In A Spring Aborted: How Authoritarianism Violates Women's Rights in the Arab World, leadership expert Yusif Sidani tracks the contributions of female activists, the reasons for the Arab Spring, and the abuse these leaders suffered. Including analysis of protests across Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Tunisia, Sidani looks at the aims of the protests, and the impact, evaluating whether the changes brought about were deep enough to disrupt governance structures. Finally, Sidani explores how the Arab Spring has been hijacked. From deep divisions among the allies who shaped the Arab Spring, to sheer force and brutality, Sidani analyses the causes of the Spring's disintegration
Business Ethics in the Middle East fills a crucial gap in the Middle East educational landscape. Written in an easy and accessible format, this book covers the foundations of business ethics by drawing from both Eastern and Western traditions. The chapters include many examples, case studies, activities and illustrations that are customized to the Middle Eastern market, yet relevant to readers outside the Middle East who want to get thorough insights about business behaviour in the region. A special module introduces the Arab Middle Eastern context that non-Arab readers would find valuable. The author addresses topics related to organizational culture, leadership, CSR, corporate governance, marketing, HR, accounting, finance, and production. This is accomplished with a deep attention to the cultural and contextual elements of the Middle East. Special attention is given to religious business ethics, while still deeply engaging the vast heritage of Western ethical systems. This combination is essential for the development of a comprehensive approach to the topic of business ethics. This textbook will be essential reading for students of business ethics in the Middle East, and will also be valuable for students and researchers across business ethics, Islamic Studies, religion and philosophy
Business Ethics in the Middle East fills a crucial gap in the Middle East educational landscape. Written in an easy and accessible format, this book covers the foundations of business ethics by drawing from both Eastern and Western traditions. The chapters include many examples, case studies, activities and illustrations that are customized to the Middle Eastern market, yet relevant to readers outside the Middle East who want to get thorough insights about business behaviour in the region. A special module introduces the Arab Middle Eastern context that non-Arab readers would find valuable. The author addresses topics related to organizational culture, leadership, CSR, corporate governance, marketing, HR, accounting, finance, and production. This is accomplished with a deep attention to the cultural and contextual elements of the Middle East. Special attention is given to religious business ethics, while still deeply engaging the vast heritage of Western ethical systems. This combination is essential for the development of a comprehensive approach to the topic of business ethics. This textbook will be essential reading for students of business ethics in the Middle East, and will also be valuable for students and researchers across business ethics, Islamic Studies, religion and philosophy.
PurposeThis paper attempts to present varying discourses pertaining to women's work and how it is impacted by interpretations of Islam.Design/methodology/approachCurrent discourses from various viewpoints are presented including Muslim scholars on the one hand and active feminists on the other. Personalities are presented as being representative of the debate that has been going on pertaining to women in Arab societies.FindingsAttempts that aim at categorizing Arab thought and activism into two camps, one is religious‐based adverse to women's causes, and the other being secular and supportive of their causes does not present a candid depiction of the different forces.Research limitations/implicationsPersonalities chosen represent specific case studies that, although thought to be representative, cannot realistically reflect all the multitudes of views expressed pertaining to the issues discussed. Future studies may cover other relevant personalities in the region.Practical implicationsDeveloping the status of women in Arab societies requires a major reassessment of Muslim history and traditions. The dialogue and debates going on among religious scholars and feminists should be continuously communicated, discussed and exposed. Readers and mangers would benefit from understanding the complexity of issues and diversity of views presented.Originality/valueThis paper offers a window into the world of women's work and participation in Arab societies and how such participation is impacted by Islam, or its interpretations thereof. In addition to the English sources, this paper offers an opportunity for the reader to get a glimpse of the debate that has been going on in Arabic (especially when it comes to the little known religious discourse).
This study attempts to sketch a profile of young female entrepreneurs in the Arab region as they start their business organisations and take the first few steps in the development of their business. It attempts to draw a profile of a number of local Emirati women entrepreneurs and their characteristics, what attracts them to their businesses, and the hurdles they face as they enter into their line of business. In addition, it outlines the makeup of their entrepreneurial businesses, and identifies some barriers that women face at the start-up stage, in addition to their entrepreneurial motivations and driving forces, satisfactions, and frustrations. This is preceded by a brief overview of models of female entrepreneurship and an exploration of previous research into female entrepreneurship and women status in the Arab region. To accomplish this, we conducted thirteen interviews with young female entrepreneurs to assess the special challenges facing them as they go about starting and running their business ventures. We tried to gauge the interviewees' entrepreneurial activities, their satisfaction with their business ventures, and the perceived opportunities and obstacles that they face. While this study explores the specific case of the UAE, the wider implications on young female Arab entrepreneurs are discussed.
Purpose – This study aims to address gender gaps in labor participation and earned income. The paper assesses the role of education and cultural dimensions in impacting female labor indicators. The paper tests two separate models predicting female labor participation as a percentage of male participation (FPM) and female earned income as a percentage of male earned income (FIM) across 59 nations.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were taken from those published by World Bank and International Labor Organization, in addition to the GLOBE study. The paper relies on relationships among such data to assess the hypotheses under investigation.
Findings – FPM was explained by institutional collectivism, gender egalitarianism, and education. FIM was explained by gender egalitarianism and institutional collectivism. Contrary to expectations, in-group collectivism was not found to be a predictor in this model. Based on earlier research and this study, the paper presents the "female labor indicators model".
Research limitations/implications – More data need to be collected about gender-related attitudes and behaviors from a larger number of countries. There is also a need to collect culture data at the individual level not only at the country level. The model that the paper presents – explaining gaps in female participation and pay – deserves additional research support.
Practical implications – There is a need for practitioners to be conscious of hidden forces that work against women who aspire to work despite their high educational levels. Improving women's labor conditions requires a concerted effort from many parties including government and private sector.
Originality/value – The link between GLOBE's cultural dimensions and female labor indicators has not been sufficiently addressed in prior research. The paper suggests that explaining deficits in female labor indicators requires looking past economic and demographic variables into institutional and cultural factors. The paper presents a comprehensive model that helps in explaining gender gaps in participation and pay.
The practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Middle East is explored in this volume, through a unique compilation of data and perspectives from authors living and working in the region. The authors demonstrate how the long-entrenched traditions of philanthropy and generosity in Arab culture have been reinvigorated in recent years and are starting to cross-fertilize with new and more institutionalized forms of giving, advocated through advances pertaining to CSR. Using a variety of cases, this book ponders the multiple facets of CSR in the region, including philanthropy, strategic giving, social entrepreneurship, internal CSR and responsible human resource management practices, effective CSR integration in SMEs, corporate environmental responsibility and its evolution, CSR reporting and lingering challenges in this respect. It also considers the relevance and applicability of CSR to a wider spectrum of societal actors and institutions. The contributions nicely capture and reiterate commitment to CSR in the Middle East.
ABSTRACTCorporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that has acquired a new resonance in the global economy. With the advent of globalization, managers in different contexts have been exposed to the notion of CSR and are being pressured to adopt CSR initiatives. Yet in view of vastly differing national cultures and institutional realities, mixed orientations to CSR continue to be salient in different contexts, oscillating between the classical perspective which considers CSR as a burden on competitiveness and the modern perspective that views CSR as instrumental for business success. Capitalizing on the two‐dimensional CSR model developed by Quazi and O'Brien, Journal of Business Ethics, 25, 33–51 (2000), this article attempts to gauge managerial perspectives toward CSR in Lebanon. An empirical study of 119 Lebanese managers reveals that the majority of respondents (83 percent) are favorably inclined toward CSR with about 20 percent adhering to the modern paradigm, more than 50 percent adhering to a philanthropic view and 18 percent fitting into the classical camp. The findings are discussed and cross‐cultural implications drawn accordingly.
While there is a common belief that female labour indicators in Arab countries demonstrate a problematic situation, little is understood about the varieties within countries in that region. This paper attempts to draw a segmentation of the Arab world to show how different countries differ in this regard. It looks at two specific measures: the level of female participation as a percentage of male participation (FPM), and the female earned income to male income (FIM). Statistics from 20 Arab countries generated four clusters in which those countries are classified. Female labour indicators in most countries in the Arab world show similar patterns found in other countries in their stage of development. This confirms earlier research that indicates that women's labour participation decreases as societies move away from agriculture into manufacturing, services and industry. Only four countries are identified as outliers whose labour indicators can be understood within the context of the cultural values that dominate. The implications are discussed and individual research on female labour within each Arab country is invited.
