Running Head: REVIEW ARTICLE ON TRAINING AND CULTURAL CONTEXT IN THE

ARAB EMIRATES 1

Review Article on Training and Cultural Context in the Arab Emirates

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliations
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Review Article on Training and Cultural Context in the Arab Emirates

The article, Training, and cultural context in the Arab Emirates by Stephanie Jones,

offers a diversified view on corporate objectives towards customer service through enhancing

employee output based on an organization’s cultural setup. Concerning this view, the author

seeks to explore how cultural contexts influence the effectiveness of training programs towards

employees and how such programs can be modified to match existing cultural values and beliefs.

Business objectives in the contemporary world are greatly guided and shaped by cultural

frameworks (Jones, 2007). Due to the variations in cultural contexts, aspects that define the

business environment tend to differ. For instance, training programs can vary depending on the

pre-existing social system and the human development requirements. The cultural dimension

similarly influences attitudes and behaviors among employees. This viewpoint presents one of

the critical angles the author aims to explore due to its significant influence on the business

environment specifically in the United Arab Emirates. The approach to conflicts is another vital

perspective the article focuses on due to its considerable importance when it comes to consumer

satisfaction and business performance. Jones’s article presents a broad view of the influence of

cultural dimension on business performance, employee behaviors, and how cultural contexts

impact training programs.

The goal of the Study

The principal objective of the study is to investigate the relationship between conflict

mode preferences namely, Competing, Accommodating, Collaborating, Compromising, and

Avoiding and business performance. Similarly, the study aims at how corporate objectives are

delivered in an organizational environment on the grounds of the prevailing cultural context.

Focusing on these key areas exposes the author to an extensive network of information that
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keenly ties these conflict mode preferences to popular business developments that define

customer service and shape corporate performance.

Research Question

The study is substantially anchored on revealing the relationship between conflict mode

preferences and business performance. In this case, the author explores different conflict mode

preferences (Competing, Accommodating, Collaborating, Compromising, and Avoiding) and

their relationship towards business performance. The research questions would be drawn from

the context of conflict mode preferences and business performance. The research question will

read as, "How do the conflict mode preferences influence business performance? What specific

conflict mode preferences influence business performance and how do they affect context-based

training programs?" The answer to the research question will offer a comprehensive view of

conflict mode preferences towards business productivity and specific modes that play greater

roles towards business performance.

Research Methodology

Jones uses a case study approach to achieve the objectives of the study. A case study

approach was used to allow for more exploratory research in addition to generating additional

findings regarding the subject under study. Besides, a case study was a great way of dissecting

the concept of conflict mode preferences and identifying, in a unique way, how these

benchmarks influence business performance. The synthesis of the case study was done according

to the standard process that details the case study procedures (Jones, 2007). First, the author

carefully selected his subjects based on their relevance in a particular field. However, the

criterion for selecting the participants was strict and keenly targeted a unique characteristic. In

the context of the study, the author utilized a sample size of 70 individuals who were first-level
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entry persons accommodated in the banking sector (Jones, 2007). However, this sample size

purely comprised of school-leavers of United Arab Emirates nationality and a specific bank that

had registered an exceptional performance in its operations. To avoid biases, the element of

gender was factored in whereby the case study group composed of both male and female school-

leavers. All the participants were aged between 17 and 19 at the commencement of the study

(Jones, 2007). The sample was then subjected to a business skills training program drawn from

the Western world. The primary intention of taking the Western route in conducting the training

program is to assess varying aspects of conflict handling and their impact on business

performance. It is crucial to note that the subjects were required to undergo comprehensive

training on a second language (English) to maximize employee interaction with the customers

and to capitalize on the outcome of the study.

To identify the relationship between conflict modes and business performance, the

subjects were subjected to a series of events to scrutinize their behaviors under different

scenarios. The subjects were divided into groups of around 12 – 15 participants and subsequently

introduced to distinctive monthly lots for five months (Jones, 2007). For analysis, the five

batches were inducted to a scenario involving key banking operations and assessed on their

ability to achieve certain aspects of business performance. In this case, the lots were presented

with a problem to enhance financial outcomes, customer service ratings of the bank by

employing innovating selling skills, excellent customer relations, and teamwork. Following the

exercise, major developments such as conflict scenarios were recorded to identify areas that

sparked conflicts and to maintain a vivid track of the study’s progress. The exercise was

conducted after the subjects’ completion of their business skill training session to give room for a

comprehensive evaluation of different aspects of teamwork and customer relationship.

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After the “training” exercise, to complete a diagnostic tool incorporating questions

related to conflict mode preferences. To achieve this objective, the Thomas Kilmann Mode of

Conflict Inventory was used to capture the attitudes of the subjects towards customer engagement

and teamwork in conflicting situations (Jones, 2007). The study employed the Thomas Kilmann

Mode of Conflict Inventory instrument because of its reliability of measures and its effectiveness

in making comparisons among subjects for the five months of evaluation. A multi-choice

questionnaire was used to identify conflict modes whereby the design of the questionnaire was

based on a subject’s behaviors to their perception regarding the key drivers of business

performance (Jones, 2007). Moreover, the questionnaire tested the subject’s response to a variety

of diverse situations involving fellow employees and customers.

Data analysis

The data did not have much of a data analysis owing to the study’s choice of employing a

simple research approach. The overall response to the presented questionnaire was satisfactory,

and it can be said that the study population responded adequately to the study’s goals. The multi-

choice questionnaire evaluated individual responses of each subject towards the topic under

investigation. From the research questionnaires, it was found that certain conflict mode

preferences were greatly preferred compared to other choices.

Analyzing the data from the questionnaire showed that only six individuals from the total

sample size of 70 failed to select compromising or avoiding preferences as their top choices.

Towards the compromising preference, only 26 individuals chose the option, whereas 18 subjects

preferred the avoiding option. Only ten individuals favored competitive behavior while the

accommodating attitude seemed popular among 10 participants. The final option of collaborative

attitude was supported by 8 participants who considered the choice as their top option. The
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analysis from the questionnaires showed that collaborative and competitive behaviors had a

significant impact on business performance.

Conversely, accommodative attitude turned out to be nonaligned towards either sales or

business performance whereas the compromising and avoiding behaviors was found to have an

adverse influence on sales and business productivity (Jones, 2007). An individual response

towards the questionnaires was found to be significantly influenced by group decisions since

most of the essentials had been discussed among group subjects. The analysis demonstrates that

competing and collaborative behaviors as highly influential towards consumers while avoiding

and compromising attitude as a negative force towards achieving successful sales (Jones, 2007).

The accommodating behaviors seem to have a neutral influence on sales and business

performance. Taken together, the findings of the data analysis suggest the presence of a strong

relationship between conflict mode preferences and business performance. However, as

illustrated, while some elements of the conflict mode have a positive impact towards business

performance, on the other hand, others have a negative influence on business productivity, and

others appear neutral towards the same.

Study Findings

The study findings found a great deviation between conclusions made from the literature

review and the outcomes obtained from the study. Some elements failed to meet the desired

levels suitable to facilitate successful behaviors during conflict handling in business

environments. The most interesting finding was that some of the elements supported to impact

business performance in a positive way seemed to have a minimal level of conflict handling, as

seen in the literature review section (Jones, 2007). As an illustration, the conflict mode

preferences covering collaborative and competitive components were found to be instrumental in

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impacting positively on employee teamwork and customer engagement whereas the

accommodating mode turned to be neutral towards business operations and customer

relationship. However, such preferences were interpreted as varied across customers due to

different customer attitudes and employee drive towards teamwork.

Another striking finding from the study was that avoiding preference had a significant

influence on employee behaviors. According to the study, the avoiding preference was found to

be the most negative. In this case, the avoiding preference was a contributory factor towards

employee attitude towards business operations, including reluctance to think creatively and

unwillingness to face a critical situation for fear of termination or victimization. The avoiding

preference explains why the majority try to avoid conflicting circumstances in a business

environment and why employees are reluctant to engage customers when it comes to

disagreements.

The study found out that the compromising preference could be used to explain the

bargaining behaviors of an employee in a business setup. According to the study’s findings, the

compromising preference was found to significantly negative towards improved sales and

business performance. Individuals with a compromising preference tend to be reluctant when it

comes to learning new things, a similar habit that also defines persons with an avoidance

preference (Jones, 2007). The author uses the finding to expound on some of the attitudes

common among employees in an organization and why such behaviors may be an obstacle

towards realizing sound business performance and better interaction with customers. Besides, the

study offers a deeper perspective on the relationship between employee conduct and their

influence on teamwork and customer satisfaction. The findings of this study suggest that the

effectiveness of training in business skills influences in a large extent business performance,

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customer satisfaction, and competitiveness, which is integral in realizing a healthy organizational

environment (Jones, 2007). However, due to the weakness in reliance on human capacities, the

conflict mode preferences can often lead to flawed organizational setups.

Conclusion
This study has shown that training outcomes in the business field and sales can be

significantly influenced by conflict mode preferences and cultural orientations. Additionally, the

study demonstrated that a conflict mode is a crucial factor in influencing perceptions towards

employee teamwork and customer engagement. Competing, collaborative, and competitive

emerged as reliable predictors of business performance due to their immense contribution

towards realizing positive business outcomes.

Limitation and Critique

Jones's study of training and cultural context is profoundly insightful, but it does suffer

from the fact that it is faced with several limitations. Although Jones's perspective offers a

comprehensive account regarding business training skills and cultural contexts, it does, however,

suffer from weaknesses such as small sample size, the poor approach of assessing the subject in

question, and an inappropriate age demographic. The study overlooks the fact that a

representative sample size implies increased accuracy and a small error margin. It seems that

Jones's employment of a small sample size fails to meet the required threshold considering the

study covers an extensive geographic region, which in this case in the United Arab Emirates

country. In this case, the sample size is not representative due to a small size used to represent

the whole country. Another problem with this Jones approach is that it limits the research on a

created scenario rather than in a real-life situation. A controlled scenario is likely to lead to

misleading conclusions as compared when the study is conducted in a natural environment.

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Induced factors can influence Self-completed evaluations, perhaps from fellow members,

researchers, or even the environment, a factor that can interfere with the outcomes of the study.

Besides, using young trainees in the study is a development that draws criticism considering the

young population may not be sufficiently exposed to ways of a business environment. The young

segment may naturally feel reluctant to take proactive steps towards taking new roles,

challenging business activities and administration, and adjusting to a new workplace atmosphere.

Using the young population in such a sensitive study is inappropriate and is more likely to result

in inconclusive findings considering not all the facets of an organizational environment are

factored in when making conclusions concerning business performances.

Recommendations

The following recommendations should embrace for better study outcomes in the future.

The representative sample size is recommended in conducting studies that cover an extensive

geographical region to make the results more reliable and conclusive. Using a limited sample

size a lot to be desired, a factor that overshadows the delivery of convincing findings. A large

sample size demonstrates the seriousness of the study exercise and promotes greater variations

and perspectives when it comes to synthesizing the results. Apart from correcting the sample

size, the study should also consider using a more reliable age demographic and utilizing a natural

environment rather than a self-assessed study scenario. Using a quantitatively based research

approach could be a better option since it would offer a more vivid view of the relationship

between conflict mode preferences towards business performance. For instance, testing the

correlation of such variables would be more insightful and precise when linking conflict

behaviors and business activities.

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Reference

Jones, S. (2007). Training and cultural context in the Arab Emirates: fighting a losing battle?

Employee Relations, 30(1), 48-62.