDS in Africa. This is because the epidemic has a disproportionate effect on the most productive segment of the workforce. However, in Africa many companies are yet to acknowledge and respond to HIV/AIDS as workplace issue. Therefore, there is a merit in a systematic investigation of why some companies are reluctant to adopt a formal HIV/AIDS workplace policy. This paper sought to fill this gap in the literature. Using a random sample of 152 private companies in Malawi, the paper investigated managerial perspective on the internal and external variables that relate to the non-adoption of HIV/AIDS workplace policy. The findings revealed that internal factors rather than external variables provide better explanatory power as to why some organizations do not adopt the policy. The implications of the findings have been discussed within the context of resource-based, resource dependence and institutional theories, as well as the current limitations in organizational innovation literature and the role of human resource practitioners in African organizations.

Managerial Views on Government Intervention in Malaysia: The Relevance of Ethnic and Employment Backgrounds

In the last decade globalization has become a major issue both in theory and in practice. Many business organizations and governments alike have been confronted by organized activists who view globalization as a monster not to be revered but to be afraid of (Greening and Gray, 1994). This is because one of the manifestations of globalization is the blurring of economic boundaries and the diminishing traditional role of national governments. For example, in his widely cited book The End of the Nation State, Ohmae (1995) argues that globalization is an early sign of the end of the traditional role of government as we know it. Wolf (1999: 178) also argued that ‘A spectre is haunting the world’s governments – the spectre of globalization. Some argue that predatory market forces make it impossible for benevolent governments to shield their populations from the beats of prey that lurk beyond their borders. Others counter that benign market forces actually prevent predatory governments fleecing their citizens.’ However these assertions and speculations are not grounded in empirical evidence. There is a dearth of literature on the implications of globalization. In particular, speculations on what the role of government should or should not be in the global economy do not take into account the views of those who significantly help to run the economy, for example managers. For example, although business leaders and chief executive officers (CEOs) of big organizations shape and sometimes initiate government policies through their association with those holding political office, the views of such influential people on government policies have not been adequately investigated. It should be pointed out, however, that a handful of researchers have made significant attempt to address the lack of literature on this important topic (see Kanter, 1991; Poole et al., 1994; 1995; Poole and Mansfield, 1993; Poole et al., 1981, 1982). In spite of their contribution, more research is needed, especially across countries, to improve our understanding of this important topic. Therefore, the broad aim of the present study is to contribute to the literature by exploring a sample of Malaysian managers’ attitudes to the role of government in the economy. Hopefully the study will answer questions such as: What is the view of managers regarding what

Is Ulrich's Model Useful In Understanding HR Practitioners' Roles In Non-Western Developing Countries? An Exploratory Investigation Across Private And Public Sector Organizations In The Sultanate Kingdom Of Oman

This study set out to explore whether Ulrichs model is useful in understanding HR roles in non-western developing countries such as Oman. The study surveyed a random sample of 780 HR practitioners, line managers and employees from public and private sector organizations. In addition 12 HR practitioners and managers were interviewed to supplement the data collected from the survey. The findings indicate that HR practitioners in Oman perform all the roles. However, ‘strategic partner’ is the least performed role. The findings also indicate that HR practitioners in the private sector are more likely to perform all the five roles to a greater extent than their counterparts in the public sector. We also found partial support for our proposition that HR practitioners in the public sector would play more ‘operational’ roles (e.g. employee advocate or functional expert) than ‘strategic’ roles (i.e. strategic partner or HR leader). The study revealed that Ulrichs model is robust enough to help in the understanding of HR roles in a non-western, developing country context. The findings are discussed within the context of institutional and cultural frameworks. The paper argues for more research to improve the understanding of how socio-economic and cultural factors influence HR roles and how they are performed.

Managerial Perspective on the Impact of Globalization in an African Commercial Bank: Implications for Strategy Implementation.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceived impact of globalization amongst Nigerian bank managers and professionals. Managerial and organizational cognition (MOC) literature is used to evaluated perceptions of impact.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a survey methodology to gather the information needed to achieve the objectives of the paper. Descriptive statistics and statistical analyses are used to evaluate various relationships.Findings – Respondents view the outcome of globalization as unfair. They also view globalization as endangering the economy and cultural values of Nigeria. However, they see the benefits of globalization in terms of transfer of good management and business practices as well as flow of foreign direct investment. They also seem to believe that globalization is open enough to accommodate other economic and political systems. However, they also believe that globalization hinders nation states to formulate polices favourable to the economy. Simi...

Exploring the meanings of globalization in Beijing

The purpose of this article is to investigate the meaning of globalization from the Chinese point of view. Managerial and organizational cognition literature suggests that the decisions of individuals (for example, managers) are the basis for understanding organizational strategy and behaviour. Therefore, the concept of meaning is vital to the understanding of why and how managers, policymakers and policy influencers react to a phenomenon such as globalization. In other words, it might be possible, within reason, to predict managers’, policymakers’ and policy implementers’ decisions and actions by understanding the meaning they attach to globalization rather than explain their decisions or actions afterwards. Our investigation of the meaning of globalization using a sample of Chinese professionals, managers and business people is an attempt to explore this possibility.