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allieggg

http://mgt.guc.edu.eg/wpapers/005mohamed_hamdy2008.pdf - 2 views

DIIGO_FILE_HOME/4xj2f/byi0

watsa cronyism nepotism guanxi social norms middle east

shared by allieggg on 05 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • Jordanian survey, 87% of the respondents wanted to eradicate wasta.
  • Cunnigham and Sarayrah (1994) suggest that the modern oil boom in the Arab world may have perpetuated wasta by reducing the need for hard work.
  • human resource departments in the Arab world depend heavily on subjective assessment tools such as unstructured interviews.
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  • most Arab economies suffer from very high levels of unemployment. Good jobs are scarce. This motivates applicants to use every mean possible to improve their chances of being hired.
  • For example, sons of police and military officers are given preference in admission to the Egyptian police academy or military college, respectively.
  • study conducted by Whiteoak, Crawford and Mapstone (2006) showed the young UAE citizens believed that wasta is more useful than do their older citizens. This finding may imply that wasta is strengthening rather than diminishing in Arab societies. Commenting on the spread of wasta in Egypt, a senior bank official told one of the authors that up to 25% of his staff were hired only because of their wasta.
  • many top governmental positions are reserved for members of the ruling families or members of their supporting tribes
  • First, to maintain their grip on authority, Arab political regimes tend to place close confidants in key positions even if they are not the most qualified for such positions.
  • In Syria, the key argument made in favor of selecting Basher Al Asad as the country’s president was that he was the son of the late president Hafez Al Asad.
  • study conducted by Kilani and Sakija in Jordan showed that 90% of the respondents believed that they would use wasta in the future.
  • In the Quran, Muslims are instructed that “the best that you can hire employee is one who is competent and trustworthy” (Quran, 28, 26). Prophet Mohamed is also reported to have said “He who is in a leadership position and appoints knowingly a person who is not qualified to manage, than he violates the command of God and His messenger”. He also stated “when a person assumes an authority over people and promotes one of them because of personal preferences, God will curse him for ever”.
  • Rising to high levels requires important connections. Receiving important privileges or benefits is contingent upon using the right connections.
  • Intercessory wasta on the other hand, involves someone intervening on behalf of a client to obtain an advantage or 2overcome a barrier from an authority figure. It is this type of wasta that affects hiring decisions.
  • Those who are supported by strong others will not be put down or rejected. Only the unconnected or unsupported are punished.
  • people who are related to important others (especially in government) are fortunate as they will have their demands or needs fulfilled. People serve those that are related to important people.
  • People tend to serve those that they know. Without knowing anybody, you will have difficulty getting the service you want.
  • The turban symbolizes a senior respected person. If you know a senior person, your demands will be meet. Similar to the second proverb
  • Intermediary wasta is utilized to facilitate the resolution of intergroup or interpersonal conflicts. In this system, wasta improves human relations and reinforces social norms.
  • Intermediary wasta is utilized to facilitate the resolution of intergroup or interpersonal conflicts. In this system, wasta improves human relations and reinforces social norms. Intercessory wasta on the other hand, involves someone intervening on behalf of a client to obtain an advantage or 2overcome a barrier from an authority figure. It is this type of wasta that affects hiring decisions.
  • feed feelings of injustice and frustration among those who are qualified for the job but do not have a wasta. Wasta is also different from the more popular nepotism and cronyism. While nepotism involves hiring of relatives and friends, wasta is not restricted to such groups and may involve strangers
  • may lead to poor job performance and economic decline.
  • Indeed, wasta is blamed for Arab world’s poor economic performance and brain drain (Al Maeena, 2003; Cunnigham & Sarayrah, 1994). Kilani and Sakijha (2002) stress that wasta is becoming a burden on its seeker, its granter and the government.
  • Arab wasta has been compared to the Chinese concept of guanxi. Both wasta and guanxi use social networks to influence the distribution of advantages and resources. However, while guanxi is based on Confucian ethics which focus on strengthening collective ties (Hutchings & Weir, 2006a; Hutchings & Weir, 2006b); wasta violates Muslim ethics which prescribe hiring the most qualified.
  • Wasta plays a critical role in hiring and promotion decisions in Arab organizations. Before applying to a position, applicants may seek out a wasta to improve their chances of being hired. A person with poor qualifications but a strong wasta will be favored over a person who is more qualified but does not have a wasta. Because many people may apply with wasta, the applicant with the most important wasta often gets the position.
  • allieggg on 05 Oct 14
     
    Compiled by faculty members at the German University in Cairo, this working paper series addresses the effect that watsa has on competence and morality in Middle Eastern economics and society. The authors define watsa as, "the intervention of a patron in favor of a client to obtain benefits and/or resources from a third party." In simpler terms it is a system of social networking in Arab culture in which family and social ties play a significant role in the attainment of economic advantages and resources, largely in the hiring process in businesses and organizations. A person applying for a job seeks out watsa to increase their chances of getting hired. Comparable to nepotism and cronyism, but is not restricted to friends and associates, watsa can also involve strangers linked through some social web of people. Watsa runs somewhat parallel to a Chinese concept of guanxi, based on Confucian ethics and focusing on strong collective ties. While guanxi is a part of Chinese ethics it actually defies Muslim ethical values, which advocates hiring the person most capable. In a Jordanian survey, 87% of respondents want watsa eradicated. While we know that unemployment in the Arab region is widespread, we can assume that this motivates people to do anything they can to improve their chances of obtaining a job. However, the practice of watsa as a whole is actually degrading the economic systems in the Arab sates even further. The article explains the linkage between watsa and poor job performance, economic decline, and the festering of injustice and frustration among the masses in Arab countries.
  • micklethwait on 07 Oct 14
     
    This looks super interesting, but I can't get the link to open. Thanks for writing a thorough summary of it!
cthomase

Will Tunisia's border barrier keep chaos confined to Libya? - 0 views

www.newsweek.com/xtremism-entering-libya-424531

ISIS Tunisia Libya militia

shared by cthomase on 11 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • cthomase on 11 Feb 16
     
    Tunisia has recently completed simple border improvements that they believe will stop or dramatically reduce the amount of militants from spreading into Tunisia from Libya. It consists of sand banks and water filled trenches. Perhaps they should look to the US border as an example to see how that actually works.
mcooka

In Yemen, Breaking Barriers to Girls' Education - 0 views

www.worldbank.org/...ng-barriers-to-girls-education

yemen education improving girls quality

shared by mcooka on 02 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • The gender gap among teachers in Yemen is wide, and serves as a deterrent to girls’ school attendance when traditionally-minded male family members will not allow daughters, sisters or nieces to be taught by men.
  • n 2010-2011, only 28% of teachers in government basic and secondary schools were female. The Ministry of Education estimates 4,500 female teachers are needed to remedy the acute shortage of female teachers in rural areas.
  • e corresponding rate for boys has remained at least 20% highe
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  • Though girls’ enrollment and primary education completion rates in Yemen have increased substantially over the last decade, the gender disparity remains severe
  • To address the disparity, in 2007 the Yemeni government, with funding from the World Bank’s Fund for the Poorest Countries (IDA), launched a rural female teacher contracting scheme and has since trained 550 teachers, 525 of which have become certified.  Under an additional project, funded by the Global Partnership for Education, 490 teachers have completed the training program.
  • A conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, designed to help girls in grades 4-9 in disadvantaged communities in selected governorates, has been effective in encouraging parents to allow girls to attend school.
  • he cash stipends are conditional on maintaining no less than 80% attendance and a passing grade, with an allowance to repeat the grade only once
  • Under Yemen’s second basic education development project, approved under a $66 million IDA grant in February, the government  will recruit, train and deploy an additional 700 female teachers in rural areas and continue its conditional cash transfer program for girls’ education, to extend service to an additional 25,000 students.
  • mcooka on 02 Mar 16
     
    This article discusses the large gap amongst girls and boys in Yemen. There are fewer women in the population, not as many teachers, the literacy rate is 15% lower for girls as compared to boys. This project will deploy 700 teachers to rural areas of Yemen, hoping to attract 25,000 more students, and it will increase cash stiphens to encourage families to let their daughters go to school
eyadalhasan

Oil rout and global volatility take toll on Dubai - 0 views

www.ft.com/...f2ae9ee6,Authorised=false.html

economic oil recession

shared by eyadalhasan on 17 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • eyadalhasan on 17 Mar 16
     
    A closely watched indicator of Dubai's economic health on Wednesday revealed the first contraction of its private sector economy since the recession of 2009, underlining the growing impact on the city-state of low oil prices and global economic
klweber2

Gallows Humor: Political Satire in Sisi's Egypt by Jonathan Guyer - Guernica / A Magazi... - 0 views

www.guernicamag.com/...olitical-satire-in-sisis-egypt

egypt art satire revolution

shared by klweber2 on 29 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • Illustrators capture the everyday challenges Egyptians face,
  • illiterate
  • transcending cultural, class-based, and generational barriers.
  • ...33 more annotations...
  • hift the narrative
  • not just
  • reach a wide audience
  • outine struggles of life in Cairo.
  • hree political factions
  • epresent Egypt speak with one voice.
  • ndeel and Anwa
  • launched an alt-comics zine called Tok Tok,
  • Egyptian millennials.
  • “‘This is a stupid regime that is in control right now,’”
  • his powerlessness and his complicity in state-sponsored violence.
  • cartoons
  • Morsi overstepped
  • We all knew this was going to happen,”
  • everyone realized that the army was planning something.”
  • executive stained with blood
  • since
  • President Gamal Abdul Nasser
  • Andeel wrote about the anthem for Mada Masr,
  • military was asked by the people to rise up against Morsi.
  • implies
  • “Bless your hands”
  • 77-year-old Moustafa Hussein serve
  • baseline for the nationalist narrative.
  • Mocking the armed forces has been taboo
  • youth of the revolution have come to support a new authoritarianism.
  • underlining
  • “I would have had to very intensely water down my language, be way more patient and pragmatic to deliver my message.”
  • dozens of cartoons
  • ortraying the Muslim Brotherhood as violent, activating the terrorist trope
  • “The most important thing to me are regular people,”
  • “Winter After the Protest Law.”
  • everyone is at risk when authorities arbitrarily crack down on public demonstrations.
  • klweber2 on 29 Sep 14
     
    This article follows a cartoonist from Al-Masry Al-Youm a private newspaper in Egypt 
eyadalhasan

Hard-working traditionalist Salman to take Saudi throne - FT.com - 0 views

www.ft.com/...4feab7de,Authorised=false.html

Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Saudia Arabia king in waiting

shared by eyadalhasan on 01 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • eyadalhasan on 01 Mar 16
     
    For years, Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz was described as Saudi Arabia's king-in-waiting. A hard-working traditionalist, the 79-year-old embodies the pragmatism that has allowed the al-Saud's influence to endure, keeping close contacts with both
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