Saudi employee motivation and performance in private sector firms

¶ … Saudi workers in the private sector in Saudi Arabia.

This project draws on various primary sources and secondary sources. The primary sources consist of interviews and surveys I have conducted with Saudi employees and managers.

A number of secondary sources are used, such as economics papers which examine the economic implications of private sector performance in Saudi Arabia. These studies will be used to provide context for the behavior of Saudi employees at private sector firms. Also included is literature on psychology and performance theory, which will provide the analytical lens with which to make sense of the behavior of Saudi employees.

This study will analyze the behavior of Saudi employees in terms of incentives and motivation. This is the fundamental indicator by which we will measure expected performance throughout the study.

Chapter I. - Introduction

Background

While working as an administrator at a private school in Saudi Arabia, I was involved in the process of selecting teachers for the school. While observing this process, I noticed that the foreign managers preferred to select foreign teachers of the same nationality over local Saudi teachers. Moreover, the owner of the private school usually approved the selections of the foreign managers even though there were strict regulations from the Saudi government encouraging employers to hire Saudi Nationals, many of which were available in the education sector at that time.

I understood the reason for the foreign managers' hiring decisions. Foreign managers might feel more comfortable managing employees of their own nationality, especially while working in a foreign country. However, I was puzzled as to why the Saudi managers agreed to these choices as well, even going so far as to ignore the government regulations encouraging the employment of local Saudis.

Most observers would conclude that the performance of Saudi employees in private firms might explain these hiring decisions observed. Saudi employees are very appreciative and quite motivated when they first get a job, considering the lack of jobs in Saudi Arabia and the even lower chances of getting a job in the private sectors. However, this appreciation and motivation goes down as Saudi employees settle into their jobs, perhaps taking those jobs for granted.

The attitude of Saudi employees is frustrating for foreign managers and domestic managers alike. The discrepancy between the employees they are accustomed to, foreign workers, and the employees they are now being asked to train, Saudi workers, is quite hard to come to terms with while under intense pressure to perform.

Problem Statement

The lack of initiative and motivation among domestic employees in the Saudi Arabian private sector threatens to hamper the performance of Saudi SMEs, which would not only hurt the Saudi economy but would also inhibit the development of human capital in Saudi Arabia.

Research Objective

This paper will attempt to explain the traditional underachievement of Saudi employees when working at SMEs.

Scope of the Study

Chapter II. Literature Review

Hypothesis

This study will analyze the behavior of Saudi employees in terms of incentives and motivation. This is the fundamental indicator by which we will measure expected performance throughout the study.

Research Questions

What methods are managers currently using to motivate Saudi employees, if any?

How do Saudis compare to the other employees in Saudi Arabia, South Asians and East Asians, in terms of motivation, competencies, and work habits?

What are the distinguishing characteristics of Saudi workers?

What type of motivating mechanisms are present in the traditional Saudi workplace?

What kind of motivating mechanisms are present in Saudi schools and universities?

What larger social and economic trends are having an effect on the motivation and performance of Saudi workers?

Chapter IV. -- Research Method

4.1 Research Procedure

The study will use both qualitative and quantitative research methods to determine the motivations of the employees and the motivational mechanisms currently used by managers. The Quantitative information will be retrieved through surveys passed out to current employees and managers at various firms. The surveys will pose very narrow questions so as to make the responses definite and easy to answer. The survey questions will attempt to gauge opinions and attitudes towards work and will be inspired by Maslow's hierarchy of needs in order to provide some structure to the answers of the respondents.

The qualitative information will be retrieved through in-depth interviews with open-ended questions that will allow the respondents to speak at length about their motivations for working and any other work-related concerns. This will help identify issues not provided for in the survey questions.

4.2 Sources of Data

The sources of data will include both written answers from surveys as well as verbal answers taken from in-depth interviews. The sample interviewing population will be employees and managers in both the production and administrative levels of SMEs in order to provide a more accurate sample and also to identify whether there are issues specific to certain sectors of SMEs. The sampling will take place at three types of SMEs which have traditionally relied on foreign employees. The sample population is meant to represent the industries that are going through the most drastic changes in workforce dynamics as a result of the Saudization policy.

1) Education

2) Construction

3) Information Technology

4.3 Data collection method

I will distribute the following surveys to the employees and employers in my sample population. I will give them two weeks to complete the surveys, after which I will collect them and analyze them.

4.4 Sample size and sampling method

The sample size will be between 40-50 people. The sampling method include surveys as well as direct conversations. The employee surveys will gauge satisfaction with salary, job security, work environment, feedback, training, and other factors relating to job satisfaction. The employer surveys will ask employers to rate Saudi employees in areas such as work ethic, ability, attitude, and skills, especially as compared to workers of other nationalities.

4.5 Method of Data Analysis

The surveys should yield a set of simple, definite answers which be compared on the same criteria. The open-ended interviews should yield a deeper, more diverse set of answers which will be analyzed for patterns and common concerns. Any patterns not reflected in the survey questions will be set aside for further inquiry.

Each employee survey will be sorted based on how the respondent prioritized the different needs, determined by question 8 of the employee survey. After the surveys are sorted, they will be scored based on how the respondent feels the employer is handling each need. The answers regarding each needs will be weighted based on how each need was prioritized by the respondent.

Chapter V. -- Time Frame For Study

Chapter VI. -- Preliminary Reference List

References:

Books

Maslow, Abraham. 1962. Towards a Psychology of Being, Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand

Maslow, Abraham. 1970. Motivation and Personality, 3rd ed. (1954) Chapter 6: Unmotivated Behavior. New York: Longman.

Cziksentmihalyi, Mihaly. 1990. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper.

De Bono, Jones, Van der Heijden. 2005. Managing Cultural Diversity, p. 179. London: Meyer and Meyer.

McGregor, Douglas. 2006. The Human Side of Enterprise (1960). New York: McGraw Hill.

Mayo, Elton. 1949. The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization. Norfolk: Routledge.

Argyris, C. 1970. Intervention Theory and Method. Reading: Addison-Wesley.

Likert, Rensis. 1967. Human organization: its management and value. New York: McGraw Hill.

Journal Articles

Cools, Van Herpen, Van Praag. 2005. Wage Structure and the Incentive Effect of Promotions. Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper (107/3).

Wolf & Zwick. 2008. Reassessing the Productivity Impact of Employee Involvement and Financial Incentives. Schmalenbach Business Review, (Vol. 60,) p.160-181.

Van Riel, Berens, Dijkstra. 2007. Stimulating Strategically Aligned Behaviour Among Employees. Working Paper. Erasmus Research Institute of Management Report Series Research in Management.

Papalexandris, Nancy. 2008. Leadership's Impact on Employee Engagement: Differences among Entrepreneurs and Professional CEOs. Leadership and Organizational Behavior Journal.

Cools, Van Herpen, Van Praag. 2003. The Effects of Performance Measurement and Compensation on Motivation. Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper (048/3).

Achoui, Mustapha M.. 2007. Human resource development in Gulf countries: an analysis of the trends and challenges facing Saudi Arabia. Human Resource Development International (12/1), 35 -- 46.

Rao, D.N.. 2009. Saudi Arabia: The Emerging Economic Tiger of the Middle East.

Dissertations/Working Papers

Karoly, Lynn. 2010. The Role of Education in Preparing Graduates for the Labor Market in the GCC Countries. Working Paper. RAND Corporation.

Al Dosary & Rahman. 2009. The Role of the Private Sector towards Saudization (Localization).

Noruzi, Mohammad R.. 2007. Human Resource Management and Customer Relationship Management. Working Paper. Marageh: Payam-e-Noor University.

Al-Shammari, Serhan A. 2009. Saudization and Skill Formation for Employment in the Private Sector. Ph.D.: University of Stirling School of Management.

Fakeeh, Manal S. 2009. Saudization as a Solution for Unemployment: The Case of Jeddah Western Region. Ph.D.: University of Glasgow Business School.

Alasrag, Hussein. 2010. Enhancing the Competitiveness of the Arab SMEs,, Ministry of Trade and Industry.