The role of organisational learning in creating an agile workforce in Dubai

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion

Publication Date

1-1-2019

Abstract

Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Today’s business environment, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is better described as being volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. The present study adopts a qualitative multiple-case study design by interviewing seven HR managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across different industries in Dubai, namely, maintenance, digital services, security, retail, insurance, and technology. Workforce agility characteristics have been analysed against eight indicators conceptualised across the western context. This paper contributes to the current literature by testing organisational learning (OL) and understanding the concept of OL in particular in the UAE. Furthermore, organisational learning practices and their role in workforce agility development have been investigated. The study reveals a significant consistency between the western standards of agile attributes and those required among Dubai SMEs. Also, the findings show that SMEs in Dubai incorporate learning interventions without a targeted focus on agile attribute developments.

ISSN

1740-8938

Publisher

Inderscience Publishers

Volume

10

Issue

3

First Page

262

Last Page

279

Disciplines

Business

Keywords

Agile enterprise, Agile workforce, Dubai, Learning interventions, Organisational learning, SMEs, VUCA

Scopus ID

85082310298

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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