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1 – 10 of 406The present paper tries to assess empirically the level of professionalism. In addition, this paper tries to analyze the factors affecting professionalism. For this reason, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The present paper tries to assess empirically the level of professionalism. In addition, this paper tries to analyze the factors affecting professionalism. For this reason, the purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to provide an empirical assessment of professionalism in a bureaucracy, and second, to assess the relationship of age and education, on the one hand, and bureaucratic professionalism, on the other hand. Because whims make a poor basis for change, an objective empirical assessment of the level of professionalism is provided and that is where the strength of this paper lies.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this study are obtained from a survey administered to employees.
Findings
The findings of this paper are as follows: low professionalism among civil servants in Lebanon, no relationship between professionalism and age of employees and the direct relationship between professionalism and education of employees.
Practical implications
It is true that the woes of the administration lie in the confessional political system of the country; however, concentrating on contextual and behavioral variables that can be controlled could alleviate the problem.
Social implications
Recruiting educated employees based on their competency levels may alleviate the behavioral problem and may lead to improved professionalism.
Originality/value
No previous work was done in this regard.
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TOUFIC M. MEZHER and WISSAM TAWIL
The present paper presents the major causes of delays in the construction industry in Lebanon and the relative importance of these postponements. A survey of a randomly selected…
Abstract
The present paper presents the major causes of delays in the construction industry in Lebanon and the relative importance of these postponements. A survey of a randomly selected sample of 11 owners, 15 contractors and 10 architectural/engineering (A/E) firms from Lebanon was undertaken. The survey included 64 causes of delay, grouped into 10 major groups, in which the participants were asked to indicate their level of importance of each delay. The level of importance of the causes and the groups were measured and ranked by the importance index for owners, contractors and A/E firms. It was found that all three parties generally agreed on the ranking of the major categories of delay factors. Owners had more concerns with regard to financial issues, while contractors ranked contractual relationships highest, and finally, A/E firms ranked project management highest.
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Lars Mjøset, Roel Meijer, Nils Butenschøn and Kristian Berg Harpviken
This study employs Stein Rokkan's methodological approach to analyse state formation in the Greater Middle East. It develops a conceptual framework distinguishing colonial…
Abstract
This study employs Stein Rokkan's methodological approach to analyse state formation in the Greater Middle East. It develops a conceptual framework distinguishing colonial, populist and democratic pacts, suitable for analysis of state formation and nation-building through to the present period. The framework relies on historical institutionalism. The methodology, however, is Rokkan's. The initial conceptual analysis also specifies differences between European and the Middle Eastern state formation processes. It is followed by a brief and selective discussion of historical preconditions. Next, the method of plotting singular cases into conceptual-typological maps is applied to 20 cases in the Greater Middle East (including Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey). For reasons of space, the empirical analysis is limited to the colonial period (1870s to the end of World War 1). Three typologies are combined into one conceptual-typological map of this period. The vertical left-hand axis provides a composite typology that clarifies cultural-territorial preconditions. The horizontal axis specifies transformations of the region's agrarian class structures since the mid-19th century reforms. The right-hand vertical axis provides a four-layered typology of processes of external intervention. A final section presents selected comparative case reconstructions. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time such a Rokkan-style conceptual-typological map has been constructed for a non-European region.
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Mark Neal, Jim Finlay and Richard Tansey
The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature on Arab women's conceptions of leadership. By comparing women's leadership authority values in three Arab countries…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature on Arab women's conceptions of leadership. By comparing women's leadership authority values in three Arab countries, the paper aims to refine existing gender‐neutral research on leadership in the “Arab world”.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involved administering a survey, which had been developed based on Weber's work on authority (1978) and contemporary discussions of implicit leadership theories (ILT). The data (n=320) were drawn from female subjects who were enrolled in upper‐division business major classes in three countries, Oman, Lebanon and the UAE The women thus constituted educated entrants to their respective labor markets. The data were subjected to an analysis of group means on each of the questions, using the Scheffe option available in ANOVA.
Findings
The analysis found evidence of common leadership authority values in the Gulf countries (Oman and the UAE). Lebanon, meanwhile, was distinguished by relatively low levels of “traditional” authority, and very high levels of “charismatic” authority. The findings demonstrate important regional similarities and difference in leadership authority values in the “Arab world.”
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited by the number of countries studied. It is thus anticipated that future comparative research will be extended to include other countries (both Arab and non‐Arab), and men.
Practical implications
Leadership training in the Arab region must be sensitized and tailored to address regional and gender‐specific conceptions of leadership.
Originality/value
The paper challenges and refines widespread meta‐notions and analyses of the “Arab world” and “Arab leadership.”
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Hala Khayr Yaacoub, Shaza Abdul Aziz, Ramona Wehbeh and Rania El Debs
This case gives readers the opportunity to think about strategies employed in the postal sector amid sector, technological, national and global challenges. It highlights the…
Abstract
Subject area
This case gives readers the opportunity to think about strategies employed in the postal sector amid sector, technological, national and global challenges. It highlights the importance of thinking about real options, and real solutions to counter the failures of the past and the uncertainties of the future.
Study level/applicability
The case will be particularly useful for master's degrees, Master of Business Administration, doctorate students or undergraduate specialized courses of strategy, public sector management and privatization.
Case overview
This case study aims to analyze the manner in which LibanPost transformed itself from a government bureaucracy to a commercial company and how, through diversification, it was transformed from a traditional postal operator to a high-end service provider. In addition, it attempts to examine the stages that have led to LibanPost's success, shedding the light on the major barriers and enablers for its reform.
Expected learning outcomes
The students will be able to examine how a privately owned postal company succeeded in transforming a courier company from a bureaucratic public administration incurring substantial losses to a profitable commercial company, through privatization, and grasp the major success barriers and enablers for LibanPost, while exploring the reasons behind the failure of the foreign–national partnership.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
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Delphine Resteigne and Joseph Soeters
Purpose – The aim of the chapter is to analyze the multinational collaboration between troops-contributing countries, and between military and civilian personnel at UNIFIL's…
Abstract
Purpose – The aim of the chapter is to analyze the multinational collaboration between troops-contributing countries, and between military and civilian personnel at UNIFIL's headquarters in South-Lebanon.
Methodology/approach – The methodological approach consisted of semi-structured interviews and participatory observation.
Findings – The multinational collaboration at the HQ was satisfactory, although not optimal as mutual stereotyping continued to exist. Western military personnel still prefers to operate in a NATO framework and resent some of the civil servants’ privileges. This hampers a smooth civil–military cooperation to some extent.
Originality/value of the paper – Few qualitative studies have looked at how participating nations collaborate at missions’ headquarters. This study provides a look inside the daily work of military and civilian personnel at the operational level and, consequently, offers insights for improving multinational collaboration in future (peace) operations.
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Yahya Al-Abdullah and Rosemary Papa
This chapter’s focus is on the disparate factors that are affecting higher education students that by circumstance not of their making are both displaced and seeking refuge within…
Abstract
This chapter’s focus is on the disparate factors that are affecting higher education students that by circumstance not of their making are both displaced and seeking refuge within the fields of continuing their higher education. The fear of losing a young educated generation that can be part of the reconciliation process of the country in the post-conflict era has become close to reality, especially in Syria and in the neighbouring countries where the lost possibility of Syrian refugees’ returning to Syria is higher than other places. We have organized this chapter into three parts. The first part explores the history of higher education for Syrians with emphasis on the last half century. The second part describes the theoretical underpinnings of those displaced in today’s social political context through the lenses of Foucault and Maslow. The third part discusses a specific case study: the challenges Syrian students are facing in Lebanon, focusing on specific policies such as online education as a viable tool for serving displaced students, legal documents and the lack thereof, ability to get scholarships, policies and laws to understand.
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The insurance costs for Lebanon’s sovereign bonds rose rapidly in September, reflecting both general unease among investors in emerging markets and specific concerns about Lebanon…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB238939
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Geographic
Topical
Kamal Abouchedid and Ramzi Nasser
The first encounter of students at universities is the administrative office, which leaves a lasting imprint for their entire experience in higher education. With the exponential…
Abstract
The first encounter of students at universities is the administrative office, which leaves a lasting imprint for their entire experience in higher education. With the exponential growth of higher education in the Middle East, private universities face hardened competition in the overall retention of students. Registrar and academic advising offices are vital components to the university as well as the front end to the universities’ service quality. This study attempts to measure student attitudes of registration and academic advising across different faculties to assure positive quality service complementing that of the academic. Keeping in mind that many developing universities in the Middle East and other nations have not yet utilized automated services to meet student needs, the present study provides recommendations in the inroads en route to the development of touch‐tone and Web‐banner automated registration for a positive assessment of service quality.
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The aim of this paper is to explore how men entrepreneurs construe their success and the influence of the socio-cultural context and political and economic turbulence on their…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to explore how men entrepreneurs construe their success and the influence of the socio-cultural context and political and economic turbulence on their construals of success in the context of the Arab country of Lebanon.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the objective, the author draw on intersectionality theory and capitalise on twenty in-depth, semi-structured interviews with men entrepreneurs.
Findings
The findings reveal how construals of success by men entrepreneurs occur at the nexus between patriarchy, gendered expectations and adverse economic and political conditions. As a result, success is construed through the perseverance and legitimacy of their business and their compliance with expected family roles. These construals unfold as the men hold themselves accountable for and do gender and success per the ideal expectations indoctrinated by patriarchy.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in its theoretical contributions. First, it is the first study to explore the construals of success by men entrepreneurs in an Arab Middle Eastern country. Second, it contributes to a growing body of work that explores gender as a situated practice and demonstrates how it is performed by men entrepreneurs while construing their success. Third, it contributes to research on intersectionality in entrepreneurship and sheds light on the interconnections of gender, patriarchal socio-cultural values, economic and political conditions and entrepreneurship in Arab countries.
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