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Administration in traditional society : the case of recruitment and selection in public sector employment in Saudi Arabia

Administration in traditional society : the case of recruitment and selection in public sector employment in Saudi Arabia
Administration in traditional society : the case of recruitment and selection in public sector employment in Saudi Arabia

This thesis argues that recruitment and selection in public sector employment in Saudi Arabia demonstrates the difficulty of introducing Western personnel models into a traditional society undergoing rapid development, led by dramatic economic change. The thesis examines and evaluates the key instruments of personnel administration, namely recruitment and selection, in order to discover the environmental factors which have most bearing on the successful implementation of models derived from the developed world.

It is argued that the rapid and unforeseen expansion of Saudi Arabian government institutions and the associated demand for skilled public employees have combined with a lack of skilled labour, absence of efficient planning, and elements of disorganization, corruption and nepotism in public administration. The bureacracy's traditionally close relationship with the political authorities, has contributed to the absence of an independent professional identity and system of accountability. Bureaucratic behaviour is examined and found to be consistent with the behavioural patterns defined and sanctioned by society in general, rather than the dictated official mandates of their organizations, which mandates reflect Western assumptions about efficient and effective public adminstration.

The thesis draws on two sets of literature as the theoretical basis for its critical analysis. This is complemented by an account of the social, economic and political environments. It focuses on the way that the government recruits and selects its employees and the criteria the Civil Service Bureau use for selecting public employees. The analysis is based on government statistical data, reports and publications, in addition to interviews with Civil Service officials. The evaluation is based on the comparison of two recruiting and selecting models with the actual findings of Saudi recruitment and selection processes.

University of Southampton
Al-Ammaj, Bader Homoud
c06a88f2-bc38-436a-a60f-0a505bccaa39
Al-Ammaj, Bader Homoud
c06a88f2-bc38-436a-a60f-0a505bccaa39

Al-Ammaj, Bader Homoud (1993) Administration in traditional society : the case of recruitment and selection in public sector employment in Saudi Arabia. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

This thesis argues that recruitment and selection in public sector employment in Saudi Arabia demonstrates the difficulty of introducing Western personnel models into a traditional society undergoing rapid development, led by dramatic economic change. The thesis examines and evaluates the key instruments of personnel administration, namely recruitment and selection, in order to discover the environmental factors which have most bearing on the successful implementation of models derived from the developed world.

It is argued that the rapid and unforeseen expansion of Saudi Arabian government institutions and the associated demand for skilled public employees have combined with a lack of skilled labour, absence of efficient planning, and elements of disorganization, corruption and nepotism in public administration. The bureacracy's traditionally close relationship with the political authorities, has contributed to the absence of an independent professional identity and system of accountability. Bureaucratic behaviour is examined and found to be consistent with the behavioural patterns defined and sanctioned by society in general, rather than the dictated official mandates of their organizations, which mandates reflect Western assumptions about efficient and effective public adminstration.

The thesis draws on two sets of literature as the theoretical basis for its critical analysis. This is complemented by an account of the social, economic and political environments. It focuses on the way that the government recruits and selects its employees and the criteria the Civil Service Bureau use for selecting public employees. The analysis is based on government statistical data, reports and publications, in addition to interviews with Civil Service officials. The evaluation is based on the comparison of two recruiting and selecting models with the actual findings of Saudi recruitment and selection processes.

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Published date: 1993

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 462644
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/462644
PURE UUID: 7354e6fa-be20-414e-97ae-c41e24cc2405

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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 19:35
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 18:57

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Contributors

Author: Bader Homoud Al-Ammaj

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