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allieggg

Wasta, Work and Corruption in Transnational Business | CONNECTED in CAIRO - 0 views

connectedincairo.com/...tion-in-transnational-business

middle east watsa corruption Business Egypt Family

shared by allieggg on 05 Oct 14 - No Cached
micklethwait liked it
  • Girgis worked for a company that insisted as part of their global corporate culture that there be no “corruption.” Six years after opening its office in Egypt, they continued to be plagued by behaviors they understood to be “corrupt.”
  • I explained that wasta referred to a network of informal loans and favors traded by Arab men in order to move up in the world.
  • Encouraged by my open, neutral tone, Girgis opened up further. “My father mortgaged family lands to pay for my college,” Girgis said. “I owe him everything. If he asks me to find a job for his brother’s son, how can I say no?”
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • families are economic units.
  • “You can send me anywhere else in the world and I’ll run the office by the book,” Girgis told his supervisor. “But I can’t do that here.”
  • any Egyptian man they hired to run the office would be equally suspended in webs of wasta obligations
  • “investment and return” frame I created for understanding, emphasizing the economic parallels between Arab families and running a business
  • , I’ve known several Egyptian businessmen who thought wasta was an improvement on Western models of hiring.
  • Net result: greater loyalty, less likelihood of theft, less likelihood of negotiating for new jobs behind your back and leaving you in the lurch, etc, he claimed.
  • allieggg on 05 Oct 14
     
    This article is from the point of view of an anthropologist who was brought in as a cultural consultant to mediate an issue of "watsa" for a corporation in the Middle East. The company prides itself on its lack of internal corruption, and in turn hired a man named Girgis who grew up in the Middle East but lived and received an education in the US. In Girgis's first year he hired one of his cousins, which the supervisors saw as corrupt hiring practice. The author, and hired consultant, explained to the company supervisors that watsa was an "investment and return" framework in Arab culture, and that there are economic parallels between Arab families and businesses, families existing as economic units. Girgis conveyed that anywhere else in the world he would run the office by the book, but in the Arab world he must also adhere to social norms. The result of watsa through Arab eyes leads to greater loyalty, and less likelihood for deception and theft. The article basically introduces the idea that while in the Western world this may be seen as corruption, it is an embedded part of culture in the Middle East. 
csosa14

Family loses son to ISIS - 0 views

www.jpost.com/...t-ISIS-alongside-Israel-393660

son killed ISIS family anguish

shared by csosa14 on 12 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • csosa14 on 12 Mar 15
     
    Family of Jerusalem teen killed by Islamic State says he was seduced by lies.
  • csosa14 on 12 Mar 15
     
    Family of Jerusalem teen killed by Islamic State says he was seduced by lies.
csosa14

American ISIS Hostage Kayla Mueller Is Dead, Family Says - NBC News - 0 views

www.nbcnews.com/...eller-dead-family-says-n303591

american hostage killed nbc news ISIS

shared by csosa14 on 10 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • csosa14 on 10 Feb 15
     
    There was an American hostage held captive by ISIS and her parents have confirmed that she has been killed by ISIS. During a strike, Kayla Mueller was taken and according to the White House and the Mueller family she has been killed.
  • csosa14 on 10 Feb 15
     
    There was an American hostage held captive by ISIS and her parents have confirmed that she has been killed by ISIS. During a strike, Kayla Mueller was taken and according to the White House and the Mueller family she has been killed.
ccfuentez

Polisario accused of trafficking children to Europe | Sahara Question - 0 views

sahara-question.com/...ed-trafficking-children-europe

human-trafficking Algeria Tindouf Sahrawi

shared by ccfuentez on 03 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • The trafficking ring is said to involve Sahrawi children being shipped to European families for adoption.
  • the international network had a ready list of European families who wanted to buy children for adoption, and approached the Polisario/Algerian team with the offer.
  • ccfuentez on 03 Feb 16
     
    A trafficking ring has been taking Sahrawi children to Europe. The children are taken under the impression that they are going on a "vacation," but in reality they are taken to families in Europe who want to buy them to adopt.
blantonjack

Pentagon orders military families to leave southern Turkey - 0 views

www.cnn.com/...index.html

ISIS Syria US War

shared by blantonjack on 30 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • blantonjack on 30 Mar 16
     
    Family members will also be evacuated from facilities in Izmir and Mugla, according to a Pentagon statement. "The decision to move our families and civilians was made in consultation with the Government of Turkey, our State Department, and our Secretary of Defense," This is in wake of another attack in Brussels that ISIS carried out. The U.S. has decided it is too dangerous to continue to have citizens in the country.
mcooka

Gender equality? It doesn't exist anywhere in the world - LA Times - 1 views

www.latimes.com/...lobal-womens-rights-story.html

women inequality million higher education

shared by mcooka on 08 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • t's been more than 100 years since the world began observing International Women's Day, and yet no country has achieved full gender equality.
  • But in Yemen, the country that ranks lowest according to the same data,
  • About two-thirds of countries in the developing world have achieved gender equality in primary education according to U.N. data, but the progress is less substantial at the secondary school level.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • In Africa and South Asia for example, boys remain 1.55 times more likely to complete secondary education than girls, according to World Bank data.
  • Even when girls make it into the classroom they still “continue to face particular risk in chaotic conflict settings,”
  • n Pakistan, for example, the Taliban has declared war on girls' education, and frequently attacks educational institutions
  • “They don’t translate into greater equality in the labor market,” said Sarah Gammage, director of gender, economic empowerment and livelihoods at the International Center for Research on Women. “Around the world women have disproportionately been part of the informal economy.”
  • hey are typically responsible for providing care services for family members, Gammage said. Other duties include child rearing, cooking, and other household chores. It is work for which they are not paid. Women perform three times more unpaid work than men, according to the U.N.’s 2015 Human Development Report.
  • eing able to make decisions, such as voting, owning land, and deciding whom to marry “is where we see the most significant difference between the least developed and developed countries,” said Varia.
  • In Saudi Arabia, women are not permitted to drive and cannot open bank accounts without their husbands' permissio
  • Uganda forbids women to gain permanent custody of children after a divorce,
  • Honor killings, the traditional practice that allows the slaying of a family member who is believed to have brought dishonor on a family, claims thousands of women’s lives every year in South and Central Asia.
  • pvaldez2 on 08 Mar 16
     
    This article is a response to International Women's Day, saying that gender equality doesn't exist in the world. In the middle of the article, they show a chart of the gender gap between men and women. Egypt is last in the chart.
  • mcooka on 08 Mar 16
     
    This article goes into depth about the inequality in the Middle East which extends to today. This looks at the ideas of democratization which would promote higher education. Greater rights for women. and improve infant morality rates 
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.
  • ...21 more annotations...
  • 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!
csosa14

Iraq Empties Mass Graves In Search for Cadets Killed by ISIS - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...cadets-islamic-state-isis.html

Iraq Empties Grave Search Cadets Killed ISIS

shared by csosa14 on 08 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • csosa14 on 08 Apr 15
     
    Iraq empties several graves in hope of finding the Cadets killed by ISIS in order to give them and their families rest.
  • csosa14 on 08 Apr 15
     
    Iraq empties several graves in hope of finding the Cadets killed by ISIS in order to give them and their families rest.
kristaf

Muslim Brotherhood: The coup has betrayed Egypt and implemented the Zionist agenda in S... - 0 views

www.middleeastmonitor.com/...ed-the-zionist-agenda-in-sinai

#Zionist #Sinai #Coup #Muslimbrotherhood

shared by kristaf on 23 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt announced its full support of the families residing in Sinai and said
  • hat they will not leave them to face the coup's schemes and state-induced terrorism alone.
  • the group condemned the regime's use of murder, kidnapping and forced displacements of families in Rafah.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • assured the people that the perpetrators of these crimes will not evade punishment. The Muslim Brotherhood accused the Egyptian regime of implementing an Israeli-American agenda in Sinai.
  • The statement also pointed out that the country's legitimate president Dr Mohamed Morsi was working to reconstruct Sinai and abort the implementation of a Zionist agenda within the peninsula.
  • The group condemned the regime's forced displacement of Sinai's citizens and its criminality towards the people of Rafah who have been subject to torture, kidnapping and looting
micklethwait

Sotloff Family Spokesman is Media Pundit « Memory Hole - 0 views

memoryholeblog.com/...mily-spokesman-is-media-pundit

family spokesman media pundit

shared by micklethwait on 04 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • micklethwait on 04 Sep 14
     
    Not posting this because I agree with its implications (and accusations). Just tracking this line of thinking.
csosa14

ISIS hostage release gives hope to Modesto family - 0 views

www.news10.net/...24241415

hostage release hope family Christians

shared by csosa14 on 03 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • csosa14 on 03 Mar 15
     
    After ISIS captured 220 Christians they have released 19 and this gives hope that they may release more.
  • csosa14 on 03 Mar 15
     
    After ISIS captured 220 Christians they have released 19 and this gives hope that they may release more.
diamond03

Tradition of female genital mutilation persists in Egypt - SFGate - 0 views

www.sfgate.com/...utilation-persists-5904358.php

tradition female genital egypt revolution politics

shared by diamond03 on 19 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • Tradition of female genital mutilation persists in Egypt
  • Raslan Fadl, the first doctor in Egypt to be put on trial for committing female genital mutilation
  • still practicing
  • ...28 more annotations...
  • Residents call him a well-respected figure in the community, known for his charity work.
  • could not be determined whether any were at his office for “circumcision
  • Fadl’s continued popularity demonstrates the challenges to curbing the practice in Egypt,
  • 90 percent of
  • key precedent for deterring doctors and families in the future.
  • criminalized in 2008,
  • Sunni Muslim religious authority has declared it dangerous and without any religious justification
  • slow reduction in the rate of the practice but that it is still widespread.
  • A verdict is expected Thursday in Fadl’s trial
  • two years in prison.
  • one of the highest rates in the world
  • s little outcry against the practice.
  • nothing happened to them.”
  • without it, a girl would be “sexually voracious,”
  • dangerous for her”
  • Muslims and Christians,
  • Genital mutilation involves removing all or part of the clitoris and labia minora
  • 29 countries,
  • “purification.
  • cleanliness or to prevent a girl’s sexual desire from running out of control.
  • ncircumcised daughter will be unable to marry
  • Social pressure is strong:
  • not easy getting the landmark case to trial
  • Soheir’s family initially filed a police report saying she died as a result of the mutilation but changed their story after reconciling with the doctor
  • Prosecutors were slow, preferring “for the matter to end
  • latest survey, conducted in 2008, showed 91 percent for women age 15 to 49 have undergone the procedure.
  • 15 to 17, the rate is down to 74 percent,
  • ore families are deciding to forgo it.
fcastro2

Syrian Christians fleeing ISIS find shelter in Turkey - World - CBC News - 0 views

www.cbc.ca/...nd-shelter-in-turkey-1.3020582

turkey christians ISIS syria politics refugees

shared by fcastro2 on 06 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • At any given time, there are about 70 refugees who have fled the war in Syria. They share the bunk beds inside, six to a room.
  • They are among the two million people Turkey has taken i
  • Many are housed in state-of-the-art refugee camps throughout the country, but those who have connections and more money choose to come to Istanbul in hopes of easier communication with foreign embassies, faster passage to what they hope will be a more comfortable life in Europe
  • ...5 more annotations...
  •  The war has split and scattered all of their families around the world. Bekandy's father is still back in Syria, her fiancé and mother are in London.
  • He hopes his good deeds might somehow help reunite him with his family, which is now split into three parts, spread across Europe.
  • His wife and six-year-old son are on the line from Athens. Their eldest daughter — just 15 — is in Germany.
  • Lezieh says ISIS drew that X on his house in Aleppo, marking it to show his was a Christian home. He says militants tried to recruit him, threatened to kidnap his children and bombed his new business
  • Now Lezieh gets by with donations from parishioners and hopes to see his family all in one place soon. He tries to smile through the tears. He has to. His daughter is calling.
  • fcastro2 on 06 Apr 15
     
    Syrian Christians struggling in Turkey and other European countries. ISIS has not made it easy for them to live in Syria which is why they must flee the country. 
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
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • 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
mcooka

2015 Education Year: Challenges ahead | Yemen Times - 1 views

www.yementimes.com/...tion-Year-Challenges-ahead.htm

yemen education girls quality challenges times

shared by mcooka on 02 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • n Nov. 24, the prime minister declared 2015 “Education Year,” highlighting the need to improve the country’s educational system and its importance for Yemen’s future prosperity
  • An ominous reminder came just 20 days after the prime minister’s announcement, when an explosive-laden car detonated at a checkpoint in Rada’a, killing 16 girls who were passing on their way home from school. The tragedy provides some indication of the immense challenges facing government and Yemeni society if 2015 is really to be a year for education.
  • Speaking at a ceremony honoring the nation’s highest-achieving students for the 2013/14 school year,
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • eeting these lofty goals will require a range of initiatives—repairing infrastructure and building new facilities, providing sufficient learning materials, narrowing teacher-student ratios, and addressing gender disparities—especially in rural areas, where underfunding and conflict have compounded the problems facing schools ther
  • Mohammad bin Mohammad, a school teacher in Erman Primary School in the Ans area of Dhamar governorate, which accommodates 110 children from first to sixth grade, says many of his students are forced to take their lessons sitting on the ground. “Students don’t study in proper classrooms. Let alone having enough labs, chairs or tables,” he said.
  • Addressing security concerns and providing necessary infrastructure are fundamental prerequisites, but staffing and improving access to education for girls remain high on the agenda.
  • Government expenditure on bonuses amounts to YR60 million ($279,000) for the current fiscal year, and is expected to reach 271,696 employees nationwide working in the education sector, according to the Ministry of Education.
  • In areas where female enrolment and retention in school is significantly lower than the national average, the government also offers conditional cash transfers to families to encourage them to allow their girls to attend school.
  • mcooka on 02 Mar 16
     
    This article highlights some of the challenges with improving girls education. Yemen has very little resources so taking resources from one place and giving to another-is basically like taking from students sitting on the dirt and giving to students sitting on rocks. There is also high security concerns. Many religious sects don't believe women should receive education.  So girls and schools are being terrorized on the way to school. Some families don't believe the cash transfer is worth loosing children. 
ccfuentez

Human trafficking: Irina's story - 0 views

www.unodc.org/...page008.html

human trafficking forced prostitution 16 years old madams quick trip

shared by ccfuentez on 31 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • ccfuentez on 31 Mar 16
     
    This article gives the story of Irina, a 16-year-old student form Southern Russia. A family friend told her and her mom that Irina could earn $500 by simply taking a "quick trip" to the Middle East. Irina was then stripped of all of her money and passport and forced into prostitution.
ccfuentez

Compassion: Trafficking Survivor Stories | Force 4 Compassion - 0 views

www.f-4-c.org/stories.asp

human trafficking survivors stories Libya UAE woman men

shared by ccfuentez on 31 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • ccfuentez on 31 Mar 16
     
    This article gives many different stories of survivors who were once a part of human trafficking. It includes the story of a 23 year old who was beaten and threatened to be buried in the desert when she refused to prostitute and men who sold family land for jobs only to be given only half the promised wages and nearly starved.
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