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Discuss this article (2 Comments)Mideast companies score poorly on staff trust issues
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Friday, 03 April 2009
TRUST US: FranklinCovey's poll reveals that Middle East companies suffer when it comes to breeding trust among employees.
A new survey has revealed that Middle East firms struggle more than companies in other regions to cultivate trust among their employees.
The poll, involving 23,545 respondents from 331 organisations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, found companies in this region scored just 49 out of 100 and 52 out of 100 for team trust and organisational trustworthiness.
These scores were the lowest marks in the FranklinCovey poll. Some respondents from 26 organisations in the Middle East were surveyed as part of the study.
“The results of this survey indicate that trust – and the absence of it – is an issue for companies in the Middle East,” said FranklinCovey’s Stephen MR Covey.
“The ability to establish, grow, extend and restore internal trust is the key leadership competency for our challenging times.”
A FranklinCovey statement said trust is a rare commodity in today’s working environment.
It added companies with little or no trust have toxic cultures with open criticism, cynicism, sabotage, lawsuits and criminal behaviour.
The survey also said financial scandals, multi-million dollar bonuses for discredited senior executives and white-collar fraud have made employees less trustful.
READERS' COMMENTS
Disclaimer: The views expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by ArabianBusiness.com or its employees.
Violation of Human Rights
Posted by APO ni Bado, Dubai, UAE on Sunday 5 April 2009 at 10:14 UAE time
When my company violates my human rights (such as the right to travel by keeping my passport), why would I trust them? UAE is flaunting they got laws and regulations but this is all a big HOGWASH!!! No one is enforcing these rules.
UAE - big on words, big on everything, small in action!
Posted by APO ni Bado, Dubai, UAE on Sunday 5 April 2009 at 10:14 UAE time
When my company violates my human rights (such as the right to travel by keeping my passport), why would I trust them? UAE is flaunting they got laws and regulations but this is all a big HOGWASH!!! No one is enforcing these rules.
UAE - big on words, big on everything, small in action!
Staff Trust issues in Middle Eastern companies
Posted by frank kinnear, dubai, UAE on Saturday 4 April 2009 at 15:52 UAE time
I believe the matter originates from a complex set of variables which involve Culture, Psychology, Belief System and History - not necessarily in that order. Having worked in the Middle East for about 15 years in multinational as well as purely indigenous companies, I think I can make a fair estimate of the intrinsic issues with which the workplace is faced.
1. Culture - The Gulf Arabs, unlike north africans or the Mediterraneans (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine) have essentially been Nomads in a sense of the word, shifting from one oasis to another and essentially using whatever they found in order to susrvive in this unforgiving land. 'Highway robbery' was replaced with Desert Robbery and travellers were methodically robbed of their possessions so that others could live. Because of the relative scarcity of agricultural land and related bounties, anything that was usable was hoarded for utilization at a later time, as long as it held out and did not decay. Being a tribal people, they naturally fought each other for the best oasies, the best grazing land, the best fishing areas etc. Visitors were looked on with suspicion at first, but the eastern sense of hospitality soon took over once the perceived 'threat' was negated. Gulf Arabs by comparison moved on from a nomadic to a sedentary life by living on the coasts and initially harvesting pearls, after which the neighbouring countries like Iran, India (Later also Pakistan) began their forays into this land and helped them to set up a rudimentry 'economy' as it were.
2. Recent History - The Arabs have, over the past 40 years or so, seen unprecedented wealth and riches unlike anything they saw for at least 200 years or more before. The relatively sudden availability of this wealth naturally attracted people from every corner of the globe. Many wishing to be a part of this boom time and justifiably to make their lives and their retirements as comfortable as they could. Amongst these people came also the exploiters, usurpers and pure advantage takers who, having initially won the trust of their employers, then proceeded to milk them for what they were worth. naturally one action negated the other and gradually an atmosphere of mistrust began to grow.
3. Psychology - In view of the above set of circumstances - living in the merciless, baking desert, being at war with neighbouring parties, not knowing or being able to plan ahead with regards to food, shelter or clothing and a general mistrust of each others possessions as well as attitudes meant that these were hard to shake off traits.
Summary - Trust must be a management led phenomenon which has to come from the top. If the owner(s) does/do not trust it's/their senior managers, they, the senior managers will not trust their juniors and so forth. In certain cases, there is naturally no choice BUT to allow a measure of trust otherwise nothing would ever get done but it is a very very commonly known issue in the middle east that very rarely is anyone other than the owner allowed to sign cheques on behalf of the company. Similarly, allowing employees to retain their passports or providing them with a status such as allows them to travel on their whim is not encouraged. employees are generally looked on with suspicion and are essentially 'guilty' until proven innocent.
The reader needn't get me wrong here. Once a certain measure of 'trust' has been gained - this could take from 3 to 30 years, depending on the individual concerned! The employee becomes a part of the 'inner circle'. (It has been argued that even brothers of the owners never really become part of the inner financial circle but we'll leave it at that for now) Language is a very important and actually pivotal ingredient in getting you into that circle. There are no guarantees: I have known cases of people working for 18, 15, 22 years for a company and were fired because of a lost cheque or some similar mistake that happened the day the owner was in a bad mood.
So, to cut a very long story short, trust in middle eastern companies is an element that will never rise to the levels of other regions simply because they - the locals - have simply too much to lose.
Posted by frank kinnear, dubai, UAE on Saturday 4 April 2009 at 15:52 UAE time
I believe the matter originates from a complex set of variables which involve Culture, Psychology, Belief System and History - not necessarily in that order. Having worked in the Middle East for about 15 years in multinational as well as purely indigenous companies, I think I can make a fair estimate of the intrinsic issues with which the workplace is faced.
1. Culture - The Gulf Arabs, unlike north africans or the Mediterraneans (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine) have essentially been Nomads in a sense of the word, shifting from one oasis to another and essentially using whatever they found in order to susrvive in this unforgiving land. 'Highway robbery' was replaced with Desert Robbery and travellers were methodically robbed of their possessions so that others could live. Because of the relative scarcity of agricultural land and related bounties, anything that was usable was hoarded for utilization at a later time, as long as it held out and did not decay. Being a tribal people, they naturally fought each other for the best oasies, the best grazing land, the best fishing areas etc. Visitors were looked on with suspicion at first, but the eastern sense of hospitality soon took over once the perceived 'threat' was negated. Gulf Arabs by comparison moved on from a nomadic to a sedentary life by living on the coasts and initially harvesting pearls, after which the neighbouring countries like Iran, India (Later also Pakistan) began their forays into this land and helped them to set up a rudimentry 'economy' as it were.
2. Recent History - The Arabs have, over the past 40 years or so, seen unprecedented wealth and riches unlike anything they saw for at least 200 years or more before. The relatively sudden availability of this wealth naturally attracted people from every corner of the globe. Many wishing to be a part of this boom time and justifiably to make their lives and their retirements as comfortable as they could. Amongst these people came also the exploiters, usurpers and pure advantage takers who, having initially won the trust of their employers, then proceeded to milk them for what they were worth. naturally one action negated the other and gradually an atmosphere of mistrust began to grow.
3. Psychology - In view of the above set of circumstances - living in the merciless, baking desert, being at war with neighbouring parties, not knowing or being able to plan ahead with regards to food, shelter or clothing and a general mistrust of each others possessions as well as attitudes meant that these were hard to shake off traits.
Summary - Trust must be a management led phenomenon which has to come from the top. If the owner(s) does/do not trust it's/their senior managers, they, the senior managers will not trust their juniors and so forth. In certain cases, there is naturally no choice BUT to allow a measure of trust otherwise nothing would ever get done but it is a very very commonly known issue in the middle east that very rarely is anyone other than the owner allowed to sign cheques on behalf of the company. Similarly, allowing employees to retain their passports or providing them with a status such as allows them to travel on their whim is not encouraged. employees are generally looked on with suspicion and are essentially 'guilty' until proven innocent.
The reader needn't get me wrong here. Once a certain measure of 'trust' has been gained - this could take from 3 to 30 years, depending on the individual concerned! The employee becomes a part of the 'inner circle'. (It has been argued that even brothers of the owners never really become part of the inner financial circle but we'll leave it at that for now) Language is a very important and actually pivotal ingredient in getting you into that circle. There are no guarantees: I have known cases of people working for 18, 15, 22 years for a company and were fired because of a lost cheque or some similar mistake that happened the day the owner was in a bad mood.
So, to cut a very long story short, trust in middle eastern companies is an element that will never rise to the levels of other regions simply because they - the locals - have simply too much to lose.
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