Q1.Suggest some ways a manager can make changes in work design so that employees are able to achieve greater work-life balance
The work-life balance is a stringent issue on the contemporary agenda, impacting the individuals’ health and personal welfare and the organizations’ performances. It is in the benefit of both organizations and individuals to find solutions for balancing work-life schedules. For proposing solutions to design changes for assuring the work-life balance for the employees, managers need to understand the advantage that such change would bring for their organizations. As such, balancing the work-life schedule would allow an increased tonus for the employees, who would be more motivated to perform more qualitative work due to the received benefit of having more time to spend with their families.
In the current context, wherein the technology is rapidly evolving, working remotely is a reality. Allowing the employees the opportunity to work remotely, from home, is a change that managers can propose for achieving greater work-life balance for the workers (Paul 12). Working telecommute, away from the office, allows the employees to better balance their personal life with their work attributions, as they can perform simultaneously multitasks, joggling the professional with the personal activities.
In addition, managers can integrate flexible schedules in the employees working contracts, by changing the classical 9:00-17:00 working program with, for instance, 10 hours of work per day for four week days, allowing a prolonged weekend (Novacovici & Woofter 144). Other arrangements can be accommodated, which to balance the personal free time with the working hours, depending on the employees’ needs, but also on the firms’ urgencies.
Another change that managers can apply for allowing employees increased work-life balance would be to provide on-site child-care facilities, laundry, beauty, wellness or fitness centers, so that the employees can easily manage to work and to handle their personal choruses (Lussier 260).
Works Cited
Lussier, Robert. Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development. Mason: South Western Cengage Learning. 2012. Print.
Novacovici, Anca & Woofter, Jennifer. Sustainability 101: A toolkit for Your Business. Strategic Sustainability Consulting and Eco-Coach, inc. 2008. Print.
Paul, Graham. Guide to Flexible Working 2008. Cambridge: Workplace Law Publishing. 2008.
Q2. In what ways are Emirati managers likely to face difficulties in their relationships with employees in foreign operations? How can these difficulties be minimized?
The cultural specificities of the Emirati business environment imply mostly authoritarian management and leadership, which means that manager are regularly used to being in control of everything (Randeree & Gaffar Chaudry 63). For the employees hired in foreign operations the over autocratic behavior might seem a little too harsh, mostly for the workers coming or residing in Western countries. Such a situation can generate tensions between management and the employees hired in the foreign operations, generated simply by the lack of understanding and tolerance of other cultures.
The Emirati society is still deeply entrenched into the Islamic traditions, founded on Quran teachings, and one such tradition refers to the traditional Muslim wear in the public or formal relationships (Rajasekar & Beh 156). All foreign employees and foreign business partners are required to meet the national business code of Emirates. In Emirates, the dress code is mostly an issue concerning women and the foreign women employees need to comply with this cultural specificity. For the foreign women employees, respecting the national business code in Emirati also means wearing the traditional Muslim outfit, which include hijab or/and the veil.
Another difficulty for the Emirati managers in dealing with employees in foreign operations might be constituted by the fact that Emirati women managers usually do not shake hands within meetings or in an official setting with the staff or colleagues. This habit is replaced with the hand placed in front of the hart, when greeting women (Miller 3).
For avoiding this work related difficulties, the Emirati employers should accommodate integration courses for the employees in foreign operations, which to facilitate the comprehension of the specificities of the Emirati organizational culture. These courses should include, besides casual foreign relations within the Emirati business environment, historical and socio-cultural backgrounds, so that employees in foreign relations to understand and to comply with the local business customs in Emirati.
Works Cited
Miller, Herman. Culture and Work Styles in Dubai. Michigan: Herman Miller, Inc. 2011. Print.
Rajasekar, James & Beh, Loo-See. Culture and Gender in Leadership: Perspectives from the Middle East and Asia. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 2013. Print.
Randeree, Kasim & Ghaffar Chaudry, Abdul. Leadership – Style, Satisfaction, and Commitment. An Exploration in the United Arab Emirates Construction Sector. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. Vol.19, no. 1, pp/ 61-85. 2012. Print.
