TY - JOUR
T1 - An exploratory study of business excellence implementation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) public sector
T2 - Management and employee perceptions
AU - McAdam, Rodney
AU - Keogh, William
AU - Tigani, Adil Ahmed El
AU - Gardiner, Paul
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2013/4
Y1 - 2013/4
N2 - Purpose: The aim of this paper is to explore the implementation issues of the Business Excellence Model and the process of self-assessment, from both management and employee perspectives, in a large government organisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the large Government organisation is indicative of the type of large indigenous organisation in the region. The organisation is part of the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP). Design/methodology/approach: A multi-level case study approach is used, involving repeated in-depth interviews with managers (n=12) and a questionnaire with employees (n=96) to explore the implementation issues at all levels. Findings: There was considerable variation in the implementation effectiveness across the different levels within the organisation. The top down approach had a resonance with the Middle East culture at management levels. However, insufficient participation and empowerment of lower level employees, especially amongst non-indigenous employees, led to a lack of closure on corrective actions emerging from the self-assessment process. Overall there was an acceptance of the business improvement side of total quality management (TQM) but there was a need for increased cultural acceptance of the people development aspects. Originality/value: There is a paucity of multi-level in-depth studies relating to Business Excellence and self-assessment in Middle Eastern organisations where a critical cultural perspective is adopted, even though there has been considerable resources expended by Government in initiatives such as the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP).
AB - Purpose: The aim of this paper is to explore the implementation issues of the Business Excellence Model and the process of self-assessment, from both management and employee perspectives, in a large government organisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the large Government organisation is indicative of the type of large indigenous organisation in the region. The organisation is part of the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP). Design/methodology/approach: A multi-level case study approach is used, involving repeated in-depth interviews with managers (n=12) and a questionnaire with employees (n=96) to explore the implementation issues at all levels. Findings: There was considerable variation in the implementation effectiveness across the different levels within the organisation. The top down approach had a resonance with the Middle East culture at management levels. However, insufficient participation and empowerment of lower level employees, especially amongst non-indigenous employees, led to a lack of closure on corrective actions emerging from the self-assessment process. Overall there was an acceptance of the business improvement side of total quality management (TQM) but there was a need for increased cultural acceptance of the people development aspects. Originality/value: There is a paucity of multi-level in-depth studies relating to Business Excellence and self-assessment in Middle Eastern organisations where a critical cultural perspective is adopted, even though there has been considerable resources expended by Government in initiatives such as the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP).
KW - Business Excellence Model
KW - Culture
KW - Middle East
KW - Multi level case study
KW - Public sector
KW - Self-assessment
KW - United Arab Emirates
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84878220123&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/02656711311308402
DO - 10.1108/02656711311308402
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84878220123
VL - 30
SP - 426
EP - 445
JO - International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management
JF - International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management
SN - 0265-671X
IS - 4
ER -