This analysis looked at the opinions of emirates and residents of the UAE and their opinions of the large and growing number of expatriates living in the country. Although there is a fringe element of the culture that is deeply afraid of losing their national identity, these citizens constitute a small fraction of the population. The next most concerned group seemed to be students who were somewhat worried about their political opportunities as well as their opportunities for employment, yet they were completely tolerant of the trend at the same time.
Expatriates and Their Impact on the Domestic Population in the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the top destinations in the world as a target for expatriates. Much of this trend is driven by the fact that UAE businesses are willing to pay top dollar to fill various roles that cannot be sourced domestically. The expatriates will come to work in the UAE for various reasons but the relatively high salary is one of the biggest appeals for many expatriates and draws in thousands of individuals annually from all over the world. While this acts to provide value to the overall economy in the UAE by furthering economic development, it also has a number of ramifications for the domestic population, culturally and otherwise. This analysis will consider what implications that the large and growing expatriate community has for the national residents in the UAE.
Introduction
The United Arab Emirates is a federation that consists of seven monarchies which are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Qaiwain. These governments have recently been pressured to respond to demands from the population for reforms through events such as the "Arab Spring" as well as other social concerns that have arisen. They have recently undertake reforms by initiating a one point six billion dollar program to build infrastructure in the poorer northern emirates, creating more jobs for the domestic population, and increasing the number of people who are allowed to vote in the September 2011 elections for the Federal National Council (2013 Index of Economic Freedom, N.d.). Furthermore, the governments' must balance these pressures with their goals of making the territories more economically free and open to foreign investment.
Abu Dhabi accounts for about ninety percent of the regional oil production while Dubai serves as the primary source of finance, commerce, transportation, and tourism. Free trade zones have also been established that allow complete foreign ownership with absolutely no taxation which acted to help diversify the economy. At the same time however, the UAE nationals commonly rely heavily on the public-sector for employment as well as subsidized services to support their daily lives. The oil business is the primary driver for the economy and accounts for roughly eighty percent of total government revenues. It is this sector draws in foreign workers to fill in the needed skill requirements. This industry attracts expatriates who have the needed skills to the area with exception salaries. Furthermore, about twenty per cent of UAE expatriates are paid in excess of $250,000 (Dh918,100) which makes the region one of the highest paid places for expatriates to come to work, according to a recent survey (Yousef, 2010).
UAE Cultural Diversity
One study examined the effects of cultural diversity within UAE organizations with regards to performance appraisals, culture and associated outcomes (Behery & Paton, 2008). This research was founded upon previous studies conducted within Western literature to develop the foundation for associations that are present in aligning culture with appraisal to meet stakeholder expectations. The results suggest that employment commitment will be influenced by the extent to which an employee perceives a personal organizational "fit." It was further found that an employee's level of job satisfaction maybe positively linked to the extent to which they consider appraisal and culture to be aligned. More significantly, there was a neutral effect relating to the impact and view of the individuals national culture. The neutral effect relating to the impact of the national culture indicates that, in the workplace, expatriates have little apprehension to working in an UAE organization.
Other studies have also found similarities while studying the workforce that is dominated by expatriates and is under significant pressure to accommodate host country citizens (Alserhan & Al-Nakeeb, 2010). The study examined employees' attitudes towards workforce diversity in the banking sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and found that most have a positive outlook on diversity. Most banks in the UAE have a diverse workforces; especially the international banks. In the vast majority of these banks, UAE nationals represented a small fraction of the total workforce. However, many of the banks differ on the various indicators of diversity. Some banks were more religiously diverse while others more diverse in terms of nationalities or languages. Furthermore, the Islamic banks are the least diverse on all dimensions of diversity.
National Perceptions on Expatriates
The perception of the large and growing expatriate community differs by different segments of the overall population. One student research project considered the youth perspective from a student research team at Zayed University. This group presented its findings at the Third Annual Conference of Dubai's Scientific and Cultural Society on this subject (Mattew, 2013). The main concerns of the Emirati students polled were maintaining their national identity, making sure that they had access to jobs when they needed them. They also felt that while expatriates had every right to work and live in the UAE, they should not have political rights in the country to vote for various policies. Given the youth's specific concerns is understandable considering that sixty per cent of young Emiratis are apprehensive about what the resident expatriates may contribute to the society as well as the culture. Expatriates make up 85 per cent of the UAE's population and would have an incredible impact on the political system should they be granted political freedoms. However, it is important that this 60 per cent was only "worried" and not "frightened" or "angry" about the situation (Mattew, 2013).
Other studies that considered the entire population found that here appear to be three broad views of the UAE lifestyle among Arab residents. There are conservative or extremist views that are deeply concerned with the current UAE model for growth as well as what the future might hold. However, this represents a small fraction of the population. This group wishes to 'protect' themselves from losing their Arab-Muslim identity and what it means to be of a national heritage (Masudi, 2013). The second category is described as one that is open to other cultures and modernity. The third and final segments is fully "Westernized" and seek to further accepting a global culture and business environment. While these groups cover pretty much the entire population, most of the national residences are completely tolerant of the trend and enjoy the economic and quality of life benefits that the developed economy has offered.
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