The Influence of Societal and Organizational Culture … › 85bd › c531fb70e565fed...The...

The Influence of Societal and Organizational Culture on Employment Equity:

The Case of the Public Sector in the Sultanate of Oman

A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Human Resources Management

in the Faculty of Humanities

2012

by

Nasser Mohammed Ali Al-Badri

School of Environment and Development

Institute for Development Policy and Management

2

Contents

List of figures ........................................................................................................... 6

List of Tables ............................................................................................................ 7

List of Abbreviation ............................................................................................... 10 Abstract ........................................................................................................................... 13

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 17 Dedication ....................................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................. 19

1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 19 1.1 Defining the Main Concepts (The Terminology) ............................................. 22 1.2 Oman on the Map ............................................................................................. 24 1.3 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................. 24 1.4 Knowledge Gap and the Anticipated Contribution of the Study ...................... 26

1.4.1 Management and Cultural Studies ..................................................................... 26 1.4.2 Organizational Justice, Ethics and Employment Equity Studies ....................... 29 1.4.3 Middle Eastern and Arab World studies ............................................................ 30

1.5 Aims and Objectives ........................................................................................ 33 1.6 Structure of the Thesis ...................................................................................... 34

Chapter Two Literature Review of Culture .................................................................... 35

2.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 35 2.1 The Role of Culture .......................................................................................... 35

2.2 The Meaning of Culture ................................................................................... 36 2.3 National Culture ............................................................................................... 38 2.4 Organizational Culture ..................................................................................... 39

2.5 Cultural Dimensions ......................................................................................... 40 2.5.1 Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck cultural orientations ................................................ 41

2.5.2 Hofstede cultural dimensions ............................................................................. 42 2.5.3 World Values Survey (WVS) ............................................................................. 44 2.5.4 Schwartz's value dimensions .............................................................................. 45

2.5.5 GLOBE study ..................................................................................................... 46

2.5.6 Reasons for choosing GLOBE cultural dimensions in this study ...................... 46 2.6 Culture and management: ................................................................................. 59 2.7 Arab and Middle Eastern Culture ..................................................................... 61

2.8 The Dilemma of Culture and Management in the Middle East ....................... 65 2.9 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 67

Chapter Three Literature Review of Employment Equity .............................................. 69

3.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 69 3.1 Organizational Justice (OJ) .............................................................................. 70

3.2 Employment Equity and Human Resource Management ................................ 73 3.3 The Importance of Equity in Employment ....................................................... 75 3.4 Employment Equity Approaches ...................................................................... 76

3.4.1 Conceptual introduction to EEO and AA ........................................................... 79 3.4.2 Diversity Management (DM) ............................................................................. 82

3.5 Employment Discrimination ............................................................................ 86 3.6 Effects of Discrimination at a Group Level ..................................................... 89

3.6.1 Gender ................................................................................................................ 89 3.6.2 Race, ethnicity, and class ................................................................................... 90 3.6.3 Age ..................................................................................................................... 91 3.6.4 Disability ............................................................................................................ 91 3.6.5 Personal orientation ............................................................................................ 91

3.7 Critical Factors Behind Successful Implementation of Equity in Employment92

3

3.7.1 Having a national policy for equal employment ................................................ 92 3.7.2 Management and leadership support .................................................................. 94

3.7.3 Eliminating corruption in the workplace ............................................................ 96 3.7.4 Social system support ......................................................................................... 97 3.7.5 Eliminating the negative impact of stereotype, prejudice and demographic role

..................................................................................................................................... 98

3.7.6 Positive psychological climate ......................................................................... 101 3.7.7 Eliminating wasta ............................................................................................. 102

3.8 Culture and EE ............................................................................................... 103 3.9 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 106

Chapter Four The context of the study: Culture and equal employment opportunities in

Oman ............................................................................................................................. 109 4: 0 Introduction ................................................................................................... 109 4.1 Oman on the Map ........................................................................................... 110 4.2 Societal structure and Equality ....................................................................... 111

4.2.1 Historical influences ......................................................................................... 112

4.2.2 Islam from family to the state .......................................................................... 113 4.2.3 Grouping (tribes, ethnicity, and classes) .......................................................... 115 4.2.4 Gender .............................................................................................................. 119

4.2.5 Globalization .................................................................................................... 121 4.3 Institutional Structure and Equality ................................................................ 122 4.4 Demography ................................................................................................... 124

4.5 Economy and Human Development ............................................................... 126 4.6 Current Issues of EE in the Omani Public Sector .......................................... 127 4.7 The Administrative Judgment Court .............................................................. 131

4.8 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 132 Chapter Five Research Methodology ............................................................................ 134

5.0 Introduction .................................................................................................... 134 5.1 Philosophical Assumptions ............................................................................ 135

5.2 Research Methods .......................................................................................... 136 5.3 Research Question .......................................................................................... 138

5.4 Research Framework ...................................................................................... 140 5.4.1 Hypotheses ....................................................................................................... 140

5.5 Using a Survey ............................................................................................... 144 5.5.1 Developing the questionnaire ........................................................................... 144

5.6 Using the Case Study ..................................................................................... 149 5.6.1 Why a single case study? ................................................................................. 150 5.6.2 Why Royal Court Affairs (RCA)? ................................................................... 152 5.6.3 Semi-structured interviews ............................................................................... 153

5.7 Pilot Study ...................................................................................................... 154

5.8 Research Population and Sampling ................................................................ 154 5.9 Data Analysis ................................................................................................. 158 5.10 Accessibility ................................................................................................. 159

5.11 Data Collection Process ................................................................................ 160 5.11.1 Collecting quantitative data (the questionnaire) ............................................ 160 5.11.2 Collecting Qualitative Data (Semi-Structured Interviews) ............................ 166

5.12 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 167

Chapter six Study result (1): Societal and organizational culture in Oman (analysis and

discussion) ..................................................................................................................... 168 6.0 Introduction .................................................................................................... 168

6.1 Cultural dimensions in Oman at societal and organizational levels ............... 171

4

6.1.1 Performance Orientation (PO) ......................................................................... 172 6.1.2 Future Orientation (FO) ................................................................................... 175

6.1.3 Gender Egalitarianism (GE) ............................................................................. 179 6.1.4 Assertiveness (AS) ........................................................................................... 181 6.1.5 Institutional Collectivism (C1) ......................................................................... 184 6.1.6 In-group Collectivism (C2) .............................................................................. 185

6.1.7 Power Distance (PD) ........................................................................................ 188 6.1.8 Humane Orientation (HO) ................................................................................ 191 6.1.9 Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) ........................................................................... 194

6.2 Discussion ...................................................................................................... 196 6.3 Oman societal culture and the GLOBE study ................................................ 200

6.4 Societal culture (Oman and Middle Eastern cluster) ...................................... 206 6.5 Correlation between cultural dimensions for societal and organizational

cultures ...................................................................................................................... 211 6.6: Managers and Employees .............................................................................. 215 6.7 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 224

Chapter seven Study result (2): Employment Equity in Oman (Analysis and

Discussion) .................................................................................................................... 225 7.0 Introduction .................................................................................................... 225

7.1 Employment Equity in the Omani Public Sector ........................................... 228 7.1.1 Providing clear equal opportunities policy (CEOP) ......................................... 229 7.1.2 Providing leadership and organizational support (LOS) .................................. 230

7.1.3 Eliminating corruption (EC) ............................................................................ 232 7.1.4 Social system support (SSS) ............................................................................ 234 7.1.5 Eliminating the negative impact of Stereotype, prejudice and demographic role

(ESPDR) .................................................................................................................... 236 7.1.6 Enhancing Positive Psychological Climate (EPPC) ........................................ 239

7.1.7 Eliminating Wasta (EW) .................................................................................. 241 7.2 Correlation between critical success factors .................................................. 243

7.3 General view on adopting employment equity programs in the Omani public

sector ......................................................................................................................... 246

7.4 The Influence of Culture on Employment Equity .......................................... 251 7.4.1 Culture and critical success factors towards EE .............................................. 252 7.4.2 Employment equity in general ......................................................................... 257

7.5 Conclusion: ..................................................................................................... 264

Chapter Eight Summary of Results and Conclusion ..................................................... 265 8.0 Introduction .................................................................................................... 265 8.1 Culture and Employment Equity .................................................................... 267 8.2 The main results of the study ......................................................................... 269

8.2.1 First Objective .................................................................................................. 269

8.2.2 Second Objective ......................................................................................... 272 8.2.3 Third objective ................................................................................................. 273 8.2.4 Fourth objective ............................................................................................... 274

8.2.5 Fifth objective .................................................................................................. 275 8.2.6 Sixth Objective ................................................................................................. 276

8.3 Gap and Contribution to Existing Knowledge ............................................... 278 8.3.1 Management and Cultural Studies ................................................................... 279

8.3.2 Organizational justice, ethics and employment equity studies ........................ 281 8.3.3 Middle Eastern and Arab World Studies ......................................................... 282

8.4 Limitations of the Study ................................................................................. 283

8.5 Recommendations of the Study ...................................................................... 284

5

8.6 Recommendations for Further Study ............................................................. 285 8.7 Final Remarks ................................................................................................. 285

References ..................................................................................................................... 287 Appendix 1: Oman, the ongoing changes .................................................................... 305 Appendix 2 Letter and Guiding Questions for Interviewing General Managers .......... 306 Appendix 3 A Questionnaire Alpha: The Influence of Culture on Adopting Effective

Policies and Practices toward Employment Equity ...................................................... 308 Appendix 3 B Questionnaire Beta................................................................................. 331

6

List of figures

Figure 1: Middle Eastern cluster result in GLOBE study. ..................................... 64

Figure 2: Three models of justice ........................................................................... 73

Figure 3: Geographical situation of Oman ........................................................... 111

Figure 4: Distribution of Omani population among different governorates and

regions ....................................................................................................................... 125

Figure 5: Overall conceptual model for the study ................................................ 140

Figure 6: Components of Data Analysis: Interactive Model ................................ 159

Figure 7: Likert Scale ........................................................................................... 160

Figure 8: Culture absolute scale evaluation ......................................................... 160

Figure 9: EE Scale evaluation .............................................................................. 161

Figure 10: Distribution of sample size by age ...................................................... 163

Figure 11: Distribution of sample size by gender ................................................ 163

Figure 12: Distribution of sample size by place of birth ...................................... 164

Figure 13: Distribution of sample by place of work ............................................ 164

Figure 14: Distribution of sample by education level .......................................... 165

Figure 15: Distribution of sample by experience ................................................. 166

Figure 16: Distribution of sample by occupation ................................................. 166

Figure 17: Correlation between societal and organizational cultural dimensions

and EE at the level of practice................................................................................... 277

7

List of Tables

Table 1: McSweeney's Criticisms and Hofstede‘s Reply ....................................... 44

Table 2: The two versions of GLOBE study questionnaire ................................... 46

Table 3: Main differences between Hofstede and GLOBE studies ........................ 48

Table 4: High performance versus low performance orientation ........................... 51

Table 5: High future versus low future orientation ................................................ 52

Table 6: High versus low gender egalitarianism .................................................... 53

Table 7: High versus low assertiveness .................................................................. 54

Table 8: Individualism versus collectivism between societies ............................... 55

Table 9: Individualism versus collectivism between organizations ....................... 56

Table 10: High versus low power distance ............................................................ 57

Table 11: High versus low human orientation ....................................................... 58

Table 12: High versus low uncertainty avoidance ................................................. 59

Table 13: Types of organizational justice .............................................................. 71

Table 14: The differences between liberal and radical views of equal opportunities

policies ........................................................................................................................ 77

Table 15: Comparison between main features of EEO, AA, and diversity ............ 84

Table 16: A comparison between AA, EE, and MD .............................................. 85

Table 17: Relation between cultural dimensions and low corruption .................... 97

Table 18: Correlation between organizational culture (practice) and attitude toward

diversity ..................................................................................................................... 105

Table 19: Correlation between cultural dimensions and attitude toward diversity at

organizational practice level and CPI (low corruption) at national practice level .... 105

Table 20: Philosophical positions ......................................................................... 135

Table 21: Different Types of Mixed Methods Approach ..................................... 138

Table 22: Sub-divisions of Hypothesis 9 ............................................................. 143

Table 23: Divisions of Hypothesis 10 .................................................................. 144

Table 24: Influence of Omani national culture on HRM ..................................... 147

Table 25: Part B in section five of this study questionnaire ................................. 148

Table 26: Five misunderstanding points about using a single case study ............ 151

Table 27: Breakdown of Civil Service Employees (Including RCA) .................. 155

Table 28: Omani Civilian Employees in the CS and RCA .................................. 155

Table 29: Breakdown of RCA Employees ........................................................... 156

Table 30: Groupings of Civilian Employees at Supervisory and Leadership Levels157

Table 31: The Research Sample ........................................................................... 158

Table 32: Valid percentage of questionnaire respondents .................................... 162

Table 33: Measures of performance orientation societal culture practice (As Is) 173

Table 34: Items measuring performance orientation societal culture practice (As

Is) .............................................................................................................................. 176

Table 35: Items measuring gender egalitarianism societal culture practice (As Is)180

Table 36: Items measuring assertiveness societal culture practice (As Is) .......... 182

Table 37: Items measuring institutional collectivism societal culture practice (As

Is) .............................................................................................................................. 185

Table 38: Items measuring in-group collectivism societal culture practice (As Is)186

Table 39: Items measuring power distance societal culture practice (As Is) ....... 190

Table 40: Items measuring human orientation societal culture practice (As Is) .. 192

Table 41: Items measuring uncertainty avoidance societal culture practice (As Is)195

Table 42: Main results for societal and organizational cultures in Oman ............ 197



8

Table 45: Omani Societal culture practice (As–Is): Practice scores of Omani

societal culture compared with GLOBE mid-scores ................................................. 201

Table 46: Omani Societal culture value (Should Be): Value scores of Omani

societal culture compared with GLOBE mid-scores ................................................. 202

Table 47: GLOBE study bands, societal culture practice .................................... 202

Table 48: GLOBE study bands, societal culture values ....................................... 203

Table 49: Societal culture practice and value ....................................................... 204

Table 50: Results of Oman and GLOBE study in societal culture practice ......... 205

Table 51: Result of Oman and GLOBE study in societal culture value ............... 205

Table 52: Oman and Middle Eastern cluster (societal practices) ......................... 209

Table 53: Oman and Middle Eastern cluster (societal values) ............................. 210

Table 54: Correlation between cultural dimensions of societal practice .............. 211

Table 55: Correlation between cultural dimensions of societal value .................. 212

Table 56: Correlation between cultural dimensions of organizational practice ... 213

Table 57: Correlation between cultural dimensions of organizational value ....... 214

Table 58: Levene test of homogeneity of variances (organization practice) ....... 216

Table 59: ANOVA test (organizational practice) ................................................. 217

Table 60: Levene test of homogeneity of variances (organization value) ........... 218

Table 61: ANOVA test (organizational value) ..................................................... 219

Table 62: Levene test of homogeneity of variances (societal culture practice) ... 220

Table 63: ANOVA test (societal practice) ........................................................... 221

Table 64: Levene test of homogeneity of variances (societal culture value) ....... 222

Table 65: ANOVA test (societal value) ............................................................... 223

Table 66: Providing clear equal opportunities policy (CEOP) ............................. 229

Table 67: Statements assessing providing leadership and organizational support

(LOS) ........................................................................................................................ 231

Table 68: Eliminating corruption (EC) ................................................................ 233

Table 69: Social system support (SSS) ................................................................ 235

Table 70: Eliminating the negative impact of stereotype, prejudice and

demographic role (SPDR) ......................................................................................... 237

Table 71: Enhancing Positive Psychological Climate (PC) ................................. 239

Table 72: Eliminating wasta ................................................................................. 241

Table 73: Critical Success Factors (As Is) versus Critical Success Factors (Should

Be) ............................................................................................................................. 243

Table 74: Correlation between critical success factors (As Is) ............................ 244

Table 75: Correlation between critical success factors (Should Be) .................... 245

Table 76: Employment equity programmes ......................................................... 246

Table 77: Additional factors to improve EE in the Omani public sector ............. 248

Table 78: Correlation between societal culture and critical success factors towards

EE at the level of practice ......................................................................................... 252


EE at the level of value ............................................................................................. 253

Table 80: correlation between organizational culture and critical success factors

towards EE at the level of practice ............................................................................ 255

Table 81: Correlation between organizational culture and critical success factors

towards EE at the level of value ................................................................................ 256

Table 82: EE as viewed by questionnaire Beta participants ................................ 258

Table 83: EE as viewed by questionnaire Alpha's participants ............................ 258

Table 84: Pearson correlation (PC) between societal culture dimensions (SCD) and

organizational culture dimensions (OCD) with EE in general .................................. 259

Table 85: comparison between CADOP and CEEOP .......................................... 261

9

Table 86: Comparison between CLCSP, CWJEBSP, and CEESP ...................... 263

Table 87: Summary of objectives and findings .................................................... 266

Table 88: GLOBE cultural dimensions ................................................................ 269


Table 90: Main results for societal and organizational cultures in Oman (cont.) 270

Table 91: Main results for societal and organizational cultures in Oman (cont.) 271


Be) ............................................................................................................................. 274

Table 93: Employment equity programmes ......................................................... 275

01

List of Abbreviation

SC Societal Culture

OC Organizational Culture

EE Employment Equity

EEO Equal Employment Opportunity

EEP Employment Equity Programme

EOP Equal Opportunities Policy

AA Affirmative Action

DM Diversity management

ED Employment Discrimination

PO Performance Orientation

FO Future Orientation

GE Gender Egalitarianism

AS Assertiveness

In-C Institutional Collectivism

In-G In-Group Collectivism

PD Power Distance

HO Humane Orientation

UA Uncertainty Avoidance

POSP Performance Orientation Societal Practice

FOSP Future Orientation Societal Practice

GESP Gender Egalitarianism Societal Practice

ASSP Assertiveness Societal Practice

C1SP Institutional Collectivism Societal Practice

C2SP In-Group Collectivism Societal Practice

PDSP Power Distance Societal Practice

HOSP Humane Orientation Societal Practice

UASP Uncertainty Avoidance Societal Practice

POSV Performance Orientation Societal Value

FOSV Future Orientation Societal Value

GESV Gender Egalitarianism Societal Value

ASSV Assertiveness Societal Value

C1SV Institutional Collectivism Societal Value

C2SV In-Group Collectivism Societal Value

PDSV Power Distance Societal Value

HOSV Humane Orientation Societal Value

UASV Uncertainty Avoidance Societal Value

00

POOP Performance Orientation Organizational Practice

FOOP Future Orientation Organizational Practice

GEOP Gender Egalitarianism Organizational Practice

ASOP Assertiveness Organizational Practice

C1OP Institutional Collectivism Organizational Practice

C2OP In-Group Collectivism Organizational Practice

PDOP Power Distance Organizational Practice

HOOP Humane Orientation Organizational Practice

UAOP Uncertainty Avoidance Organizational Practice

POOV Performance Orientation Organizational Value

FOOV Future Orientation Organizational Value

GEOV Gender Egalitarianism Organizational Value

ASOV Assertiveness Organizational Value

C1OV Institutional Collectivism Organizational Value

C2OV In-Group Collectivism Organizational Value

PDOV Power Distance Organizational Value

HOOV Humane Orientation Organizational Value

UAOV Uncertainty Avoidance Organizational Value

CEOP Clear Equal Opportunities Policy

LOS Leadership and Organizational Support

EC Eliminating Corruption

SSS Social System Support

ESPDR Eliminating the negative impact of Stereotype, Prejudice and Demographic Role

EPPC Enhancing Positive Psychological Climate

EW Eliminating Wasta

CEOPP Clear Equal Opportunities Policy Practice

LOSP Leadership and Organizational Support Practice

ECP Eliminating Corruption Practice

SSSP Social System Support Practice

ESPDRP Eliminating the negative impact of Stereotype, Prejudice and Demographic Role

Practice

EPPCP Enhancing Positive Psychological Climate Practice

EWP Eliminating Wasta Practice Value

CEOPV Clear Equal Opportunities Policy Value

LOSV Leadership and Organizational Support Value

ECV Eliminating Corruption Value

SSSV Social System Support Value

02

ESPDRV Eliminating the negative impact of Stereotype, Prejudice and Demographic Role Value

EPPCV Enhancing Positive Psychological Climate Value

EWV Eliminating Wasta Value

03

Abstract This study aims to examine the degree of influence that societal and organizational

cultures, as specified by the GLOBE project, have on employment equity in the Omani

public sector. Therefore, a theoretical framework has been built and developed in two

main areas, which are culture and employment equity.

In addition, the methodology of the study has been designed to use both quantitative

and qualitative research approaches for triangulation. Quantitative data was collected

from a sample of 290 Omani civil servants representing several public organizations,

while qualitative data was collected in a single case study of Oman‘s Royal Court

Affairs (RCA) organization, 12 general managers from which were interviewed. The

independent variables were dimensions of societal and organizational culture, and the

dependent variables were employment equity in general, which includes seven critical

success factors behind employment equity. The analysis for the quantitative data was

carried out using SPSS software, while interviews were analysed manually due to the

small number of participants.

The results of the study confirm that societal and organizational cultures have

significant influence on employment equity (EE). However, not all cultural dimensions

have the same direction or degree of influence on employment equity. In fact, some of

these dimensions have no significant correlation with EE. Also, the study found that

there were no differences between managers‘ and employees‘ responses with regard to

34 cultural dimensions out of 36. The two dimensions in which the results differed

between these groups were Human Orientation and Future Orientation for

organizational culture value.

Additionally, the results show that participants believe that there is a real need for

higher EE in the Omani public sector as there were clear differences between current

practices of EE and how it should be. Moreover, there were significant positive

correlations between all seven critical success factors behind effective EE. This result

indicates that these factors are interacting between each other in a positive way.

Also, a suggested framework was developed to show how government and other

organizations could positively use and benefit from the influences of cultural

dimensions to enhance EE among employees. Researchers also could benefit from such

a framework as well as the overall findings of this thesis by using them as a starting

point for further research to fill the observed knowledge gap in this area.

04

Declaration

I hereby declare no part of this thesis has been submitted in support of another degree or

any other qualification of this or any other Institution.

05

Copyright

Copyright in the text of this thesis rests with the author. Copies (by any process) either

in full, or in part, may be made only in accordance with the instruction given by the

author. This page must form part of any such copies made. Further copies (by any

process) made in accordance with such instruction may not be made without the

permission (in writing) of the author.

06

Ownership of Intellectual Property Rights

The ownership of any intellectual property rights which may be described in this thesis

is vested in the University of Manchester, subject to any prior agreement to the

contrary, and may not be available for use by third parties without the written

permission of the University, which will prescribe the terms and conditions of any such

agreement.

07

Acknowledgements

My first thanks are to Allah, the most merciful, greatest Almighty.

I am indebted to my knowledgeable supervisor Dr. Chris Rees who exerted his great

efforts to consolidate this thesis as one united and valuable piece of work.

My extreme appreciation extends also to the government of Oman for the scholarship

award which has enabled me to pursue my PhD programme at the University of

Manchester.

In addition, I would also like to thank all the public sector organizations as well as all

Omani participants whom were engaged in the fieldwork and helped me in achieving

the targets of this thesis.

08

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this piece of work to my country Oman, my idealistic mother

Zanena Al-Rozaigi, my patient father Mohammed Al-Badri and my beloved children

Mohammed, Ghada, Munis, and Gharra.

09

Chapter 1:

Introduction

1.0 Introduction

This study examines the relationship between societal and organizational culture and

employment equity. This chapter first presents a general introduction to the main

concepts of the study. It will then define the terminology which will be used for the

purposes of the thesis. After that, the chapter will highlight gaps in the existing

literature on this subject as well as anticipated contributions from this study. Finally, the

main aim and the objectives of the research will be set out.

Social scientists, especially anthropologists and psychologists, take into

consideration the significant influences of culture when attempting to study

management and human behaviour (Segall et al., 1998; Aycan, 2000b; Nardon and

Steers, 2009; Wu, 2012). Therefore, culture has been considered as an essential

contributor in determining personal, managerial, and organizational behaviours (Ng et

al., 2007). Realising the importance of understanding national culture, during World

War II anthropologists were called in by the United States government to assist it in

understanding ‗the psyche of its enemy nations‘ (Hofstede and McCrae, 2004: 54).

Hofstede (1984) argues that several academic fields have paid a great amount of

attention to the complexity of societies since the middle of the nineteenth century.

Among the plurality of these disciplines, the nature of anthropology makes it the most

suitable discipline to act as the base of integrated contribution. However, the complexity

and the large differences between societies mean that anthropology in itself is

insufficient as a concept to provide an all-embracing framework for contributions from

the many other disciplines (Hofstede, 1984). Therefore, anthropologists, in parallel with

psychologists, tried to suggest a holistic approach that could be used to study either a

whole culture for one country, or the cross-cultural differences between

countries/societies. Mainly, two concepts were presented: ‗national character‘ and

‗national culture‘. The concept of ‗national culture‘, as Hofstede argues:

…is integrative and holistic; it uses information classified under any academic

discipline; it collects data by any method appropriate at the level of institutions

or individuals; but it tries to express the essence of cultural diversity among

different complex societies in a limited number of generally valid concepts.

(Hofstede 1984: 23)

21

National culture differs from national character as the former is able to explain

certain collective behaviours in one nation which might not necessarily represent the

national character.

An intense debate has arisen, and has not yet been resolved, in regard to the level of

analysis and whether, as one side of the debate argues, psychology deals only on the

level of the individual or small group, with anthropology being the discipline that deals

with large groups and the societal level (see, for example, Kessing, 1974; Hofstede,

1983b; Howard, 1991; Levine, 2007). Furthermore, although ‗psychological

anthropology‘ as a term was first suggested in the 1950s to bridge the gap between the

two academic fields as a cross-disciplinary dialogue in studying culture and population

behaviour, this cross-disciplinary combination still remains elusive (Levine, 2007).

Nevertheless, continuing attempts in this connection have been made by scholars from

different disciplines, including anthropologists, psychologists, psychological

anthropologists, business consultants, and political scientists, and each attempt has its

own criteria depending on the researcher‘s discipline and issues under investigation

(Hofstede and McCrae, 2004; Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005; Chokar et al., 2008).

Regardless of the variation in their disciplines, the theorists were in agreement on one

main goal which was to limit the concept of ‗culture‘ to a specific number of cultural

dimensions or preferences, which would then accordingly increase the capacity of

researchers to study or distinguish social behaviour as well as to solve societal

problems. As a result, several frameworks have been suggested as holistic approaches to

the study of national culture through valid, coherent, and measurable classified

dimensions. Interestingly, scholars have suggested different dimensions according to

which to study culture depending on the level of study and whether it targeted

individuals, societies, or organizations (see, for example, Hofstede, 1980; Schwartz,

1999; House et al., 2004). However, it is important to recognize, as Hofstede and

Hofstede (2005: 32) point out, that such multi-dimensional approaches do not in

themselves constitute a theory, but rather form a new paradigm, which is ‗one step

before a theory: a way of thinking that leads to developing theories‘. In the coming

chapters, the researcher will critically evaluate some of these attempts to develop

cultural theories as the study constructs its argument according to one of the latest of

such approaches, the GLOBE project. The GLOBE project will be discussed in more

detail in the context of other such studies, including Hofstede‘s cultural dimensions, in

Chapter 2.

20

The GLOBE study is a multi-phase, ten-year research project with the aim of

‗increasing available knowledge that is relevant to cross-cultural interactions‘ (House,

2004: 3). The study, as House states:

… has a very adequate dataset to replicate Hofstede‘s (1980) landmark study

and extend that study to test hypotheses relevant to relationships among

societal-level variables, organisational practices, and leader attributes and

behaviour. (House, 2004: xxv)

The data was collected from 62 different societies around the world with almost

17,000 responses involved in the project. For each country, the samples were chosen

from three main industries: food processing, financial services, and telecommunications

services (House et al., 2004). One of the important facts concerning the GLOBE study

is that its mechanism for the measurement of cultural dimensions in one society is not

based only on values, norms, and beliefs, but also on the economic, educational, and

legal systems, political attitude, and other institutional practices (Dickson et al., 2004).

As noted above, this study examines the relationship between societal and

organizational culture and employment equity. For the purpose of this thesis, societal

and organizational cultures are determined with reference to the dimensions of the

GLOBE project. As many authors have agreed, societal and organizational cultures

have great influence in directing people‘s behaviour and attitudes in a particular society

(Dickson et al., 2004). From a socio-psychological point of view, human behaviour, ‗is

a function of the person and the environment‘ (Triandis and Brislin, 1984: 1008) and

discrimination as a behaviour has therefore been categorized either under the social

psychology discipline (Linn, 1964) or as part of cognitive social psychology (Krieger,

1995). Furthermore, cultural dimensions like power distance, uncertainty avoidance,

individualism, and masculinity, ‗deal with issues that are relevant in psychology,

sociology, political science, and anthropology‘ (Hofstede, 1983b: 296). Hofstede noted

one empirical example of such influences when he observed the positive correlation

between secularization (loss of religion) in some Christian societies and the high degree

of femininity in these societies (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005: 153). These associations

between culture and some phenomena ‗are not gratuitous, they are mostly based on a

validation of the index scores of the countries on the four dimensions against findings in

comparative studies in the various disciplines‘ (Hofstede, 1983b: 297).

On the basis of the considerations above, this study is clearly positioned as taking as

its overarching principle what can be best described as psychological anthropology.

22

However, although this broad category will serve as a significant starting point for the

critical analysis, the complexity of the ingredients contained in each cultural dimension

will provide a contribution to knowledge that reaches beyond the confines of one

particular discipline and even beyond an integrated area between two disciplines.

Therefore this study will necessitate not merely a cross-disciplinary but a multi-

disciplinary approach drawing on contributions from other disciplines, including among

others those identified by Hofstede and discussed above – anthropology, political

science, psychology and sociology (Hofstede, 1983b).

The remaining sections of this chapter will provide an overview of the study,

including a statement of the problem, aims and objectives, gaps in theliterature, the

main aim of the study and specific objectives. To begin with, the main concepts will be

outlined and terminology defined, followed by a brief description the country under

study.

1.1 Defining the Main Concepts (The Terminology)

This study revolves around discovering the extent of the influence that societal and

organizational culture have on employment equity within the context of the public

sector in the Sultanate of Oman. Inevitably, there are numerous possible definitions of

the complex concepts which the study will build its argument around. However, in order

to better understand these concepts within the context of this study, the following

definitions will be used:

Culture refers to the ‗shared motives, values, beliefs, identities, and interpretations or

meanings of significant events that result from common experiences of members

of collectives and are transmitted across generations‘ (House and Javidan, 2004:

15).

Equity is defined here in the following terms: ‗All citizens are equal before the Law

and share the same public rights and duties. There is no discrimination between

them on the ground of gender, origin, colour, language, religion, sect, domicile, or

social status‘. (The Basic Statute of the State (Oman), Article 17).

Employment Equity: for the purposes of this thesis, Employment Equity is defined as

‗equal rights for and in employment for all individuals, focusing on all stages of

the employment relationship [application, recruitment, promotion, transfer,

training, health and safety, terms of employment, benefits, facilities and services,

grievances, disciplinary procedures and victimization, dismissals, redundancies,

23

and other unfavourable treatment of employees‘ (EOC, 1985, cited in Adams et

al., 1995: 88).

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is defined here as ‗providing equal treatment

to all applicants and employees regardless of their race, colour, sex, religion,

national origin, age, or disability‘ (Kleiman, 2000: 23).

Employment Equity Programme (EEP) is defined as ‗a comprehensive planning

process by an employer to identify and remove discrimination in employment

policies and practices, and to ensure appropriate representation of target groups

throughout the organization‘ (Falkenberg and Boland, 1997: 964).

Equal Opportunity (EO) is defined as ‗the concept of ensuring fair treatment for all

employees (or prospective employees) throughout the organization. It emphasizes

the importance of judging people according to the qualities, skills, and

competencies they possess, rather than prejudging them because of characteristics

such as gender, race/ethnicity, disability, age, or sexuality‘ (Dictionary of Human

Resource Management, Oxford Reference Online).

Affirmative Action (AA) is defined as ‗a generic term for programmes which take

some kind of initiatives either voluntarily or under the compulsion of law, to

increase, maintain, or rearrange the number or status of certain group members

usually defined by race or gender, within a larger group‘ (Jonson, 1990: 77, cited

in Bacchi, 1996: x).

Diversity management (DM): ‗a process intended to create and maintain a positive

work environment where the differences of individuals are valued so that all can

reach their potential and maximize their contributions to the organisations

strategic goals‘ (Dhami, et al., 2006: 14).

Employment Discrimination (ED): according to Kleiman (2000: 28–29) there are two

kinds of ED as previously specified by Ledvinka and Scarpello (1991), which are:

Disparate treatment: defined as ‗treating people unfairly based on their

membership in a protected group‘.

Disparate impact: defined as ‗any practice without business justification that

has unequal consequences for people of different protected groups‘.

These complicated concepts will be investigated in greater depth in the following

chapters.

24

1.2 Oman on the Map

Although the study will present an extensive explanation of Omani society and

institutions, a short introduction to the Sultanate is provided in this chapter. In brief, the

Sultanate of Oman is one of six Arab countries which together comprise the Gulf Co-

operation Council (GCC). Geographically, Oman is located in southwest Asia on the

southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The country borders the United Arab Emirates

on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest. The coast is

formed by the Arabian Sea on the south and east and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast.

According to the latest national population census held in 2003, the population of Oman

is approximately 2,340,815 and 23% of that number are non-Omanis

(www.mone.gov.om). The official language of the country is Arabic, and Islam is the

widespread religion.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Job satisfaction, trust between employees and management, organizational commitment,

organizational citizenship and many other important issues are importantly related to

equality and organizational justice (Skitka et al., 2003; Colquitt et al., 2001). This

fundamental relation predetermines the quality of employees‘ performance and

organizational outcomes. Unfair discrimination in the workplace strongly and adversely

affects the quality of performance and leads to inefficient outcomes at different levels.

Avery et al. (2008: 235) state that:

…Perceived workplace discrimination can be quite costly for individuals and

employers. For individuals, it can increase work tension, detract from

psychological and physical health, diminish job satisfaction, and lead to

stigmatization. For organizations, perceived discrimination can undermine

employee commitment and lessen organizational citizenship behaviour,

morale, and job performance. (2008: 235)

The Omani government continues to face numerous obstacles in implementing its

strategy of human development. Besides the inadequate level of the local workforce

when compared to the growing demand on the labour market and the high level of

unemployment, the failure to provide employment equity, particularly in terms of

gender equality, is a major obstacle (www.moneoman.gov.om and Oman Human

Development Report, 2003). Nevertheless, the government from its highest level has

been endeavoring to encourage equality among employees. For instance, the Sultan

25

raised the gender equality issue in his annual speech for the year 2009 in the Council of

the State, saying:

…Since the beginning of this era, to the participation of Omani women in the

march of the blessed renaissance, so we have provided them with education,

training and employment opportunities and supported their role and status in

society. We have also stressed the need for their contribution in various

development spheres. We have facilitated this through regulations and laws

that guarantee their rights and explain their duties in order to be able to

develop their inner abilities, expertise and skills to build their country and

raise its status. We are continuing on this path. (ONA, 2009)

However, despite the growing interest in human rights in the Arab world,

declarations from the highest governmental level in regard to employment equality,

international pressure from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and some other

global organizations, and the increasing participation of women in the workforce,

discrimination continues to be part and parcel of daily management practices. As many

authors argue, the Middle Eastern region is one that suffers particularly from the

absence of employment equity policies and the lack of a clear equality statement, which,

in turn, increases the difficulty in ensuring fair management practices (Al-Ghailani,

2005; Al-Asmi, 2008; Rees and Althakhri, 2008; Syed et al., 2009). In such an

ambiguous environment, employees continue to face a high degree of workplace

discrimination. Favouritism and nepotism (or wasta as it called in Arabic) in

management activities such as recruiting, training, promoting, or appraising are routine

aspects of management practice.

In addition, societal and organizational culture plays an intensive role in forming

management policies and managerial practices, which are in themselves the key to

success for any organization. Many scholars have emphasized that culture is ‗an

underlying challenge‘ and widely responsible for different behaviours that cause

inequality in the working environment (Ryan, 2006: 265). Looking at the Middle

Eastern region in general and Muslim and Arab countries in particular, the belief is the

same, and culture is also considered as a dominant factor in those places (Ali, 1996;

Tayeb, 1997). Cultural elements, such as religion and tribalism, play a serious role in

characterising Arab values, norms and behaviours (Mohamed et al., 2008; Rees and

Althakhri, 2008), and this spills over into workplace practices.

In fact, the provision of employment equity policies in terms of gender, race, age,

disability, class, and personal orientation, does not merely enhance equality and justice

26

among employees, but, from a broader viewpoint, it reflects positively on a country‘s

economy and political system. However, advances in this direction cannot be made

without understanding the level of cultural contribution to current discriminatory

practices since inequality in the Arab world has been always related to national culture.

Given this problem, this study will try to theoretically explore the extent of cultural

involvement in determining the degree of readiness of the Omani public sector in

respect of the adoption of employment equity. The investigation will lead to a better

understanding of the relationship between cultural dimensions, as specified by the

GLOBE project, and the existence of the phenomenon of negative employment

discrimination. Such understanding will enhance the country‘s ability to develop a clear

equality agenda and overcome the current cultural obstacles. It will also encourage

organizations to exert strong control over those who engage in workplace discrimination

in order to eradicate such practices, and to encourage equal treatment among employees

or potential employees. Pucetaite and Lamsa assert such a possibility, stating that:

…the attitudes, behaviour norms and principles that constitute work ethic in a

certain context may be changing due to pressures of the external environment

(e.g. growing society‘s expectations towards product quality) or may be

changed by internal, for instance, management‘s endeavours (e.g. training

programmes to enhance employees‘ competences). (Pucetaite and Lamsa,

2008: 326)

1.4 Knowledge Gap and the Anticipated Contribution of the Study

This study examines the complexity of the relationship between culture and the

adoption of the effective policies and practices required for progress toward equity in

employment opportunities and treatment. Employment equity and equality have

received much attention from several academic disciplines over many years, and the

attention directed to this issue in this study will add a new dimension, the Omani

cultural context, and by looking at this under-researched region will advance

scholarship in this area. Hence, the literature relating to both culture and employment,

and Middle Eastern studies, will be complemented by the outcomes of this study.

Specifically, the study aims to fill the gaps outlined below.

1.4.1 Management and Cultural Studies

There are several theories which attempt to understand and explain the kind of impact

that culture has on management practices, either in general or in terms of specific issues.

Aycan (2005) and Aycan et al. (2007) refer to numerous theories which have tried to

27

contribute to both fields, such as general systems theory, institutional theory, and

societal effect theory. However, as Aycan et al. (2007: 14) argue, ‗none of these theories

explicitly discusses the role of culture in human resource management policies and

practices‘. Supporting such a statement, Stone et al. conclude that:

…there is a clear need for additional research on the moderating effects of

culture on the relation between (a) HRM processes and practices and (b) the

acceptance and effectiveness of such processes and practices. (Stone et al.,

2007: 163)

The available literature contains many studies on the impact of cultural attributes as

one set of components, or factors, which along with other factors partly influence

organizational processes or attitudes (see, for example, Al-Asmi, 2008; Al-Ghailani,

2005). Other studies have focused on one or two cultural dimensions, for example

individualism and collectivism, or masculinity and femininity (see, for example, Buda

and Elsayed-Elkhouly, 1998; Sims, 2009; Gardner, 2009). Some have explored the

impact of organizational culture only (such as Herrera, 2008), and others have looked at

the impact at the societal level only (for example, Kim and Gray, 2009). After

reviewing many such studies covering different managerial and organizational areas

such as motivation, culture and organizational commitment, and person-environment fit,

Gelfand et al. (2007: 499) suggest the need for further research in:

…multiple values simultaneously and the examination of neglected sources of

cultural differences (e.g. roles, norms, implicit theories, and beliefs) [and] the

examination of interactions between cultural variables and contextual factors

at multiple levels of analysis. (Gelfand et al., 2007: 499)

The authors argue that whilst the existing studies remain important and appreciated,

particularly in their own areas of study, the relevant types of cultural influence and their

quantitative effects remain unclear because the full set of cultural dimensions has rarely

been involved in the investigations undertaken. As discussed above, such studies have

mostly dealt with culture either under a single dimension or as one factor only,

controlled by religion, tribalism, and family. Additionally, the examination has been

mainly limited to the extent of cultural impact and hardly goes beyond that point to

understand how and why such an impact occurs. Furthermore, these studies have tended

not to separate cultural values from real practices in their discussions and results.

By using the GLOBE cultural dimensions, this study will make an even greater

contribution, since the GLOBE dimensions embody previous cultural theories and

28

dimensions (House et al., 2004) and are considered as ‗the first rigorous attempt to

empirically measure and verify the relationship between cultural values and practices‘

(Javidan et al., 2004: 730). The GLOBE dimensions provide researchers with a better

and deeper understanding of cultural dynamics than do Hofstede‘s dimensions

(Hutzschenreuter and Voll, 2008), and this is a valuable framework for this study to use

because, according to the researcher‘s knowledge, most of the studies in the Arab World

on the relationship between culture and management have primarily used Hofstede‘s

cultural dimensions. Therefore, this study might be considered as one of the first

attempts to use the GLOBE cultural dimensions in understanding the nature of cultural

impacts on management behaviour and employment equity in the Arab World. There

are many values in Arab culture which encourage equity and equality (Tayeb, 1997; Al-

Buraey, 2001; Ghafory-Ashtiany, 2009, Ilhaamie, 2009). By studying the relationship of

Arab culture with employment equity, this study is able to determine which of these

values is most clearly related to employment equity, and can therefore provide

recommendation towards improving the equal status of employees, not only in the Arab

world, but across the entire world as employment discrimination is a widespread

phenomenon.

Moreover, although Oman holds a strategic geographical position, has a historically-

rooted culture, and contains several different sub-cultural groups, it has not been

involved in a large cultural project such as that of Hofstede (1980) or GLOBE (2004).

So, despite the fact that the GLOBE project involved five Middle Eastern countries

(Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait, Qatar, and Turkey), this empirical study can participate in the

general assessment of the GLOBE dimensions for the Middle East region. So by re-

examining the nine cultural dimensions within the Omani context, the final result will

be compared carefully with the results from the five Middle Eastern countries which

were included in the GLOBE project. Clearly, the Omani result might vary from or

confirm the outcomes in respect of the Middle East cluster. Therefore, considering all

these critical points, this research will also make a significant contribution in this

broader area.

The GLOBE project itself has not, however, gone without criticism. Hofstede (2006)

pointed out that in the GLOBE project, managers were the only participants. In this

respect, he asks: ‗If you want to find out about the quality of a product, do you ask the

producer or the consumers?‘ (Hofstede, 2006: 884). In this study, the researcher will

29

seek to involve both managers and employees in regard to the research topic, and the

two sets of findings will be analysed and compared. Moreover, the GLOBE sampling

was mostly chosen from commercial industries (House and Javidan, 2004: 22), whereas

this study takes as its research subject a non-profit organization in the public sector.

To sum up, by identifying the previous gaps in that the relevant literature as well as

bearing in mind several important issues such as the lack of in-depth investigation of

cultural involvement in previous studies, the necessity of differentiating between

societal and organizational culture, and the different degree of impact that each

dimension has on critical factors behind adopting employment equity, the researcher

believes that this study is the first of its kind in the Arab World. Bridging these gaps

will provide this study with uniqueness and offer a sufficient contribution to knowledge,

theories, and managerial practices in the studied area in general and the specific context

of the topic in particular.

1.4.2 Organizational Justice, Ethics and Employment Equity Studies

Although research in organizational justice (OJ) is considered as one of the most

dynamic areas in organizational behaviour, the investigations conducted thus far have

barely touched the reality of ongoing practices in organizations, as has been argued by

Fortin and Fellenz (2008: 416), who noted that, ‗[t]he way that justice judgments are

influenced by ideologies, value judgments and power has received very little attention‘.

Given that organizational justice, as Pearson (2009: 50) states, ‗is socially constructed,

as is the social world of the institution in which justice is evaluated‘, it is essential to

understand how societal and organizational cultures, in a particular context, influence

the process of justice among the people involved within that context.

Another problem with the applied studies is that most of them have been very limited

in scope. They have been conducted to investigate either only one issue in employment

equity, such as gender (see for example, Krause, 2009; Keddie, 2007; and Rizzo et al.,

2007), a single Human Resource Management (HRM) practice such as the impact of

principals on recruitment procedures (see for example, Al-Ghailani, 2005), or one

cultural aspect, such as religion, to measure its effect on determining ethical behaviour

(for example, Parboteeah et al., 2008). Therefore, in spite of several recent research

efforts exploring different types of discrimination, York et al. (2008: 123) argue that

some areas like ‗the impact of organizational culture and leadership‘ remain

questionable. Also, Barclay and Markel (2009: 333) state that ‗[o]ne relatively ignored

31

research area in ethical decision-making is how organizations treat individuals with

disabilities during their employment‘.

Furthermore, ethical issues in management and the influences that culture has on

these issues have also been overlooked, as noted by Jackson, who states that:

…despite growing interest in the field of cross-cultural differences in

management ethics, there is still a lack of empirical work in this area … there

is a lack of connection in the literature between such values and management

ethics. (Jackson, 2001: 1268)

Organizational corruption is another vital element involved in increased employment

discrimination. Seleim and Bontis (2009) recently conducted a comparative analysis

between cultural dimensions, as quantified in the GLOBE project, and the findings of

the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in order to explore the relationship between

culture and corruption. Identifying a vital interaction between the two variables, they

suggest that:

Future research may emphasize some other determinants of national

corruption such as the dominant religion, and people‘s understanding of their

religions, national language, quality of governance, human development

indicators, and availability of information. (Seleim and Bontis, 2009: 181)

These researchers therefore suggest that, ‗further research is needed regarding

corruption at the organizational level of analysis in both private and public

organizations‘ (Seleim and Bontis, 2009: 181).

In general, researchers rarely expand their empirical investigation to go beyond the

limitations of the above studies. Hence, the wider picture pertaining to culture and its

influences on equity in employment policies and practices remain undiscovered. By

linking the societal and organizational cultural dimensions to management practices,

organizational justice, and employment equity, this empirical study will seek to narrow

such a large gap in this aspect of the literature.

1.4.3 Middle Eastern and Arab World studies

For many years, authors and scholars have continued to state that management studies

in the Middle East and the Arab World are few and insufficient (Behery, 2009; Leat and

El-Kot, 2008; Budhwar and Mellahi, 2007; Leat and El-Kot, 2007; Kabasakal, et al.

2012). For example, Klein et al. (2009: 48) emphasize that ‗research results on OC

[organizational culture] in Arab countries are very scarce‘. Also, Smith, et al. (2007:

276), after pointing to the large ignorance of Arab societies in cultural studies, stated

30

that ‗[g]iven this lacuna in the literature and the emerging political importance of Arab

societies, there is a need for greater inclusion of Islamic cultural groups in multicultural

studies‘. In addition, Metcalfe (2006: 97) observed that ‗Arab nations strongly support

gender equality in education but not equality in employment‘. She suggests that

‗[f]urther research encompassing a wider range of organizations in both the private and

public sectors would enable a more comprehensive understanding of cross-cultural

aspects of management in the Middle East‘ (ibid: 105).

Another problem is that most cultural studies are US-based (Aycan, 2000b), and

consequently their focus is on areas of management that are still overlooked in the Arab

World, such as the influences of national culture on HRM practices, equal opportunities

policy, discrimination, and wasta or favouritism (Al-Asmi, 2008; Aycan et al., 2007;

Al-Ghailani, 2005). Miles (2002: 413) claims that ‗[c]ultural and religious factors loom

large in explanations for the low rates of female labor force participation typical of the

region‘. Cunningham and Sarayrah (1993) highlight the role of wasta in determining

everyday decisions in the Arab World. Until recent years, as Hutchings and Weir (2006:

273) mentioned, ‗the Arab World‘s wasta has not been adequately researched‘.

More precisely, in the Arabian Gulf region, which is considered as the wealthiest

area amongst the Arab countries, the situation is similar. Moideenkutty, Al-Lamki and

Murthy (2011) argue that researchers need to focus more intently on Gulf countries

because of their unique culture and geographical location. Also, in his article regarding

management in Bahrain and Oman, Common (2008: 190) concludes that ‗most of the

preconditions for public management reform are largely absent in Bahrain and Oman‘.

He also emphasizes that the movement toward reforming administrative practices,

especially in the public sector, is slow in general (Common, 2008). So, despite the

presence of general equality statements in some Omani regulations (Al-Lamky, 2007),

the country, like all Arab countries, lacks a detached equal opportunities policy which

can be referred to in management practices. Al-Asmi notes that factors like favouritism,

loyalty, and social values ‗have been rarely addressed by researchers on the national

level‘ in Oman (2008: 325). This lack of receptiveness to a discussion of what is clearly

an important topic is encouraged by the culture both of society and individual

organizations, especially when the government does not seem to have or allow the free

space required for such an argument. Al-Ghailani (2005), in his unpublished PhD thesis,

recommended that the complexity of the relationship between principals, policies, and

32

practices in the Omani public sector and the unjust results of such a relationship are

worthy of in-depth study.

Finally, the standardization of HRM principles and practices to an accepted global

level has become more of an international requirement, but such standardization cannot

be accomplished without the announcement of a clear policy toward employment

equity. In addition, most of the well-known HRM models are formulated with the

Western context in mind (Katou and Budhwar, 2010). However, there is no blueprint or

universally-acknowledged strategy which can be transferred to a different culture and

implemented without some modification. Thus, it is important to know not only in a

general sense what management policies may consist of and what practices result from

such policies, but it is also crucial to reach outside of the US/UK context generally and

take account of the Omani cultural context in particular. In Oman there is an increasing

interest in improving HRM practices and eliminating the predispositions and

opportunities for gender discrimination, especially in employment, yet cultural

imperatives remain significant obstacles to any sincere efforts, particular so in regard to

equal opportunities and treatment. Rutledge et al., (2011) argue that gender awareness

could enhance certain national policies in Gulf countries, for example as localization.

For example, Aycan et al., after referring to the increasing interest in localization in

Oman (Omanization) and the influence of Islamic principles on one side and the

international pressures toward effective HRM practices and policies on the other side,

stated that:

[t]he most important issue to tackle in future research and practice is to find

out the ways in which the gap between the actual and desired HRM practices

could be minimized. (2007: 30)

However, this issue is, in fact, not confined to Oman only, but it is a challenge to all

developing countries including Arab and Muslim countries.

In conclusion, given the above discussion which has pinpointed the gaps in the

literature, the researcher believes that this study will shed light on the level of

interaction of several important aspects in regard to management, employment equity,

and societal and organizational culture. It will also distinguish the dividing line between

values as a mindset and practices as real-world activities. By choosing the public sector

in the Sultanate of Oman as a case study, the results of this research will benefit not just

the country itself, but by linking these different areas together will provide a

contribution to knowledge that will benefit both sociology and management scholars.

33

Additionally, the study will provide multi-national companies (MNCs), which are

interested in the Middle Eastern areas in general and Oman in particular, with sufficient

knowledge of the prevailing culture to be able to operate effectively in this context.

Rose et al., after studying the impact of culture on organizational performance in

MNCs, conclude that ‗[c]ulture of the host countries could be tackled tactically to

improve business performances‘ (2008: 51). Therefore, the outcomes of this study will

improve the ability of MNCs to adapt their international policies such that they achieve

a better cultural-fit model in this particular region. It will also help these companies in

creating a balance between their own broader culture and the societal and organizational

culture, thereby making for smoother business operation and improved performance,

and lastly but not least, preventing any cultural-related conflicts. Finally, this study will

contribute to refining the cultural model used in the GLOBE study by extending it to a

country (Oman) not included in the countries chosen to create the model and also by

looking beyond managers in commercial industries to include employees and managers

in the public sector.

1.5 Aims and Objectives

The overall aim of this study is to explore and examine the degree of influence that

societal and organizational cultures, as specified by the GLOBE project, have on

employment equity in the Omani public.

To reach such a goal, the following objectives are established:

1. To measure Omani cultural preferences within society, and public sector

organizations; and to identify the main differences between the cultural

practice (As Is) and cultural values (Should Be) in both society and public

sector organizations.

2. To identify the main critical success factors that contribute to employment

equity.

3. To critically explore the degree of application of the critical success factors

behind the adoption of EE in the Omani public sector.

4. To assess the most applicable employment equity programmes (merit based

programme, quota based programme diversity based programme), which

have been implemented in Western countries, from the perspective of Omani

employees.

34

5. To identify and investigate the relationship between cultural dimensions and

the critical success factors that contribute employment equity.

6. To add to the body of literature by developing a grounded theory in regard to

exploring the relationship at the level of practice between the dimensions of

organizational and societal culture, as specified by the GLOBE project, and

employment equity, with specific reference to the public sector in Oman.

7. To provide recommendations and suggestions which will help management

practitioners in the Arab World in general and Oman in particular to

eradicate, or limit the current discrimination in employment, and encourage

the development of positive cultural influences in this respect.

1.6 Structure of the Thesis

This chapter has sought to provide a clear indication of the issue motivating this PhD

study, a statement of the problem, the knowledge gap in the existing literature and the

anticipated contribution of the study, and the study‘s specific aims and objectives. The

next chapter, Chapter 2, will shed light on the main theoretical background of the

concept of ‗culture‘. It will highlight some important areas such as definitions of

culture, cultural dimensions, and other related aspects. Equal employment opportunities,

definitions and approaches, will be discussed in Chapter Three. The conduct of the

study will be detailed in Chapter Four. Chapter Five will discuss the proposed research

methodology in depth, including research questions, hypotheses constructed by the

researcher, and the applicable methods which will be used to answer the research

questions and thereby achieve the aims and objectives. Chapter Six will then present the

findings that relate to Omani culture, including description, analysis, and discussion of

the issues revealed. Subsequently, the findings of the employment equity and the

relationship between culture and employment equity will be presented and analysed in

Chapter Seven. Finally, Chapter Eight will present the conclusion, provide

recommendations, discuss the limitations of the research and offer suggestions for

further research in this area.

35

Chapter Two

Literature Review of Culture

In the 14th century, the great Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldûn – considered by

some as the founder of sociology – ... argued that the mind in its original state

is ready to absorb any influence, good or bad: ‗As Mohammed [peace upon

him] has said: ‗‗Every child is born in a natural state. It is his parents who

make him into a Jew, Christian or Zoroastrian. (Hofstede and McCrae, 2004:

53)

2.0 Introduction

Many authors agree that societal and organizational cultures have great influence on

how people‘s behaviours and attitudes are directed in a particular society (Dickson et

al., 2004). As mentioned in the previous chapter, this study is going to examine the

relationship between both societal and organizational cultural dimensions, as specified

by the GLOBE project, and employment equity. In this chapter, the study will focus on

setting out an adequate explanation of one of the main concepts that is central to the

study, which is culture. The chapter will begin by giving an overview of the role of

culture: in general terms, as a powerful ideological tool, and in particular, in its impact

on management practices. Subsequently, a number of widely accepted definitions of

culture in literature will be stated and discussed. The chapter will further discuss the

literature on how societal culture and industrial environment contribute to the formation

of organizational culture and will then go on to highlight the most significant attempts

which have been proposed by culture and management scholars to delineate specific

dimensions of the concept of ‗culture‘. Finally, this chapter will describe the general

attributes of Arab culture as recorded in the relevant literature.

2.1 The Role of Culture

Carnevale and Kwok (2002) argue that culture plays an essential role in discovering two

important anthropological factors regarding how individuals interact: etic (universal)

and emic (culture specific). Culture is the main contributor in determining an

individual‘s personality and behaviour either in the society or in the workplace. Under

the concept of national culture, Budhwar and Mellahi (2006: 10) include the following

elements and operations:

…socialization process, common values, norms of behaviour and customs,

influence of pressure groups, assumptions that shape managers perceptions,

36

insights and mindset, management style, meaning of work and values,

personal dispositions, attitudes and manners, approaches to cultural diversity,

mach to organizational culture. (Budhwar and Mellahi, 2006: 10)

Keesing (1974) differentiates between two main theoretical areas which have been

designed by anthropologists as part of their attempts to define, negotiate, and

conceptualize the term culture. The first area is ‗culture as adaptive system‘ which

views culture from an evolutionary point of view. The majority of scholars who

subscribe to this theory agree on four main areas: (1) culture serves as an interaction

system between humans and their surrounding ecology; (2) culture is changeable, but

mainly to adapt with the environmental change and human needs; (3) technology,

economy, and social productive organizations are the most changeable elements in

culture; and (4) the consequences of cultural adaption are controlled by vital factors

such as population and necessarily to existence.

The second theoretical area is the ‗ideational theories of culture‘ which includes

three main approaches. The first approach is ‗cultures as cognitive systems‘ which

views culture as a society‘s epistemological way of living, interacting, and reacting. The

second approach is ‗culture as structural systems‘ which tries to structuralize culture

into mind-store domains such that people always react according to what has been

stored in these domains. The third approach is ‗culture as symbolic systems‘ which

treats culture as shared symbols and meaning.

As can be seen, the main difference between the two areas is that the first focuses on

institutional influences such as government, education, and economic institutions. The

second concentrates mainly on ideas and social institutions such as religion, family and

education. However, both areas are important to this study as it deals with cultural

influences from societal and organizational perspectives.

2.2 The Meaning of Culture

Because of its complexity, importance, and massive influence on social science and

management studies, the term ‗culture‘ has been subject to a wide range of definitions

from many social science and management authors. Additionally, the gap between

values and practices in some situations has increased such complexity. Thus it has been

always hard to give one consensus definition of culture (Triandis and Brislin, 1984;

Agourram and Ingham, 2007). Groeschl and Doherty emphasized the complexity of the

term ‗culture‘ and state that:

37

…Culture consists of several elements of which some are implicit and others

are explicit. Most often these elements are explained by terms such as

behaviour, values, norms, and basic assumptions. (Groeschl and Doherty,

2000: 14)

For decades, scholars have repeatedly tried to set a proper definition for the term

‗culture‘. Kroeber and Kluckholm (1952) catalogue over 160 different definitions of

culture and categorize those definitions in six areas: descriptive, historical,

psychological, structural, and genetic definitions. Accordingly, they offer the following

definition, which has been largely used:

…Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit of and for behavior

acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement

of human groups, including their embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of

culture consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and

especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be

considered as products of action, on the other hand as conditioning elements of

future action. (Kroeber and Kluckholm, 1952: 181, cited in Blundel, 2004: 38)

Boyd and Richerson (1985: 2) similarly look at culture as a transmission process and

define it as ‗transmission from one generation to the next, via teaching and imitation, of

knowledge, values, and other factors that influence behavior‘. Again, Kotter and

Heskett (1992: 4) cited the American Heritage Dictionary definition which describes

culture as: ‗The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs,

institutions, and all other products of human work and thought characteristic of a

community or population‘.

Moreover, Hofstede (1993), after a deep involvement in studying culture over many

years, formulated his own definition for this complicated concept. His frequently-

referenced definition for culture is: ‗the collective programming of the mind that

distinguishes one group or category of people from another‘ (Hofstede 1993: 89). A

more recent definition was suggested by Guiso et al. when they referred to culture as,

‗those customary beliefs and values that ethnic, religious and social groups transmit

fairly unchanged from generations to generations‘ (2006: 23).

However, as is apparent from observation of the previous definitions, most of them

look at culture as a mechanism that facilitates the interaction between values and

practices to produce human behaviours. MacNab et al. analysed the common themes

that most cultural definitions share and found the following:

38

(1) human-made elements; (2) shared through communication; (3) increase the

probability for survival; and (4) result in greater satisfaction for those in the

community. (MacNab et al. 2007: 10)

So culture goes beyond being just a one simple word to become that kind of mental

and imagination creation which is configured as a result of the direct or indirect

interaction between individuals or groups and the transition of values, norms, morals

and behaviours between generations, which are subsequently expressed through ideas or

practices, and thereby form the concept ‗culture‘. However, still it can be argued that

culture is too large and complex to find a precise and widely accepted definition (Tayeb,

1994).

2.3 National Culture

Although Hofstede (1991: 5) defines national culture as ‗the collective programming of

the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from

another‘, it does not follow that this is the only role of national culture. In fact, cultural

influences go beyond distinguishing one country or nation from other nations or

countries to powerfully influence the characteristics of management and business

entities. In his later work, Hofstede (2001: 12) emphasized that external influences on

culture, such as economics and trade, can eventually shift cultural perspectives.

Nevertheless it is clear that, as countries differ from one to another according to many

aspects, culture inevitably varies from country to country. National culture for an

individual country is defined according to its region, ethnicity, religion, gender,

generation, and class (Hofstede, 2005). Therefore, what seems to be acceptable in one

country/culture, may not be received in the same way by another country/culture, and

vice versa. Alas emphasizes this point, stating that:

…what one ethnic group thinks about what is right or wrong depends on

culture and environmental circumstances and is different across the cultures.

Therefore, national culture plays a fundamental role in forming cultural

values. (Alas 2006: 237)

As the literature reflects, the power of culture influences almost every aspect of

human life. It takes its importance from human daily aspects as it shapes the way that

people look at their families, friends, and colleagues at work, and determines the

individual‘s willingness to justify and accept others‘ behaviours. Even advertising

companies are using cultural dimensions, in one way or another, in order to attract

people according to their societies‘ preferences, as noted by Terlutter et al. (2006). So

39

from politics, business and marketing arenas to the fields of social science and human

rights, culture is always a key element which needs to be essentially considered and

deeply investigated.

2.4 Organizational Culture

Defining organizational culture also remains a complex issue (Schein, 1990; Jung et al.,

2009). One of the difficulties is that the term ‗organization‘ is in itself difficult to

define. According to Schein (1990), a group of individuals with common values could

create a subculture within an organization while an organization could create its own

culture through experiences. Nevertheless, both cultures are interacting with each other

since they are learned, dynamic, and influenced by environmental changes. This

assumption is clearly reflected in the definition that Schein gives of organizational

culture:

as (a) a pattern of basic assumptions, (b) invented, discovered, or developed by

a given group, (c) as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation

and internal integration, (d) that has worked well enough to be considered

valid and, therefore (e) is to be taught to new members as the (f) correct way

to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. (Schein, 1990: 111)

Pothukuchi et al. (2002) argue that the culture of an organization cannot be separated

from the environment in which it operates, which is national culture. Though some

authors differentiate between the two cultures, ‗it is also widely accepted that national

culture is nested in national culture‘ (Pothukuchi et al., 2002: 244). Therefore, it is

always recommended that organizations carefully consider the surrounding national

culture as this could lead to unrecognized and unresolved cultural conflicts. To

empirically test such a relation, Klein et al (2009) conducted a study to measure the

influences of Arab national culture on the perception of what constituted the ideal

organizational culture in the United Arab Emirates. They included 17 firms in their

study and used 12 cultural dimensions, combining Hofstede, Schwartz, and

Trompenaars‘ dimensions. The results confirmed that Arab culture has a significant

impact on organizational culture.

In addition, Dickson et al. (2004) discussed the influences that societal culture and

the type of industry have on organizational cultures. They stated that:

…because national culture and industry are integral parts of the environment

in which organizations functions, organizational culture by implication should

41

be influenced by the broader societal culture and by the industry in which they

operate. (Dickson et al. 2004: 74)

That being said, the authors argued that the influences on organizational culture are

not limited to these two factors only. Other factors which play an important role in

shaping organizational culture include level of competition, economic condition, and

the nature of the business (Dickson et al., 2004: 75). These additional factors may also

have an impact on societal culture, but the processes by which this occurs may be

significantly slower.

Hofstede (1998) suggested that national culture can best be interpreted in terms of

dimensions of values, while organizational culture is better reflected through

dimensions of practices. However, Hanges and Dickson (2004) disagreed with

Hofstede‘s position. All the societal and industrial theories which they referred to

(cultural immersion theory, societal network theory, resource dependency theory,

institutional theory, and other potential mechanisms at micro, meso, and macro levels)

emphasize complex mechanisms for societal and industrial influences on organizational

culture. This conclusion led the GLOBE team to study each culture (societal and

organizational) at the level of both values and practices. The empirical evidence from

the GLOBE study shows that values and practices are integrated with each other and

both levels can be used to distinguish one culture from another, either between societies

or organizations (Hanges and Dickson, 2004).

As this chapter will clearly justify later, this research will build its argument on the

GLOBE project and the cultural dimensions proposed in that study. So despite the

numerous definitions of societal and organizational culture as discussed above, this

study will relay on the definition of culture adopted by the GLOBE project (2004),

which can be applied at both societal and organizational levels. The GLOBE definition

of culture is: ‗shared motives, values, beliefs, identities, and interpretations or meanings

of significant events that result from common experiences of members of collectives

and are transmitted across generations‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 15). As can be seen,

this definition is based on an anthropological point of view as well as psychological

attributes (Trindis, 2004; Chhokar et al., 2008).

2.5 Cultural Dimensions

Scholars have always tried to segment the concept ‗culture‘ into dimensions in order to

be able to differentiate and compare one country culture to others. Raymond B. Cattell,

a psychologist who lived between 1905 and 1998, was the first scholar to set out certain

40

dimensions for societal culture, under descriptions such as historical, political, and

religious, in such a way as to study cultural differences between more than 40 countries

(Hofstede and McCrae, 2004: 59). Paul et al. (2006: 30) state that. ‗Cultural dimensions

characterize particular groups of people, which take on a supraidentity that constitutes

the framework for each individual in the group.‘

Dimensioning culture can serve to clarify the differences between countries better

than cruder measures such as the geographical location of those countries. Meeuwesen

et al. (2009) state that: ‗Cultural dimensions like power distance, uncertainty avoidance,

individualism and masculinity, together with countries‘ wealth, seem to be better and

more nuanced predictors of cross-national differences in health care communication

than explanations along the north–south or east–west division of Europe‘. Besides, this

distinguishability provides a solid description concerning each country under study.

Therefore, the following sections will review the main attempts in this area as well as

illustrating the reasons behind choosing one of these attempts to serve the purpose of

this thesis.

2.5.1 Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck cultural orientations

Encouraged by the earlier work of Parsons and Shils (1951), Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck

(1961) studied five communities in the United States. Based on their results, they came

up with five cultural orientations. Nardon and Steers (2009: 27) provide a summary

explanation of these dimensions which can be summarized as follows:

Human nature orientation is about classifying what people believe about themselves

and others in terms of being bad, good, or neutral in nature.

The person-nature orientation is about classifying the relationship between people

and their surrounding environment in terms of mastery, harmony, or subjugation.

The activity orientation is about classifying people‘s performance in terms of being

(living the moment), becoming (integrated development), or doing (setting goals

and accomplishments).

The relational orientation is about classifying the relationship between human

themselves in terms of hierarchy, collectivism, or individualism.

The orientation in time is about classifying what influence people while making

decisions in terms of their past, present, or future orientation.

42

However, Hofstede (1984: 26) criticized Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck‘s (1961) work,

and some other previous attempts to categorize national cultural differences, believing

that ‗they had too much data and not enough theory, and the conceptual contributions…

represent too much theory based on too few data‘.

2.5.2 Hofstede cultural dimensions

Based on a questionnaire distributed by IBM in 66 countries and collecting 117,000

responses during the period 1967 to 1973, Hofstede suggested four cultural dimensions

which defined the culture of organizations, these are Power Distance, Uncertainty

Avoidance, Individualism-collectivism, and Masculinity-femininity (Hofstede, 1980;

1991). In his later work, Hofstede added a fifth dimension, Long Term Orientation or

Confucian Dynamism (Hofstede and Bond, 1988). Hofstede and McCrae (2004: 62-63)

further describe these five dimensions as follows:

Large versus small Power distance: the extent to which the less powerful members

of organizations and institutions (such as the family) accept and expect that power

is distributed unequally.

High versus low uncertainty avoidance: to what extent a culture programs its

members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations.

Individualism versus collectivism: refers to the degree to which individuals are

integrated into groups.

Masculinity versus femininity: refers to the distribution of emotional roles between

the sexes, another fundamental problem for any society to which a range of

solutions are found.

Long-term versus short-term orientation: values associated with long-term

orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with short-term

orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting

one‘s face.

In addition, Hofstede differentiated between national culture and organizational

culture, as discussed above, considering the first to be more concerned with values,

while the second is more about practice (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005). Therefore, the

above dimensions were associated with national culture and called the dimensions of

values, while an additional set of dimensions was suggested for organizational culture

(dimensions of practices). These were the following:

43

Process oriented versus results oriented

Employee oriented versus job oriented

Parochial versus professional

Open system versus closed system

Loose control versus tight control

Normative versus pragmatic. (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005: 292)

Hofstede‘s work has not been totally without criticism. Baskerville (2003: 11)

considered Hofstede‘s work on national culture to be linked more to ‗national character,

rather than national culture‘. She argued that national culture cannot be studied through

nations. Hofstede (2003: 812) generally assented to this point, as he had already

mentioned in the 2001 edition of his book ‗Culture‘s Consequences‘, but stated that:

‗[nations] are usually the only kind of units available for comparison and better than

nothing.‘

McSweeney criticized Hofstede‘s research methodology, stating that:

…the average number per country was small and that for some countries it

was minuscule… not all the questionnaires were used – although the survey

covered 66 countries, the data from only 40 countries were used in

characterizing national cultures. (McSweeney 2002: 94)

In general, the main criticisms made by McSweeney, and the replies of Hofstede, are

stated in Table 1, below:

44

Table 1: McSweeney's Criticisms and Hofstede’s Reply

No. McSweeney criticisms Hofstede commentaries

1 Surveys are not a suitable way

of measuring cultural

differences

They should not be the only way.

2 Nations are not the best units

for studying cultures

True, but they are usually the only kind of units

available for comparison and better than nothing

3 A study of the subsidiaries of

one company cannot provide

information about entire

national cultures

What were measured were differences between

national cultures. Any set of functionally equivalent

samples from national populations can supply

information about such differences.

4 IBM data are old and therefore

obsolete

The dimensions found are assumed to have

centuries-old roots; only data which remained stable

across two subsequent surveys were maintained; and

they have since been validated against all kinds of

external measurements; recent replications show no

loss of validity

5 Four or five dimensions are

not enough

Additional dimensions should be both conceptually

and statistically independent from the five dimensions

already defined and they should be validated by

significant correlations with conceptually related

external measures; candidates are welcome to apply

Source: Hofstede (2002: 1356)

Despite these criticisms, and although many other researchers have suggested other

dimensions, Hofstede‘s cultural dimensions for national culture continue to be

considered a seminal work and has been extensively applied by management scholars

(Terlutter et al., 2006) and Hofstede‘s work continues to be the most significant study,

influencing management and social researchers around the world over the last thirty

years (Gales, 2008).

2.5.3 World Values Survey (WVS)

According to Bruni et al. (2006), the European Values Survey group initiated the World

Values Survey in 1981, investigating ten societies from Western Europe. During the

subsequent 25 years, the survey was repeated five times and expanded to include almost

80 per cent of the world‘s population. The survey divided values according to two main

dimensions. The first one is traditional authority versus secular-rational orientations

toward authority, which is linked to the impact of several elements such as religion,

family, norms, economy, and self-achievement. The second dimension is survival

45

versus well-being values which reflects the shift of norms that can occur because of the

process of modernization (Inglehart and Baker, 2000; Inglehart et al., 1998).

2.5.4 Schwartz's value dimensions

Schwartz (1999: 25) defined value as ‗conceptions of the desirable that guide the way

social actors (e.g. organizational leaders, policy-makers, individual persons) select

actions, evaluate people and events, and explain their actions and evaluations‘. To

identify his own dimensions, Schwartz (1999) collected data from 49 nations around the

world. At the cultural level, Schwartz addresses three main issues that confront all

societies: 1) to define the nature of the relation between the individual and the group; 2)

to guarantee responsible behaviour that will preserve the social fabric, 3) the relation of

humankind to the natural and social world. In addition, each issue consists of seven

national value types (dimensions). These dimensions can be identified as the following:

Conservatism: a cultural emphasis on maintenance of the status quo, propriety, and

restraint of actions or inclinations that might disrupt the solidarity of the group or

the traditional order.

Intellectual Autonomy: a cultural emphasis on the right of individuals to

independently pursue their own ideas and intellectual directions.

Affective Autonomy: a cultural emphasis on the right of individuals to independently

pursue affectively positive experience.

Hierarchy: a cultural emphasis on the legitimacy of an unequal distribution of power,

roles and resources.

Egalitarianism: a cultural emphasis on transcendence of selfish interests in favour of

voluntary commitment to promoting the welfare of others.

Mastery: a cultural emphasis on seeking to actively master and change the world.

Harmony: a cultural emphasis on accepting the world as it is rather than attempting

to change or exploit it. (Terlutter et al., 2006: 425–426)

Nevertheless, neither of these last two studies, WVS or the Schwartz cultural

framework, has received the same amount of attention as that proposed by Hofstede

(Terlutter et al., 2006). One reason for this may be related to the level of analysis of

each study. For instance, the cultural dimensions proposed by Schwartz measure values

only at the individual level (Bond and Smith, 1996).

46

2.5.5 GLOBE study

GLOBE study is a multiphase, ten-year research project which was undertaken with the

aim of ‗increasing available knowledge that is relevant to cross-cultural interactions‘

(House, 2004: 3). The term ‗GLOBE‘ is an acronym for ‗the Global Leadership and

Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness‘ study (House and Javidan, 2004: 9). The

study, as House (2004: xxv) states, ‗has a very adequate dataset to replicate Hofstede's

(1980) land mark study and extend that study to test hypotheses relevant to relationship

among societal-level variables, organizational practices, and leader attributes and

behaviour‘. Data was collected from 62 different societies around the world, with

almost 17,000 responses received by the project. For each country, the samples were

chosen from three main industries: food processing, financial services, and

telecommunications services (House et al., 2004).

In addition to interviews and archive analysis, two questionnaires were designed

(Alpha version and Beta version) to collect the study's primary data. Each of the nine

cultural dimensions was assessed in two levels, organizational level (form alpha) and

societal level (form beta). Therefore, half of the respondents were given the Alpha

version which consists of 75 questions about organizational culture, while other half

received Beta version which consist of 78 questions in regard to societal culture. Both

questionnaires included the same 112 questions asking about leadership attributes

(House and Hanges, 2004). Table 2 below illustrates both versions:

Table 2: The two versions of GLOBE study questionnaire

Alpha

version Organizational level

As is

(actual practice)

Should be

(values) leadership

attributes Beta

version Societal level

As is

(actual practice)

Should be

(values)

2.5.6 Reasons for choosing GLOBE cultural dimensions in this study

While not ignoring the importance of all attempts at dimensioning culture which have

been discussed above, it is obvious that the work of Hofstede (1980) has been the most

cited and widely appreciated approach. However, in addition to including the Hofstede

cultural dimensions, the GLOBE project is the only attempt which has academically

reviewed previous attempts and tried to professionally replicate Hofstede‘s work while

incorporating a more consistent structure. Therefore, based on the critical review of

different approaches to defining culture and cultural dimensions in this chapter, this

47

study will frame its analysis based on the GLOBE cultural dimensions, recognizing that,

as Maseland and van Hoorn state:

Almost a quarter century after Hofstede‘s seminal contribution, the GLOBE

team‘s thorough and innovative study can therefore be applauded for,

unintentionally, highlighting some of the so far neglected difficulties with the

values surveys approach to measuring culture. (Maseland and van Hoorn,

2009: 531)

The researcher believes that GLOBE dimensions can best serve the purposes of this

study for a number of critical reasons. One of these is that the GLOBE dimensions have

their origins in a number of cultural studies. Uncertainty avoidance and power distance

reflect Hofstede‘s (2001) dimensions of the same names, and Hofstede‘s dimension of

individualism has been divided into two dimensions in the GLOBE study, in-group

collectivism and institutional collectivism, to differentiate between loyalty to families

(in-group collectivism) and the encouragement of social institutions and programmes to

be collective (institutional collectivism), which it is claimed has not received enough

attention in the literature (House and Javidan, 2004).

In addition, Hofstede‘s masculinity dimension ‗was seen to be confounded by

numerous factors judged irrelevant to the concept and was also seen to be lacking in

face validity‘ (Terlutter et al., 2006: 342). Therefore, instead of masculinity, two

GLOBE cultural dimensions were offered: gender egalitarianism and assertiveness.

The latter dimension was not well covered by Hofstede or other cultural researchers

(Terlutter et al., 2006). Further, the future orientation dimension has combined

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck‘s (1961) past, present, future orientation dimension with,

marginally, Hofstede‘s (2001) long-term orientation. Performance orientation was

developed from McClelland‘s (1961) work related to the need for achievement, and

Seginer (2005) has argued that this has not received enough academic attention. Finally,

humane orientation has its roots in Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck‘s (1961) dimension of

human nature as good vs. human nature as bad, as well as in work by Putnam (1993) on

civic society and the concept of affiliative motive introduced by McClelland (1985)

(Terlutter et al., 2006: 432; House and Javidan, 2004: 13).

Although Hofstede‘s dimensions are, according to many scholars, those most used in

cultural studies, as discussed above, the GLOBE study is designed to replicate

Hofstede‘s dimensions as well as overcoming the major criticisms which many authors

have levelled at Hofstede‘s work. The main differences between Hofstede's study and

the GLOBE study were clarified by Rao (2009: 301) and are given in Table 3, below.

48

Table 3: Main differences between Hofstede and GLOBE studies

No. Points of difference GLOBE study Hofstede's study

1 Time frame 1994-1997 1967-1973

2 Primary researchers involved 170 1

3 Respondents Managers Non-managers and

managers

4 Organizations surveyed 951 1

5 Type of organization Non-multinational Multinational (and its

subsidiaries)

6 Industries Food processing, financial

and telecommunication

services

Information

technology (IBM)

7 Number of societies surveyed 62 72

8 Research analysis Team effort Single person’s effort

9 Project design US-based Dutch-based

10 Cultural dimensions identified Nine dimensions Five dimensions

Source: Adapted from Rao (2009: 301)

Looking at these differences, the most important elements are that GLOBE is the

most recent cultural project and is designed according to a team effort rather than an

individual project. As Rao (2009) points out, GLOBE is a theory-driven research which

project established on a rigorous and extensive academic background.

It should also be noted that the five well-known cultural dimensions suggested by

Hofstede deal only with national culture, while there are another six dimensions which

he proposed to measure organizational cultural practices (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005).

Another major reason for the choice of GLOBE is that it is considered to be one of

the first attempts to separate cultural values from cultural practices. House et al. (2004:

730) stated that ‗GLOBE is the first rigorous attempt to empirically measure and verify

the relationship between cultural values and practices and it shows counterintuitive

result‘. As mentioned in the Chapter 1 of this study, understanding how culture affects

employment equity and the type of insights are essential components of this study.

Therefore the researcher believes that looking at Omani culture at two separate levels,

values and practices, will help to enrich the study purposes. Terlutter et al. (2006: 433)

support such a decision as they comment that:

Given the fact that values and practices in a society may be inconsistent and

sometimes even contradictory, it is a major strength that GLOBE clearly

distinguishes between both levels of cultures. (Terlutter et al., 2006: 433)

Furthermore, the techniques of the GLOBE survey have gone beyond just describing

societal or organizational culture (Dorfman et al., 2012).

49

The study has also provided explanations of how and why culture influences several

societal phenomena which it is suggested are the main reasons behind different

managerial behaviours. For instance, Javidan and Dastmalchian (2009: 55) stated that:

Societies that are highly performance oriented tend to be more economically

prosperous and competitive, have governments that better follow the rule of

law and are more organized and transparent. They also have happier and more

satisfied citizenry who have more confidence in their public institutions.

(Javidan and Dastmalchian, 2009: 55)

However, Hofstede (2006) criticized the GLOBE study, casting doubt on the

usefulness of dividing culture into values and practices. Javidan et al. (2006) disagree

with such a view, pointing out the negative correlation between values and practices in

seven dimensions out of nine. Also, the results of their study showed that:

Cultural practices (but not values) are associated with a large variety of

societal phenomena such as economic health, national competitiveness,

societal health, life expectancy, and the Human Development Index… [while]

cultural values and not practices are associated with reported attributes of

outstanding leadership across GLOBE countries. (Javidan et al., 2006: 903).

In addition, Maseland and Hoorn stated that:

The negative correlation between values and practices reported by GLOBE is

not such a puzzle as might appear at first sight. These findings are perfectly

compatible with fundamental microeconomic insights concerning diminishing

marginal utility: the more an objective is satiated, the less we value the further

realization of that objective. (Maseland and Hoorn, 2009: 530)

Up to now the academic literature has reached no final consensus on this point and,

as Fischer (2009: 26) pointed out, ‗the meaning of the GLOBE dimensions and the

adequacy of their analyses remain in dispute‘.

Hofstede (2006) further criticized the validity of the GLOBE dimensions as he

argued that they could be reduced to five; however Javidan et al. (2006) strongly refuted

this assertion. Conversely, Myers and Tan (2002) criticized Hofstede‘s study as his data

was not collected for the purpose of studying national culture, while Jeffrey et al. (2008)

provided some evidence in their own study that Hofstede‘s cultural instrument has an

inherent lack of validity; however, researchers have not been able to reach to a final

consensus on this point (Smith, 2006; Hutzschenreuter and Voll, 2008).

Many authors have appreciated the contribution of the GLOBE project from several

viewpoints. Alas (2006: 238) stated that: ‗The GLOBE study could be considered one

51

of the most comprehensive studies of national cultures‘. Also, Gerhart (2008: 260)

describes the GLOBE study as a tool with the ‗promise to be widely used in cross

cultural research‘, while Kim and Gray (2009: 61) describe it as ‗an attempt to move

beyond Hofstede‘s approach‘ and a large number of recent studies have preferred to use

the GLOBE dimensions as they believe that these can better serve their studies‘

purposes. For example, Hutzschenreuter and Voll (2008) used the GLOBE dimensions

to study performance effects of ‗added cultural distance‘ in the process of the

international expansion of German multinational enterprises. Another study was carried

out by Gupta and Fernandez (2009) using GLOBE data to study the cultural

characteristics of entrepreneurs in a three-nation study looked at the USA, India and

Turkey. Also, Seleim and Bontis (2009) conducted a comparative analysis between

cultural dimensions as they were evaluated in the GLOBE project and the findings of

the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in order to explore the relationship between

culture and corruption.

Others criticisms of the GLOBE findings are possible. The number of participants

varied from 75 to 1,700 per country, and the type of sampling can be questioned as it

was limited to managers only (Fischer, 2009; Terlutter et al., 2006; Hofstede, 2006).

However, in this study the researcher will depend primarily on the dimensions, not on

the study‘s result. Nevertheless, the researcher will compare his finding with the

GLOBE finding for other countries in the Middle East cluster.

2.5.6.1 GLOBE cultural dimensions

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, the GLOBE study has nine cultural dimensions.

These dimensions were designed to replicate Hofstede‘s (1980) seminal work on culture

as well as reflecting other important cultural dimensions which were not included in

Hofstede‘s work. This section of the study will introduce these dimensions with

additional explanation based on the illustrations given in the GLOBE project book

(House et al., 2004). For each dimension, a definition will be given along with the main

attributes by which societies which score high in that dimensions can be differentiated

from those which score low. However, it is important to understand at this point that

providing such differences does not mean that societies should typically fallen in one

category or on one side. It is naturally accepted that some societies have a mixture of

these attributes, as cultures are far too complex to be separated according to a set of

single categories (Ashkanasy et al., 2004).

50

Performance Orientation (PO) reflects ‗the degree to which an organization or society

encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence‘

(House and Javidan, 2004: 11). As Javidan (2004) argues, the literature, including

Hofstede‘s study, has not paid enough attention to this dimension. In general, Table 4

provides the most common differences between societies with high performance

orientation and those with low performance orientation.

Table 4: High performance versus low performance orientation

Societies that score higher on performance orientation tend to:

Societies that score lower on performance orientation tend to:

Value training and development

Emphasize results more than people

Reward performance

Value assertiveness, competitiveness, and

materialism

Expect demanding targets

Believe that individuals are in control

Have a can-do attitude

Values and reward individual achievement

Have performance appraisal system that

emphasize achieving results

View feed back as necessary for

improvement

Value taking initiative

Value bonuses and financial rewards

Believe that anyone can success if he or

she tries hard enough

Believe that schooling and education are

critical for success

Value what you do more than who you are

Attach little importance to age in

promotional decisions

Value being direct explicit and to the point

in communications

Have a monochronic approach to time

Have a sense of urgency.

Value societal and family relationship

Emphasize loyalty and belongingness

Have a high respect for quality of life

Emphasize seniority and experience

Value harmony with environment rather

than control

Have performance appraisal system that

emphasize integrity loyalty and

cooperative spirit

View feedback and appraisal as

judgmental and discomforting

View assertiveness as socially

unacceptable

Regard being motivated by money as

inappropriate

View merit pay as potentially

destructive to harmony

Value ‗attending the right school‘ as an

important success criterion

Emphasize tradition

Have high value for sympathy

Associate competition with defeat and

punishment

Value who you are more than what you

do

Pay particular attention to age in

promotional decisions

Value ambiguity and subtlety in

language and communications

Have a polychromic approach to time

Have a low sense of urgency.

Source: Adapted from Javidan, 2004: 245.

With regard to organizational culture, Javidan (2004: 265-266) asserts that

organizations get affected by their surrounding culture for two main reasons. First, to

52

achieve success, organizations need to ‗assimilate‘ or at least ‗respect and appreciate‘

their surrounding culture. Second, societal values are brought to these organizations by

their employees, since societal values are part and parcel of their assumptions and

reactions in the workplace.

Future Orientation (FO) is defined as ‗the degree to which individuals in organizations

or societies engage in future-oriented behaviours such as planning, investing in the

future, and delaying individual or collective gratification‘ (House and Javidan, 2004:

12). Table 5 provides the most common differences between societies with high future

orientation and those with low future orientation.

Table 5: High future versus low future orientation

Societies that score higher on future

orientation tend to:

Societies that score lower on future

orientation tend to:

Achieve economic success

Have a propensity to save for the future

Have individuals who are psychologically

healthy and socially well adjusted

Have individuals who are more intrinsically

motivated

Have organization with a longer strategic

orientation

Have flexible and adaptive organizations

and managers

View materialistic success and spiritual

fulfilment as an integrated whole

Value the deferment of gratification,

placing a higher priority on long-term

success

Emphasize visionary leadership that is

capable of seeing pattern in the face of

chaos and uncertainty.

Have lower levels of economic success

Have a propensity to spend now, rather

than to save for the future

Have individuals who are

psychologically unhealthy and socially

maladjusted

Have individuals who are less

intrinsically motivated

Have organizations with a shorter

strategic orientation

Have inflexible and maladaptive

organizations and managers

See materialistic success and spiritual

fulfilment as dualities, requiring trade-

offs

Value instant gratification and place

higher priorities on immediate rewards

Emphasize leadership that focuses on

repetition of reproducible and routine

sequences.

Source: Adapted from Ashkanasy et al., 2004: 302.

Gender Egalitarianism (GE) refers to ‗the degree to which an organization or a society

minimizes gender role differences while promoting gender equality‘ (House and

Javidan, 2004: 12). Table 6 below provides the most common differences between

societies with high GE and those with low GE.

53

Table 6: High versus low gender egalitarianism

Societies that score higher on gender

egalitarianism tend to:

Societies that score lower on gender

egalitarianism tend to:

Have more women in positions of authority

Accord women a higher status in society

Afford women a greater role in community

decision making

Have a higher percentage of women

participating in the labour force

Have less occupational sex segregation

Have higher female literacy rates

Have similar levels of education of females

and males.

Have fewer women in positions of

authority

Accord women a lower status in society

Afford women on or a smaller role in

community decision making

Have a lower percentage of women

participating in the labour force

Have more occupational sex segregation

Have lower female literacy rates

Have a lower level of education of females

relative to males.

Source: Adapted from Emrich et al., 2004: 359.

Assertiveness (AS) is defined as ‗the degree to which individuals in organizations or

societies are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in social relationships‘ (House

and Javidan, 2004: 12). Table 7 below provides the most common differences between

societies with high assertiveness and those with low assertiveness.

54

Table 7: High versus low assertiveness

Societies that score higher on

assertiveness tend to:

Societies that score lower on assertiveness

tend to:

Value assertive dominant and tough

behaviour for everyone society

Have a sympathy for the strong

Value competition

Believe that anyone can succeed if he or

she tries hard enough

Value success and progress

Value direct and unambiguous

communication

Value being explicit and to the point in

communication

Value expressiveness and revealing

thoughts and feeling

Have relatively positive connotation for

the term aggression (e.g. aggression helps

to win)

Have a just-world belief

Try to have control over the environment

Stress equity competition and

performance

Have a ‗can-do: ‘ attitude

Emphasize results over relationship

Value taking initiative

Reward performance

Expect demanding and challenging

targets

Believe that individuals are in control

Value what you do more than who you

are

Build trust on the basis of capabilities or

calculation

Act and think of others as opportunistic.

View assertiveness as socially unacceptable

and value modesty and tenderness

Have a sympathy for the week

Value cooperation

Associate competition with defeat and

punishment

Value people and warm relationships

Speak indirectly and emphasize ‗face-saving‘

Value ambiguity and subtlety in language and

communications

Value detached and self-possessed conduct

Have far more negative connotation with the

term aggression(e.g. aggression leads only to

negative out comes)

Have an unjust-world belief

Value harmony with the environment rather

than control

Stress equality solidarity and quality of life

Emphasize tradition seniority and quality of

life

Emphasize integrity loyalty and cooperative

spirit

View ‗merit pay‘ as potentially destructive to

harmony

Value who you are more then what you do

Build trust on the basis of predictability

Think of other as inherently worthy of trust.

Source: Adapted from Hartog, 2004: 405.

Collectivism and individualism has been divided into two dimensions. The first one of

these is Institutional Collectivism (InC) and reflects ‗the degree to which organizational

and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of

resources and collective action‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 12). The second dimension

is In-group Collectivism (IgC) which reflects ‗the degree to which individuals express

pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their organizations or families‘ (House and Javidan,

55

2004: 12). Table 8 provides the most common differences between societies with high

collectivism and those with high individualism.

Table 8: Individualism versus collectivism between societies

Feature of cultures that score higher on

collectivism

Feature of cultures that score higher on

individualism

Individuals are integrated into strong

cohesive groups

The self is viewed as interdependent with

groups

Group goals take precedence over

individual goals

Duties and obligation are important

determinants of social behaviour

People emphasize relatedness with

groups

Ecologies are agricultural and countries

are often developing

There is a slower pace of life

There are lower heart-attack rates

There is lower subjective well-being

There are more extended family

structures

Love is assigned less weight in marriage

decisions

There are lower divorce rates

Communication is indirect

Individuals are likely to engage in group

activities

Individuals have fewer social interaction

but interactions tend to be longer and

more intimate

Individuals make greater distinction

between in-groups and out-groups.

Individuals look after themselves or their

immediate families

The self is viewed as autonomous and

independent of group

Individual goals take precedence over

group goals

Attitudes and personal needs are

important determinants of behaviour

People emphasize rationality

Ecologies are hunting and gathering, or

industrial and wealthy

There is faster pace of life

There are higher heart-attack rates

There are higher subjective well-being

There are more nuclear family structures

Love is assigned greater weight in

marriage decisions

There are higher divorce rates

Communication is direct

Individuals are likely to engage in

activities alone

Individuals have more social interactions,

but interactions tend to be shorter and less

intimate

Individuals make fewer distinctions

between in-group and out-groups.

Source: Adapted from Gelfand et al., 2004: 454.

In addition, Table 9 below provides the most common differences between

organizations with high collectivism and those with high individualism.

56

Table 9: Individualism versus collectivism between organizations

Organizations that score higher on

collectivism:

Organizations that score higher on

individualism:

Members assume that they are highly

interdependent with the organization and

believe it is important to make personal

sacrifices to fulfil their organization

obligation

Employees tend to develop long-term

relationship with employers from

recruitment to retirement

Organization take responsibility for

employee welfare

Important decision tend to be made by

groups

Selection can focus on relation attributes

of employees

Jobs are designed in groups to maximize

the social and technical aspects of the job

Training is emphasized more than

selection

Compensation and promotion are based

on what is equitable for the group and on

considerations of seniority and personal

needs

Motivation is socially oriented, and is

based on the need to fulfil duties and

obligations and to contribute to the group

Organizational commitment is based on

expectations of loyalty and in-group

attitudes

Prosocial behaviours ,or organizational

citizenship behaviours, are more

common

Avoidant, obliging, compromising, and

accommodating conflict resolution

tactics are preferred

Accountability for organizational

successes and failures rests with groups,

Members assume that they are

independent of the organization and

believe it is important to bring their

unique skills and abilities to the

organization

Employees develop short-term

relationships, and change companies at

their own discretion

Organizations are primarily interested in

the work that employees perform and

not their personal or family welfare

Important decisions tend to be made by

individuals

Selection focuses primarily on

employees knowledge, skills, and

abilities

Jobs are designed individually to

maximize autonomy

Selection is emphasized more than

training

Compensation and promotions are

based on an equity model in which an

individual is rewarded in direct

relationship to his or her contribution to

task success

Motivation is individually oriented and

is based on individual interests, needs,

and capacities

Organizational commitment is based on

individuals rational calculations of costs

and benefits

Prosocial behaviours, or organizational

citizenship behaviours, are less common

Direct and solution-oriented conflict

resolution tactics are preferred

Accountability for organizational

successes and failures rests with

individuals.

Source: Adapted from Gelfand et al., 2004: 459.

Power Distance (PD) is defined as ‗the degree to which members of an organization or

society expect and agree that power should be stratified and concentrated at higher level

57

of an organization or government‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 12). Table (2.10) below

provides the most common differences between societies with high PD and those with

low PD.

Table 10: High versus low power distance

Parameters Higher power distance Lower power distance

Social inequities Society differentiated into classes on

several criteria

Society has large middle class

Power bases Power bases are stable and

scare(e.g., landownership)

Power bases are transient and

sharable (e.g., skill, knowledge)

Role of power Power is seen as providing social

order, relational harmony, and role

stability

Power is seen as a source of

corruption, coercion, and

dominance

Social mobility Limited upward social mobility High upward social mobility

Information

control

Information is localized Information is shared

Governance Different groups (e.g., women)have

different involvement, and democracy

does not ensure equal opportunities

All the groups enjoy equal

involvement, and democracy

ensures parity in opportunities

and development for all

Indigenous

orientation and

independence

Strong non-native historical influences

and recent independence of the

society

Strong native historical

influences and long standing

independence of the society

Civil freedom Civil liberties are weak and public

corruption high

Civil liberties are strong and

public corruption low

Resources and

capabilities

Only a few people have access to

resources, skill, and capabilities,

contributing to low human

development and life expectancies

Mass availability of tools,

resources, and capabilities for

independent and entrepreneurial

initiatives, as reflected in wide

educational enrolment

Consumption Higher growth rates of consumption

and high need for resource

coordination

Mature growth rates of

consumption and high per capita

purchasing power

Technology Mass use of technology, which

supports general power distance

reduction

Need for specialized technology,

adapted to each user

Source: Adapted from Carl et al., 2004: 536.

Humane Orientation (HO) is defined as ‗the degree to which individuals in

organizations or societies encourage and reward individuals for being fair, altruistic,

friendly, generous, caring, and kind to others‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 13). Table 11

below provides the most common differences between societies with high HO and those

with low HO.

58

Table 11: High versus low human orientation

High humane orientation societies Low humane orientation societies

Others are important (i.e. family, friends,

community, strangers).

Self-interest is important

Fewer psychological and pathological problems. More psychological and pathological

problems.

Values of altruism, benevolence, kindness, love,

and generosity have high priority.

Values of pleasure, comfort, self-enjoyment

have high priority.

Need for belonging and affiliation motivate

people.

Power and material possessions motivate

people.

Personal and family relationships induce

protection for the individuals.

Welfare state guarantees social and

economic protection of individuals.

Close circle receives material, financial, and

social support; concern extends to all people and

nature.

Lake of support for others; predominance of

self-enhancement.

Members of society are responsible for

promoting well-being of others: the state is not

actively involved

State provides social and economic support

for individuals, well-being.

The state supports the private sector and

maintains a balance between public and private

domains.

The state sponsors public provisions and

sector.

Public policymakers establish sanctions against

child labour practices.

Public policymaker considers child labour

practices as a somewhat less-important

issue.

Members of society are urged to be sensitive to

all forms of racial discrimination.

Member of society are not sensitive to all

forms of racial discrimination.

People are expected to promote paternalistic

norms and patronage relationship.

Formal welfare institutions replace

paternalistic norms and patronage

relationship.

People are urged to provide social support to

each others.

People are expected to solve personal

problem on their own.

The children less-developed societies are

expected to give material support to their parents

in their old age.

The children of more

Developed societies are not expected to

give material support to their parents in their

old age.

The children less-developed societies can

participate in the labour force to help out their

families.

The children of more

Developed societies are not expected to

participate in labour force to help out their

families.

Children should be obedient.

Children should be autonomous.

Parents should closely control their children.

Family members are independent.

Source: Adapted from Kabasakal and Bodur, 2004: 570.

Finally, Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) reflects: ‗the extent to which members of an

organization or society strive to avoid uncertainty by relying on established social

norms, rituals, and bureaucratic practices‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 11). Table 12

59

below indicates the most common differences between societies with high UA and

those with low UA.

Table 12: High versus low uncertainty avoidance

Societies that score higher on uncertainty

avoidance tend to:

Societies that score lower on uncertainty

avoidance tend to:

Have a tendency toward formalizing their

interactions with others

Document agreements in legal contracts

Be orderly, keeping meticulous records,

documenting conclusions drawn in meeting

Rely on formalized policies and procedures,

establishing and following rules, verifying

communications in writing

Take more moderate calculated risks

Inhibit new product development but

facilitate the implementation stage through

risk aversion and tight controls

Show stronger resistance to change

Show stronger desire to establish rules

allowing predictability of behaviour

Show less tolerance for breaking rules.

Have a tendency to be more informal in their

interaction with others

Rely on the word of others trust rather than

contractual arrangements

Be less concerned with orderliness and the

maintenance of records; often do not

document the conclusions drawn in meetings

Rely on informal interaction and informal

norms rather than formalized policies,

procedures and rules

Be less calculating when taking risks

Facilitate the new product development

especially in the initiation phase through

higher risk taking and minimal planning or

controls

Show less resistance to change

Show less desire to establish rules to dictate

behaviour

Show more tolerance for breaking rules.

Source: Adapted from Luque and Javidan, 2004: 618.

2.6 Culture and management:

Many studies confirm that management styles as well as managerial attitudes are highly

associated with national culture (see, for example, Wu, 2012). This association can be

noticed immediately through the linkage between people and tasks in one of the most

general definitions of management, which is ‗getting things done through other people‘

(Hofstede, 2007). Since his earliest work, Hofstede (1983) has argued that the

relationship between management and national culture may not be apparent to

everybody. He suggests three main factors involved in making nationality important to

management. The first one is political – that nations play an essential role in forming

governmental systems like the legal system and educational, labour and employer's

association systems. The second is sociological, as nationality carries our symbolic

value of who we are. The third reason is psychological, in that an individual‘s way of

61

thinking is partly dominated by national culture factors (Hofstede, 1983: 75–76).

Hofstede (1983: 88) concluded that ‗[b]oth management practitioners and

management theorists over the past 80 year have been blind to the extent to which

activities like ‗management‘ and ‗organizing‘ are culturally dependent‘.

Many researchers have emphasized the impact of culture on employees‘ behaviours

and attitudes in addition to the effect of different management practices such as change

management, decision making, HRM, work-related attitude, negotiation, reward

management, and leadership (Kirkman et al., 2006; Elsaid and Elsaid, 2012). Culture

also plays a positive role in organizational effectiveness and innovation (Denison and

Mishra, 1995). Furthermore, Smith et al. (2002: 190) argue that culture affects even the

meaning of some management concepts like teamwork, participation, and leadership,

and therefore no equivalence can be assumed in what these terms actually mean. For

example, in collective societies, the meanings of such concepts are more contextualized

than they are in individualist societies.

Moreover, several arguments have been made in regard to the importance of culture

to organizational behaviour, management studies, and human resource management. For

example, Kedia and Bhagat (1988) presented a conceptual model which confirmed the

role of national culture as an important element in transferring technology across

nations. Moreover, a study by Mohammed et al. (2008) found significant links between

the cultural dimensions of Individualism, Masculinity and Uncertainty Avoidance and

effective project management.

In fact, Hofstede (1983) came to the conclusion in the early 1980s that ‗management

and organization are penetrated with culture from the beginning to the end‘, arguing

that management is a ‗symbolic activity‘ (Hofstede, 1984: 82) where managers‘

attitudes influence and motivate employees. Excluding national culture from

consideration in the workplace might lead to managerial conflict and misunderstanding.

He further emphasized this view in his later work, arguing the importance of culture as

an essential factor to be considered when studying an organization as it shapes the way

in which the employees interact and behave in the workplace (Hofstede, 1993).

Adler and Bartholomew (1992: 558) performed a survey of articles concerned with

organization behaviour (OB) and human resources management (HRM) in an

international context in the major academic and professional journals. They found that

70.6 per cent of these articles included the concept of ‗culture‘ in their studies and most

of these articles (93.8 per cent) emphasized the cultural influence on different issues.

60

Also, Landes (2000) placed emphasis on the comprehensive role of culture, claiming

that it is culture which constitutes almost all of the observable differences between

societies. DeCenzo and Robbins, (2002) argued for the importance of understanding

cultural environments in ensuring business success, and Cullen (2002: 381) stated that:

‗The cultural differences inherent in all forms of international strategic alliances operate

at all levels of culture, especially the national, business and organizational levels‘.

Consequently, by applying this point across cultures, we can understand why many

international investments and projects face problems, and this is reflected in the

statement of Ali that:

[T]he failure of transferring Western management approaches to other cultures

is often attributed to the lack of understanding that these management

techniques were based on a different frame of mind and different cultural

assumptions. (Ali et al., 2005: 3)

Aycan et al. (2000) conducted a cross-cultural study where 1,954 employees from 10

countries completed a 57-items questionnaire to investigate the influence of culture on

HRM. Their findings assert the significant impact of cultural dimensions on HRM

practices in the majority of the countries studied. More recently, Rao (2009) used five

of the GLOBE dimensions (power distance, uncertainty avoidance, in-group

collectivism, gender egalitarianism, and performance-orientation) to conduct a study

examining the role of national cultural dimensions on staffing practices. The findings

confirm the importance of cultural influences on staffing practices in general and e-

recruitment in particular.

To conclude, all the previous studies discussed in this section have confirmed that

the influence of culture on management is sufficiently apparent to be considered

seriously in management studies. No better summary of this position can be given than

that of Gales (2008: 20), given in the conclusion of his article investigating the role of

culture in technology management research in today's global environment, who stated

that: ‗To create good theory, to conduct sound research, and to efficiently manage, we

must do a better job of understanding the role of national culture in that environment‘.

2.7 Arab and Middle Eastern Culture

All of the Arab countries, including Oman, have common shared cultural components

such as Islam as a dominant religion, Arabic as a dominant and official language, and

tribalism as a social system. Islam is considered to be a very powerful element which

62

has an obvious impact on societal and political systems in the Arab world and

individuals‘ behaviours are dominated by their religious affiliation in the entire Arab

world (Ali, 1996). Tayeb (1997: 354) agrees with such a view, stating that, ‗[i]n the

countries which are expressly modelled after a religious ideal, this influence is of course

far more extensive and inclusive‘.

An additional influence is tribalism, which plays an important role in characterizing

Arab culture (Mohamed et al., 2008; Rees and Althakhri, 2008). Mohamed et al. define

tribal knowledge as:

[A]n eternal knowledge that can be transferred from generation to generation

through traditional, socially facilitational means such as storytelling, but to

some extent also exists in inertia and is rarely tapped for transformative

capacities. (Mohamed et al., 2008: 112)

This ‗eternal knowledge‘ is endowed with a high degree of mutual by members of

Arab societies. To Arabs, the tribe is a reference point for their personality and a sign of

social cohesiveness. It conveys an individual‘s historical rotes, pedigree, privilege, and

class.

As a result of these common attributes, Arabs generally share the same traditions and

attitudes (practices), and norms and beliefs (values). However, this does not mean that

these societies are undifferentiated. Indeed, each country has its own historical

background, political agenda, state economy, laws and regulations, and even different

degrees of religiosity. In addition, scholars have observed that any technological or

economical transformations in the surrounding environment affect cultural values in

that environment (Fertig, 1996). Agreeing with this view, Tsui et al. (2007: 466) argued

that: ‗Recognizing and incorporating the likelihood of cultural change is especially

important for those scholars who study nations with rapid economic, technological, and

social development‘.

However, the Arab world was not originally included in Hofstede‘s seminal work on

culture. Later, data collected from only 141 respondents from seven countries (Egypt,

Lebanon, Libya, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates) was used to

represent the entire Arab region with its population of over 300 million (Smith et al.,

2007). The results of this limited data set were used to categorize Arab countries as high

in power distance, high in uncertainty avoidance, low in individualism, and high in

masculinity (Hofstede, 1980).

63

Some empirical management studies have confirmed Hofstede‘s findings on Arab

culture, for example Ali et al. (1997), Ali et al. (2006) and Whiteoak et al. (2006), while

several other studies have also followed Hofstede‘s methodology but with results that

are not in agreement with his findings. For instance, Bjerke and Al-Meer (1993: 35)

concluded that their findings were not consistent with Hofstede‘s data as their study

showed that, ‗Saudi Arabia scores considerably higher on power distance and

uncertainty avoidance; considerably lower on individualism and relatively lower on

masculinity‘. Another empirical study whose findings varied from Hofstede‘s results

was that undertaken by Al-Twaijri and Al-Muhaiza (1996) to measure Hofstede‘s

cultural dimensions in GCC countries. The study found that, compared to those Arab

countries studied by Hofstede, Oman scored higher on the dimensions of power distance

and high uncertainly avoidance and lower on masculinity. However, Mujtaba et al.

(2009) argued that such variation could be related to processes of cultural change and

the increased participation of Omani females in the workplace.

In the GLOBE project, the Middle East was one of the regional clusters, represented

through samples from five countries: Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait, Qatar, and Turkey, with

a total sample size of 905 respondents. For the purpose of their project, GLOBE

grouped the study countries into a set of ten clusters according to two main elements:

region and climate (Gupta and Hanges, 2004). When compared to other regions in the

world, the average score of the Middle East group in societal cultural practice (As Is)

was high only in the In-group Collectivism dimension, while the score was mid-level in

the following dimensions: Performance Orientation, Assertiveness, Human Orientation,

Institutional Collectivism, and Power Distance. Future Orientation, Gender

Egalitarianism, and Uncertainty Avoidance dimensions were rated low. On the other

hand, the average score of the Middle East region in cultural values (Should Be) was

high in the following dimensions: Future Orientation, Institutional Collectivism, Power

Distance, and Uncertainty Avoidance, while the score was mid-level in the following

dimensions: Performance Orientation, Human Orientation, and In-group Collectivism.

The dimensions of Gender Egalitarianism and Assertiveness were rated low (see Figure

1).

64

Figure 1: Middle Eastern cluster result in GLOBE study.

Source: Javidan et al., 2004: 34.

However, each of the 62 societies has a rank in each cultural dimension as well as

having been placed in a certain band. This represents that the differences between

countries are so small as to be insignificant, so they could all be considered to have the

same level of presence in that dimension, and so can be banded together. This technique

was used to prevent initial misinterpretations which might be caused by the ranking

method (Hanges et al., 2004). An illustrative example was provided by Hanges et al.

(2004). Although Thailand has the top ranking among societies in the uncertainty

avoidance dimension while Greece was ranked 17, they both fall within the same band.

Such a methodology indicates that there are variations even between countries within

one cluster. Taking societal practices in the Gender Egalitarianism dimension as an

example, it can be seen that each individual country in the in Middle Eastern region has

a different score. Qatar scored 3.63 and was placed in Band A, Turkey (2.89), Morocco

(2.84), and Egypt (2.81) were placed in Band B, and, lastly, Kuwait scored 2.58 and

was placed in Band C (Emrich et al., 2004). Such findings may help explain the

findings of the comparative study undertaken by Buda and Elsayed-Elkhouly (1998)

which showed that employees in Gulf States are more collectivistic compared to their

Egyptian counterparts. Another example of this variation between countries in one

65

cluster is the interesting finding by Hofstede with regard to the higher degree of

masculinity in Islamic Sunni communities compared to Shia communities (Hofstede and

Hofstede, 2005: 153).

2.8 The Dilemma of Culture and Management in the Middle East

For management science, being a country from the third world where there is not even a

single established academic journal (Cooke, 2004) is a dilemma in itself. In addition,

Robertson et al. (2001: 224), after reviewing all articles published in a ten year period

(1990–1999) in the Journal of International Business Studies for their subject region,

observed that the Middle East‘s share in these articles was less than 1 per cent. This

ignorance concerning such an important area impacts management growth in both

literature and practices. In reality most management and cultural studies concentrate on

western countries (Rao, 2009), while research in the Middle East is still insufficient

(Kabasakal et al., 2012). Indeed, it is hard to find any article that tackles Arab

management without referring to Islam, tribalism and family as the main components of

Arab culture. Wines and Napier (1992: 835) stated that ‗values reflected through

religious affiliation in some cases may influence management practice‘. As they argue,

critical points that management should understand and consider throughout the

decision-making process include cultural values and attributes.

In Arab and Muslim countries the authoritarian administrative system, in conjunction

with the influence of social attributes such as tribalism and religion, have a large

influence on public administration systems (Haque, 1997). As an example of this

influence, Bakhtari (1995) carried out a comparative study between American and

Middle Eastern management to discover the cultural effects on management style. The

results showed that Arab managers prefer to practise a coercive management style more

than do their American colleagues. However, even within these very limited studies, the

role of Islam in ethical management has rarely been investigated (Whiteoak et al.,

2006). In terms of time orientation, Zaharna (1995) argued that Arab culture is past-

oriented while American is future-oriented. Therefore, Arab managers, unlike

American, are not familiar with future activities like planning and organizing as they

believe that future is at the same time both uncertain and unchangeable. The term

‗insha'a Allah‘ or ‗God willing‘ predominately follows any proposal for a future task or

plan, with the sense that ‗only God who knows for sure if an action will or will not

occur‘ (Zaharna, 1995: 251).

66

From a management studies point of view, Arabs in general share the same cultural

attributes. Rees and Althakhri (2008: 128) characterize Arab culture as ‗strongly group

oriented, male-oriented and dominated by large power distance, strong uncertainty

avoidance, and long term orientation‘. Similarly, Al-Yahya et al. (2009), discussing the

importance of national culture in forming management practices, described Arab culture

as ‗sharing relatively high collectivist and power-distance orientations, as well as highly

centralized hierarchal decision making‘ and Dedoussis (2004) argued that, while Arab

managers respect friendly relationships and group harmony, they assert the importance

of loyalty and obedience from their employees. Tribal culture has also contributed to

building particular work values with Arab managers, for example face-saving (Gregg,

2005). Bakhtari (1995: 102) described Middle Eastern management as traditional,

appearing to be religious; family-oriented; consultative; conservative in risk taking;

individualistic (in the context of their own culture) and less participative; and finally

male-dominated. Individuals, in cultures such as those of Japan and the Arab countries,

are more concerned with ‗what he is‘ than ‗what he does‘ (Zaharna, 1995: 243–244).

Such studies give an indication about how individuals appreciate someone‘s position

within the societal or organizational system of hierarchy more than his/her performance.

Indeed, this strong collectiveness of Arab society has created another conflict in the

workplace as employees usually overlap between their personal relationships and their

professional life (Alawadhi and Morris, 2009).

The dilemma of management in the Arab countries is multifaceted and further

complicated by a number of other factors. The poor standard of knowledge and

experience, as well as the economic revolution, have each made the problem even

worse. Robertson et al. (2001) argue that rapid movement toward industrialization in the

Arab world without having a strong managerial infrastructure in place have

differentiated Arab managerial thought from that of the rest of the world, leading it to

become fragmented and directionless. Furthermore, the influence of tribalism,

patriarchal family structure, and strong top-down authority through what is called

‗Bedo-aucracy‘ or ‗Sheikocracy‘, foreign rules and oil revenue have made the

management dilemma differ from one Arab country to another. It is over ten years since

Robertson et al. (2001) published their research, and to this day these mixed, and in

many cases conflicted, elements are shaping today‘s so-called Arab management.

In addition, it could be argued that, to a large extent, there is a complex relationship

between Arab cultural values and real practices. For instance, Rizzo et al. (2007), after

67

looking at several studies which traced democracy in the Muslim world, stated that,

‗Individuals‘ identification with Islamic religion and culture does not seem to be a

barrier to the democratization process‘. Rice (1999) noted such a conflict between

values and philosophy while studying Islamic ethics in Egypt. Islamic values promote

unity and non-discriminatory attitudes in the workplace, while nepotism, favouritism,

and social relation are the landmark of Egyptian practices. Also, in the management

area, Islam itself reinforces many positive attitudes in management such as trust

between mangers and subordinates, honesty at work, loyalty, consultation in decision-

making, co-operation and team working (Tayeb, 1997; Al-Buraey, 2001; Ghafory-

Ashtiany, 2009). Furthermore, Ilhaamie (2009: 228) stated that:

Through Islamic human resource practices, manpower that is high achiever,

creative, innovative and most importantly; God fearing and sound moral

characters will be produced… [Islam also] does not endorse high power

distance. (Carl et al., 2004: 521)

In Shariah law, all Muslims, women and men, are equal in front of Allah and the best

one is the best in taqwa’ (righteousness and piety). While Islam encourages

collectiveness as one community, it also emphasizes individualism in performance. In

general, all Islamic principles consider equality and justice as their main bases and

strengths.

Nevertheless, in real-world practice, Muslim societies have strongly hierarchical

systems and high power distance. Discrimination issues in employment, particularly

nepotism, favouritism, gender inequality, and wasta, are widespread in Arab

management. It is apparent that these many forms of inequality in employment equity

are not derived from Islam. Although Islam emphasizes the importance of family

relations and kinship (Seleim and Bontis, 2009), this does not imply discrimination

against others in favour of family or friends. Such attitudes may be more related to

tribalism or incorrect interpretation of the religion‘s doctrines. Indeed, these conflicts

between values and real practice deserve to be studied to reveal the whole picture of

management culture.

2.9 Conclusion

As is apparent from the discussion above, culture in its general sense, either societal or

organizational, has a significant impact on human life and activities. Scholars have

always been trying to quantify such influence, firstly by understanding the term culture,

68

then dividing it into measurable dimensions, and finally applying it through an

empirical methodology to gain a better understanding of the system under study.

Nonetheless, such a process is not as easy as might at first sight be thought. Culture

cannot be simply divided into separate boxes as it is a complicated concept, and each

country usually differs from others in many aspects. Javidan reinforces this point,

stating that:

[S]ocietal culture is too complex to be presented in black and white... it should

also be clear that most cultures do not neatly fit into the extremes in any

typology stereotype. (Javidan, 2004: 246)

Within this chapter, the study has addressed some important issues which have been

discussed by the literature, to introduce a solid base of the research in this area. The

chapter first introduced the term ‗culture‘ as viewed by management authors. It then

explained in depth the reasons behind the choice of the GLOBE study as the most

relevant of the available models of cultural dimensions, and therefore the one which will

be used as part of this study instrument. After that, the chapter gave a clear overview of

the GLOBE cultural dimensions followed by a discussion of the influence of culture on

management.

In addition, one important point was raised in this chapter about the possible

variations between countries within one cluster. This analysis supports the need, as part

of this research study, to do a country-specific analysis to discover the Omani cultural

dimensions. This will enhance the study by allowing it to achieve more accurate results.

Also, the chapter analysed the dilemma of management and culture in Arab countries

from different perspectives.

In the next chapter, the study will focus in more details on a discussion of

employment equity, as this will be one area, among others, that this research will

investigate in more detail.

69

Chapter Three

Literature Review of Employment Equity

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where

they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their

character. (Martin Luther King Jr., Washington, DC, August 1963)

3.0 Introduction

Managing diversity in a workplace and providing employment equity in treatment and

opportunity have always been placed at the centre of organizational justice. Therefore,

organizations have adopted different programmes to reach such a goal and to avoid any

legal accountability. Employment equity (EE) programmes or policies occur ‗whenever

an organization devotes resources (including time and money) to making sure that

people are not discriminated against on the basis of their gender or their ethnic group‘

(Crosby et al., 2006: 587). Academically, the topic has become a cross-disciplinary

interest among several academic disciplines such as sociologists, economists, and

psychologists. Accordingly, different administrative applications and approaches appear

in the field, mainly in Western countries such as the US, Canada, and UK. Some of

these policies deal with the phenomena in a proactive manner, for example Affirmative

Action, while others apply a passive policy approach such as Equal Employment

Opportunities (ibid.).

Because all of these approaches are originally based on state legislation, they are not

operating in a vacuum. In the main they interact with, and sometimes form part of,

several organization mechanisms. Different disciplines have proposed different

approaches toward equality and justice in the workplace. However, a topic like

discrimination might be called a never-ending dilemma. According to Walsh (2009: 59),

‗employment discrimination is a continuing reality, but its nature has shifted in

accordance with changes in the workplace and societal attitudes‘. This endless presence

of discrimination requires the continuous upgrading of equality legislation as well as

solid implementation of that legislation in the workplace.

In the discussion in this chapter, the study will focus on highlighting the main

attempts to conceptualize the terms ‗organizational justice‘ and ‗employment equity‘.

After that, it will clarify three controversial equality approaches which are widely

recognized as the main contributors to forming management policies and practices

71

concerned with employment equity. The main critical factors behind employment

discrimination phenomena will then be introduced and described in detail.

3.1 Organizational Justice (OJ)

Since Adams‘ theory of equity (1963, 1965), organizational justice (OJ) has received

intensive attention among organizational scientists and organizational behaviour

scholars (Greenberg, 1990). As these studies have emphasized, OJ has both direct and

indirect impacts on employees‘ behaviours, attitudes, and perceptions (Ambrose et al.,

2007). Such impacts can positively or negatively affect the degree of their performance

and commitment, depending on the effectiveness of the implemented programme and to

what degree it is appreciated by the employees. Scholars in organizational justice argue

that organizational justice is motivated by three set of variables, which are:

(a) economic or instrumental factors (also referred to as ‗control‘ factors), (b)

those that affirm their standing within valued groups, and (c) values deemed

essential to the individual (ethical, moral virtue, or deontic values). (Goldman

et al., 2008: 954)

As a concept, organizational justice ‗is about the conditions of employment that lead

individuals to believe they are being treated fairly or unfairly‘ (Folger and Cropanzano,

1998: xii). To understand the mechanism of its application, organizational justice

scholars have sub-divisions for the main concept such as distributive justice theory,

procedural justice theory, and interactional justice theory (see, for example, Greenberg,

1990; Goldman, 2001; Roberson and Stevens, 2006; Goldman et al., 2006). According

to Folger and Konovsky (1989: 115), ‗Distributive justice refers to the perceived

fairness of the amounts of compensation employees receive; procedural justice refers to

the perceived fairness of the means used to determine those amounts‘. In addition,

interactional justice ‗focuses on interpersonal treatment received during enactment of a

procedure‘ (Goldman et al., 2006: 801). This latter type has been also divided into two

types, interpersonal justice and informational justice. Cropanzano et al. (2007: 36)

distinguished between these types, as shown in Table 13.

70

Table 13: Types of organizational justice

Distributive Justice: Appropriateness of outcomes.

● Equity: Rewarding employees based on their contributions.

● Equality: Providing each employee roughly the same compensation.

● Need: Providing a benefit based on one‘s personal requirements.

Procedural Justice: Appropriateness of the allocation process.

● Consistency: All employees are treated the same.

● Lack of Bias: No person or group is singled out for discrimination or ill-

treatment.

● Accuracy: Decisions are based on accurate information.

● Representation of All Concerned: Appropriate stakeholders have input into a

decision.

● Correction: There is an appeals process or other mechanism for fixing

mistakes.

● Ethics: Norms of professional conduct are not violated.

Interactional Justice: Appropriateness of the treatment one receives from authority

figures.

● Interpersonal Justice: Treating an employee with dignity, courtesy, and respect.

● Informational Justice: Sharing relevant information with employees.

Source: Cropanzano et al., 2007: 36.

As illustrated above, distributive justice is based on differentiation, recognizing

employees based on their merits and rewarding their contributions accordingly.

Although employees with higher performance will receive greater compensation in

comparison to other employees (equity), the compensation will nevertheless be

generally be equivalent between employees (equality), and this compensation will be

related to their personal requirement (need). On the other hand, procedural justice is

structured around six rules, starting with designing a fair process by providing all

employees, without any bias, with the means to carry out their assigned tasks. Decisions

are made according to accurate information, while each individual has the right to

appeal. Professional stakeholders are assigned to ensure representative judgments and

so that the voices of all groups are represented. Ethics and morals are highly respected

as they are at the centre of the whole process.

72

Interactional justice is about dealing with people sensitivity and interactional

treatment. It has been divided into interpersonal and informational justice. Interpersonal

justice is linked with personal treatment, as individuals seek to be given politeness,

courtesy, respect, and dignity. In contrast, informational justice is related to fairly

sharing the relevant information, as well as providing a proper explanation of how and

why the process of decision-making has been carried out.

However, it has been argued that each of these theories is relevant to the attitudes of

different kind of employees, and accordingly has a different outcome. For instance,

distributive justice is mainly related to specific events or attitudes such as pay

satisfaction and performance appraisal satisfaction, whereas procedural justice and

interactional justice are more likely to increase system-related attitudes such as trust and

commitment towards organizational systems and authority (Ambrose et al., 2007).

Therefore, scholars like McFarlin and Sweeney (1992) argued that the latter two justice

types might be more of more benefit, to organizations, while the first type is more

related to employees‘ personal satisfaction. To gain the most comprehensive and

beneficial result among these types, scholars have suggested several models of OJ.

Ambrose et al. (2007: 22–25) highlight four models of OJ, as listed below and

illustrated in Figure 2).

The two factors models: In this model, scholars are trying to achieve an effective

collaboration between distributive justice and procedural justice.

The three factors models: institutional justice was added to the previous one after

separating it from being part of procedural justice. So, distributive justice is

related to event attitude while procedural justice and institutional justice are

related to system-related attitude.

The four factors models: institutional justice was divided into two different types,

interpersonal justice informational justice and treated side by side with procedural

justice and distributive justice. So, distributive justice and interpersonal justice are

related to event attitude while procedural justice and informational justice are

related to system-related attitude.

The event mediation models: event attitudes mediate the relationship between the

four types of justice on one side and system-related attitudes on the other side.

73

Source: Ambrose et al., 2007: 25.

In general, there is no final consensus between organizational justice scholars with

regard to the most effective theory among these three models. As discussed, all these

types can be applied, performed and integrated together for a better justice result.

However, although these theories try to deals with discrimination phenomena from

different perspectives, they still revolve around two main considerations, firstly to

guarantee equity between employees, and secondly to ensure high performance from

employees.

3.2 Employment Equity and Human Resource Management

Many scholars agreed that Human Resource Management (HRM) was the most suitable

environment in which to apply and implement equality policy and insure organizational

justice (Paré and Tremblay, 2007; Dickens, 2001; Agocs and Burr, 1996; Human,

1996). Laurent (1986: 97) stated clearly that ‗human resource management practices are

likely to be most sensitive to cultural diversity as they are designed by culture bearers in

order to handle other culture bearers‘. Strachan et al. (2004: 196) further stated:

The main process for implementing progressive and inclusive equity

programmes at the workplace is through human resource management policies

Figure 2: Three models of justice

74

that link employment diversity to organizational objectives (for example,

productivity and profitability). (Strachan et al., 2004: 196)

This focus of managerial awareness on the importance of equality between

employees, along with the enforcement of the legislation of the host country, has led

HRM practitioners and policy-makers in western countries to introduce particular HRM

formulations in response to employment discrimination and the persistence of the

existence of disadvantaged groups (Agocs and Burr, 1996). Konrad and Linnehan

(1995) distinguish between two main formalizations:

Identity-blind approach: meaning the implementation of ‗formalized HRM practices

designed to ensure that the human resource decision-making process is the same

for each individual‘ (ibid.: 789). Evaluation or differentiation between individuals

according to this approach is based on their merits and capability of doing the job

rather than any other reasons.

Identity-conscious approach: for example affirmative action, means striving to

‗identify structures that formally recognize the gender, race, national origin or

other protected identity of an individual‘ (ibid.: 790). In this approach HRM

decision-makers take into consideration the identity of different demographic

groups in addition to individuals‘ merits.

These formalizations were primarily implemented to enhance the protection of

minority groups from discrimination on the basis of their sex, class, origin, or affiliation

to a tribe or group. Three main points can be easily noted – each approach: (1) is

informed by a particular theory of justice; (2) has a specific equality procedure; and (3)

is based on societal culture. Culture, as will be discussed in depth later in this study, is a

vital element in management approaches like Human Resource Management (HRM) or

International Human Resource Management (IHRM). Agocs and Burr stated that:

It is increasingly recognized that inequality and disadvantage on the basis of

race, gender and disability results from discrimination that is systemic deeply

embedded within the culture and structures of the workplace. (Agocs and Burr,

1996: 31)

Therefore, choice between these two formalizations should be considered carefully

because of the sensitivity of the subject and the specific nature of the host country. For

instance, Konrad and Linnehan (1995) argued that in the United States, from where

75

most of these formalizations emerged, identity-conscious or affirmative action might be

perceived as discrimination in itself, as many US citizens now believe that

discrimination based on identity does not exist anymore.

3.3 The Importance of Equity in Employment

The term ‗employment‘ is used here in a sense that goes beyond being just a contract

between two parties to one that is more related to every aspect of an individual‘s

working life, including the relationship between employee and employer. Jahoda

suggested that:

First, employment imposes a time structure on the waking day; second,

employment implies regularly shared experiences and contacts with people

outside the nuclear family; third, employment links individuals to goals and

purposes that transcend their own; fourth, employment defines aspects of

personal status and identity; and finally, employment enforces activity.

(Jahoda, 1979: 312, cited in Jahoda, 1981: 188)

This mechanism of employee-employer relationship needs to be controlled through

fairness procedures applicable to all, which cannot be achieved unless an adequate

employment equity (EE) policy is in place.

Equity and equality in employment is still the subject of substantial debate, even in

western countries where, although plenty of regulations have been promulgated,

minorities are still facing disadvantages when compared to white males (Syed and

Özbilgin, 2009). The situation in the Middle East is even worse because of the absence

of obvious EE agendas, while the available regulations in regard to equity are limited

and lack the required level of detail.

In the UK, the real implications of EEO started to become apparent at the end of the

1970s and during the 1980s when some public sector employers began to apply EO

policies to implement equal opportunities legislation at ground level (Webb, 1997). At

the same time, the Equal Opportunities Commission was founded (EOC, 1982) and

started its work by establishing what was called the ‗simple programme‘ with the

objective of eradicating employment discrimination.

Adams et al. (1995: 88) described the importance of equal employment opportunities

as a surety of continuity and stability in the workplace, ‗since one‘s job is fundamental

to one‘s whole experience of life‘. Equal opportunities, as Adams et al. (1995: 89) argue

further, ‗is not simply about securing equal rights but is a matter central to national

economic objectives and the need to make the most of all human resources‘. In line with

76

such a statement, the role of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) in Britain has

moved from the previous approach of just securing equal rights to gaining national and

economic benefits by asserting an effective implementation of gender equality.

Having a clear EE policy in organizations can enhance stability, reduce turnover, and

encourage high productivity among employees. This is because EE increases justice

between employees, valuates competencies, and prevents corruption in the working

environment. On the contrary, the absence of EE leads to workplace discrimination,

which is itself complex. Demuijnck (2009: 85) discussed this complexity, stating that,

‗different approaches show different discrimination mechanisms which are functioning

at different levels‘. In addition, the negative impacts of discrimination affect not just the

employee or potential employee, but organizations and societies as well. Scholars like

Turnipseed (2002), Rizzo et al. (2007), and Guiraudon (2009) link EO policies and

practices, particularly gender equality, to countries‘ political issues and democracy in

general, as well as to organizational citizenship behaviour, loyalty and commitment.

As will be demonstrated later in this chapter, management and the style of

managerial practices within an organization have a significant influence on employment

discrimination. To reach an equal and fair treatment between employees or potential

employees, it is a fundamental principle that management should ensure them having a

robust EE policy as well as a good implementation of it on the ground. This assurance

not only reflects positively of the organization‘s profile, it also prevents the negative

impacts of discrimination on the organization. As Demuijnck (2009) argued,

discrimination leads to the workplace losing competitive advantage as managers prefer

one ethnic group or particular sex more than the quality of the current or potential

employees‘ performance. Discrimination also has a financial and reputational cost to

organizations (James and Wooten, 2006) and can easily lead to instability among

employees as well as to poor performance.

3.4 Employment Equity Approaches

Terms like employment equity, employment equality, equal opportunities, and

affirmative action, have been used almost interchangeably in the literature with no

consensus on one clear definition for each concept. For example, Rabe (2001)

mentioned that the term equal opportunities was used almost like the term justice, and

he could not find a universal consensus definition for it. His suggestion was that

governments should group individuals according to their different needs and such

differences should be legally considered. In a constitutional sense, equality means that

77

‗those who are similarly situated must be treated equally, unless there are justifiable

reasons for not doing so‘ (Rabe, 2001: 21). In line with this view, Adams et al. (1995)

argued that equal opportunity is about achieving fairness in treatment between

individuals or groups by prohibiting any sort of discrimination. Looking at the two

levels of individuals and groups, it is arguably very hard to achieve equal treatment in

both levels simultaneously, as efforts to achieve equality at one level may affect the

other level.

Equal opportunity (EO) as a concept was adopted from a liberal philosophy which

emphasized equality between individuals in tem of justice and citizenship (Webb,

1997). Rawls (1999: 63), looking at equal opportunity from a liberal perspective, stated

that:

Those who are at the same level of talent and ability, and have the same

willingness to use them, should have the same prospects of success regardless

of their initial place in the social system, that is, irrespective of the income

class into which they are born. (Rawls, 1999: 63)

Jewson and Mason (1986) study the development of equal opportunities policy from

liberal and radical perspectives. They contrast the two approaches as shown in Table 14,

below.

Table 14: The differences between liberal and radical views of equal opportunities

policies

Elements of equal

opportunities policies

Conceptions of equal opportunities

Liberal Radical

Principles Fair procedure Fair distribution of rewards

Implementation Bureaucratization of decision

making (e.g. training)

Politicization of decision

making

Effectiveness Positive action Positive discrimination

Perceptions Justice seems to be done Consciousness raising (e.g.

training)

Source: Jewson and Mason, 1986: 312.

As can be observed from Table 14, liberal and radical perspectives differ from each

other in many ways. This section will explain these differences in detail, making

extensive use of the arguments of Jewson and Mason (1986).

78

Principles can be defined as ‗the notions of fairness and justice which are, explicitly

and implicitly, enshrined in the detailed rules and regulations of the formal policy‘

(ibid: 312). In principle, liberalism is concerned more with the procedure as it

believes that equality is all about personal quality which, by offering free and

equal opportunities, will ensure that the best individual will succeed according to

his/her abilities and talents. Radicalism emphasizes the importance of intervention

to ensure equal distribution of rewards between employees rather than equal

procedures. Therefore, radicalism tends to sort individuals into groups like

women, black, and disabled and to measure the effectiveness of EEO accordingly,

while liberalism concentrate on evaluating the equality of the procedures.

Implementation is ‗the means by which principle is translated into practice‘ (ibid:

313). With regard to this stage, liberals stress the necessity of the

bureaucratization of procedures, which surrounds EEO with rules and regulations.

They therefore emphasize training as the main tool for preparing qualified

advisors. On the other hand, radicals argue that decisions should not necessarily

follow a pre-planned procedure; they could be made according to the situation

itself while taking into consideration any opportunities to politically enhance

minority groups within an organization. However, the two approaches are both

problematic. Such approaches to implementation and their mechanisms risk

rejection due to a number of issues, such as excluding social communication in

the former approach or the selection of appropriate decision-makers in the latter.

Effectiveness refers to ‗the consequences of implementation for patterns of social life

within the institution or enterprise‘ (ibid.: 313). Both parties introduce

effectiveness using terms which are similar in name but different in practice.

‗Positive action‘ was proposed by liberals and ‗positive discrimination‘ by

radicals (ibid.: 322). The two terms have been defined in numerous ways.

However, the intent of positive action is to base selectivity on individual merit,

whereas positive discrimination aims to provide different societal groups with

similar percentage of opportunities, as in a quota system. Nevertheless, many

questions remain apparent and have not been fully answered – for example, what

is the best measurement method to determine the degree of success for each

approach? To what extent is positive discrimination legally accepted? And should

organizations seek for equal societal distribution (positive discrimination) or

quality of work performance (positive action)?

79

Perceptions, finally, is concerned with ‗thought and feeling about the policy by the

various participants in the policy-making process‘ (ibid.: 313). Openness and

openly publicizing equal and fair employment procedures are the main aims of the

liberal approach. In contrast, radicalism is more concerned with raising collective

awareness, consciousness, and solidarity throughout society as the most relevant

outcomes of their policy.

To summarize, the approach termed liberalism bases equality on individual merit and

a hierarchy of talent, in which higher level positions will be filled by the most talented

individuals. This view has been criticized, as most individuals are capable of

contributing valuably, but in different ways and manners, and ‗hierarchy brings out the

worst, not the best, in individuals‘ (Brenner, 1987: 449). On the other hand, radicalism

is about creating equal space for different social group rather than relying on

meritocracy. Brenner (1987) argued that even this approach can be criticized.

Employees feel injustice if they are not rewarded according to their performance, even

those who belong to target groups, such as women. However, should be mentioned that

the radical approach of positive discrimination is close to being illegal in many western

countries, excluding the case of the employment and treatment of disabled people

(Johns and Green, 2009).

3.4.1 Conceptual introduction to EEO and AA

The existence of antidiscrimination legislation in western countries has been recognized

for decades. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by

UN General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948, Article 7 says of

people that: ‗All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to

equal protection of the law‘. Article 23 further stated that:

(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and

favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment, (2)

Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal

work, and (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable

remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of

human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social

protection. (www.un.org)

In the United States, President Kennedy established in 1961 what was called ‗the

President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity‘ (Jones, 1984). Three years

later, the American Civil Rights Act of 1964-1 was enacted. This was a landmark in

81

American law as it is considered the first federal act which clearly mentions the concept

of equal opportunity and became the cornerstone for antidiscrimination legislation and

modern civil rights law in the United States (Rose, 1989). The act included employment

as one element which was laid under its umbrella of equality and justice.

At that time, two forms of equal employment were established, Affirmative Action

(AA) and Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) (Skrentny, 2001). AA emerged in

1961 to prohibit discrimination with regard to race, colour, creed, or national origin,

while EEO was announced in 1967, adding sex to the previous list. Then, in 1967, the

US Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, followed in 1972 by

the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination against disabled persons (Busse,

2005). According to Thomas (1990: 107), Affirmative Action was introduced to create a

so-called ‗U.S. business mainstream‘ with ‗enough space for everyone‘ and allow

minorities like women, ethnic groups, and sexual groups to participate freely and

equally through legal and social support. In employment, AA can be called ‗hiring

by numbers‘ as it focuses mainly on raising representation of disadvantaged groups

(Agocs and Burr, 1996: 32). Jones referred to the term as deeply rooted in the world of

equity, defining it as:

[P]ublic or private actions or programs which provide or seek to provide

opportunities or other benefits to persons on the basis of, among other things,

their membership in a specified group or groups. (Jones, 1985: 903)

However, it has been argued that there is no one consensus definition for EEO, AA

or EO because they involve several types of policies and practices (Human, 1996). Even

among scholars themselves, these definitions remain confusing (Reyna et al., 2005;

McMillan-Capehart, 2009). Therefore, to meet the requirements of this research, it is

essential here to determine the main definitions of these terms which the study will

follow from this point onward. Therefore, this study will follow Kleiman‘s (2000)

differentiation between the two forms, according to which AA is an approach based on

distributive justice theory and formalized in HRM as identity-conscious or colour-

conscious, whereas EO follows a procedural justice theory and is formalized in HRM as

an identity-blind or colour-blind approach. Both approaches were discussed earlier in

this chapter. The definitions which will be followed are therefore:

80

Equal Opportunity (EO) is ‗the concept of ensuring fair treatment for all employees

(or prospective employees) throughout the organization. It emphasizes the

importance of judging people according to the qualities, skills, and competencies

they possess, rather than prejudging them because of characteristics such as

gender, race/ethnicity, disability, age, or sexuality‘ (Dictionary of Human

Resource Management, Oxford Reference Online).

Affirmative Action (AA) is ‗a generic term for programmes which take some kind of

initiatives either voluntarily or under the compulsion of law, to increase, maintain,

or rearrange the number or status of certain group members usually defined by

race or gender, within a larger group‘ (Robert Ann Jonson, 1990: 77, cited in

Bacchi, 1996: x).

Companied Employment Equity Programme (CEEP), a concept that is informed by

both EO and AA approaches, is defined as ‗a comprehensive planning process by

an employer to identify and remove discrimination in employment policies and

practices, and to ensure appropriate representation of target groups throughout the

organization‘ (Falkenberg and Boland, 1997: 964).

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy (EEOP) is ‗a government‘s attempt to ensure

that all individuals have an equal opportunity for employment, regardless of

characteristics, such as sex, race, color or religion‘ (De Cieri and Kramar, 2003,

cited in Syed, 2008: 135).

Nevertheless, the degree of effectiveness of employment equality programmes

continues to be a subject of debate. Although Coate and Loury (1993: 1239) concluded

that affirmative action can remove the negative impact of stereotypes, they admitted

that, ‗there are equally plausible circumstances under which it will not only fail to

eliminate stereotypes, but may worsen them‘. Additionally, Rabe (2001: 22) argued that

affirmative action ‗limits the rights of individuals‘ as it might be the cause of injustice

in some cases where some employees might be advanced at the expense of other

employees.

In addition, two main criticisms have been expressed concerning EO. The first is

that, especially in the private sector, there is considerable ignorance concerning the

application of the legislation in daily practice. The second criticism addresses the model

itself, as this considers the formulation of the process rather that providing an effective

and adaptable plan to eliminate discrimination as well as to guarantee working

82

sustainability. Further, EOP has been shown to be costly in itself (Culley, 2001).

Moreover, because of the long and complicated procedures involved, it requires

substantial training and continuity of evaluation and monitoring. Nevertheless, both

programmes continue to be applied and enacted in public and private sectors, but with

no specific steps to follow other than committing to abide by the overriding anti-

discrimination regulation.

3.4.2 Diversity Management (DM)

As has been shown to be the case with other important employment equality terms and

concepts, diversity management (DM) was introduced in western countries, driven by

demographic, socio-cultural and economic factors (Syed and Özbilgin, 2009). Diversity

can be described as, ‗the distribution of personal attributes among interdependent

members of a work unit‘ (Jackson, 2003: 802), while DM has been defined as:

[A] process intended to create and maintain a positive work environment

where the differences of individuals are valued so that all can reach their

potential and maximise their contributions to the organizations strategic goals.

(Dhami, et al., 2006: 14)

In management practice, DM ‗is measured in every aspect of HR, including

compensation, promotion, training, and leadership at the managerial level, and use of

family friendly policies‘ (Magoshi and Chang, 2009: 31). However, human resource

managers distinguished diversity management from AA and EEO as it is based on

business goals (Skrentny, 2001). Thomas (1990) criticized DM the practice when used

in place of affirmative action as it fails to deal with prejudice or empower current

working minorities and urged that equal opportunities programmes should move beyond

just providing equal entry to equally-managed diversity.

Choi and Rainey (2009) argued that public sector organizations are more committed

to equal employment programmes such as EO and AA than is the private sector. This

high level of commitment requires a high level of diversity management to be able to

effectively manage employees‘ performance and organizational outcomes as well as to

minimize the negative impact of workplace diversity. To have a successful diversity

management programme, Thomas (1990: 112-117) suggests ten guiding principles:

Clarify your motivation: by moving beyond the reasons for why to have

diversity in the workplace to how we can get the best from this diversity.

83

Clarify your vision: by removing the previous image about other groups and

looking at all humankind as same then start from this point of view.

Expand your focus: by including all kinds of groups of people who might be

ignored in the main equality policy and creating one comprehensive culture.

Audit your corporate culture: by creating a culture of diversity within the

organization rather than assimilating diversity into the current culture.

Modify your assumptions: by believing that organization culture can be

changed and trying to do so, rather than continuing to focus on how much

opposition you will face and from whom.

Modify your system: modifying assumptions cannot be done without

modifying the climate of the organization by reviewing management

practices such as promotion, training, and performance appraisal.

Modify your models: by evaluating the modelling ideology of the managers

and the harmony of interaction between these managers and the employees‘

behaviour.

Help your people pioneer: since they know best way to manage diversity, it is

highly recommended to remove the barriers to innovation from in front of all

employees.

Apply the special consideration test: re-test the organizational culture and

whether it still treats minorities as opposers, or has become a real collective

culture where everybody is equal.

Continue affirmative action: by applying a circular evaluation where

affirmative action is needed to create diversity wherever it is not present.

Then mange this diversity by applying the previous steps.

Skrentny (2001: 106) presents a comparison between the three concepts, as shown in

Table 15.

84

Table 15: Comparison between main features of EEO, AA, and diversity

EEO AA Diversity

Source Statute Executive order and

federal regulations

Human resources specialist

in academic and

organizational setting

Rationale for

adoption

Legal compliance Legal compliance for

contractors

Strategic advantage

Implicit

cultural

values

Egalitarianism,

meritocracy

Remedy past wrongs Inclusiveness, respect for

differences

View of the

problem

Limited access and

individuals’ bigotry

Limited access coupled

with limited networks

and skills

Organization loses out by

asking workers to assimilate

to white male system

View of

solutions

Formalization of and

commitment to non-

discrimination will lead to

minorities’ and women’s

advancement

Targeted programmes

for recruitment,

mentoring, training will

lead to minorities’ and

women’s advancement

Culture change efforts will

remove systemic,

institutional barriers to

minorities’ and women’s

advancement

Concrete

practices

Policies, statements,

grievance procedures,

internal dispute resolution

systems

Affirmative action plans

with goals and

timetables, revision of

performance review

criteria, sensitivity and

interaction skills,

training, networking and

support groups, targeted

recruiting, targeted

training

Policies, statements,

diversity action plans with

goals and timetables,

revision of performance

review criteria, diversity

awareness and skills

training, networking and

support groups, diversity

task forces, culture audits

Concrete

effects

Workers have recourse,

within organization, for

dealing with discrimination

Minorities and women

brought into and moved

up the pipeline

Unclear

Source: Skrentny, 2001: 106.

In addition, Agocs and Burr (1996: 33) performed a comparison between the

American AA plan, EE in Canada, and MD applications in both countries, as shown in

Table 16.

85

Table 16: A comparison between AA, EE, and MD

Affirmative action Employment equity Managing diversity

Context USA, mid 1960s-early

1980s

Canada, mid-1980s-1990s USA and Canada, mid- to

late 1980s-1990s

Triggering

issues

Discrimination on basis of

race, gender

Employment discrimination

and disadvantage on basis

of race, gender, disability,

aboriginal ancestry

Demographic change

leading to diverse workforce,

labour market, and

customer/ client base

Intended to

benefit

Blacks, women, Hispanics,

Native Americans, Asians

Women, racial minorities,

persons with disabilities,

aboriginal peoples

White able-bodied males;

also ‘non-traditional’

employees; corporate

bottom line

Focus Numerical representation,

hiring, compliance

Barrier elimination,

numerical representation,

reporting

‘To learn about others’, i.e.

those who are ‘different’

What drives

implementati

on?

Federal regulation and

enforcement; legal and civil

rights complaints and

settlements

Federal and provincial

legislation and regulation;

compliance audits; human

rights complaints; voluntary

decisions by top

management

Voluntary decision by top

management

Typical

applications

Collection and monitoring

of workforce data; goals

and timetables; targeted

recruitment and selection

Collection and reporting of

workforce data; review and

revision of policies and

practices; goal setting

Training (usually by external

consultants) to provide

information and promote

awareness

Intended

results

Representative workforce

at all levels; access to

employment for

disadvantaged groups

Fair employment policies

and practices; improved

representation; supportive

climate

Awareness of difference;

improved interpersonal and

intragroup communication;

‘human relations’ skills;

attitude change

Demonstrate

d results

Improved representation

and pay for black men and

white women; some

increase in representation

of black women and

Hispanics

Small increases in

representation of women

and racial minorities in

some job classes; fairer

policies and practices;

greater awareness

Few evaluations – but in

some experimental settings,

improved awareness and

communication skills

Source: Agocs and Burr, 1996: 33.

However, as Webb (1997) argued, even within the last approach, there are some

threats as well as opportunities in the longer term. In general, there are no best practices

and no single agenda has been able to gain full acceptance or to fully eliminate

employment discrimination. For decades, hundreds, if not thousands, of research studies

have investigated the subject of EE, but with limited influence on effective practices on

the ground as the gap between policies and practices remains great (Kalev et al., 2006;

Demuijnck, 2009). Even in developed countries, employees are still suffering from the

continued existence of discrimination in many different ways. For example, Busse

(2005) observes that, in the United State of America, which has implemented EE

86

programs and regulations for more than fifty years, discrimination still exists in terms of

race, ethnicity, gender, sexual harassment, disability, age, qualifications and many other

areas. In France, according to a survey carried out in 2004, French applicants with

North African surnames had 64 per cent less chance of being hired compared to white

French candidates (Demuijnck, 2009).

To conclude, it is obvious at this point that equity and employment equity have a

large number of terminological explanations. Most of these definitions were suggested

to satisfy either the purposes of academic research studies or to solve specific country

situations. Therefore, this thesis will follow the definitions given below to define equity

in general and employment equity in particular.

The definition of Equity, based on Article 17 of The Basic Statute of the State

(Oman), is given as:

All citizens are equal before the Law and share the same public rights and

duties. There is no discrimination between them on the ground of gender,

origin, colour, language, religion, sect, domicile, or social status.

Because the term ‗employment equity‘ has no clear and comprehensive definition in

Omani public sector regulation, the researcher has adopted the most appropriate one in

the literature which best serves the purpose of this study. Hence, Employment Equity is

defined here as:

Equal rights for and in employment for all individuals, focusing on all stages

of the employment relationship [application, recruitment, promotion, transfer,

training, health and safety, terms of employment, benefits, facilities and

services, grievances, disciplinary procedures and victimization, dismissals,

redundancies, and other unfavourable treatment of employees. (EOC, 1985,

cited in Adams et al., 1995: 88)

3.5 Employment Discrimination

Discrimination as a concept has both positive and negative impacts on employment

equality (Feagin and Eckberg, 1980). However, this study will focus only on the

negative definition and impact of the concept. In general terms, the Association of

University Administrators (2005) defines discrimination as follows:

87

Discrimination takes place when an individual or a group of people is treated

less favourably than others because of factors unrelated to their merit, ability

or potential. It is unlawful to discriminate against someone on grounds of their

sex (including gender reassignment), sexual orientation, marital status, race,

colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, beliefs, disability, pregnancy of

childbirth, or because they are a member, or not, of a trade union. (AUA,

2005: 11, cited in Johns and Green, 2009: 294)

Similarly, the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) states that discrimination is: ‗to treat

one particular group of people less favourably than others because of their race, colour,

nationality or ethnic or national origin‘ (www.irr.org.uk).

Employment discrimination, as mentioned by James and Wooten, occurs in the

workplace:

[W]hen employers engage in actions, whether deliberate or unintentional, that

fundamentally favour one group over another, and when unfair treatment

harms one or more employees protected by civil rights legislation... [in terms

of] race, gender, religion, national origin, and disabled or veteran status.

(James and Wooten, 2006: 1104)

Heckman (1998) has differentiated between individual discrimination and group

discrimination. An individual may be discriminated against because of his/her personal

attitude, reputation, success, high working progress, qualifications, talent, or any other

personal foundation. On the other hand, group discrimination occurs when inequality in

treatment is assigned to a certain group because of a general reason such as race, ethnic,

or sex.

According to Directgov, the official UK government website for citizens,

discrimination can be perpetrated under three main aspects. The first of these is direct

discrimination, ‗which happens when an employer treats an employee less favourably

because of, for example, their gender or race‘. The second is indirect discrimination,

and this happens when an employer sets ‗a condition that disadvantages one group of

people more than another is applied to a job‘. The third aspect is harassment and

victimization. Harassment refers to ‗offensive or intimidating behaviour – sexist

language or racial abuse‘, while victimization ‗means treating somebody less favourably

than others because they tried to make a discrimination complaint‘

(www.direct.gov.uk).

Demuijnck (2009: 19–94) suggested that discrimination could be divided into two

main themes, intentional bias and unintentional bias. Intentional bias (also called

disparate treatment) is defined as ‗treating people unfairly based on their membership in

88

a protected group‘ (Kleiman, 2000: 28). It occurs when someone consciously prefers

working with one particular group because of their ethnic background, which is called

‗racist preference‘. This kind of discrimination could occur because of a certain

stereotype or earlier experience which leads the individual to prejudice, positively or

negatively, one group among other groups.

Another aspect of conscious discrimination is statistical discrimination, which occurs

when formal statistics regarding a particular group, for example, black or women, is

used within the decision making process and leads to less favourable treatment of these

groups. A third kind of intentional discrimination is what Demuijnck (2009) called

‗reaction qualification‘. This happens when it is believed that a certain individual or

group could be more effective in a certain position or situation, so decision will be

predominantly made based on that viewpoint.

The second face of discrimination is unintentional bias (disparate impact). It is

defined as ‗any practice without business justification that has unequal consequences for

people of different protected group‘ (Kleiman, 2000: 29). In fact, what is perceived as

intentional bias may be unintentional if the decision-maker is not moved by any

conscious feeling of racism. Discriminatory decisions are taken because of what

management perceives as right and better for every employee in the organization, while

in reality the opposite is the case for some employees.

The media effect, as it is known, is a powerful mechanism which has a large impact

on creating and promoting stereotypes regarding particular groups (Mastro, 2008). This

unconscious image might easily drive management decisions according to what has

been recorded in the decisions-maker‘s unconscious mind, without realizing that by

making such a decision, they are actually discriminating against someone or some

group. Similarly, any system applied in a workplace may cause discrimination which

scholars refer to as systematic discrimination, although the system might not has been

designed to promote discrimination in itself. Agocs and Burr suggest that:

[S]ystemic discrimination may be defined as patterns of behaviour that are part

of the social and administrative structures and culture of the workplace, and

that create or perpetuate a position of relative disadvantage for some groups

(and advantage for others), or for individuals, on the basis of their group

identity. (Agocs and Burr, 1996: 31)

In addition to the above types of discrimination, Avery et al. (2008) referred to

another type which they called workplace demographic discrimination. It occurs when

an employee feels himself somehow isolated in the workplace because of any noticeable

89

dissimilarity, such as being the only woman among a group of men. A sense of

discrimination may occur when the employees start to group themselves in one category

(men) and isolate this solo employee in a separate category (women). Furthermore,

Goldman et al. (2006) added that within this type of discrimination, this solo employee

involuntarily becomes a representor of his origin group in the eyes of others as the

perception of his/her abilities will mostly reflect perception of the whole group, not

him/her as a person. If a disabled person is working among 10 non-disabled employees,

the failure of that person will not only affect him/her but mostly will be regarded as

judgment of all disabled group.

To conclude, employment discrimination can be recognized through any individual

behaviour or managerial decision-making which tends to negatively affect another

individual or group of individuals, no matter how this action has come about, directly or

indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally.

3.6 Effects of Discrimination at a Group Level

This study is mostly concerned with discrimination in employment at the group level,

not the individual level. In this section, the main groups to be analyzed in greater details

in subsequent chapters will be briefly introduced. As each country has its own

administration system and cultural attributes, the following elements will be explained

and their appearance in EEOs will be examined, with examples, in the context of Omani

society.

3.6.1 Gender

Gender equality is generally considered to be at the top of the EEO agenda, thus most

EEO studies have revolved around it as it is the most negotiated issue worldwide

(Whiteoak et al., 2006). Bell et al. (2002) argued that social norms are one of the main

factors in sex discrimination. This was emphasized by a study of employment and

gender system in Jordan conducted by Miles (2002: 424), who found that ‗social and

cultural constraints to women's employment in Jordan persist despite increasing female

labor force participation rates‘. Culture, family, and gender roles remain significant

challenges in EEOs (ibid.). This conclusion was supported by Spierings et al., who

concluded that:

91

Although, women‘s LMP [labour market participation] generally increases

their economic independence and bargaining power within the household, a

high level of women‘s LMP does not necessarily imply a high level of gender

equality or female empowerment in other domains. (Spierings et al., 2009:

518)

Moreover, York et al. (2008: 123) stated several reasons for gender inequality in

employment, such as poor HRM; poor regulations, and sex stereotypes. Also, Syed

(2008) referred to the pervasive ignorance that women face in developing countries in

terms of social support and employment equality. Whiteoak et al. (2006) suggested that,

besides the importance of governmental and societal efforts, setting a clear policy is

important in assuring gender equality in the Arab world.

3.6.2 Race, ethnicity, and class

Betancourt and Lopez (1993: 631) stated that, ‗race is generally defined in terms of

physical characteristics, such as skin color, facial features, and hair type, which are

common to an inbred, geographically isolated population‘, as in the case of blacks and

whites in the west or Abeed and Qubili in Oman. On the other hand, ethnicity ‗refers to

the ethnic quality or affiliation of a group, which is normally characterized in terms of

culture‘, for example tribes (ibid.). Lefranc (2009) argued that monitory disadvantages

are usually related to social origin, poor education and lower economic achievement.

Research on ethnic discrimination, according to Goldman et al. (2006), started in the

1960s and mainly focused on blacks and whites. In the Middle East, and the Arab world

in particular, tribalism (Arab ethnic community), as a social state, plays the most

obvious role in differentiating between a country‘s citizens according to their origin,

race or family roots. In the early years of Islam, the concept of Umma (unity) was

introduced as a higher level of commitment than the tribal system (Tibi, 1990).

However, the tribal system in Arab society is considered a respectful element which

highly emphasizes collectivism and power distance (Rice, 2003).

In addition, classes are usually observed within one group or between a number of

different groups where a horizontal stratification appears as individuals are grouped

together because they share almost the same economical, life-style, education level or

hierarchal position, all of which are termed ‗social strata‘ (Betancourt and Lopez, 1993;

Bowman et al., 2009). However, Jackson (2009) argued that there is a lack of studies on

class discrimination, and especially its effect on high levels and positions, when

compared to ethnic and race inequalities, as the latter can be determined and observed

more readily than the former.

90

There are some other types of societal ethnicities and class forms in Arab countries

which have to some extent become embedded in the tribal system and will be explained

in more detail in the next chapter.

3.6.3 Age

Posthuma and Campion (2009) stated that in the US, age stereotyping is still setting

boundaries to EEO. ‗Age stereotyping is concerned with associating certain

characteristics, or the lack of them, with certain ages‘ (Sargeant, 2009: 634). Adams et

al. (1995: 89) argued that predicting that some employees will be less productive

because of their age is a misleading prejudice. McGoldrick and Arrowsmith discussed

the concept of ‗age discrimination‘, and in relation to the specification of age in

recruitment advertisements, they stated that:

By arbitrarily excluding groups of people on the basis of age alone, employers

not only ignore the positive contributions which older workers may make, they

are also refusing to consider some of the potentially best candidates for the

job. (McGoldrick and Arrowsmith, 1993: 63)

Comparing younger and older workers, Shen and Kleiner (2001) argued that older

workers usually show higher commitment to their job and are more flexible than their

younger colleagues. The main problem with older workers, from the author‘s point of

view, is that they are less flexible and less cooperative with any changes of plan.

3.6.4 Disability

A disabled person is defined as ‗a person with a physical or mental impairment which

has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-

to-day activities‘ (UK Disability Discrimination Act (1995), cited in Bell and

Heitmueller, 2009: 466). In many cases, disabled people have proved that they are not

less productive other employees. However, employers‘ prejudice about disability on the

one hand, as well as employees‘ tendency to hide their disability while being

interviewed on the other hand, have further complicated issues of disability

discrimination. Therefore, setting efficient formal and informal hiring mechanisms for

disabled people is important to ensure that both, employee and employer benefit and to

reduce the cost of unnecessary hiring and firing (Bell and Heitmueller, 2009).

3.6.5 Personal orientation

In this context, personal orientation means any individual attitudes that are not related to

work proficiency and do not affect, directly or indirectly, the employee‘s performance

92

in the workplace, for example, religion, interests, hopes, or sexual orientation. Any

discrimination action against employees because of their personal orientation should be

banned and legally prohibited. In terms of discrimination, religion and sexual

orientation are the two personal orientation types which have been most widely

discussed. For example, Day and Schoenrade (2000) pointed out that people who

express their sexual orientation are likely to be discriminated against in various ways.

3.7 Critical Factors Behind Successful Implementation of Equity in Employment

Many authors and studies have negotiated such a topic and assert that even with

considerable antidiscrimination legislation in place, constant discrimination and lack of

equal opportunities still persist in the workplace (Dickens, 2005; Heery, 2006; Lewis,

2006; Walby, 2007). Several attempts have been made to clarify what are the main

factors behind such a social and organizational phenomenon from different perspectives

such as legal, psychological, management, and social theories (see, for example,

Schuster and Miller, 1984; Goldman et al., 2006; French and Sheridan, 2009). However,

since this study is focusing on the relation between societal and organizational culture

on one side and EE on the other, the researcher has tried to collect factors from these

different perspectives in such a way as to fulfil the main aims and objectives of the

study. Accordingly, factors related to governmental level, societal level, organizational

level, and individual level were selected. Before stating these factors, it is worth

mentioning that besides the impact that each factor has on EE, each one of these factors

interacts with and influences the other factors in either an implicit or explicit manner.

3.7.1 Having a national policy for equal employment

The concept of equality and fairness has been always considered to lie at the heart of the

principle of justice, both from societal and organizational perspectives (Konow, 2003).

None-discrimination principles, as stated by Demuijnck (2009: 83), are ‗unanimously

considered one of the founding principles of democracy, explicitly present in national

constitutions, international declarations and agreements‘. Since the appearance of

antidiscrimination legislation was from its inception designed to eliminate such a

phenomenon, then the absence, limitation, or lack of clarity of valid antidiscrimination

regulations is the first thing that must be looked at to explain ongoing discrimination.

Therefore, it is fundamental for any country to have an equal employment policy which

protects individuals or groups from being discriminated against under all circumstances.

93

Discrimination, as was extensively discussed above, occurs in many different ways

and has implicit and explicit forms. Most western countries started to deal legally with

such a phenomenon almost fifty years ago, and sequentially enacted numerous pieces of

legislation to deal with any type of discrimination, whether in the public or private

sector. For example, the European Union states in Article 21 of its Charter of

Fundamental Rights that:

Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or

social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any

other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability

age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited. (cited in Demuijnck, 2009: 83)

Most scholars agree that employment discrimination is not something that can be

cured within a single piece of legislation (Jain et al., 2012). Experience shows that the

phenomenon of discrimination will continue to appear in different guises and displaying

different aspects. Therefore, countries are continually striving to improve equality

legislation in order to be more effective and stay ahead of all types of employment

discrimination. In the United States, for instance, employment discrimination legislation

has progressed through years with measures such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act,

published in 1964; the Equal Pay Act, 1963; the Age Discrimination in Employment

Act, 1967; Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990; Section 501 of the

Rehabilitation Act, 1973; and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (Phan and Kleiner, 1999:

10).

Furthermore, after establishing the required antidiscrimination legislation, it is

important to ensure that this is followed and implemented on the ground. Therefore,

some sort of annual follow-up report is essential to evaluate both the legislation itself

and the success of implementation. In Australia, for example, companies in the private

sector and which have 100 employees or more are required by law to submit reports

detailing their efforts in regard to EEO for women (Strachan and Henderson, 2007).

Indeed effective antidiscrimination legislation will create a culture of responsibility

within public and private sector organizations and will raise management commitment

to institutionalizing equality procedures at all level of management decision-making.

In addition, at national level, introducing EEO is not enough to ensure employment

equality among citizens. Other equal opportunity policies such as equal education and

equal training are essential to ensure the success of equal employment policies. When

current or potential employees have the required skills, then their opportunities are

94

greater. Heyes (2007) argued that providing equal training opportunities to certain

groups like older workers, workers with low salaries, and other disadvantaged groups is

fundamental to enhance long-term employment security and equal employment

opportunities. Also, Clarke and Herrmann (2007) argued that in the labour market, both

the employment qualification-based approach and employment production-based

approach are in reality linked to training and skills improvement.

3.7.2 Management and leadership support

Most features of state bureaucracy in developing countries have either been inherited

from the colonial era or imported from western models of bureaucracy (Haque, 1997).

However, this transference has faced real obstacles on the ground. As Haque (1997:

442–443) argued, one obstacle is that administrative models in western countries are

based on, first, long experience of capitalism, industrial revolution, and sciences, and

second, a cultural context which embodied particular values likes secularism,

individualism, competition, and achievement-orientation. Developing countries have

imported these models and techniques without having experienced the same revolution,

either socially or industrially, and without considering how their own set of cultural

values differ from the western set, for example in ritualism, patron-client relation,

informal interaction, seniority-based authority and collective responsibility. Even the

post-colonial bureaucracy which persists in such countries has, instead of being an agent

of change for the better, acted to maintain the old system and enlarge the gap between

social classes (Haque, 1997).

In addition, some organizations use so-called ‗face time‘ to measure managers

performance in the workplace. Face time, as French and Sheridan (2009: 5) defined it,

‗is a term used to describe the requirement that aspiring managers be seen on the job for

long hours‘. This kind of measurement is widely applicable and accepted in the Middle

East. Regardless of how effective this measurement is, in countries which are known to

be male-dominated or which have low gender egalitarianism, like Arab and Muslim

countries, this tool becomes a mean to discriminate between employees. Due to many

social reasons and expectations, working women usually cannot spend more hours at

work than the standard working hours. Therefore, setting a measurement which is

gendered in nature to assess employees‘ effectiveness might easily lead to

discrimination.

Moreover, organizations which claim equality in their procedures are required to set

a clear and detailed anti-discrimination policy, show responsibility and commitment,

95

provide proper training to employees, and frequently audit the applied EEO system

(Jain and Hackett, 1989). The more that management demonstrate commitment to

equality policies, the greater will be the response from employees towards its

implementation. Some scholars argue that employment discrimination is likely to occur

in a management bureaucracy that depends on subjective judgment (Feagin and

Eckberg, 1980). Hierarchical managerial style and lack of proper communication can

also lead to discrimination, as discussed by Falkenberg and Boland (1997: 965) who

stated that:

When there is a lack of objective, valid information on the performance and

potential of individuals, decision makers rely on who knows who, and who is

recommended by a trusted source. Thus a significant number of employment

decisions are made on the basis of information communicated through the

informal networks. (Falkenberg and Boland, 1997: 965)

On the other hand, management that is aware of discrimination disadvantages,

supports EE policies, and follows an approach of open communication, either with the

employees themselves or with their supervisors, is less likely to discriminate between

employees. Dalton and Chropot-Mason (2007: 180) stated that:

Social identity group members enter the workforce with a salient social

identity based on certain demographic characteristics. The salience of this

identity is maintained by contentious historical and contemporary relationships

between groups in society at large. It is the responsibility of those who hold

managerial roles in organizations to keep this conflict from erupting in the

workplace. (Dalton and Chropot-Mason, 2007: 180)

Day and Schoenrade (2000: 360) reinforced this view, concluding that ‗HR managers

understand the strategic business necessity of maximizing the talents of all workers as

well as the ethical mandate of equal opportunities and fairness for all‘. Leveson et al.

(2009) also agreed with this conclusion, as the results of their study showed how

supporting management diversity is important in increasing employees‘ commitment

and effectiveness at work.

In addition, although employment discrimination, as has been mentioned, still exists

even in developed countries, administration and legal departments have put a huge

amount of consideration into eliminating such phenomena and ensuring EE between

employees by creating a more equal environment for all. Further, they continue creating

and promoting their EE programs, such as affirmative action and management of

diversity, in such a way as to make EEP more suitable and effective within today‘s

96

changing environment. Indeed, this continuity of a concerted effort over years from

government, organizations, and different levels of management has built a strong

foundation of EE. In contrast, a similar effort can rarely be noticed in developing

countries as the issue has been, either consciously or unconsciously, ignored.

Above all, organizational leadership plays a fundamental role in enhancing and

assuring the positive implementation of equality procedures. Many authors emphasize

that applying EE programmes will be more appropriate and effective if top management

itself supports such a direction (Day and Schoenrade, 2000). Wieneke stated that:

The quality of senior staff becomes vital in ensuring an effective EE

programme and one where the EE coordinator is not held personally

responsible for the feelings of fear and threat engendered by rapid

organizational change. (Wieneke, 1991: 3)

In the case of developing counties, especially Arab and Muslim countries, it could be

said that applying EE may be met with less resistance if it is supported from the highest

authority. This because in such countries the societal and organizational culture shows

great obedience to the law and high commitment to top management authority and

decisions, especially in the public sector (Bakhtari, 1995). However, some resistance to

EE may still occur for other reasons, such as poor implementation or conflict between

individuals or groups.

3.7.3 Eliminating corruption in the workplace

The traditional concept of corruption is related to what Kurer (2005: 223) called the

‗impartiality principle‘. Corruption can be associated with a state as a whole, a

particular organization, or a single person. It exists everywhere, in both private and

public sectors, and can exhibit itself in different forms (Klitgaard, 1998). Nevertheless,

societies differ in their judgment regarding corruption in some cases, especially in

matters related to families or members of their own group. So what is considered a

corrupt act in one society might be acceptable as a traditional act in another, and vice-

versa. Furthermore, societies are themselves changing and what is acceptable today

might not be so tomorrow.

In addition, corruption has been defined in several ways. Kurer (2005: 230), after

reviewing and criticizing several definitions of corruption, defined corrupt acts as

‗violations of non-discrimination norms governing the behaviour of holders of public

office that are motivated by private gain‘. From this definition, it is obvious that

employment discrimination, such as nepotism, favouritism, and all other unjust

97

treatment, is related at some point to corruption. In a general sense, corruption occurs

when someone tries to use his/her power or position to gain personal benefits or provide

someone with an opportunity that he/she does not deserve at the expense of other

groups.

Corruption arises for many reasons, such as a ‗country‘s political and legal aspects,

economic and structural policies, the role of institutions, human development, and

globalization‘ (Seleim and Bontis, 2009: 167). As a phenomenon, corruption is common

in both developed and developing countries (Shleifer and Vishny, 1993). Nonetheless, it

has certain roots in societal and organizational culture. Seleim and Bontis (2009)

conducted a comparative analysis between cultural dimensions as determined in the

GLOBE project and the findings of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in order to

explore the relationship between culture and corruption. The result shows a significant

correlation between most cultural dimensions and CPI, as shown in Table 17, below.

Table 17: Relation between cultural dimensions and low corruption

Cultural dimension Correlation with CPI (low

corruption) at practice level

Correlation with CPI (low

corruption) at value level

UA Positive Negative

FO Positive Negative

PD Negative Negative

C1 Positive Negative

HO Negative Positive

PO Positive Negative

C2 Negative Negative

GE Not significant Not significant

AS Negative Negative

Source: Adapted from Seleim and Bontis, 2009.

3.7.4 Social system support

What social system means here is ‗the behavior of multiple individuals within a

culturally organized population, including their patterns of social interaction and

networks of social relationships‘ (Rohner, 1984: 127). It was argued in the previous

chapter that the social system, whether among members of one group or between

different ethnic groups, plays a fundamental role in shaping a nation‘s behaviour.

98

Feagin and Eckberg (1980) referred to several studies which emphasized the role of

societal culture on negative discrimination. Also, Bowling et al. (2005) argued that

variation in a society in terms of races, classes, or tribes is likely to be reflected in its

public sector organizations in a way that will mostly affect the service and attitudes of

these organizations toward the public.

The social system is responsible for another kind of categorization, in addition to that

described earlier, in what is called ‗in-group preference‘ and ‗out-group members‘

(Reskin, 2000). This categorization is concerned with what makes an individual trust,

believe in, and feel more comfortable with members from one particular group while

trying to avoid other groups‘ members. This segregation and division of people leads to

differentiation in treatment by showing preference to in-group members in terms of

reward, promotion, and other employment practices.

In addition, economic condition plays a vital role in determining not only the quality

of life within a society, but also the existence of employment discrimination. A healthy

economy offers a variety of employment opportunities, while a poor or less effective

economic condition usually leads to high unemployment, which then leads to increased

employment discrimination (Donohue and Siegelman, 1991). When the interests of one

group come into conflict with other groups‘ interests in terms of social benefits,

economical resources, or political gain, then resource-based discrimination can easily

occur (Feagin and Eckberg, 1980).

To sum up, the social system is an outcome of the influences of cultural preferences,

political scheme, and economic condition. The social system created not only has a

large impact on citizens and organizational behaviour, but also provides an excellent

indication of how a society values and reacts to issues related to EE. Alas (2006: 243)

noted such a point when he stated that: ‗dimensions of national culture could serve as

predictors of how people desire high ethical standards in a particular society‘. This

ethical standard is what makes a certain behaviour in a society more acceptable than

other behaviours, as its justification is based on a large stock of previous experience and

stored norms and values.

3.7.5 Eliminating the negative impact of stereotype, prejudice and demographic role

One of the main reasons for both conscious and unconscious discrimination is the

existence of stereotypes, which lead to prejudice. Management theories have only

recently started of focus on a wider rand of discrimination issues that include

99

consideration of issues such as stereotypes (Goldman et al., 2006). Stereotypes are

defined as ‗beliefs about particular social group‘ (Goldman et al., 2006: 795). Others

call this concern a prototype and define it as ‗A mental model people use as an example

or referent for a particular category or descriptor‘ (Avery et al., 2008: 236). When an

individual receives unequal treatment because of a prejudicial attitude from the

employer because of a stereotype, then such treatment becomes discrimination (Frazer

and Wiersma, 2001). For example, Jackson (2009) conducted an empirical study of how

stereotypes arising from factors like name, school type, and interests affect job

applicants‘ assessment. The results showed a positive relation between these elements

and acceptance. As Jackson (2009: 671) states, ‗stereotypes associated with class

background may lead to individuals from different class backgrounds being treated

differently‘.

This kind of prior image is variable as it can be related to personal experience,

organizational attitude, or societal belief (Feagin and Eckberg, 1980). Goldman et al.

(2006: 796) differentiate between two types of stereotype, prescriptive and descriptive.

The prescriptive stereotype is involved with the kind of traditional roles that the

stereotype determines that a certain group within the society should have. These divided

roles have been exercised over a long time and a certain image of each group has been

created accordingly. In contrast, the descriptive stereotype is about how a member of a

certain group does behave rather than should behave. It is mainly related to the

psychological and physical behaviours which an employer may associate with women

rather than men, for example. However:

[S]tereotypes of social categories including women, older workers, and

various ethnic minorities are less likely to be consistent with the perceived

requirements of high-status professional and managerial jobs than are the

stereotypes of Whites, men, and middle-aged workers. The fact that high-

status managerial and professional jobs are predominantly held by Whites,

men, and middle-aged, broadly defined, workers contributes to the problem

because the type of people who are common in any particular job are viewed

as the most appropriate people to hold that job. (Feagin and Eckberg, 1980:

797)

In addition, it has been argued that the influence of stereotype can in some cases be

very difficult to recognize (Demuijnck, 2009). As an example of such a difficulty can be

seen when an equality process has been exactly followed, but in fact the final decision

has been made according to a certain stereotype, however it is very hard to recognize let

alone prove this. Jackson (2009: 688) concluded that:

011

It is clear that in order to understand how employers use information about

class background characteristics when recruiting, and in particular, the social

and psychological processes which are at play, further research employing

other methods is needed. (Jackson, 2009: 688)

It might be argued that some of the above reasons could have a degree of logic in

some cases. For example, if a multinational company needs to choose a representative

in the UK and has to choose one among five employees who share the same required

qualifications but with different backgrounds, then it is understandable to chose the

British one, especially if the position requires a significant amount of knowledge about

British culture. In fact, in some cases such a choice becomes strategic. However, this is

only one face of the complexity which makes the evaluation of EE procedures in

managerial decisions always hard to justify. As previously argued, some managerial

decisions may be guided by personal experience of life or a particular situation which

may even have been forgotten. These kinds of decisions are rarely able to be identified

or assessed since they have generally been made unconsciously.

In addition to stereotype and prejudice, there is the impact of demographic role.

Goldman et al. (2006) referred to a significant amount of research which looked at

demographic role in terms of sex, race, and age. The idea behind demographic role is

that, in the perception of management or society, the character or nature of one group of

individuals renders them more capable of doing a particular job than other characters or

natures. Therefore, jobs should be divided on the basis of this assessment. For example,

men, as they are tough and more competent, will hold higher managerial positions while

women, as they warmer and more patient, will do nursing and teaching.

Despite the importance of a number of issues related to demographic roles, still the

most universally recognized and debated issue is gender role. Malach-Pines and Kaspi-

Baruch (2008) conducted a cross-cultural study with 747 MBA students (390 male and

357 female and approximately 100 from each country). The aim of the study was to

understand the role of culture and gender in the choice of a career in management

according to two theories, biological theory and social theory. They authors defined

gender as ‗a social phenomenon that refers to women and men‘s learned behaviors and

attitudes, which are differentiated by sex‘ (Malach-Pines and Kaspi-Baruch, 2008: 307).

Biological theories (or evolutionary theory) view gender differences as innate, since

each sex has developed different skills through thousands of years, while social theories

view gender as the creation of social forces, such as norms, stereotypes and gender

roles, so that they are changeable. The findings of the study supported the social role

010

theory, while very limited support was found for the biological theory. However, Webb

(1997) contended that such an argument will continue to appear. Gender differences

will be mentioned when potential benefits might be gained, while sameness will be

asserted whenever there is a sign of possible inequality.

Both social system and stereotypes play essential roles in determining gender roles.

In many societies, such roles are derived from psychology and psychoanalytic theory.

For example, it is more likely in Islamic societies that family duties are divided between

both sexes, with the husband financially responsible while his wife‘s duty is to look

after children and domestic work (Miles, 2002). Rizzo et al. (2007) studied gender

equality and democracy in Arab and non-Arab Muslim countries. They found that

Muslim countries, both Arab and non-Arab, share the same views regarding gender

equality. The majority believe that ‗men have more rights to jobs than women, that men

make better political leaders than women, and that a wife must always obey her

husband‘ (ibid., 2007: 1162).

3.7.6 Positive psychological climate

Brown and Leigh (1996: 359) referred to psychological climate as ‗an individual rather

than an organizational attribute, measured in terms of perceptions that are

psychologically meaningful to the individual rather than in terms of concrete

organizational features‘. Employees as individuals vary in their perceptions and

evaluation in regard to organizational practices. Supervisory treatment also may differ

from one employee to another depending on several psychological elements such as

their personal relationship. Brown and Leigh further explained that psychological

climate has a set of six dimensions, which are:

[T]he extent to which management is perceived as flexible and supportive,

role clarity, freedom of self-expression, the employee's perceived contribution

toward organizational goals, adequacy of recognition received from the

organization, and job challenge. (Brown and Leigh, 1996: 359)

Therefore, the view of an individual is important here since it determines the level of an

employee‘s commitment to their organization‘s goal as well as determining

interactional behaviour among both employee-leaders and employee-employees.

Absence of equal treatment induces negative interpersonal behaviour, devalues social

groups, lowers self-esteem, and reduces team-working efficiency (Goldman et al.,

2008).

012

McKay et al. (2007) linked psychological climate to diversity management and level

of employment discrimination in organizations. They argued that the individual‘s

response and collaboration is essential in delivering diversity in management. Also,

Goldman et al. (2006: 801) stated that ‗substantial research reports that organizational

justice is related to both perceptions of employment discrimination and reactions to it.‘

Nevertheless, employees‘ perceptions and reactions are likely to reflect the management

style in the whole organization as well as their ability to accomplish their duties.

Therefore acquiring a positive response is dependent on how employees are motivated

toward diversity, and vice-versa. Confirming such a statement, King et al. (2009)

conducted a study to evaluate how gender inequality affects psychological climate in

male-dominated organizations. Their results showed that ‗a psychological climate of

gender inequity appears to contribute to a more negative work experience for women,

heightened intentions to leave their current organizations, and lower levels of helping‘

(King et al., 2009: 22).

3.7.7 Eliminating wasta

As well as the issues discussed previously in this chapter, wasta is another issue that

affects the implementation of EE in the Arab world. Depending on the context, wasta

can be seen as relating to social system, stereotype, or corruption. In fact, wasta has

been used even to ‗override established laws and traditions where they existed and are

used in place of relevant regulations and standards‘ (Hutchings and Weir, 2006: 148).

However, wasta may not be unique to the Arab world, but common to the whole world

as a universal human phenomenon (Faisal and Abdella, 1993). For example, some

scholars link and compare the concept of guanxi in Chinese culture with the concept of

wasta (Hutchings and Weir, 2006b). In western culture, the common expression ‗it is

not what you know but who you know‘ holds exactly the same meaning as wasta.

Moreover, Whiteoak et al. (2006: 81) introduced the concept ‗utility of wasta‘,

defining it as:

…the degree to which an individual perceives a person‘s success as being

related to their ability to utilize connections with people, who are both able

and prepared to change the course of natural events on that person‘s behalf.

(Whiteoak et al., 2006: 81)

As the authors argued, few studies have attempted to explore the influence of wasta

in the Middle East. However, Faisal and Abdella (1993) carried out one study looking at

wasta (or favouritism) as a means of exchanging benefits between society members in

013

such a way as to obtain financial, psychological, or societal benefits. Usually, three

parties are involved in the wasta process, the client, the mediator, and the patron.

Accordingly, the authors differentiated five common concepts that wasta usually

revolves around in the society of Saudi Arabia. These concepts are exchange of

benefits, personal relation, fazah, shafaah, and shafaqah. Although the authors did not

state a clear meaning for the last three concepts as they have different meaning

depending on the context, the researchers assigned a brief meaning to them in the

questionnaire used for the study. Hence, fazah means helping relatives is a duty;

shafaah is about helping someone because he/she deserve what they will get; and

shafaqah is about helping someone because of his/her poor state or because they might

lose their right.

The initial results of the study showed that the definition of wasta in Saudi society

concentrates mainly on shafaqah, then personal relation, exchange of benefits, shafaah,

and lastly fazah. However, after analyzing the collected data according to a multi-

method multi-trait design, a different order was shown. By using factor analysis, they

concluded that wasta occurs mainly between those in matching situations, and then

because of motive factors and shafaqah respectively.

Extending the argument above, wasta in employment can be defined as receiving

employment advantage such as recruitment or promotion, greater than what would be

expected based on merit or performance when compared to other competitors or

colleagues, because of someone‘s power, influence or authority in the organization.

Mohamed and Hamdy (2008) mention that wasta in Arab societies is considered an

essential element in employment security. It can be argued that the term wasta does not

necessarily include the desire to discriminate in itself. People seek for wasta because

they themselves, or one of their relatives, need to work and be financially supported.

The intention of discrimination might not be consciously in mind – they just think that

this is the only or the most effective way to get the job. However, discrimination can

still be a result of wasta as it excludes others, who might be more qualified, from the

same opportunity.

3.8 Culture and EE

Recognizing the influence that culture has on ethical management, Lu et al. (1999: 92)

stated that ‗culture is a fundamental determinant of ethical decision making‘. Pedriana

and Stryker (1997: 638) called culture ‗a resource of action‘ and treated equal

opportunities as a cultural value. They argued that culture has prominent influences on

014

countries‘ laws and regulations, politics, economy, media and other aspects of human

life. It determines, directs, and explains why and how things appear around us in the

way they do. Thompson explained the relation between culture and discrimination in

three ways:

[I]ts role as a boundary marker can be used to exclude or marginalize other

groups… culture is, in itself, a site of discrimination… and cultural

assumptions are often of discriminatory nature. (Thompson, 1998: 15)

Therefore, studying EE or any of its factors or programmes requires a high level of

attention to the surrounding culture.

Several studies have been conducted to measure the influence of culture in general

and cultural dimensions in particular on one or more EE elements (see, for example,

Wang, 2011; Krause, 2009; Keddie, 2007; Rizzo et al., 2007; Al-Ghailani, 2005).

However, it is rare to find a study which has been involved in studying the whole set of

national culture – societal and organizational – in each of their two forms, values and

practices, to study their influences on the main elements of EE, as this study aims to do.

However, to provide context for this thesis, two studies will be briefly discussed

below which have partially addressed these issues, and the main points of their

conclusions will be outlined.

The first and the closest example is a PhD study called ‗A Study of the Relationships

between Attitudes toward Diversity Management and Cultural Preferences‘ submitted

by Richard Herrera (2008) to Our Lady of the Lake University in the United States. The

independent variables were the nine dimensions of the GLOBE organizational culture

practices and the dependent variables were attitudes toward diversity management,

which included CEO commitment, human capital, recruitment and retention, attitudes to

the disabled and to gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender individuals, and the

existence of a supplier diversity management system. A total of 225 students,

undergraduate and graduate, at Texas University were the sample for the study. The

results showed that there was a relationship between the nine cultural preferences

attitudes toward diversity management as revealed in Table 18, below.

015

Table 18: Correlation between organizational culture (practice) and attitude

toward diversity

Organizational Culture

(practice)

Correlation with Attitude Toward Diversity

UA Negative

FO Negative

PD Positive

C1 non-significant

HO Negative

PO Negative

C2 Negative

GE non-significant

AS non-significant

Source: Author, based on data in Herrera, 2008.

Comparing the results of this study with the Seleim and Bontis (2009) study,

discussed earlier in this chapter, Table 19 provides a brief overview of similarities and

differences between the two studies.

Table 19: Correlation between cultural dimensions and attitude toward diversity

at organizational practice level and CPI (low corruption) at national practice level

Cultural

dimension

Correlation with Attitude toward

diversity at organizational practice level

Correlation with CPI (low corruption)

at national practice level

UA Negative Positive

FO Negative Positive

PD Positive Negative

C1 Not-significant Positive

HO Negative Negative

PO Negative Positive

C2 Negative Negative

GE Not-significant Not-significant

AS Not-significant Negative

Source: Author, based on data in Herrera, 2008, and Seleim and Bontis, 2009.

016

As can be seen from Table 19, only three results out of nine were identical, those for

human orientation (HO), in-group collectivism (C2), and gender egalitarianism (GE).

The results for the other six dimensions contradict each other. Therefore, it is clear that

further investigation is necessary to clarify these contradictions, therefore the results of

this study will help to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between

cultural dimensions and EE factors.

Another example is Parboteeah et al.‘s (2005) cross-cultural study which was

conducted in 21 countries, only one of which, Turkey, is in the Middle East. The

objective of the study was to measure the effect of national culture on employees‘

willingness to justify ethically suspect behaviour. The study used six of the nine

GLOBE cultural dimensions as the researchers believed that these six dimensions were

most relevant to the area of study. The dimensions used were: uncertainty avoidance,

institutional collectivism, human orientation, performance orientation, power distance,

and assertiveness. The results showed that willingness to justify ethically suspect

behaviour is positively correlated with performance orientation and assertiveness, while

it is negatively correlated with power distance, uncertainty avoidance, institutional

collectivism, and humane orientation.

3.9 Conclusion

As part of the literature review, this provided an in-depth introduction to the concepts

involved in this study, followed by a critical evaluation of previous approaches related

to the concepts. The first concept is culture and, as illustrated in Chapter 2, culture is a

complicated concept to deal with. In 1952, a survey revealed that over 160 definitions

had been suggested to define culture (Kroeber and Kluckholm, 1952). Also, several

models have been introduced by scholars to assess culture, such as those of Hofstede

and the GLOBE studies. Although the debate is still ongoing about the relative merits of

these two models (Shi and Wang, 2011), the GLOBE model was chosen for use in this

study for and the reasons discussed in Chapter 2. Therefore, the GLOBE definition of

culture and GLOBE cultural dimensions for societal and organizational cultures were

selected for the purposes of this study.

In addition, Chapter 3 introduced the concept of employment equity and the different

frameworks which are related to equity and organizational justice. Accordingly, seven

factors have been were identified as critical success factors behind any effective

implication of equity in employment. The chapter then discussed how culture and

017

employment equity are related to each other and how they are treated in the available

literature.

The chapter revealed the difficulty of comparing the situation of EE in western

countries with that in the Arab world. For almost 20 years, western scholars have been

negotiating the necessity of moving from the concept of providing equal opportunities

to disadvantage groups, to one of how to make better use of the qualities of all

employees at all levels (see, for example, Thomas, 1990). So while scholars in the

western world are evaluating the procedures necessary to their different equal

opportunities frameworks, scholars in the Arab world are negotiating the subject from

general perspectives without reference to any official or governmental EE plan of

action. Therefore, it is not a surprise that Muslim and Arab countries are lagging behind

the rest of world in EE concerns such as gender equality (Charrad, 2009).

However, it has been argued that studying discrimination within bureaucracies is not

an easy task for two main reasons: the difficulty of accessing organizations and tracking

a sample of the discriminated on the one hand, and on the other hand that negative

findings might be regarded as ethical issues (Guerin and Guerin, 2007).

Discrimination can be seen in a number of different manifestations. Ryan et al.

(2008) look at discrimination in health care by studying the impact of perceived

discrimination on diabetes management. Also, a study by Roehling et al. (2009: 192)

looked at weight discrimination among top CEOs in the United States, where

approximately one third of the adult population is regarded as obese. The authors

reported:

…the existence of an invisible barrier that prevents significant numbers of

overweight and particularly obese women, and obese men from reaching high

levels of success in business, similar to the ‗glass ceiling‘ encountered by

women and people of colour. (Roehling et al., 2009: 192)

Western countries have gone a long way in designing and implementing EE

approaches. However, the limited effectiveness of these approaches is shown by the fact

that employment discrimination still exists in the workplace (Uhlmann and Cohen,

2007). Such approaches may also not be suitable for implementation in the Arab world

because of the socio-cultural differences of Islamic societies (Syed, 2008). As a

solution, Syed et al. (2009: 77) suggest that EE in Muslim countries and elsewhere ‗will

remain unrealistic unless it is tackled simultaneously at macro-national, meso-

018

organizational and micro-individual levels independent of any political or ideological

agenda‘.

Therefore, this study will try to shed light on the influences of different cultural

preferences on EE. Such an attempt will hopefully provide a better understanding of the

relationship between societal and organizational culture on the one side and

discrimination phenomena in the public sector on the other. Therefore, in this chapter,

the study focused on clarifying the best-known approaches in employment equity and

the differences between these approaches. It also highlighted seven critical success

factors that contribute to effectively implementing employment equity in any

organization. At this stage, it was obvious that adopting EE within an organization

requires an in-depth understanding of the surrounding societal and organizational

culture.

In the next chapter, the study will provide an overview of the situation of EE in the

Sultanate of Oman through a discussion of the current situation in both the societal

culture and within the public sector. This will give a better understanding of the case

under study as well as enriching the content of the thesis from different perspectives.

019

Chapter Four

The context of the study:

Culture and equal employment opportunities in Oman

4: 0 Introduction

In this part of the study, the research will tackle the most important aspects which

formalize Omani culture. Not only Islam, family and tribalism, but also the impacts of

politics, economy, and globalization will be highlighted. Both societal and institutional

structures will be discussed in terms of equity and equality to provide an overview of

the current situation there.

The structure of societies and institutions plays a vital role in determining the degree

of equality in their own space. Collins (2003: 23) clarified how discrimination could

affect social inclusion, which is defined as ‗a type of welfarism in the sense that the

outcome sought is to improve the welfare of disadvantaged groups‘. Social inclusion,

from Collins‘s point of view, is the ‗key justification for anti-discrimination laws‘. Also,

Pfau-Effinger (2004) argued that employment is shaped not just by generally agreed

procedures but by the influence of the culture of the society throughout those

procedures. Consequently, the cultural, religious, social and educational backgrounds of

an employer play essential roles in its recruitment procedures, especially in the public

sector, because the sector is typically dominated by these elements more than by the

profit and loss statement.

In addition, many authors have emphasized that countries around the world vary in

culture from one to the other. Gupta and Ferguson observed that:

It is so taken for granted that each country embodies its own distinctive culture

and society that the terms ‗society‘ and ‗culture‘ are routinely simply

appended to the names of nation-state. (Gupta and Ferguson, 1992: 6)

Smith et al. argued for the importance of recognizing cultural differences between

Arab countries, stating that:

Even though most Arab nations share the same religion (Islam) and the same

language (Arabic), they differ in many other aspects such as their history,

social norms, traditions, dialects, political and economic systems, religious

denominations (Mathahib) and presence of substantial minorities. (Smith et

al., 2007: 278)

001

Therefore, in order to classify more precisely the culture of a specific nation within

the larger-scale classification of a cross-cultural research study such as that of Hofstede,

country-specific research is required (Whiteoak et al., 2006).

In the case of Omani culture, according to Al-Sharbati et al. (2003), the rapid

processes of modernization and acculturation have had their own cost. They stated:

Traditional tribal identification patterns gave way to a class system based on

wealth. Individualism emerged, the value of education replacing the value of

the family… frugality gave way to luxury, affluence and consumerism, and

egalitarianism gave way to formalism and simplicity to complexity. (Al-

Sharbati et al., 2003: 46)

Valeri (2005) described the Omani public sector, stating that:

Until now, the authorities… tolerated a high degree of nepotism in the

bureaucracy positions. It was the way for the heads of the administration to

promote the recruitment of people from their own ethnic or tribal group‘.

(Valeri, 2005: 8)

Looking at culture and management studies which concentrate on the Arab context,

most if not all researchers have focused on the influence of Islam and tribalism as the

main cultural attributes. However, in Arab societies, societal influences and institutional

influences are always interacting and can hardly be separated from each other

(Hutchings and Weir, 2006b). Even in new global initiatives such as e-government,

culture has its own role. For example, Alshihi (2006) studied the critical factors in the

adoption and diffusion of e-government initiatives in Oman and found that current

Omani culture is one of the obstacles to e-government implementation. Moreover, the

current political situation in the Arab world termed the ‗Arab Spring‘ shows that there

are other reasons, beside Islam and tribalism, which influence Arab citizens‘ reactions.

As Swailes et al. (2012: 360) stated: ‗Indeed, events in the ‗Arab Spring‘ of early 2011

give witness to the pressure the social contract is under‘. Therefore, it is important to

fully understand the surrounding environment of any study, and the following sections

of this chapter will explore this.

4.1 Oman on the Map

The Sultanate of Oman is one of six Arab countries which make up the Gulf

Cooperation Council (GCC). Geographically, Oman is located in southwest Asia on the

southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. As shown in Figure 3, the country borders the

United Arab Emirates to the north-west, Saudi Arabia to the west and Yemen to the

000

south-west. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea to the south and east and the Gulf of

Oman to the north-east. According to the latest national population census held in 2003,

the population of Oman is approximately 2,340,815 and 23 per cent of that number is

non-Omani (www.mone.gov.om). The official language of the country is Arabic, and

Islam is the widespread religion of the country.

Figure 3: Geographical situation of Oman

Source: www.fao.org.

4.2 Societal structure and Equality

Involving the culture of the Sultanate of Oman in management and development

research requires a fundamental overview of the historical and sociological background

of the country and society. Neal et al. (2007: 295) describe Oman as ‗highly tribal,

firmly rooted in ‗paternalist‘ traditions of leadership and authority… has historical

002

traditions of long term domination by a European power‘. Therefore, in this section, the

researcher will address the most important features which have played an essential part

in forming the Omani societal culture and characterizing the Omani personality today.

To do so, the researcher, after considering the different relevant studies (see, for

example, Phillips, 1967; Ghubash, 1999; Owtran, 2004; Valary, 2009), identified

several factors in such a way as to provide the most useful understanding of this

particular culture. It will be apparent that many Omani cultural themes intersect with

Arab cultural attributes, while some of them remain purely Omani.

4.2.1 Historical influences

The country‘s strategic location in southwest Asia on the south-east coast of the Arabian

Peninsula provided her with an important geographical and political position to interact

and trade with other civilizations like Persia to the north, India to the east and Africa to

the south. According to the latest archaeological discoveries, Oman has deep roots in

history and a civilization which goes back 5000 years (www.omaninfo.com). The

country‘s old name ‗Majan‘ has been found in Sumerian tablets as a source of copper

(ibid.).

Therefore, to preserve itself and protect its sea trade from being attacked, Oman had

to have solid maritime power, which extended the authority of Oman, during certain

periods, to large areas of the Persian Gulf, Jawader in Pakistan, and some parts of East

Africa such as Zanzibar and Mombasa (Phillips, 1967; AlTaee, 2008). Many Omanis, at

that time, took advantage of the opportunity to travel to the new lands, especially East

Africa. A large number of those travellers settled and married African women (Peterson,

2004a).

On the other hand, such a valuable and effective position has also placed the country

at the centre of imperial ambitions. Therefore, it is not a surprise that Oman was through

history attacked and sometimes partly occupied by either its neighbours, Iran and

Yemen, or, more recently, by western colonial powers such as Portugal and Britain

(Rabi, 2007). For instance, Oman was the perfect location for Great Britain to protect its

position as a powerful empire in the Indian Ocean. Thus, the British involvement in

Oman, in Muscat in particular, was at its peak during the period 1798–1920 (Owtram,

2004). It is only forty years since the country was able to free itself of direct British

involvement in its affairs (Owtram, 2004).

However, colonial ambitions were mostly centred on the coastal area of the country.

Thus the interior remained mostly free of direct control and even had autonomy from

003

the authority of Muscat itself in some eras. Even the name of the country was the

‗Sultanate Muscat and Oman‘ in reference to the importance of Muscat as the most

important city of the state. This situation has led to the country, as Rabi (2007: 5) states,

‗falling into two largely self-contained divisions: the coast and the interior‘. Such

isolation had its own impact on the development of the interior of the country. The only

resource they had was agriculture and livestock farming. The coast was open to cultural

influences from outside, while the interior, which was most of time ruled by the Ibadhi

Imams, was intensively tied to tradition and tribalism (Rabi, 2007).

However, in the modern era, this isolated part of the country became a promising

region for oil discovery, which made it essential to reconsider its participation in the

country's economy and wealth. Hence, since the previous sultan, Said bin Taimour, who

realized the promising traits of this area, continuous attempts have been made to unify

the whole country under a single ruler and one policy. In 1959, Sultan Said managed to

control the whole country under his authority (‗Oman‘, World Encyclopedia, Philip's,

2008). After the current sultan, Qaboos Ben Said, took over from his father, Said ben

Timour, the country was renamed to ‗The Sultanate of Oman‘, which was officially

announced in August 1970 (AlTaee, 2008).

4.2.2 Islam from family to the state

Oman was one of the first Arab countries that responded to the invitation of the Prophet

Muhammad (PUH) to enter the new religion ‗Islam‘ (AlTaee, 2008). From then Islam

became the widespread religion in the country. As it is in the entire Arab world, Islam is

more than just a religion; it is a way of life (Ali, 1996). From the first day of a child‘s

birth, it is part of the Sunnah (Muslim faith) that his father should say the Azan (prayer

call) in his ears. From that moment, the family along with the whole community

continues to teach him the values of the religion in every single aspect of behaviour.

As religious tradition requires Muslims when starting any action in their lives, even

eating, to say the name of Allah ‗God‘, all aspects of Omani‘s lives are dominated by

Islam. Allah and only Allah should be considered in practising any life activities. As

Haddad and Esposito (1998: 149) state: ‗Islam, in time, became an integral part of tribal

society‘. Therefore all issues such as loyalty, marriage and divorce, friendship,

tolerance, justice, and any other kind of life and work experiences were all surrounded

by the Islamic way of living (Ali et al., 1997). Sentences like insha'a Allah or be ezn

Allah (if God will) can be heard continually through the day from parent to child, friend

to friend, and manager to employee. However, such an expression in certain cases

004

moves beyond its obvious meaning to be a means of delay or refusal, especially when it

is impolite to say ‗no‘ (Al Ismaily and McKiernan, 2007).

Within the Muslim society, Rejal Eldeen (religious men) are always viewed with

respect and appreciation, while those who are religiously negligent are looked at with an

eye of rejection and condemnation. Besides encouraging societal benevolence and other

praiseworthy behaviours, the ideology of Islam in many rural societies goes even

farther. People, especially, uneducated ones, started to link all things to Allah. Even

now, in some interior Omani villages, people link some climate phenomena to Allah.

They believe that if it is raining then Allah is satisfied and so he is pleasing this place

with water and if it is windy then Allah is angry because of someone‘s sin, perhaps the

pregnancy of an unmarried woman.

Although Islamic values have been always emphasized equity, equality and justice

among all people, still many complex issues related to human rights remain areas of

potential conflict. Kadivar indentified six areas of that conflict:

1) inequality between Muslims and non-Muslims, 2) inequality between men

and women, 3) inequality between slaves and free human beings, 4) inequality

between commoners and jurists in public affairs, 5) freedom of conscience and

religion versus punishment for apostasy, and 6) extra-judicial punishments,

violent punishment and torture. (Kadivar, 2009: 47)

These topics have been strongly and broadly debated, especially gender issues,

among Muslim Fuqah'a (religious men), human right activists, and intellectuals (Mir-

Hosseini, 2009). For instance, El Hajjami (2009, 108), after considering evidence from

Qur'an, and hadith (the sayings of Prophet Mohammed, PUH) stated that:

The egalitarian construction of identity in Islam consists in recognition of sex

differences as an unassailable fact, without, however, predetermining any

skills or roles whatsoever… [or] erect a hierarchy between the two sexes or to

deduce from any predetermination that would justify discrimination, violence

or the exclusion of women. (El Hajjami, 2009: 108)

He also argues that the Qur'an opposes any type of discrimination among people,

whether in regard to their sex, race, colour, wealth, or rank (El Hajjami, 2009).

Although Islam is the only religion recognized in the country according to the Basic

Law of the State (Oman Constitution), the country is not fully ruled by Islamic

regulations.

005

4.2.3 Grouping (tribes, ethnicity, and classes)

Omani society, as Peterson (2007: 32) describes, is ‗essentially tribal in nature‘ and this

tribal ideology ‗in some cases, comes first even before religion‘ (Al Ismaily and

McKiernan, 2007: 90). McKiernan and Al-Ismaily (2007: 94) state that: ‗there are over

three thousand tribes… depending upon the tribal values, the behaviour of Omanis

varies considerably‘. In some cases, even the social status of a person and his level of

wealth can be identified immediately from his Qabilah’ (tribe) name (Al-Moharby, and

Khatib, 2007). Unfortunately, there are limited studies which explain the classification

of the current Omani society or groups. Besides, the main concern of these studies is

with tribal distributions. However, the researcher here will distinguish the different

ethnic groups in Oman according to their language and sect, because, as Peterson

(2004a: 32) describes: ‗Ethnic boundaries in Oman are not, generally speaking, defined

by territory, occupation, or even class, but rather by language or sect, or both‘.

However, as geographical origin as well as the person‘s social class do both play an

essential role in this matter, they will also be considered. Therefore, Omani society can

be classified into the groups defined below.

4.2.3.1 Mazhab-based group

The term ‗Mazhab‘ refers to Islamic religious sects. As today, there are three main sects

in the Islamic world, Sunni, Shi'a (majority) and Ibadhi (minority). Oman is known as

the only Arab country which since the early Islamic era has largely practised Ibadhism

and became the historical centre of that sect (Peterson, 2004a).

Therefore, Ibadhism, for hundreds of years, has had an influence on the state and

even on the election method of the Imam (the old name for the Omani ruler) (Ghubash,

1999; and Rabi, 2007). Although Article (2) of the Omani constitution states that Islam

is the official religion of the country (The Basic Law of the Sultanate of Oman, 2006)

without mentioning any Sects, the highest Islamic authority in the country, Elmufti

(General Mufti of the sultanate), a position which is nominated only by the Sultan, has

been always Ibadhi. This becomes more understandable when we know that Elmufti is

the one who represents the country in any Islamic event either inside or outside the

country. However Ibadhism has not been as politically empowered politically in the

coastal region of the country as it was in the interior, and nowadays, it is not

empowered to such a degree in the whole country. The political position among Arab

and Muslim countries has never been characterized in reference to Ibadhism (Valeri,

2009: 74).

006

Currently, Ibadhism is not the only Sect in Oman, Sunni and Shi'i Sects are there as

well. Most of the Sunnis are religiously loyal to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia while

Shi'a show their religious loyalty to Iran. The accurate percentage of these Sects among

the Omani nation is not known since it has never been officially surveyed. However,

Valeri (2009: 128) estimated that: ‗Ibadhi Omanis appear to number 48 to 53% of the

whole population, Sunnis 45 to 49% and Shi'a 3 to 4%‘. Each sect is dominant in some

cities like Ibadhis in Ad-Dakhliyah region, Sunnis in Dhufar and ash-Sharqiah region,

and Shi'a in wilayat Muttrah. Other parts of the country contain a mixture of all three

sects.

4.2.3.2 Language-based groups

Omanis differ in terms of their mother tongue depending on their original region.

According to several studies (Valeri, 2009; Al-Ismaily and McKiernan, 2007; Peterson,

2007), Omani groups can be distinguished as the following:

Baluchi-speaking group: originally from Baluchistan, this group came to Oman at the

request of Omani rulers to prevent the interior from attacking the coastal region

(Valeri, 2009). According to Al-Ismaily and McKiernan (2007: 35), there are

approximately 405,400 Omanis of Baluchi origin (19 per cent of the total

population), but Valeri (2009: 22) estimates the number to be between 200,000

and 300,000. The second estimate seems to be more accurate from this

researcher‘s experience. In addition, because of language similarity and region of

origin, Baluchis are close to other, smaller Omani groups like AlZdjahi and

AlHoti.

Swahili-speaking (or Zanzibari) group: After the revolution in 1964 in Zanzibar,

some Omanis, who were settled there as explained earlier in this chapter, returned

to Oman, while others moved to other parts of East Africa. However, the majority

of them made their way with their families back to the country after the strong

economic growth of the 1970s and 1980s. Peterson (2004a) identifies three sub-

groups of this group. The first is Omanis who went to Africa and settled there.

The second is Omanis who were born in East Africa of parents born in Oman.

And the third sub-group is Omani traders who regularly have two families, one in

Oman and the other in Africa. Peterson (2004a: 47) also asserts that some

members of this group ‗possess some African blood‘. Because of such an

overlapping, it is very hard to estimate the numbers of this group.

007

Khojki-speaking group: also called Lawatia and which is also their surname (Qabilah

or tribal name, see Section 5.2.3.4). The origin of this Shi'a group is in the Indian

sub-continent (Al-Ismaily and McKiernan, 2007). As well as those living in some

other Gulf countries (Peterson, 2004a), there are approximately between 20,000 to

30,000 whom live in Oman, particularly in Muscat, the capital (Valeri, 2009).

Although, they represent a minority compared to the first two groups, many of

them today hold economically and politically significant positions within the

Omani government, for example as ministers and ambassadors. Other Lawatia are

also economically powerful within the country. Among other Omanis, Lawatis are

closer to other small Omani Shi'a groups like Ajam (from southern Iran) and

Baharina (from northern Gulf areas and Iraq).

4.2.3.3 Geographically-based groups

These groups are either a governmental creation under political influence or are defined

by a distinct geographic situation. Beside the governorate of Muscat, which is the

capital, there are three other governorates (Dhufar, Musandam, and Al Buraimi) and

five regions (Al-Batinah, Al-Dakhiliyah, Al-Sharqiyah, Al-Dhahira, and Al-Wusta).

Among all this diversification, people from the three governorates (Dhufar, Musandam,

and Al-Buraimi) express a distinct identity.

Generally, Musandam and Al-Buraimi can be categorized under one umbrella.

Musandam is the most northerly region in the country while Al-Buraimi lies in the

north-western corner of the Sultanate (Oman Tourism Portal). They both border the

United Arab Emirates (UAE). Indeed, most of their people dress like Emiratis and speak

with and Emirati accent. Their distance from the capital has made them traditionally

closer to the UAE with which they are cohesive by family relationship and marriage.

However, this group has not received much attention in the literature, particularly from

a societal point of view.

The third governorate (Dhufar) is located in southern Oman and borders with

Yemen. Peterson (2007: 34) describes Dhufar as a ‗geographically and culturally

distinct region… and the people of the mountains speak several south Arabian

languages‘. This governorate is separated from other parts of the country by more than

800 kilometres of desert. Dhufar contains 9.5 per cent of the total population of the

sultanate (www.moneoman.gov.om). Dhufaris, as Al-Ismaily and McKiernan (2007:

36) noted, ‗speak the Hadhrami dialect of Arabic as well as pockets of other languages

that trace their roots to ancient Assyrian and Hebrew‘. Despite their representation

008

among the total population, Peterson (2007: 416) mentioned that ‗some northern

Omanis complained that Dhufaris were getting far more than their fair share of oil

revenues: some 40 per cent of government expenditure in and just after the war years‘.

4.2.3.4 Origin-based groups

Omanis are also are classified in three main categories regardless of their group or

native region (Valeri, 2009). Each Omani has a Qabilah (surname) which refers to his

tribe. The tribe is dominated by the Sheikh who is at the top of the hierarchy. In many

cases, according to Al-Ismaily and McKiernan (2007: 86), the tribe itself has ‗its

hierarchical sub-divisions (e.g. Batn, Fakhda, Humula, Fasila, etc.)‘ ending with one's

own family. Within one tribe, Al Qubeliy, those who are classified as ‗first class‘ and

sometime called Asli (original) originally have Arabian tribal roots (Al-Ismaily and

McKiernan, 2007). The head of this tribe is always from this class.

The majority of Omanis are Qubeliy and generally they can be classified into three

sub-groups. The first two sub-groups are interior (Hadhar) and coastal (Ahl elbahar).

These two groups were created due to the division between the two parts of the country.

Ahl elbaha are more open and overwhelming while Hadhar are more tough and

rigorous. Indeed the geography of the place has affected their personality since there are

surrounded by the mountains and very hot temperature. The third sub-group is the Badu

(nomad) group who usually live in the desert and mostly depend on livestock breeding,

especially camels.

The second class is Zuti or baysar ‗gypsies‘ which consists of mixed race

individuals, tribes‘ prisoners of war, or those seeking asylum (Valeri, 2009). Peterson

(2004a: 48) describes this group as a ‗non-tribal group of unknown origin, occupying a

low-caste position in society and performing such tasks as metalworking, carpentry, and

circumcisions‘. However, the number of this group is considered small in Oman

(Peterson, 2004a).

Finally, the third or lowest level is abid or khadim, who were originally black slaves

(Abeed) (Valeri, 2009). The majority of this group trace their origins back to the Omani

occupation of East Africa when both the Omani regime and Omani businessmen were

deeply involved in the slave trade. In 1824 there was a slave market in Muscat, near

where the ships landed (Phillips, 1967). Although, in 1873 the Omani government

signed a slave trade suppression policy with Britain, the tribal leaders refused to accept

the agreement. Until the year of 1962, noted, Muscat, Dubai, and Buraymi were known

as ‗important centers of the slave trade‘ (Rabi, 2007: 148). Therefore, it is not a surprise

009

to know that some Omanis still use the word ‗Abeed‘ in reference to black people, even

if they are Omanis, though it is legally prohibited.

In general, it is possible to find the three levels within one tribe and under one

Qabilah (surname). Only in Dhofar, as Valeri (2009: 15) noticed, do ‗lower groups bear

distinct surnames‘. However, slave trafficking is no longer practised in Oman (Albans,

1980). On the other hand, although the government, apparently at least, places strong

emphasis on equality between all Omanis, still they are socially unequal and there are

restrictions on marriage between the three levels and sometimes between members of

the same groups in one level as well.

In conclusion to this section, it is worth noting that, as Peterson states:

One of the undeniable results of the rapid process of socioeconomic

development of the past thirty years has been the emergence of a system of

recruitment and advancement strongly based on merit, regardless of social and

racial background. This is not to say that social standing, tribal or regional

leadership, or family and marriage connections no longer count – but that they

are employed more to tweak the system, rather than to determine its operation.

(Peterson, 2004a: 51)

However, to what extent is that general statement true, particularly at the societal

level? Still it is negotiable.

4.2.4 Gender

Islamic gender issues, along with the tribal hierarchy system as briefly discussed above,

have created a complex gender stereotype within Omani society. This Omani gender

stereotype, as is the case in most other Arab countries, has enlarged the distance been

the two sexes and made the gender gap deeper. It has led to clearly defined gender roles

for all members of society. For instance, family affairs are divided between the husband

and his wife to according to definite responsibilities. The role of a man is to financially

secure his family, while a woman‘s main responsibility is to handle the housework and

taken care of the children (Al-Moharby and Khatib, 2007). As Syed observes:

It must be noted that a woman‘s income, according to Islam, remains

completely hers, whether through inheritance or employment. No one

including her father and her husband can make any claim on it… it is the duty

of her husband or father to afford her personal and household expenses‘.

(Syed, 2008: 140)

According to the Ministry of Social Development website, the first Omani women‘s

society was established in Oman in 1971, and today there are 38 women‘s organizations

021

around the country (www.mosd.gov.om). However, these organizations are mostly

involved only in traditional women‘s activities and domestic principles. These

organizations are still ‗[l]imited to those tied to the government and, like the

government, have not yet challenged many unequal legal traditional practices‘ (Keddie,

2007: 156). However, Freedom House Organization reported in February 2009 that

Omani women are playing an increasing role in new and significant areas and gaining

further rights, both politically and socially. However, according to the same report,

Omani women ‗continue to face significant legal and social obstacles, and are required

to obtain the written consent of a male relative before undergoing any kind of surgery‘

(www.freedomhouse.org).

In the workplace, the situation regarding functional promotion (internal recruitment)

shows a similar picture. Statistics show that men hold the majority of the highest grades,

which generally relate to higher functional positions. Indicators for the year 2007 show

that 22,013 males occupy the highest seven grades in the public sector, while there are

just 3,501 women occupying the same grades (ibid.). Miles (2002: 413) attributes such

barriers to females‘ participation and employment to ‗two main sources: the larger

culture and families; and the state and employers‘. This was confirmed by Elnaggar

(2007: 14) in his research on Omani women working in the IT sector, in which he

concluded that: ‗Females are still responding to gender stereotyping... Socio-cultural

norms are perceived and constantly expected by females to be a barrier discouraging

them from joining the ICT areas when studying and working.‘

These beliefs and stereotypes play fundamental roles in both social and managerial

decisions. Keddie (2007: 155), while describing the situation of women in Omani

society, states clearly that ‗[m]any women still face job discrimination.‘ Looking at the

employment indicators for Oman published by the Ministry of National Economy, the

problem may not be recognized at the first sight. In fact the numbers given even present

a bright picture, especially when it comes to gender equity in recruitment. For example,

at the end of 2007, the employment statistics show that the total number of Omani

employees in the civil services is 99,896. Of the total, 59,939 are men and 39,957 (40

per cent) are women. However, it must be questioned whether these figures represent

genuine gender equity. Looking more deeply at the statistics, it is apparent that women

are mostly recruited in education and health, with these sectors accounting for 37,096

out of the 39,957 (92.8 per cent). Excluding these two sectors, there are less than 3,000

women employed compared to more than 30,000 men (www.moneoman.gov.om).

020

What makes this problematic situation even worse is the remarkable and continuous

growth in the number of Omani females entering high education (Keddie, 2007).

According to the educational statistics, the percentage of females was between 48 and

50 per cent at all stages of education in 2007. This figure applies to both the social

sciences and technical and scientific sectors. For example, in Sultan Qaboos University

(SQU), the only state university in Oman, the percentage of females is 48 per cent in

both the Agriculture & Marine Science College and Commerce & Economics College,

56 per cent in the Science College, and 79 per cent in Health Services. In total, the

average of female representation across all of SQU‘s colleges is 48 per cent, which is in

accordance with the overall educational statistics for 2007 (www.moneoman.gov.om).

As it can be realized, this situation is worsening the problem because many of today‘s

female graduates do not hold teaching certificates even though this is the only

significant area of female graduate employment in the public sector, as discussed above.

This mismatch between women in education and women in employment has not

been recognized in government statistics or any government agenda. This situation can,

however, be related to gender stereotypes and gender role as asserted by the Omani

social system. There is no sign of any employment equity approach, as EEO is

concerned with enhancing merit while the goal of AA is to provide equal representation

throughout society, and this should not be limited to a restricted number of sectors or

roles.

4.2.5 Globalization

According to Held et al., globalization is:

…a process, or set of processes, which embodies a transformation in the

spatial organization of social relations and transactions – assessed on their

extensity, intensity, velocity and impact – generating transcontinental or

interregional flows and networks of activity, interaction, and the exercise of

power. (Held et al., 1999: 16)

In this context, ‗flows‘ go beyond just the transfer of products, but also includes the

movement of people and their informational interaction. The resulting openness to the

world and its values, culture and knowledge has an impact on the personality, tradition,

and lifestyle of those exposed to it, and in some cases can create a distinct gap between

generations (Ghirlanda et al., 2006: 1028).

Whiteoak et al. (2006) argued that the influences of modernization and

westernization have not been significantly explored in the Arab world. In the Omani

022

context, the new, wealthy Omani renaissance has provided a great opportunity to open

both the country and its people to the rest of the world. This openness to the world, a

revolution in information and other technologies, and modern lifestyle, have all

provided Omanis with easier access to a broader range of knowledge. Additionally, by

sharing their views and thoughts with outsiders, Omanis gain better understanding of

world ‗democracy‘ and became more aware of their civil rights as citizens. Moaddel

argued that:

Cultural change is a complex process, involving changes in (1) people‘s

values, rituals, bases of identity, and lifestyle; (2) principles of social

organization; (3) arts and literature; and (4) religious beliefs, institutions, and

movements. (Moaddel, 2009: 127)

In addition, international organizations, such as the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, put pressure on the government to modernize

its public administration style (Common, 2008). To cope with the global movement and

satisfy the external influence, Oman has adopted a national strategy called ‗Oman

Vision 2020‘. One purpose of this multi-dimensional strategy is to ‗develop Omanis by

raising their skills, standards and abilities to face the 21st century and to reduce the main

challenge of illiteracy‘ (Al-Hamadi et al., 2007: 103). In addition, many laws and

regulations has been changed or modified to suit both the international investment

environment as well as the main requirements of the World Trade Organization and the

global marketplace (Mellahi, et al., 2003).

One final, but important, issue is that the process of globalization has opened the

country to wider management approaches. Aycan et al. (2007: 11) argued that

‗Globalization accelerates the transfer not only of products and services among nations,

but also of management know-how and practice‘. Therefore Oman, like most Middle

Eastern countries, has imported several western management models and styles. In

practice, most of these models are in some way modified to suit the cultural context of

Middle Eastern organizations, but still this western hegemony has direct and indirect

impacts on employee attitudes and organizational behaviour in Middle East countries in

general and Oman in particular.

4.3 Institutional Structure and Equality

Oman is governed by the Sultan, who occupies the highest political position in the

Sultanate absolute monarchy. The position of Sultan is enshrined within a succession to

023

the male descendants of Sai'id Turki bin Said bin Sultan (The Basic Law, Article 5). In

addition to his various positions such as prime minister and supreme commander of the

armed forces, all other political positions within the government are nominated directly

by the Sultan himself. Only since 2003 has there been any direct election process, to

elect the members of the Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura) (Aycan et al, 2007:

13). However, candidates are not allowed to use public media to present their thoughts

or future plans. The role of the Majlis al-Shura ‗remains limited to social and economic

matters, and it can only review government policies and not initiate legislation‘

(Peterson, 2004b: 134). Above all this, any kind of political party is illegal in Oman

(Allen and Rigsbee, 2000). Beside the consultative council, there is the Majlis Al-Dolah

(council of the state), the members of which are appointed directly by the sultan. The

two councils together form the Council of Oman which is also presided over by the

sultan.

Since its beginnings in 1970, the current government has realized the importance of

creating harmony among the diverse social composition of the Omani community on

the one hand, and the influence of the hierarchical system within that society on the

other. Initially, this early understanding was essential to ensure stabilization of the

country‘s development. It also had to consider the economic privileges which were

enjoyed by some families. However, such a process is never ending. In fact the

government itself altered the social hierarchy as new social classes were created with

government recognition. Today, the Omani social hierarchy can be described in

descending order as: Sahib alsemo (His highness); Sai'id (Sir); Sheikh (head of tribe);

and Rasheed (head of a tribe sect or part of a tribe, but lower than Sheikh). The majority

of these groups receive a monthly salary because of their social class, either from the

Diwan of Royal Court or the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Indeed, these groups are socially empowered by society in general and also by

government practices. As Peterson (2004a: 51) explains, ‗ethnic, and especially tribal,

affiliation continues to play an important role in social interactions and employment‘. In

Oman, there are no published statistics available regarding the level of representation of

the groups discussed above within Omani organizations. Nevertheless, indications of

that distribution can be recognized for some positions within both public and private

sectors. For example, looking at ministerial positions in 2010, it is obvious that many

senior levels are restricted to certain positions in certain tribes.

024

Of the 32 ministers who form the cabinet, 10 are Sahib alsemo and Sai'id, 11 are

Sheikh, and 4 are Lawatis (www.omanet.om). Also, all the religionist positions in the

government are been held by Abadiyah. Additionally, Shi'a (especially Lawati Tribe)

hold most of the important financial positions (Minister of National Economy, Minister

of Commerce & Industry, and the Vice- President of the Oman Central Bank), while

,the Swahili language group is widespread in the banking and oil sectors. In addition,

most Omani ambassadors are chosen from the Dhufar region. No doubt, governmental

practices must have created an expectation for particular characteristics for these

positions among the Omani nation. One reason for this, in the view of Friedman (2007),

is related to the society‘s acceptance of high power distance, where top management is

reserved for certain classes and so cannot be opened to all citizens. Peterson (2004a: 51)

concluded that, ‗It is undeniable that a certain measure of discrimination still exists

within Omani society‘.

4.4 Demography

From less than one million in 1970, the total population of Oman has increased almost

three times in just forty years. According to official statistics published in 2008 by the

Ministry of National Economy (MoNE), the total population of Oman is approximately

2,743,000. Of this number, 1,992,697 are Omanis (almost two thirds), while 820,000

are non-Omanis (www.mone.gov.om). The distribution of the population between

different governorates and regions is shown in Figure 4 below.

025

Figure 4: Distribution of Omani population among different governorates and

regions

Source: Adapted from www.mone.gov.om (accessed 06 October 2009).

Also, from the published statistics, many interesting indications can be identified.

Firstly, women and men are almost equal in number. Secondly, it can be recognized that

over 50 per cent of the total Omani population are 19 years old or younger, which

means that Oman is a young society. Also, almost 75 per cent of the total population is

under 30 years old, which means that they never experienced the country‘s poor

economic situation before 1970, and therefore three-quarters of Omanis may not have

the same level of appreciation of what the new renaissance has changed as do older

Omanis. In fact, the new generation today is asking for democracy and equality and

more freedom of speech and of the press. In addition, most of this large percentage is

currently either in education and therefore a potential job seeker, or is actively looking

for work. This puts great pressure on the government to create new jobs as well as to

ensure equality in staffing (see Appendix 1 for a note on the current situation in Oman).

Another essential element which needs to be mentioned here is that all of the main

government bodies are based in the capital, Muscat. Therefore, most public sector

employees work in Muscat and many of them live without their families because of the

high cost of living. Only small branches of some of these bodies, related mainly to the

civil service, are available in each governorate or region. In many cases, the main

decisions will be taken in Muscat and people need to go there if they need to speed up

the bureaucratic process or have any objections regarding a decision that has been made.

Muscat Governorate

Dhufar Governorate

AI - Wusta region

Ash - Sharqiyah region

Ad - Dakhliyah region

Adh - Dhahirah region

Musandarn Governorate

AI-Batinah region

026

4.5 Economy and Human Development

As Hofstede (2006: 885) stated, ‗many measures of national culture are correlated with

national wealth (or national poverty): they are affected by economic factors‘. Until

1970, Oman was almost isolated from the entire world and reliable demographic or

economic data was largely absent (Winckler, 2005). During the 1960s, approximately

70,000 Omani men were working in other Gulf states because of the miserable financial

situation in their country (O'Sullivan, 2009: 238). At that time there were no schools for

girls and only three primary schools for boys with 909 students, all of whom were

personally selected by the Sultan himself (Funsch, 2006). The situation for the health

system was no better than that for education. There were only two hospitals, both in the

capital, with 12 beds and 13 doctors, and just a few dispensaries distributed among

other parts of the country (www.moh.gov.om). Simply put, the country was run without

any clear strategy for human development (Oman, Human Resource Development

Report, 2003).

Today, the manifestations of modern development in Oman, as in all GCC countries,

are due to the discovery of oil and gas (O‘Sullivan, 2009). The World Bank now

classifies Oman as an ‗upper-middle-income‘ developing country (World Encyclopedia,

Philip‘s, 2008) and the United Nations Human Development Report (UNDP, 2009)

categorizes the country as high in human development, ranked 56th among world

countries and 12th among Arab countries. As Smith (1988) noted, ‗money from oil…

has brought the Omanis through development that took a thousand years in Europe in

less than 20 years‘.

Governments always give high priority in their national policy to human

development issues such as education, health services, labour market and human rights,

strategies. By the end of 2000, there were more than 993 schools in operation around

the country and the number of public health service centres had reached 165, along with

the provision of all other basic human development necessities (CERD, 2006). Aycan et

al. (2007: 13) described the magnitude of the progress achieved, stating that: ‗The

country has undergone a transformation from a harshly ruled, isolationist sultanate into

an economically liberalized monarchy seeking to integrate the country into the global

economy‘.

So, on the one hand, forty years of wealthy renaissance have significantly affected

the societal and organizational culture in a number of different ways. Nonetheless, the

decline of oil production and revenues since the late 1990s has created new challenges

027

(Owtram, 2004). This dramatic economic situation, along with continued population

growth, has cast a shadow over the various development plans. After forty years of

progress due to oil revenues, it seems that the future needs to be carefully looked at in

such a way as to maintain the current standard of living and strongly prohibit any

unequal distribution of resources or opportunities. Already, the government has

implemented some initial strategies, such as Omanization and privatization, which

could potentially help to diversify both employment opportunities and sources of

revenue in the economy (Al-Hamadi et al., 2007).

4.6 Current Issues of EE in the Omani Public Sector

The rapid positive movement of human development in Oman has substantially

enlarged the public sector. From a total of 1,750 employees in 1970 (Abdul-Khaliq,

1989), the number of civil service employees increased to over 100,000 employees at

the end of 2008 (MoNE, 2009). This number does not include the Ministry of Defence

(MoD) or the Royal Oman Police (ROP) as they have their own system and there are no

statistics published.

However, several governmental laws and regulations have been adopted to cope with

the rapid development of the whole country. This began with the establishment of a

civil service department under the Diwan of Royal Court in 1973, then in 1975 the civil

service council was established, and in 1980 civil service law was introduced to monitor

the whole employment process in the civil service. In 1988, the Ministry of Civil

Services was established to manage the recruitment and promotion procedures in those

civil service ministries – the majority of them – which fell under the civil service law

(Al-Ghailani, 2005).

The Civil Service Law (CSL) was amended several times to better serve its purposes.

The latest version of the CSL was issued by Royal Decree No. 120/2004 of 28

December 2004 (www.mosc.gov.om). However, through all these amendments, the law

has never provided any reference to the concept of EEO or explicitly clarified any of its

issues. Only three articles could be directly related to EEO, and these are: Article 15,

which states that the selection of public sector employees is based on merit only; Article

28, which states that promotion is based on merit and seniority; and Article 140-A,

which sets the retirement age at 60. To some extent, CSL emphasizes women‘s rights in

some very specific issues, which are: Article 79, full salary leave for four months and

ten days in case of husband‘s death, starting from the date of the husband‘s death;

Article 80, maternity leave for fifty days on full salary for a maximum of five times

028

throughout the whole period of service; and Article 81, not more than one year of

unpaid leave to care for her newborn baby.

Although there is no written or published policy under the name of ‗equal

opportunities policy‘ in Oman, all the employment regulations in the public sector

prevent discrimination according to any aspect in recruitment and promotion

procedures. Above all, the basic law of the state aims to ensure equality between

citizens both in a general sense and in employment. It is clearly stated in Article 12-1

that ‗Justice, equality and equality of opportunity among Omanis are the pillars of

society, guaranteed by the State‘. Further, Article 12-7 states, ‗Public employment is a

national service entrusted to those who carry it out. The State employees while

performing their work shall seek to serve the public interest and society. Citizens are

considered equal in taking up public employment according to the provisions of the

Law‘. Moreover, Article 17 asserts that, ‗All citizens are equal before the Law, and they

are equal in public rights and duties. There shall be no discrimination between them on

the grounds of gender, origin, colour, language, religion, sect, domicile or social status‘

(Ministry of Information, 2010).

However, real practice does not seem to exactly reflect what is stated in the law. This

is because either pervious articles have not been fully implemented, or equality has a

conditional meaning in the Omani context. At present, conditions like the age, gender,

or region of the candidates are always stated in job advertisements in local newspapers

(see, for example, the advertisement of the Ministry of Civil Service, No. 41/2009, at

http: //www.mocs.gov.om/tabid/204/Default.aspx). According to such adverts, younger

and male candidates are always more favourable to employers than older ones or

women. Indeed, such a choice has not been based on quality as much as the recruiter‘s

personal opinions or orientations. McGoldrick and Arrowsmith (1993) mention that,

‗discriminatory practices may begin in the initial advertising process, by the placing of

age-bars to discourage application from non-preferred age categories‘. As McGoldrick

and Arrowsmith (1993: 63) argued, ‗By arbitrarily excluding groups of people on the

basis of age alone, employers not only ignore the positive contributions which older

workers may make, they are also refusing to consider some of the potentially best

candidates for the job‘. A successful recruitment process should not involve any

reference to any personal orientation, and competition on vacancies has be open to all,

regardless of age, religion, gender or any other aspect of discrimination.

029

Another aspect of discrimination in the public sector can be recognized in

employees‘ wages. While there are no differences between employees with regard to the

main monthly payment as stated in the grade tables, some employees get what are called

‗exceptional allowances‘ in their basic salaries without any announced procedure. It has

been argued that ‗equitable pay is difficult to achieve without rightsized and

professional public service‘ (WPSR, 2005: x). This argument is generally supported by

the Civil Service Law. Article 37 mentions that extra allowances can be granted by a

chief of department to high-performing employees, once or twice a year, with a

maximum of four allowances per grade. Also, Article 38 states that extra allowances

can be granted by the chief of department in appreciation of an employee‘s

performance. Looking at the actual practice, there is no sufficient performance

evaluation procedure which is applicable and can clearly determine which employees

qualify for such additional payments.

Besides the inadequate level of the Omani workforce compared to growing demand

in the labour market and the high percentage of unemployment, providing females with

more opportunities to participate in the labour force is another challenge to the Omani

government (www.moneoman.gov.om; Oman Human Development Report, 2003). As

mentioned earlier in this chapter, Omani females still suffer from employment

discrimination. However, the government from the highest level has been trying its best

to encourage gender equality. For example, the Sultan raised this issue through his 2009

yearly speech in the Council of the State, stating that:

Since the beginning of this era, to the participation of Omani women in the

march of the blessed renaissance, so we have provided them with education,

training and employment opportunities and supported their role and status in

society. We have also stressed the need for their contribution in various

development spheres. We have facilitated this through regulations and laws

that guarantee their rights and explain their duties in order to be able to

develop their inner abilities, expertise and skills to build their country and

raise its status. We are continuing on this path. (ONA, 2009)

Another issue which has also recently gained the Sultan‘s attention is the fight

against corruption at senior levels in the public sector. According to the Corruption

Perceptions Index (CPI) for the year 2007, Oman was one of those countries in which

the level of corruption had significantly increased (http: //www.arabianbusiness.com).

Such an indicator affects both the country profile and its international reputation, and

part of the problem is that ministers are provided with ultimate power without any kind

031

of obvious oversight (Al-Ghailani, 2005). The Sultan expressed his concern regarding

this issue in his annual speech for 2008, stating that:

Here, it is worth noting that the government‘s performance in laying down the

groundwork for sustainable development relies on those carrying out their

duties, as well as on their supervisors... If their work is carried out in an honest

manner and with a spirit of responsibility, away from personal interests, then

they would be happy and so would their country. But if they stray from the

right path and consider the job as a means to achieving personal gains,

influence and power and they linger in carrying out their duties in complete

honesty and dedication, they should be held accountable and legal procedures

should be taken against them in accordance with the principles of justice upon

which we have laid down the pillars of rule. In accordance with these pillars,

we are required not to allow anyone to be above law and order, or to let

anyone unlawfully affect the interests of our people as guaranteed by the State

as well as the interests of the community which is protected by legislation and

supported by our laws and regulations. Therefore, we emphasise that the issue

of enforcement of justice is imperative and inevitable, and that our monitoring

apparatus is alert and dedicated to carrying out their duties and responsibilities

in order to safeguard the country‘s achievements.

This concern from the Sultan himself is vital because most of the important issues in

Arab countries in general, and Oman in particular, are usually based on the knowledge

and personal preferences of senior leaders (Common, 2008). Moreover, such an issue

will not be effectively addressed and dealt with unless the impetus to do so comes from

the Sultan himself.

With regard to academic studies, it is hard to find any Omani scholar who undertakes

any study concerning management issues without referring to the influences of societal

or institutional culture. In the findings of many of these studies, issues related to EEO

are mostly raised either explicitly or implicitly. For instance, Al-Hamadi (2004)

conducted a study to investigate the impact of value orientations, ethical beliefs,

national culture and national institutions on HRM policies and practices in Oman. He

relied on Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck‘s (1961) framework on value orientations for the

reasons presented above and also because these value orientations are close to Islamic

values. The results of the study confirmed that cultural preferences and Islamic values

have a significant impact on different HRM practices, although this impact might vary

according to context and demographic characteristics. He also mentioned the influence

of family and personal relations on employees‘ decisions, stating that, ‗personnel

decisions are often driven by personal connections, rather than objective job related

criteria which may benefit the broader civic interest‘ (ibid.: 260).

030

Furthermore, Al-Ghailani (2005) conducted another study on the effect of social

principles on recruitment and selection procedures in the Omani public sector. The

findings of the field study showed a strong tendency toward recruiting and promoting

males, while females struggled to access key posts. The results also led to a provocative

finding, that:

Contrary to the ambitions of the law where merit is considered the

determinants, experts interviewed emphasized that seniority is the determinant

in grade-to-grade promotion, while ministers' discretion and candidates' status

are the determinants in post-to-post promotion. (Al-Ghailani, 2005: 297)

In addition, Al-Asmi studied the role of managers and their effectiveness in civil

service organizations. The findings reflected to the influences of cultural values on

managers‘ behaviours and attitudes. From his analysis of the empirical interviews, Al-

Asmi (2008: 254-255) concluded that:

[I]nequality in Omani civil service organizations exists in different ways.

Firstly, employees who work in the offices of top management are given

special treatments such as promotions, incentives and bonuses. Secondly, male

employees are given priority for participating in training activities and

conferences that are held outside the country. Thirdly, appointments in some

positions are restricted to males only. Fourthly, some managers prefer working

with male employees rather than with female employees due to the familial

circumstances of the latter. (Al-Asmi, 2008: 254-255)

Apart from what has been mentioned, there are no published statistics regarding

numerous EEO issues such as the distribution of classes, tribes, and disabled people.

Indeed, the lack of important information concerning these prevents, to some degree,

effective analysis of the current situation of EEO in regard to these particular issues. In

addition, the absence of a clear EEO policy combined with an absolute selection

procedure has left employment practices such as training, promotion, and appraisal to be

determined according to the manager‘s personal estimation only, which can lead to

several kinds of discrimination in a context such as the Omani public sector.

4.7 The Administrative Judgment Court

In many countries, authorities have introduced institutions to eliminate any sort of

discrimination as well as to enforce anti-discrimination legislation such as the Equal

Employment Opportunities Commission in the UK (Suk, 2006). Nevertheless, the

032

influence of these institutions remains limited because of ‗the limits of formal equality

and of punitive action‘ (Demuijnck, 2009: 89).

Through the Royal Decree No. 91/1999, the Administrative Judgment Court (AJC)

was established to be an independent judicial body, responsible only administratively to

the Minister of the Diwan of the Royal Court. The main responsibilities of the AJC are

to review all disputes against administrative decisions with regard to issues such as

salaries, rewards, compensations, and other kinds of violation of laws or regulations

which occur in government bodies (according to the latest amendment by Royal Decree

No. 3/2009). According to Royal Decree 91/1999, Article 7, the court has no

jurisdiction over sovereign matters, Royal Decrees, or Royal Orders.

Therefore, any employee or candidate for recruitment who feels that he or she has

been discriminated against for any reason could present his case to the AJC.

Nevertheless, it is not easy to prove many discrimination cases since often they are

either not covered by the law or concealed by complicated processes. Even in the

United States, lawyers admit that it is hard to win discrimination cases (Selmi, 2000).

This is because the law requires employees ‗to show not just that they were treated

badly but to prove that they were treated differently based on their protected group‘

(Goldman, 2001: 362). In Oman, the situation might be even worse, since there is no

EEO programme or any obligatory employment quotas, for example among different

geographical locations in the country, which may enhance the chances of the individuals

discriminated against to prove their cases. Also, many employees are uneducated in

regard to their rights in the workplace or afraid of being victimized after reporting their

cases. Additionally, many discrimination cases might be unreported because of

society‘s conscious or unconscious perception of some discrimination aspects, such as

gender role and wasta, as part of the culture rather than illegal behaviour.

4.8 Conclusion

As discussed in previous chapters, the GLOBE definition of culture stems from an

anthropological point of view, while EEO is mainly related to psychological principles.

Therefore, the study will be tackled from a psychological anthropology perspective.

Indeed, this multi-disciplinary base will determine the methodological approach of the

whole research project.

This study will measure societal and organizational culture in terms of both practices

and values. Many issues were raised during the literature review, including:

033

How will Omani culture score compared to other Arab countries‘ cultures

which were included in the GLOBE project?

To what extent are employment opportunities distributed equally in the

Omani public sector?

What kind of relationship could be found between Omani culture and EE?

How could this relationship managed, and to what extent?

To what extent are the two concepts responsible for employees‘

performance?

In the previous three chapters, the study demonstrated the importance of culture and

EE in determining the quality of organizational performance. This strong relationship

between culture and EE is worth looking at through a deep study in order to understand

the nature of the relationship between the two variables. To do so, the following chapter

will illustrate the methodology chosen to enable this thesis to reach its aims and

objectives.

034

Chapter Five

Research Methodology

5.0 Introduction

The overall aim of this study is to examine the degree of influence that societal and

organizational cultures, as specified by the GLOBE project, have on employment equity

in the Omani public sector. The literature review showed that there are some

interactions between the two concepts. However, this relationship needs to be further

discussed and explored in depth to better understand it, as explained in Chapter 1

(sections: 1.3 and 1.4). Therefore, this chapter will introduce the main methods which

will be used throughout the fieldwork instrument in a way to reach the main aim and

objectives of whole thesis.

In seeking to determine the degree of influence that each cultural dimension has on

employment equity in the Omani public sector, the study will make use of both

quantitative and qualitative approaches, thereby gaining strength in its utilization of a

mixed method approach with the opportunity for triangulation. Quantitative data will be

analysed and compared statistically regarding two main research areas, these being

those related to Omani cultural dimensions, and also the critical success factors in

respect of the adoption of EE. A qualitative analysis will establish an in-depth

understanding of the phenomena under study occurs and what kinds of influence are

brought to bear by societal and organizational cultures in matters of employment equity.

The nine cultural dimensions which as used in the GLOBE research project will act as

independent variables, while the critical success factors will be the dependent variables.

The adoption of EE will be measured at four levels: national, societal, organizational,

and individual. Seven factors have been academically recognized under these four

levels.

Besides distributing a survey around the Omani public sector, the organization Royal

Court Affairs (RCA) will be chosen as a single case study since the RCA is the largest

independent organization in the public sector, and is recognized as a leading

organization among the other public sector entities in the country. To gain a depth of

understanding about the phenomena, the study will use a questionnaire and semi-

structured interviews. A brief and general description of the research procedure and

design is provided below.

035

5.1 Philosophical Assumptions

According to Crotty (2003: 3), the typology of social research processes revolves

around four main elements: epistemology, theoretical perspective, methodology, and

method (see Table 20). However, although these elements have a typical sequence

among them (for example positivism uses only quantitative methods while

phenomenology uses qualitative methods only), this typicality is not mandatory as long

as there is a logical justification for the chosen methodological sequence (Crotty, 2003).

This viewpoint is confirmed by Creswell (2009), who suggests that four worldviews

emerge in respect of the philosophical assumption underpinning a research approach,

these being: Post-positivism, Constructivism, Advocacy/participatory, and Pragmatism.

Pragmatists believe that they can use all available methods, either quantitative, or

qualitative, or mixed methods, as such researchers are mainly concerned with ‗what and

how to research‗ in a way that ‗best meet their needs and purposes‗ but reasons for their

choice should be provided (ibid.: 11).

Table 20: Philosophical positions

Epistemology

(Philosophical

theory of

knowledge)

Theoretical

Perspective

(Philosophical

stance)

Methodology

(Research

strategies)

Method

(Research

techniques and

procedures)

Objectivism

Constructivism

Subjectivism

…and their variants

Positivism (and post-

positivism)

Interpretivism

Symbolic

interactionism

Phenomenology

Hermeneutics

Critical inquiry

Feminism

Postmodernism

etc.

Experimental

research

Survey research

Ethnography

Phenomenological

research

Grounded theory

Heuristic theory

Action research

Discourse analysis

Feminist standpoint

research

etc.

Sampling

Questionnaire

Observation

Interview

Focus group

Case study

Life history

Narrative

Statistical analysis

Data reduction

Document analysis

Content analysis

etc.

Source: Adapted from Crotty, 2003: 5.

Among these variations of philosophical assumptions, the researcher believes that the

pragmatic worldview will be the best way to meet the main aim and objectives of this

research study. Pragmatism, as Creswell (2009) argued, pays more attention to the

research problem and how to understand it and so frees the researcher from being

committed to one particular method or technique. Being pragmatic, the researcher has

036

decided to use a mixed methods approach in order to gain a better understanding of the

phenomenon under study, and significantly address its surrounding issues. Creswell

(2009: 11) supports such a choice by stating that, ‗for the mixed methods researcher,

pragmatism opens the door to multiple methods, different worldviews, and different

assumptions, as well as different forms of data collection and analysis‘. The further

explanations are clearly illustrated in the following discussion.

5.2 Research Methods

In general, there are two main methods of collecting data, these being qualitative and

quantitative, and each has its advantages and disadvantages and is therefore more

suitable to particular types of research activity. For instance, Collis and Hussey (2003)

argue that reliability is high in quantitative methods while it is low in qualitative

methods. On the other hand, as they argue, validity is high in qualitative methods while

it is low in quantitative methods. Therefore, one of the main reasons for using mixed

methods is to gain the most from each of these types of method. Mixed methods

research can be seen as relatively unrestricted in its data gathering techniques, and

indeed the method recommends the use of mixed techniques of data collection as such a

strategy increases the validity of the research and allows for the advantages of each

technique to be realized, while simultaneously minimizing their disadvantages (Darke et

al, 1998; Yin, 2009; Creswell, 2009). Bryman and Bell refer to the importance of such

combination stating that:

The combined use of qualitative and quantitative research methods represents

a common pattern in case study research in business and management, used by

researchers in order to enhance the generality of their findings. (Bryman and

Bell, 2007: 651)

Bernard (2005) further argues that both qualitative and quantitative methods could be

used in social, psychology, and anthropology fields. Thus, a combination of qualitative

and quantitative techniques is generally recommended for the best and most robust

results (Gable, 1994; Flyvbjerg, 2006).

In addition, authors argue that qualitative methods are more widely used in

exploratory research, while quantitative methods are more related to confirmatory

research. However, as observed by Tashakkori and Teddie:

037

A major advantage of mixed methods research is that it enables the researcher

to simultaneously answer confirmatory and exploratory questions, and

therefore verify and generate theory in the same study. (Tashakkori and

Teddie, 2003: 15)

As explained in Chapter 1, this thesis is about firstly examining the relationship

between culture and the adoption of employment equity (confirmatory) and, secondly,

exploring the most influential cultural dimensions where such a relationship occurs

(exploratory). Therefore, mixed methods are the most applicable technique to serve the

purpose of this thesis.

Creswell et al. (2003: 212) suggest the following comprehensive definition:

A mixed methods study involves the collection or analysis of both quantitative

and/or qualitative data in a single study in which the data are collected and

concurrently or sequentially, are given a priority, and involve the integration

of the data at one or more stages in the process of research. (Creswell et al.,

2003: 212)

According to Creswell et al. (ibid.), mixed methods approaches can be divided into

six categories. From the six types of mixed methods given in Table 21, this study adopts

the concurrent triangulation design. Besides being less time consuming, this design

ensures ‗well-validated and substantiated findings‘ (Creswell, 2009: 213-214). The

investigation will therefore be addressed quantitatively and qualitatively through two

main techniques which are questionnaire (positivism) and semi-structured interviews

(phenomenology).

038

Table 21: Different Types of Mixed Methods Approach

Design type Implementation Priority Stage of

integration

Theoretical

perspective

Sequential

explanatory

Quantitative

followed by

qualitative

Usually

quantitative; can

be qualitative or

equal

Interpretation

phase

May be present

Sequential

exploratory

Qualitative

followed by

quantitative

Usually

qualitative; can

be quantitative or

equal

Interpretation

phase

May be present

Sequential

transformative

Quantitative

followed by

qualitative or

Qualitative

followed by

quantitative

Qualitative,

quantitative, or

equal

Interpretation

phase

Definitely present

(i.e., conceptual

framework,

advocacy,

empowerment)

Concurrent

triangulation

Concurrent

collection of

quantitative and

qualitative data

Preferably equal;

can be

quantitative or

qualitative

Interpretation

phase or analysis

phase

May be present

Concurrent

nested

Concurrent

collection of

quantitative and

qualitative data

Quantitative or

qualitative

Analysis phase May be present

Concurrent

transformative

Concurrent

collection of

quantitative and

qualitative data

Quantitative,

qualitative, or

equal

Usually analysis

phase; can be

during

interpretation

phase

Definitely present

(i.e., conceptual

framework,

advocacy,

empowerment)

Source: Creswell et al., 2003: 224.

5.3 Research Question

Determining the research question(s) for any study is an essential stage in building the

research design (Eisenhardt, 1989). This PhD research study will attempt to explore the

influence of different cultural dimensions on employment equity by quantifying Omani

culture and determining the main critical success factors in respect of the adoption of

effective policies and practices towards employment equity within the public sector in

Oman. Accordingly, the thesis will address the following main question:

How and to what extent do societal and organizational cultures, as

specified by the GLOBE project, influence the adoption of

employment equity in the Omani public sector?

039

It can be appreciated that this overarching question contains four separate

dimensions, and in order to gather answers to the question, these dimensions are

articulated and specific questions pertaining to each are presented, as follows:

Area One:

1. What are the main cultural preferences as evidenced by societal and

organizational practices in Oman?

2. What are the main cultural preferences in respect of societal and

organizational values in Oman?

3. Are there any differences in viewing the cultural dimensions of the Omani

cultural preferences between employees and managers?

4. Where does Omani culture stand compared to GLOBE study results in

general and the Middle Eastern cluster in particular?

Area Two:

5. What are the critical success factors behind the adoption of EE?

6. To what extent are the critical success factors behind the adoption of EE

applied in the Omani public sector?

7. Considering the influence of societal and organizational culture, which

employment equity programme, among those most applied in Western

countries (EO, AA, and DM), is culturally more applicable to the Omani

public sector?

8. To what extent could other additional elements enhance the effective

adoption of equal employment policies and programmes in the Omani public

sector?

Area Three:

9. What kind of relationship exists between societal and organizational culture

(Area One); and the critical success factors in respect of the adoption of EE

(Area Two)?

10. What remedies can be implemented to terminate the current employment

discrimination and encourage positive cultural influences in this respect?

041

5.4 Research Framework

In developing the overall framework of this thesis, the researcher traced two main

variables through Chapters 2 and 3. In Chapter 2, the researcher investigated different

theoretical models related to organizational and societal culture. Among these attempts,

the organizational and societal cultural dimensions which were suggested by the

GLOBE project were chosen as the most appropriate model to best serve the purpose of

this thesis. In addition, critical success factors behind employment equity were

determined according to what has been determined by several related studies, as shown

in Chapter 3.

Accordingly, a theoretical framework has been developed to direct the study towards

its methodology and fieldwork. Figure 5 shows the conceptual model suggested by the

researcher to examine the relationship between organizational culture and societal

culture (as an independent variables), and the critical success factors behind the

effective adoption of employment equity (as dependent variables).

5.4.1 Hypotheses

Collis and Hussey (2003: 10) defined a hypothesis as: ‗a proposition which can be

retested for association or causality by deducing logical consequences which can be

tested against empirical evidence.‘ Therefore, after setting the main research questions,

a number of hypotheses were formulated accordingly for the purposes of this study.

These hypotheses have been designed according to what was revealed by the literature

review (Chapters 2, 3, and 4) and the context of the study (Chapter 4). Culture, either

societal or organizational, has been always recognized by scholars from different

disciplines as one of the main influences on both human behaviour and the adoption of

any kind of change in an organization or country (Segall et al., 1998; Aycan, 2000b;

Kirkman et al., 2006; Nardon and Steers, 2009). In addition, it has been argued that

Figure 5: Overall conceptual model for the study

Societal Culture (SC)

(Independent Variables)

Critical Success Factors

toward Adopting Effective

Employment Equity

(Dependent Variables)

Culture and Employment

Equity Adoption in Oman

(Hypothesised Outcome)

Organizational Culture (OC) (Independent Variables)

040

culture plays a vital role with regard to equity and equality issues such as determining

the degree and the meaning of gender equity in the workplace (McDonald, 2000;

Metcalfe, 2006). Hence, the researcher came up with the following set of hypotheses,

which will be discussed in the following section. In addition, the hypotheses will be

tested through the study‘s questionnaire and interviews. All hypotheses were

categorized in three sets according to the structure of the study, as follows:

Set one: Societal and organizational cultures in Oman

As discussed in Chapter 2 (section 2.7), although Middle Eastern countries have been

placed in one cluster, individually they differ in their scores. However, because most

Arab cultures, including that of Oman, have been shaped by the influence of Islam,

tribalism, social system (Ali, 1996; Tayeb, 1997; Mohamed et al., 2008; Rees and

Althakhri, 2008) and according to the societal attributes which were discussed in

Chapter 2 (section 2.5.6.2), the Omani culture can be hypothesized as follows:

1. Omani cultural practices at both societal and organizational levels will score

HIGH in the following cultural dimensions: uncertainty avoidance, power

distance, societal collectiveness, in-group collectiveness, and human

orientation, and LOW in gender egalitarianism, assertiveness, future

orientation, and performance orientation.

2. Omani cultural values, at both societal and organizational levels, will score

LOW in the following cultural dimensions: uncertainty avoidance, power


orientation, and HIGH in gender egalitarianism, assertiveness, future


3. Culture in Oman will score almost within the range scores of other Middle

Eastern countries which were included in GLOBE study.

4. As Javidan et al. (2006) explained that managers are employees themselves

as they are managed by top management, it is hypothesized here that: there

will be no significant differences between managers and employees with

regard to the cultural dimensions of Omani cultural preferences.

042

Set two: Employment Equity in Oman

It was argued in Chapter 3 (especially section 3.7) that there is a reservoir of equity in

employment in most of Arab countries. Also, throughout Chapter 4, the study explained

several elements which are related to inequity in the Oman society. Also, it has been

mentioned in chapter three (section 3.4) that even Western countries differ in their

equity approaches in employment. Therefore, in regards to the situation of EE in the

Omani public sector, it is hypothesized here that:

5. The Omani public sector will score LOWER in its readiness in respect of the

adoption of EE (As Is) compared to the desire for such adoption (Should Be).

6. Critical success factors towards effective EE will be positively correlated

with each other.

7. None of the three western EE programmes will be fully suitable to fulfil the

need for solid EE policies and practices in the Omani public sector.

8. There will be a strong opinion among Omani employees in the public sector

regarding the need for equity in employment.

Set three: the relationship between societal and organizational cultures and

employment equity

9. In terms of practice, the critical success factors in respect of the adoption of

EE will be negatively correlated (low–high) with the following cultural

dimensions: uncertainty avoidance, power distance, societal collectiveness,

in-group collectiveness, and human orientation. A positive correlation (low–

low) will appear with the other four cultural dimensions: gender

egalitarianism, assertiveness, future orientation, and performance orientation.

For more clarification, Hypothesis 9 can be illustrated as shown in Table 22.

043

Table 22: Sub-divisions of Hypothesis 9

Hypothesis Cultural Dimension Practice EE Correlation

9.a uncertainty avoidance High Low Negative

9.b power distance High Low Negative

9.c societal collectivism High Low Negative

9.d in-group collectivism High Low Negative

9.e human orientation High Low Negative

9.f gender egalitarianism Low Low Positive

9.g Assertiveness Low Low Positive

9.h future orientation Low Low Positive

9.i performance orientation Low Low Positive

10. In terms of values, the critical success factors in respect of the adoption of EE

will be negatively correlated (high-low) with the following cultural


in-group collectiveness, and human orientation, while a positive correlation

(high–high) will appear with the other four cultural dimensions: gender



044

Table 23: Divisions of Hypothesis 10

Hypothesis Cultural Dimension Values EE Correlation

10.a uncertainty avoidance Low High Negative

10.b power distance Low High Negative

10.c societal collectivism Low High Negative

10.d in-group collectivism Low High Negative

10.e human orientation Low High Negative

10.f gender egalitarianism High High Positive

10.g Assertiveness High High Positive

10.h future orientation High High Positive

10.i performance orientation High High Positive

5.5 Using a Survey

Surveys are perhaps the most popular strategy for obtaining quantitative data (Hussey

and Hussey, 1997), and are often based around a questionnaire. Thornhill et al. (2000:

296) stated that, ‗responses to questionnaires are easier to record as they are based on a

predetermined and standardized set of questions.‘ Questionnaires enable standardized

data to be collected, thereby allowing easy comparison. This study will use a

questionnaire that is essentially comprised of two parts. That part which relates to

societal and organizational culture has been adopted from the GLOBE study with

official permission to do so. The second part has been designed by the researcher

himself. The questionnaire and its translation will be validated through academic

consultation and pilot study.

5.5.1 Developing the questionnaire

The questionnaire was developed by combing several previous questionnaires as well as

the researcher‘s personal efforts. In general, the questionnaire was divided into six

sections: culture (sections one and three); employment equity (sections two and four);

general view on adopting employment equity programs in Oman (section five); and

demographic variable (section six). However, because of the length of the questionnaire

and to reduce common source bias, the questionnaire was distributed into two versions,

Alpha and Beta. The Alpha version of the questionnaire contained 34 items related to

organizational culture practice (AS IS) and 41 items for organizational culture value

(SHOULD BE). Version BETA contained 39 items related to societal culture practice

045

(AS IS) and 39 items related to societal culture value (SHOULD BE). In addition, both

versions contain the same items for employment equity, 25 items for EE practice and 25

items for EE value.

Half of the items in the questionnaire were intended to assess the dimensions of

societal and organizational culture. These items were adopted from GLOBE project

instrument. Although the full copy is available for free use from the official GLOBE

site:

http: //www.thunderbird.edu/wwwfiles/ms/globe/pdf/GLOBE_Phase_2_Alpha_Questionnaire.pdf

for the form Alpha questionnaire, and:

http: //www.thunderbird.edu/wwwfiles/ms/globe/pdf/GLOBE_Phase_2_Beta_Questionnaire.pdf

– for form Beta questionnaire, the researcher contacted the head of the project

(Professor Javidan) by email and received explicit agreement to use it. In addition, this

questionnaire was already developed and validated through two pilot studies done by

the GLOBE team (Hanges and Dickson, 2004). As House and Javidan stated:

The first was designed to identify appropriate factor structures for societal

level, organizational level, and leadership questionnaire. The second study was

designed to replicate the first study and determine whether the findings are

stable. (House and Javidan, 2004: 20)

To reduce common source response bias, the questionnaire was divided into two

versions, form Alpha for organizational culture and form Beta for societal culture

(Hanges and Dickson, 2004). The reliability was also insured by GLOBE by using

Cronbach‘s alpha test (Hanges and Dickson, 2004).

The other half of the questionnaire (parts two, four, and five) was about assessing

seven critical success factors behind the effectiveness of employment equity in the

Omani public sector as well as exploring some general views related to adopting EE

programmes in the Omani public sector. This part was developed mainly from the

literature review, in particular Chapter 2. The researcher then looked at five PhD studies

which had partly investigated some of these factors. Three of these studies were

conducted in Oman (AlHamadi, 2004, Al-Ghailani, 2005, and AlAsmi, 2008), one of

them was conducted in United States (Herrera, 2008) and the last one was conducted in

Australia (Weller, 2009). Accordingly, some items from the initial design were

modified while new items were added after careful consideration to better suit the

purpose of this study. Below are some examples.

046

The item: ‗I felt that the decision making process was devoid of prejudice‘ was used

by Weller (2004), then modified to be: ‗In this organization, the decision making

process and management practices are devoid of prejudice.‘

Also, Herrera (2008) used statements like: ‗The leaders of the organization [are]

serious about diversity‘, ‗do you believe the diversity management program exists‘,

‗organization support diversity‘ and ‗leadership support diversity‘. These statements

were modified to be: ‗In my organization, employment equity is supported by both

leadership and employees.‘

AlAsmi (2008) used the following item: ‗Although favouritism is forbidden by

regulations, it, however, exists in reality in this department‘, and this was modified to

be: ‗In this organization, officials do not hesitate to favour relatives or friends even if

that may negatively affect other citizens‘ interests.‘

Furthermore, section 5 of the questionnaire included two parts, as follows:

Part A: this included four options relating to the most applicable programme which can

best serve EE in the Omani public sector. Participants were asked to choose one of these

four statements:

Statement one: Equity in employment should be based on merit only (merit

based programme).

Statement two: Equity in employment should be based on applying quotas

among each group of employees (e.g. males and females) (quota based

programme).

Statement three: Equity in employment should be considered as a business

advantage by basing it on recognizing individual differences, and ensuring

the right environment for each employee (diversity based programme).

Statement four: Equity in employment should be based on the importance of

the above three statements where the most effective option among them will

be applied according to working environment, type of work and individual‘s

ability (application upon needs based option).

Part B: this is about the impact of ten additional factors which are assumed to enhance

employment equity in the Omani public sector. To develop this section, the researcher

re-used section 4 of AlHamadi‘s (2004) questionnaire, as follows:

047

Section 4: Influence of the Omani National Culture on HRM

In this section we would like to examine the influence that different aspects of national

culture may have on your organization‘s HRM policies and practices. You are presented

with a range of six factors that indicate different aspects of national culture. You have

100 points to allocate across these items. You may allocate as few or as many points to

each one as long as the total across those you give points to adds up to 100.

To what extent do the following items influence the design of HRM policies and

practices in your organization?

Table 24: Influence of Omani national culture on HRM

No. Aspects of National Culture Points

1 The influence of beliefs, values, norms, customs, rituals language and the

early experience (i.e. Family, education system and religious upbringing).

2 The influence of religion, i.e. Share'h laws

3 The influence of expatriates in the work force in both the private and public

sector (i.e. expatriates occupying consultant and higher managerial

positions and their contribution to the development of civil service and

labour laws during the 1970s).

4 The influence of social elites, i.e. people who are educated abroad.

5 The influence of organization's culture ‘the way we do things around here’

6 Management style, unique to the Omani context.

Source: Adapted from AlHamadi (2004: 338 Appendix 1, section 4)

Then, for the purpose of this study and according to the literature review, the above

section was modified to the following:

5.B: Please consider the impact of the below factors on adopting effective

policies and practices toward employment equity. You are presented with ten

factors and possible of 100 points to be allocated to them according to the

importance of each factor in your own view.

To what extent do the following factors influence the adoption of effective

policies and practice toward employment equity in your organization?

048

Table 25: Part B in section five of this study questionnaire

No. Factors Points

1 State clear and detailed articles toward employment equity in the Omani's

Civil Service law (or any similar law which is applicable in your

organization).

2 Call for more enforcement of Share'h Law (Islamic Law)

3 Provide more authorities for the Court of Legal Administration.

4 Raise the education level for employees at supervisory/leadership levels

5 Train HRM employees on equity programs

6 Create equity department/section in each organization

7 Educate employees about their rights at work

8 Audit employment decisions and practices regularly

9 Ensure an adequate level of presentation for minorities (e.g. females and

disabled persons) in the decision making process

10 Concentrate on promoting values like human rights, freedom of speech,

and equality.

Total 100

After designing the first draft of this part, it was sent the researcher‘s supervisor.

According to the discussion with him, some items were excluded from the employment

equity part of the questionnaire as they were repeated. This was because some factors in

employment equity overlap. Then the questionnaire was piloted with 20 participants,

following which the wording of part B in section 5 was revised to make it clearer.

In the last part of the questionnaire, participants were asked to provide some general

information about themselves and their educational and functional level (demographic

questions).

Finally, in line with the procedure of House et al. (2004), the translation of the

GLOBE questionnaire was done by CCI (Country Co-Investigators). This was required

to eliminate any misunderstanding that the translation process may lead to and to avoid

any difficulties which may occur because of cultural differences between societies.

Therefore, the researcher translated the whole questionnaire then assigned the revision

to a translation expert to validate and review it.

049

5.6 Using the Case Study

It has been argued that the research question is vital in determining the choice of

research methodology (Alvesson and Sköldberg, 2009) as well as the purposes of the

research (Crotty, 2003). As already indicated, the main research question of this study

is:

How and to what extent do societal and organizational cultures, as

specified by the GLOBE project, influence the adoption of

employment equity in the Omani public sector?

As Yin (2009) asserts, a case study is the most preferred method when research

questions start with ‗How‘ or ‗Why‘ and then relate to a certain social phenomenon

because ‗such questions deal with operational links needing to be traced over time,

rather than mere frequencies or incidence‘ (ibid.: 9). Such an expert explanation

enhances the researcher‘s decision to use the case study method, as the main aim of this

research is to explore in depth the relationship between culture and EE.

Yin defines the case study method in a twofold way, as follows:

A case study is an empirical inquiry that:

1. Investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real-life

context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and

context are not clearly evident.

2. The case study inquiry:

- Copes with technically distinctive situation in which there will be

many more variables of interest than data points, and as one result

- Relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing to converge

in a triangulation fashion, and as another result;

- Benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions to

guide data collection and analysis. (Yin, 2009: 18)

Indeed, researchers from many disciplines use the case study method to describe

different phenomena. The advantages of the method are its applicability to real-life,

contemporary, human situations and its public accessibility through written reports

(Tellis, 1997). Case study results relate directly to the common reader‘s everyday

experience and facilitate an understanding of complex real-life situations. Such activity

is done in a way that incorporates the views of actors in the case under study and it is

used widely when researching organizational phenomena (Robson, 1993). Scholars

appreciate the case study as a research strategy ‗where a contemporary phenomenon is

to be studied in its natural context‘ (Darke et al., 1998: 279) and it is ‗appropriate for

051

certain types of problems: those in which research and theory are at their early,

formative stages‗ (Benbasat et al., 1987: 369). It is also useful ‗to achieve various

research aims: to provide descriptions of phenomena, develop theory, and test theory‘

(Darke et al, 1998: 275). With regard to the research problem explored in this thesis, the

public sector in Oman is considered as a prime example of an area in which

employment discrimination is practised, and as yet the concept of employment equity is

still in its infancy and has yet to be fully articulated in Oman.

5.6.1 Why a single case study?

To achieve the purpose of this thesis, the researcher has chosen a single case study

design to conduct the qualitative part of the fieldwork. Darke et al. (1998: 281) state

that, ‗single cases provide for in-depth investigation and rich description. Multiple case

designs allow literal or theoretical replication and cross-case comparison. There is no

ideal number of cases.‘ As they argue, a single case study is used when the researcher

aims to understand the various reasons behind a quite specific phenomenon, which is

the situation in this research.

According to Yin (2009: 47–50), a single case study can be used in five main

circumstances. Firstly, when the study case is considered as a critical case which ‗can

represent a significant contribution to knowledge and theory building‘ (ibid.: 47).

Secondly, it can be used when the case is considered to be extreme or unique and the

phenomenon associated with it rarely occurs outside of it. Thirdly, a single case is

useful when it is representative or typical and can be ‗assumed to be informative about

the experience of the average person or institutions‘ (ibid.: 48), such as a representative

organization from the same industry. Fourthly, a single case is appropriate when it can

be revelatory, for example ‗when an investigator has an opportunity to observe and

analyze a phenomenon previously inaccessible to social science inquiry‘ (ibid.: 48).

And a fifth circumstance is when a longitudinal case is studied and the researcher aims

to study the same case ‗at two or more different points of time‘ (ibid.: 49) to be able to

observe any change in conditions or the case which may occur over that period.

Both single case and multiple cases as research designs have their advantages and

disadvantages. For instance, although the use of multiple cases brings high reliability,

this approach is considered to ‗be extremely time consuming and expensive to conduct‘

(Baxter and Jack, 2008: 550). However, it has been argued that the result of a single

case study design has less ability to be generalized, and that the design is better when

the intention is to generate rather than test hypotheses. Flyvbjerg (2006: 221) pointed

050

out five misunderstandings or oversimplifications about the nature of such a method,

which are summarized in Table 24, below.

In presenting his summary, Flyvberg (2006) indicated that the choice of approach

should be driven by considerations of how best to achieve the aim and objectives of a

study. Hence, social science researchers often concentrate more on how to understand,

solve, or explain the problem rather than the methodological assumptions made in the

approach to data, and this is especially so when the researcher believes that he or she

could better deal with the phenomenon under study by using other methods than what

the fundamental philosophical assumptions suggest. This point of view is supported by

Flyvbjerg (2006: 242), who concluded that:

Good social science is problem driven and not methodology driven in the

sense that it employs those methods that for a given problematic, best help

answer the research questions at hand. (Flyvbjerg, 2006: 242)

Table 26: Five misunderstanding points about using a single case study

No. Misunderstanding Flyvbjerg’s Comment

1 General, theoretical (context-independent) knowledge is more valuable than concrete, practical (context-dependent) knowledge.

Predictive theories and universals cannot be found in the study of human affairs. Concrete, context-dependent knowledge is, therefore, more valuable than the vain search for predictive theories and universals. (p. 224)

2 One cannot generalize on the basis of an individual case; therefore, the case study cannot contribute to scientific development.

One can often generalize on the basis of a single case, and the case study may be central to scientific development via generalization as supplement or alternative to other methods. But formal generalization is overvalued as a source of scientific development, whereas ‘the force of example’ is underestimated. (p. 228)

3 The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses; that is, in the first stage of a total research process, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypothesis testing and theory building.

The case study is useful for both generating and testing of hypotheses but is not limited to these research activities alone. (p. 229).

4 The case study contains a bias toward verification, that is, a tendency to confirm the researcher’s preconceived notions.

The case study contains no greater bias toward verification of the researcher’s preconceived notions than other methods of inquiry. On the contrary, experience indicates that the case study contains a greater bias toward falsification of preconceived notions than toward verification. (p. 237).

5 It is often difficult to summarize and develop general propositions and theories on the basis of specific case studies.

It is correct that summarizing case studies is often difficult, especially as concerns case process. It is less correct as regards case outcomes. The problems in summarizing case studies, however, are due more often to the properties of the reality studied than to the case study as a research method. Often it is not desirable to summarize and generalize case studies. Good studies should be read as narratives in their entirety. (p. 241)

Source: Summarized from Flyvbjerg, 2006: 221-241.

052

5.6.2 Why Royal Court Affairs (RCA)?

Royal Court Affairs (RCA) is an independent governmental organization which

provides services to His Majesty the Sultan of Oman. It has its own personnel affairs,

laws, and regulations. It has a compliment of over 14,000 Omani and expatriate

employees, numbering 11,624 and 2,748 respectively (RCA Human Resource system).

The organizational structure comprises 19 departments that undertake different

functions and responsibilities, such as Royal Flights, Royal Catering, Royal Estates,

Royal Gardens, and Royal Yachts.

The Royal Court Affairs (RCA) has been chosen as a critical and representative

single case study among the Omani public sector organizations, for a number of

reasons. Firstly, the RCA is regarded as a leading public organization since it is the

closest organization to the Sultan, so whatever policies the RCA implements are

followed by other public organizations in as much as this is financially possible and

allowed by Oman‘s regulatory framework.

Secondly, the RCA is the most desirable organization in which to work in the Omani

public sector because of its prestigious position as the closest organization to the Sultan,

and also because of its financial benefits. Consequently, there is much competition to

gain employment in the RCA. Additionally, because of the large number of employees

(almost 15 per cent of total civilian employees in Oman) within the RAC and its

departmental distribution around various regions of the country, RCA employees are

mostly representative of the whole Omani population from all Omani regions.

A third reason why the RCA stands out as a critical case is that there are no

administrative obstacles or other authoritarian hierarchical procedures that prevent

adopting and implementing desired change, which is not the case in other public service

ministries. Most of the RCA‘s policies are approved and issued by the minister himself

or through direct presentation to the Sultan, whereas other ministers in the Civil Service

must firstly report to the Civil Service Council, which will in turn report to the Council

of Ministers, following which the latter will present the suggestion to the Sultan to make

the final decision. Besides the fact that each step of this process consumes time and

effort, the actual business of going through this long process and the various discussions

associated with it may mean that some of the core ideas might be consciously or

unconsciously changed or adjusted. So, if there is a possibility that a successful policy

of EE could be adopted, then the RCA is the right place to implement it. One of the

important considerations in the decision to choose a single case study is to be sure that

053

the case selected is representative of all cases, as observed by Flyvberg (2006: 230) who

says, ‗[i]f this is (not) valid for this case, then it applies to all (no) cases‗.

Moreover, the RCA is also considered to be a representative or typical case given

that it represents the whole public sector in Oman. As mentioned, the RCA has more

flexibility and autonomy than any other public organizations, so practices like

promotion, training, and other HRM activities are dominated by its own regulations and

systems.

Also important is that the researcher is an employee of the organization. Because of

the autonomy that is associated with the RCA, being an employee enabled the

researcher to obtain easy access to study employee behaviour and employment practices

in depth. Outside of the RCA, such uncommon administrative features are also evident

in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Royal Oman Police (ROP). However, these two

particular organizations are not valid cases for the purpose of this research as they are

operated under a military system and regulatory authority. Therefore, it is obvious at

this point that the only holistic organization in the public sector which meets all the

requirements of this research is the RCA.

5.6.3 Semi-structured interviews

Many researchers agree that interviews are one of the most popular data collection tools

used to collect qualitative data (Thornhill et al., 2000; Collins et al., 2005; Griffee,

2005). According to Denzin (2000: 25), the interview is ‗an active text, a site where

meaning is created and performed.‘ As Denzin (2000) discussed, there are three well-

known types of interview which are structured, semi-structured, and open-ended or

unstructured interviews. Among these types, a semi-structure interview was chosen for

this study as this will be helpful in discovering the interviewees‘ experiences, beliefs

and values, which they have attained through their experience in working for the public

sector.

In addition, although there are a defined set of main questions was formulated,

nevertheless questions in semi-structured interviews may vary from interview to

interview to reflect those areas most appropriate to a respondent‘s knowledge and

understanding. Semi-structured interviews also allow discussion of issues, raising of

questions, and exploration of changing subjects from one interview to the next as

different aspects of the topic are revealed (Hussey and Hussey, 1997). As Edmondson

and McManus (2007: 1172) suggest, ‗When addressing a novel question, researchers

054

collect, as they should, qualitative data opportunistically such that they are free to chase

new insights that emerge in an interview or observation.‘

In order for the interviewees to remain anonymous, the researcher coded them from

N1 to N12. Being number one or twelve here has no meaning other than the order in

which interviews were held.

5.7 Pilot Study

A pilot study was conducted before the empirical fieldwork to establish the validity and

reliability of the research instruments (questionnaire and semi-structured interview), and

a representative sample from each of the populations for the individual research

instruments was involved. This process helped to ensure that the research questions

were adequate to achieve the purpose of the research. Blaxter et al. suggest that:

Piloting is the process whereby you try out the research techniques and

methods which you have in mind, see how well they work in practice, and if

necessary, modify your plans accordingly. (Blaxter et al., 2006: 137)

One of the advantages of conducting a pilot test is that it might give advance warning

about where the main research project could fail, where research protocols may not be

followed, or whether proposed methods or instruments are inappropriate or too

complicated (ibid.). A pilot test can also be a good training opportunity for the

researcher in different elements of the research process. Through the piloting process,

the researcher found some recommendations such as the need to clarify question (B) in

part five as this was not clear to the pilot respondents. Therefore, additional explanation

was added to clarify the question.

5.8 Research Population and Sampling

Since a mixed methods design has been adopted, the target population is limited to civil

service employees in the Omani public sector for the quantitative method and

employees working in the Royal Court Affairs (RCA) in terms of qualitative methods.

Eisenhardt highlights the importance of determining the study population, stating that:

The population defines the set of entities from which the research sample is to

be drawn [and] controls extraneous variation and helps to define the limits for

generalizing the findings. (Eisenhardt, 1989: 537)

055

The population of the survey method is taken from the total employees in the Omani

Civil Service, including RCA. There are almost 133,362 employees

(www.mone.gove.om) and these can be divided as shown in Table 27.

Table 27: Breakdown of Civil Service Employees (Including RCA)

Total Expatriates Civilians

(Omanis)

CS & RCA employees 133,362 16,846 112,425

However, out of the three groups of employees, two main groups were excluded,

these being those employees holding a military rank, and expatriate employees.

Expatriates are excluded from this research because the focus is entirely on Omani

employees and Omani culture, and military personnel were excluded because they do

not come under the law of the Administrative Court. The Omani civilian employees

within the Civil Service including RCA can be categorized as in Table 28.

Table 28: Omani Civilian Employees in the CS and RCA

Omani Civilian Employees

No. Action

Total employees 133,362 -

Grade 7 and above in CS &

grade 12 and above in RCA

95,276 Included

Grade 8 in CS and below &

grade 13 and below in RCA

38,086 Excluded

As Table 28 shows, the only excluded civilian employees are those on grade 8 and

above (grade 13 and below in RCA), the reason for this being that these grades are

mainly for occupants who either belong to entry-level posts or occupy service posts

(e.g. gardeners, drivers, cleaners, helpers). It has been recognized that employees in

those two levels usually possess limited knowledge and experience of management

policies and practices in the Omani public sector, especially when compared to other

employees (Al-Ghailani, 2005).

http://www.mone.gove.om/

056

The selected population contains those civilian employees who occupy grade 7 posts

and above (grade 12 and above in RCA). Employees within these grades mainly meet a

minimum of the following criteria:

Bachelor degree with work experience of four years.

Or three years Diploma after high school with eight years of work

experience.

Or high school certificate with 12 years of work experience

Or less than high school certificate but with over 16 years of work

experience.

In addition, the study population includes employees on high grades and at

leadership level. Although some of these employees are directly appointed by the Sultan

and any change in their employment status requires approval by the Sultan himself, they

are nonetheless considered as policy-makers in the organization.

With regard to the population of the case study method, the total employees of RCA

are almost 14,372 employees and can be divided into three main groups as shown in

Table 29:

Table 29: Breakdown of RCA Employees

Expatriates Militaries

(Omanis)

Civilians

(Omanis)

Total

RCA employees 2,748 4,126 7,498 14,372

Only civilian employees at supervisory and leadership levels in the RCA will be

included for the same reasons discussed earlier. The targeted population can be divided

into the following sub-groups:

057

Table 30: Groupings of Civilian Employees at Supervisory and Leadership Levels

Civilian Employees at Supervisory and Leadership Level

Males Females

Employees on special grades 6 -

General managers (GM) 33 -

Deputy GM - Managers - Deputy managers 259 13

Heads of sections 347 23

Total 645 36

The total population under study has been distributed among the two research

methods. In general, there are two main techniques of sampling, probability sampling

and purposive sampling, and each technique includes sub-sampling techniques (Kemper

et al, 2003). In brief, the definitions of the selected sampling techniques can be defined

as follows (see Kemper et al., 2003: 278–282):

Proportional stratified random sampling: samples are selected randomly but

proportionally from each chosen stratum.

Random purposive sampling: samples are chosen randomly from a purposefully

selected group.

Homogeneous cases sampling: this technique is typically used when conducting

focus group interviews as samples are selected from sub-groups to conduct an in-

depth investigation.

Mixed methods usually requires a combination of sampling techniques, and

researchers usually choose probability sampling to begin with and then move onto

purposive sampling (ibid.: 284). Therefore, the two different sub-sampling techniques

will be followed in determining the samples of this study. The samples will be targeted

according to the following distribution:

058

Table 31: The Research Sample

Method Sampling technique Group Population Sample

Questionnaire Proportional stratified

random sampling

Non-managerial

Employees (grade 12

and above) +

Managerial posts

95,276 383

Semi-

structured

interview

Random purposive

sampling

General Managers

and above

39 12

The sampling size for the questionnaire is based on a most common used formula

which was suggested by Cochran (1977, cited in Gill and Johnson, 2010: 128):

( )

Where:

n = required sample size

Z = is the z value corresponding to level of confidence required

p = percentage occurrence of a state or condition

E = the percentage maximum error required.

In calculating sample size for the purpose of this research, the confidence level (Z) is

95%, (p) is estimated to be 50%, and the confidence interval (E) is 5%, which means

plus or minus 5. According to Gill and Johnson (2010), these percentages are acceptable

in most social research.

5.9 Data Analysis

The data analysis process for all the data generated from the survey (questionnaires) and

case study (semi-structured interviews) will follow the Miles and Huberman approach

(see Figure 6) of data, collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing

and verification (Miles and Huberman, 1994). Because ‗mixing qualitative and

quantitative methods allows us to combine research styles whose strengths and

weaknesses are counterbalanced‘ (Abowitz and Toole, 2010: 114), the results of the two

methods will be contrasted. To validate the research results, triangulation will be used.

The aim is not simply to combine different kinds of data, but also to relate them so as to

059

counteract the threats to validity in each. Tellis (1997) confirms such a point, stating

that ‗the need for triangulation arises from the ethical need to confirm the validity of the

research process.‘

Figure 6: Components of Data Analysis: Interactive Model

Source: Adapted from Miles and Huberman, 1994: 12.

5.10 Accessibility

Generally, there is no problem in obtaining information and data in the Omani public

sector, and this is especially the case in respect of this study. Officially, the related data

is available in the annual reports of the Ministry of Civil Service (MoCS), Royal Court

Affairs (RCA), and the Ministry of National Economy (MoNE). However, as an

employee within the case study organization, the researcher has a greater opportunity to

discuss the different aspects of the area of study, freely and openly. This guaranteed

access together with fifteen years of experience within this organization greatly

enlarged the researcher‘s opportunities in respect of obtaining the data required to

achieve the study‘s aim and objectives.

061

5.11 Data Collection Process

5.11.1 Collecting quantitative data (the questionnaire)

As discussed earlier, the sample of this study was chosen from different ministries in the

Omani public sector. The sampling strategy was built on several elements as required

by the study procedure, as described and discussed previously.

Two Likert scales were used in the questionnaire. The first one is a seven-point scale

for the culture section, with a five-point scale for the employment equity section. With

regard to the culture section, in most items only the two ends of the continuum are

named, as shown in the example in Figure 7, below.

Figure 7: Likert Scale

Source: http: //www.grovewell.com/pub-GLOBE-dimensions.html

However, there will be two kinds of assessment strategies with regard to categorizing

Omani culture within this study. The first one is concerned with the scale result as used

(absolute) and will be evaluated using the following format:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Low Somewhat

low Slightly low

Moderate Slightly

high

Somewhat

high High

Figure 8: Culture absolute scale evaluation

The second strategy is concerned with comparing the result for Oman with the

GLOBE study result (relative) and will be evaluated using the GLOBE study mid-score

060

when comparing the Oman results with the result of those for other countries included

in the GLOBE study.

On the other hand, the employment equity scale ranged from strongly agree to

strongly disagree, and will be assessed according to the following scale:

1 2 3 4 5

Low Slightly low Moderate Slightly high High

Figure 9: EE Scale evaluation

Also, the study will calculate the grand mean for each cultural dimension or critical

success factor behind EE (which includes two or more questionnaire items or

statements) was determined from the two Likert scales discussed above.

For the purpose of this study, the researcher distributed 400 copies of the

questionnaire (200 of each version). The total numbers of usable questionnaires

received was 290 (149 of version Beta and 141 of version Alpha). The overall response

rate was 72.5%. All respondents were employees in the Omani public sector and all of

them were Omanis. Compared to similar studies, this participation rate is highly

acceptable. According to Hanges and Dickson (2004: 132), the average response per

country in the GLOBE study was 251 respondents. In addition, comparing the response

rate of Oman in this study with the response rate of Iran and some Middle Eastern

countries which were included in the GLOBE study, it can be clearly seen that Oman

has quite a good response rate. For example, GLOBE participants from Turkey were

323; from Iran, 300; from Kuwait, 101; from Qatar, only 78 (Kabasakal and

Dastmalchian. 2001) and 142 participants were from Egypt (Moneim, 2007).

The analysis of the data from the study questionnaire was done using SPSS software,

version 16.0.

To test the reliability of questionnaire statistics, a Cronbach's Alpha test was used.

The results show that employment equity resulted in an alpha of .759 while societal

culture resulted in an alpha of .687, and organizational culture resulted in an alpha of

.688. There are several reasons that might influence the reliability of this result, such as

the large number of items in the questionnaire. However, due to the length of the

questionnaire, this can be considered a good result. As mentioned by Hanges and

Dickson (2004: 136), the GLOBE study itself resulted in an alpha for organizational

062

culture practice (As Is) of 0.61 and for organizational culture value (should be) of 0.55,

while societal culture practice (As Is) and societal culture value (should be) scored 0.77

and 0.75 respectively. In addition, a PhD study done by Herrera (2008: 72) which used

an organizational culture practice (As Is) questionnaire only resulted in an alpha of

0.516. Therefore, the result of Cronbach's Alpha test for this study is very much

acceptable here.

5.11.1.2 Demographic variables and the response rate of the questionnaire

In this section, the study will present the profile of the respondents with regard to their

age, gender, place of birth, place of work, education level, number of years experience

in governmental service, and their occupations. Only the valid responses will be

described within the demographic distribution. However, it is worth mentioning that the

invalid percentage does not have a significant effect, as shown in Table 32.

Table 32: Valid percentage of questionnaire respondents

Age Gender Place of birth Place of work Qualification Experience Position

N (290) Valid 285 279 283 283 283 284 281

Missing 5 11 7 7 7 6 9

5.11.1.2.1 Distribution of respondents by age

Figure 8 indicates that the majority of respondents (92 per cent) are between 25 and 45

years old. Sixty-one per cent of the sample is between 25 and 35 years old with 31 per

cent between 36 and 45 years old. Six per cent are under 25 and only 2 per cent older

than 46.

063

Figure 10: Distribution of sample size by age

5.11.1.2.2 Distribution of respondents by gender:

Figure 9 Shows that 70 per cent of the questionnaire participants were male while 30

per cent of them were female. It is worth mentioning that the overall participation of

male and female in the labour market is 77.5 per cent and 22.5 per cent respectively.

Figure 11: Distribution of sample size by gender

5.11.1.2.3 Distribution of respondents by place of birth

Figure 10 indicates that highest percentage of respondents at 39 per cent is from

AlDakhilya while the second highest proportion is from Muscat, the capital, and

AlBatina with 21 per cent each. Participants from AlSharqia, AlDhahira, and Dhofar

were 6 per cent, 5 per cent, and 5 per cent, respectively. Two per cent of respondents

were born outside Oman.

6.3%

60.7%

30.5%

2.5%

less than 25 yrs 25-35 yrs 36-45 yrs more than 46 yrs

70.3%

29.7%

Male Female

064

Figure 12: Distribution of sample size by place of birth

5.11.1.2.4 Distribution of respondents by place of work

With regard to the place of work, the highest number of respondents was from Muscat,

the capital, at 42 per cent. This is logical as the majority of the workforce in the public

sector in Oman is based in Muscat. The second highest numbers were from AlDakhilya

and AlBatina at 26 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. The numbers of participants

from Dhofar, AlSharqia, and AlDhahira were 3 per cent, 2 per cent, and 2 per cent,

respectively (see Figure 11).

Figure 13: Distribution of sample by place of work

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

Muscat Dhofar Sharqiya Dakhliya AlDhahira

AlBatina

AlBuraimi

OutsideOman

21.2%

4.6% 6.4%

39.2%

5.3%

21.2%

0.4% 1.8%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

Muscat Dhofar Sharqiya Dakhliya Al Dhahira Al Batina

42.0%

2.8% 2.5%

26.1%

1.8%

24.7%

065

5.11.1.2.5 Distribution of respondents by educational level:

As shown in Figure 12, the majority of the respondents (63 per cent) hold a bachelor‘s

degree while the number of participants holding Master‘s and PhD qualifications is 11

per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. Nineteen per cent of participants hold a diploma, 5

per cent a secondary school certificate and 1 per cent less than secondary school

certificates. It should be mentioned that these figures can be used for confirmation that

participants in this study match the sampling requirement. As described previously,

participants should be in grade 5 or above. Such a grade is usually held by educated

employees who having a diploma or above. Ninety-four per cent of participants in this

study hold a minimum of a diploma.

Figure 14: Distribution of sample by education level

5.11.1.2.6 Distribution of respondents by work experience

Figure 13 indicates that participants between five and nine years of service are the most

numerous among all participants (29 per cent), while 28 per cent of respondents had 15

or more years of service and 26 per cent had served for between 10 and 14 years. Only

17 per cent of participants had served for less than 5 years.

0.7% 4.9%

19.4%

62.5%

11.3% 1.1%

Less than Secondary Secondary Diploma Bachelor Master PhD

066

Figure 15: Distribution of sample by experience

5.11.1.2.7 Distribution of respondents by occupation

Figure 14 shows that majority of respondents were employees at 74 per cent. The

remaining participants (26 per cent) were at supervisory or managerial level.

Figure 16: Distribution of sample by occupation

5.11.2 Collecting Qualitative Data (Semi-Structured Interviews)

Twelve interviews were conducted with twelve general managers working for RCA.

Although the purpose of the interviews was explained by telephone during the interview

request, the researcher again explained the aim and objectives of the study at the

beginning of each interview. Respondents were then informed that the confidentiality of

their answers was guaranteed and the information provided would be used for research

purposes only and would not identify participants in any way, or disclose their name or

position, or refer to their relationship with RCA in such a way that they might be

17%

29%

26%

28%

Less than 5 yrs 5-9 yrs 10-14 yrs 15 yrs & more

4.3% 7.1%

14.6%

74.0%

Deputy Director or equivalent Deparment Manager

Section Head Employee

067

subsequently identified. Also, they were clearly informed of their right to withdraw at

any time from the study.

All interviews were conducted in participants‘ offices and each interview took

approximately one to one and a half hours. However, conducting 12 interviews with

general managers was a lengthy process as all of them have a busy schedule most of the

time. Therefore, it took almost two and a half months to complete all interviews. As

interviewees did not wish to have their voices recorded, notes were taken while

interviewing participants. Then a whole transcript was produced within no more than

one hour after each interview. The scripts were written in Arabic first and then, after

participants‘ approval, were translated into English.

5.12 Conclusion

Within this chapter, the thesis has provided an insight into the methodological approach

which was followed to gather the required data. The two main methods were chosen

after a review of the literature which allowed the researcher to decide the most

applicable methods to best serve the purposes of the thesis. Both quantitative and

qualitative approaches were chosen as a part of a mixed method approach to gain the

greatest advantage from each technique and minimize the disadvantage possible in a

single method approach. It was decided that a questionnaire would be used to gather the

quantitative data, while qualitative data would be gathered through semi-structured

interviews.

In addition, the chapter has shown the demographic distribution of the questionnaire

participants with regard to their age, gender, place of birth, place of work, education

level, number of years of experience in government service, and occupation. The

chapter then described the main characteristics of the interviewees who were involved

within this study.

In the following two chapters, the data collected using these two methods will be

combined while describing, analyzing, and discussing in depth the results. Step-by-step,

the results will be linked to the study objectives, questions, and hypotheses.

Consequently, this will lead to being able to respond to the different areas of the

research questions in a consistent manner.

068

Chapter six

Study result (1):

Societal and organizational culture in Oman (analysis and

discussion)

6.0 Introduction

As mentioned in the introduction (Chapter 1), the main aim of this study is to explore

the extent of the influence that societal culture and organizational culture have on

employment equity. In order to achieve this aim, the researcher established a number of

objectives for investigation in four separate areas, and in order to achieve the research

aim, these areas were articulated and specific questions formulated pertaining to each.

The objectives in this chapter will be to:

1) measure Omani cultural preferences within society and public sector

organizations; and

2) identify the main differences between the cultural practice (As Is) and cultural

values (Should Be) in both society and public sector organizations.

Therefore, this chapter is mainly concerned with answering questions in the first area

of investigation, as set out in Chapter 5, which are:

Area One:





3. Are there any differences in viewing the cultural dimensions of the Omani


4. Where does Omani culture stand compared to GLOBE study results in

general and the Middle Eastern cluster in particular?

In addition, the researcher also proposed some hypotheses which will be tested in

this chapter (set one: societal and organizational cultures in Oman). These hypotheses

were also set out in Chapter 5 as follows:




069








3. Culture in Oman will score almost within the range scores of other Middle


4. There will be no significant differences between managers and employees

with regard to the cultural dimensions of Omani cultural preferences.

As also stated in Chapter 5, each cultural dimension was measured separately at four

levels. Each level has the same nine dimensions. Version Alpha of the questionnaire

assessed organizational culture at two levels (practice and value) while version Beta

similarly assessed societal culture at the two levels of practice and value. Therefore, this

chapter will analyse and discuss each cultural dimension according to the four levels of

societal practice, societal value, organizational practice, and organizational value.

However, more detail will be provided regarding societal culture than organizational

culture in general because the GLOBE study discussed societal culture in greater depth

than organizational culture. In addition, looking at the GLOBE questionnaire, societal

and organizational cultures were assessed using almost the same dimensions at both

practice and value levels. Therefore, many of the statements used in this study

questionnaire were repeated for these levels, as can be seen from the examples given

below.

Uncertainty Avoidance Societal Practice (As Is):

In this Society, orderliness and consistency are stressed, even at the expense of

experimentation and innovation.

strongly

disagree

neither agree

nor disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

071

Uncertainty Avoidance Societal Value (Should Be):

I believe that orderliness and consistency should be stressed, even at the expense of


strongly

disagree

neither agree

nor disagree

Strongly

Agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Uncertainty Avoidance Organizational Practice (As Is):

1-1. In this organization, orderliness and consistency are stressed, even at the expense


strongly

agree

neither agree

nor disagree

strongly

disagree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Uncertainty Avoidance Organizational Value (As Is):

3-1. In this organization, orderliness and consistency should be stressed, even at the

expense of experimentation and innovation.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

Strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Future Orientation Societal Practice (As Is):

The way to be successful in this Society is to:

take

events

as they

occur

plan ahead

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Future Orientation Societal Value (Should Be):

I believe that people who are successful should:

take

events

as they

occur

plan ahead

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

070

Future Orientation Organizational Practice (As Is):

The way to be successful in this organization is to:

plan

ahead

take

events

as they

occur

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Future Orientation Organizational Value (Should Be):

In this organization, people who are successful should:

take events

as they

occur

plan ahead

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To avoid repetition of the wording of questionnaire items in the description and

discussion sections, the study will state only the items that present dimensions of

societal culture practice (As Is). Other parts, which are: societal value (Should Be),

organizational practice (As Is), and organizational value (Should Be) will be described

by highlighting the result of the main mean for each dimension.

In the coming sections of this chapter, the study will indicate the results for societal

and organizational cultures. It will first state the quantitative result, and then support

this by reference to the literature review and quantitative data. At the end of the chapter,

it will highlight the main results for Omani culture in general and compare those results

to the main findings of the GLOBE study in general and Middle Eastern cluster in

particular.

6.1 Cultural dimensions in Oman at societal and organizational levels

As mentioned in the introduction section, this chapter will tackle the first area of

questions, which includes four sub-questions. The first two questions were as follows:





Two hypotheses were proposed in answer to these two questions, as follows:

072











Here, the thesis will try to provide the general finding concerning societal and

organizational culture in Oman at both practice and value levels. To do so, a

combination of quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interview) data will be

provided. Then the results will be compared with the GLOBE study findings in general

and Middle Eastern cluster in particular. This will be tackled under the umbrella of the

objectives, questions, and hypotheses of the study. Therefore, the results for the nine

cultural dimensions will be provided as follows:

6.1.1 Performance Orientation (PO)

Performance orientation reflects ‗the degree to which an organization or society

encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence‘

(House and Javidan, 2004: 11). Performance Orientation at Societal Practices level

(POSP–As Is) was measured by three items (Q15, Q18, and Q20) and all of them were

reverse coded. The questionnaire results for these items are as shown in Table 33.

073

1-15. In this Society, teen-aged students are encouraged to strive for continuously

improved performance. (reverse scored)

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

Strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.62 4.28 3.4% 11.4% 19.5% 21.5% 19.5% 14.1% 10.7%

Valid (N): 149

1-18. In this Society , major rewards are based on: (reverse scored)

only factors

other than

performance

effectiveness

(for example,

seniority or

political

connections)

Performance

effectiveness

and other

factors (for

example,

seniority or

political

connections)

Only

performance

effectiveness

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.39 3.38 13.5% 12.2% 17.6% 45.3% 5.4% 3.4% 2.7%

Valid (N): 148

1-20. In this Society , being innovative to improve performance is generally:

(reverse scored)

Not

rewarded

somewhat

rewarded

Substantially

Rewarded

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.46 3.77 7.4% 12.1% 16.1% 42.3% 10.1% 6.7% 5.4%

Valid (N): 149

As indicated in Table 33, while 21.5% chose to be neutral, the higher percentage of

respondents, 44.3%, ranged in opinion from slightly agree to strongly agree that teenage

students, in Omani society, are encouraged to strive for continuously improved

performance. In addition, a higher percentage of respondents (45.3%), when we ignore

the mid-level, believes that major rewards in Omani society are based on both

performance and other factors such as seniority or political connections, while 43.3% of

them tend to believe that such rewards are mainly based only on factors other than

performance effectiveness. Furthermore, most respondents (42.3%) tend to believe that

being innovative to improve performance in the Omani society is generally somewhat

rewarded.

In general, the grand mean of Performance Orientation at Societal Practices level

(POSP–As Is) in Omani society is 3.8087. Such a result shows that Omani society

Table 33: Measures of performance orientation societal culture practice (As Is)

074

scored below the average in POSP, which means that it has a low POSP. This result also

places Omani society in band B and rank the country at 48 out of 63 countries (Oman

plus the 62 countries included in the GLOBE study). On the other hand, the grand mean

of performance orientation at the level of societal value (POSV–Should Be) was 5.9732,

which is higher that it was in POSP. With this result, while Oman is still in band B, the

ranking of Oman moves from 48 to 32.

With regard to organizational culture, the grand mean of Performance Orientation

Organizational Culture Practice (POOP–As Is) was 3.7914. In contrast, the grand mean

Performance Orientation Organizational Value (POOV–Should Be) was 5.9090. As in

societal culture, POOV scored higher than the POOP, which indicates the respondents‘

desire for more performance orientation at societal and organizational level.

Regarding the interviews, most interviewees referred to the importance of valuing

family relationships. For example, three of them referred to a common saying: ‗Anyone

has not been kind to his own family; he will not be kind to other people‘ (N2, N3, and

N9).

Furthermore, Kabasakal, et al. (2012) added that loyalty towards family and relatives

from the societal perspective, and towards their leaders from an organizational

perspective, is highly encouraged among citizens in the Arab world. One interviewee

explained this commitment towards family, seniority, elders, and authority figures by

stating that: ‗Showing loyalty to family, older people, Shaikh (tribal leader), and

political leaders is part of our religion‘s orders and our social norms‘ (N8).

Nevertheless, although Oman scores low in its current practice of performance

orientation at societal level (m= 3.8087) and organizational level (m= 3.7914), there is a

clear desire for higher PO. This great desire by Omani citizens and employees for

higher performance orientation was clearly apparent at both levels as POSV scored (m=

5.9732) and POOV scored (m= 5.9090). Javidan (2004: 245) explained that societies

which desire higher performance orientation would like to be rewarded for their

individual achievements, both socially and organizationally. They would also prefer to

be evaluated according to what they do more than who they are and desire to be

encouraged to improve their performance continuously, as they are educated, trained,

and competitive.

One interviewee pointed out that the current societal and organizational attitudes

need to pay more attention to people‘s qualifications than to their social status. He

stated that:

075

Although respecting someone's social status is understandable, however,

rewarding someone's performance or evaluating his capability of doing a job

should be more dependent on his training and previous experience rather than

his social status. (N1)

According to the above results, participants scored low in PO at societal and

organizational practice level. This means that Omani society tends to value social and

family relationships more than it values training and development. Omanis also value

loyalty, seniority, tradition, and experience more than valuing assertiveness, individual

achievement, being direct, and taking initiative (Javidan, 2004: 245). However, the

results show that participants were seeking for high PO at the level of value. This

demonstrates participants‘ desire to be evaluated according to ‗what they do‘ more than

‗who they are‘. This indicates that employees prefer to be rewarded according to their

performance, not because of their family or tribal reputation.

6.1.2 Future Orientation (FO)

Future Orientation is defined as ‗the degree to which individuals in organizations or

societies engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future,

and delaying individual or collective gratification‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 12). FO,

at societal culture practice level (As Is), was measured by five items (Q3, Q4, Q8, Q30,

Q31); three questions (3, 4, & 8) were reverse coded. These responses to these items

were as shown in Table 34, below.

076

1-3. The way to be successful in this Society is to: (reverse scored)

plan

ahead

take events

as they

occur

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mean SD

20.7% 15.9% 13.8% 11.7% 13.1% 12.4% 12.4% 4.32 2.07

Valid (N): 145

1-4. In this Society , the accepted norm is to: (reverse scored)

plan for

the future

accept the

status quo

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mean SD

13.8% 14.5% 12.4% 15.9% 12.4% 17.2% 13.8% 3.94 2.01

Valid (N): 145

1-8. In this Society, social gatherings are: (reverse scored)

Spontaneous

(planned less

than an hour

in advance)

planned well in

advance (2 or

more weeks in

advance)

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.8 3.26 17.4% 26.8% 16.1% 10.7% 15.4% 8.1% 5.4%

Valid (N): 149

1-30. In this society, more people:

live for the

future than

live for the

present

live for the

present than

live for the

future

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.67 3.08 4 6.7 10.1 14.1 20.1 27.5 17.4

Valid (N): 149

1-31. In this society, people place more emphasis on:

Planning

for the

future

solving

current

problems

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.47 2.63 0.7 5.4 6.1 12.2 20.9 29.1 25.7

Valid (N): 148

As shown in Table 34, 50.4% of respondents believe that planning ahead is the right

way to be successful in Omani society. Only 37.9% of respondents think that taking

things as they occur is more appropriate way to be successful in Omani society. In

addition, 42.4% of respondents tend to believe that the accepted norm in the Omani

society is to accept the status quo, while 40.7% of them tend to believe that planning for

the future is more accepted. Moreover, the majority of respondents (60.3%) also tend to

believe that social gatherings are spontaneous (planned less than an hour in advance),

Table 34: Items measuring performance orientation societal culture practice (As Is)

077

while only 28.9% tend to believe that social gatherings are planned well in advance

(two or more weeks in advance). Furthermore, almost two thirds of respondents (65%)

believe that more Omanis live for the present than live for the future, while only 21.8%

of them think the opposite. Moreover, higher percentages (75.7%) of respondents

believe that Omanis place more emphasis on solving current problems. Only 12.2% of

them believe that Omanis place more emphasis on planning for the future.

In general, the grand mean of future orientation societal practice (FOSP) is 3.4349.

Such a result ranks Omani society as 50 and places the country in band C. According to

the GLOBE study, the worldwide average of FOSP is 3.86 (Ashkanasy et al., 2004:

303), which means that Omani society is below the average. On the other hand, for

Future Orientation Societal Value (FOSV–Should Be), the grand mean was 5.6113,

which is higher than it was in practice. With such a result, Oman moves from band C to

band B and its ranking becomes 29.

Although Oman is in band B, it can however still be placed as the fifth highest

country within this band. Therefore, it is clear that Omani society is seeking more future

orientation practice in daily life.

At the organizational culture level, the grand mean of Future Orientation

Organizational Practice (FOOP–As Is) was 4.8132. In contrast, the grand mean of

Future Orientation Organizational Value (FOOV–Should Be) was 5.8050. As in societal

culture, FOOV scored higher than the FOOP. This means that employees desire more

FO in their daily practice in the workplace.

The FO practice at organizational level (As Is) in slightly high (m= 4.8132), while

FO practice at societal level is slightly low (3.4349). This difference between

organizational and societal levels is understandable as public sector organizations have

a structured system and to some extent have annual planning strategies. Societies with

lower future orientation, such as Omani society, tend to have less successful economies

oriented more towards spending rather than saving for the future. Individuals are less

motivated, preferring immediate rewards, and leaders put more emphasis on routine

procedures (Ashkanasy et al., 2004: 302). One interviewee explicitly looks at routine as

clarity, stating that:

When employees have a clear daily working path, it will be much easier for

them to follow up the work progress and prevent surprises from appearing

from time to time at the workplace. (N12)

Another employee mentions the importance of immediate reward, stating that:

078

Immediate rewards show not just the immediate appreciation of good

performance, but also increase credibility between employees and the

employer. (N10)

In addition, most of the interviewees pointed out the influence of faith and destiny on

their behaviours and attitudes. For example, one of them stated that:

Eman in Allah (faith in God) is the main driver of everything we do, whether

in our daily life or during work practices. Whatever we want to do, we should

always say ‗Insha‘a Allah‘ as he is the only one who could bless, judge, and

reward whatever we did or will do. (N9)

However, the result for the FO value, at both societal and organizational levels,

shows that Omanis are seeking for higher FO. This means that Omani society has a

tendency towards saving more than spending, setting long-term work and life strategies,

and moving from accepting the status quo to have a clear plan for the future (Ashkanasy

et al., 2004: 302). A similar tendency was shown during interviews as well. Most of the

interviewees insisted that people should not rely on faith only. Instead, they should first

try their level best to accomplish their tasks and to be educated, trained, and initiative-

taking. One interviewee stated clearly:

From my point of view, having faith should not be seen as an obstacle to

planning for the future. In fact, it should be seen as an inspiration for more

effort toward success. This effort should be accompanied by the right tools

such as education, training and continued effort. (N5)

As shown earlier, Omani society scored low in FOSP. As discussed by many authors,

low FO is highly emphasized by Islam and associated long-established social norms.

For example, Javidan (2004) argued that the Arabic phrase ‗Insha'a Allah‘ (or God

willing) is an example of subjugation. This subjugation shapes Muslim culture and

influences their performance and future orientation. In addition, Kabasakal et al. (2012)

argue that believing in faith and its power in controlling human life is part of Muslim‘s

principles. For example, faith encourages Omanis to accept the status quo rather than

planning for the future, as future is in God‘s hands. However, the results also show that

Omanis have a tendency towards higher FO. This means more planning for future and

reliance on individual performance as well as training. This desire might be encouraged

by the greater openness to the rest of the world which has been experienced over the last

forty-two years in Oman along with new technology including internet and satellites.

079

6.1.3 Gender Egalitarianism (GE)

Gender Egalitarianism is defined as ‗the degree to which an organization or a society

minimizes gender role differences while promoting gender equality‘ (House and

Javidan, 2004: 12). GE at Societal Practices level (GESP–As Is) was measured by five

items (Q17, Q22, Q36, Q37, and Q38), none of which was reverse coded. The results

for these items are as shown in Table 35, below.

Table 35 indicates that the majority of respondents (83.6%) believe that there is more

emphasis on athletic programmes for boys than girls in the Omani society. Also, over

three quarter of respondents (83%) responded between strongly agree to slightly agree

that it is worse for a boy to fail in school than for a girl to fail in school in Omani

society. In addition, 75% of respondents strongly believe to slightly believe that men in

the Omani society are more likely to serve in a position of high office. Only 27.2%

believe that men and women are equally likely to serve in such positions, while the

opinions of just 4.8% of them ranged from slightly believe to strongly believe that

women have a better chance to serve in a position of high office.

The grand mean of GESP is 3.0993. Such a result places Omani society in band B

among GLOBE countries and puts it at rank 45. The result of GESP (As Is) with regard

to Omani society shows that Omani society scored below the average in GESP. At the

societal value level, for GESV (Should Be), the grand mean of these five items was

3.2376. Such a result moves Oman from band B in its societal practice to be in band D

in GESV with a rank of 62.

081

1-17. In this Society , boys are encouraged more than girls to attain a higher

Education

strongly

disagree

neither agree

nor disagree

strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.82 4.3 16.8% 16.1% 6.7% 22.8% 20.8% 11.4% 5.4%

Valid (N): 149

1-22. In this Society , there is more emphasis on athletic programmes for:

Girls boys

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.31 2.2 0.7% 2.1% 3.4% 10.3% 15.1% 30.8% 37.7%

Valid (N): 146

1-36. In this society, it is worse for a boy to fail in school than for a girl to

fail in school

strongly

disagree

neither agree

nor disagree

strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.39 2.32 2 1.4% 5.4% 8.2% 16.3% 34% 32.7%

Valid (N): 147

1-37. In this society, people are generally:

non-

physical

physical

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.33 3.8 2 8.1% 18.9% 30.4% 24.3% 12.2% 4.1%

Valid (N): 148

1-38. In this society, who is more likely to serve in a position of high

office?

Women Men and

women are

equally likely

to

serve

Men

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.19 2.84 0.7% 0.7% 3.4% 27.2% 28.6% 23.8% 15.6%

Valid (N): 147

With regard to Gender Egalitarianism in Organizational Culture, the grand mean of

Gender Egalitarianism Organizational Practice (GEOP–As Is) was 440643. In contrast,

the grand mean of Gender Egalitarianism Organizational Value (GEOV–Should Be)

was 441805. The results for both practice and value in organizational culture are almost

the same, which means that Omani employees are mostly satisfied with the current

organizational practice.

Table 35: Items measuring gender egalitarianism societal culture practice (As Is)

080

Most interviewees commented on the man‘s role within the society towards his

family and how such a role provides him with better opportunities in many situations.

One interviewee explained his point of view in regard to this matter, stating:

As we all know, the man is the one who is responsible, socially and

religiously, for providing financial support to his family. Therefore, priority in

some decisions such as recruitment and promotions should be given to men

more than women. (N2)

Another interviewee showed his satisfaction with regard to current government

support for women and their empowerment, stating that:

Compared to their social responsibilities and financial contribution, I think

females have been given enough opportunities in different aspects of life and

work. Demanding more may deviate their social role from its main track.

(N11)

In general, this lower score on GE at societal practice level (GESP) makes Omani

society situated more towards being male oriented, which means that it tends to provide

women with no or fewer roles in decision making, the workforce is mainly male

oriented, and women have lower status in the community (Emrich, Denmark and Den

Hartog, 2004: 359). However, GE scores only slightly higher at the value level (3.2376)

than it does in level of societal practice (3.0993), moving from rank 45 at practice level

to rank 62 at value level. This shows that Omanis are less desirous than other GLOBE

countries of moving towards higher GE practice. This means that Omani culture is

relatively satisfied with the current societal practice. Emrich, Denmark, and Den

Hartog, (2004) mentioned that GESP scored the lowest grand mean (3.37) among all

nine cultural dimensions in GLOBE study. As they discussed, this means that no society

among the 62 countries included in the GLOBE study is perceived to be female

dominated.

6.1.4 Assertiveness (AS)

Assertiveness is defined as ‗the degree to which individuals in organizations or societies

are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in social relationships‘ (House and

Javidan, 2004: 12). Assertiveness at societal practices level (ASP–As Is) was measured

by three items (Q6, Q10, and Q14) and all of them were reversed coded. The results for

these items are shown in Table 31, below.

082

1-6. In this Society, people are generally (reverse scored)

assertive non-

assertive

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mean SD

8.3% 11% 24.1% 31.7% 15.2% 9% 0.7% 4.36 1.37

Valid (N): 145

1-10. In this Society , people are generally: (reverse scored)

non-

dominant

dominant

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.48 3.97 8.1% 9.5% 14.9% 28.4% 25% 12.2% 2%

Valid (N): 148


tender

Tough

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.58 2.89 23% 24.3% 19.6% 16.2% 10.1% 4.7% 2%

Valid (N): 148

As indicated in Table 31, the higher percentage of respondents (31.7%) believes that

people in Omani society are in general neither assertive nor non-assertive. The second

and third highest percentages of respondents look at Omanis as either slightly assertive

or slightly non-assertive with percentages of 24.1% and 15.2% respectively. With

regard to dominance, the case is almost the same, as the highest number of respondents

(28.4) believes that people in Omani society are neither dominant nor non-dominant,

while 25% of respondents believe that Omanis are slightly dominant and 14.9% believe

that Omanis are slightly non-dominant. However, the largest number of respondents

believes that people the Omani society are generally greatly tender, somewhat tender or

slightly tender with percentages of 23%, 24.3% and 19.6% respectively.

In general, the grand mean of ASP (As Is) is 3.7315. This result places Oman in band

B with a rank of 54 when compared to all GLOBE countries. According to Den Hartog

(2004), the middle level average rating of ASP among all GLOBE countries is 4.13,

which makes Omani society below the average in ASP. On the other hand, the grand

mean of assertiveness at the level of societal value (ASV–Should Be) was 3.0492. With

such a result, Oman moves from band B in its societal practice to be in band C in ASV

with a rank of 56. Therefore, although assertiveness scores below average in the daily

practice, it is clear that people in Omani society are still seeking for even less

assertiveness.

Table 36: Items measuring assertiveness societal culture practice (As Is)

083

With regard to Assertiveness at Organizational Practice level (AOP–As Is), the grand

mean was 440348. In contrast, the grand mean of assertiveness at Organizational Value

level (AOV–Should Be) was 541065. Unlike societal culture, assertiveness at

organizational culture value level (AOV) scored higher than it does at practice level

(AOP)

At societal level, many interviewees linked their personal behaviour to their religion,

nationality and social norms. For example, one of them stated that:

As a Muslim, Omani, and ‗qubaily‘ (following tribes‘ norms), being modest,

humble, and respectful is part of our Islamic doctrines and social norms. (N6)

However, the difference between social view and organizational view with regard to

assertiveness was mentioned by more than one interviewee. For example, one

interviewee, demonstrating his viewpoint in regard of the difference between social

respect and employment respect, stated that:

Socially, I agree that people should be respected according to their social or

religious status. However, employees should not be evaluated according to

such status but according to their performance and quality of work. (N4)

Another interviewee showed his preference for modesty rather than assertiveness by

stating that:

I believe that many situations, especially at societal level, could be dealt with

through fraternal understanding. (N1)

He continued:

However, within the working environment, laws and regulations should be

applied first. (N1)

Societies with lower scores for assertiveness, As Is the case with Omani society here,

tends to value modesty more than assertiveness, to value warm relationships with a

preference for who you are more than what you do, and to emphasize certain factors

such as tradition, seniority, experience, and loyalty (Den Hartog, 2004: 405). However,

the results show that employees desire more assertiveness in organizational culture (as

the Should Be score shows) and this was confirmed by the interviewees. This desire

towards higher assertiveness in organizational culture indicates employees‘ tendency

toward valuing several elements such as ‗competition, dominant, success, assertive, and

unambiguous communication‘ (Den Hartog, 2004: 405).

084

6.1.5 Institutional Collectivism (C1)

This is defined as ‗the degree to which organizational and societal institutional practices

encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action‘ (House

and Javidan, 2004: 12). Institutional collectivism at societal practices level (C1SP–As

Is) was measured by four items (Q7, Q12, Q29, and Q35) and three of them were

reversed coded (Q7, Q29, and Q35). These items are as shown in Table 37, below.

As Table 37 shows, while the highest percentage of respondents (29.1%) chose

neither agree nor disagree with the statement ‗in this society, leaders encourage group

loyalty even if individual goals suffer‘, still a large number of respondents were slightly

agree, somewhat agree, or strongly agree with such statement with percentages of

16.2%, 18.9%, and 14.9% respectively. Additionally, 75.7% ranged in their opinion

from slightly agree to strongly agree that being accepted by other members of a group is

very important in Omani society. Moreover, the highest percentage of respondents

(27.7%) believes that group cohesion and individualism are equally valued in Omani

society. However, 61.4% of respondents ranged in their opinion from slightly believe to

strongly believe that group cohesion is valued more than individualism in Omani

society.

In general, the grand mean of C1SP in Omani society was 4.7942, which places

Oman in band A and ranked 7 among GLOBE study countries. On the other hand, the

grand mean of institutional collectivism at the level of societal value (C1SV–Should

Be) was 4.8518. Although the grand mean of C1SV is almost similar to grand mean of

C1SP, however, such a result moved Omani society from band A in its societal practice

to be in band B in C1SV. In addition, the rank of Omani society fell back to 28.

085

1-7. In this Society, leaders encourages group loyalty even if individual goals suffer.

(reverse scored)

strongly

agree

neither agree

nor disagree

strongly

disagree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mean SD

14.9% 18.9% 16.2% 29.1% 8.1% 6.8% 6.1% 4.59 1.68

Valid (N): 148

1-12. The economic system in this society is designed to maximize:

Collective

Interests

individual

interests

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.84 4.05 14.9% 10.8% 12.2% 18.9% 20.3% 16.2% 6.8%

Valid (N): 148

1-29. In this society, being accepted by the other members of a group is

very Important. (reverse scored)

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.2 5.51 0% 1.4% 2.7% 20.3% 17.6% 35.8% 22.3%

Valid (N): 148

1-35. In this society: (reverse scored)

Individuali

sm is

valued

more than

group

cohesion

group

cohesion and

individualism

are equally

valued

group

cohesion is

valued more

than

individualism

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.49 5.03 2.7% 3.4% 4.7% 27.7% 18.9% 23.6% 18.9%

Valid (N): 148

With regard to Institutional Collectivism at Organizational Practice level (C1OP–As

Is), the grand mean was 441378. In contrast, the grand mean institutional collectivism at

Organizational Value level (C1OV) was 445613.

6.1.6 In-group Collectivism (C2)

This refers to ‗the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty and cohesiveness

in their organizations or families‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 12).

In-group collectivism at societal practices level (IgCSP) was measured by four items

(Q11, Q23, Q28, and Q39) and all of them were reversed coded. These items are shown

in Table 38.

Table 37: Items measuring institutional collectivism societal culture practice (As Is)

086

1-11. In this Society, children take pride in the individual accomplishments

of their parents. (reverse scored)

Strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.32 5.62 1.4% 1.4% 4.9% 10.4% 17.4% 36.8% 27.8%

Valid (N): 144

1-23. In this Society , parents take pride in the individual accomplishments

of their children: (reverse scored)

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.13 5.87 0% 0% 4.1% 9.5% 18.2% 31.8% 36.5%

Valid (N): 148

1-28. In this society, aging parents generally live at home with their children.

(reverse scored)

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.25 6 0% 3.4% 1.3% 7.4% 14.1% 27.5% 46.3%

Valid (N): 149

1-39. In this society, children generally live at home with their parents until

they get married. (reverse scored)

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.11 6.37 0.7 0.7 1.3 5.4 8.7 16.8 66.4

Valid (N): 149

Table 38 indicates that the highest percentage of respondents agree, either slightly

(17.4%), somewhat (36.8%), or strongly (27.8%), with the statement that children in

Omani society take pride in the individual accomplishments of their parents. They also

agree that parents take pride in the individual accomplishments of their children with

36.5% responding strongly disagree, 31.8% somewhat agree and 18.2% slightly agree.

In addition, most respondents agreed that ageing parents in the Omani society live at

Table 38: Items measuring in-group collectivism societal culture practice (As Is)

087

home with their children and the percentage of such agreement was 46.3% strongly

agree, 27.5% somewhat agree, and 14.1 % slightly agree. Furthermore, the vast majority

of respondents agree that children in the Omani society generally live at home with their

parents until they get married with a percentage of 66.4% strongly agree, 16.8%

somewhat agree and 8.7% slightly agree.

In general, the grand mean of In-group collectivism at societal practices level

(C2SP–As Is) is 5.9642. This result places Omani society in band A with a rank of 4

among GLOBE societies. On the other hand, the grand mean of institutional

collectivism at the level of societal value (C2SV–Should Be) was 5.6460. This result

moved Omani society from band A in its societal practice to be in band B in societal

value with a rank of 35.

With regard to organizational culture, the grand mean of In-group Collectivism at

Organizational Practice level (C2OP–As Is) was 4.2695. In contrast, the grand mean of

in-group collectivism at Organizational Value level (C2OV–Should Be) was

5.2871.This result indicates that employees are seeking for more in-group collectivism

in their daily practice in the workplace.

In addition, the terms collectivism and individualism are mainly related to the degree

of relationship between an individual and his surrounding community and environment.

In a society like Oman, the word ‗family‘ includes not just husband, wife and their

children; it also includes parents, brothers and sisters. Also, the word ‗relatives‘

includes almost all members of a tribe. Omanis have high appreciation towards their

families and tribes. While interviewing participants, most of them agreed that family

and tribe come at the front of their interests. They show quite a large commitment

towards their own families and tribes. As an interviewee stated with pride:

In most of situations, like marriage, death, or elections of Shura council, my

family along with tribe members stand together as one unit. It is a source of

strength and comfort. And this is, as a society, who we are. (N2)

Concerning organizational culture, an interviewee showed his point of view

regarding the importance of the relationship between employees themselves on one side

and between them and their managers on the other, stating that:

I think managers should participate more in social events of their employees.

Also, employees should strength their relationship between themselves. All

this will reflect positively in the working environment. (N12)

088

Another employee referred to organizational efforts towards having a good welfare

system, stating that:

This organization takes a great care of its employees' societal and

psychological aspects and that is why it has a separate department of social

affairs. (N3)

In general, looking at the previous results for institutional collectivism and in-group

collectivism, Omani society can be described as a high collectivism society. Societies

which score high on collectivism tend to have ‗a slower pace of life‘, have ‗more

extended family structures‘, and ‗individuals are integrated into strong cohesive groups‘

(Gelfand, et al., 2004: 454). However, the similarity between practice and values results

indicates that most Omanis are satisfied with current societal practice of institutional

and in-group collectivism.

On organizational culture, the above results also indicate that employees are seeking

greater institutional and in-group collectivism in their daily practice in the workplace.

This tendency toward higher practice of C1 and C2 may derive from the fact that the

system of public sector organizations in Oman has been structured in a collectivist

manner. Gelfand et al. (2004: 459) stated that organizations with high collectivism ‗take

responsibility for employee welfare, motivation is socially oriented, employees develop

a long-term relationship with the employer, and an organizational commitment is based

on expectation of loyalty‘. However, one interesting point that should be mentioned

here is that practice and values for in-group collectivism scored higher than they did for

institutional collectivism. This is not only the case in Oman, but all other GLOBE

countries have the same result (Gelfand et al., 2004).

6.1.7 Power Distance (PD)

Power Distance is defined as ‗the degree to which members of an organization or

society expect and agree that power should be stratified and concentrated at higher level

of an organization or government‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 12). Power distance at

societal practices level (PDSP–As Is) was measured by five items (Q5, Q13, Q26, Q27,

and Q34) and four of them were reverse coded (Q13, Q26, Q27, and Q34). These items

are as shown in Table 39, below.

As indicated in Table 39, the greater percentages of respondents either greatly

believe (24.2%), somewhat believe (16.1%), or slightly believe (14.1%) that a person‘s

influence in the Omani society is based primarily on the authority of that individual‘s

position. In addition, most respondents (55.3%) range in their opinion from greatly

089

believe to slightly believe that followers in Omani society are expected to obey their

leaders without question. Also, the majority of them (67.8%) tend to believe that people

in positions of power in Omani society try to increase their social distance from less

powerful individuals. Moreover, the majority of respondents (44.6% strongly agree and

26.4% somewhat agree) that in Omani society, rank and position in the hierarchy have

special privileges. The majority also ranged in their opinion from strongly believe

(34%) to somewhat believe (26.5%) that power in Omani society is concentrated at the

top.

In general, the grand mean of power distance at societal practices level (PDSP) is

5.1174. This result places Omani society in band B with a rank of 40 among GLOBE

societies. Within such a score, Omani society can be described as having a high power

distance. On the other hand, the grand mean of power distance at the level of societal

value (PDSV–Should Be) was 2.7094. This result moved Omani society from band B in

its societal practice to be in band C in societal value with a rank of 33. Indeed, this

lower grand mean of PDSV means that Omanis are striving for less power distance in

their daily lives.

With regard to organizational culture, the grand mean of Power distance at

Organizational Practice level (PDOP–As Is) scored 4.1655. In contrast, power distance

at Organizational Value level (PDOV–Should Be) has a grand mean of 2.5697.This

result indicates that employees are seeking for less power distance in their daily practice

in the workplace.

091

1-5. In this Society , a person’s influence is based primarily on:

one’s ability

and

contribution

to the

Society

the

authority

of

one’s

position

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mean SD

10.7% 14.1% 10.7% 10.1% 14.1% 16.1% 24.2% 4.48 2.1

Valid (N): 149

1-13. In this society, followers are expected to: (reverse scored)

question their

leaders when

in

disagreement

obey their

leaders

without

question

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.91 4.55 11.5% 5.4% 11.5% 16.2% 15.5% 23.6% 16.2%

Valid (N): 148

1-26. In this Society , people in positions of power try to: (reverse scored)

decrease their social distance from less powerful people

increase their social distance from less powerful individuals

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.59 5.19 2.7% 4% 7.4% 18.1% 18.8% 22.8% 26.2%

Valid (N): 149

1-27. In this Society, rank and position in the hierarchy have special

privileges. (reverse scored)

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.31 5.92 0.7% 2% 3.4% 8.1% 14.9% 26.4% 44.6%

Valid (N): 148

1-34. In this society, power is: (reverse scored)

shared

throughout

the society

concentrated

at

the top

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.67 5.45 4.1% 3.4% 7.5% 8.2% 16.3% 26.5% 34%

Valid (N): 147

Table 39: Items measuring power distance societal culture practice (As Is)

090

Interviewees expressed almost the same views as shown by the results of the

questionnaire. Although they showed respect for their social system, which emphasizes

seniority in different aspects, it would, however, be better, from their point of view, to

enhance equity and democracy. An interviewee stated that:

Although religious and social status is respected among most Omanis,

however, I think it would be much better if the society could express more

freedom in the media, with equal treatment among all citizens. (N5)

One other interviewee asserted the need for systematic evaluation within the public

sector, especially for recruitment to senior positions. He stated:

In so many cases, no one knows how or why someone has been appointed for

a certain high position. I believe we do need to have a solid system built on

efficiency and transparency to ensure that such a selection has been made

based on qualifications and experience. (N10)

In general, Omani culture at both societal and organizational levels has scored high

in the power distance dimension. Societies with High PD tend to have certain criteria

such as being ‗differentiated into classes on several criteria… information are

localized‘, equal opportunities are not enforced, and ‗civil liberties are weak and public

corruption is high‘ (Carl, Gupta and Javidan, 2004: 536). However, both, citizens and

employees desire less PD in their daily life and in the workplace. This tendency towards

lower PD means that power and information should be shared so that, ‗all groups enjoy

equal involvement, democracy ensures parties in opportunities and development for all‘,

and ‗civil liberties are strong and corruption is low‘ (Carl, Gupta and Javidan, 2004:

536).

6.1.8 Humane Orientation (HO)

Humane Orientation is defined as ‗the degree to which individuals in organizations or

societies encourage and reward individuals for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous,

caring, and kind to others‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 13). Human orientation at societal

practices level (HOSP–As Is) was measured by five items (Q9, Q21, Q25, Q32, and

Q33) and all of them were reverse coded. These items are given in Table 40, below.

092


not at all

concerned

about

others

very

concerned

about

others

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.32 5.44 1.3 0% 6.7% 14.8% 26.2% 24.8% 26.2%

Valid (N): 149

1-21. In this Society , people are generally:

not at all

sensitive

toward

others

very

sensitive

toward

others

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.36 4.99 2% 2.7% 8.8% 17.7% 29.3% 27.9% 11.6%

Valid (N): 147


very

unfriendly

very

friendly

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.12 5.64 0% 1.3% 3.4% 10.1% 22.8% 39.6% 22.8%

Valid (N): 149

1-32. In this society, people are generally: (reverse scored)

not at all

tolerant of

mistakes

very

tolerant of

mistakes

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.34 5.28 1.3% 3.4% 4% 16.1% 26.2% 30.9% 18.1%

Valid (N): 149

1-33 In this society, people are generally: (reverse scored)

not at all

generous

very

generous

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.21 5.24 0.7% 2.1% 4.2% 18.1% 29.2% 31.9% 13.9%

Valid (N): 144

Table 40 shows that 71.2% of respondents tend to believe that people in Omani

society are generally concerned for others. The majority of respondents (68.8%) also

tend to believe that people in Omani society are generally sensitive towards others. In

addition, the vast majority of them (85.2%) tend to believe that people in Omani society

are generally friendly. Furthermore, 75.2% of respondents tend to believe that people in

Omani society are generally tolerant of mistakes. Moreover, 75% of them tend to

believe that people in Omani society are generally generous.

Table 40: Items measuring human orientation societal culture practice (As Is)

093

In general, the grand mean of human orientation at societal practices level (HOSP) is

5.3141. This result places Omani society in band A as the highest country comparing to

all GLOBE study countries. On the other hand, Human orientation at the level of

societal value (HOSV–Should Be) scored a grand mean of 5.1851. This result moved

Omani society from band A in its societal practice to be in band C in societal value with

a rank of 53. Although the score itself is not an indication that there is much difference

between practice and values, when compared to the GLOBE study results, it is clearly

that Omani society belongs more to those countries which seek for less HO in their

daily life.

With regard to Human Orientation at Organizational Practice level (HOOP–As Is),

the grand mean was 4.4043. In contrast, the grand mean of human orientation at

Organizational Value level (HOOV–Should Be) was 4.7482. Unlike societal culture,

employees in organizational culture are seeking for more HO in their daily practice in

the workplace. Compared to the Middle Eastern cluster, the case is almost the same as

the overall mean for all three sectors (finance, food, and telecommunication) at the

values level (4.81, 4.85, and 4.89 respectively) and is higher at the practice level (4.34,

4.44, and 4.54, respectively). Regardless of such a result, the Middle Eastern cluster

scored low in Human Orientation values when compared to the GLOBE overall results

(Kabasakal and Bodur, 2004: 587).

Interviewees asserted the importance of following their parents‘ orders and

directions. They believe that such a matter is part of Islamic doctrine. One of them

stated:

If I want my children to listen and obey, then I should first obey my parents'

orders. It is what our religion teaches us since we were young. (N8)

Another interviewee showed his loyalty towards his family, relatives, and friends,

stating that:

Family is stability, relatives are the power, and friends are the joy of life. I

cannot imagine anyone living without one of these three main elements of life.

And only by continuous love and attention we can strengthen these elements.

(N4)

In addition, an interviewee described his point of view regarding a healthy working

environment, stating that:

094

In any place of work, it very essential to spread love, kindness, and

understanding between employees themselves and employees and their

managers. This will ensure a healthy working environment. (N11)

To conclude, Omani society in HO at the level of value has scored the highest mean

among all GLOBE study countries. Societies with a high human orientation score tend

to value family and friends relationships, value kindness, love, and generosity, provide

support to each other, and parents should be close to their children while children

should always obey their parents‘ directions (Kabasakal and Bodur, 2004: 570).

Nevertheless, although it still high, the result of HO at societal value level indicated a

small desire for less HO. However, this small desire when compared to GLOBE

societies‘ general trends became essential as it moved Omani society from being the

highest country (rank 1) in HOSP to rank 53 in HOSV.

6.1.9 Uncertainty Avoidance (UA)

Uncertainty Avoidance reflects ‗the extent to which members of an organization or

society strive to avoid uncertainty by relying on established social norms, rituals, and

bureaucratic practices‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 11). UA, at societal culture practice

level (As Is), was measured by four items (Q1, Q16, Q19, and Q24) and all of them

were reverse coded. These items are shown in Table 36, below.

As shown in Table 36, the higher percentage of respondents (75.7%) tend to agree to

varying degrees (strongly agree, somewhat agree, or slightly agree) with the statement

that in Omani society, orderliness and consistency are stressed, even at the expense of

experimentation and innovation. The table also indicates that while 18.8% choose

‗neither agree nor disagree‘, 54.3% agree that ‗societal requirements and instructions

are spelled out in detail so citizens know what they are expected to do‘. In addition, it

shows that 55% of respondents believe that the rules or laws that Omani community

cover all or most situations.

095

Q1: In this Society, orderliness and consistency are stressed, even at the

expense of experimentation and innovation. (reverse scored)

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

Strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.49 5.47 2% 2% 8.1% 12.2% 15.5% 31.1% 29.1%

Valid (N): 148

Q16: In this Society, most people lead highly structured lives with few

unexpected events. (reverse scored)

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

Strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.62 3.99 6.8% 14.2% 19.6% 16.9% 23% 14.9% 4.7%

Valid (N): 148

Q19: In this Society , societal requirements and instructions are spelled out in

detail so citizens know what they are expected to do : (reverse scored)

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

Strongly

agree

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.66 4.61 3.4% 9.4% 14.1% 18.8% 18.1% 22.8% 13.4%

Valid (N): 149

Q24: This society has rules or laws to cover: (reverse scored)

very few

situations

some

situations

almost all

situations

SD Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1.49 4.72 2.7% 2.7% 16.8% 22.8% 20.1% 22.8% 12.1%

Valid (N): 149

In general, the results of the questionnaire show that the mean of UA at the level of

Omani societal cultural practice scored 4.6957. This result places Oman in band B when

compared with GLOBE study countries. It also indicates that Oman has one of the

highest UASP scores around the world and is ranked at 14. This means that UA in

Omani societal culture practice can be described as high. In regards to UASV (Should

Be), the grand mean scored 5.6617. This result places Omani society with regard to

UASV in band A as the highest score compared to all countries included in the GLOBE

study (the highest score in the GLOBE study was 5.61 scored by Thailand). Indeed, the

Table 41: Items measuring uncertainty avoidance societal culture practice (As Is)

096

result for Omani society indicates that UASV is higher than UASP, which means that

Omanis have a high level of desire for more UA in their daily lives.

With regard to Uncertainty Avoidance Organizational Practice (UAOP–As Is), Oman

scored a grand mean of 4.4433. On the other hand, Uncertainty Avoidance

Organizational Value (UAOV–Should Be) scored a grand mean of 5.4462. As with

societal culture, UAOP is above the average and the UAOV scored higher than the

organizational practice, which means that employees desire more UA in their daily

practice in the workplace.

Most of the interviewees expressed a high level of satisfaction with the current status

quo in general, stating, for example, that:

In general, I think we have a very good life compared with other places around

the world. We should be grateful for the blessing of security and safety in our

society. (N6)

Another interviewee emphasized the importance of following the rules, stating that:

Laws and regulations must be followed without question. They have been

made to protect ourselves and our society. (N3)

In addition, more than one interviewee repeated a common saying which contains the

hidden meaning that maintaining the current situation is better than changing it, as we

will never know if change is going to be better or worse. This saying is:

Whom we know is much better than whom we do not know. (N3, N9 and 12)

To conclude, in both societal and organizational cultures, Oman scored high in AU at

both practice and value levels. In addition, value scored higher than practice for both

cultures. One remarkable note here is that Oman, for AUSV, scored higher than any

country in the GLOBE study. Societies with higher AU tend more towards formalizing

their interaction with others, show higher resistance to change, concentrate on rules and

formal policies, have tight control procedures, and show less tolerance for breaking

rules (Luque and Javidan, 2004: 618).

6.2 Discussion

After showing the result of all cultural dimensions for both cultures, the results can be

summarized in three main tables which are shown below. Table 42 shows the main

results for societal and organizational cultures at two levels (As Is and Should Be).

Table 43 shows the differences between societal culture and organizational culture at

097

the level of current practice (As Is), while Table 44 shows the differences between the

two cultures at the level of value (Should Be).

Table 42: Main results for societal and organizational cultures in Oman

Dimension Practice (As Is) Value (Should Be)

Society Organization Society Organization

Performance Orientation (PO) 3.8087 4124.3 5.9732 014545

Future Orientation (FO) 3.4349 313.44 5.6113 013505

Gender Egalitarianism (GE) 3.0993 31.134 3.2376 3153.0

Assertiveness (AS) 3.7315 31.433 3.0492 015.10

Institutional Collectivism (C1) 4.7942 315423 4.8518 310154

In-Group Collectivism (C2) 5.9642 314140 5.6460 01432.

Power Distance (PD) 5.1174 31.100 2.7094 410142

Humane Orientation (HO) 5.3141 313534 5.1851 312334

Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) 4.6957 313344 5.6617 013314


Dimension Practice (As Is)

Society Absolute Organization Absolute

Performance Orientation (PO) 3.8087 Moderate 4124.3 Moderate

Future Orientation (FO) 3.4349 Low 313.44 High

Gender Egalitarianism (GE) 3.0993 Low 31.134 Moderate

Assertiveness (AS) 3.7315 Moderate 31.433 Moderate

Institutional Collectivism (C1) 4.7942 High 315423 Moderate

In-Group Collectivism (C2) 5.9642 High 314140 Moderate

Power Distance (PD) 5.1174 High 31.100 Moderate

Humane Orientation (HO) 5.3141 High 313534 Moderate

Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) 4.6957 High 313344 Moderate

098


Dimension Value (Should Be)


Performance Orientation (PO) 5.9732 High 014545 High

Future Orientation (FO) 5.6113 High 013505 High


Assertiveness (AS) 3.0492 Low 015.10 High

Institutional Collectivism (C1) 4.8518 High 310154 High

In-Group Collectivism (C2) 5.6460 High 01432. High

Power Distance (PD) 2.7094 Low 410142 Low

Humane Orientation (HO) 5.1851 High 312334 High

Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) 5.6617 High 013314 High

From these three tables (42, 43, and 44), several outcomes can be drawn here. Firstly,

although the results show some similarities between societal and organizational

cultures, they also indicate that societal culture may differ in some aspects from

organizational culture. For instance, the results show that participants described the

dimension of Humane Orientation (HO) as High within Omani societal culture practice.

On the other hand, the score of the same dimension was moderate within the

organizational culture practice. This indicates that the situation among Omani society

may differ from the situation with organizational culture, even within the same

dimension.

Secondly, when comparing the results with what has been hypothesized in the

methodology chapter with regard to this area of study, the three tables indicate that the

result is partially, but not totally, consistent with the two hypotheses (Set One,

Hypotheses 1 and 2). This result can be illustrated as follows.

Hypothesis (1) was:

Omani cultural practices at both societal and organizational levels will score





099

The results show that, at the level of practice, the score for societal culture

dimensions differed from what was hypothesized in two dimensions: performance

orientation and assertiveness, both of which scored at a Moderate level. In addition,

eight out of nine dimensions of organizational culture scored Moderate, while only the

future orientation dimension scored as hypothesized.

Hypothesis (2) was:

Omani cultural values at both societal and organizational levels, will score





The results show that societal culture at the level of value scored ‗Low‘ in gender

egalitarianism, assertiveness, and power distance, while they scored ‗High‘ in other

dimensions. Also, organizational culture scored ‗Low‘ in power distance only,

‗Moderate‘ in gender egalitarianism, and ‗High‘ in all other dimensions.

In general, the main results for both cultures within the Omani society questionnaire

show some remarkable observations which must be highlighted. As is shown in table

37, value scored higher than the practice for both cultures in PO, FO, C1, and UA. In

addition, organizational culture practice scored higher than societal culture practice in

FO, GE, and AS. On the other hand, societal cultural practice scored higher than

organizational cultural practice in PO, C1, C2, PD, HO, and UA. In As, C2, and HO

dimensions, the value scored lower than the practice which shows that societal culture

seeks for less of these dimensions in practice; however, the situation is the opposite for

Organizational culture.

To conclude, although societal culture and organizational culture at practice and

value levels have the same dimensions, this does not mean that they should score the

same for the same country. The results show clearly that societal culture might differ

from organizational culture in some dimensions or, in some cases, in all dimensions.

This result continues one point of the debate between Hofstede (2006) and Javidan et al.

(2006) regarding the validation of the GLOBE study in general and whether (1) it is

suitable to use the same dimensions to assess societal and organizational culture, and (2)

dimensions should be reduced to five (see Chapter 2, section 2.5.6). However, from this

researcher‘s point of view, there is no clear conclusion to this debate which can fit all

countries and cultures. This is in addition to the fact that culture is something

changeable from one time to another and depends on so many factors and elements, as

211

was discussed in the literature review earlier. So, drawing a final and unbreakable

conclusion for such a matter is almost undesirable.

6.3 Oman societal culture and the GLOBE study

Within this part of the chapter (sections 6.5 and 6.6), the study will try to answer the

following question (Area One, Question 4, see Section 5.3):

Where does Omani culture stand compared to GLOBE study results in general

and the Middle Eastern cluster in particular?

The following hypothesis was set for this question (Set One, Hypothesis 3, see

Section 5.4.1):

Culture in Oman will score almost within the range scores of other Middle


At the beginning, it should be mentioned that, unlike societal culture, GLOBE results

with regard to organizational culture were not explained and discussed in full detail in

the GLOBE publication (Culture, Leadership, and Organization: The GLOBE Study of

62 Societies, 2004). Therefore, more details will be provided for societal culture than

organizational culture within this part of the chapter, especially in comparing the main

results for cultural dimensions in Omani society on the one hand and the GLOBE study

and the Middle Eastern cluster on the other.

Therefore, looking at the previously-discussed results for societal culture, Oman can

be viewed as having high practices in institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism,

power distance, humane orientation, and uncertainty avoidance while having a practice

that is moderate with regard to performance orientation and assertiveness, and low in

future orientation and gender egalitarianism. When comparing such a result with the

GLOBE results, the practice of Omani societal culture has a high relative standing in

institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, humane orientation, and uncertainty

avoidance. However, it has a moderate relative standing in performance orientation,

gender egalitarianism, and power distance and relatively low standing with regard to

future orientation and assertiveness (see Table 45).

210

Table 45: Omani Societal culture practice (As–Is): Practice scores of Omani

societal culture compared with GLOBE mid-scores

No Dimensions Practice Oman

Score Absolute GLOBE Score Relative

1 Performance Orientation 3.8087 Moderate 4.09 Moderate

2 Future Orientation 3.4349 Low 3.84 Low

3 Gender Egalitarianism 3.0993 Low 3.39 Moderate

4 Assertiveness 3.7315 Moderate 3.86 Low

5 Institutional Collectivism 4.7942 High 4.23 High

6 In-Group Collectivism 5.9642 High 5.12 High

7 Power Distance 5.1174 High 5.15 Moderate

8 Human Orientation 5.3141 High 4.09 High

9 Uncertainty Avoidance 4.6957 High 4.16 High

On the other hand, Oman can be viewed as having high values in performance

orientation, future orientation, institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, humane

orientation, and uncertainty avoidance, while having values that are low with regard to

gender egalitarianism, assertiveness, and power distance. When comparing such a result

with GLOBE results, the value of Omani societal culture has a high relative standing in

future orientation and uncertainty avoidance. However, it has a moderate relative

standing in performance orientation, institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism,

and power distance and a low relative standing with regard to gender egalitarianism,

assertiveness, and humane orientation (see Table 46).

212

Table 46: Omani Societal culture value (Should Be): Value scores of Omani

societal culture compared with GLOBE mid-scores

No. Dimensions O. Score Absolute G. Score Relative

1 Performance Orientation 5.9732 High 5.88 Moderate

2 Future Orientation 5.6113 High 5.59 High

3 Gender Egalitarianism 3.2376 Low 5.51 Low

4 Assertiveness 3.0492 Low 3.71 Low

5 Institutional Collectivism 4.8518 High 4.72 Moderate

6 In-Group Collectivism 5.6460 High 5.64 Moderate

7 Power Distance 2.7094 Low 2.78 Moderate

8 Human Orientation 5.1851 High 5.39 Low

9 Uncertainty Avoidance 5.6617 High 4.62 High

In addition, to distinguish between societal cultures among 62 countries, the GLOBE

study placed participating countries into bands according to their results. With regard to

societal culture practice, countries were placed in four bands, as shown in Table 47.

Table 47: GLOBE study bands, societal culture practice

Dimension Band A Band B Band C Band D

From To From To From To From To

Performance

Orientation

4.94 4.32 4.27 3.72 3.67 3.20

Future

Orientation

5.07 4.44 4.39 3.81 3.80 3.21 3.11 2.88

Gender

Egalitarianism

4.08 3.47 3.42 2.81 2.58 2.50

Assertiveness 4.89 4.15 4.13 3.59 3.47 3.38

Institutional

Collectivism

5.22 4.59 4.54 3.93 3.92 3.53 3.25

In-Group

Collectivism

6.36 5.35 5.32 4.37 4.26 3.53

Power

Distance

5.80 5.28 5.25 4.74 4.73 4.51 4.11 3.89

Humane

Orientation

5.23 4.73 4.69 4.18 4.17 3.66 3.63 3.18

Uncertainty

Avoidance

5.37 4.75 4.70 4.09 4.07 3.50 3.44 2.88

Source: Adapted from Chapters 12–19 of GLOBE study book.

213

In addition, societal culture values were placed into five bands and the results are as

shown in Table 48.

Table 48: GLOBE study bands, societal culture values

Dimension Band A Band B Band C Band D Band E

From To From To From To From To From To

Performance

Orientation

6.58 6.24 6.23 5.89 5.82 5.61 5.54 5.25 5.17 4.92

Future

Orientation

6.20 5.69 5.68 5.19 5.15 4.73 4.33

Gender

Egalitarianism

5.17 4.63 4.60 4.16 4.06 3.68 3.45 3.18

Assertiveness 5.56 4.41 4.38 3.21 3.09 2.66

Institutional

Collectivism

5.65 5.10 5.03 4.55 4.50 3.94 3.90 3.83

In-Group

Collectivism

6.52 5.97 5.95 5.41 5.35 4.94

Power

Distance

3.65 3.41 3.24 2.97 2.86 2.54 2.49 2.19 2.04

Humane

Orientation

6.09 5.76 5.69 5.40 5.36 5.01 4.99 4.49

Uncertainty

Avoidance

5.61 5.07 4.99 4.43 4.42 3.85 3.83 3.32 3.24 3.16

Source: Adapted from Chapters 12–19 of GLOBE study book.

Taking into account the above discussion, Table 49 shows the ranking of Omani

culture among GLOBE countries and the band which Omani societal culture could be

fitted into for each dimension. It also summarizes the differences between practices and

values scores for Omani societal culture. Looking at these scores, it can be seen that

societal culture practice in Oman scored higher than societal culture value in

assertiveness, institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, and power distance,

while societal culture values scored higher than the practice in performance orientation,

future orientation, gender egalitarianism, and uncertainty avoidance.

214

Table 49: Societal culture practice and value

Dimension

Practice (As Is) Value (Should Be) Difference*

Score Band Rank

Score Band Rank As Is–

Should Be

Performance

Orientation 3.8087

B 48 5.9732 B 32 -2.1645

Future

Orientation 3.4349

C 50 5.6113 B 29 -2.1764

Gender

Egalitarianism 3.0993

B 45 3.2376 D 62 -0.1383

Assertiveness 3.7315 B 54 3.0492 C 56 0.6823

Institutional

Collectivism 4.7942

A 7 4.8518 B 28 -0.0576

In-Group

Collectivism 5.9642

A 4 5.6460 B 35 0.3182

Power

Distance 5.1174

B 40 2.7094 C 33 2.4080

Humane

Orientation 5.3141

A 1 5.1851 C 53 0.1290

Uncertainty

Avoidance 4.6957

B 14 5.6617 A 1 -0.9660

*Difference: ‗As Is‘ score minus ‗Should Be‘ score

In addition, Table 50 provides a comparison between data concerning Omani societal

culture practice with the general mean of GLOBE study findings, while Table 51

compares the results of the two elements at societal culture value.

215

Table 50: Results of Oman and GLOBE study in societal culture practice

Societal culture (practice) Minimum Maximum Mean Standard

Deviation

1 Performance Orientation 1.00

3.20

6.67

4.94

3.8087

4.10

1.07636

.41

2 Future oriented 1.00

2.88

6.20

5.07

3.4349

3.85

1.06563

.46

3 Gender Egalitarianism 1.00

2.50

5.00

4.08

3.0993

3.37

.70522

.37

4 Assertiveness 1.33

3.38

6.67

4.89

3.7315

4.14

.92344

.37

5 Collectivism 1 1.67

3.25

7.00

5.22

4.7942

4.25

.88730

.42


3.53

7.00

6.36

5.9642

5.13

.76856

.73

7 Power Distance 1.00

3.89

7.00

5.80

5.1174

5.17

1.06832

.41

8 Human Orientation 3.00

3.18

7.00

5.23

5.3141

4.09

.78016

.47

9 Uncertainty Avoidance 1.75

2.88

7.00

5.37

4.6957

4.160

.99727

.60

Numbers for Oman are in Roman font.

Globe findings are in Italic font.

Table 51: Result of Oman and GLOBE study in societal culture value

Societal culture (Value) Minimum Maximum Mean Standard

Deviation

1 Performance Orientation 4.00

4.92

7.00

6.58

5.9732

5.94

.70977

.34

2 Future oriented 1.75

4.33

7.00

6.20

5.6113

5.49

.98913

.41

3 Gender Egalitarianism 1.00

3.18

5.80

5.17

3.2376

4.51

1.01280

.48

4 Assertiveness 1.00

2.66

6.00

5.56

3.0492

3.82

1.09437

.65

5 Collectivism 2.75

3.83

6.50

5.65

4.8518

4.73

.80985

.49


4.94

7.00

6.52

5.6460

5.66

1.01430

.35

7 Power Distance 1.00

2.05

5.50

3.65

2.7094

2.75

1.00198

.35

8 Human Orientation 3.50

4.49

7.00

6.09

5.1851

5.42

.79032

.25

9 Uncertainty Avoidance 4.00

3.16

6.67

5.61

5.6617

4.62

.74579

.61

Numbers for Oman are in Roman font.

Globe findings are in Italic font.

216

In addition, to give a further insight and statistical comparison between Oman and

the GLOBE study, a T test has been done between the two grand means for each

cultural dimension. The results of the T tests show that there is only a significant

difference between the mean of Power Distance Societal Practices and the GLOBE

mean for this dimension, at 0.549, while there is no significant difference between the

mean of eight cultural dimensions and the GLOBE mean of these dimensions at the

level of practice. On the other hand, there is a significant difference between the grand

mean of in-group collectivism, power distance, performance orientation, future

orientation, and institutional collectivism dimensions at the value level compared to the

GLOBE study means at the same level for these dimensions, equal to 0.866, 0.622,

0.569, 0.137, and 0.068 respectively, while there was no significant difference between

the grand mean of the other four cultural dimensions and the GLOBE study means at

value level.

6.4 Societal culture (Oman and Middle Eastern cluster)

For each dimension, the GLOBE study assigned world societies to three levels: high-

score clusters, mid-score clusters, and low-score clusters. However, it should be

mentioned that such a classification is not related to the amount of impact of the

dimension itself in the society. For example, when a society is placed in the low-score

level in any dimension, it does not mean that this country is inherently low in that

dimension. This classification is only relative to other countries in the same cluster.

As mentioned earlier, the GLOBE study included only five countries to represent the

Middle Eastern cluster. Four of them were Arab countries: Egypt, Morocco, Qatar, and

Kuwait, and the other was Turkey. According to Gupta and Hanges (2004: 193),

GLOBE classified the practice of Middle Eastern culture as a High-score cluster only in

In-Group Collectivism. In performance orientation, assertiveness, humane orientation,

institutional collectivism, and power distance, the ME cluster was placed in Mid-Score

clusters, while it was placed in Low-Score clusters regarding future orientation, gender

egalitarianism, and uncertainty avoidance.

On societal culture value, the Middle East was classified as a High-Score cluster in

future orientation, institutional collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance.

Regarding performance orientation, humane orientation, and in-group collectivism, it

was placed in Mid-Score clusters, while it was classified in Low-Score clusters in

assertiveness and gender egalitarianism (Gupta and Hanges, 2004: 194).

217

In addition, although GLOBE classified countries into clusters, each country has its

own scores and cultural differences which distinguish it from other countries, no matter

how many common factors are shared between them. Therefore, this study will adapt

the main result for each societal cultural dimension of those ME countries included in

the GLOBE study and compare it to the results for Omani societal culture.

In POSP, Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait and Turkey were in band B with scores of 4.27,

3.99, 3.95, and 3.87 respectively, while Qatar was in band C with a score of 3.45

(Javidan, 2004: 250). In this study, Oman scores 3.8087, which places her in Band B

between Turkey and Qatar. On the other hand, looking at POSV in ME, three out of five

Middle Eastern countries were placed in band B – Kuwait, Qatar, and Egypt, with

scores of 6.03, 5.96, and 5.90 respectively. Morocco was in band C with a score of 5.76,

and Turkey was in band D with a score of 5.39 (Javidan, 2004: 251). Oman scores

5.9732, which places her in Band B between Kuwait and Qatar.

In FOSP, only Egypt was in band B with a score of 3.86 while Qatar, Turkey,

Kuwait, and Morocco were in band C with scores of 3.78, 3.74, 3.26, and 3.26

respectively (Ashkanasy et al., 2004: 304). Oman scores 3.4349, which places her in

band C between Kuwait and Morocco. For FOSV, all countries in the Middle Eastern

cluster were in band A with scores: Qatar 5.92, Morocco 5.85, Turkey 5.83, Egypt 5.80,

and Kuwait 5.74 (Ashkanasy et al., 2004: 306). Oman scores 5.611, which places her in

band B as the lowest country among the ME cluster.

In GESP, all Middle Eastern countries scored below the average. Qatar was in band

A with a score of 3.63, Turkey, Morocco, and Egypt were in band B with scores of 2.89,

2.84, and 2.81 respectively, while Kuwait was in band C with a score of 2.58 (Emrich,

Denmark, and Hartog, 2004: 366). Oman scores 3.0993, which place her in band B just

between Qatar and Turkey. In the scores for the Middle Eastern cluster with regard to

GESV, Turkey scores 4.50 and is placed in band B, while Morocco is in band C with a

score of 3.74. Other Middle Eastern countries were in band D with scores of Kuwait

3.34, Qatar 3.38, and Egypt 3.18 (Emrich, Denmark and Hartog, 2004: 366). Oman

scores 3.2376, which places her in band D between Qatar and Egypt.

For ASP, Turkey and Morocco were in band A with scores of 4.53 and 4.52

respectively, while Qatar, Egypt, and Kuwait were in Band B with scores of 4.11, 3.91,

and 3.63 respectively (Den Hartog, 2004: 410). Oman scores 3.7315, which places her

in band B between Egypt and Kuwait. On the other hand, in ASV, four out of five

Middle Eastern countries (Qatar, Kuwait, Morocco, and Egypt) were in band B with

218

scores of 3.80, 3.76, 3.44, and 3.28 respectively. Only Turkey was in band C, with a

score of 2.66 (Den Hartog, 2004: 411). Oman scores 3.0492, which places her in band C

between Egypt and Turkey.

In C1SP, four Middle Eastern countries (Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, and Turkey) were in

band B with scores of 4.50, 4.50, 4.49, and 4.03 respectively, while Morocco was in

band C with a score of 3.87 (Gelfand et al. 2004: 468). The score for Oman (4.7942)

places it in band A above all five ME countries. On the other hand, in C1SV, Turkey,

Kuwait, and Qatar were in band A with scores of 5.26, 5.15, and 5.13 respectively,

while Morocco was in band B with a score of 5.00 (Gelfand et al., 2004: 470). Oman in

C1SV is also in band B with 4.8518, the lowest score among ME societies.

In C2SP, four out of five countries from the Middle Eastern cluster (Turkey,

Morocco, Kuwait, and Egypt) were in band A with scores of 5.88, 5.87, 5.80, and 5.64

respectively, while Qatar was in band B with a score of 4.71 (Gelfand, et al. 2004: 469).

Oman will be in band A with a score of 5.9642, which is the highest score among the

ME cluster. With regard to C2SV, all five Middle Eastern countries were placed in band

B with scores of Turkey 5.77, Morocco 5.68, Qatar 5.60, Egypt 5.56, and Kuwait 5.43

(Gelfand et al., 2004: 471). Oman scores 5.6460, which places her in band B as well,

between Morocco and Qatar.

For PDSP, Morocco and Turkey were in band A with scores of 5.80 and 5.57

respectively. Kuwait and Egypt were in band B with scores of 5.12 and 4.92

respectively, and Qatar was in band C with a score of 4.73 (Carl, Gupta, and Javidan,

2004: 539). Oman‘s score of 5.11774 places her in band B between Kuwait and Egypt.

In PDSV, four out of the five Middle Eastern countries were placed in band B with

scores of Egypt 3.24, Qatar 3.23, Kuwait 3.17 and Morocco 3.11. Only Turkey was in

band D with a score of 2.41 (Carl, Gupta and Javidan, 2004: 540). Oman scores 2.7094,

placing her in band C between Morocco and Turkey.

Regarding HOSP, Egypt was in band A with the rank of 6 and score of 4.73. Kuwait,

Qatar and Morocco were in band B with scores of 4.52, 4.42, and 4.19 respectively.

Only Turkey was in band C with a score of 3.94 (Kabasakal and Bodur, 2004: 573).

Oman scores 5.3141, even higher than Egypt in band A.

For HOSV, Turkey and Morocco were in band B with scores of 5.52 and 5.51

respectively while Qatar, Egypt, and Kuwait were in band C with scores of 5.30, 5.15,

and 5.06 respectively (Kabasakal and Bodur, 2004: 574). Oman‘s score is 5.1851,

which places her with Qatar and Egypt in band C.

219

In AUSP, all ME countries included in the GLOBE study were placed in band B and

C. Kuwait was in band B with a score of 4.21 while Egypt, Qatar, Morocco, and Turkey

were in band C with scores of 4.06, 3.99, 3.65, and 3.63 respectively (Luque and

Javidan, 2004: 622). Oman scores 4.6957, which makes her the highest country

compared to the ME cluster. In addition, within AUSV, Egypt and Morocco were in

band A with scores of 5.36 and 5.32 while Qatar, Kuwait, and Turkey were in band B

with scores of 4.82, 4.77 and 4.67, respectively (Luque and Javidan, 2004: 623). Oman

scores 5.6617, which is even higher than Egypt. Tables 52 and 53 summarize the above

analysis.

Table 52: Oman and Middle Eastern cluster (societal practices)

No Dimensions Lowest* Highest* Oman Rank of Omani

society

1 Performance Orientation 3.45 4.27 3.8087 5

2 Future oriented 3.26 3.86 3.4349 4

3 Gender Egalitarianism 2.58 3.63 3.0993 2

4 Assertiveness 3.63 4.53 3.7315 5

5 Collectivism 1 3.87 4.50 4.7942 1

6 Collectivism 2 4.71 5.88 5.9642 1

7 Power Distance 4.73 5.57 5.1174 3

8 Human Orientation 3.94 4.73 5.3141 1

9 Uncertainty Avoidance 3.63 4.21 4.6957 1

*The highest and lowest scores are for Middle Eastern cluster only (six countries)

201

Table 53: Oman and Middle Eastern cluster (societal values)

No Dimensions Lowest* Highest* Oman Rank of Omani

society

1 Performance

Orientation 5.39 6.03 5.9732 2

2 Future oriented 5.74 5.92 5.6113 6

3 Gender Egalitarianism 3.18 4.50 3.2376 5

4 Assertiveness 2.66 3.80 3.0492 5

5 Collectivism 1 4.85 5.26 4.8518 6

6 Collectivism 2 5.43 5.77 5.6460 3

7 Power Distance 2.41 3.24 2.7094 5

8 Human Orientation 5.06 5.52 5.1851 4

9 Uncertainty Avoidance 4.67 5.36 5.6617 1

*The highest and lowest scores are for Middle Eastern cluster only (six countries)

Looking at Tables 52 and 53, Omani societal culture has scored the highest mean

among the Middle Eastern cluster in Collectivism 1 Practices, Collectivism 2 Practices,

Human Orientation Practices Uncertainty Avoidance Practices, and Uncertainty

Avoidance Value. On the other hand, it scored the lowest mean in Future oriented

Values and Collectivism 1 Values, even though Oman‘s scores in these dimensions

were not far from the GLOBE study grand mean for each dimension. However, for the

other twelve dimensions, Oman‘s scores fall within the range of highest and lowest

grand mean of Middle Eastern cluster. This outcome means two main things. First,

Omani culture shares very similar cultural characteristics with other Middle Eastern

countries. Second, although it is been eighteen years since GLOBE data started to be

collected in 1994, still the culture in Oman reflects almost the same results as the

GLOBE Middle Eastern cluster scores. Therefore, the results are partially consistent

with hypothesis (3) of this study, which was: ‗Culture in Oman will score almost within

the range scores of other Middle Eastern countries which were included in the GLOBE

study.‘

200

6.5 Correlation between cultural dimensions for societal and organizational cultures

Within this section, the study will highlight the relationship between cultural

dimensions‘ practice and value at the levels of societal and organizational cultures. This

relationship is important to understand the interrelation between these dimensions in

Omani culture and how they are interacting, positively or negatively, between each

other. A positive correlation between two dimensions mean that when one dimension

scores a high result, the other dimension will score higher as well, and vice versa, while

a negative correlation means that when one dimension scores higher, the other

dimension will score lower.

Table 54: Correlation between cultural dimensions of societal practice

UASP FOSP PDSP C1SP HOSP POSP C2SP GESP ASP

UASP Pearson Correlation

1 .421(**) -.314(**) .221(**) .343(**) .530(**) .217(**) -.069 -.011

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .007 .000 .000 .008 .405 .890

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

FOSP Pearson Correlation -.472(**) .201(*) .104 .329(**) -.043 .014 .150

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .014 .205 .000 .603 .861 .069

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

PDSP Pearson Correlation -.209(*) -.051 -.428(**) .002 -.021 -.027

Sig. (2-tailed) .010 .534 .000 .983 .800 .745

N 149 149 149 149 149 149

C1SP Pearson Correlation .223(**) .219(**) .264(**) -.260(**) .012

Sig. (2-tailed) .006 .007 .001 .001 .882

N 149 149 149 149 149

HOSP Pearson Correlation .290(**) .294(**) -.060 -.094

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .471 .252

N 149 149 149 149

POSP Pearson Correlation .127 -.128 .060

Sig. (2-tailed) .122 .120 .469

N 149 149 149

C2SP Pearson Correlation -.185(*) .087

Sig. (2-tailed) .024 .289

N 149 149

GESP Pearson Correlation -.002

Sig. (2-tailed) .981

N 149

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

202

With regard to societal practice, as shown in Table 54, UASP has a significant

positive correlation with POSP, FOSP, HOSP, C1SP, and C2SP and has a significant

negative correlation with PDSP with a percentage of 31.4%. FOSP has a significant

positive correlation with POSP and C1SP while has a significant negative correlation

PDSP. Also, PDSP is has a significant negative correlation with C1SP and POSP while

C1SP has a significant positive correlation with C2SP, HOSP and POSP but has a

negative correlation with GESP. Finally, HOSP has a significant positive correlation

with C2SP and POSP while C2SP has a significant negative correlation with GESP.

Table 55: Correlation between cultural dimensions of societal value

UASV FOSV PDSV C1SV HOSV POSV C2SV GESV ASV

UASV Pearson Correlation

1 .291(**) -.187(*) .271(**) .195(*) .264(**) .269(**) -.237(**) -.143

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .022 .001 .017 .001 .001 .004 .083

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

FOSV Pearson Correlation -.250(**) .310(**) .018 .269(**) .128 -.061 .025

Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .000 .828 .001 .119 .459 .761

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

PDSV Pearson Correlation -.283(**) .035 -.308(**) -.217(**) .135 .334(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .669 .000 .008 .102 .000

N 149 149 149 149 149 149

C1SV Pearson Correlation -.052 .117 .198(*) -.261(**) -.132

Sig. (2-tailed) .532 .157 .016 .001 .109

N 149 149 149 149 149

HOSV Pearson Correlation .117 .231(**) -.074 -.243(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .156 .005 .373 .003

N 149 149 149 149

POSV Pearson Correlation .133 -.201(*) -.072

Sig. (2-tailed) .107 .014 .385

N 149 149 149

C2SV Pearson Correlation -.044 -.164(*)

Sig. (2-tailed) .597 .045

N 149 149

GESV Pearson Correlation .055


N 149



203

With regard to societal practice, Table 55 shows a number of significant correlations

between these dimensions. UASV is positively correlated with POSV, FOSV, HOSV,

C1SV, and C2SV and negatively correlated with PDSV and GESV. FOSV has a

positive correlation with POSV and C1SV while it has a negative correlation with

PDSV. Also, PDSV is negatively correlated with C1SV, C2SV and POSV and

positively correlated with ASV. In addition, C1SV is positively correlated with C2SV

and negatively correlated with GESP. Furthermore, HOSP is positively correlated with

C2SP and POSP while C2SP is negatively correlated with GESP. Moreover, HOSV is

positively correlated with C2SV and negatively with ASV. Finally, POSV is negatively

correlated with GESV and C2SV is also negatively correlated ASV.

Table 56: Correlation between cultural dimensions of organizational practice

UAOP FOOP PDOP C1OP HOOP POOP C2OP GEOP

UAOP Pearson Correlation

.363(**) -.291(**) .266(**) .436(**) .538(**) .420(**) -.048

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .001 .000 .000 .000 .577

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 140

FOOP Pearson Correlation -.410(**) .420(**) .317(**) .585(**) .547(**) .013

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .878

N 141 141 141 141 141 140

PDOP Pearson Correlation -.356(**) -.379(**) -.578(**) -.467(**) .096

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .260

N 141 141 141 141 140

C1OP Pearson Correlation .379(**) .429(**) .466(**) -.006

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .939

N 141 141 141 140

HOOP Pearson Correlation .546(**) .473(**) -.088

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .302

N 141 141 140

POOP Pearson Correlation .641(**) -.117

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .168

N 141 140

C2OP Pearson Correlation -.058


N 140


As can be seen from Table 56, there are a number of significant correlations between

these dimensions. UAOP is correlated with all other organizational culture practice

dimensions except GEOP. It is positively correlated with POOP, HOOP, C1OP, C2OP

204

and FOOP while negatively correlated with PDOP. Also, FOOP has a positive

correlation with POOP, C2OP, C1OP, and HOOP and a negative correlation with

PDOP. In addition, PDOP is negatively correlated with C1OP, HOOP, C2OP, and

POOP. Furthermore, C1OP has a positive correlation with C2OP, POOP, and HOOP

while HOOP has a positive correlation with POOP and C2OP. Finally, POOP has a

strong positive correlation with C2OP.

Table 57: Correlation between cultural dimensions of organizational value

UAOV FOOV PDOV C1OV HOOV POOV C2OV GEOV AOV

UAOV Pearson Correlation

.207(*) -.253(**) .164 .264(**) .249(**) .242(**) .069 .033

Sig. (2-tailed) .014 .002 .053 .002 .003 .004 .418 .695

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 140 141

FOOV Pearson Correlation -.486(**) .009 .007 .543(**) .413(**) .068 .254(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .919 .930 .000 .000 .426 .002

N 141 141 141 141 141 140 141

PDOV Pearson Correlation -.083 -.154 -.599(**) -.356(**) -.058 -.435(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .329 .068 .000 .000 .493 .000

N 141 141 141 141 140 141

C1OV Pearson Correlation

-.034 .035 .111 -.159 -.057

Sig. (2-tailed) .686 .677 .191 .061 .505

N 141 141 141 140 141

HOOV Pearson Correlation .198(*) .078 .016 .002

Sig. (2-tailed) .018 .359 .849 .977

N 141 141 140 141

POOV Pearson Correlation .454(**) .051 .284(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .546 .001

N 141 140 141

C2OV Pearson Correlation .026 .302(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .758 .000

N 140 141

GEOV Pearson Correlation

.016




As indicated by Table 57, there a significant positive correlation between UAOV

with HOOP, POOV, C2OV, and FOOV while it has a negative correlation with PDOP.

Also, FOOV is positively correlated with POOV, C2OV, and AOV while it is

negatively correlated with PDOV. Additionally, PDOV is negatively correlated with

205

C2OV, AOV, and POOV. Finally, there is a positive correlation between HOOV and

POOV, POOV and C2OVand AOV, and C2OV and AOV.

To conclude, the results have shown that many of the societal and organizational

cultural dimensions at the level of practice and the level of value have significant

correlations between each other, either negatively or positively. This conclusion means

that cultural dimensions are not working in isolation from one another but there

interactions between them to some extent. However, the type of interaction and how

strong they are need to be studied and tested further in more than one society as the

results may fluctuate from one society to another society. Such studies may provide a

clearer and more understandable view concerning such a relationship.

6.6: Managers and Employees

In this section, the study will try to answer Question 3 from Area One, which is:

Are there any differences in viewing the cultural dimensions of the Omani


A hypothesis was proposed as an assumed answer, which was:

There will be no significant differences between managers and employees

with regard to the cultural dimensions of Omani cultural preferences.

To answer the above question, the researcher first did a Levene test to determine the

homogeneous distribution among dimension for each part of the two parts of societal

and organizational cultures. Then a one way ANOVA test was applied to discover

whether there are any differences between managers and employees with regard to both

cultures.

206

Table 58: Levene test of homogeneity of variances (organization practice)

Levene Statistic df1 df2 Sig.

UAOP .644 1 136 .424

FOOP .075 1 136 .784

PDOP .079 1 136 .779

C1OP .516 1 136 .474

HOOP 1.110 1 136 .294

POOP .057 1 136 .812

C2OP 1.335 1 136 .250

GEOP .482 1 135 .489

AOP 2.930 1 136 .089

Based on the Levene test, as shown in Table 58 (above), all dimensions of

organizational culture have a homogeneous distribution because the sig. value is greater

than 0.05. This means that there is a strong and significant homogeneity of data between

all dimensions, without any exception.

Through the ANOVA test that is shown in Table 54 (below), it can be seen that the

p-value is higher than the value of Alpha 0.05. This indicates that there is no

significance to the null hypothesis which says that there is a difference between the

views of managers and employees on any dimension of organizational culture practice.

Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. The

alternative hypothesis states that there is no difference between the opinions of

managers and the views of staff about all dimensions of organizational culture practice.

207

Table 59: ANOVA test (organizational practice)

Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.

UAOP Between Groups

.460 1 .460 .358 .551

Within Groups 174.597 136 1.284

Total 175.057 137

FOOP Between Groups

1.666 1 1.666 1.040 .310

Within Groups 217.961 136 1.603

Total 219.627 137

PDOP Between Groups

.612 1 .612 .358 .551

Within Groups 232.486 136 1.709

Total 233.098 137

C1OP Between Groups

1.643 1 1.643 1.550 .215

Within Groups 144.122 136 1.060

Total 145.765 137

HOOP Between Groups

1.582 1 1.582 2.027 .157

Within Groups 106.145 136 .780

Total 107.726 137

POOP Between Groups

4.479 1 4.479 3.040 .083

Within Groups 200.397 136 1.474

Total 204.876 137

C2OP Between Groups

3.246 1 3.246 2.737 .100

Within Groups 161.315 136 1.186

Total 164.561 137

GEOP Between Groups

.935 1 .935 1.174 .281


Total 108.470 136

AOP Between Groups

1.342 1 1.342 1.486 .225


Total 124.162 137

H0: is there a significant difference among Manager / employee on each organization

culture dimensions (practice)

H1: there is not a significant difference among Manager / employee on each

organization culture dimensions (practice)

208

Table 60: Levene test of homogeneity of variances (organization value)


UAOV 1.538 1 136 .217

FOOV .016 1 136 .899

PDOV 3.618 1 136 .059

C1OV 7.211 1 136 .008

HOOV 1.870 1 136 .174

POOV .816 1 136 .368

C2OV .434 1 136 .511

GEOV 2.056 1 135 .154

AOV 7.113 1 136 .009

Based on the Levene test, as shown in Table 60, all dimensions of organizational

culture value have a homogeneous distribution because the p-values of eight out of nine

dimensions are greater than 0.05. This means that there is a strong significant

homogeneity of data, although the AOV indicates that the value of the sig. at 0.009 is

smaller than 0.05, so it will not hold for any test of this factor.

Through the ANOVA test, see Table 61 (below), it can be seen that the p-value is

higher than the value of Alpha 0.05. This indicates that there is no significance to accept

the null hypothesis that says that there is a difference between the views of managers

and employees on all factors. Therefore the null hypothesis is rejected and the

alternative hypothesis, which emphasizes that there is no difference between mangers‘

and employees‘ opinions about all factors of the organizational culture value, will be

accepted.

209

Table 61: ANOVA test (organizational value)


UAOV Between Groups

.007 1 .007 .008 .927

Within Groups

113.166 136 .832

Total

113.174 137

FOOV Between Groups

.259 1 .259 .286 .593

Within Groups

123.092 136 .905

Total

123.351 137

PDOV Between Groups

.350 1 .350 .259 .612

Within Groups

184.272 136 1.355

Total

184.622 137

C1OV Between Groups

1.584 1 1.584 1.801 .182

Within Groups

119.582 136 .879

Total

121.166 137

HOOV Between Groups

.098 1 .098 .171 .680

Within Groups

77.998 136 .574

Total

78.096 137

POOV Between Groups

.000 1 .000 .000 .989

Within Groups

121.582 136 .894

Total

121.583 137

C2OV Between Groups

1.010 1 1.010 1.054 .306

Within Groups

130.273 136 .958

Total

131.283 137

GEOV Between Groups

.097 1 .097 .118 .732

Within Groups

111.035 135 .822

Total

111.131 136

H0: is there a significant difference among Manager / employee on each organization

culture dimensions (value)

H1: there is not a significant difference among Manager / employee on each

organization culture dimensions (value)

221

Table 62: Levene test of homogeneity of variances (societal culture practice)


UASP .973 1 141 .326

FOSP .054 1 141 .816

PDSP 1.033 1 141 .311

C1SP .450 1 141 .503

HOSP .001 1 141 .975

POSP 5.242 1 141 .024

C2SP .754 1 141 .387

GESP .306 1 141 .581

ASP .473 1 141 .493

Table 6.28 Levene test of homogeneity of variances (societal culture practice)

Dimensions of societal culture practice, as noted from Table 62, have a

homogeneous distribution because the p-value of all dimensions is greater than 0.05.

This means that there is a strong significant homogeneity of data, except for POSP

which indicates a value of the sig. to 0.024, smaller than the 0.05. Therefore, POSP will

not be tested.

220

Table 63: ANOVA test (societal practice)


UASP Between Groups

.113 1 .113 .117 .733

Within Groups

136.497 141 .968

Total 136.610 142

FOSP Between Groups

.908 1 .908 .822 .366

Within Groups

155.708 141 1.104

Total 156.616 142

PDSP Between Groups

.000 1 .000 .000 .993

Within Groups

162.165 141 1.150

Total 162.165 142

C1SP Between Groups

.030 1 .030 .037 .847

Within Groups

110.951 141 .787

Total 110.981 142

HOSP Between Groups

.005 1 .005 .009 .927

Within Groups

86.894 141 .616

Total 86.899 142

C2SP Between Groups

.035 1 .035 .060 .806

Within Groups

81.700 141 .579

Total 81.735 142

GESP Between Groups

.037 1 .037 .073 .788

Within Groups

71.361 141 .506

Total 71.398 142

ASP Between Groups

.002 1 .002 .002 .960

Within Groups

119.713 141 .849

Total 119.715 142

H0: is there a significant difference among Manager / employee on each societal


H1: there is not a significant difference among Manager / employee on each societal


Through the ANOVA test shown in Table 63, it can be seen that the p-value is higher

than the value of Sig. 0.05. This indicates that there is no significance to accept the null

hypothesis that says there is a difference between the views of managers and employees

on all factors of societal culture practice. Therefore, the null hypothesis will be rejected

(H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1) will be accepted. H1 emphasizes that there is no

difference between their opinions on dimensions of societal culture practice.

222

Table 64: Levene test of homogeneity of variances (societal culture value)


UASV 1.241 1 141 .267

FOSV 1.061 1 141 .305

PDSV .235 1 141 .629

C1SV .000 1 141 .986

HOSV .001 1 141 .977

POSV 1.751 1 141 .188

C2SV .011 1 141 .917

GESV .164 1 141 .687

ASV 1.386 1 141 .241

Table 64 indicates that all dimensions of Societal culture value have a homogeneous

distribution because the p-values of all dimensions are greater than 0.05. This means

that there is a strong indication of significant data on the homogeneity of all dimensions.

The ANOVA test, which is shown in table 65 below, indicates that the p-value is

higher than the value of sig. 0.05. for seven out of nine dimensions. For these seven

dimensions, there is no significance to accept the null hypothesis that says that there is a

difference between the views of managers and employees. However, the FOSV and

HOSV dimensions scored a lower p- value which is 0.043 and 0.041, respectively. In

other words, there is a difference of opinion between managers and employees about

these two factors.

To conclude, the one way ANOVA test shows clearly that there are no significant

differences between managers and employees' opinions in regards to 34 out of 36

cultural dimensions. This result is consistent with our hypothesis (hypothesis 4) except

for FOSV and HOSV dimensions which have shown some significant differences

between managers‘ and employees‘ answers. However, this result might need further

research to confirm or reject the findings.

223

Table 65: ANOVA test (societal value)


UASV Between Groups

.081 1 .081 .141 .708

Within Groups

80.583 141 .572

Total 80.663 142

FOSV Between Groups

4.062 1 4.062 4.176 .043

Within Groups

137.136 141 .973

Total 141.198 142

PDSV Between Groups

.124 1 .124 .125 .724

Within Groups

140.369 141 .996

Total 140.494 142

C1SV Between Groups

.005 1 .005 .007 .933

Within Groups

94.418 141 .670

Total 94.422 142

HOSV Between Groups

2.644 1 2.644 4.247 .041

Within Groups

87.782 141 .623

Total 90.426 142

POSV Between Groups

.011 1 .011 .021 .885

Within Groups

71.195 141 .505

Total 71.205 142

C2SV Between Groups

1.355 1 1.355 1.383 .242

Within Groups

138.177 141 .980

Total 139.532 142

GESV Between Groups

2.734 1 2.734 2.692 .103

Within Groups

143.208 141 1.016

Total 145.942 142

ASV Between Groups

.113 1 .113 .093 .761

Within Groups

171.122 141 1.214

Total 171.235 142

H0: is there a significant difference among Manager / employee on each societal


H1: there is not a significant difference among Manager / employee on each societal


224

6.7 Conclusion

In this chapter, the thesis has provided a comprehensive description, analyses, and

discussion about societal and organizational culture in Oman. The quantitative results

for both cultures at practice and value levels was analysed deeply and supported by

qualitative method (interviews) to give a clearer picture. Then the final result was

compared with the main GLOBE study results in general and those for the Middle

Eastern cluster in particular.

At the end of the chapter, the relationship between the results of Omani cultural

dimensions and GLOBE dimensions was tested using a T-test. Also, the answers of

managers on one side and the answers of employees on the other were compared using a

one way ANOVA test.

In the next chapter, the study will highlight the main results of critical success factors

of employment equity. It will also indicate the kind of correlation between societal and

organizational culture on one hand and employment equity on the other.

225

Chapter seven

Study result (2):

Employment Equity in Oman (Analysis and Discussion)

7.0 Introduction

This chapter will address two fundamental parts of the study. The first of these covers

the results for critical success factors in applying employment equity programmes and

policies, while the second part will present the correlation between cultural dimensions

and these success factors. As in Chapter 6, in this chapter the study will describe,

analyse, and discuss and the result in these two areas. As discussed in Chapter 2, there

are seven critical factors behind a successful implementation of equity in employment:

providing clear equal opportunities policy (CEOP), providing leadership and

organizational support (LOS), eliminating corruption (EC), having a supportive social

system (SSS), eliminating negative effect of stereotype, prejudice, and demographic

role (ESPDR), enhancing positive psychological climate (PPC), and eliminating wasta

(EW). For the purpose of this study, the researcher has established certain objectives

which are related to these factors. These are:

1. To identify the main critical factors that contribute to or detract from

employment equity.

2. To assess the most applicable employment equity programme for the Omani

public sector out of the three well-known programmes (merit based

programme, quota based programme, or diversity based programme) which

have been implemented in western countries, from the perspective of Omani

employees.

3. To explore the extent of influences that other additional elements may have

on enhancing the effective adopting of equal employment policies and

programmes in the Omani public sector.

A set of questions was established to explore these objectives, as set out in Section

5.3:

Area Two:

5. What are the critical success factors behind the adoption of EE?

6. To what extent are the critical success factors behind the adoption of EE

applied in the Omani public sector?

226

8. To what extent could other additional elements enhance the effective

adoption of equal employment policies and programmes in the Omani public

sector?

These were then followed by the following hypotheses (section 5.4.1, set two):

5. The Omani public sector will score LOWER in its readiness in respect of the


6. Critical success factors towards effective EE will be positively correlated

with each other.

7. None of the three western EE programmes will be fully suitable to fulfil the

need for solid EE policies and practices in the Omani public sector.

8. There will be a strong opinion among Omani employees in the public sector

regarding the need for equity in employment.

With regard to the relationship between these critical factors and cultural dimensions

for societal and organizational culture, the researcher set the following objective:

To identify and investigate the relationship between cultural dimensions and

the critical success factors that contribute to employment equity.

This objective was followed by the following questions:

A further set of questions was established to explore these objectives, again as set out

in Section 5.3:

Area Three:

9. What kind of relationship exists between societal and organizational culture

(Area One); and the critical success factors in respect of the adoption of EE

(Area Two)?

10. What remedies can be implemented to terminate the current employment

discrimination and encourage positive cultural influences in this respect?

These questions were then followed by the following hypotheses 9 and 10, as set out

in Section 5.4.1 and Tables 22 and 23). For convenience, the hypotheses and their sub-

divisions are repeated below.

227

9. In terms of practice, the critical success factors in respect of the adoption of

EE will be negatively correlated (low–high) with the following cultural


in-group collectiveness, and human orientation. A positive correlation (low–

low) will appear with the other four cultural dimensions: gender




Hypothesis Cultural Dimension Practice EE Correlation

9.a uncertainty avoidance High Low Negative

9.b power distance High Low Negative

9.c societal collectivism High Low Negative

9.d in-group collectivism High Low Negative

9.e human orientation High Low Negative

9.f gender egalitarianism Low Low Positive

9.g Assertiveness Low Low Positive

9.h future orientation Low Low Positive

9.i performance orientation Low Low Positive

10. In terms of values, the critical success factors in respect of the adoption of EE

will be negatively correlated (high-low) with the following cultural


in-group collectiveness, and human orientation, while a positive correlation

(high–high) will appear with the other four cultural dimensions: gender



228


Hypothesis Cultural Dimension Values EE Correlation

10.a uncertainty avoidance Low High Negative

10.b power distance Low High Negative

10.c societal collectivism Low High Negative

10.d in-group collectivism Low High Negative

10.e human orientation Low High Negative

10.f gender egalitarianism High High Positive

10.g Assertiveness High High Positive

10.h future orientation High High Positive

10.i performance orientation High High Positive

7.1 Employment Equity in the Omani Public Sector

Within the study questionnaire, employment equity has two parts. The first part asks

about how things are (actual practices) with regard to EE in the Omani public sector (As

Is). The second part asks about how things should be (ideal situation) in terms of

securing employment equity (Should Be). These two parts were assessed by using a

five-point Likert scale. Participants were asked to indicate the degree of their agreement

with each item by circling the appropriate number, with all statements ranging from 1,

‗strongly disagree‘ to 5, ‗strongly agree‘. The measurement which this study will use to

assess the degree of effectiveness of each EE factor in the Omani public sector is a

calculation of the grand mean of the number of items which assess that factor and

comparison of it with the following format:

1 2 3 4 5

Low Slightly low Moderate Slightly

high High

As in the previous chapter, the researcher, to avoid repetition, will state only the

items that are related to employment equity actual practice, the ‗As Is‘ part. The EE

‗Should Be‘ component will be discussed only by highlighting the grand mean for each

229

factor, then comparing the result of As Is and Should Be to discover the differences

between the two scores for each critical factor.

7.1.1 Providing clear equal opportunities policy (CEOP)

This factor was suggested to assess the level of participants‘ satisfaction with regard to

the current general equity regulations and process, either as a citizen in general or as an

employee in particular. CEOP at practices level (As Is) was measured by four items

(Q2: 1, Q2: 2, Q2: 4, and Q2: 5). These items are as follows:

Table 66: Providing clear equal opportunities policy (CEOP)

Statement

Strongly

disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3) Agree (4)

Strongly

agree (5) Mean SD

Citizens are receiving equal

opportunities in education and

training which provide them

equal chance when applying

for a job.

11.4 24.8 14.8 30.0 19.0 3.20 1.314

In this organization, there is a

separate policy for

employment equity which

cover most explicit and implicit

aspects of employment

discrimination.

9.5 28.5 32.0 25.0 4.9 2.87 1.049

In this organization, most

employees are aware of their

rights at work.

9.4 31.1 22.7 29.4 7.3 2.94 1.130

In this organization, the law

provides employees with a

clear path to appeal against

any kind of unfair

discrimination in employment.

6.9 23.4 26.6 29.0 14.1 3.20 1.153

As shown in Table 66, 49% of respondents believe that Omani citizens are receiving

equal opportunities in education and training which provide them with an equal chance

when applying for a job, while 35.2% disagree with such a statement and 14.8% are

neutral. At the same time, 38% of them disagree that their organization has a separate

policy for employment equity while 29.9% believe that they do and 32% were neutral.

With regard to employees‘ awareness of their rights in the workplace, 40.5% do not

agree that employees are aware while 36.7% believe the opposite and 22.7% are neutral.

Finally, 43.1% of respondents believe that organizational regulations provide employees

231

with a clear path to appeal against any kind of unfair employment discrimination while

30.3% do not agree with that statement and 26.6% are neutral.

In general, it seems that there is a certain degree of acceptance of the current

available employment equity regulations. The grand mean for CEOP–As Is was 3.0595,

which is a moderate level according to the format followed. However, the grand mean

of CEOP–Should Be scored 4.6851(slightly high), showing that employees are seeking

for even tighter and more solid regulation.

Most of the interviewees supported such a conclusion. For example one of them

stated:

From my point of view, I think the government has done quite hard work in

the last few years to ensure employment equity in the Omani public sector.

There are clear statements which emphasize equity in most of our employment

regulations. However, these separate articles are still in need of more

improvement and some amendments. They also need to be organized as one

set policy which brings all these legal materials together as a separate

document which might be called an Employment Equity Policy. (N 11)

Another interviewee pointed out that not all employees are aware of their rights in

the workplace, and this depends on their educational level. He stated that:

While some employees are aware of their rights in the workplace, others are

not. I would say it is unlikely for employees whom hold low level job

categories to be fully aware of these rights. Their jobs require no more than a

secondary school certificate and other jobs require even less than that. So it is

the duty of human resources department to ensure such awareness. (N3)

To conclude, although most participants believe that the current EE policies and

regulations are acceptable to some extent, they also agree that more enforcement for

some regulations and amendment of others are needed. This will enhance the whole

situation of EE in the public sector as negative discrimination has more than one face

and it can readily be produced in different ways.

7.1.2 Providing leadership and organizational support (LOS)

The second factor contributing to successful EE is the continuous support that EE

policies and procedures receive from of leadership and senior managerial levels. This

factor in current practice (LOS–As Is) was measured by four items (Q2: 6, Q2: 7, Q2: 8,

and Q2: 9), as shown in Table 67.

230

Table 67: Statements assessing providing leadership and organizational support

(LOS)

Statement

Strongly

disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongly

agree (5) Mean SD

In this organization, equity in

employment is supported by

leadership and top

management.

8.3 24.3 27.8 29.5 10.1 3.09 1.127

In this organization,

employees’ production is more

important than the number of

hours they spend at work.

17.3 27.3 20.1 26.3 9.0 2.82 1.250

In this organization,

employment practices and

decision making process are

regularly audited by a legal

department to ensure equity

among employees.

19.1 27.1 33.3 16.0 4.5 2.60 1.103

In this organization, HR

employees are well-trained to

ensure employment equity in

most administrative

procedures and decisions.

14.9 34.0 32.3 14.9 3.8 2.59 1.036

Table 67 indicates that 39.6% of respondents believe that employment equity is

supported by leadership and management, while 32.6% believe the opposite and 27.8%

are neutral. In addition, almost half of respondents (44.6%) think that their organization

appreciates the number of spent hours at work more than employees‘ productivity,

while 35.3% of them believe the opposite and 20.1% are neutral. Furthermore, although

33.3% of the respondents are neutral with regard to regularity of employment practice

and decision making process audit by the legal department, nevertheless a higher

percentage of respondents (46.2%) disagree with this statement. With regard to

providing well-trained HR employees within the organization to ensure equity among

administrative procedures and decisions, 48.9% of the respondents do not believe that

HR employees are well-trained.

Generally, the grand mean was 2.7761, which means that the current practice of LOS

is slightly low within the Omani public sector. The result of LOS at the level of value

(Should Be) supports such a result as its grand mean scored 4.5796. This score shows a

clear desire among participants for more leadership and organizational support towards

EE.

232

All interviewees asserted that top level management should play a greater role in

assuring EE in their organizations.

Although it is important to provide legal articles and regulations to assure

equity within the employment process, however, continuous auditing by the

legal department will ensure the correct implementation of these regulations. I

think an official should be assigned and authorized by the minister himself to

handle such a complicated task. Besides, this authorization will also show real

support from top management towards EE. (N12)

In addition, more than one interviewee referred to the importance of training in such

a procedure. For example:

Regular training, especially for HR employees, will enhance them in better

understanding and applying EE regulations. (N3 and N9)

Another interviewee stated that:

As the saying goes ‗If you do not have it you cannot give it‘. If we are really

interested in professional implementation for EE then training is a must. (N5)

To conclude, the results for both quantitative and qualitative methods show that

current leadership and organizational support for EE is below the average. Public sector

organizations in Oman, through their managers and top management, need to show

more serious effort towards EE in a way that satisfies their employees.

7.1.3 Eliminating corruption (EC)

EC is the third critical factor which aims to assess the degree of employment corruption

within public sector organizations. Corrupt acts were defined as ‗violations of non-

discrimination norms governing the behaviour of holders of public office that are

motivated by private gain‘ (Kurer, 2005: 230). This factor was measured by three items

(Q2: 10, Q2: 11, and Q2: 12) and the first two items were reverse coded. The items are

as shown in Table 68.

233

Table 68: Eliminating corruption (EC)

Statement

Strongly

disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongly

agree

(5)

Mean SD

In this organization, employees tend to

use their functional status to gain

personal, financial, or societal benefits.

(recoded)

10.3 17.2 22.1 34.8 15.5 2.72 1.217

In this organization, mutual interests

play a vital role in managerial

decisions and practices. (recoded)

7.0 16.2 21.5 37.7 17.6 2.57 1.161

In this organization, honesty and

transparency are the main elements in

the decision making process.

8.0 30.7 28.2 25.8 7.3 2.94 1.085

As Table 68 indicates, more than half of the respondents (50.3%) believe that

employees tend to use their functional status to gains personal, financial, or societal

benefits, while 22.1% are neutral. Also, while 21.5% are neutral, 55.3% agree that

mutual interests play a vital role in managerial decisions and practices within their

organizations. In addition, 38.7% of respondents disagree that honesty and transparency

are the main elements in the decision making process, while 33.1% of them agree with

this statement and 28.2% are neutral.

However, the grand mean for EC in actual practice (As Is) was 2.7402, which can be

described as slightly low. From the above answers, it seems that the working

environment enables employees to take advantage of their positions and allows mutual

interests to affect decisions. Therefore, it is not a surprise that EC in Should Be practice

scored a grand mean of 4.4083. This clearly shows the dissatisfaction of participants

with the current situation and their high desire to eliminate workplace corruption.

In a similar vein, interviewees expressed their rejection of employee corruption

under any circumstances; however, some of them they did not look at some behaviours

as corruption, but as a part of normal social behaviour or respect. One interviewee

mentioned that:

Mojamalah (courtesy) is not corruption; it is a societal attitude which people

sometimes tend to use because they highly respect the one who asked the

favour. If we want to stop all kinds of Mojamalah then we should concentrate

on related societal concepts in the beginning. (N1)

On the other hand, when one interviewee was asked about Mojamalah and if

management should be blamed for such behaviour or if it should be seen as an

acceptable attitude, he stated that:

234

Employees themselves bear part of the responsibility for any unacceptable

behaviour such as Mojamalah as we are all entrusted with what we decide on

our jobs. However, management should be blamed as well. In my opinion

Mojamalah should not occur in the first place in governmental organizations

and action should be taken immediately against those doing so. (N7)

Furthermore, most interviewees agreed that transparency is a vital element in

limiting employment corruption. For example, an interviewee stated that:

The lack of transparency in decision making opens a wide door for corruption.

Therefore, it is important that transparency becomes an approach to

management so employees will know that every step they take is seen and

judged. (N2)

In general, the situation here is similar to the previous factor. The level of effort that

public sector organizations are offering is below employees‘ requirement. Transparency

in the decision-making process and seriousness in eliminating corruption in the

workplace are urgently needed to gain employees‘ trust.

7.1.4 Social system support (SSS)

Social system refers to ‗the behavior of multiple individuals within a culturally

organized population, including their patterns of social interaction and networks of

social relationships‘ (Rohner, 1984: 127). Because in many cases SS became part of

unfair employment discrimination, it is important to encourage positive social behaviour

and image for employment equity. SSS was assessed here by three questions (Q2: 3,

Q2: 15, and Q2: 20) and the last two questions were reversed coded. The questions and

responses are shown in Table 69.

235

Table 69: Social system support (SSS)

Statement

Strongly

disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongly

agree (5) Mean SD

In this organization, most employees

are treated equally at any stage of

employment regardless of their

gender, origin, tribes, or colour.

16.8 28.3 14.7 24.5 15.7 2.94 1.353

In this organization, social status,

kinship, and tribal affiliation (non-job

criteria), play a significant role in most

administrative procedures and

decisions (recoded)

7.6 18.0 23.9 33.6 17.0 2.66 1.177

In this organization, management

believes that family role and social

traditions affect negatively

performance of females’ employees

more than males. (recoded)

3.5 20.6 28.9 34.5 12.5 2.68 1.045

As Table 69 shows, 44.5% of respondents do not believe that employees receive

equal treatment while 39.6% believe that employees are treated equally regardless of

their gender, origin, tribe, or colour, and 14.5% are neutral. In terms of the role that non-

job criteria such as societal status, kinship, and tribal affiliation play in most

administrative procedures and decisions, most respondents (40.6%) believe that it plays

a significant role while 23.6% of them are neutral. In addition, almost half of

respondents (47%) agree that management believes that family role and social traditions

negatively affect the performance of female employees more than males, while 28.9%

of them were neutral.

The grand mean of SSS at the current practice level (As Is) was 2.7534 (slightly

low). This result means that the social system in Omani society is not enhancing EE as

much as it should be. Therefore, the grand mean of SSS at (Should Be) level scored

4.0681, which is much higher than it is at As Is level. This also indicates a higher desire

among participants to eliminate the negative impact of the social system in the

environment of the workplace.

When interviewees were asked about certain societal terms such as Qabaliah

(tribalism) and Mashyaka (tribe chiefdom), they all admitted the impact of these terms

on management decisions to some extent as they are part of the fabric of Omani society.

An interviewee mentioned that:

236

Omani society still needs quite a long time to get rid of Qabaliah impacts. For

example it has been known that the level of belonging and convergence is

higher among employees from the same tribe. Thus, management is trying to

avoid putting two or more employees from one tribe in the same department.

(N9)

Another interviewee stated that:

For employees, to be a Shaik (tribe leader) means to have a greater chance for

functional promotion and managerial position. It is unfair but it is also true.

Being a leader in the society gives that employee an advantage to be a leader

in governmental organizations as well, even if that conflicts with the principle

of efficiency. (N4)

With regard to family role, interviewees agreed that Omani society still holds a

particular image about gender role and that such an image affects many administrative

decisions in the organization. An interviewee mentioned that:

Despite the fact that lifestyle for Omani families has dramatically changed

during the last few years, however, Omani society still holds almost the same

view with regard to male and females duties within the family. This particular

image affects females more than males as the female role is to take care of the

children and do most of the in-house duties while the male tackles the

financial part. That is why management takes into consideration the impact of

such an image on its administrative decisions. (N9).

In general, as with the last two factors, the situation is the same regarding the level of

support EE receives from the Omani social system. Participants believe that the social

system is not providing the support that it should. This shortfall in enhancing EE

through the social system might need to be looked at and dealt with from both sides of

the equation, Omani government and society, by establishing an awareness campaign

with regard to the importance of EE.

7.1.5 Eliminating the negative impact of Stereotype, prejudice and demographic role (ESPDR)

Stereotypes are defined as ‗beliefs about particular social group‘ (Goldman et al., 2006:

795). This factor was measured by for items (Q2: 16, Q2: 17, Q2: 18, and Q2: 19) and

three of them were reverse coded. These items are as shown in Table 70.

237

Table 70: Eliminating the negative impact of stereotype, prejudice and

demographic role (ESPDR)

Statement

Strongly

disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongl

y agree

(5)

Mean SD

In this organization, there is a belief

that females are less productive than

males. (recoded)

20.5 37.2 21.2 17.7 3.5 3.53 1.107

In this organization, there is a belief

that disabled persons and older

workers are less productive than

other employees. (recoded)

8.7 32.5 28.7 25.6 4.5 3.15 1.043

In this organization, the decision

making process and management

practices are devoid of prejudice.

6.0 17.3 27.9 32.2 16.6 3.36 1.129

In the public sector, there is a belief

that men are more capable to handle

managerial positions than women,

while women are willing more to do

nursing and teaching. (recoded)

3.5 13.2 16.7 37.5 29.2 2.24 1.115

As table 70 indicates, most respondents (57.7%) reject the proposal that there is a

belief in their organization that females are less productive than males, while 21.2% are

neutral. Also, 41.2% disagree with the statement that there is a belief in their

organization that disabled persons and older workers are less productive than other

employees while 28.7% are neutral. In addition, 48.8% of respondents agree that

decision making and management practices are devoid of prejudice, while 27.9% are

neutral. However, the largest percentage (66.7%) of them agree that there is a belief in

the public sector that men are more capable of handling managerial positions than

women, while women are willing more to do nursing and teaching.

In general, the grand mean of SPDR at the current practice level (As Is) was 3.0773,

which puts it at a moderate level. This might be because females have been empowered

by the government during the last few years in the Omani public sector. However,

despite this empowerment, there is still a belief that males are more capable than

females of handling certain jobs according, as shown in the last statement. Therefore,

the grand mean of SPDR at Should Be level scores higher (4.1113) than it does at As Is

level. These two scores indicate a strong desire among participants to reduce the

negative impact of stereotype, prejudice and demographic role within the Omani public

sector.

One interviewee referred to the social term Hareem which refers to women and is

widely used in Oman and most of the Arab world. The word Hareem comes from

Haram, which means forbidden. He stated that:

238

Omani society is still conservative in most of women's affairs. The

government has put quite a good effort during recent years into providing

females with great opportunities in most public sector organizations. Despite

this empowerment, women are still called ‗Hareem‘ and this shows how much

the community the Omani society is trying to separate males and females from

each other and putting women in restricted areas where men are not allowed

access. (N8)

Another interviewee referred to an Islamic term Qawamah (stewardship) and how

this Islamic view affects some administrative decisions, especially when it comes to

nomination for most leadership positions. He mentioned that:

To some extent, I think preferring male employees for leadership positions

more than females comes from a religious perspective. As Muslims, we all

know that Islam gives Qawamah (stewardship) to men not women in the

whole of life. (N9)

When interviewees were asked about government efforts with regard to gender

equity, all showed high appreciation for what has been done so far. For example, one

interviewee mentioned that:

Omani government from its top level has always supported females by

appointing them in many leadership positions such as minister and

ambassadors. (N6)

In addition, although a higher percentage of questionnaire participants (48.8%)

believe that administrative decisions are free of prejudice, an interviewee raised a valid

point with regard to this matter in the case of functional promotion. He stated that:

Most employment regulations support equity among employees. Nevertheless,

committees every now and then exclude some groups such as black people and

females especially from functional promotion because of their colour or

gender. It is unfair but because there are no clear steps or rules for functional

promotion, so committee members depend on their personal opinion which

mostly depends on prejudice to these groups. (N10)

To conclude, the situation with the success factor ‗eliminating the negative impact of

stereotype, prejudice and demographic role‘ is similar to that for previous factors of EE.

Participants demonstrated a need for greater effort towards eliminating the negative

impact of these personal or functional issues. Indeed, serious effort towards a positive

effect needs a collective effort from employees themselves, government, and society.

Making use of media and online social networks might be a possible solution to

coordinating such efforts.

239

7.1.6 Enhancing Positive Psychological Climate (EPPC)

Brown and Leigh (1996: 359) define psychological climate as, ‗an individual rather than

an organizational attribute, measured in terms of perceptions that are psychologically

meaningful to the individual rather than in terms of concrete organizational features‘.

This factor was measured by four items: Q2: 21, Q2: 22, Q2: 23, and Q2: 24. These

items are shown in Table 71.

Table 71: Enhancing Positive Psychological Climate (EPPC)

Statement

Strongly

disagree

(1)

Disagree

(2)

Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strongl

y agree

(5)

Mean SD

In this organization, most employees

can express their ideas openly with

their supervisors.

9.4 27.2 22.6 32.1 8.7 3.03 1.149

In this organization, differences

between individuals are positively

recognized to better serve the

working environment.

5.2 25.3 32.3 32.6 4.5 3.06 0.984

In this organization, when an

employee does a good job, he/she

receives the praise and recognition

he/she deserve.

15.0 33.2 24.1 21.0 6.6 2.71 1.153

In this organization, management is

supporting team working among

employees.

2.4 15.3 25.0 44.8 12.5 3.50 0.977

As shown in Table 71, 40.8% of respondents believe that employees have the

required freedom of speech in their workplace and can express their ideas openly with

their supervisors, while 36.6% disagree with such a statement and 22.6% are neutral.

Also, 37.1% of them agree that in this organization, differences between individuals are

positively recognized to better serve the working environment, while 32.3% are neutral

and 30.5% disagree with this statement. With regard to motivation, the result shows a

high percentage of dissatisfaction among respondents concerning the current motivation

system as 48.2% of them believe that employees are not receiving the praise or

recognition that they deserve for a good job; 27.6% believe that they do receive this,

while 24.1% are neutral. In addition, 57.3% of respondents believe that team working

among employees is supported by management in their organizations, while 25% of

them are neutral and 17.7% disagree with such a statement.

In general, the grand mean for PPC at current practice level (As Is) was 3.0739,

which places it at a moderate level. However, the grand mean for PPC at Should Be

level was 4.4285, much higher than the As Is level. This result clearly indicates that

241

respondents desire a more free atmosphere in their place of work and have a need for

greater recognition for competencies and of differences, extra support for team working,

and a more effective motivation system from their organization.

With regard to the interviewees, most of them agreed that vital amendments need to

be made to the current motivation system to benefit most employees. For instance, one

interviewee stated that:

From my own point of view, I think public sector organizations as a whole

have obvious deficiencies in their applied motivation systems. Therefore, it is

time for a thorough revision of these systems from different perspectives to be

able to perform to the fullest. (N11)

Another interviewee believed that employees have more freedom of speech

nowadays and attributed the reasons behind this to the influence of change in Omani

life. He stated that:

Nowadays, there is an acceptable percentage of speech freedom either among

employees themselves or employees and their supervisors, especially with the

increased openness to the outside world, the new style of life and the existence

of new telecommunication tools which have provided a large opportunity for

speech freedom through a virtual space. (N4)

In addition, interviewees mentioned administrative efforts towards providing a

positive psychological climate during the working day of seven hours. For example, an

interviewee mentioned that:

There are serious attempts that administration departments have made to

enhance psychological climate among employees. For instance, they tried to

put the right employee in the right place and to provide a friendly environment

among employees by supporting teamwork and admitting individual

differences among employees. However, these attempts need to be reviewed

and evaluated to better serve the aims behind them. (N5)

In conclusion, despite the acceptable assessment of current practice, participants still

believe that more effort towards enhancing the positive psychological climate in the

workplace in needed. And although they are important, laws and regulations might not

be the best way to achieve such a goal. From the researcher‘s point of view, expanding

justice among employees by equal treatment will further enhance the psychological

climate in an emotional culture such as that of Oman. Also, concentrating on identifying

good behaviour and rewarding it might also be an effective management approach.

240

7.1.7 Eliminating Wasta (EW)

According to Whiteoak et al., wasta can be defined as:

…the degree to which an individual perceives a person‘s success as being

related to their ability to utilize connections with people, who are both able

and prepared to change the course of natural events on that person‘s behalf.

(Whiteoak et al., 2006: 81

This factor was assessed by three items (Q2: 13, Q2: 14, and Q2: 25) and the first two

items were reversed coded. These items are shown in Table 67.

Table 72: Eliminating wasta (EW)

Statement

Strongly

disagree

(1)

Disagree (2) Neutral

(3)

Agree

(4)

Strong

ly

agree

(5)

Mean SD

In this organization, officials do not

hesitate to favour relatives or friends

even if that may negatively affect

other citizens' interests. (recoded)

7.3 24.6 23.9 30.4 13.8 2.81 1.167

In most governmental departments,

the most effective way to follow-up

matters is through friends/relatives

working there. (recoded)

3.8 13.6 18.8 35.5 28.2 2.29 1.130

In this organization, most kinds of

wasta are strongly rejected. 25.6 29.1 27.0 12.1 6.2 2.44 1.175

As indicated by Table 72, a higher percentage of respondents (44.2%) believe that

officials in their organizations are using favouritism to benefit their relatives and

friends, even if such behaviour affects other citizens‘ interests, while 31.9% of them

disagree with such a statement and 23.9% were neutral. In addition, almost two third of

respondents (63.7%) believe that in most governmental departments, the most effective

way to follow-up matters is through friends/relatives working there. With regard to the

rejection of wasta within their organizations, most of respondents believe that wasta is

not rejected organizations while 27% of respondents were neutral.

As a grand mean, EW scored 2.5184 (slightly low), the smallest result among all

seven critical factors. Also, this result shows how the extent to which wasta plays a vital

role in employment procedures in the Omani public sector. Therefore, respondents

showed a strong desire towards eliminating wasta in their organizations, as shown by

the score for Should Be with a grand mean of 4.2163.

All interviewees showed the same desire with regard to eliminating the negative

impacts of wasta in the Omani public sector. For example, one interviewee stated that:

242

Wasta is the most negative behaviour which contradicts all employment equity

principles. How can justice be applied while some managers continue using

their authority to benefit a certain group of staff or relatives which they do not

deserve at the expense of other group of employees or citizens? In my opinion,

it is a shame. (N2)

Another interviewee added that:

Wasta is almost like a cancer. Therefore, it must be fought from the start

otherwise it will spread like wildfire in the whole organization. (N8)

Nevertheless, most interviewees admitted that wasta is part of Omani social

attributes. They expressed a belief that some kind of courtesy is needed in some cases.

For example, an interviewee stated that:

We are part of this society. Public sector organizations are part as well. Thus,

managers sometimes find themselves forced to favour some people who have

influence, either societal or functional, as this is part of the culture in Omani

society. Otherwise they will be socially isolated. (N12)

Furthermore, an interviewee referred to some false ideas in the Omani community,

stating that:

In Omani society, any employee with any kind of authority is required by his

relatives to favour them even at the expense of others. It is what so called his

societal duty towards his family and relatives. (N6)

At this point, it is obvious from the results for this factor that wasta is one of the

biggest problems that Arab culture, including Omani culture, is facing (see Chapter 3,

Section 3.7.7). To eliminate or minimize the negative impact of this phenomenon, as

required by the participants, all possible efforts from employees, government, and

society are needed. In fact, wasta has become a societal behaviour where its positive

impact has mixed with its negative impact and it is very hard to draw a clear line

between the two effects in many cases. Therefore, individual awareness here is more

significant than just a single regulation. Also, serious government attempts towards

equity in its citizens‘ lives in general, and in the treatment of public sector employees in

particular, are fundamental to dealing with such a powerful phenomenon.

To conclude, the above analysis has shown a significant result for all seven critical

success factors for employment equity (EE). As was hypothesized in Chapter 5

(methodology), all seven critical success factors have scored lower in the current

situation (As Is) than they have in the desired situation (Should Be) with a clear gap for

243

each. Table 73 indicates that participants still believe that the Omani public sector is in

real need of improvements in EE. Also from Table 73, it can be observed that the degree

of satisfaction among participants for the current situation is low for all EE factors

compared to the hoped-for situation. LOS, EC, SSS, and EW scored slightly low while

CEOP, ESPDR and PPC scored a moderate score for the current situation (As Is). It

might be argued that the last three factors have reached a moderate level at this time

because of the efforts to empower women, the establishment of the administrative court,

the effect of the internet, and openness to the rest of the world. However, all seven

factors scored above 4 (slightly high) in the desired situation, which makes it clear that

current situation is below the required outcome.


Be)

Critical Success

Factors (As Is) Mean

Critical Success

Factors (Should

Be)

Mean

CEOPP 3.0595 Moderate CEOPV 4.6851 Slightly High

LOSP 2.7761 Slightly Low LOSV 4.5796 Slightly High

ECP 2.7402 Slightly Low ECV 4.4083 Slightly High

SSSP 2.7534 Slightly Low SSSV 4.0681 Slightly High

ESPDRP 3.0773 Moderate ESPDRV 4.1113 Slightly High

EPPCP 3.0739 Moderate PPCV 4.4285 Slightly High

EWP 2.5184 Slightly Low EWV 4.2163 Slightly High

7.2 Correlation between critical success factors

Another element that this study was designed to investigate is the interaction between

the critical success factors for EE. One hypothesis that was set for such a relationship

was based on the assumption that all of the seven critical success factors will be related

to each other to some extent. Therefore, any increment in one factor will somehow

positively motivate the other factors in either an implicit or explicit manner. To test this

hypothesis, a Pearson correlation was conducted to explore the relationship between the

seven critical success factors at both situation (As-Is) and (Should Be). Tables 74 and

75 illustrate this.

244

Table 74: Correlation between critical success factors (As Is)

CEOPP LOSP ECP SSSP ESPDRP EPPCP EWP

CEOPP Pearson Correlation 1 .669** .367

** .522

** .282

** .556

** .347

**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 290 290 290 290 290 290 290

LOSP Pearson Correlation 1 .456** .520

** .207

** .618

** .406

**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 290 290 290 290 290 290

ECP Pearson Correlation 1 .531** .260

** .503

** .555

**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000

N 290 290 290 290 290

SSSP Pearson Correlation 1 .442** .532

** .549

**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000

N 290 290 290 290

ESPDRP Pearson Correlation 1 .221** .353

**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 290 290 290

EPPCP Pearson Correlation 1 .462**


N 290 290

EWP Pearson Correlation 1

Sig. (2-tailed)

N 290

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

245

Table 75: Correlation between critical success factors (Should Be)

CEOPV LOSV ECV SSSV ESPDRV EPPCV EWV

CEOPV

Pearson Correlation 1 .676** .492

** .280

** .387

** .502

** .269

**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 289 289 289 289 289 289 289

LOSV


** .406

** .496

** .292

**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 289 289 289 289 289 289

ECV


** .482

** .446

**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000

N 289 289 289 289 289

SSSV


** .443

**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000

N 289 289 289 289

ESPDRV


**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 289 289 289

EPPCV

Pearson Correlation 1 .422**


N 289 289

EWV

Pearson Correlation 1

Sig. (2-tailed)

N 289


As Tables 74 and 75 show, all seven factors are positively correlated with each other

at practice and value levels. The correlation is significant but positive at the 0.01 level

(2-tailed) between all critical success factors at the levels both of As Is and Should Be.

This is consistent with one of this study‘s hypotheses (Section 5.4.1, Set 2, Hypothesis

6) which hypothesizes that critical success factors will be positively correlated with one

246

another at all levels. These positive correlations provide an indication that strengthening

or promoting one factor is likely to exert a positive effect on the other factors, and vice-

versa.

7.3 General view on adopting employment equity programs in the Omani public sector

In this section, two objectives of the study will be addressed and discussed. The first is

to assess, from the perspective of Omani employees, the most applicable employment

equity programme for the Omani public sector from three widely-recognized

programmes (merit based programme, quota based programme diversity based

programme), which have previously been implemented in western countries. The

second objective is to explore the extent of influences that other additional elements

may have on enhancing the effective adoption of equal employment policies and

programmes in the Omani public sector.

For the first objective, participants were asked to choose only one of the following

statements which they believed would better serve employment equity in their

organization:

Table 76: Employment equity programmes

No. Statement Answer

1 Equity in employment should be based on merit only. 12.8%

2 Equity in employment should be based on applying quotas among

each group of employees (e.g. males and females).

0%

3

Equity in employment should be considered as a business advantage

by basing it on recognising individual differences, and ensuring the

right environment for each employee.

20.7%

4

Equity in employment should be based on the importance of the above

three statements where the most effective option among them will be

applied according to working environment, type of work and

individual’s ability.

66.5%

As table 76 shows, most participants (66.5%) chose the last statement, which is

based on all three elements (merit, quotas, and business advantage), so equity in

employment should be based on the importance of the above three statements where the

most effective option among them will be applied according to the working

environment, type of work and individual‘s ability. Only 20.7% of participants believed

that equity should be based on business advantage, while 12.8% of them chose the

247

merit-based approach and none of them selected the quota approach as the only option

to ensure equity in employment.

Moreover, the outcome of the interviews supports this result as all interviewees

agreed that a good integration of the three programmes would best serve employment

equity in the Omani public sector. For instance, one interviewee mentioned that the

complexity of Omani society should be taken into consideration when deciding the

applicable employment equity programme for the Omani public sector, stating that:

The nature of Omani society may stand against applying a certain programme

in some jobs such as religious and judicial positions. Therefore, for the current

time, it is much better to apply the most applicable programme according to

the degree of readiness of the society. This will help both employees and

administrators to gain a better outcome of these programmes. (N10).

Another interviewee referred to differences between jobs and their requirements. He

stated that:

The Omani public sector has a diversity of jobs which differ in their

requirements. So considering the nature of jobs before applying any of these

three programmes will insure that the right programme will be applied in the

right place. (N1).

To conclude, it seems that most of this study‘s participants have no objection to

applying any of the three employment equity programmes in the Omani public sector.

However, the majority of them do not believe that a single programme can be effective

for application in all situations or in different working environments. They therefore

prefer that management should choose the most applicable one according to working

environment, type of work and individual ability. According to the respondent‘s point

of view, this method could work much better to serve the underlying objectives, as

discussed earlier, behind applying EE programmes in the Omani public sector.

With regard to the second objective, participants were asked to consider the impact

of a set of factors on adopting effective policies and practices on employment equity.

They were presented with ten factors and a possible 100 points to be allocated among

them according to the importance of each factor in their own view.

The question was: To what extent do the following factors influence the adoption of

effective policies and practice toward employment equity in your organization? The

factors and mean responses are shown in Table 77.

248

Table 77: Additional factors to improve EE in the Omani public sector

No. Factors Points

1 State clear and detailed articles toward employment equity in the Oman


organization).

12

2 Call for more enforcement of Share'h Law (Islamic Law) 17

3 Provide more authorities for the Court of Legal Administration. 9

4 Raise the education level for employees at supervisory/leadership levels 10

5 Train HRM employees on equity programs 9

6 Create equity department/section in each organization 8

7 Educate employees about their rights at work 9

8 Audit employment decisions and practices regularly 9



6


and equality.

11

Total 100

As Table 77 indicates, element number two, ‗call for more enforcement of Share'h

Law (Islamic Law)‘ gained the highest number of points (17 out of 100) out of the ten

elements. This result shows the amount of influence that Islam has on Omanis as

Muslims and on their decisions in their daily lives. This should not be a surprising

finding in a society like Oman. Interviewees also asserted such a point. One of them

stated:

If Share'h Law was implemented in the right way within the organizational

regulations, many of these unequal behaviours would disappear. If we really

seek for equity not in employment only but in all aspect of our lives, then we

should call for more enforcement for Share'h Law. (N5)

Another interviewee mentioned that:

Islam is not just a religion, it a way of life. The spirit of Islam encourages

nothing but equity as Prophet Mohammed (PUH) said: ‗There is no difference

between black and white except by piety‘. Therefore, Share'h law would better

serve equity among employees if it became part of the organizational process

in the Omani public sector. (N9)

Also, as discussed in the literature review, in the management area, Islam enhances

positive attitudes. Many authors agreed that Islam supports trust between managers and

249

subordinates, honesty at work, loyalty, consultation in decision-making, cooperation

and team working (Tayeb, 1997; Al-Buraey, 2001; Ghafory-Ashtiany, 2009).

Furthermore, Ilhaamie (2009: 228) stated that: ‗Through Islamic human resource

practices, manpower that is high achiever, creative, innovative and most importantly;

God fearing and sound moral characters will be produced‘. Islam also ‗does not endorse

high power distance‘ (Carl et al., 2004: 521).

Despite the availability of a few studies, it is still the case that not enough attention

has been shown in the literature to the influence of Islam on organizational behaviour

and management (Swailes and Al Fahdi, 2011). The PhD study by Al-Hamadi (2004),

discussed in Chapter 5, found that Share'h law (Islamic law) was one of the most

effective factors from the employee perspective which influenced national culture and

HR policies and practices in Oman. Also, a PhD thesis called ‗Constraints and

Opportunities: The Shaping of Attitudes Towards Women‘s Employment in the Middle

East‘ (Price, 2011) concluded that Islam has greater importance for individuals‘ lives in

Middle Eastern communities than does any religion for any other region in the rest of

world, and this influence is negatively correlated with women‘s equity in employment.

However, the study also confirmed that Islam is not the only factor that plays a vital role

in employment equity, and other factors such as national context, culture, politics, and

demography also contribute to the current employment equity situation, with some of

these factors having an even larger negative impact than Islam.

The second highest element, scoring 12 out of 100, was statement number one: ‗State

clear and detailed articles toward employment equity in the Oman Civil Service Law (or

any similar law which is applicable in your organization)‘. This score suggests that

there is a clear gap in current laws and regulations for fulfilling the requirement of solid

implementation of employment equity policies and practices. The tenth element,

‗Concentrate on promoting values like human rights, freedom of speech, and equality‘,

scored third highest (11 out of 100). This means that participants think that by

promoting humanitarian values among employees, employment equity will be

enhanced. Element number four, ‗raise the education level for employees at

supervisory/leadership levels‘ scored in fourth place (10 out of 100). This is an

indication that participants view high level of education among managers as an

assurance of equity in employment in the workplace. Elements 3, 5, 7 and 8 scored the

same (9 points out of 100), which means that they have the same importance level. In

addition, elements number six and nine scored lowest among all ten elements 8 and 6

251

out of 100, respectively. However, none of these ten elements scored zero, which means

they are all important in the adoption of employment equity programmes and policies.

Nevertheless, as this discussion shows, these elements vary in their amount of influence

or importance. To recap, in descending order, the highest four elements were enforcing

Share'h law (Islamic law), providing clear and detailed employment equity regulations,

promoting humanitarian values, and raising the educational level of managers.

Many authors have also referred to the importance of these elements. For instance,

Jain et al., arguing about the current status of employment equity in Canada, stated that:

Based on our evaluations of employment equity developments, the following

need serious attention: (1) increased and vigorous enforcement by the

Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and (2) more focus on

occupational inequities. Organizations must create a climate of acceptance and

tolerance by sensitizing top management to the need to eliminate glass ceilings

for both women and visible minorities. Furthermore, (3) there ought to be

more focus on industrial sector differences (e.g. communication and

transportation sectors) in which women and visible minorities are

underrepresented. (Jain et al., 2012: 15)

They also argued that educational level is important to ensure EE in organizations.

They added that, ‗Governments also need to be more proactive in educating employers

and enforcing the legislation‘ (Jain et al., 2012: 16).

In addition, Campa et al. (2011) argued that equity should be promoted across an

entire country. Jain et al. (2012: 14) supported this view, stating that, ‗To be effective,

employment equity has to be supported by coherent human resource development

priorities through the implementation of skills development legislation and changes in

organizational cultures‘. Further research found that employee training and management

commitment, especially HR expert support, are important to ensure equity in

employment (Samant et al., 2009). Regarding the importance of good HRM practices to

a positive environment within organizations, Herrea et al. (2011) insisted that HRM

policies and practices need to be applied in a proper organizational context to respond

positively to EE. Campa et al. (2011) agree with such a view, suggesting that a positive

local environment within organizations will enhance equity in employment.

With regard to the gender issue and how the religion and social system stand with

respect to gender equity in Middle Eastern countries, Campa et al. (2011) state that

greater heterogeneity between male and female in the labour market critically depends

on heterogeneity in the culture. Also, Bouclin observed that:

250

Women in Kuwait may hold positions as investigative judges but are barred

from serving adjudicative functions. In Saudi Arabia women are barred from

all judicial functions… In these countries, Islamic law has been interpreted

restrictively by fundamentalists to deny women judicial appointments.

(Bouclin, 2011: 4)

To sum up, all EE critical factors are important in assuring the right implementation

of EE. In addition to these seven additional factors, other elements such as the ten

factors discussed earlier need to be considered as part of EE procedures and policies

depending of the context of the working environment. The next section of this chapter

will show how strongly these factors are related and interacting with one another in a

harmony and dynamic instrument.

7.4 The Influence of Culture on Employment Equity

The main aim of this study was to explore the degree of influence that societal and

organizational cultures, as specified by the GLOBE project, have on the adoption of

effective policies and practices toward employment equity in the Omani public sector.

Therefore, the researcher first evaluated the main cultural dimensions of Omani society

and public sector organizations, as discussed in Chapter 6. In this chapter, the main

critical success factors that contribute to or detract from employment equity were

identified and measured. Next, the study will first identify and investigate the

relationship between cultural dimensions at both societal and organizational levels and

the critical success factors that contribute to employment equity. A Pearson correlation

will be conducted to explore the relationship between these variables. After that, the

relationship between both cultures and EE in general will also be identified.

252

7.4.1 Culture and critical success factors towards EE


EE at the level of practice

CD CEOPP LOSP ECP SSSP ESPDRP EPPCP EWP

UASP

Pearson Correlation .330(**) .364(**) .129 .118 .163(*) .385(**) .215(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .118 .151 .047 .000 .009

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

FOSP

Pearson Correlation .202(*) .251(**) .151 .173(*) .160 .341(**) .219(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .014 .002 .066 .035 .051 .000 .007

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

PDSP

Pearson Correlation -.262(**) -.364(**) -.386(**) -.367(**) -.282(**) -.406(**) -.463(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .001 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

C1SP

Pearson Correlation .134 .188(*) -.067 .009 .054 .122 .052

Sig. (2-tailed) .103 .022 .414 .918 .512 .139 .532

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

HOSP

Pearson Correlation .375(**) .353(**) .033 .078 -.002 .320(**) .107

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .692 .343 .985 .000 .195

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

POSP

Pearson Correlation .256(**) .387(**) .268(**) .237(**) .159 .498(**) .326(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .000 .001 .004 .053 .000 .000

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

C2SP

Pearson Correlation .152 .157 .047 .128 .035 .161(*) -.025

Sig. (2-tailed) .063 .056 .568 .120 .675 .050 .761

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

GESP

Pearson Correlation -.064 -.142 -.051 .037 .016 .009 -.008

Sig. (2-tailed) .435 .083 .537 .658 .851 .912 .920

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149

ASP

Pearson Correlation -.066 .007 .069 -.038 -.094 -.098 .032

Sig. (2-tailed) .421 .934 .406 .646 .252 .233 .698

N 149 149 149 149 149 149 149



CD = Cultural Dimension

As shown in Table 78 for practice level, seven out of nine societal cultural

dimensions were significantly correlated with one or more critical success factors.

Uncertainty avoidance (AUSP) was positively correlated at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) with

CEOPP, LOSP, PPCP, and EWP and positively correlated with ESPDRP at the 0.05

level (2-tailed). Future orientation (FOSP) was positively correlated at the 0.01 level (2-

tailed) with LOSP, PPCP, and EWP and positively correlated with CEOPP and SSSP at

253

the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Power distance (PDSP) was negatively correlated with all

seven factors. Institutional collectivism (C1SP) was positively correlated with only

LOSP. Human orientation (HOSP) was positively correlated with CEOPP, LOSP, and

PPCP. Performance orientation (POSP) was positively correlated with all factors except

ESPDRP which has no significant correlation with this dimension. In-group

collectivism (C2SP) had a positive correlation only with PPCP. Gender egalitarianism

(GESP) and Assertiveness (ASP) had no significant correlation with any of these

factors.


EE at the level of value

CD CEOPV LOSV ECV SSSV ESPDRV EPPCV EWV

UASV

Pearson Correlation .363(**) .303(**) .243(**) .188(*) .091 .248(**) .119

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .003 .022 .272 .002 .150

N 148 148 148 148 148 148 148

FOSV

Pearson Correlation .302(**) .258(**) .273(**) .250(**) .093 .296(**) .176(*)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .002 .001 .002 .263 .000 .032

N 148 148 148 148 148 148 148

PDSV

Pearson Correlation -.297(**) -.297(**) -.458(**) -.416(**) -.435(**) -.326(**) -.437(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 148 148 148 148 148 148 148

C1SV

Pearson Correlation .240(**) .228(**) .263(**) .246(**) -.016 .114 .108

Sig. (2-tailed) .003 .005 .001 .003 .845 .169 .193

N 148 148 148 148 148 148 148

HOSV

Pearson Correlation .075 .051 .093 -.072 .099 .076 .006

Sig. (2-tailed) .363 .541 .260 .384 .233 .360 .943

N 148 148 148 148 148 148 148

POSV

Pearson Correlation .353(**) .401(**) .307(**) .240(**) .249(**) .326(**) .181(*)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .003 .002 .000 .027

N 148 148 148 148 148 148 148

C2SV

Pearson Correlation .150 .195(*) .261(**) .120 .232(**) .210(*) .252(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .068 .017 .001 .148 .005 .011 .002

N 148 148 148 148 148 148 148

GESV

Pearson Correlation -.168(*) -.145 -.096 -.150 .120 -.114 .055

Sig. (2-tailed) .042 .079 .248 .069 .146 .168 .509

N 148 148 148 148 148 148 148

ASV

Pearson Correlation -.257(**) -.191(*) -.310(**) -.166(*) -.297(**) -.173(*) -.207(*)

Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .020 .000 .044 .000 .035 .012

N 148 148 148 148 148 148 148




254

As shown in Table 79, at the value level, eight out of nine societal cultural


Uncertainty avoidance (AUSV) was positively correlated with CEOPV, LOSV, ECV,

SSSV, and PPCV. Future orientation (FOSV) was positively correlated with all factors

except ESPDRP, which has no significant correlation with this dimension. Power

distance (PDSV) was negatively correlated with all seven factors. Institutional

collectivism (C1SV) was positively correlated with CEOPV, LOSV, ECV, and SSSV.

Performance orientation (POSP) was positively correlated with all factors. In-group

collectivism (C2SP) has a positive correlation with all factors except CEOPV and

SSSV. Gender egalitarianism (GESV) has a negative correlation with only CEOPV and

no significant correlation with other factors. Assertiveness (ASV) has a significant

negative correlation with all factors. Human orientation (HOSV) has no significant

correlation with any of these factors.

As shown in Table 80 (below), at practice level, seven out of nine organizational

cultural dimensions were significantly correlated with one or more critical success

factors. Uncertainty avoidance (AUOP) was positively correlated with CEOPP, LOSP,

ECP, SSSP, PPCP, and EWP. Future orientation (FOOP) was positively correlated with

all seven factors. Power distance (PDOP) was negatively correlated with all factors.

Institutional collectivism (C1OP) was positively correlated with LOSP, ECP, SSSP, and

PPCP. Human orientation (HOOP) was positively correlated with all factors except

ESPDRV. Performance orientation (POOP) and In-group collectivism (C2OP) were

positively correlated with all factors. Gender egalitarianism (GEOP) and Assertiveness

(AOP) had no significant correlation with any of these factors.

255

Table 80: correlation between organizational culture and critical success factors

towards EE at the level of practice

CD CEOPP LOSP ECP SSSP ESPDRP EPPCP EWP

UAOP

Pearson Correlation .356(**) .379(**) .212(*) .268(**) .125 .267(**) .213(*)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .012 .001 .139 .001 .011

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

FOOP

Pearson Correlation .359(**) .351(**) .223(**) .342(**) .256(**) .361(**) .279(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .008 .000 .002 .000 .001

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

PDOP

Pearson Correlation -.290(**) -.359(**) -.344(**) -.349(**) -.237(**) -.431(**) -.183(*)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .005 .000 .030

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

C1OP

Pearson Correlation .267(**) .143 .224(**) .262(**) .059 .297(**) .105

Sig. (2-tailed) .001 .090 .008 .002 .490 .000 .216

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

HOOP

Pearson Correlation .265(**) .182(*) .226(**) .229(**) .106 .379(**) .218(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .031 .007 .006 .212 .000 .009

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

POOP

Pearson Correlation .391(**) .413(**) .356(**) .313(**) .193(*) .538(**) .242(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .022 .000 .004

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

C2OP

Pearson Correlation .452(**) .478(**) .453(**) .459(**) .250(**) .522(**) .317(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .003 .000 .000

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

GEOP

Pearson Correlation -.149 -.118 -.095 -.033 .026 -.042 .007

Sig. (2-tailed) .080 .166 .267 .699 .764 .619 .938

N 140 140 140 140 140 140 140

AOP

Pearson Correlation -.105 -.055 .078 -.061 -.070 .075 -.038

Sig. (2-tailed) .215 .520 .360 .474 .407 .376 .651

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141




256

Table 81: Correlation between organizational culture and critical success factors

towards EE at the level of value

CD CEOPV LOSV ECV SSSV ESPDRV EPPCV EWV

UAOV

Pearson

Correlation .156 .136 .062 -.033 -.081 .003 .020

Sig. (2-tailed) .064 .109 .466 .696 .337 .974 .817

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

FOOV

Pearson

Correlation .353(**) .387(**) .366(**) .232(**) .248(**) .330(**) .230(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .006 .003 .000 .006

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

PDOV

Pearson

Correlation -.380(**) -.419(**) -.313(**) -.201(*) -.262(**) -.444(**) -.225(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .017 .002 .000 .007

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

C1OV

Pearson

Correlation .096 .090 .138 .048 -.005 .063 .060

Sig. (2-tailed) .258 .286 .104 .569 .957 .459 .476

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

HOOV

Pearson

Correlation .086 .086 -.001 .023 .014 .102 -.076

Sig. (2-tailed) .312 .310 .992 .786 .866 .230 .369

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

POOV

Pearson

Correlation .324(**) .466(**) .341(**) .134 .236(**) .311(**) .235(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .112 .005 .000 .005

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

C2OV

Pearson

Correlation .242(**) .381(**) .370(**) .175(*) .229(**) .156 .104

Sig. (2-tailed) .004 .000 .000 .038 .006 .065 .218

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141

GEOV

Pearson

Correlation .006 .052 .034 .036 .312(**) -.003 .001

Sig. (2-tailed) .946 .541 .693 .672 .000 .971 .992

N 140 140 140 140 140 140 140

AOV

Pearson

Correlation .255(**) .282(**) .238(**) .310(**) .274(**) .267(**) .089

Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .001 .004 .000 .001 .001 .296

N 141 141 141 141 141 141 141




As shown in Table 81, at value level, six out of nine organizational cultural


Future orientation (FOOV) was positively correlated with all seven factors. Power

distance (PDOV) was negatively correlated with all seven factors. Performance

orientation (POOP) was positively correlated with all factors except SSSV, which has

257

no significant correlation with this dimension. In-group collectivism (C2OP) has a

positive correlation with all factors except PPCV and EWV. Gender egalitarianism

(GEOV) has a positive correlation with only ESPDRV only and no significant

correlation with other factors. Assertiveness (AOV) has a significant positive

correlation with all factors except EWV, where there is no significant correlation

between the two variables. Uncertainty avoidance (AUOV), Institutional collectivism

(C1OV), and Human orientation (HOOV) have no significant correlation with any of

these factors.

In addition, from the above results for the correlations at the four levels, there are

three main issues that should be noted. Firstly, where there is a significant correlation

between a cultural dimension and more than one EE factor, these correlations seem to

follow the same direction, either positively or negatively; that is, where there is a

significant correlation between a cultural dimension and more than one success factors,

these correlations are either all positive or all negative. Secondly, Power Distance (PD)

at practice and value levels was negatively correlated, for both societal and

organizational culture, with all seven critical success factors of employment equity.

Thirdly, Gender egalitarianism (GE) and Assertiveness (A) have no significant

correlation with any of these factors at societal and organizational practice levels.

Finally, except for Power Distance, Gender Egalitarianism, and Assertiveness, all

significant correlations were positive between the six dimensions and critical factors at

all levels.

7.4.2 Employment equity in general

In this section, the results of the high-low relationship will be tested according to the

final results for EE and cultural dimensions. The grand mean of twenty-five questions

on EE critical success factors will be extracted, then correlated with the nine dimensions

of societal and organizational cultures at practice and value levels, as shown in Tables

82 and 83.

258

Table 82: EE as viewed by questionnaire Beta participants

Beta Questionnaire N Minimum Maximum Mean Std.

Deviation

Equity_Soc_As Is 149 1.80 4.56 2.9628 .60899

Equity_Soc_Should Be 148 2.95 5.00 4.3786 .45126

Valid N (list wise) 148

Table 83: EE as viewed by questionnaire Alpha's participants

Alpha Questionnaire N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Equity_Org_As Is 141 1.48 4.12 2.7884 .55386

Equity_Org_Should Be 141 2.96 5.00 4.3672 .41056

Valid N (list wise) 141

As shown in Tables 82 and 83, the grand means of EE at the practice level of the

societal and organizational culture questionnaire scored 2.9628 and 2.7884 respectively.

This means that EE is slightly low according to this measurement. On the other hand,

the grand mean at value level of the two cultures scored 4.3786 and 4.3672 respectively,

which means that EE is slightly high according to the same measurement at value level.

This result is consistent with one of this study hypothesis (Section 5.4.1, Set two,

Hypothesis 5):

The Omani public sector will score LOWER in its readiness in respect of the


In addition, to explore the relationship between societal and organizational cultures

on one side and EE on the other side, a Pearson correlation was conducted between the

nine cultural dimensions at both levels and the grand mean of EE. The result was as

shown in Table 84:

259

Table 84: Pearson correlation (PC) between societal culture dimensions (SCD) and

organizational culture dimensions (OCD) with EE in general

Societal culture Organization culture

As Is Should Be As Is Should Be

SCD PC with EE SCD PC with EE OCD PC with EE OCD PC with EE

UASP .335** UASV .287** UAOP .373** UAOV .052

FOSP .291** FOSV .311** FOOP .437** FOOV .448**

PDSP -.484** PDSV -.529** PDOP -.449** PDOV -.450**

C1SP .108 C1SV .216** C1OP .279** C1OV .098

HOSP .266** HOSV .066 HOOP .319** HOOV .033

POSP .412** POSV .398** POOP .500** POOV .421**

C2SP .125 C2SV .281** C2OP .585** C2OV .346**

GESP -.052- GESV -.078- GEOP -.088- GEOV .101

ASP -.046- ASV -.316** AOP -.038- AOV .350**


*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

The results shown in Table 84 indicate that the findings of this study partially

confirm hypotheses 9 and 10 of this study. As can be seen from the table, five out of

nine cultural dimensions at societal practice level were significantly correlated with EE.

UASP, FOSP, HOSP, and POSP were positively correlated with EE while PDSP was

negatively correlated with EE. In contrast, seven out of nine cultural dimensions at

societal value level were significantly correlated with EE. UASV, FOSV, C1SV, and

C2SV were positively correlated with EE, while PDSV and ASV were negatively

correlated with EE.

With regard to organization culture, the same table (84) also shows that seven out of

nine cultural dimensions at organization practice level were significantly correlated with

EE. UAOP, FOOP, C1OP, HOOP, POOP and C2OP were positively correlated with

EE, while PDOP was negatively correlated with EE. In contrast, five out of nine cultural

dimensions at societal value level were significantly correlated with EE. FOOV, POOV,

C2OV, and AOV were positively correlated with EE while PDOV was negatively

correlated with EE.

261

In general, three cultural dimensions (FO, PD, and PO) are significantly correlated

with EE at all levels. PD is the only cultural dimension which has a negative but

significant correlation with EE at all for levels, which means that a high score on PD at

any of these levels is associated with a low score on EE. Also, FO is positively

correlated with EE at all levels, which means that a greater FO is associated with a

greater level of EE. Similarly, PO is positively correlated with EE at all levels. UA has a

positive but significant correlation with EE for societal culture practice, societal culture

value, and organizational culture practice, while there is no significant correlation

between UA and EE at organizational culture value level. Institutional collectivism (C1)

has a significant but positive correlation with EE for societal culture value and

organizational culture practice only. Moreover, HO is significantly and positively

correlated with EE at the level of practice for societal and organizational culture and has

no significant correlation at the level of value for either culture. For In-Group

collectivism (C2), the results show a significant and positive correlation with EE at the

level of societal culture value, organizational culture practice, and organizational culture

value, while there is no significant correlation between the two variables at societal

practice level. Assertiveness (A) has a significant but negative correlation at the level of

societal culture value and a significant positive correlation at organizational culture

value level, while there is no significant correlation between the two variables at

practice level. To conclude, except for PD at all four levels and A at societal value level,

all other factors which have a significant correlation are positively correlated with EE.

Furthermore, at practice level for both cultures, gender egalitarianism (GE) and

assertiveness (A) have no significant correlation with EE. In fact, Gender egalitarianism

(GE) has no significant correlation with EE at any level. This last result is surprising as

it was hypothesized that GE will be positively correlated with EE. However, the study

will show – later on in this section – that similar results were obtained in another study

which used dimensions of organizational culture practice only (see Table 85).

As mentioned earlier in the literature review and methodology chapters, this study

may be unique as the researcher could not find any similar study that used the same set

of variables. However, there were three studies which were to some extent related to

this study, as mentioned in the literature review (EE chapter). The first was a PhD thesis

called ‗A Study of the Relationships between Attitudes toward Diversity Management

and Cultural Preferences‘ (Herrera, 2008). The independent variables were the nine

dimensions of GLOBE organizational culture practices and the dependent variables

260

were attitudes toward diversity management, which included CEO commitment; human

capital; recruitment and retention; disabilities; gay, lesbian, bi-sexual & transgendered;

and the existence of supplier diversity management.

This study only used the organizational culture practice dimensions whereas the

other two studies used only societal culture practice dimensions, therefore the

discussion will be tackled through two tables. Table 85 illustrates the similarities and

differences between the results of Herrera‘s study and this study at the level of

organizational culture practice.

Table 85: comparison between CADOP and CEEOP

CD CADOP CEEOP

UA Negative Positive

FO Negative Positive

PD Positive Negative

C1 Not-significant Positive

HO Negative Positive

PO Negative Positive

C2 Negative Positive

GE Not-significant Not-significant

AS Not-significant Not-significant

CD = Cultural Dimensions

CADOP = Correlation with attitude toward diversity at organizational practice level

CEEOP = Correlation with EE at organizational practice level

Table 85 shows the result of the correlation between organizational culture practice

and first, diversity management (Herrera study) on one side and second employment

equity (this study) on the other side. The results coincide only in two cultural

dimensions (GE and AS) for which the correlation was not-significant between these

two dimensions and DM and EE. For the other seven dimensions, the results of the

correlation were contradictory between the two studies. Herrera himself mentioned that

he would normally expect the opposite result especially for UA, PD, and FO. However,

he attributed such a result to the lack of serious commitment from management and

leadership towards employment equity, as their organizations were not serious in

262

attempting to build a solid corporate culture that supports equity and equality in the

workplace. In addition, there are many other reasons which might explain the

differences in the results between the two studies. For instance, it might be because of

the cultural differences between western culture (USA) and eastern culture (Oman). It

might also be because of differences in sampling strategy used in each study as the

Herrera study‘s questionnaire was distributed to graduate and undergraduate student at

Texas University while participants in this study were employees of the public sector in

Oman.

The second study was carried out by Seleim and Bontis (2009) who conducted a

comparative analysis between cultural dimensions as they scored in the GLOBE project

and the findings of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) to explore the relationship

between culture and corruption. The results show a significant correlation between most

cultural dimensions and CPI (low corruption).

The third study was a cross-cultural study which was tackled among 21 countries,

including one country from the Middle East (Turkey), to measure the effect of national

culture on employees‘ willingness to justify ethically suspect behaviour. The study, by

Parboteeah et al. (2005), used only six out of nine GLOBE cultural dimensions as the

researchers believed that these six dimensions were the dimensions most closely related

to the study area. The dimensions used were: uncertainty avoidance; institutional

collectivism; human orientation; performance orientation; power distance; and

assertiveness. The researcher believed that these three studies were somehow linked to

EE. Diversity management is one of the EE programmes, and low corruption leads to

higher commitment to EE as eliminating corruption is one of seven critical success

factors for EE, and having a willingness to justify ethical behaviour in the workplace

leads to better practice of EE from both employees and management.

Table 86 illustrates the similarities and differences between the results of the second

and third studies and this study at the level of societal culture practice.

263

Table 86: Comparison between CLCSP, CWJEBSP, and CEESP

CD CLCSP CWJEBSP CEESP

UA Positive Negative Positive

FO Positive Not included Positive

PD Negative Negative Negative

C1 Positive Negative Not-significant

HO Negative Negative Positive

PO Positive Positive Positive

C2 Negative Not included Not-significant

GE Not significant Not included Not-significant

AS Negative Positive Not-significant

CD = Cultural Dimensions

CLCSP = Correlation with CPI (low corruption) at societal practice level

CWJEBSP = Correlation with willingness to justify ethically suspect behaviour at

societal practice level

CEESP = Correlation with EE at societal practice level

As Table 86 indicates, the three studies have a common result for the correlation of

two cultural dimensions. The first one is PD, where the correlation was negative

between this dimension and CLC, WJEB, and EE. The second dimension was PO with

the result of a positive significant relationship between this dimension and the CLC,

CEE, and CWJEB. Beside PO, and while FO, C2, and GE were not included in the

CWJEBSP study, there are common results between this study and the CLCSP study for

cultural dimensions of UA, FO, and GE. In addition, all three studies show a different

result for C1 and AS dimensions. Furthermore, the CLCSP study and this study show a

different correlation result in HO and C2. However, although this study has common

results with CLCSP in five cultural dimensions – PD, PO, UA, FO, and GE, still there is

a need for more in-depth studies to better understand the relationship between EE and

cultural dimensions at all levels. More investigation will enable researchers to have

more confidence in rejecting or accepting any of the correlations that the previous four

studies have identified in their results.

264

7.5 Conclusion:

Within this chapter, the results of the critical success factors behind employment equity

were analysed and discussed. Participants showed a remarkable desire for more

enhancement of these factors in the Omani public sector as the level of the value

(Should Be) scored higher than the level of practice (As Is) in all factors. In addition,

the results show that all seven factors have a positive relationship between them, which

means that promoting one factor will lead to promoting other factors and vice-versa.

Further, the correlation between societal and organizational culture on one side and

employment equity on the other side was addressed. The findings were clearly

illustrated and then compared with available similar studies. Positive and negative

correlations were found at different levels of societal and organizational cultures. The

entire set of results supports the positive influence of some cultural dimensions as well

as negative influence for other dimensions – or even the same dimensions – at different

levels.

In the next chapter, the researcher will draw a clear conclusion of the main results of

the study as well as stating the limitations of the research. Additionally, some

recommendations for further studies in the same area will be provided.

265

Chapter Eight

Summary of Results and Conclusion

8.0 Introduction

Several studies have been carried out to explore the influence of societal and

organizational culture on management practices (Hofstede, 1983; Denison and Mishra,

1995; Landes, 2000; Herrera, 2008). This study supplements these attempts as its

overall aim is to explore the degree of influence that societal and organizational

cultures, as specified by the GLOBE project, have on employment equity in the Omani

public sector. To achieve this, the study firstly examined the impact of culture on the

adoption of effective policies and practices toward employment equity in the Omani

public sector and secondly, when such a relationship was identified, explored the most

influential cultural dimensions. To attain this goal, seven objectives were established. A

summary of the findings related to these objectives is given in Table 87, below.

This chapter will firstly present a summary of what has been deeply discussed and

analysed in the literature review chapters with regard to societal culture, organizational

culture, and employment equity. Then, the main results of the empirical study, the

questionnaire and interviews, will be presented and linked to the objectives of the study.

Subsequently, the overall contribution of the study will be highlighted, followed by a

discussion of the limitations of the study and some suggestions for further research in

this area. Finally, the study will formulate some recommendations to enhance

employment equity policies and processes within the Omani public sector.

266

Table 87: Summary of objectives and findings

No Objective Summary of the main finding

1 To measure Omani cultural preferences within society,

and public sector organizations; and to identify the main

differences between the cultural practice (As Is) and

cultural values (Should Be) in both society and public

sector organizations.

At the level of practice, the main preferences for Omani societal

culture are ‘High’ in C1, C2, PD, HO, and UA; ‘Moderate’ in PO

and AS; and ‘Low’ in FO and GE. On the other hand,

organizational culture practice is ‘High’ in FO while all other eight

dimensions have scored ‘Moderate’ level.

At the level of value, the result shows that societal culture has

scored ‘Low’ in gender egalitarianism, assertiveness, and power

distance; and ‘High’ in other dimensions. Organizational culture

scored ‘High’ in seven cultural dimensions, while scored ‘Low’ in

power distance and ‘Moderate’ in gender egalitarianism.

2 To identify the main critical success factors that

contribute to employment equity.

Throughout the literature review (chapter three), seven critical

success factors were identified which are: Having a national policy

for equal employment, Management and leadership support,

Eliminating Corruption at workplace, Social system support,

Eliminating the negative impact of Stereotype, prejudice and

demographic role, Positive Psychological Climate, and Eliminating

wasta.

3 To critically explore the degree of application of the

critical success factors behind the adoption of EE in the

Omani public sector.

The current practice (As Is) of critical success factors towards

effective EE in Oman is either ‘Low’ or ‘Moderate’. Four factors,

out of seven, scored ‘Low’ which are LOS, EC, SSS, and EW,

while CEOP, ESPDR, and PPC scored ‘Moderate’. At the level of

value (Should Be), all factors scored ‘High’. This result (value is

higher than practice) provides a clear indication that employees in

the Omani public sector are in real need for higher application and

enforcement of EE policies and practices.

4 To assess the most applicable employment equity

programmes (merit based programme, quota based

programme diversity based programme, which have

been implemented in Western countries, from the

perspective of Omani employees.

The result shows that none of these known programmes can fit by

itself for all departments in Omani public sector. The

implementation of the most applicable one depends on its

effectiveness according to working environment, type of work and


5 To identify and investigate the relationship between

cultural dimensions and the critical success factors that

contribute to employment equity.

The result shows that not all cultural dimensions for societal and

organizational cultures are significantly correlated with all seven

factors towards EE. The correlation was positive at all levels,

except for three dimensions which are: Power Distance, Gender

Egalitarianism, and Assertiveness. Power Distance (PD) for both

cultures, societal and organizational, is the only dimension that has

a negative significant correlation at practice and value levels with

all seven critical success factors behind employment equity.

Gender egalitarianism (GE) and Assertiveness (AS) at the practice

level of societal and organizational cultures have no significant

correlation with any of these factors.

6 To add to the body of literature by developing a

grounded theory in regard to exploring the relationship at

the level of practice between the dimensions of

organizational and societal culture, as specified by the

GLOBE project, and employment equity, with specific

reference to the public sector in Oman.

The result confirms that there is a relationship between some

cultural dimensions and EE. This relationship could be theoretically

formed as shown in the figure 8.2

7 To provide recommendations and suggestions which will

help management practitioners in the Arab World in

general and Oman in particular to eradicate, or limit the

current discrimination in employment, and encourage the

development of positive cultural influences in this

respect.

As it is shown in section 8.5 in this chapter, several

recommendations were developed throughout this study, such as:

Societal and organizational culture should be taken in

consideration throughout all management practices as a vital

element.

EE will be more effective when recognizing the impact of both

cultures on EE.

From participants' point of view, Islam law could play an important

role in assuring effective EE in the Omani public sector.

267

8.1 Culture and Employment Equity

Throughout the literature review presented in Chapters 2 and 3, three main areas were

discussed, which were: culture, employment equity, and the relationship between the

two concepts. With regard to culture, the study reviewed the best-known studies which

have attempted to understand culture through groups of cultural dimensions. Five

theories were reviewed: Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck cultural orientations; Hofstede

cultural dimensions; World Values Survey (WVS); Schwartz‘s value dimensions; and

the GLOBE study for societal and organizational cultures‘ dimensions (see Chapter 2,

section 2.5). Among these five theories, cultural dimensions for societal and

organizational culture, as proposed by the GLOBE study, were chosen for the purposes

of this study. There were several reasons for selecting the GLOBE study dimensions, as

discussed in Chapter 3. For instance, GLOBE is theory-driven research, which means

that GLOBE cultural dimensions were designed according to several theoretical

attempts within the same field (Rao, 2009). In addition, many authors regard the

GLOBE study as the most comprehensive study of culture and one which can be

expected to be widely used in research studies (Alas, 2006; Gerhart, 2008).

Additionally, Kim and Gray (2009: 61) describe the study as ‗an attempt to move

beyond Hofstede‘s approach‘.

Moreover, scholars from several disciplines are engaged in an ongoing debate about

the influence of the term culture on management studies. For example, Kedia and

Bhagat (1988) studied the influence of culture on marketing, Terlutter et al. (2006)

looked at the impact of culture on technology transfer, and Mohammed et al. (2008)

studied the influence of cultural dimensions on project management. All these attempts

have confirmed the influence of culture on different aspects of management and other

social science fields (see Chapter 3, section 3.8).

Nevertheless, defining complicated terms such as culture, equity, and employment

equity has been always problematic. According to Kroeber and Kluckholm (1952), over

160 definitions have been proposed for the term culture. The situation is almost the

same with the term employment equity. Therefore, for the purpose of this research as

explained in Chapter 2, the study used the GLOBE study definition of culture as:

‗shared motives, values, beliefs, identities, and interpretations or meanings of

significant events that result from common experiences of members of collectives and

are transmitted across generations‘ (House and Javidan, 2004: 15). Also, equity in

general and employment equity (EE) in particular have several meanings and definitions

268

in the literature. As the context of this study is the Sultanate of Oman However, the

definition of equity chosen was based on Article 17 of The Basic Statute of the State

(Oman), where it is defined as: ‗All citizens are equal before the Law and share the

same public rights and duties‘. The most applicable definition of EE which best suited

the researcher‘s point of view was selected as:

[E]qual rights for and in employment for all individuals, focusing on all stages

of the employment relationship [application, recruitment, promotion, transfer,

training, health and safety, terms of employment, benefits, facilities and

services, grievances, disciplinary procedures and victimization, dismissals,

redundancies, and other unfavourable treatment of employees. (EOC, 1985,

cited in Adams et al., 1995: 88)

After presenting different academic views, throughout Chapters 2 and 3, concerning

culture, employment equity and the importance of these in management science and the

employment cycle, the study highlighted several attempts to partially explore the

relationship between the two concepts (see Chapter 3, section 3.8). As observed in these

attempts, many authors agreed that culture has a significant influence on employment

equity (see, for example, Wang, 2011; Krause, 2009; Keddie, 2007; Rizzo, et al., 2007;

Al-Ghailani, 2005). However, the researcher was not able to find a study that contained

the whole set of societal and organizational culture factors, in their two forms, values

and practices, as well as all critical success factors behind successful implementation of

EE. Therefore, this study built its argument by exploring in depth the influence of

societal and organizational culture on employment equity. The nine cultural dimensions

described by the GLOBE study to define societal and organizational culture were the

independent variables here (see Chapter 2, section 2.5.6.2). In addition, EE in general

and the seven critical success factors behind EE, which were identified by the research

as common to many studies in the literature (see Chapter 3, section 3.7), acted as

dependent variables. A conceptual framework was developed by the researcher to

simplify the main study areas, as shown in Figure 5, section 5.4, and reproduced below

for convenience.

269

Figure 5: Overall conceptual model for the study.

8.2 The main results of the study

Throughout Chapters 6 and 7, the main questions and hypotheses of this thesis were

analysed and discussed. In this section, the thesis will recap the objectives of the study,

which were explained in the introduction chapter, and link each one of them with the

main findings of the fieldwork. Out of the seven objectives, six will be treated in this

section while the last one will be looked at in Section 8.5, ‗Recommendations of the

study‘. The first six objectives are as described below.

8.2.1 First Objective

The first objective was, ‗To measure Omani cultural preferences within society and

public sector organizations; and to identify the main differences between the cultural

practice (As Is) and cultural values (Should Be) in both society and public sector

organizations.‘

As was explained in Chapter 2, the GLOBE study identified nine dimensions and

these dimensions were repeated at four levels. This gives a total of thirty-six

dimensions, as shown in Table 88.

Table 88: GLOBE cultural dimensions

Societal Culture Nine dimensions for actual

practice (As Is)

Nine dimensions for values

(Should Be)

Organizational Culture Nine dimensions for actual

practice (As Is)

Nine dimensions for values

(Should Be)

After examining these dimensions through the responses of the 290 participants from

the Omani public sector, the results showed the following:

Societal Culture (SC)

(Independent Variables)

Critical Success Factors

toward Adopting Effective

Employment Equity

(Dependent Variables)

Culture and Employment

Equity Adoption in Oman

(Hypothesised Outcome)

Organizational Culture (OC) (Independent Variables)

271


Dimension Practice (As Is) Value (Should Be)

Society Organization Society Organization

Performance Orientation (PO) 3.8087 4124.3 5.9732 014545

Future Orientation (FO) 3.4349 313.44 5.6113 013505

Gender Egalitarianism (GE) 3.0993 31.134 3.2376 3153.0

Assertiveness (AS) 3.7315 31.433 3.0492 015.10

Institutional Collectivism (C1) 4.7942 315423 4.8518 310154

In-Group Collectivism (C2) 5.9642 314140 5.6460 01432.

Power Distance (PD) 5.1174 31.100 2.7094 410142

Humane Orientation (HO) 5.3141 313534 5.1851 312334

Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) 4.6957 313344 5.6617 013314

Table 90: Main results for societal and organizational cultures in Oman (cont.)

Dimension Practice (As Is)


Performance Orientation (PO) 3.8087 Moderate 4124.3 Moderate

Future Orientation (FO) 3.4349 Low 313.44 High


Assertiveness (AS) 3.7315 Moderate 31.433 Moderate

Institutional Collectivism (C1) 4.7942 High 315423 Moderate

In-Group Collectivism (C2) 5.9642 High 314140 Moderate

Power Distance (PD) 5.1174 High 31.100 Moderate

Humane Orientation (HO) 5.3141 High 313534 Moderate

Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) 4.6957 High 313344 Moderate

270

Table 91: Main results for societal and organizational cultures in Oman (cont.)

Dimension Value (Should Be)


Performance Orientation (PO) 5.9732 High 014545 High

Future Orientation (FO) 5.6113 High 013505 High


Assertiveness (AS) 3.0492 Low 015.10 High

Institutional Collectivism (C1) 4.8518 High 310154 High

In-Group Collectivism (C2) 5.6460 High 01432. High

Power Distance (PD) 2.7094 Low 410142 Low

Humane Orientation (HO) 5.1851 High 312334 High

Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) 5.6617 High 013314 High

As discussed in Chapter 6, several trends can be observed from the tables above (89,

90 and 91). Firstly, at the level of practice, the main preferences for Omani societal

culture are ‗High‘ in C1, C2, PD, HO, and UA; ‗Moderate‘ in PO and AS; and ‗Low‘ in

FO and GE. Societal culture value is ‗High‘ in PD, FO, C1, C2, HO, and UA; and

‗Low‘ in FE, AS, and PD. On the other hand, organizational culture practice is ‗High‘ in

FO while all other eight dimensions score at ‗Moderate‘ level.

At the level of value, the results show that societal culture has scored ‗Low‘ in

gender egalitarianism, assertiveness, and power distance; and ‗High‘ in other

dimensions. Organizational culture scored ‗High‘ in seven cultural dimensions, while

scoring ‗Low‘ in power distance and ‗Moderate‘ in gender egalitarianism.

Secondly, the results for societal culture and organizational culture have some

similarities and differences in the case of Oman. For instance, (HO) scored High for

both cultures at the level of value. However, the same dimension at the level of practice

scored High within societal culture, while it scored ‗Moderate‘ at organizational culture

level. Although each culture has its own preferences, this result might provide some

indication of the impact that societal culture has on organizational culture, as discussed

by many authors (for example, Dickson et al., 2004).

In addition, the results, as shown in Table 89, indicates some differences between the

scores of cultural dimensions at the practice and value levels for both societal and

272

organizational cultures. For societal culture, PO, FO, GE, C1, and UA dimensions

scored higher at the value level than they did at practice level, while AS, C2, PD, and

HO scored higher at practice level than they did at value level. On the other hand, PO,

FO, AS, C1, C2, HO, and UA dimensions of organizational culture scored higher at the

level of practice than they did at the level of value, while GE and PD scored lower at the

value level than they did at the level of current practice. As explained in the literature

review, when culture scores high at the value level it means that people are seeking for

less of this dimension, and vice-versa. The surprising result here is that the cultural

dimension of Gender egalitarianism (GE) has no significant correlation with EE at any

level. At first sight, it might be expected that this dimension in would be expected to

have a significant positive correlation with EE, as part of equity in employment is

gender equity. However, this outcome confirms similar findings in the PhD study of

Herrera (2008) which used the nine cultural dimensions of organizational culture at the

level of practice only. One of the conclusions of that study was that GE at

organizational practice level does not have a significant correlation with diversity

management.

8.2.2 Second Objective

The second objective was, ‗To identify the main critical success factors that contribute

to employment equity.‘

The identification of critical success factors behind EE was discussed in the literature

review (Chapter 3). The researcher looked at many different studies related to

employment equity (for example, Schuster and Miller, 1984; Goldman et al., 2006;

French and Sheridan, 2009). After an in-depth investigation into these studies, seven

critical success factors were identified and slightly redesigned to better fit the purposes

and the context of this study. These factors are as the following:

- Having a national policy for equal employment: to have a clear and details

policy for employment equity which includes all stages of employment and can

deal effectively with any type of negative employment discrimination.

- Management and leadership support: to have a solid management style against

employment discrimination with an unlimited support from leadership and top

management.

273

- Eliminating Corruption at workplace: to ensure the existence of a vital system

against any kind of corruption at workplace such as nepotism, favouritism, and

all other injustice treatment.

- Social system support: to spread the principles of equity and fairness among the

society which in retain will reflect on employees behaviour within the

organization.

- Eliminating the negative impact of Stereotype, prejudice and demographic role:

to reject any kind of negative mental image that may an individual has about

particular group of people because of reasons that have nothing to do with such

as their gender, colour, language, and nationality.

- Positive Psychological Climate: to ensure that employees agreed on ‗the extent

to which management is perceived as flexible and supportive, role clarity,

freedom of self-expression, the employee's perceived contribution toward

organizational goals, adequacy of recognition received from the organization,

and job challenge‘ (Brown and Leigh, 1996: 359).

- Eliminating wasta: to eliminate the idea that an individual could ‗perceives a

person‘s success as being related to their ability to utilize connections with

people, who are both able and prepared to change the course of natural events on

that person‘s behalf‘ (Whiteoak et al., 2006: 81).

8.2.3 Third objective

The third objective was, ‗To critically explore the degree of application of the critical

success factors behind the adoption of EE in the Omani public sector.‘

This objective was addressed in Chapter 7, section 7.1. The main results are

illustrated in Table 92.

274


Be)

Critical Success

Factors (As Is) Mean

Critical Success

Factors (Should Be) Mean

CEOPP 3.0595 Moderate CEOPV 4.6851 Slightly High

LOSP 2.7761 Slightly Low LOSV 4.5796 Slightly High

ECP 2.7402 Slightly Low ECV 4.4083 Slightly High

SSSP 2.7534 Slightly Low SSSV 4.0681 Slightly High

ESPDRP 3.0773 Moderate ESPDRV 4.1113 Slightly High

PPCP 3.0739 Moderate PPCV 4.4285 Slightly High

EWP 2.5184 Slightly Low EWV 4.2163 Slightly High

As can be seen from Table 92, the current practice (As Is) of critical success factors

towards EE is either ‗Low‘ or ‗Moderate‘. Four factors, out of seven, scored ‗Low‘:

LOS, EC, SSS, and EW, while CEOP, ESPDR, and PPC scored ‗Moderate‘. At the

level of value (Should Be), all factors scored ‗High‘. This result (value is higher than

practice) provides a clear indication that employees in the Omani public sector perceive

a genuine need for higher application and enforcement of EE policies and practices.

8.2.4 Fourth objective

The fourth objective was, ‗To assess the most applicable employment equity

programmes (merit based programme, quota based programme diversity based

programme), which have been implemented in Western countries, from the perspective

of Omani employees.‘

This objective was investigated in Chapter 7, section 7.3. As Table 93 shows, 66.5%

of participants preferred that all three programmes should be available in the workplace.

The implementation of the most applicable one should depend on its effectiveness

according to working environment, type of work and individual ability.

275

Table 93: Employment equity programmes

No. Statement Answer

1 Equity in employment should be based on merit only. 12.8%

2 Equity in employment should be based on applying quotas among

each group of employees (e.g. males and females). 0%

3

Equity in employment should be considered as a business advantage

by basing it on recognising individual differences, and ensuring the

right environment for each employee.

20.7%

4

Equity in employment should be based on the importance of the above

three statements where the most effective option among them will be

applied according to working environment, type of work and


66.5%

8.2.5 Fifth objective

The fifth objective was ‗to identify and investigate the relationship between cultural

dimensions and the critical success factors that contribute to employment equity.‘

This objective was addressed in Chapter 7, section 7.4.1. The results show that not

all cultural dimensions for societal and organizational cultures are significantly

correlated with all seven factors towards EE. The results vary from one dimension to

another. However, there are some main elements which can be noted here. Firstly, the

direction of any significant correlation between a certain cultural dimension and critical

factors behind EE seems to be either positive with all or negative with all, no matter

how many significant correlations there are. In other words, there is no cultural

dimension which has a positive significant correlation with some EE factors and a

negative significant correlation with other EE factors, as the significant relationship is

either positive with all or negative with all. Secondly, Power Distance (PD) for both

cultures, societal and organizational, is the only dimension that has a significant

correlation at both practice and value levels with all seven critical success factors

behind employment equity. Thirdly, Gender egalitarianism (GE) and Assertiveness

(AS) at the practice level of societal and organizational cultures have no significant

correlation with any of these factors. Finally, where the results show a significant

correlation between cultural dimensions and critical factors, this correlation was

276

positive at all levels, except for three dimensions, these being: Power Distance, Gender

Egalitarianism, and Assertiveness.

8.2.6 Sixth Objective

The sixth objective was, ‗To add to the body of literature by developing a grounded

theory in regard to exploring the relationship at the level of practice between the

dimensions of organizational and societal culture, as specified by the GLOBE project,

and employment equity, with specific reference to the public sector in Oman.‘

As explained in the literature review (Chapter 3), the researcher could not find any

comprehensive study which tackled the relationship between societal and organizational

culture on one side, and employment equity on the other. Thus, one of the main

objectives of this research was to suggest a well-founded theory regarding such a

relationship.

After analysing the data from the fieldwork which was related to this part (see

Chapter 7, section 7.4.2), the results showed that not all dimensions of societal and

organizational cultures have a significant correlation with employment equity. In fact

while some dimensions have a positive significant correlation with EE, others have

negative significant correlation, while some dimensions have no significant correlations

at all. According to these results, the researcher suggests that the relationship between

societal and organizational cultures, and employment equity could be theoretically

framed as shown in Figure 17.

277

Societal Culture Organizational Culture

As illustrated in Figure 17, at actual practice level, EE supposed to be high if UA,

FO, HO, and PO, for both societal culture (SC) and organizational culture (OC) are

high; C1 and C2 for OC are high; and PD for both cultures is low. Other SC and OC

dimensions have no influence on EE as the correlation between the two concepts was

not significant. Having high AU will support EE as societies with high UA tend to ‗rely

on formalized policies and procedures, establishing and following rules, verifying

communications in writing‘ (Luque and Javidan, 2004: 618). This reliance on rules and

formal regulations will enhance EE by assuring that the working environment is

surrounding by a solid legal framework to maintain equal treatment among all

employees. Also, societies with high FO tend to ‗have flexible and adaptive

organizations and managers‘ (Ashkanasy et al., 2004: 302). With such flexibility,

organizations and top management will be more capable of adapting the workplace to

best fit the terms of EE. In addition, members of societies with High HO tend to ‗be

sensitive to all forms of racial discrimination‘ (Kabasakal and Bodur, 2004: 570). This

tendency of sensitiveness to racial discrimination will act like a fence against negative

employment discrimination. Furthermore, Javidan (2004: 245) mentioned that societies

High UAOP

High FOSP

High HOOP

High POOP

High C1OP

High C2OP

Low PDOP

High EE

Actual

Practice

(As Is)

High UASP

High FOSP

High HOSP

High POSP

Low PDSP

Figure 17: Correlation between societal and organizational cultural dimensions and EE at the

level of practice

278

with high PO ‗value what you do more than who you are‘, which means that they value

and reward people on the outcome of their work not on their tribe, relatives, educational

level or relationships. On the other hand, having low PD, means that, ‗All the groups

enjoy equal involvement, and democracy ensures parity in opportunities and

development for all‘ and ‗Civil liberties are strong and public corruption low‘ (Carl et

al., 2004: 536). Indeed, all these societal and organizational attributes towards low PD

will enlarge EE opportunities within the Omani public sector.

In addition to the previous dimensions which are common factors for SC and OC, the

results show that there are two more OC cultural dimensions (C1 and C2) which are

positively correlated with EE. Gelfand et al. (2004: 459) explained that members in

organizations with high C1 ‗assume that they are highly interdependent with the

organization and believe it is important to make personal sacrifices to fulfil their

organization obligation‘. This loyalty will not be at the required level unless

organizations assure EE among employees in the workplace. Also, as Gelfand et al.

(2004: 459) suggest, organizations with high C2 ‗are primarily interested in the work

that employees perform and not their personal or family welfare‘. This interest will

enhance EE as employees will be treated according to their performance, not their

backgrounds.

In conclusion, to ensure effective EE practices and policies within the Omani public

sector, the Omani government needs to work on both societal culture and organizational

culture. It should produce a total equity agenda which involves – internally – public

sector organizations, and – externally – the whole society. Within organizational culture

and societal culture, a high practice of the four dimensions of AU, FO, PO, and HO and

low practice of the PD dimension should be enhanced, as doing so will support fairness

and equitable treatment among employees. In addition, high practice of C1 and C2

dimensions for organizational culture only will also add value to the practice of

effective EE, as shown from the fieldwork results.

8.3 Gap and Contribution to Existing Knowledge

As mentioned in the introduction chapter, the main aim of this study was to explore the

degree of influence that societal and organizational cultures have on employment

equity, with specific reference to the Omani public sector. However, the two concepts,

employment equity and culture, which were used as the main variables of this study, are

very complicated, as discussed in the literature review chapters. Further, Arab and

Middle East countries have not received enough attention to date with regard to societal

279

and management studies. Therefore, this study contributes strongly in helping to satisfy

knowledge gaps in three main areas, as discussed below.

8.3.1 Management and Cultural Studies

As discussed in the introduction chapter, the influence of culture on different

management and employment area has been a subject of academic inquiry for a very

long time. However, little current research in this area was identified and more in-depth

research in this area is therefore needed (Aycan et al., 2007; Stone et al., 2007). Within

this study, the researcher has added to the existing knowledge by exploring the

influence of societal and organizational culture on employment equity. This relationship

had not previously been analysed in the depth that this study was able to. The total set

of societal and organizational culture factors at both practice and value levels were used

in this study. Thus, this study has provided a wider picture regarding the influence of

societal and organizational cultures on employment equity at the four different levels of

societal culture practice, societal culture value, organizational culture practice, and

organizational culture value. As revealed by the researcher‘s research and literature

review, none of the previous studies in this area has done the same extensive analysis.

Therefore, this study will help scholars in discovering the different dimensions of the

relationship between culture and EE which, in return, will expand the level of

understanding about the nature of the relationship between the two terms.

Also, choosing GLOBE cultural dimensions, informed by other studies, is another

vital element which enlarges the contribution of this study to the existing knowledge

base. The GLOBE study embodied several theoretical cultural studies within its design

and so is considered to be the most current study in its field and one which provides

researchers with up-to-date tools with which to study culture (Hutzschenreuter and Voll,

2008). This thesis may be unique in using the GLOBE framework to study the influence

of Arab and Middle Eastern culture on employment equity as most existing studies in

this region have used only Hofstede‘s cultural dimensions in their research. Further,

many authors referred to the positive effect that Arab cultural values have on equity and

fairness (see, for example, Tayeb, 1997; Al-Buraey, 2001; Ghafory-Ashtiany, 2009,

Ilhaamie, 2009). Using cultural dimensions has provided an opportunity to discover the

impact of Arab culture on EE. As explained in section 8.2.6 of this chapter, the cultural

dimensions of Omani society and public sector organizations have a significant

correlation with EE. If this relationship can be exploited to enhance employment justice

in the workplace, the positive and negative interaction between cultural dimensions and

281

EE, which was explained earlier (section 8.2.6) could act as a vital element in reducing

negative employment discrimination and better controlling this worldwide phenomenon.

This could be done in two main stages. Firstly, by strengthening, socially and

organizationally, the importance of the cultural dimensions which have a positive

relationship with EE and at the same time reducing the effectiveness of those

dimensions that have a negative correlation with EE, and secondly by intelligently

building the foundation of a national and professional strategy of EE on the

transactional relationship between cultural dimensions and EE.

Moreover, Oman as a country contains several elements and manifestations which

make it attractive for cultural studies, such as its strategic geographical position, deep-

rooted history, and different sub-cultural groups. However, it has not previously been

included in a large cultural project such as that of Hofstede (1980) or GLOBE (2004).

While not forgetting that some Arab countries were included in one or more of these

projects, the results of this study nevertheless provide a good opportunity to explore the

similarities and differences between Oman and other Arab cultures as well as

contributing to the outcome of these studies by comparing the result for Omani culture

and confirming or rejecting some of their main results with regard to Arab culture,

especially when we know that it is over eighteen years since the GLOBE study

collected its data. Further, participants in the GLOBE study were mostly chosen from

commercial industries (House and Javidan, 2004: 22). By comparing the results for

Oman and other Middle Eastern countries we will be able to compare commercial and

non-commercial organizations. However, the results of this study, as shown in Chapter

6, section 6.6, confirm that twelve cultural dimensions for Omani societal culture fell

within the existing range for the Middle Eastern cluster in the GLOBE study. The

results for the other six dimensions were not far from the result of the grand mean of the

GLOBE study. Omani societal culture has scored the highest mean value among the

Middle Eastern cluster in the level of practice of C1, C2, HO and UA dimensions; and

in the level of value at UA dimension. Also, it scored the lowest mean in FO and C1 at

the level of value. However, these partial differences in the result could be attributed

either to the time difference between the GLOBE project surveys and this study, or to

the privacy of the Omani societal culture.

In addition, the GLOBE project has been criticized for using only managers as their

sample. In this study, participants were both managers and employees. Therefore,

looking at the differences between managers‘ and employees‘ answers is another

280

contribution of this study. By using a one way ANOVA test, as shown in Chapter 6,

section 6.4, the results confirmed that there were no significant differences between the

answers of employees and the answers of managers with regard to 34 out of 36 cultural

dimensions (including societal and organizational culture at both practice and value

level). Only two dimensions, FO and HO at societal value level, showed significant

differences between the answers of managers and employees. As this was the first time

that employees were involved in such a study, this result warrants further study to

confirm or reject these findings.

8.3.2 Organizational justice, ethics and employment equity studies

Within this study, a contribution to knowledge in the field of equity and its relationship

with societal and organizational culture has been made. Involving not only some

dimensions of societal and organizational cultures at the levels of both practice and

value, as the few previous studies did, but all of them and using them as independent

variables greatly enhanced in-depth understanding of this relationship. Sections 7.4.2 in

Chapter 7 and section 8.2.6 in this chapter have shown the extent of the influences that

societal culture and organizational culture have on employment equity. Admitting and

making use of such relationships will raise awareness among employees and

management with regard to the nature this mechanism and how this interaction happens.

Further, this understanding could be used to improve how managers and employees

might recognize some types of culturally-based unfair employment discrimination and

use cultural preferences as an important tool to eliminate such discrimination.

In addition, the influence of culture on ethical issues in management, such as

corruption, has also been overlooked until now (Jackson, 2001). Thus, in section 7.4.1

this study provided an overview of this influence and its importance, as eliminating

corruption is one of the seven critical success factors behind effective EE. The results

show that only the societal cultural dimension of PO at practice level and the

dimensions of UA, FO, PO, C1, and C2 at value level were positively correlated with

elimination of corruption (EC) in the workplace, while PD at practice level and PD and

AS at value level were negatively correlated with EC. With regard to organizational

culture, dimensions of UA, FO, HO, PO, C1, and C2 at the level of practice, and

dimensions of FO, PO, C2, and AS at the level of value were positively correlated with

EC, while PD, at both the level of practice and the level of value, was negatively

correlated with EC. These results provide a clearer picture of the impact of societal and

organizational culture. Thus, besides the additional knowledge that this study has

282

contributed in this area of study, it may also help organizations to gain advantage in the

promotion of effective procedures to eliminate corruption in the workplace by

considering the impact of societal and organizational culture on EC.

8.3.3 Middle Eastern and Arab World Studies

As discussed in the introduction chapter, many authors have observed out that there are

insufficient studies concerned with management in the Middle East and the Arab World

(Behery, 2009; Leat and El-Kot, 2008; Budhwar and Mellahi, 2007; Leat and El-Kot,

2007; Kabasakal et al., 2012). More specifically, the Arabian Gulf region, especially

Bahrain and Oman, suffers from the same neglect in the literature (Common, 2008).

Therefore, by choosing Oman as the context of the study, this study adds to existing

knowledge about societal and organizational cultures, management, and employment

equity in the region of the Arab Middle East and the Gulf. It also helps to achieve a

better understanding of the reasons behind negative employment discrimination

phenomena in the region, as scholars have noted that wasta, favouritism, and nepotism

are widespread in the Arab world (Al-Asmi, 2008).

In addition, the Gulf region, including Oman, as discussed earlier, remains an

important location for multinational companies because of its geographic location and

natural resources. Therefore, knowing and understanding the main themes of the

surrounding culture is an important issue for these companies as it can help them to

maintain and develop their business in this area of the world. Accordingly, this study

has contributed vital knowledge which can be helpful for these companies to understand

the culture of the Gulf area in general and the culture of Oman in particular. This

knowledge could be used as a roadmap when any of these companies decides to develop

a regional policy, either in marketing or any other areas of business, for its work in the

Gulf region or Oman.

Recent events known as the Arab Spring and the slogans used by participants have

shown a strong desire for equity and equality in much of the Arab world. The need for

equal opportunities among citizens can be considered as one of the main factors behind

the Arab Spring. However, the immediate results of the Arab Spring in countries such

as Egypt and Libya have not yet shown any improvement in gender equity in particular

(Alvi, 2012). Therefore, the findings of this study can be used to enhance Arab

governments‘ and organizations‘ efforts to assure and develop employment equity by

recognizing and effectively profiting from the influences that societal and organizational

culture have on equity.

283

8.4 Limitations of the Study

The existence of limitations is inevitable in any research study as it is highly unlikely

that a single research project can address all aspects of the topic under study, especially

in the humanities in general. One of the main limitations of this study is that the

fieldwork looked at the public sector only. It could be argued that the results of some

parts of this study may vary if the samples were collected from the private sector,

especially the results for EE. The private sector is concerned with commercial profits,

therefore the level of unfairness and inequality may not be as high or as apparent as it is

in the public sector. However, this hypothesis needs to be investigated through further

research.

Furthermore, although the reasons for using mixed methods here were clearly

identified and discussed in Chapter 5, some scholars prefer not to use mixed methods in

their research as they prefer to concentrate on either qualitative or quantitative methods.

So the use of mixed methods could be seen as a limitation here. In addition, there are

some limitations within the study instrument. One of these limitations is the length of

the questionnaire. Having two versions of the questionnaire with more than 120

questions can lead to participants losing their interest after some time, which might

reduce the reliability of their answers. In addition, the sample size of 291 participants is

another potential limitation. Although, as explained in the methodology chapter, this

number of participants is sufficient for the purposes of the research, nevertheless, in

order to generalize the results of the study to give a more reliable overview of national

culture, a larger survey may be required. Moreover, this study used a single case study

method to collect the qualitative data. Other researchers may prefer to use multiple case

studies or different qualitative methods. Nevertheless, while recognizing this limitation,

the researcher sought to minimize its impact by choosing a representative case study,

selecting Royal Court Affairs (RCA) as explained in Chapter 5 (methodology).

In addition, the choice of the GLOBE study is one of this thesis‘s potential

limitations. As mentioned in Chapter 2, different attempts have been made to assign

dimensions to the concept of culture in order to study it. It could be argued that the

GLOBE dimensions were not the best choice for this study as other scholars may prefer

alternative models of culture, such as Hofstede‘s cultural dimensions. Nevertheless, the

researcher has explained the reasons behind his choice and the door is open for any

replication of this study using different cultural dimensions.

284

8.5 Recommendations of the Study

This section will advance a number of recommendations which could extend the

benefits available from this study and in particular bring benefits to the Omani public

sector. These recommendations require as a precondition serious recognition of the

importance of the impact of the main three elements of this study, which are: societal

culture, organizational culture, and employment equity.

Firstly, according to the results of this thesis, the Omani public sector needs to better

understand the influence of societal and organizational culture on all aspect of

management and HRM practices. Taking into consideration such impact will help

managers and employees to deal more effectively with many daily situations in the

workplace. In addition, it will help top management to set culturally-based policies at

the level of organization strategy. Such policies will enhance the overall performance of

employees as they will be based on societal and organizational knowledge and needs

which reflect the values and beliefs of the employees themselves.

Secondly, EE at all employment stages including recruitment, promotion, training,

rewards, and retirement will be more effective if the impact of both cultures on EE

practices is recognized. Therefore, public sector organizations in Oman should pay

more attention to the importance of such a relationship and try to positively use the

outcomes of this study to promote equity in employment.

Thirdly, with regard to EE programmes, the results indicate that of the best-known

programmes for employment equity applied in western countries (merit based

programme; quota based programme; diversity based programme; and application upon

need), participants were most strongly in favour of the last option (needs based option).

This means that participants believe that all first three programmes can be implemented

in the Omani public sector according to the nature of the workplace itself. Therefore,

management should first study and recognize the nature of the internal environment

before deciding which EE programme is the most applicable for a particular department

or organization.

Finally, participants asked for more enforcement of ‗Share'h‘ law (Islamic law) as

they believe that this factor is the factor which could most effectively enhance

employment equity in their place of work. This vision among participants reflects the

power of Islam in Oman. Islam has not received enough attention in the literature as a

vital element in management practices and organizational behaviour (Swailes and Al

Fahdi, 2011). However, from this researcher‘s point of view, the public sector should

285

pay particular attention to such opinion when applying any programme or developing a

policy as doing so could support and assure better acceptance of these programmes

among employees.

8.6 Recommendations for Further Study

As explained earlier, this study is thought to be unique in its exploration of the influence

of societal and organizational culture on employment equity in Arab and Middle

Eastern countries. Therefore, replicating it may be useful to confirm the main outcomes

of the study and validate its results.

Also, this study has been solely concerned with the public sector. Therefore, one of

the first suggestions that it should be advanced here is to extend this study to the private

sector environment and then, compare the results determine the differences and

similarities between the two sectors.

Moreover, participants in this study chose the element ‗Call for more enforcement of

Share'h Law (Islamic Law)‘ as the most important of ten proposed additional elements

which could enhance the application of EE policies within the Omani public sector.

Therefore, further investigation of the impact of Islam in general and ‗Share'h‘ law in

particular on employment equity will provide a better understanding of the relationship

between these factors and EE.

Furthermore, as mentioned in Chapter 6, the cultural dimensions interact among

themselves to some extent. This observation needs to be examined in depth to

understand the type of interaction and how strong or weak it is, especially when more

than one society is involved as the result may be vary from one society to another

society, therefore a cross-cultural study will provide a broader understanding.

Finally, the one way ANOVA test explained in Chapter 6, section 6.4, shows that

there are no significant differences between the answers of managers and the answers of

employees regarding their views about 34 out of the 36 cultural dimensions. This result

needs further investigation to confirm or reject it as it was one of the points of

contention between Hofstede (2006) and Javidan et al. (2006), as discussed in Chapter

2, section 2.5.6.

8.7 Final Remarks

The relationship between culture and employment equity is a very complicated and

manifold issue. Therefore, using different theories or methods in such a way as to better

understand the relationship between the two concepts is vital. It will not only enrich the

286

academic field, but will also enhance the field of managerial practice in many aspects.

The researcher believes that this study has shed a partial light on this matter, and has

highlighted additional areas that need to be addressed through further research and

investigation.

Although the relationship of culture and equity has been a difficult and complicated

topic to handle and study, there was a significant element of enjoyment throughout all

stages of carrying out this PhD programme. There has been a great deal to be learned

from the perseverance, both personal and academic, required to reach this point of the

study. Reflection on the journey this experience has entailed has raised the researcher‘s

satisfaction and confidence. From my personal point of view, I feel that this study will

add much not only to my country and people, but to the academic field in general and

the Arab and Middle Eastern countries in particular.

287

References ABDUL-KHALIQ, N. 1989. Administrative Development Institutions in the Sultanate of

Oman: an Evaluative Study. Administrative Research Series. Arab Organisation of

Administrative Sciences, Amman, Jordan

ABOWITZ, D. & TOOLE, T. 2010. Mixed Method Research: Fundamental Issues of Design,

Validity, and Reliability in Construction Research. Journal of Construction Engineering

and Management, 136, 108-116.

ADAMS, C., COUTTS, A. & HARTE, G. 1995. Corporate equal opportunities (non-)

disclosure. The British Accounting Review, 27, 87-108.

ADLER, N. & BARTHOLOMEW, S. 1992. Academic and Professional Communities of

Discourse: Generating Knowledge on Transnational Human Resource Management.

Journal of International Business Studies, 23, 551-569.

AGOCS, C. & BURR, C. 1996. Employment equity, affirmative action and managing diversity:

assessing the differences. International Journal of Manpower, 17, 30-45.

AGOURRAM, H. & INGHAM, J. 2007. The impact of national culture on the meaning of

information system success at the user level. Management, 20, 641-656.

ALAS, R. 2006. Ethics in countries with different cultural dimensions. Journal of Business

Ethics, 69, 237-247.

AL-ASMI, H. 2008. The Role of Managers and Their Effectiveness in Civil Service

Organisations: A Field Study of Omani Civil Service Managers. PhD, The University of

Manchester.

ALAWADHI, S. & MORRIS, A. 2009. Factors Influencing the Adoption of E-government

Services. JOURNAL OF SOFTWARE, 4, 584-590.

ALBANS, S. 1980. Where time stood still: a portrait of Oman, London, Quartet Books Ltd.

AL-BURAEY, M. 2001. The Islamic model of administration: strategy, implementation and

implications. Managerial Finance, 27, 5-24.

AL-GHAILANI, R. 2005. Equal Opportunity in Public Office in Principle and Practice: An

Empirical Study of the Omani Civil Service. PhD dissertation, University of Hull.

AL-HAMADI, A. 2004. Impact of value orientations, ethical beliefs, national culture and

national institutions on HRM policies and practices in Oman. PhD, University of Wales,

Cardiff.

AL-HAMADI, A., BUDHWAR, P. & SHIPTON, H. 2007. Management of human resources in

Oman. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18, 100-113.

ALI, A. 1995. Cultural discontinuity and Arab management thought. International Studies of

Management & Organization, 25, 7-30.

ALI, A. 1996. Organizational development in the Arab world. journal of Management

Development, 15, 4-21.

ALI, A., KRISHNAN, K. & CAMP, R. 2006. A Cross Cultural Perspective on Individualism

and Collectivism Orientations. Journal of Transnational Management, 11, 3-16.

ALI, A., LEE, M., HSIEH, Y. & KRISHNAN, K. 2005. Individualism and collectivism in

Taiwan. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 12, 3-16.

ALI, A., TAQI, A. & KRISHNAN, K. 1997. Individualism, collectivism, and decision styles of

managers in Kuwait. The Journal of social psychology, 137, 629-637.

AL-LAMKY, A. 2007. Feminizing leadership in Arab societies: the perspectives of Omani

female leaders. Women in Management Review, 22, 49-67.

AL-MOHARBY, D. & KHATIB, N. 2007. Oman's keritsu, cultural money walks, and the

economy. Humanomics, 23, 39-57.

AL-SHARBATI, M., AL-LAWATIYA, S., AL-ADAWI, S., MARTIN, R. & AL-HUSSAINI,

A. 2003. Urbanization, culture & hyperactivity: an exploratory study of Omani

schoolgirls. Women’s Health and Urban Life: An International and Interdisciplinary

Journal, 2, 43-60.

288

AL-SHIHI, H. 2006. Critical Factors in the Adoption and Diffusion of E-government Initiatives

in Oman. PhD, Victoria University.

ALTHAKHRI, R. & REES, C. 2008. Organizational change strategies in the Arab region: A

review of critical factors. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 123.

ALVESSON, M. & SKöLDBERG, K. 2009. Reflexive methodology: New vistas in qualitative

research, Sage Publications Ltd.

ALVI, H. 2012. Women‘S Rights Movements in the ‗Arab Spring‘: Major Victories for Human

Rights, or Symbolic Accommodations to Strengthen Regime Change Movements?

Available at SSRN.

AL-YAHYA K, LUBATKIN M & VENGROFF R 2009. The Impact of Culture on

Management and Development: A Comparative Review. Dubai School of Government

Working Paper 09-01.

AMBROSE, M., HESS, R. & GANESAN, S. 2007. The relationship between justice and

attitudes: An examination of justice effects on event and system-related attitudes.

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 103, 21-36.

AT-TWAIJRI, M. & AL-MUHAIZA, I. 1996. Hofstede's cultural dimensions in the GCC

countries: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Value-Based

Management, 9, 121-131.

AVERY, D., MCKAY, P. & WILSON, D. 2008. What are the odds? How demographic

similarity affects the prevalence of perceived employment discrimination. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 93, 235-249.

AYCAN, Z. 2000b. Cross-cultural industrial and organizational psychology: Contributions, past

developments, and future directions. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31, 110-128.

AYCAN, Z. 2005. The interplay between cultural and institutional/structural contingencies in

human resource management practices. The International Journal of Human Resource

Management, 16, 1083-1119.

AYCAN, Z., AL-HAMADI, A., DAVIS, A. & BUDHWAR, P. 2007. Cultural orientations and

preferences for HRM policies and practices: the case of Oman. International Journal of

Human Resource Management, 18, 11-32.

AYCAN, Z., KANUNGO, R., MENDONCA, M., YU, K., DELLER, J., STAHL, G. &

KHURSID, A. 2000. Impact of culture on human resource management practices: a ten-

country comparison. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49, 192-220.

BACCHI, C. 1996. The politics of affirmative action: 'women,'equality and category politics,

Sage Publications Ltd.

BAKHTARI, H. 1995. Cultural effects on management style: a comparative study of American

and Middle Eastern management styles. International Studies of Management &

Organization, 25, 97-118.

BARBER, A. 1998. Recruiting employees: Individual and organizational perspectives, Sage

Publications Thousand Oaks, CA.

BARBOUR, R. 1995. Using focus groups in general practice research. Family Practice, 12,

328-334.

BARCLAY, L. & MARKEL, K. 2009. Ethical Fairness and Human Rights: The Treatment of

Employees with Psychiatric Disabilities. Journal of Business Ethics, 85, 333-345.

BASCH, C. 1987. Focus group interview: An underutilized research technique for improving

theory and practice in health education. Health Education & Behavior, 14, 411-448.

BASKERVILLE, R., ZEALAND, W. & BASKERVILLE, R. 2003. Hofstede never studied

culture. Accounting, organizations and society, 28, 1-14.

BAXTER, P. & JACK, S. 2008. Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study Design and

Implementation for Novice Researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13, 544-559.

BEARDWELL, I., HOLDEN, L. & CLAYDON, T. 2004. Human Resource management: A

Contemporary Approach, Person Education Limited, Prentice Hall.

289

BEHERY, M. 2009. Person/organization job-fitting and affective commitment to the

organization. International Journal, 16, 179-196.

BELL, D. & HEITMUELLER, A. 2009. The Disability Discrimination Act in the UK: Helping

or hindering employment among the disabled? Journal of Health Economics, 28, 465-

480.

BELL, M., MCLAUGHLIN, M. & SEQUEIRA, J. 2002. Discrimination, harassment, and the

glass ceiling: Women executives as change agents. Journal of Business Ethics, 37, 65-76.

BENBASAT, I., GOLDSTEIN, D. & MEAD, M. 1987. The case research strategy in studies of

information systems. MIS quarterly, 369-386.

BERNARD, H. 2005. Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative

approaches, Altamira press.

BETANCOURT, H. & LOPEZ, S. 1993. The study of culture, ethnicity, and race in American

psychology. American psychologist, 48, 629-629.

BLAXTER, L., HUGHES, C. & TIGHT, M. 2006. How to research, Open Univ Pr.

BLUNDEL, R. 2004. Effective organisational communication: perspectives, principles, and

practices, Prentice Hall.

BOND, M. & SMITH, P. 1996. Cross-cultural social and organizational psychology. Annual

Review of Psychology, 47, 205-235.

BOUCLIN, S. 2011. Judges, Women As. ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WOMEN IN TODAY'S

WORLD. SAGE Publications. Available at http: //www.sage-

ereference.com/view/womentoday/n440.xml (accessed 16 Jun. 2011).

BOWEN, D. & EARLY, E. 2002. Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East, Indiana Univ Pr.

BOWLING, B., PHILLIPS, C., CAMPBELL, A. & DOCKING, M. 2005. Policing and human

rights: Eliminating discrimination, xenophobia, intolerance and the abuse of power from

police work. . Racism and Public Policy, 117– 146.

BOWMAN, N., KITAYAMA, S. & NISBETT, R. 2009. Social class differences in self,

attribution, and attention: Socially expansive individualism of middle-class Americans.

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 880-893.

BOYD, R. & RICHERSON, P. 1985. Culture and the evolutionary process, University of

Chicago Press.

BRENNER, J. 1987. Feminist political discourses: Radical versus liberal approaches to the

feminization of poverty and comparable worth. Gender and Society, 447-465.

BROWN, S. & LEIGH, T. 1996. A new look at psychological climate and its relationship to job

involvement, effort, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 358-368.

BRUNI, L., STANCA, L. & STREET, H. 2006. Income aspirations, television and happiness:

Evidence from the world values survey. Kyklos, 59, 209-225.

BRYMAN, A. & BELL, E. 2007. Business research methods, Oxford University Press, USA.

BUDHWAR, P. & MELLAHI, K. 2007. Introduction: human resource management in the

Middle East. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18, 2-10.

BUSSE, R. 2005. Your rights at work: all you need to know about workplace law, and how to

use it to protect your job, SphinxLegal.

CALDER, B. 1977. Focus groups and the nature of qualitative marketing research. Journal of

Marketing Research, 14, 353-364.

CAMPA, P., CASARICO, A. & PROFETA, P. 2011. Gender Culture and Gender Gap in

Employment. CESifo Economic Studies, 57, 156-182.

CARNEVALE, P. J. & LEUNG, K. 2002. Cultural Dimensions of Negotiation. In: HOGG, M.

& TINDALE, R. (eds.) Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Group processes.

Blackwell Pub.

CERD 2006. REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE

CONVENTION, Initial periodic report of States parties due in 2004. OMAN.

International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination

291

United Nation.

CHARRAD, M. 2009. Kinship, Islam, or Oil: Culprits of Gender Inequality? Politics and

Gender, 5, 546-553.

CHATTY, D. 2001. Women working in Oman: individual choice and cultural constraints.

International Journal of Middle East Studies, 32, 241-254.

CHHOKAR, J., BRODBECK, F. & HOUSE, R. (eds.) 2008. Culture and leadership across the

world: The GLOBE book of in-depth studies of 25 societies: Lawrence Erlbaum.

CHOI, S. & RAINEY, H. 2009. Managing Diversity in US Federal Agencies: Effects of

Diversity and Diversity Management on Employee Perceptions of Organizational

Performance. Public Administration Review, 70, 109-121.

CLARKE, L. & HERRMANN, G. 2007. Skill shortages, recruitment and retention in the house

building sector. Personnel Review, 36, 509-527.

COATE, S. & LOURY, G. 1993. Will affirmative-action policies eliminate negative

stereotypes? The American Economic Review, 83, 1220-1240.

COLLINS, H. 2003. Discrimination, equality and social inclusion. Modern Law Review, 66, 16-

43

COLLINS, M., SHATTELL, M. & THOMAS, S. 2005. Problematic interviewee behaviors in

qualitative research. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 27, 188.

COLLIS, J. & HUSSEY, R. 2003. Business Research, A Practical Guide for Undergraduate

and Postgraduate Students, Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

COLQUITT, J., CONLON, D., WESSON, M., PORTER, C. & NG, K. 2001. Justice at the

millennium: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of organizational justice research.

Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 425-445.

COMMON, R. 2008. Administrative change in the Gulf: modernization in Bahrain and Oman.

International Review of Administrative Sciences, 74, 177.

COOKE, B. 2004. The managing of the (third) world. Organization, 11, 603-629.

CRESWELL, J. 2009. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods

approaches, Sage Publication.

CRESWELL, J. W., CLARK, V. L. P., GUTMANN, M. L. & HANSON, W. E. 2003.

Advanced Mixed Methods Research Designs. In: TASHAKKORI, A. & TEDDLIE, C.

(eds.) Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. Sage Pubns.

CROPANZANO, R., BOWEN, D. & GILLILAND, S. 2007. The management of organizational

justice. Academy of Management Perspectives, 21, 34-48.

CROSBY, F., IYER, A. & SINCHAROEN, S. 2006. Understanding affirmative action. Annual

Review of Psychology, 57, 585–611.

CROTTY, M. 2003. The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the

research process, London, Sage Publication.

CULLEN, J. B. 2002. Multinational Management: A Strategic Approach, Cincinnatti, OH,

South-Western College Publishing.

CULLEY, L. 2001. Equal opportunities policies and nursing employment within the British

National Health Service. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33, 130-137.

CUNNINGHAM, R. & SARAYRAH, Y. 1993. Taming Wasta to Achieve Development. Arab

Studies Quarterly (ASQ), 16, 29-41.

DALTON, M. & CHROBOT-MASON, D. 2007. A Theoretical Exploration of Manager and

Employee Social Identity, Cultural Values and Identity Conflict Management.

International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 7, 169-183.

DANIELS, K. & MACDONALD, L. 2005. Equality, diversity and discrimination: a student

text, CIPD Publishing.

DARKE, P., SHANKS, G. & BROADBENT, M. 1998. Successfully completing case study

research: combining rigour, relevance and pragmatism. Information Systems Journal 40,

273-289.

290

DASTMALCHIAN, A., JAVIDAN, M. & ALAM, K. 2001. Effective leadership and culture in

Iran: An empirical study. Applied Psychology, 50, 532-558.

DAY, N. & SCHOENRADE, P. 2000. The relationship among reported disclosure of sexual

orientation, anti-discrimination policies, top management support and work attitudes of

gay and lesbian employees. Personnel Review, 29, 346-363.

DECENZO, D. A. & ROBBINS, S. P. 2002. Human Resource Management. , New York John

Wiley & Sons.

DEDOUSSIS, E. 2004. A cross-cultural comparison of organizational culture: Evidence from

universities in the Arab world and Japan. Cross Cultural Management: An International

Journal, 11, 15-34.

DEMUIJNCK, G. 2009. Non-Discrimination in Human Resources Management as a Moral

Obligation. Journal of Business Ethics, 88, 83-101.

DENISON, D. & MISHRA, A. 1995. Toward a theory of organizational culture and

effectiveness. Organization Science, 6, 204-223.

DHAMI, R., SQUIRES, J. & MODOOD, T. 2006. Developing positive action policies: learning

from the experiences of Europe and North America. RESEARCH REPORT-

DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS, 406.

DICKENS, L. 2001. What HRM means for gender equality. In: KELLY, J. (ed.) Industrial

Relations: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management. Routledge.

DICKENS, L. 2005. Walking the talk? Equality and diversity in employment. In: S., B. (ed.)

Managing human resources: personnel management in transition. Wiley-Blackwell.

DICKSON, M. W., BESHEARS, R. S. & GUPTA, V. 2004. The Impact of Societal Culture and

Industry on Organizational Culture. In: HOUSE, R., HANGES, P., JAVIDAN, M.,

DORFMAN, P. & GUPTA, V. (eds.) Culture, leadership, and organizations: The

GLOBE study of 62 societies. Sage Pubns.

DONOHUE III, J. & SIEGELMAN, P. 1991. The changing nature of employment

discrimination litigation. Stanford Law Review, 43, 983-1033.

DORFMAN, P., JAVIDAN, M., HANGES, P., DASTMALCHIAN, A. & HOUSE, R. 2012.

GLOBE: A twenty year journey into the intriguing world of culture and leadership.

Journal of World Business.

EDMONDSON, A. & MCMANUS, S. 2007. Methodological fit in management field research.

Academy of Management Review, 32, 1155.

EISENHARDT, K. 1989. Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management

Review, 532-550.

EL-KOT, G. & LEAT, M. 2008. A survey of recruitment and selection practices in Egypt.

Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 1, 200-212.

ELNAGGAR, A. 2007. The status of Omani women in the ICT sector. International Journal of

Education and Development using ICT, 3, 4-15.

ELSAID, E. & ELSAID, A. M. 2012. Culture and leadership: comparing Egypt to the GLOBE

study of 62 societies. Business and Management Research, 1, p1.

EVENDEN, R. 1993. The strategic managementof recruitemnt and selection. In: HARRISON,

R. (ed.) Human Resource Management: Issues and Strategic. Wokingham: Addison-

Wesley.

FAISAL, A. & ABDELLA, M. 1993. A Methodological Analysis of Wasta: A Study in Saudi

Arabia. Journal of King Saud University., 5, 243-268.

FALKENBERG, L. & BOLAND, L. 1997. Eliminating the barriers to employment equity in the

Canadian workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 16, 963-975.

FEAGIN, J. & ECKBERG, D. 1980. Discrimination: Motivation, action, effects, and context.

Annual Review of Sociology, 6, 1-20.

FERSHTMAN, C., GNEEZY, U. & VERBOVEN, F. 2005. Discrimination and Nepotism: The

Efficiency of the Anonymity Rule. The Journal of Legal Studies, 34, 371-396.

292

FERSHTMAN, C., GNEEZY, U. & VERBOVEN, F. 2005. Discrimination and Nepotism: The

Efficiency of the Anonymity Rule. The Journal of Legal Studies, 34, 371-396.

FERTIG, G. 1996. Investigating the process of culture change from an anthropological

perspective. Social Studies, 87, 165-170.

FLYVBJERG, B. 2006. Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative inquiry,

12, 219-245.

FOLGER, R. & CROPANZANO, R. 1998. Organizational justice and human resource

management, Sage Publications.

FOLGER, R. & KONOVSKY, M. 1989. Effects of procedural and distributive justice on

reactions to pay raise decisions. The Academy of Management Journal, 32, 115-130.

FORTIN, M. & FELLENZ, M. 2008. Hypocrisies of fairness: towards a more reflexive ethical

base in organizational justice research and practice. Journal of Business Ethics, 78, 415-

433.

FRAZER, R. & WIERSMA, U. 2001. Prejudice versus discrimination in the employment

interview: We may hire equally, but our memories harbour prejudice. Human Relations,

54, 173.

FRENCH, E. & SHERIDAN, A. 2009. Equal employment opportunity and diversity

management: can either live up to the promise of achieving gender equity? ESCP-EAP –

Gender and Diversity in Organisations Conference. 15 January, Paris, France.

FRENCH, E. & STRACHAN, G. 2009. Evaluating equal employment opportunity and its

impact on the increased participation of men and women in the transport industry.

Transportation Research Part A, 43, 78-89.

FRIEDMAN, B. 2007. Globalization implications for human resource management roles.

Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 19, 157-171.

FUNSCH, L. P. 2006. Building New Oman: The Hijab Factor [Online]. Sultan Qaboos Cultural

Center. Available: http:

//www.mei.edu/SQCC/EventsActivities/PastEvents/2006SummerInstitute/LectureDrFuns

ch.aspx [Accessed 11March 2010].

GABLE, G. 1994. Integrating case study and survey research methods: an example in

information systems. European Journal of Information Systems, 3, 112-126.

GALES, L. 2008. The role of culture in technology management research: National Character

and Cultural Distance frameworks. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management,

25, 3-22.

GARDNER, W., REITHEL, B., FOLEY, R., COGLISER, C. & WALUMBWA, F. 2009.

Attraction to Organizational Culture Profiles: Effects of Realistic Recruitment and

Vertical and Horizontal Individualism--Collectivism. Management Communication

Quarterly, 22, 437-472.

GELFAND, M., NISHII, L., HOLCOMBE, K., DYER, N., OHBUCHI, K. & FUKUNO, M.

Erez M. y Aycan Z.(2007). Cross-Cultural Organizational Behavior. Annual Review of

Psychology, 58, 479-514.

GERHART, B. & FANG, M. 2005. National culture and human resource management:

assumptions and evidence. The International Journal of Human Resource Management,

16, 971-986.

GHAFORY-ASHTIANY, M., AL-DAMKHI, A., ABDUL-WAHAB, S., AL-KHULAIFI, N.,

ACHUTHAN, N., ZHONG, Y., LOW, S., SINGH, A., RAUTELA, P. & JOSHI, G.

2009. View of Islam on earthquakes, human vitality and disaster. Disaster Prevention and


GHIRLANDA, S., ENQUIST, M. & NAKAMARU, M. 2006. Cultural evolution developing its

own rules: The rise of conservatism and persuasion. Current Anthropology, 47, 1027–

1034.

GHUBASH, H. 1999. Oman: The Islamic Democratic Tradition, Lebanon. , Alfarabi publisher.

GIBBS, A. 1997. Focus groups. Social Research Update, 8.

293

GILL, J. & JOHNSON, P. 2010. Research methods for managers, Sage Publications Ltd.

GOLDMAN, B. 2001. Toward an understanding of employment discrimination claiming: An

integration of organizational justice and social information processing theories. Personnel

Psychology, 54, 361–386., 54, 361-386.

GOLDMAN, B., GUTEK, B., STEIN, J. & LEWIS, K. 2006. Employment discrimination in

organizations: Antecedents and consequences. Journal of Management, 32, 786.

GOLDMAN, B., SLAUGHTER, J., SCHMIT, M., WILEY, J. & BROOKS, S. 2008.

Perceptions of discrimination: a multiple needs model perspective. Journal of


GREENBERG, J. 1990. Organizational justice: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Journal of


GRIFFEE, D. T. 2005. Research Tips: Interview Data Collection. Journal of Developmental

Education, 28, 2.

GROESCHL, S. & DOHERTY, L. 2000. Conceptualizing culture. Cross Cultural Management

- An International Journal, 7, 12-17.

GUERIN, B. & GUERIN, P. 2007. Lessons learned from participatory discrimination research:

Long-term observations and local interventions. The Australian Community Psychologist,

19, 137-149.

GUIRAUDON, V. 2009. Equality in the making: implementing European non-discrimination

law. Citizenship Studies, 13, 527-549.

GUISO, L., SAPIENZA, P. & ZINGALES, L. 2006. Does culture affect economic outcomes?

The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20, 23-48.

GUPTA, A. & FERGUSON, J. 1992. Beyond" culture": Space, identity, and the politics of

difference. Cultural anthropology, 7, 6-23.

GUPTA, V. & HANGES, P. J. 2004. Regional and Climate Clustering of Societal Culture. In:

HOUSE, R., HANGES, P., JAVIDAN, M., DORFMAN, P. & GUPTA, V. (eds.) Culture,

leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. London: Sage Pubns.

HADDAD, Y. & ESPOSITO, J. 1998. Islam, gender, & social change, Oxford University

Press, USA.

HAJJAMI, A. E. 2009. Gender Equality and Islamic Law - The Case of Morocco. In: KARI

VOGT, L. L., CHRISTIAN MOE (ed.) New Directions in Islamic Thought Exploring

Reform and Muslim Tradition. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. LTD.

HANGES, P. J. & DICKSON, M. W. 2004. The Development and Validation of the GLOBE

Culture and Leadership Scales. In: HOUSE, R., HANGES, P., JAVIDAN, M.,


GLOBE study of 62 societies. London: Sage Pubns.

HANGES, P. J., DICKSON, M. W. & SIPE, M. T. 2004. Rational for GLOBE Statistical

Analyses, Societal Ranking and Test of Hypotheses. In: HOUSE, R., HANGES, P.,

JAVIDAN, M., DORFMAN, P. & GUPTA, V. (eds.) Culture, leadership, and

organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. London: Sage Pubns.

HAQUE, M. 1997. Incongruity between bureaucracy and society in developing nations: A

critique. Peace & Change, 22, 432-462.

HARRIS, M. 2006. EEOC is Watching You: Recruitment Discrimination Comes to the

Forefront [Online]. Available: http: //www.ere.net/2006/05/30/eeoc-is-watching-you-

recruitment-discrimination-comes-to-the-forefront/ [Accessed 8th November 2008].

HECKMAN, J. 1998. Detecting discrimination. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12, 101-

116.

HEERY, E. 2006. Equality bargaining: where, who, why? Gender Work and Organization, 13,

522-542.

HELD, D., MCGREW, A., GOLDBLATT, D. & PERRATON, J. 1999. Global

transformations: Politics, economics and culture, Stanford Univ Pr.

294

HERRERA, R. 2008. A Study of the Relationships between Attitudes toward Diversity

Management and Cultural Preferences PhD, Our Lady of the Lake University

HERRERA, R., DUNCAN, P. A., GREEN, M., REE, M. & SKAGGS, S. L. 2011. The

relationship between attitudes toward diversity management in the Southwest USA and

the GLOBE study cultural preferences. The International Journal of Human Resource

Management, 22, 2629-2646.

HEYES, J. 2007. Training, social dialogue and collective bargaining in Western Europe.

Economic and Industrial Democracy, 28, 239-258.

HOFSTEDE, G. 1980. Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related

values, London, Sage Publications, Inc.

HOFSTEDE, G. 1983a. The cultural relativity of organizational practices and theories. Journal

of International Business Studies, 14, 75-89.

HOFSTEDE, G. 1983b. National Cultures Revisited. Journal of Cross-Cultural Research, 18,

285-305.

HOFSTEDE, G. 1984. National cultures revisited. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 2, 22-

28.

HOFSTEDE, G. 1991. Culture and Organizations: Intercultural Cooperation and its

Importance for Survival–Software of the Mind, London, McGraw-Hill.

HOFSTEDE, G. 1993. Cultural constraints in management theories. The Executive, 7, 81-94.

HOFSTEDE, G. 1997. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, New York, McGraw-

Hill.

HOFSTEDE, G. 1998. Attitudes, values and organizational culture: disentangling the concepts.

Organization studies, 19, 477.

HOFSTEDE, G. 2001. Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and

organizations across nations, Sage Pubns.

HOFSTEDE, G. 2002. Dimensions do not exist: A reply to Brendan McSweeney. Human

Relations, 55, 1355-1361.

HOFSTEDE, G. 2003. What is culture? A reply to Baskerville. Accounting, organizations and

society, 28, 811-813.

HOFSTEDE, G. 2005. Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind, McGraw-Hill

Publishing Co.

HOFSTEDE, G. 2006. What did GLOBE really measure? Researchers minds versus

respondents minds. Journal of International Business Studies, 37, 882-896.

HOFSTEDE, G. 2007. Asian management in the 21st century. Asia Pacific Journal of


HOFSTEDE, G. & BOND, M. 1988. The Confucius connection: From cultural roots to

economic growth. Organizational Dynamics, 16, 5-21.

HOFSTEDE, G. & HOFSTEDE, G. J. 2005. Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind

Intercultural cooperation and its importance for survival, McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.

HOFSTEDE, G. & MCCRAE, R. 2004. Personality and culture revisited: Linking traits and

dimensions of culture. Cross-Cultural Research, 38, 52.

HOUSE, R. & HANGES, P. 2004. Research Design. In: HOUSE, R., HANGES, P., JAVIDAN,

M., DORFMAN, P. & GUPTA, V. (eds.) Culture, leadership, and organizations: The


HOUSE, R., HANGES, P., JAVIDAN, M., DORFMAN, P. & GUPTA, V. 2004. Culture,

leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies, London, Sage Pubns.

HOWARD, G. 1991. Culture tales: A narrative approach to thinking, cross-cultural psychology,

and psychotherapy. American psychologist, 46, 187-197.

HUMAN, L. 1996. Managing workforce diversity: a critique and example from South Africa.

International Journal of Manpower, 17, 46-64.

295

HUSSEY, J. & HUSSEY, R. 1997. Business Research: A practical guide for undergraduate

and postgraduate students, Macmillan, Basingstoke.

HUTCHINGS, K. & WEIR, D. 2006. Understanding networking in China and the Arab World.

Journal of European Industrial Training, 30, 272-290.

HUTCHINGS, K. & WEIR, D. 2006 (b). Guanxi and wasta: A comparison. Thunderbird

International Business Review, 48, 141-156.

HUTZSCHENREUTER, T. & VOLL, J. 2008. Performance effects of added cultural distance in

the path of international expansion: the case of German multinational enterprises. Journal


ILHAAMIE, A. G. A. 2009. Islamic Human Resource Practices and Organizational

Performance: A Conceptual Framework. he Business Review,Cambridge,, 13, 223-230.

INGLEHART, R., AGUIR, C., AHMAD, A., ALIEV, A., ALISHAUSKIENE, R. &

ANDREYENKOV, V. 2000. World values surveys and European values surveys, 1981-

1984, 1990-1993, and 1995-1997. Ann Arbor-Michigan, Institute for Social Research,

ICPSR version.

INGLEHART, R. & BAKER, W. 2000. Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of

traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65, 19-51.

INGLEHART, R., BASANEZ, M. & MORENO, A. 1998. Human values and beliefs: a cross-

cultural sourcebook: political, religious, sexual, and economic norms in 43 societies;

findings from the 1990-1993 world value survey, Univ of Michigan Pr.

JACKSON, M. 2009. Disadvantaged through discrimination? The role of employers in social

stratification<sup>1</sup>. British Journal of Sociology, 60, 669-692.

JACKSON, S., JOSHI, A. & ERHARDT, N. 2003. Recent research on team and organizational

diversity: SWOT analysis and implications. Journal of Management, 29, 801-830.

JACKSON, T. 2001. Cultural values and management ethics: A 10-nation study. Human

Relations, 54, 1267-1302.

JAHODA, M. 1981. Work, employment, and unemployment. American psychologist, 36, 184-

191.

JAIN, H. & HACKETT, R. 1989. Measuring effectiveness of employment equity programs in

Canada: Public policy and a survey. Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de Politiques, 15,

189-204.

JAIN, H. C., HORWITZ, F. & WILKIN, C. L. 2012. Employment equity in Canada and South

Africa: a comparative review. The International Journal of Human Resource


JAMES, E. & WOOTEN, L. 2006. Diversity crises: How firms manage discrimination lawsuits.

Academy of Management Journal, 49, 1103-1118.

JAVIDAN, M. & DASTMALCHIAN, A. 2009. Managerial implications of the GLOBE

project: A study of 62 societies. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 47, 41.

JAVIDAN, M., HOUSE, R. & DORFMAN, P. 2004. A Nontechnical Summary of GLOBE

Finding. In: HOUSE, R., HANGES, P., JAVIDAN, M., DORFMAN, P. & GUPTA, V.

(eds.) Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Sage

Pubns.

JAVIDAN, M., HOUSE, R., DORFMAN, P., HANGES, P. & DE LUQUE, S. 2006.

Conceptualizing and measuring cultures and their consequences: a comparative review of

GLOBEs and Hofstedes approaches. Journal of International Business Studies, 37, 897-

914.

JEWSON, N. & MASON, D. 1986. The theory and practice of equal opportunities policies:

liberal and radical approaches. Sociological Review, 34, 307-334.

JOHNS, N. & GREEN, A. 2009. Equality, equal opportunities and diversity. Equal

Opportunities International, 28, 289-303.

JOHNSON, B. & TURNER, L. A. 2003. Data Collection Strategies in Mixed Methods

296

Reasearch. In: TASHAKKORI, A. & TEDDLIE, C. (eds.) Handbook of Mixed Methods

In Social & Behavioral Research. Sage Pubns.

JONES JR, J. 1984. Genesis and Present Status of Affirmative Action in Employment:

Economic, Legal, and Political Realities, The. Iowa L. Rev., 70, 901.

JUNG, T., SCOTT, T., DAVIES, H., BOWER, P., WHALLEY, D., MCNALLY, R. &

MANNION, R. 2009. Instruments for Exploring Organizational Culture: A Review of the

Literature. Public Administration Review, 69, 1087-1096.

KABASAKAL, H., DASTMALCHIAN, A., KARACAY, G. & BAYRAKTAR, S. 2012.

Leadership and culture in the MENA region: An analysis of the GLOBE project. Journal

of World Business.

KADIVAR, M. 2009. Human right and intellectual Islam. In: KARI VOGT, L. L., CHRISTIAN

MOE (ed.) New Directions in Islamic Thought Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition.

London: I.B. Tauris & Co. LTD.

KALEV, A., KELLY, E. & DOBBIN, F. 2006. Best practices or best guesses? Assessing the

efficacy of corporate affirmative action and diversity policies. American Sociological

Review, 71, 589-617.

KATOU, A. & BUDHWAR, P. 2010. Causal relationship between HRM policies and

organisational performance: Evidence from the Greek manufacturing sector. European

Management Journal, 28, 25-39.

KEDDIE, N. 2007. Women in the Middle East: past and present, Princeton Univ Pr.

KEDIA, B. & BHAGAT, R. 1988. Cultural constraints on transfer of technology across nations:

Implications for research in international and comparative management. The Academy of

Management Review, 13, 559-571.

KEESING, R. 1974. Theories of culture. Annual review of anthropology, 3, 73-97.

KEMPER, E. A., STRINGFILED, S. & TEDDLIE, C. 2003. Mixed Methods Sampling

Strategies in Social Research. In: TASHAKKORI, A. & TEDDLIE, C. (eds.) Handbook

of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. Sage Pubns.

KING, E., HEBL, M., GEORGE, J. & MATUSIK, S. 2009. Understanding Tokenism:

Antecedents and Consequences of a Psychological Climate of Gender Inequity. Journal

of Management, 1-29.

KIRKMAN, B., LOWE, K. & GIBSON, C. 2006. A quarter century of Cultures Consequences:

a review of empirical research incorporating Hofstedes cultural values framework.

Journal of International Business Studies, 37, 285-320.

KITZINGER, J. 1994. The methodology of focus groups: the importance of interaction between

research participants. Sociology of health and illness, 16, 103-121.

KLEIMAN, L. 2000. Human resource management: A managerial tool for competitive

advantage, Atomic Dog Pub.

KLEIN, A., WAXIN, M. & RADNELL, E. 2009. The impact of the Arab national culture on

the perception of ideal organizational culture in the United Arab Emirates: An empirical

study of 17 firms. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern

Issues, 2, 44-56.

KLITGAARD, R. 1998. International Cooperation Against. Finance & Development, 3-6.

KLUCKHOHN, F., STRODTBECK, F. & ROBERTS, J. 1961. Variations in value

orientations, Row, Peterson Evanston, IL.

KONOW, J. 2003. Which is the fairest one of all? A positive analysis of justice theories.

Journal of Economic Literature, 41, 1188-1239.

KONRAD, A. & LINNEHAN, F. 1995. Formalized HRM structures: coordinating equal

employment opportunity or concealing organizational practices? Academy of

Management Journal, 787-820.

KOTTER, J. & HESKETT, J. 1992. Corporate culture and performance, New York: , Free

Press.

297

KRAUSE, W. 2009. Gender and Participation in the Arab Gulf. Governance and Globalisation

in the Gulf States. Kuwait Programme on Development.

KRIEGER, L. 1995. The content of our categories: A cognitive bias approach to discrimination

and equal employment opportunity. Stanford Law Review, 1161-1248.

KROEBER, A., KLUCKHOHN, C., UNTEREINER, W. & MEYER, A. 1952. Culture: A

critical review of concepts and definitions, Vintage Books New York.

KURER, O. 2005. Corruption: An alternative approach to its definition and measurement.

Political Studies, 53, 222–239.

LANDES, D. 2000. Culture makes almost all the difference. In: HARRISON, L. E. &

HUNTINGTON, S. P. (eds.) Culture matters: how values shape human progress. New

York: Basic Books.

LAURENT, A. 1986. The cross-cultural puzzle of international human resource management.

Human Resource Management, 25, 91-102.

LEAT, M. & EL-KOT, G. 2007. HRM practices in Egypt: the influence of national context?

International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18, 147-158.

LEFRANC, A. 2009. Unequal opportunities and ethnic origin: The labor market outcomes of

second-generation immigrants in France. Discrimination in comparative perspective:

policies and practices. Special issue of American behavioral scientist (forthcoming).

LEVESON, L., JOINER, T. A. & BAKALIS, S. 2009. Managing cultural diversity and

perceived organizational support. International Journal of Manpower, 30, 377-392.

LEVINE, R. 2007. Anthropological foundations of cultural psychology. In: KITAYAMA, S. &

COHEN, D. (eds.) Handbook of cultural psychology. The Guilford Press.

LEWIS, J. 2006. Work/family reconciliation, equal opportunities and social policies: the

interpretation of policy trajectories at the EU level and the meaning of gender equality.

Journal of European Public Policy, 13, 420-437.

LINN, L. 1964. Verbal attitudes and overt behavior: A study of racial discrimination. Social

Forces, 43, 353-364.

LU, L., ROSE, G. & BLODGETT, J. 1999. The effects of cultural dimensions on ethical

decision making in marketing: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Ethics, 18, 91-

105.

LUNT, P. & LIVINGSTONE, S. 1996. Rethinking the focus group in media and

communications research. Journal of communication, 46, 79-98.

MACNAB, B., BRISLIN, R., WORTHLEY, R., GALPERIN, B., JENNER, S., LITUCHY, T.,

MACLEAN, J., AGUILERA, G., RAVLIN, E. & TIESSEN, J. 2007. Culture and ethics

management: Whistle-blowing and internal reporting within a NAFTA country context.

International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 7, 5-28.

MAGOSHI, E. & CHANG, E. 2009. Diversity management and the effects on employees‘

organizational commitment: Evidence from Japan and Korea. Journal of World Business,

44, 31-40.

MALACH-PINES, A. & KASPI-BARUCH, O. 2008. The role of culture and gender in the

choice of a career in management. Career Development International, 13, 306-319.

MASELAND, R. & VAN HOORN, A. 2009. Explaining the negative correlation between

values and practices: A note on the HofstedeGLOBE debate. Journal of International

Business Studies, 40, 527-532.

MASTRO, D. 2008. effects of racial and ethnic stereotyping. In: BRYANT, J. & OLIVER, M.

B. (eds.) Media effects: Advances in theory and research. Routledge.

MCFARLIN, D. & SWEENEY, P. 1992. Distributive and procedural justice as predictors of

satisfaction with personal and organizational outcomes. The Academy of Management

Journal, 35, 626-637.

MCGOLDRICK, A. & ARROWSMITH, J. 1993. Recruitment advertising: discrimination on

the basis of age. Employee Relations, 15, 54-65.

298

MCKAY, P., AVERY, D., TONIDANDEL, S., MORRIS, M., HERNANDEZ, M. & HEBL, M.

2007. Racial differences in employee retention: Are diversity climate perceptions the

key? Personnel Psychology, 60, 35-62.

MCKIERNAN, P. & AL-ISMAILY, S. 2007. Inside the Omani Corporate Culture A research

in Management Styles, Muscat, Oman Economic Review.

MCMILLAN-CAPEHART, A., GRUBB, W. & HERDMAN, A. 2009. Affirmative action

decisions: when ignorance is bliss. Equal Opportunities International, 28, 415-431.

MCSWEENEY, B. 2002. Hofstede's model of national cultural differences and their

consequences: A triumph of faith-a failure of analysis. Human Relations, 55, 89-118.

MEEUWESEN, L., VAN DEN BRINK-MUINEN, A. & HOFSTEDE, G. 2009. Can

dimensions of national culture predict cross-national differences in medical

communication? Patient Education and Counseling, 75, 58-66.

MELLAHI, K., GUERMAT, C., FRYNAS, J. & AL-BORTAMANI, H. 2003. Motives for FDI

in Gulf Co-Operation Council States: the case of Oman. Thunderbird International

Business Review, 45, 431-446.

METCALFE, B. 2006. Exploring cultural dimensions of gender and management in the Middle

East. Thunderbird International Business Review, 48, 93-107.

MILES, M. & HUBERMAN, A. 1994. Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook,

Sage Publication.

MILES, R. 2002. Employment and unemployment in Jordan: the importance of the gender

system. World Development, 30, 413-427.

MIR-HOSSEINI, Z. 2009. Classical Fiqh, Contemporary Ethics and Gender Justice. In: KARI

VOGT, L. L., CHRISTIAN MOE (ed.) New Directions in Islamic Thought Exploring

Reform and Muslim Tradition. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. LTD.

MOADDEL, M. 2009. The Iranian Revolution and its Nemesis: The Rise of Liberal Values

among Iranians. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 29, 126-

136.

MOCS. 2004. The Law of Civil Service [Online]. Available: http:

//www.mocs.gov.om/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=AFIafWcI1sQ%3D&tabid=302

[Accessed 15 Jnuary 2010].

MOCS. 2009. Schedules of tests and interviews [Online]. Muscat. Available: http:

//www.mocs.gov.om/tabid/204/Default.aspx [Accessed 13 january 2010].

MOHAMED, A. & HAMDY, H. 2008. The Stigma of Wasta: The Effect of Wasta on Perceived

Competence and Morality. Working Papers, 5, 9.

MOHAMED, M., O'SULLIVAN, K. & RIBIERE, V. 2008. A paradigm shift in the Arab region

knowledge evolution. Journal of Knowledge Management, 12, 107-120.

MOHAMMED, U., WHITE, G. & PRABHAKAR, G. 2008. Culture and Conflict Management

Style of International Project Managers. International Journal of Business and


MOIDEENKUTTY, U., AL-LAMKI, A. & MURTHY, Y. S. R. 2011. HRM practices and

organizational performance in Oman. Personnel Review, 40, 239-251.

MONE 2003. Human Resource Development report, The sultanate of Oman. muscat.

MONE 2009. statistical year book 2009. Ministry of National Economy.

MONEIM, A. 2007. Towards The Understanding Of Societal Cultures And Leadership In Non-

western Countries: An Exploratory Study On Egypt. Academic Leadership Journal, 5,

22-28.

MORGAN, D. 1996. Focus groups. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 129-152.

MOSD. 2010. Associations and Communities Clubs [Online]. Available: http:

//www.mosd.gov.om/association.asp [Accessed 7 February 2010].

MUJTABA, B. G., KHANFAR, N. M. & KHANFAR, S. M. 2009. Leadership Tendencies of

Government Employees in Oman: A Study of Task and Relationship based on Age and

299

Gender. Public Organization Review, 1-18.

MYERS, D. W. 1992. Human Resource Management, Chicago, Commerce Clearing House.

NARDON, L. & STEERS, R. 2009. The culture theory jungle: divergence and convergence in

models of national culture. In: BHAGAT, R. S. & STEERS, R. M. (eds.) Cambridge

Handbook of Culture, Organizations, and Work. Cambridge University Press.

NEAL, M., FINLAY, J. & CATANA, G. 2007. A comparison of leadership prototypes of Arab

and European females. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 7, 291-316.

NG, S., LEE, J. & SOUTAR, G. 2007. Are Hofstede's and Schwartz's value frameworks

congruent? International Marketing Review, 24, 164-180.

OMANET. 1996. The Basic Low of The State [Online]. Muscat. Available: http:

//www.omanet.om/english/government/basiclaw/overview.asp?cat=gov&subcat=blaw

[Accessed 20 January 2010].

ONA 2009. H.M the Sultan presides over the annual convening of the Council of Oman.

Muscat: Oman News Agency.

O'SULLIVAN, E. 2009. The New Gulf, How Modern Arabia Is Changing The World For Good,

Dubai, Motive Publishing.

PARBOTEEAH, K., BRONSON, J. & CULLEN, J. 2005. Does National Culture Affect

Willingness to Justify Ethically Suspect Behaviors?: A Focus on the GLOBE National

Culture Scheme. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 5, 123-138.

PARBOTEEAH, K., HOEGL, M. & CULLEN, J. 2008. Ethics and Religion: An Empirical Test

of a Multidimensional Model. Journal of Business Ethics, 80, 387-398.

PARE, G. & TREMBLAY, M. 2007. The Influence of High-Involvement Human Resources

Practices, Procedural Justice, Organizational Commitment, and Citizenship Behaviors on

Information Technology Professionals' Turnover Intentions. Group & Organization


PAUL, P., ROY, A. & MUKHOPADHYAY, K. 2006. The impact of cultural values on

marketing ethical norms: A study in India and the United States. Journal of International

Marketing, 14, 28-56.

PEARSON, E.2009. EQUITY, ORGANISATIONAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT (HRM). In: Proceedings of the Postgraduate Symposium, 2009

University of Plymouth: Faculty of Social Science and Business 49-61.

PEDRIANA, N. & STRYKER, R. 1997. Political Culture Wars 1960s Style: Equal

Employment Opportunity-Affirmative Action Law and the Philadelphia Plan 1. American

Journal of Sociology, 103, 633-691.

PETERSON, J. 2004a. Oman's Diverse Society: Southern Oman. Middle East Journal, 58, 254-

269.

PETERSON, J. 2004b. Oman: Three and a Half Decades of Change andc Development. Middle

East Policy, 11, 125-137.

PETERSON, J. 2007. Oman's insurgencies: the Sultanate's struggle for supremacy, Saqi.

PFAU-EFFINGER, B. 2004. Development of culture, welfare states and women's employment

in Europe, Ashgate Pub Ltd.

PHAN, B. & KLEINER, B. H. 1999. The Basics of Employment Discrimination. Equal

Opportunities International, 18, 10-15.

POSTHUMA, R. & CAMPION, M. 2009. Age Stereotypes in the Workplace: Common

Stereotypes, Moderators, and Future Research Directions {dagger}. Journal of


POTHUKUCHI, V., DAMANPOUR, F., CHOI, J., CHEN, C. & PARK, S. 2002. National and

Organizational Culture Differences and International Joint Venture Performance. Journal


PRICE, A. M. 2011. Constraints and Opportunities: The Shaping of Attitudes Towards

Women‘s Employment in the Middle East. The Ohio State University.

311

PUCETAITE , R. & LäMSä, A. 2008. Developing organizational trust through advancement of

employees‘ work ethic in a post-socialist context. Journal of Business Ethics, 82, 325-

337.

RABE, J. 2001. Equality, Affirmative Action and Justice, BoD–Books on Demand.

RAO, P. 2009. The role of national culture on Mexican staffing practices. Employee Relations,

31, 295-311.

RAWLS, J. 1999. A theory of justice, Belknap Press.

RESKIN, B. 2000. The proximate causes of employment discrimination. Contemporary

Sociology, 29, 319-328.

REYNA, C., TUCKER, A., KORFMACHER, W. & HENRY, P. 2005. Searching for common

ground between supporters and opponents of affirmative action. Political Psychology, 26,

667-682.

RICE, G. 1999. Islamic ethics and the implications for business. Journal of Business Ethics, 18,

345-358.

RICE, G. 2003. The challenge of creativity and culture: a framework for analysis with

application to Arabian Gulf firms. International Business Review, 12, 461-477.

RIZZO, H., ABDEL-LATIF, A. & MEYER, K. 2007. The Relationship Between Gender

Equality and Democracy: A Comparison of Arab Versus Non-Arab Muslim Societies.

Sociology, 41, 1151-1170.

ROBERSON, Q. & STEVENS, C. 2006. Making sense of diversity in the workplace:

Organizational justice and language abstraction in employees' accounts of diversity-

related incidents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 379-390.

ROBERTSON, C., AL-KHATIB, J., AL-HABIB, M. & LANOUE, D. 2001. Beliefs about work

in the Middle East and the convergence versus divergence of values. Journal of World

Business, 36, 223-244.

ROBSON, C. 1993. Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-

researchers, Blackwell Pub.

ROEHLING, P., ROEHLING, M., VANDLEN, J., BLAZEK, J. & GUY, W. 2009. Weight

discrimination and the glass ceiling effect among top US CEOs. Equal Opportunities

International, 28, 179-196.

ROHNER, R. 1984. Toward a conception of culture for cross-cultural psychology. Journal of

Cross-Cultural Psychology, 15, 111-138.

ROSE, D. 1989. Twenty-five years later: Where do we stand on equal employment opportunity

law enforcement. Vand. L. Rev., 42, 1121.

ROSE, R., MALAYSIA, U., KUMAR, N., ABDULLAH, H. & LING, G. 2008. Organizational

Culture as a Root of Performance Improvement: Research and Recommendations.

Contemporary Management Research, 4, 43-56.

ROTHWELL, S. 1995. Human Resource Planning'. In: STOREY, J. (ed.) Human resource

management: A critical text. London: Routledge.

RUTLEDGE, E., AL SHAMSI, F., BASSIONI, Y. & AL SHEIKH, H. 2011. Women, labour

market nationalization policies and human resource development in the Arab Gulf states.

Human Resource Development International, 14, 183-198.

RYAN, A., GEE, G. & GRIFFITH, D. 2008. The effects of perceived discrimination on

diabetes management. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 19, 149-

163.

RYAN, L. 2006. Current ethical issues in Polish HRM. Journal of Business Ethics, 66, 273-290.

SAMANT, D., SOFFER, M., HERNANDEZ, B., ADYA, M., AKINPELU, O., LEVY, J. M.,

REPOLI, E., KRAMER, M. & BLANCK, P. 2009. Corporate Culture and Employment

of People With Disabilities: Role of Social Workers and Service Provider Organizations.

Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation, 8, 171-188.

SARGEANT, M. 2009. Age discrimination, sexual orientation and gender identity: UK/US

310

perspectives. Equal Opportunities International, 28, 634-645.

SCHEIN, E. 1990. Organizational culture. American psychologist, 45, 109-119.

SCHEIN, E. H. 1992. Organizational culture and leadership, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Inc

Publishers.

SCHUSTER, M. & MILLER, C. 1984. An empirical assessment of the Age Discrimination in

Employment Act. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 38, 64-74.

SCHWARTZ, S. 1999. A theory of cultural values and some implications for work. Values and

Work: A Special Issue of the Journal Applied Psychology, 48, 23-47.

SEGALL, M., LONNER, W. & BERRY, J. 1998. Cross-cultural psychology as a scholarly

discipline: On the flowering of culture in behavioral research. American psychologist, 53,

1101-1110.

SEGINER, R. 2005. Adolescent future orientation: Intergenerational transmission and

intertwining tactics in cultural and family settings. In: WOLFGANG FRIEDLMEIER, P.

C., BEATE SCHWARZ (ed.) Culture and human development: the importance of cross-

cultural research for the social sciences. TJ International Ltd, PADSTOW, Cornwall.

SELEIM, A. & BONTIS, N. 2009. The relationship between culture and corruption: a cross-

national study. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 10, 165-184.

SELMI, M. 2000. Why Are Employment Discrimination Cases So Hard to Win. Louisiana Law

Reiew., 61, 555.

SHEN, G. & KLEINER, B. 2001. Age discrimination in hiring. Equal Opportunities

International, 20, 25-32.

SHI, X. & WANG, J. 2011. Interpreting Hofstede Model and GLOBE Model: Which Way to

Go for Cross-Cultural Research? International Journal of Business and Management, 6,

p93.

SHLEIFER, A. & VISHNY, R. 1993. Corruption. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108,

599-617.

SIMS, R. 2009. Collective Versus Individualist National Cultures: Comparing Taiwan and US

Employee Attitudes Toward Unethical Business Practices. Business & Society, 48, 39-59.

SIN, C. 2003. Interviewing in'place': the socio-spatial construction of interview data. Area, 35,

305-312.

SKITKA, L., WINQUIST, J. & HUTCHINSON, S. 2003. Are outcome fairness and outcome

favorability distinguishable psychological constructs? A meta-analytic review. Social

Justice Research, 16, 309-341.

SKRENTNY, J. 2001. Color lines: affirmative action, immigration, and civil rights options for

America, University of Chicago Press.

SMITH, P. 2006. When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled: the GLOBE and Hofstede

projects. Journal of International Business Studies, 37, 915-921.

SMITH, P., ACHOUI, M. & HARB, C. 2007. Unity and diversity in Arab managerial styles.

International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 7, 275.

SMITH, P., PETERSON, M. & SCHWARTZ, S. 2002. Cultural values, sources of guidance,

and their relevance to managerial behavior: A 47-nation study. Journal of Cross-Cultural

Psychology, 33, 188-208.

SMITH, R. 1988. OMAN: Leaping across the centuries. British Medical Journal, 297, 540-544.

SPIERINGS, N., SMITS, J. & VERLOO, M. 2009. On the Compatibility of Islam and Gender

Equality. Social Indicators Research, 90, 503-522.

STOKER, G. 2006. Public value management: A new narrative for networked governance? The

American Review of Public Administration, 36, 41-57.

STONE, D., STONE-ROMERO, E. & LUKASZEWSKI, K. 2007. The impact of cultural

values on the acceptance and effectiveness of human resource management policies and

practices. Human Resource Management Review, 17, 152-165.

STRACHAN, G., BURGESS, J. & HENDERSON, L. 2007. Equal employment opportunity

312

legislation and policies: the Australian experience. Equal Opportunities International, 26,

525-540.

STRACHAN, G., BURGESS, J. & SULLIVAN, A. 2004. Affirmative action or managing

diversity: what is the future of equal opportunity policies in organisations? Women in

Management Review, 19, 196-204.

SUK, J. 2006. Antidiscrimination Law in the Administrative State. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

LAW REVIEW 2006, 405-473.

SWAILES, S. & AL FAHDI, S. 2011. Voluntary turnover in the Omani public sector: an

Islamic values perspective. International Journal of Public Administration, 34, 682-692.

SWAILES, S., AL SAID, L. & AL FAHDI, S. 2012. Localisation policy in Oman: a

psychological contracting interpretation. International journal of public sector

management, 25, 357-372.

SYED, J. 2008. A context-specific perspective of equal employment opportunity in Islamic

societies. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 25, 135-151.

SYED, J. & OZBILGIN, M. 2009. A relational framework for international transfer of diversity

management practices. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20,

2435-2453.

SYED, J., ÖZBILGIN, M., TORUNOGLU, D. & ALI, F. 2009. Rescuing gender equality from

the false dichotomies of secularism versus shariah in Muslim majority countries.

Women's Studies International Forum, 32, 67-79.

TAEI, A. 2008. The Political History of Oman, Alrebai'an Publisher.

TANG, L. & KOVEOS, P. 2008. A framework to update Hofstedes cultural value indices:

economic dynamics and institutional stability. Journal of International Business Studies,

39, 1045-1063.

TASHAKKORI, A. & TEDDLIE, C. 2003. Major Issues and Controversies in The Use of

Mixed Methods In The Social and Behavioral Science. In: TASHAKKORI, A. &

TEDDLIE, C. (eds.) Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. Sage

Pubns.

TAYEB, M. 1994. Organizations and national culture: Methodology considered. Organization

studies, 15, 429-446.

TAYEB, M. 1997. Islamic revival in Asia and human resource management. Employee

Relations, 19, 352-364.

TELLIS, W. 1997. Introduction to case study [Online]. Available: http:

//www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-2/tellis1.html [Accessed 10 March 2010].

TERLUTTER, R., DIEHL, S. & MUELLER, B. 2006. The GLOBE study–applicability of a

new typology of cultural dimensions for cross-cultural marketing and advertising

research. International Advertising and Communication: New Insights and Empirical

Findings, Gabler DUV, Wiesbaden, 419-38.

THOMAS, R. 1990. From affirmative action to affirming diversity. Harvard Business Review,

68, 107-17.

THOMPSON, N. 1998. Promoting Equality: Challenging discrimination and oppression in the

human services, Macmillan Press Ltd.

THORNHILL, A., LEWIS, P., MILLMORE, M. & SAUNDERS, M. 2000. Managing Change:

A Human Resource Strategy Approach, London, Prentice Hall.

TIBI, B. 1990. the simultaneity of the unsimultaneous: old tribes and imposed nation-states in

the modern Middle East. In: KHOURY, P. & KOSTINER, J. (eds.) Tribes and state

formation in the Middle East. Univ of California Pr on Demand.

TRIANDIS, H. C. 2004. Foreword. In: HOUSE, R., HANGES, P., JAVIDAN, M.,



TRIANDIS, H. C. & BRISLIN, R. W. 1984. Cross-cultural psychology. American Psychologist,

313

39, 1006-1016.

TSUI, A. & NIFADKAR, S. 2007. Cross-national, cross-cultural organizational behavior

research: Advances, gaps, and recommendations. Journal of Management, 33, 426-479.

TURNIPSEED, D. 2002. Are good soldiers good? Exploring the link between organization

citizenship behavior and personal ethics. Journal of Business Research, 55, 1-15.

UHLMANN, E. & COHEN, G. 2007. ―I think it, therefore it‘s true‖: Effects of self-perceived

objectivity on hiring discrimination. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision

Processes, 104, 207-223.

VALERI, M. 2005. The omanisation policy of employment: An Omani economic dilemma

[Online]. Available: http: //www.mafhoum.com/press7/230E13.pdf [Accessed 10th

March 2010].

VAN DE VLIERT, E. 2006. Autocratic leadership around the globe: Do climate and wealth

drive leadership culture? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37, 42-59.

WALBY, S. 2005. Gender mainstreaming: Productive tensions in theory and practice. Social

Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 8, 321-343.

WALBY, S. 2007. Gender (in) equality and the future of work. Equal Opportunities

Commission, UK, 52.

WALSH, D. 2009. Employment law for human resource practice, South-Western Pub.

WANG, Q. & YAO, Y. Year. The Impact of Cultural Differences on Applicants' Perceived

Fairness. In, 2011. IEEE, 1-6.

WEBB, J. 1997. The politics of equal opportunity. Gender Work and Organization, 4, 159-169.

WELLER, S. A. 2009. A study of organisational justice and participative workplace change in

Australian higher education. Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.).

WHITEOAK, J., CRAWFORD, N. & MAPSTONE, R. 2006. Impact of gender and

generational differences in work values and attitudes in an Arab culture. Thunderbird

International Business Review, 48, 77-91.

WIENEKE, C. 1991. Equal Employment Opportunity in Australia: A Practitioner's Perspective.

Equal Opportunities International, 10, 1-10.

WILKINSON, S. 2004. Focus group reseach. In: SILVERMAN, D. (ed.) Qualitative research:

Theory, method and practice. Sage.

WINCKLER, O. 2005. Arab Political Demography: Population growth and natalist policies,

Sussex Academic Pr.

WINES, W. & NAPIER, N. 1992. Toward an understanding of cross-cultural ethics: A tentative

model. Journal of Business Ethics, 11, 831-841.

WU, T. 2012. The Study on Enterprise Culture in Human Resources Management. Information

and Business Intelligence, 518-523.

YIN, R. K. 2009. Case Study Research Design and Methods. California: Sage Publications, Inc.

YORK, K., TYLER, C., TYLER, J. & GUGEL, P. 2008. The Ever-Changing Face of Sex

Stereotyping and Sex Discrimination in the Workplace. Journal of Leadership &

Organizational Studies, 15, 123-134.

YOUSEF, D. 2000. Organizational commitment and job satisfaction as predictors of attitudes

toward organizational change in a non-western setting. Personnel Review, 29, 567-592.

ZAHARNA, R. 1995. Understanding cultural preferences of Arab communication patterns.

Public Relations Review, 21, 241-255.

Websites

http://www.irr.org.uk/statistics/discrimination.html. Accessed 4th November 2009.

http://www.mocs.gov.om/law.htm#5. Accessed 10th October 2009.

Ministry of Information, (2007) Oman annual book 2007, available at

http://www.omanet.om/english/culture/overview.asp?cat=cult.

314

Ministry of National Economy, (2007), Statistical Year Book, Oman, Available at:

http://www.moneoman.gov.om/publication-products.asp?category=21. Accessed 5th

October 2009.

Primary Health Care in Sultanate of Oman, available at:

http://www.moh.gov.om/nv_menu.php?fNm=reports/prihelt.htm.

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/DiscriminationAtWork/DG_10026557. Accessed 5th

November 2008.

www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/yourrights/equalityanddiscrimination/pages/equalityhome.as

px. Accessed 6th November 2009.

www.moneoman.gov.om. Accessed 4th November 2009.

www.un.org/Overview/rights.html. Accessed 29th October 2009.

www.mone.gov.om. Accessed 29th October 2009.

www.moneoman.gov.om. Accessed 4th October 2009.

http: //www.omaninfo.com/oman/history.asp. Accessed 1st October 2009.

Oman Tourism Portal. http://www.omantourism.gov.om/wps/portal/tourism/ Accessed 4th

December 2009.

http: //www.moneoman.gov.om/book/syb_2008/fscommand/arabic/population.htm. Accessed

4th October 2009.

http: //www.mosd.gov.om/women_4.asp. Accessed 6th October 2009.

http: //www.omanet.om/english/government/ministers.asp?cat=gov.

http: //www.arabianbusiness.com/500995-middle-east-corruption-escalates. Accessed 14th

January 2010.

http: //www.ita.gov.om/ITAPortal/MediaCenter/NewsDetail.aspx?NID=222. Accessed 14th

January 2010.

Ministry of Information, Oman. 2010.

http: //www.omanet.om/english/government/basiclaw/principle.asp?cat=gov&subcat=blaw.

Accessed 14th January 2010.

http: //www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=70&release=770. Accessed 10th October

2009.

"equal opportunity" A Dictionary of Human Resource Management. Edmund Heery and Mike

Noon. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University

Press. Available at

http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t162.e377.

Accessed 10 February 2010.

"Oman" World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University

Press. Available

at http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t142.e84

21. Accessed 29th October 2009.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/DiscriminationAtWork/DG_10026557

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/yourrights/equalityanddiscrimination/pages/equalityhome.aspx

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/yourrights/equalityanddiscrimination/pages/equalityhome.aspx

http://www.moneoman.gov.om/

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

http://www.mone.gov.om/

http://www.moneoman.gov.om/

http://www.omaninfo.com/oman/history.asp.%20Accessed%20on%2001/10/2009

http://www.moneoman.gov.om/book/syb_2008/fscommand/arabic/population.htm.%20Accessed%20on%2004/10/2009

http://www.moneoman.gov.om/book/syb_2008/fscommand/arabic/population.htm.%20Accessed%20on%2004/10/2009

http://www.mosd.gov.om/women_4.asp.%20accessed%20on%2006/10/2009

http://www.omanet.om/english/government/ministers.asp?cat=gov

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/500995-middle-east-corruption-escalates

http://www.ita.gov.om/ITAPortal/MediaCenter/NewsDetail.aspx?NID=222

http://www.omanet.om/english/government/basiclaw/principle.asp?cat=gov&subcat=blaw

http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=70&release=770

315

Appendix 1:

Oman, the ongoing changes

Since completion of the fieldwork for this thesis, Oman has gone through several

changes. More than 12 ministries have been changed, the Ministry of National

Economy has been abolished, and the geographical structure of the country has been

changed as well. Also, in late 2011and early 2012, the government announced the

creation of over 50,000 jobs in the public and private sectors to mitigate the anger of

Omani job seekers, especially undergraduates, during the Arab Spring. However, there

are no clear statistics regarding the real number of new employees in either sector as

many of them are still in the recruitment stages. Therefore, whatever has been

mentioned in this study regarding the Sultanate of Oman, especially with regard to

public and private sector employment, is valid up to early 2011.

316

Appendix 2

Letter and Guiding Questions for Interviewing General Managers

10/3/2011

Dear/ General Manager

I am a lecturer at the Institute of Public Administration and a PhD student at The

University of Manchester, UK. I am preparing a research entitled " The Influence of

Societal and Organisational Culture on Employment Equity The Case of the

Public Sector in the Sultanate of Oman " to obtain the scientific degree.

Among the study sources that were approved by a relevant committee supervising

me are the interviews with some general managers working for the Royal Court Affairs.

The purpose of these interviews is to seek their views regarding the influence of societal

and organisational culture on employment equity. Therefore, I seek your kind approval

to do interview with you to benefit from your views that will enrich my research. Your

answers will only be used for the purposes of this research and you will have the right to

mention your name and position in the thesis or not. If you agree, please kindly inform

me about the interview appointment on [telephone number] or Email: [e-mail address]

Thank you for your kind cooperation

Nasser Mohammed Ali Al-Badri

317

Guiding Questions for Interviewing General Managers

1. What do you think about employment equity and employment discrimination

in general?

2. To what extent do you believe that employment equity exists in the Omani

public sector in general and RCA in particular?

3. From your point of view, when does employment discrimination occur in

general? And why?

4. What are the causes of employment discrimination from your point of view?

5. Why are conditions like age, gender, or region of the candidates always stated

in job advertisements in the local newspapers?

6. Do you believe in demographic role such as gender role?

7. What kind of reflection does societal culture have on employment in the

Omani public sector?

8. To what extent do you think that culture is responsible for employment

discrimination? Illustrate your opinion.

9. Do you think that managers are sometimes forced, either by their relatives,

social system, or top management, to discriminate between employees or

potential employees? If yes, exemplify how that could happen.

10. Do you think that ―wasta‖ can be considered as a cause of employment

discrimination? Illustrate your justification.

11. When do people resort to wasta?

12. From your point of view, do you think that RCA provides and supports a

positive climate among employees?

13. Are there any particular steps that RCA has taken to eliminate negative

discrimination in employment?

14. What suggestions can you give to ensure equity in employment?

318

Appendix 3 A

Questionnaire Alpha:

The Influence of Culture on Adopting Effective Policies and

Practices toward Employment Equity

12/12/2010

Dear participants

I am a PhD student in the Institute of Development Policy and Management (IDPM) at

the University of Manchester, UK. My research title is ―The Influence of Culture on

Adopting Effective Policies and Practices toward Employment Equity‖.

I am conducting this questionnaire in order to achieve the aims and objectives of my

research. The questionnaire contains six sections as follows:

- Section one: Section one: culture (actual practice)

- Section two: employment equity (actual practice)

- Section three: culture (preferred)

- Section four: employment equity (preferred)

- Section five: general statement in adopting employment equity programs in the

Omani public sector.

- Section six: general information about the participant

Therefore, I will be very much grateful if you kindly fill in the questionnaire attached

with this letter. Please carefully state your opinion about each statement and return the

full questionnaire as soon as possible after putting it in the enclosed envelope. I assert

that obtained information will be kept confidential and will be used only for academic

purposes only. If there are any further questions pertaining to any aspect of the

questionnaire, please feel free to contact me either on: [telephone number] or E-mail

address: [e-mail address]. Please note that your right of withdrawing is reserved at any

time.

Finally, as your honest and accurate response to this questionnaire is very essential to

my study, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for taking part in

this project.

Yours certainly

Nasser Mohammed Ali Al Badri

Doctoral researcher

The University of Manchester

319

Introduction

The purpose of this research is to learn about national cultures, management practices,

and Perceptions of employment equity. The questionnaire that you are asked to

complete will take about forty five mints of your time.

The resulting information will be useful for individuals who conduct business or

government relations with the countries studies. This information may be used for

classroom instruction of students and managers in universities, technological institutes,

and other organizations throughout the world. Hopefully, this information will be

helpful to better understand business and leadership in other cultures.

In the following pages, you are asked to choose a number of statements that reflect

your observations of cultural or organizational practices, your beliefs, your values, or

your perceptions. This is not a test, and there are no right or wrong answers. We are

mainly interested in learning about the beliefs and values in your society, and how

various societal and organizational practices are perceived by you and the others

participating in this research. Your responses will be kept completely confidential. No

individual respondent will be identified to any other person or in any written form.

Further, the name of your organization will not be publicly released.

301

General Instructions

In completing this survey, you will be asked questions focusing on the organization in

which you work, and on your perceptions of employment equity. Most people complete

the survey in approximately 45 minutes.

There are three sections to this questionnaire. Sections 1 and 3 ask about your

organization.

Section 2 asks about employment equity. Section 4 asks about you.

There are several different types of questions in this questionnaire. Sections 1 and 3

have questions with two different formats. An example of the first type of question is

shown below

A. In this country, the weather is generally:

Very

Pleasant

Moderately

Pleasant

Very

Unpleasant

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

For a question like this, you would circle the number from 1 to 7 that is closest to

your perceptions about the country. For example, if you think the weather in your

country is ―very pleasant,‖ you would circle 1. If you think the weather is not quite

―very pleasant‖ but is better than ―moderately pleasant,‖ you could circle either 2 or 3,

depending on whether you think the weather is closer to ―very pleasant‖ or to

―moderately pleasant.‖

The second type of question asks how much you agree or disagree with a particular

statement.

An example of this kind of question is given below.

B. The weather in this country is very pleasant.

Very

Pleasant

Moderately

Pleasant

Very

Unpleasant

1 2 3 4 5 6 7


your level of agreement with the statement. For example, if you strongly agree that the

weather in your country is very pleasant, you would circle 1. If you generally agree with

the statement but disagree slightly, you could circle either 2 or 3, depending on how

strongly you agree with the statement. If you disagree with the statement, you would

circle 5, 6, or 7, depending on how much you disagree with the statement.

300

Section 1

The Way Things Are in Your Work Organization.

Instructions

In this section, we are interested in your beliefs about what the norms, values, and

practices are in the organization in which you work as a manager. In other words, we

are interested in the way your organization is—not the way you think it should be.

There are no right or wrong answers, and answers don‘t indicate goodness or badness

of the organization.

Please respond to the questions by circling the number that most closely represents

your Observations about your organization.

Section 1 questions begin here

1-1. In this organization, orderliness and consistency are stressed, even at the expense


strongly

agree

neither agree

nor disagree

strongly

disagree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-2. In this organization, people are generally:

aggressive non-

aggressive

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-3. The way to be successful in this organization is to:

plan

ahead

take events

as they

occur

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-4. In this organization, the accepted norm is to:

plan for

the future

accept the

status quo

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-5. In this organization, a person’s influence is based primarily on:

one’s ability

and

contribution

to the

organization

the

authority of

one’s

position

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

302

1-6. In this organization, people are generally

assertive non-

assertive

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-7. In this organization, managers encourages group loyalty even if individual goals

suffer.

strongly

agree

neither agree

nor disagree

strongly

disagree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-7. In this organization, managers encourages group loyalty even if individual goals

suffer.

strongly

agree

neither agree

nor disagree

strongly

disagree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-8. In this organization, meetings are usually:

spontaneous

(planned less

than

an hour in

advance)

planned

well in

advance

(2 or more

weeks in

advance)

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


not at all

concerned

about

others

very

concerned

about

others

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


non-

dominant

dominant

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-11. In this organization, group members take pride in the individual accomplishments of

their group manager.

Strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

303

1-12. The pay and bonus system in this organization is designed to maximize:

Collective

interests

individual

interests

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-13. In this organization, subordinates are expected to:

question their

boss when in

disagreement

obey their

boss

without

question

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


tender

tough

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-15. In this organization, employees are encouraged to strive for continuously improved

Performance.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-16. In this organization, most work is highly structured, leading to few unexpected events.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-17. In this organization, men are encouraged to participate in professional development

activities more than women.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

304

1-18. In this organization, major rewards are based on:

only factors

other

than

performance

effectiveness

(for

example,

seniority or

political

connections)

performance

effectiveness

and other

factors (for

example,

seniority or

political

connections)

only

performance

effectiveness

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-19. In this organization, job requirements and instructions are spelled out in detail so

employees know what they are expected to do.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-20. In this organization, being innovative to improve performance is generally:

not

rewarded

somewhat

rewarded

substantially

rewarded

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


not at all

sensitive

toward

others

very

sensitive

toward

others

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-22. In this organization, physically demanding tasks are usually performed by:

Women Men

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-23. In this organization, group managers take pride in the individual accomplishments of

group members.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

305


very

unfriendly

very

friendly

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-25. In this organization, people in positions of power try to:

distance

from less

powerful

people

decrease

their social

increase

their

social

distance

from less

powerful

individuals

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-26. In this organization, employees feel loyalty to the organization.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

11-27. In this organization, most employees set challenging work goals for themselves.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-28. Members of this organization:

take a great

deal of

pride in

working for

the

organization

take a

moderate

amount of

pride

in working

for

the

organization

take no

pride in

working for

the

organization

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


not at all

generous

very

generous

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

306

1-30. In this organization:

individualism

is more

valued than

group

cohesion

group

cohesion

and

individualism

are equally

valued

group

cohesion

is more

valued

than

individualism

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-31. In this organization, most people believe that work would be more effectively managed if

there were :

many less

women in

positions of

authority

than there

are now

about the

same

number of

women in

positions of

authority as

there are now

many more

women in

positions of

authority

than

there are

now

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-32. When people in this organization have serious disagreements with each other, whom do

they tell about the disagreements?

anyone

they

want to tell

only other

members

of

the work

group

no one

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-33. This organization shows loyalty towards employees.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-34. What percentage of management positions in this organization are filled by women?

more than

90%

76-90%

56-75% 45-55% 26-44% 10-25% less than

10%

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This is the end of Section 1 of the questionnaire. Please continue on to Section 2.

307

Section 2

Section Two: employment equity

In this section, the questionnaire will ask questions about employment equity. The

following definitions are used:

Employment Equity means: ‗equal rights for and in employment for all individuals,

focusing on all stages of the employment relationship [application, recruitment,

promotion, transfer, training, health and safety, terms of employment, benefits, facilities

and services, grievances, disciplinary procedures and victimization, dismissals,

redundancies], and other unfavourable treatment of employees‘.

This section of the questionnaire seeks to find out how things are (actual practices)

from your point of view in terms of securing employment equity in your organization.

Please indicate the degree of your agreement with each of the following statements.

There are no wrong answers to any of these statements; it is most important that you

record your own true agreement with each one. Please circle the appropriate number as

all statements are measured on a five-point scale ranging from 5, ‗strongly agree‘, to 1,

‗strongly disagree‘.

No. Statement

Str

on

gly

ag

ree

(5)

Ag

ree (

4)

Neu

tral (3

)

Dis

ag

ree (

2)

Str

on

gly

dis

ag

ree (

1)

1

Citizens are receiving equal opportunities in

education and training which provide them equal

chance when applying for a job.

2

In this organization, there is a separate policy for

employment equity which cover most explicit and

implicit aspects of employment discrimination.

3

In this organization, most employees are treated

equally at any stage of employment regardless of

their gender, origin, tribes, or colour.

4 In this organization, most employees are aware of

their rights at work.

5

In this organization, the law provides employees with

a clear path to appeal against any kind of unfair


6 In this organization, equity in employment is

supported by leadership and top management.

7

In this organization, employees’ production is more

important than the number of hours they spend at

work.

8

In this organization, employment practices and

decision making process are regularly audited by a

legal department to ensure equity among employees.

308

9

In this organization, HR employees are well-trained

to ensure employment equity in most administrative


10

In this organization, employees tend to use their

functional status to gain personal, financial, or

societal benefits. (recoded)

11 In this organization, mutual interests play a vital role

in managerial decisions and practices. (recoded)

12 In this organization, honesty and transparency are

the main elements in the decision making process.

13

In this organization, officials do not hesitate to favour

relatives or friends even if that may negatively affect


14

In most governmental departments, the most

effective way to follow-up matters is through

friends/relatives working there. (recoded)

15

In this organization, social status, kinship, tribal

affiliation (non-job criteria), play a significant role in

most administrative procedures and decisions

(recoded)

16 In this organization, there is a belief that females are

less productive than males. (recoded)

17

In this organization, there is a belief that disables

persons, and older workers are less productive than


18 In this organization, the decision making process and

management practices are devoid of prejudice.

19

In the public sector, there is a belief that men are

more capable to handle managerial positions than

women, while women are willing more to do nursing

and teaching. (recoded)

20

In this organization, management believes that family

role and social traditions affect negatively

performance of females’ employees more than

males. (recoded)

21 In this organization, most employees can express

their ideas openly with their supervisors.

22

In this organization, differences between individuals

are positively recognized to better serve the working

environment.

23 In this organization, management is supporting team

working among employees.

24

In this organization, when an employee does a good

job, he/she receives the praise and recognition

he/she deserve.

25 In this organization, most kinds of wasta are strongly

rejected.

This is the end of Section 2. Please continue on to Section 3.

309

Section 3

The Way Things Generally Should Be in Your Work Organization

Instructions


practices should be in the organization in which you work as a manager.

Again, there are no right or wrong answers, and answers don‘t indicate goodness or

badness of the organization.


your observations about your organization.

Section 3 questions start here.

3-1. In this organization, orderliness and consistency should be stressed, even at the expense

of experimentation and innovation.

Strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

Strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-2. In this organization, people should be encouraged to be:

non-

aggressive

aggressive

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-3. In this organization, people who are successful should:

take

events as

they occur

plan ahead

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-4. In this organization, the accepted norm should be to:

accept the

status quo

plan for the

future

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

321

3-5. In this organization, a person’s influence should be based primarily on:

the

authority of

one’s

position

one’s ability

and

contribution

to the

organization

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


non-

assertive

assertive

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-7. I believe that in this organization, managers should generally encourage group loyalty

even if individual goals suffer.

Strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

Strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-8. In this organization, meetings should be:

Spontaneous

(planned less

than an hour in

advance)

planned

well in

advance (2

or more

weeks in

advance)

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


Very

unconcerned

about others

very

concerned

about

others

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-10. In this organization, people should be encouraged to be

non-

dominant

dominant

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-11. In this organization, group members should take pride in the individual

accomplishments of their group manager.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

320

3-12. In this organization, the pay and bonus system should be designed to maximize

collective

interests

individual

interests

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-13. In this organization, subordinates should:

question their

boss when in

disagreement

obey their

boss

without

question

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


tender tough

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-15. In this organization, employees should be encouraged to strive for continuously

Improved performance.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-16. In this organization, a person whose work is highly structured with few unexpected

events :

is missing

a lot of

excitement

has a lot to

be thankful

for

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-17. In this organization, men should be encouraged to participate in professional

development activities more than women.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-18. In this organization, major rewards should be based on:

only factors

other than

performance

effectiveness

(for

example,

seniority or

political

connections)

performance

effectiveness

and other

factors (for

example,

seniority or

political

connections)

only

performance

effectiveness

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

322

3-19. In this organization, job requirements and instructions should be spelled out in detail so

employees know what they are expected to do.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-20. In this organization, being innovative to improve performance should be:

not

rewarded

somewhat

rewarded

substantially

rewarded

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


not at all

sensitive

toward

others

very

sensitive

toward

others

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-22. In this organization, physically demanding tasks should usually be performed by:

woman men

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-23. In this organization, group managers should take pride in the individual

accomplishments of group members.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-24. I believe that managers in this organization should:

allow

subordinates

freedom in

determining how

to achieve goals

provide

detailed

instructions

concerning

how to achieve

goals

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-25. I believe that in this organization, work would be more effectively managed if there

were:

many less

women in

positions of

authority

than there

are now

about the

same number

of women in

positions of

authority as

there are now

many more

women in

positions of

authority

than there

are now

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

323

3-26. In this organization, rank and position in the hierarchy should have special privileges.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-27. In this organization, employees should feel loyalty to the organization.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-28. I feel that in this organization, being accepted by the other members of a group should

strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-29. How important should it be to members of your work organization that your organization

is viewed positively by persons in other organizations?

it should

be very

important

it should be

moderately

important

it should not

be

important at

all

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-30. In this organization, people should:

plan for

the future

worry

about

current

crises

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-31. How much should it bother people in your organization if an outsider publicly made

negative comments about the organization?

it should

bother

them a

great deal

it should

bother them

a moderate

amount

it should

not bother

them at all

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


not at all

tolerant of

mistakes

very

tolerant of

mistake

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

324

3-33. In this organization, employees should set challenging work goals for themselves.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-34. In this organization, important organizational decisions should be made by:

employees management

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-35. I believe that in this organization, time devoted to reaching consensus is:

Time well

spent

sometimes

wasted and

sometimes

well spent

a waste of

time

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-36. When in disagreement with superiors, subordinates in this organization should generally

go along with what superiors say or want.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-37. Members of this organization should:

take a great

deal of pride

in working

for the

organization

take a

moderate

amount of pride

in working for

the

organization

take no pride in

working for the

organization

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


not at all

generous

very

generous

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-39. In this organization, opportunities for management positions should be:

More

available

for women

than for

men

equally

available

for men

and

women

more

available

for men

than for

women

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

325

3-40. In this organization, people should work on:

only team

projects

some

individual

and some

team

projects

only

individual

projects

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-40. In this Organization , it should be worse for a man to fail in this job than for a woman to

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This is the end of Section 3. Please continue on to Section4

326

Section Four: employment equity (Should Be)

In this section the questionnaire will ask questions in regard to your opinion and view

about how things should be (ideal situation) in terms of securing employment equity in

your organization. Please indicate the degree of your agreement with each of the

following statements. All statements are measured on a five-point scale ranging from 5,

‗strongly agree‘ to 1, ‗strongly disagree‘.

No. Statement

Str

on

gly

ag

ree

(5)

Ag

ree (

4)

Neu

tral (3

)

Dis

ag

ree (

2)

Str

on

gly

dis

ag

ree (

1)

1

Citizens should be receiving equal opportunities in



2

In this organization, a separate policy for employment

equity should be adopted to cover most explicit and


3

In this organization, most employees should be

treated equally at any employment stage regardless

of their gender, origin, beliefs, or colour.

4 In this organization, most employees should be

aware of their rights at work.

5

In this organization, the law should provide

employees with an easy path to appeal against any

kind of unfair discrimination in employment.

6 In this organization, employment equity should be

supported more by leadership and top management.

7

In this organization, employees’ production should be

more important than the number of hours they spend

at work.

8


decision making processes should be audited

regularly by a legal department to ensure equity

among employees.

9

In this organization, HR employees should be well-

trained to ensure employment equity in most

administrative procedures and decisions.

10

In this organization, employees should not be

allowed to use their functional status to gain


11

In this organization, mutual interests should play a

vital role in managerial decisions and practices.

(recoded)

12

In this organization, honesty and transparency should

be the main elements in managerial decisions and

practices.

327

13

In this organization, officials should not hesitate to

favour relatives or friends even if that may negatively

affect other citizens' interests. (recoded)

14


effective way to follow-up matters should be through


15


affiliation (non-job criteria), should play a significant

role in most administrative procedures and decisions.

(recoded)

16 In this organization, females should not be treated as

less productive than males.

17

In this organization, disabled persons and older

workers should not be treated as less productive than

other employees.


management practices should be devoid of prejudice.

19

In this organization, managerial positions should be

based on applicants’ competencies regardless of

their gender.

20

In this organization, management should believe that

family role and social traditions negatively affect the


males. (recoded)

21


allowed to express their ideas openly with their

supervisors.

22


should be positively recognized to better serve the


23 In this organization, management should be

supporting teamwork among employees.

24


job, he/she should receive the praise and recognition

he/she deserves.

25 In this organization, most kinds of wasta should be

strongly rejected.

This concludes Section 4. Please continue on to Section5

328

Section five:

General view on adopting employment equity programs in Oman

A- Choose only one of the following statements which you think it will better serve

employment equity in your organization:

No. Statement Your Answer

1

Equity in employment should be based on merit only.

2

Equity in employment should be based on applying quotas

among each group of employees (e.g. males and females).

3

Equity in employment should be considered as a business

advantage by basing it on recognising individual differences,

and ensuring the right environment for each employee.

4

Equity in employment should be based on the importance of

the above three statements where the most effective option

among them will be applied according to working environment,

type of work and individual’s ability.

329

B- Please consider the impact of the below factors on adopting effective policies

and practices toward employment equity. You are presented with ten factors and

possible 100 points to be allocated to them according to the importance of each

factor in your own view..



No. Factors points

1 State clear and detailed articles toward employment equity in the Omani's Civil

Service law (or any similar law which is applicable in your organization).








9 Ensure an adequate level of presentation for minorities (e.g. females and disabled

persons) in the decision making process

10 Concentrate on promoting values like human rights, freedom of speech, and equality.

Total 100

331

Finally we would like to know some general information about you:

Please place a check (√) beside the most appropriate choice to each of the following

variables.

1. Age:

Below 25years ( ) From 25 to 35 years ( )

From 36 to 45years ( ) 46 years and above ( )

2. Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )

3. place of birth: Muscat ( ) Dhufar ( ) Alwusta ( ) Ash-sharqiyah ( )

Ad-Dakhliyah ( ) Adh-Dhahirah ( ) Musandam ( ) AlBatinah ( ) outside Oman ( )

4. place of work: Muscat ( ) Dhufar ( ) Alwusta ( ) Ash-sharqiyah ( )

Ad-Dakhliyah ( ) Adh-Dhahirah ( ) Musandam ( ) AlBatinah ( )

5. Last Educational Qualification:

Below high school certificate ( ) High school certificate ( )

Intermediate college diploma ( ) Bachelor degree ( ) Masters degree ( )

Another ( ), specify: ………………………………………………………………

6. Total Work Experience ( Since you have started your work life ):

Less than five years ( ) 5 years to less than 10 years ( )

10 years to less than 15 years ( ) 15 years and more ( )

7. Employment position:

Deputy-General manager ( ) middle manager ( )

Head of section ( ) employee ( )

End of the questionnaire, thank you for your valuable participation and kind

patience.

330

Appendix 3 B

Questionnaire Beta

Introduction

The purpose of this research is to learn about national cultures, management practices,

and perceptions of employment equity. The questionnaire that you are asked to

complete will take about forty five mints of your time.

The resulting information will be useful for individuals who conduct business or

government relations with the study countries. This information may be used for

classroom instruction of students and managers in universities, technological institutes,

and other organizations throughout the world. Hopefully, this information will be

helpful to better understand business and leadership in other cultures.

In the following pages, you are asked to choose a number of statements that reflect

your observations of cultural or organizational practices, your beliefs, your values, or

your perceptions. This is not a test, and there are no right or wrong answers. We are

mainly interested in learning about the beliefs and values in your society, and how

various societal and organizational practices are perceived by you and the others

participating in this research Your responses will be kept completely confidential. No

individual respondent will be identified to any other person or in any written form.

Further, the name of your organization will not be publicly released.

General Instructions

In completing this survey, you will be asked questions focusing on the organization in

which you work, and on your perceptions of employment equity. Most people complete

the survey in approximately 45 minutes.

There are three sections to this questionnaire. Sections 1 and 3 ask about your

organization.

Section 2 asks about employment equity. Section 4 asks about you.

There are several different types of questions in this questionnaire. Sections 1 and 3

have questions with two different formats. An example of the first type of question is

shown below

332

A. In this country, the weather is generally:

Very

Pleasant

Moderately

Pleasant

Very

Unpleasant

1 2 3 4 5 6 7


your perceptions about the country. For example, if you think the weather in your

country is ―very pleasant,‖ you would circle 1. If you think the weather is not quite

―very pleasant‖ but is better than ―moderately pleasant,‖ you could circle either 2 or 3,

depending on whether you think the weather is closer to ―very pleasant‖ or to

―moderately pleasant.‖

The second type of question asks how much you agree or disagree with a particular

statement.

An example of this kind of question is given below.

B. The weather in this country is very pleasant.

Very

Pleasant

Moderately

Pleasant

Very

Unpleasant

1 2 3 4 5 6 7


your level of agreement with the statement. For example, if you strongly agree that the

weather in your country is very pleasant, you would circle 1. If you generally agree with

the statement but disagree slightly, you could circle either 2 or 3, depending on how

strongly you agree with the statement. If you disagree with the statement, you would

circle 5, 6, or 7, depending on how much you disagree with the statement.

333

Section 1

The Way Things Are in Your society.

Instructions

In this section, we are interested in your beliefs about the norms, values, and practices

in your society. In other words, we are interested in the way your society is — not the

way you think it should be.

There are no right or wrong answers, and answers don‘t indicate goodness or badness

of the society.


your observations about your society.

Section 1 questions begin here:

1-1. In this Society, orderliness and consistency are stressed, even at the expense


strongly

agree

neither agree

nor disagree

strongly

disagree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7


aggressive non-

aggressive

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-3. The way to be successful in this Society is to:

plan

ahead

take events

as they

occur

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-4. In this Society , the accepted norm is to:

plan for

the future

accept the

status quo

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

334

1-5. In this Society , a person’s influence is based primarily on:

one’s ability

and

contribution

to the

Society

the

authority of

one’s

position

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-6. In this Society, people are generally

assertive non-

assertive

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-7. In this Society, leaders encourages group loyalty even if individual goals suffer.

strongly

agree

neither agree

nor disagree

strongly

disagree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-8. In this Society, social gatherings are:

spontaneous

(planned less

than

an hour in

advance)

planned

well in

advance

(2 or more

weeks in

advance)

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


not at all

concerned

about

others

very

concerned

about

others

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


non-

dominant

dominant

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-11. In this Society , children take pride in the individual accomplishments of their parents.

Strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

335

1-12. The economic system in this society is designed to maximize:

Collective

interests

individual

interests

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-13. In this society, followers are expected to:

question their

leaders when

in

disagreement

obey their

leaders

without

question

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


tender

tough

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-15. In this Society , teen-aged students are encouraged to strive for continuously improved

performance.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-16. In this Society, most people lead highly structured lives with few unexpected events.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-17. In this Society , boys are encouraged more than girls to attain a higher Education

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

336

1-18. In this Society , major rewards are based on:

only factors other

than performance

effectiveness (for

example, seniority

or

political

connections)

performance

effectiveness and

other factors (for

example,

seniority or

political

connections)

only

performance

effectiveness

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-19. In this Society , societal requirements and instructions are spelled out in detail so

citizens know what they are expected to do :

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-20. In this Society , being innovative to improve performance is generally:

not

rewarded

somewhat

rewarded

substantially

rewarded

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


not at all

sensitive

toward

others

very

sensitive

toward

others

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-22. In this Society , there is more emphasis on athletic programs for:

Girls boys

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-23. In this Society , parents take pride in the individual accomplishments of their children:

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

337

1-24. This society has rules or laws to cover:

very few

situations

some

situations

almost all

situations

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


very unfriendly very

friendly

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-26. In this Society , people in positions of power try to:

decrease

their social

distance from

less

powerful

people

increase their

social distance

from less

powerful

individuals

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-27. In this Society, rank and position in the hierarchy have special privileges.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-28. In this society, aging parents generally live at home with their children..

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-29. In this society, being accepted by the other members of a group is very Important.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

338

1-30. In this society, more people:

live for the

future than

live

for the

present

live for the

present than

live

for the future

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-31. In this society, people place more emphasis on:

planning for

the

future

solving

current

problems

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


not at all

tolerant of

mistakes

very tolerant

of

mistakes

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-33 In this society, people are generally:

not at all

generous

very

generous

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-34. In this society, power is:

shared

throughout the

society

concentrated at

the top

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-35. In this society:

individualism is

valued more than

group cohesion

group cohesion

and

individualism

are equally

valued

group cohesion

is valued more

than

individualism

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-36. In this society, it is worse for a boy to fail in school than for a girl to fail in school

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

339


non-

physical

physical

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-38. In this society, who is more likely to serve in a position of high office?

Women Men and

women are

equally likely to

serve

Men

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1-39. In this society, children generally live at home with their parents until they get married.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This is the end of Section 1 of the questionnaire. Please

continue on to Section 2.

341

Section Two: employment equity

In this section, the questionnaire will ask questions about employment equity. The

following definitions are used:

Employment Equity means: ―equal rights for and in employment for all individuals,

focusing on all stages of the employment relationship [application, recruitment,

promotion, transfer, training, health and safety, terms of employment, benefits, facilities

and services, grievances, disciplinary procedures and victimization, dismissals,

redundancies, and other unfavourable treatment of employees‖

This section of the questionnaire seeks to find out how things are (actual practices)

from your point of view in terms of securing employment equity in your organization.

Please indicate the degree of your agreement with each of the following statements.

There are no wrong answers to any of these statements; it is most important that you

record your own true agreement with each one. Please circle the appropriate number as

all statements are measured on a five-point scale ranging from 5, ‗strongly agree‘ to 1,

‗strongly disagree‘.

No. Statement S

tron

gly

agre

e (

5)

Agre

e (

4)

Neutr

al (3

)

Dis

agre

e (

2)

Str

on

gly

dis

agre

e (

1)

1

Citizens are receiving equal opportunities in



2

In this organization, there is a separate policy for

employment equity which cover most explicit and


3

In this organization, most employees are treated

equally at any stage of employment regardless of

their gender, origin, tribes, or colour.

4 In this organization, most employees are aware of

their rights at work.

5

In this organization, the law provides employees with

a clear path to appeal against any kind of unfair


6 In this organization, equity in employment is

supported by leadership and top management.

7

In this organization, employees’ production is more

important than the number of hours they spend at

work.

8


decision making process are regularly audited by a

legal department to ensure equity among employees.

340

9

In this organization, HR employees are well-trained

to ensure employment equity in most administrative


10

In this organization, employees tend to use their

functional status to gain personal, financial, or

societal benefits. (recoded)

11 In this organization, mutual interests play a vital role

in managerial decisions and practices. (recoded)

12 In this organization, honesty and transparency are

the main elements in the decision making process.

13

In this organization, officials do not hesitate to favour

relatives or friends even if that may negatively affect


14


effective way to follow-up matters is through


15


affiliation (non-job criteria), play a significant role in

most administrative procedures and decisions

(recoded)

16 In this organization, there is a belief that females are

less productive than males. (recoded)

17

In this organization, there is a belief that disables

persons, and older workers are less productive than



management practices are devoid of prejudice.

19

In the public sector, there is a belief that men are

more capable to handle managerial positions than

women, while women are willing more to do nursing

and teaching. (recoded)

20

In this organization, management believes that family

role and social traditions affect negatively


males. (recoded)

21 In this organization, most employees can express

their ideas openly with their supervisors.

22


are positively recognized to better serve the working

environment.

23 In this organization, management is supporting team

working among employees.

24


job, he/she receives the praise and recognition

he/she deserve.

25 In this organization, most kinds of wasta are strongly

rejected.

This is the end of Section 2 of the questionnaire. Please

continue on to Section 3.

342

Section 3 — The way things generally should be in your society

Instructions:


practices should be in your society.

Again, there are no right or wrong answers, and answers don‘t indicate goodness or

badness of the society.


your observations about your society.

Section 3 questions start here

3-1. I believe that orderliness and consistency should be stressed, even at the expense of


strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-2. In this society , people should be encouraged to be:

non-

aggressive

aggressive

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-3. I believe that people who are successful should:

take

events

as they

occur

plan ahead

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-4. I believe that the accepted norm in this society should be to:

accept the

status quo

plan for

the future

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

343

3-5. I believe that a person’s influence in this society should be based primarily on :

the

authority of

one’s

position

one’s ability

and

contribution

to the

society

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


non-

assertive

assertive

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-7. I believe that in this society , leaders should generally encourage group loyalty even if

individual goals suffer.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-8. I believe that social gatherings should be:

spontaneous

(planned less

than

an hour in

advance)

planned well

in

advance (2 or

more

weeks in

advance)

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


very

unconcerned

about others

very

concerned

about others

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-10. In this society , people should be encouraged to be

non-

dominant

dominant

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

344

3-11. In this society, children should take pride in the individual

Accomplishments of their parents.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

33-12. I believe that the economic system in this society should be designed to maximize:

collective

interests

individual

interests

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-13. I believe that followers should :

question their

leaders when

in

disagreement

obey their

leaders

without

question

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


tender tough

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-15. I believe that teen-aged students should be encouraged to strive for continuously

improved performance

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-16. I believe that a person who leads a structured life that has few unexpected events:

is missing

a lot of

excitement

has a lot to

be thankful

for

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-17. I believe that boys should be encouraged to attain a higher education more than girls.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

345

3-18. I believe that major rewards should be based on:

only factors

other than

performance

effectiveness

(for

example,

seniority or

political

connections)

performance

effectiveness

and other

factors (for

example,

seniority or

political

connections)

only

performance

effectiveness

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-19. I believe that societal requirements and instructions should be spelled out in detail so

citizens know what they are expected to do.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-20. I believe that being innovative to improve performance should be:

not

rewarded

somewhat

rewarded

substantially

rewarded

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


not at all

sensitive

toward

others

very

sensitive

toward

others

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-22. I believe that there should be more emphasis on athletic programs for:

girls boys

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-23. In this society, parents should take pride in the individual

accomplishments of their children

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

346

3-24. This society has rules or laws to cover:

very few

situations

some

situations

almost all

situations

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-25. I believe that leaders in this society should:

allow the people

freedom in

determining how best to

achieve

goals

provide detailed

plans

concerning how

to achieve goals

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-26. I believe that this society would be more effectively managed if there were:

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-27. In this society, people should be encouraged to be: .

very unfriendly very

friendly

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-28. I believe that people in positions of power should try to:

decrease

their social

distance

from less

powerful

people

increase their

social distance

from less

powerful

individuals

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-29. How important should it be to members of your work society that your society is

viewed positively by persons in other society s?

it should

be very

important

it should be

moderately

important

it should not

be

important at

all

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

347

3-30. I believe that people should:

live for the

future

live for the

present

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-31. In this society, people should be encouraged to be:

not at all

tolerant of

mistakes

very tolerant

of

mistakes

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-32. I believe that people should set challenging goals for themselves.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-33. When in disagreement with adults, young people should defer to elders. :

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

Strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-34. Members of this society should:

take a great deal

of pride in

being a member

of the

society

take a

moderate

amount of pride

in being a member of

the

society

take no pride in

being a member

of the society

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-35. I believe that power should be:

shared throughout

the organization

concentrated at

the top

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-36. In this society, most people prefer to play:

only team

sports

some

individual

and some

team

sports

only individual

sports

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

348

3-37. I believe that:

individualism is

better than group

cohesion

group cohesion

and individualism

are equally

valuable

group cohesion

is better than

individualism

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-38. I believe that it should be worse for a boy to fail in school than for a girl to fail in school.

strongly

disagree

neither

agree

nor

disagree

strongly

agree

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

3-39. I believe that opportunities for leadership positions should be:

more

available

for women

than

for men

equally

available for

men and

women

more

available

for men than

for

women

7 6 5 4 3 2 1


349

Section Four: employment equity (Should be)

In this section the questionnaire will ask questions in regard to your opinion and view

about how things should be (Ideal situation) in terms of securing employment equity in

your organization. Please indicate the degree of your agreement with each of the

following statements. All statements are measured on a five-point scale ranging from 5,

‗strongly agree‘ to 1, ‗strongly disagree‘.

No. Statement

Str

on

gly

ag

ree

(5)

Ag

ree (

4)

Neu

tral (3

)

Dis

ag

ree (

2)

Str

on

gly

dis

ag

ree (

1)

1

Citizens should be receiving equal opportunities in



2

In this organization, a separate policy for employment

equity should be adopted to cover most explicit and


3


treated equally at any employment stage regardless

of their gender, origin, beliefs, or colour.

4 In this organization, most employees should be

aware of their rights at work.

5

In this organization, the law should provide

employees with an easy path to appeal against any

kind of unfair discrimination in employment.

6 In this organization, employment equity should be

supported more by leadership and top management.

7

In this organization, employees’ production should be

more important than the number of hours they spend

at work.

8


decision making processes should be audited

regularly by a legal department to ensure equity

among employees.

9

In this organization, HR employees should be well-

trained to ensure employment equity in most

administrative procedures and decisions.

10

In this organization, employees should not be

allowed to use their functional status to gain


11

In this organization, mutual interests should play a

vital role in managerial decisions and practices.

(recoded)

12

In this organization, honesty and transparency should

be the main elements in managerial decisions and

practices.

351

13

In this organization, officials should not hesitate to

favour relatives or friends even if that may negatively

affect other citizens' interests. (recoded)

14


effective way to follow-up matters should be through


15


affiliation (non-job criteria), should play a significant

role in most administrative procedures and decisions.

(recoded)

16 In this organization, females should not be treated as

less productive than males.

17

In this organization, disabled persons and older

workers should not be treated as less productive than

other employees.


management practices should be devoid of prejudice.

19

In this organization, managerial positions should be

based on applicants’ competencies regardless of

their gender.

20

In this organization, management should believe that

family role and social traditions negatively affect the


males. (recoded)

21


allowed to express their ideas openly with their

supervisors.

22


should be positively recognized to better serve the


23 In this organization, management should be

supporting teamwork among employees.

24


job, he/she should receive the praise and recognition

he/she deserves.

25 In this organization, most kinds of wasta should be

strongly rejected.


350

Section five:

General view on adopting employment equity programs in Oman

C- Choose only one of the following statements which you think it will better serve

employment equity in your organization:

No. Statement Your Answer

1

Equity in employment should be based on merit only.

2

Equity in employment should be based on applying quotas

among each group of employees (e.g. males and females).

3

Equity in employment should be considered as a business

advantage by basing it on recognising individual differences,

and ensuring the right environment for each employee.

4

Equity in employment should be based on the importance of

the above three statements where the most effective option

among them will be applied according to working environment,

type of work and individual’s ability.

D- Please consider the impact of the below factors on adopting effective policies

and practices toward employment equity. You are presented with ten factors and

possible of' 100 points to be allocated to them according to the importance of

each factor in your own view.



352

No. Factors points

1 State clear and detailed articles toward employment equity in the Omani's


organization).











and equality.

Total 100

353

Finally, we would like to know some general information about you:

Please place a check (√) beside the most appropriate choice to each of the following

variables.

8. Age:

Below 25years ( ) From 25 to 35 years ( )

From 36 to 45years ( ) 46 years and above ( )

9. Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )

10. Place of birth: Muscat ( ) Dhufar ( ) Alwusta ( ) Ash-sharqiyah ( )

Ad-Dakhliyah ( ) Adh-Dhahirah ( ) Musandam ( ) AlBatinah ( ) outside Oman ( )

11. Place of work: Muscat ( ) Dhufar ( ) Alwusta ( ) Ash-sharqiyah ( )

Ad-Dakhliyah ( ) Adh-Dhahirah ( ) Musandam ( ) AlBatinah ( )

12. Last Educational Qualification:

Below high school certificate ( ) High school certificate ( )

Intermediate college diploma ( ) Bachelor degree ( ) Masters degree ( )

Another ( ), specify: …………………………………………………………….…

13. Total Work Experience ( Since you have started your work life ):

Less than five years ( ) 5 years to less than 10 years ( )

10 years to less than 15 years ( ) 15 years and more ( )

14. Employment position:

Deputy-General manager ( ) middle manager ( )

Head of section ( ) employee ( )

End of the questionnaire, thank you for your valuable participation and kind patience.

The Influence of Societal and Organizational Culture … › 85bd › c531fb70e565fed...The...

Documents

Transcript of The Influence of Societal and Organizational Culture … › 85bd › c531fb70e565fed...The...