Factors that Influence Culture Stress
The United Arab Emirates is a country that is dominated by the Islamic religion. According to Kinicki and Mel (66), several factors influence culture stress in this country. These stressors mostly result from the Islamic religion. The population of women is higher than that of men, and in most cases, the stressors affect women at a higher rate when compared to men. Muslims believe that children are gifts from God. A woman who bears many children is highly regarded and accepted by the extended family of the husband. This factor has greatly affected the women of the childbearing age in the country, causing depression and anxiety to many.
Education in the UAE favors a boy child than a girl child. Leadership positions in this country are a preserve for men, and women are rarely given any leadership positions in society. This form of discrimination in society has posed serious stress to women in the UAE. There is a rule that, according to Islamic culture, women should not get into body contact with men. This rule is supposed to be implemented by women, a factor that socially affects them to a great extent. According to Kinicki and Mel (54), the issue of job discrimination in the workplace affects many women in the UAE. Men are more considered in the job market than women.
Information Needed to Develop an Expatriate Program
Following research that was done in the United Arab Emirates on its cultural practices, it is important to make the following report to the management so that an effective expatriate program can be developed for its employees intending to work in this country. The United Arab Emirates is largely an Islamic country. Although other religious groups form a percentage of this country, most of the residents, especially the Emiratis, are Muslims. This means that their culture and even the legal structure is defined by Islamic principles. When developing the program, this is a factor that should not be ignored. One of the main stressors associated with this Islamic culture is discrimination against women. In this society, men are generally treated as being superior to women (Ratner 54). This social practice may stress female expatriates who are used to a society where one is judged by his or her capabilities, and not by gender. In social amenities, women are always neglected, something that may stress an expatriate who does not understand this cultural system.
For the expatriates who intend to move with their families to this country, it is important to understand that the treatment of a boy-child in this country is different from the way a girl would be treated. Boys are considered superior to girls, and they are always allowed to take any course they qualify for in the colleges. However, girls are always denied admissions into some institutions of higher learning deliberately when they choose technical courses. It is, therefore, necessary to reconsider moving with the entire family into this country when one is visiting the country for the first time.
Works Cited
Kinicki, Angelo, Fugate Mel. Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best Practices, New York: Irwin Professional Publishers, 2011. Print.
Ratner, Carl. Macro Cultural Psychology: A Political Philosophy of Mind. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.