Overview of the Organization
Emaar Properties is a public joint stock real estate company that was founded in 1997 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The company deals with real estate construction, management, and sales. It has numerous outlets in different parts of the world. With a workforce of about 10,000 people, the company is one of the biggest real estate firms in the United Arab Emirates. It is best known for developing the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
It specializes in the designing, construction, and management of residential, commercial, and hospitality properties (Emaar 4). Other notable properties developed by the establishment include the Dubai Mall, Manzil Downtown Dubai Hotel, and Dubai Fountain. Its newest major development project is the Dubai Creek Towers, which will be taller than Burj Khalifa upon completed. Its international operations are mainly concentrated in Middles East, Africa, North America, and Europe (Emaar 5).
Potential Problems/Issues related to Organizational Behavior
The main organizational behavior issues experienced in many firms include issues with employees, problems within teams, and the steps being used by the particular organization to resolve issues (Wilson 45). Employee issues may range from personal problems to attitudes towards work. Team problems arise when employees are put together to perform certain duties, and the members of such teams feel disconnected from one another. This may require dispute handling techniques (Wilson 39). When the right techniques are not used to handle such disputes, then the achievement of the organization’s long-term objectives get compromised. Emaar Properties being a company with many employees and many project teams, the above-mentioned problems are the most likely ones to be faced with the organization.
Analysis of the Organization from an Organizational Behavior Perspective
The Nature of Diversity in the Organizations
Diversity in an organization is determined by the demographic estimates, active representation, and its values. Owing to the fact that Emaar Properties operates at an international level, it must give a sense of diversity inclusion to succeed. The firm has a workforce that is drawn from over 80 nations (Emaar 5). These employees uphold diverse values, attitudes, and talents among other features that are drawn from their dissimilar cultures.
Visible Attitudes and their Effect on the Organization’s Business
The company’s employees are generally happy with their jobs with most of them satisfied with its management (Emaar 6). The positive attitude instilled in them has resulted in the provision of the best customer services, a situation that has increased its chances of undertaking big construction projects.
The Level of Job Satisfaction in the Organization
The quality of work done by an employee depends on the level of satisfaction they get from their jobs. The firm’s workers have enabled it to complete many world-class real estate development projects such as the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall. As a result of the high levels of job satisfaction, the company has put together a team of highly qualified executive officers and managers of various divisions who have propelled it for over ten years except for a few of them including Mr. Carli and Mr. Lester. The low employee turnover in the organization shows a high level of job satisfaction.
The Use of Emotional Intelligence by Organizational Leaders
Emotional intelligence is the ability of an individual to recognize personal feelings (and those of others) and use the expressive information to make decisions that suit both parties. (Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee 30). It is used by managers to handle various organizational functions such as marketing. One of the ways in which Emaar Properties’ leaders use emotional intelligence is by enabling access to their website in both Arabic and English languages.
Although the company is a United Arab Emirates company- a country whose residents mostly speak Arabic – it allows people who do not speak this native dialect to easily navigate their website. The firm has also initiated a recruitment drive local for local population only. This provision can be viewed as another use of emotional intelligence as they try to please the local people to their business environment.
Values and Ethical Practices in the Organization
As a real estate company, Emaar Properties’ values are founded on the provision of the best services in aspects such as management and development. Some of the specific principles of the company include maintaining and supervision of the property, excellent focus on the needs of the customers and employee support (Emaar 20). These values guide the ethical practices of the firm that include the development of the highest quality properties, management services, and fair market prices.
The Level of Employee Engagement in the Organization
Engagement of employees is an integral part of the growth of any organization as it ensures that they feel valued thereby motivating them to deliver remarkable work (Goetsch and Davis 15). The company upholds employee involvement through various project teams, training, and development programs. It also has a clear mission and vision statement that engages workers and enables them to make efforts towards the achievement its long-term goals.
The Adopted Motivation Practices in the Organization
The motivation of employees is the key to getting the best out of them. Emaar Properties realizes this and therefore has various ways by which they motivate their employees. One the most popular ways of ensuring motivation amongst workers is by offering adequate benefits and a friendly working environment. Emaar Properties was ranked the third best employer in the country in 2016 due to its wage packages and a work setting that allowed its personnel to grow (Emaar 23). The workers in the company are also inspired by the provision of equal opportunities to participate in their major development projects and learning experiences that help in shaping their careers.
The Nature of Teams and Groups in the Organization
Emaar Properties has various teams and groups within its set up that carries out its functions. The main groups include Emaar Properties PJSC, Emaar Dubai LLC, Emaar International, Emaar Investment Holding, Emaar Malls, Emaar Entertainment, Emaar Hospitality Group, Emaar Hotels and Resorts, Amlak Finance, and Emaar Industries and investments (Emaar 5). Emaar Properties PJSC is the main section of the company that oversees all its property development activities.
All the other groups are subsidiaries of the Emaar Properties PJSC. Emaar Dubai LLC is responsible for developing properties and managing of all the company’s developments in Dubai including the Burj Khalifa (Emaar 20). Emaar International is another subsidiary firm that is responsible for the parent company’s projects in various parts of the world. Emaar Investment Holding acquires investment properties and forges alliances with external organizations to help the organization grow and benefit shareholders (Emaar 21). Its malls are developed and managed by the Emaar Malls group. The entertainment group is responsible for managing the firm’s show business properties such as the Dubai aquarium and underwater zoo (Emaar 20).
The hospitality group oversees the organization’s various leisure properties including golf resorts and serviced apartments. The hotels and resorts group manages the firm’s two hotel properties. Amlak Finance provides home finance services under Islamic laws to its customers. The Emaar Industries and Investment is responsible for investing in viable ventures that are deemed profitable.
The Nature of Communication in the Organization
Communication within the organization is done through newsletters and press releases, which are done through its website (Goetsch and Davis 34). Available on the website are also phone numbers and email addresses that users can use to contact the company and receive bulletins respectively. This plan has significantly promoted the exchange of information amongst workers and various departments of the firm.
Organizational Leadership
The type of leadership style used in the organization is a mixture of participatory and strategic leadership styles. The former is also referred to as a democratic approach to management whereby the contribution of the employee is highly valued (Goetsch and Davis 15). This type of leadership eases the change process within an organization because the workers are involved in the process of making decisions. However, the final resolution rests with the overall leader of the establishment.
At Emaar Properties, the divisional managers of various groups make major contributions to the most important decisions, but the final ones are made by the chairperson. The latter leadership style involves encouraging others within the organization to make decisions that will underpin growth (Goetsch and Davis 23). The chief executive officers of various groups of the company are encouraged to guide property management in a direction that contributes to the overall success of the firm.
The Nature of Power and Politics in the Organization
Power and politics in an organization determine how decisions are made and how employees relate to each other. The influence of power is dependent on whether the positive or negative authority is used to impact others in the work environment. Positive control and politics involve granting the employees the command to make major decisions, encouraging them, rewarding those who excel at their respective duties and ensuring motivation to make them work harder (Greaves et al. 109).
Instead of employing coercive tactics, the use of affirmative authority helps leaders to gain more power through communication and existence of mutual respect. On the other hand, negative control and politics encourage performance by posing threats to the employees. For instance, the employer may tease to fire or demote some workers if certain goals are unmet (Greaves et al. 111). Leaders who exercise negative power are often biased and lack respect for their employees.
At Emaar Properties, both positive and negative power and politics are practiced. Affirmative authority is practiced by giving the divisional head powers to make independent decisions (Greaves et al. 116). Negative power and politics are on the display with regards to the promotion of employees. Local workers tend to be endorsed at a higher rate than their foreign counterparts. Indeed, a campaign known as “Emiratization” gives the local population more job and internship opportunities than foreign nationals.
How Conflict is Usually Managed in the Organization
Conflict management in the organization is done at the group level. Principal Officers who head various subsidiary groups of the firm are tasked with handling conflict that occurs in their divisions. Any dispute that involves these leaders is resolved by the board of directors.
The Nature of the Organization Structure
The nature of an organization’s structure determines the accomplishment of both short-term and long-term business goals and objectives. Emaar Properties assumes a mechanistic model that is bureaucratic and characterized by a central management, formalized processes, and specialization of labor. This type of organization is used when there is the stability of technology and functions. It allows concentration on maximizing the utilization of resources (Bhargavi and Yaseen 87). It also decreases the cost of supervision as each division head is responsible for overseeing workers under their departments.
However, the central authority is the primary manager of the organization. Emaar Properties maintains this kind of organizational structure by having the chairman of the firm assume the central authority. However, principal officers are responsible for decision making at the group and department levels.
Organizational Culture
Organizational culture refers to a set of norms and behaviors that identify an organization. It cannot be said to be positive or negative, its influence on business operations can be progressive or destructive. At the outset, a good organizational culture promotes unity among employees, helps cultivate loyalty, adds a competitive value, and gives the firm direction and identity (Emaar 7). Emaar Properties has forged a reputation for developing unique and innovative structures such as the Burj Khalifa.
The company has continued with that culture. The groundbreaking of the Dubai Creek Tower, which will be even taller, cements their philosophy of developing unique world-class properties. One of the firm’s principles is to adapt to changes. For example, the 2008 financial crisis did not affect the company since it aligned its goals and objectives with the prevailing situations and remained competitive.
Organizational Behavior Issues that Need to be Adjusted
Despite its success and emergence as a premier global real estate company, it has certain organizational issues that need to be resolved to speed up its growth. Some of the drawbacks that require immediate attention revolve around organizational leadership, unequal treatment of employees, and motivation. The management practices of the organization should be changed from the mixed strategic and participative approaches to a more democratic style.
The 2015 strike by the company’s workers highlighted the indifferent manner in which it treated both foreign and local workers. The employees complained low pay and unfavorable working conditions (Bualshawarib 23). Cases of favoritism in the treatment of the permanent staff where local employees are promoted at a faster rate than their local counterparts have also been observed. Furthermore, the company only uses two methods to inspire their employees; paying adequate wages and granting equal opportunities for participation in the firm’s major developments. To get the best out of their employees, the firm needs to introduce other ways of motivating their employees (Bhargavi and Yaseen 90).
Possible Solutions
The organization should change its leadership style to a democratic one to allow easy decision-making processes. The real estate industry is in a constant state of change and, therefore, a means of communication that consents constant consultations between leaders and employees needs to be put in place. The democratic leadership style is the best for this kind of industry.
To be a successful global company, it needs to form a culture of treating all its employees equally. Indeed, its goal to be an international real estate firm will only be achieved if it is able to provide the same working conditions for its workforce (Bhargavi and Yaseen 89). Aspects such as working conditions and remuneration should be provided by the same token.
Additionally, Emaar Properties need to explore additional methods to motivate its employees. Additional inspirational techniques are required to ensure that the workers constantly give their best. Success in the real estate industry largely depends on the quality of developments that a company can deliver (Bhargavi and Yaseen 91). Top quality can only be assured when employees are motivated enough to follow all the necessary methods aimed at delivering high-end products and services.
Evaluations of Proposed Solutions
The democratic style of leadership has the following advantages: it gives the leaders the ability to devise solutions to complex because of its collaborative; the prolonged review of solutions to business issues ensures that the solutions sought last for a long period of time; it ensures building of strong teams and groups within an organization; it helps in nurturing of innovative, creative employees as they are allowed to share their views (Bhargavi and Yaseen 87). One of its major disadvantages is that it slows down the decision-making process as several people have to be consulted before a deliberation can be made. In addition, it may force leaders to be apologetic especially to the individuals whose contributions have not been considered when major decisions are made.
The benefits of equal treatment of employees include instilling the feeling of being valuable in them, fostering good relationships, and building strong reputation that will help a company attract the most qualified workers to help it grow (Bhargavi and Yaseen 92). Workforce motivation should be done through rewarding performing employees, redesigning duties, and ensuring the flexibility of the working environment. These efforts will encourage top performance from the staff thereby enabling the firm to attain its long-term goals.
Recommendations
Following the evaluation of the possible solutions, it is clear Emaar Properties should take steps to ensure the leadership style in the organization is changed to a democratic approach as its advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
The firm should also ensure that as it embarks on important constructions such as the Dubai Creek Towers, laborers are equally treated and good working conditions provided for them. This position will ensure such developments are completed on schedule and with the right quality desired by the stakeholders of the firm.
In the workplace, a good relationship among employees should be built and sustained by giving them fair opportunities for promotions (Bhargavi and Yaseen 87). This undertaking will result in increased cooperation, which will play a significant role in solving the firm’s major issues.
Action Plan
To successfully change the leadership style of the organization, stakeholders and frontrunners will be trained on the benefits of adopting a democratic approach. The board of directors will then be tasked with ensuring that the leaders implement the desired approach to management of the firm. A committee will be formed to come up with the best ways the company can promote employee motivation and equal treatment.
Works Cited
Bhargavi, Swapna, and Ali Yaseen. “Leadership Styles and Organizational Performance.” Strategic Management Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 1, 2016, pp. 87-117.
Bualshawarib, Mariam Juma. “A Critical Study of the Impact of Arab Leadership Styles on Organizational & Employees’ Performance.” Diss. The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2014. Web.
Emaar. “Emaar Properties PJSC Corporate Presentation.” EMAAR. 2014. Web.
Goetsch, David, and Stanley Davis. Quality Management for Organizational Excellence. Pearson, 2014.
Goleman, Daniel, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee. Primal leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Harvard Business Press, 2013.
Greaves, Martin, Lara Zibarras, and Chris Stride. “Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Explore Environmental Behavioral Intentions in the Workplace.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 34, no. 1, 2013, pp. 109-120.
Wilson, Fiona M. Organizational Behavior and Work: A Critical Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2013.