Industrial Management
Industrial Relations in the United Arab Emirates
Industrial Relations is a field of critical importance in terms of understanding and refining how labor and workplace issues are defined. This has never been truer than today, when the deconstruction of global trade barriers is leading to new and unforeseen economic partnerships between developing nations and multinational corporations. These relationships require constant evaluation if we are to understand their implications for labor and management on a global scale.
Role and Function of Managers in Industrial Relations:
In a general sense, "beyond leadership skill, one must have the leadership vision to lead properly." (Reh, 2) More specifically, in the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), there is a particular imperative for management to understand the unique idiosyncrasies of labor relations in the nation. Specifically, though the United Arab Emirates is progressive insofar as its economy is a thriving and globally integrated one, it still struggles with a host of ethnic and gender discrimination issues that are highly culturally driven. According to one source, "Indians and other expatriates in the UAE are increasingly becoming susceptible to the scourge of depression, research has shown. The prime causes are discrimination at the workplace, longer working hours, home-sickness, and the chaotic state of peak-hour traffic." (INP, 1)
Management must take on the role of both a protector of the attendant culture and a progressive leader where such matters are concerned. It will take strong leadership through an industrial relations context to bring about greater equality in the UAE marketplace.
Managing Change Effectively:
According to Pande et al. (2000) "in today's business world, no company is likely to stay on top for too long that doesn't rethink at least some key processes on a regular basis." (p. 33) This is especially true in industrial relations, where the new intersection of previously unaffiliated cultures is leading to opportunities for shared advancement. With effective change management, it may be possible to achieve the optimal integration of the UAE's domestic culture and global best-practices in labor equality and fairness.
Ethical Industrial Relations with Multinational Corporations:
The implications of this change are quite significant given the proclivity of many developing nations to allow for the deep exploitation of their laborers. According to Shaiken (2004), "fierce world-wide competition for jobs threatens to undercut wages and working conditions." (Shaiken, 1) This means that there is a distinct ethical need in the field of industrial relations for the introduction of fair wages, safe working conditions and other basic worker protections.
Conclusion:
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