J. Finlay

“My father knows the Minister”: A comparative study of Arab women's attitudes towards leadership authority

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature on Arab womens conceptions of leadership. By comparing womens leadership authority values in three Arab countries, the paper aims to refine existing gender‐neutral research on leadership in the “Arab world”.Design/methodology/approach – The study involved administering a survey, which had been developed based on Webers work on authority (1978) and contemporary discussions of implicit leadership theories (ILT). The data (n=320) were drawn from female subjects who were enrolled in upper‐division business major classes in three countries, Oman, Lebanon and the UAE The women thus constituted educated entrants to their respective labor markets. The data were subjected to an analysis of group means on each of the questions, using the Scheffe option available in ANOVA.Findings – The analysis found evidence of common leadership authority values in the Gulf countries (Oman and the UAE). Lebanon, meanwhile, was distinguished by relatively low...

AMERICAN HEGEMONY AND BUSINESS EDUCATION IN THE ARAB WORLD

To what extent is American business education “hegemonic” in the Arab world? To answer this, the authors examine whether Lebanese people exposed to American-style business education share the values implicit in their textbooks and teaching resources. Finding evidence for such values among Lebanese business students and working people alike, they argue that American business education is not only externally dominant; it is also internally hegemonic in its influences on local Arab values. The authors examine the problems American hegemony causes in Arab classrooms and discuss how problem-based learning provides an alternative and more relevant learning experience for Arab students.

How Business Students View Corruption, and Why This Should Concern Us: Insights from Lebanon, Romania and the United States.

When seeking to understand corruption in its ongoing temporal context, it is useful to consider business students. Because of their high numbers and the kinds of jobs they enter, they have a key role to play in challenging or sustaining corruption in their societies. This exploratory study focuses on these people in three countries in different regions — the USA, Romania and Lebanon — and asks ‘How does long-standing corruption in a country shape their attitudes toward bribery?’ Using a case-study methodology structured along four theoretical perspectives — universalism, cultural relativism, ethical relativism and consequentialism — the study suggests that, when viewed from a universalist perspective, students in corrupt societies may be more tolerant of corrupt practice than those living in less corrupt countries. Thus, rather depressingly, those who should be part of the solution may actually be part of the problem.