Development administration in the United Arab Emirates : a socio-political approach

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Abstract

This study is concerned with the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) development
administration with particular emphasis on the effect of its social and cultural features on its
bureaucracy and indigenous civil servants.
The thesis analyses the U.A.E.'s political and historical background and its effects on
the federal bureaucracy. It stresses that unless we understand the political and historical
origins of the country, we will not be able to comprehend its administrative system.
The study examines the ecology of the U.A.E.'s public administration. It identifies
socio-cultural, educational and demographic variables as the three main ecological forces
that play a significant role.
The thesis provides a theoretical appraisal of the working of the federal administrative
machinery in the U.A.E. It examines the administrative functions of the Federal Council of
Ministers and the Federal Civil Service Council and identifies their weaknesses. The study
explores the administrative problems facing the federal bureaucracy. Administrative
inflation, shortage of indigenous skilled manpower, lack of job classification and the
weakness of federal apparatuses in comparison to their local counterparts are the major
stumbling blocks in the way of efficient administration in the U.A.E.
Through a questionnaire based survey which obtained 312 (81%) responses the thesis
empirically confirms the linkage between the indigenous employees' administrative
performance and the socio-cultural variables surrounding them. It reveals that most of the
irrational attitudes and behaviour of indigenous employees are not solely the result of
corruption but rather of the social and cultural pressures which force them to apply
particularistic approaches i.e. nepotism, favouritism,etc, in order to satisfy their familial
interests over their organizational interests. Accordingly, most indigenous civil servants
decline to recognize the administrative obligations of their jobs as being more essential than
their familial obligations.

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