Arab World Essay

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The Arab World

The previous section discussed general ways to adapt HR practices to varying local contexts. At this point, it may be useful to focus on one particular context and examine the adaptation of HR practices to its culture. For the purpose of this study, the specific context will be the Arab world.
Arab countries are listed under different categories in different governmental institutions and specialized agencies. For example, The World Bank listed the Arab countries under the region “Middle East and North Africa”. Included in that list are: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank and Gaza, and …show more content…

The answer lies in Arab identity. The Latin origin of the word identity is idem, which means the same or identical (Lawler, 2008). In other words, identity is made of things that people share that help them define themselves and give them a sense of belonging to a group (Barakat, 1993; De Vos, 1995; Lawler, 2008). Those often include common history, language, cause, religion, values and beliefs, needs, interests, and kinship (Barakat, 1993; De Vos, 1995). However, this is not to say that differences are excluded from identity (Barakat, 1993; Lawler, 2008). Paradoxically, identity combines both notions of sameness and difference (Lawler, 2008). Heterogeneity and plurality can best be perceived as another layer within identity (Barakat, 1993). This means that Arabs can share a common identity despite their differences and even their antagonistic relations (Barakat, 1993). According to Barakat (1993), the things that bring about Arab’s common identity are rooted in “a shared culture and its variations…, a shared place in history and common experiences…, social formations and shared economic interests…, shared external challenges and conflicts” (p.33), a shared language, and a common overlap with Islamic identity. Several authors cite similar elements of Arab identity (Ali, 1990; Dirani, 2006; Dirani, 2009; Kabasakal & Bodur,

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