An exploratory study of business excellence implementation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) public sector: Management and employee perceptions

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).