Oasis unplugged (human resource management in the Gulf states)

Citation

(2009), "Oasis unplugged (human resource management in the Gulf states)", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 17 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2009.04417fad.007

Oasis unplugged (human resource management in the Gulf states)

Article Type: Abstracts From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 17, Issue 6

Rana E. People Management (UK), 9 April 2009, Start page: 18, No. of pages: 4

Purpose – Discusses the human resource management practices that companies operating in the Gulf states are developing to support diversification and growth in the face of the economic slowdown. Design/methodology/approach – Looks at the extent to which companies in the Gulf states rely on expatriates to make up the workforce and describes the government initiatives, including quotas, that ensure that more Gulf state nationals are employed in key positions. Reviews the challenges that meeting these quotas sets for human resource managers, quoting senior human resource managers and experts on the career development, performance management and training programmes that are being developed. Also looks at the need for Gulf state companies to cut costs and make redundancies, again quoting senior human resource managers on the challenges this entails. Insets summarize employment law in the Gulf states and give a flavor of what working in human resource management is like there. Findings – Highlights the role that human resource management can play in supporting Gulf state companies to build sustainable workforce policies that will enable them to rely less on expatriate labor while improving performance and productivity. Originality/value – Offers an overview of the current challenges facing human resource management in the Gulf states. ISSN: 1358-6297 Reference: 38AL033

Keywords: Human resource management, Manpower planning, Expatriates, Gulf states, Redundancy, Employment