From Islamic Roots and Arab Custom through Colonisation to Current Contradictions under Globalisation Islamic Work Values ArabBedouin Custom Current and Futue Caliphal Administration ID: 160760
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Slide1Slide2
Transitional Tensions in UAE Public Administration:
From Islamic Roots and
Arab Custom,
through Colonisation
,
to Current Contradictions under GlobalisationSlide3
Islamic Work Values
Arab/Bedouin Custom
Current and
Futue
Caliphal
Administration
ColonisationSlide4
Islamic Work ValuesSlide5
Prophet Mohamed (PBUH/saws)
Qur’an
Sunna
, Hadith
Islamic ValuesSlide6
Life without work has no meaning
Engagement in economic activity an obligation
Honesty, justice in trade
Equitable, fair distribution of wealth (e.g., zakat)
Acquire skills & technology
Praises work as a virtue
Islamic Work Ethic
(Ali, 1988; Al-
Kaleh
,
EdD
;
Yousef
, 2000)Slide7
Effort of the capable is
obligatory
Cooperation
& consultation
Social relations at work creates balance in life
Work
source of independence, personal growth, self-respect, self-fulfillment
Measures intentions instead of results
Workplace governed by justice &
generosity
Work Ethic
cont
…Slide8
Arab & Bedouin CustomSlide9
Bedouin ValuesSlide10
Hospitality: Friend and FoeSlide11
Generosity: Killing One’s Last CamelSlide12
Loyalty: Unto Death
(unless renegotiated)Slide13
Tolerance: Of Foreigners’ WeaknessesSlide14
Traditional
MajlisSlide15
Shaikh
Zayed
MajlisSlide16
Women’s
MajlisSlide17
Emirati Traditional Governance Model: Egalitarian & Participatory
(Left Side Field of Consensus)
Leader/
Shaikh
Followers
New Leader/
Shaikh
External Aggressors
Transfer loyalty & territorial rights
Defense
against aggressors
Accessibility (
M
ajlis
) & accountability
loyaltySlide18
White -
Ummayyad
Caliphate
Black – Abbasid Caliphate
Red - Hashemites
Green – Fatimid CaliphateSlide19
Caliphal
Administration Slide20
Caliph (Ar.
Khalifa
)
Khalifatu Rasulil-lah
= Successor to the Messenger of GodAbu Bakr, 'Umar, Uthman, Ali (earliest, closest Companions of Prophet): simple
and righteous lives, justice impartial; treatment of others kind, merciful; one with people - first among equalsSubsequently, Caliphs assumed
manners of kings and emperors, spirit of equality diminished
Caliphal
RuleSlide21
Had only indirect influence on UAE area
bedouinUntil Ottoman Empire (still only indirect)
Timeline of CaliphatesSlide22
Caliphal
StructureSlide23
Primacy of Role Models
(
personalism
orientation)Slide24
Abu
BakrSlide25
Salah al-DinSlide26
Shaikh
Zayed
Bin Sultan Al
Nahyan
(1918-2004)Slide27
United Arab Emirates
Charismatic/Traditional Exemplars
Moral character, visionary, caring
Father of the state & people
‘Individual’ in community
Leadership inheres in personal qualities
Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Dubai)Slide28
Leadership Practices
Consultative, conciliatory, consensus-seeking
Selected for competences
Oriented to
public
good and welfare
Bedouin traditions (plus Arabic
, Muslim)
Grounded in kin system
Personal style
Personal networks (trust systems
): appropriate
Wasta
Orientation towards qualitySlide29
Ruling families est. by UK colonisers
Federated state of 7 member Emirates
Meritocratic: the competent selected as Crown Prince
Consultative
Negotiating & navigating among powerful tribal/family representativesNegotiating among member EmiratesUAE ShaikhdomSlide30
The “Renaissance”Slide31Slide32
“Lost History”: The West’s Adoption of Arab Scholarship
Al-
Khalili
,
J.
(2010) Pathfinders: Golden
Age of Arabic Science
Crone,
P.
(2005) Medieval Islamic Political
Thought
Freely,
J.
(2009) Aladdin’s Lamp: How
Greek Science
Came to Europe
Through the
Islamic World
Lyons,
J.
(2009) The House of Wisdom: How
the
Arabs
Transformed
Western
Civilization
Masood
,
E.
(2009) Science & Islam: A
History
Morgan,
M.
(2007) Lost History: The
Enduring
Legacy of Muslim
Scientists, Thinkers, and
Artists
O’Leary,
D.
(2003) Arabic Thought and Its Place
in
HistorySlide33
S
ynthesised Scholarship
Common Heritage: e.g., Plato, Aristotle
(history, politics, sociology, cultural analysis)
Arab Scholarship: e.g., Al-
Farabi
, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun, Islamic Humanist tradition
Western
trad
. built upon Arabic: e.g., Renaissance scholars, Weber, HeideggerSlide34Slide35
ColonisationSlide36
British ColonialismSlide37
Mgmt
, Admin & Leadership:
Historical Complexity
Colonial Heritage
Tribal Traditions
Post-Unification
Shaikhdom
(
Shaikh
Zayed
)
Western Education & ConsultancySlide38
Initial Theoretical Scaffolding
Goffman
Microinteractionist
Metaphors
Weberian Value-orientation & Ideal Typing
Saidian Humanistic Critique of Orientalist Hegemony
Bourdieuian
Intellectual FieldSlide39
Disruptions: British “Rule” Undercutting
Shaikhs
(1820-)
Limited/eliminated
trad’l
functions of shaikhs: ability to wage war, deal with foreign powers, raid commercial boats, engage in slave trading, depose or murder of rulersUK approval of successors, require
agreement to treaties & conditions, accept British advice, protect UK interestsSlide40
British “Rule”
cont
…..
Selected
shaikhs raised to unchallengable
positions of powerPrevented tribes from getting rid of unsatisfactory shaikhsFixed territorial boundaries Replaced consultation & consensus with British force, colonial hierarchy
[Bureaucratisation of traditional society]Slide41
Bombed the ports, disrupting trade
Restricted size of boats, diminishing pearl diving (only source of revenue)
Built no roads, no hospitals, no schools
Subsistence population sank further (i.e. camel milk and dates are not enough)
Significant rise in death rateAdditional Effects of UK ColonisationSlide42
The Modern World of the UAESlide43Slide44Slide45
Dubai ca. 1970Slide46
Dubai nowSlide47
UAE Sample Vital
Stats
First Settlement: 5,500 BCE
Pop. 2011: 7.2 Million (Expats 88.5%)
Urban: 88
%32nd Human Develop Index (of 169)
Life Expectancy: 78.5 yearsLiteracy Rate: 93+%Health & Educ (to BA) freeGDP per cap: 17th
world; 3
rd
Middle EastSlide48
Myths to Dispose of:
Women in the UAE
They drive
A
re increasingly in workplace (glass ceiling?)
Travel abroad (many regularly)80% Emirati grad students
Assertive in doctoral seminarUAE is (relatively) uxorious societySlide49Slide50Slide51
Statehood
1971Slide52
UAE Admitted to UN 1971Slide53
Pop: 349,870,608
22 countries (Syria suspended)
Aims: Economic develop; dispute resolution; coordinate political aims
League of Arab States
1945/1971Slide54
Kingdom
of Bahrain
Kuwait
Sultanate of Oman Qatar
Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaUnited Arab Emirates (Arabian) Gulf Cooperation Council (1981)Slide55
The New Imperialism (
Jreisat
, 1992)Slide56
Distribution of Value-oriented Action – Internal/External (Weber, 1968)
Traditional
Valuational
(higher order)
Affect
RationalSlide57
Avoid responsibility & risk
Prefer stable life to rewarding, challenging work
Highly concerned with job security
Reluctant to delegate authority
Believe centralisation builds respectPriority to friendships & personal consideration over org goals & performanceHigher commitment (than Westerners) to principles, but not in practice
Disengagement from Islamic Values (Ali & Al-
Shakhis, 2007: Iraqi & Saudi managers)Slide58
Observation of rules &
regs
Sociocentric
& existential values versus conformity, manipulation, egocentric
TeamworkCont…. Variance across Arab CulturesSlide59
Government job as entitlement
Favouritism (nepotism, influence peddling, favour seeking & giving)
[Uneasy translation from Tribal structures to “modern” nation state]
Kuwaiti Admin Ethics
(
Zajac & Al-Kazemi, 2000)Slide60
UAE RiskSlide61
Abu Dhabi 3-D ca. 100% coverageSlide62
The National
Vision
(with detailed accompanying strategic plans)
C
reate prosperous
, tolerant, well-governed state
Achieve highest international standards
Diversify economy
Sustainable
development
Promote compromise,
reason &
dialogue
regionally, internationally
(diplomacy)
Assist
developing countries (strong UN supporter)
Protect environment
[Integration of women into leadership
]Slide63
I am not imposing change on anyone. This is tyranny. All of us have our opinions and these opinions can change. Sometimes we put all opinions together, and then extract from them a single point of view. This is our democracy
.
-
Shaikh
Zayed
DemocratisationSlide64
2011 Federal National Council: Steps toward Political Participation (46% women;
54% men electoral college; 6000 to 129000)Slide65
7
th
on-line service: Intl E-
Govt SurveySlide66
Concentrated, rapidly diversifying economy (hub, financial & industrial – light to heavy)
Deal with Western political & military designs for control & influence
Respond to declining work ethic with high consumption patterns
Huge costs in security & defence
Tensions between Islamic/Arabic values & “Western” valuesSecurity, security, securityDemands on Public Policy
(Jreisat, 1992)Slide67
P
rovide labour opportunities for nationals (Brown & Lauder, p. 252)
90% foreign labour in UAE
Women > 50% university graduates; 80% of UAE in
grad degrees“Public ownership” of all development sectors (real estate, utilities, industry, etc.): tension with “laissez-faire capitalist” pressures & negative intl pressDrive high tech
How Public Sector is UsedSlide68Slide69
High %
prof’l
staff Western (not
nec. h
ighly qualified)Assume Western models work unmodifiedMuch knowledge is outdated (see Ali)Primary concern economic develop: 1.) economy funds develop; 2) globalisation market model NPM; 3) oil running outStress: leap from economic backwardness to high development (
Gerfschenkron)Public Policy ChallengesSlide70
Conceptual Problems of Public Development
Complaints
(
Jreisat, 1992)Complexity
Poor conceptualisationFaltering implementationPolitical corruption
Govt ineffectivenessBureaucratic incompetencePublic nonparticipation
Sand to city in 40 years
Intensive rapid societal transition in every sense
Outdated and incompetent Westerners
High employee diversity
Loss of UAE culture
Geopolitical position & security issuesSlide71
Intellectual Imperialism
Almost exclusive use Western scholarship &
curric
dependency
Knowledge transfer
uni
-directionalEmiratis not taught UAE history (“
golemisation
” of history & scholarly
trad’s
)
Arab scholars used to illustrate western adoption
English replacement of Arabic (religious implications)
Globalised
educ.
strong market model: Hidden
curric
. of capitalism & consumerismSlide72
‘Western’ Theories
vs
UAE Leadership
Secular, ‘legal’, technical-rational principles
Anglo-Saxon norms
Efficiency, effectiveness
Sound decision-makingImpersonal hierarchy
Religious – grounded in Muslim principles
Arabic cultures
Service to society
Wisdom, judgment
Personal interaction, family connectionsSlide73Slide74
The Future?Slide75
Dimensions of The Political
Socio-cultural Impact
Sovereignty
Globalisation/ Commercialisation
The “Reproductive” Role of Educational InstitutionSlide76
EmiratisationSlide77
Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Centre Design
(Schumacher &
Hadid
)Slide78
Internationalisation
(Emirates Airline, 2
nd
most profitable 2006)Slide79
Dubai Islands: 43
→
600 miles coastlineSlide80
United Muslim States?Slide81
Global Monopolism
N
ecrocapitalism
– dispossession modified to “social
” or “cultural” death (Banerjee, 2008)Cultural & intellectual colonyCommodified education & culture
Reproduces foreign socio-cultural & educ’l structures, governance, responsibilities, roles, practicesSlide82Slide83