Significance

The KMS or Knowledge Management Strategy is one of the most essential strategic resources that guarantee any firm’s success rate and survival capacity in the long term. This is because it is usually unique for every organisation and hence, cannot be imitated by any other. The significance of innovation strategy is that there is a specialisation in both functional and professional groups (Beyk and Halas 2014). Advancement in technology and efficient innovation are both proportional to the strength of the firm’s knowledge resources, and this consequently gives rise to a better capacity for implementing innovation efforts more efficiently.

Abu Dhabi has launched a national programme, Emiratisation, for the efficient implementation of the UAE workforce in the market. This program is very important to both the government, semi-government sectors, along with the private companies. The sole aim for Emiratisation is to provide better and increased job opportunities for the educated population of the UAE who are mostly unable to find jobs for themselves. However, there are certain challenges that the semi-government sectors are facing (Aljanahi 2017). This report will analyse those challenges in the nuclear, Masdar, Mubadala Development Company, the Executive and the Investment Councils.

There is a huge difference between the government and private sectors in the UAE, and especially Abu Dhabi. The semi-governmental sectors in Abu Dhabi would not consider moving to the private sector at all (Bardot 2017), and this is to make sure that the nationals are involved in the working of these organisations.

Research aims and objectives

The main goal or aim of this research will be to assess the challenges that are being faced by the semi-government sectors in Abu Dhabi. The research would also focus on the impact that emiratisation is inflicting on Abu Dhabi.

The following are the key questions that will be addressed here in this report:

• What are the challenges that the semi-government sectors are facing in Abu Dhabi?
• What is the impact of the development of those sectors that will be visible in the economy and the population of the State?

Nuclear power sector

The 20 billion dollar programme was undertaken in 2012, and the second reactor vessel was constructed in June. The first reactor was scheduled to start later this year, and the plant is to have a lifespan of 60 years. This plan is the first to see the light of the day in the past twenty-seven years and this is the reason why the project has gathered so much attention and criticism. The main problems arise when the construction nears towards its end; the first reactor is about 75% complete, and the final stages of the project are the most difficult (Almansoori and Betancourt-Torcat 2015).

Also, the Federal Authority of Nuclear Regulation is under pressure as far as the budget is concerned, especially after the decrease in the price of oil. The complexities in the final stage of construction are further amplified by the fact that the staff and the systems are from various countries and there are several unique features that have to be considered.

The Masdar City was designed to be the earth’s most sustainable city. Also, it was supposed to provide almost 70% of the country’s power through the use of solar energy (Lee et al. 2016). There were to be no automobiles as there would be the PRT or the Personal Rapid Transit which has unmanned railway cabins. However, this project is already lagging behind the proposed schedule by more than 15 years (Jensen 2016). The management team wants to aim for a carbon-neutral community than for a zero-carbon project. The only current occupants of the city are the students who are studying and researching on sustainability at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, which is pretty much the only building that has completed construction (Paleologos, Caratelli and El Amrousi 2016).

Research aims and objectives

This is a holding company owned by the state, and was established in the year 2002 (Jamil, Ahmad and Jeon 2016). It is the government of Abu Dhabi’s investment vehicle, as its main concentration is on the management of long-term investments that are capital-intensive and have the capacity for big returns and significant benefits on the societal sphere for the state. It also owns the Advanced Technology Investment Company, which is owned entirely by the Abu Dhabi government (Mahroum and Al-Saleh 2016). They have funded local Research and Development authorities which amount to over a hundred million of their national currency since 2009.

The Executive Authority of Abu Dhabi assists and guides the Ruler to execute his powers and duties in a manner which is beneficial to everyone in the State. Its main job is to discuss the memos and issues referred by the government authorities related to the projects funded by them (Sherif, Shalaby and Altan 2016). It also takes into consideration the improvement of the working of the government in the State. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi is the chairperson of the Executive Council, and he is the Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces as well. As of now, there are two resolutions that are functional now: the General Secretariat has to assess the performance of the committees of the Executive Council, and their Committee office will also report to the Council.

The Investment Council of Abu Dhabi is the wealth sector of the Abu Dhabi government. Their investments are solely in the fields of private and public equities, hedge funds, infrastructure, global special situations and real estate. It invests both in the small and the large cap companies and in systematic CTA, macro, event-driven and relative value strategies (Higson et al. 2013). The sole function of this council is the investment of the government’s excess funds and to ensure maximum returns.

This chapter approaches the research and the data part of the study, and whether the nature of the study would be qualitative or quantitative. The semi-government sector sector in Abu Dhabi has been facing challenges due to emiratisation. A questionnaire has been prepared to analyse the same.

It is important to think over the aims and objectives of the research to find out which one is suitable for the research. The approach that would be beneficial for the research purpose will help in improving the causative significance to the research. The knowledge management and innovation strategy calls for a practical research approach, and is followed by empirical research. The numerical data takes into consideration the estimation, attitude and behaviour of the people that are involved in the semi-government sectors of Abu Dhabi. The method of direct survey enables the practice of the compilation of quantitative data on that same population. The primary focus of this research would be the challenges that the semi-government sectors are facing in Abu Dhabi, mainly due to Emiratisation. It is important to check on the rationale of the validity of the research and is essential in any research methodology. There are usually four kinds of research validity like internal, statistical conclusion, external and construct validity (Mackey and Gass 2015). Internal validity deals with the causality between two variables that exist in nature. The method of research becomes descriptive in the absence of internal validity. Whether the variables are related or not is checked by the statistical conclusion. When there is a good correlation between the different variables, the statistical tools are able to give better and improved results. Disputes are considered by the external validity and it also relates the outcomes that need to be functional for the proper functioning of the affairs (Gast and Ledford 2014).

Research question

There are three categories which a research can be segregated into: deductive, inductive and abductive reasoning (Friend and Jessop 2013). The validity of the assumptions is inspected along with the collected data in case of a deductive approach. Propositions are evaluated after data collection in this method. In abductive reasoning, definite facts are stated and there is a sequence that is constructed for the exploration of the facts. Untested conclusions are generated in an inductive research approach. The data collection method is utilised in identifying themes and patterns to construct and framework that is conceptual in nature.

The main objective of this research is to assess the challenges that are being faced by the semi-government sectors in Abu Dhabi. It also assesses the knowledge management and innovation strategies that are in place in these sectors.

The outline of the entire research work is termed as the research design (Creswell and Poth 2017). The hypothesis factors, the research questions, the variables, data collection methods and plans that are correlated to the analysis of data. The researcher has chosen the experimental research method for this research study. This study principle would take note of explanatory research where the hypothesis is investigated through the data that is being collected, by considering the informal relations existing between the variables (Lee et al. 2017). A questionnaire has been prepared that has been self-completed and discrete using the practice of stratified systemic sampling to assess the challenges that are posed to the semi-government sector.

Excel has been utilized for this analysis of the challenges that the sector is facing and the knowledge management and innovation strategies implemented by them. Nothing of informal inference can be recognized as all the data have been collected on an instantaneous basis. The same purpose would witness the researcher not being able to contrive the data.

Research onion structure

A research onion is being considered in this research study depending on the methodology used (Frecknall-Hughes 2016). 

This can be described as the method associated with the collection of data and the analysis or evaluation method associated with the collected data. It can also be termed as the development of logical reasoning. The research philosophy applied can be of four types –– pragmatic, positivist, realist and interpretativist (Saunders et al. 2015). It deals with the source, type and development of the data. Secondary and primary data is to be collected for answering the research questions and that will mark the creation of knowledge. An author’s assumptions form the base of any research strategy, and that is what reflected by any research philosophy. Practical implications have a direct impact on the choice for any philosophy. This is because there are important philosophical differences between studies that focus on data and studies like analysis of leadership style which is qualitative in nature. There have been debates over the choice for qualitative and quantitative research methods. However, of late, there has been a rise in the popularity of pragmatism and realism philosophies also.

Literature review

In pragmatism, the data collection methods could be mixed or multiple, and could be either quantitative or qualitative. The method is highly structured with large samples and predominantly quantitative data collection methods in case of positivism. Realism emplots methods which must be applicable to the subject matter, and interpretivism has smaller data sizes and the method is qualitative.

In the following study, the philosophy of pragmatism is applied, and the focus has been on both quantitative and qualitative. Pragmatism is habituated to combining positivism and interpretivist, and has the ability to find out answers to the research questions by making use of whatever grouping methods necessary. However, it is to be noted, pragmatists do not construct multiple methods or permutation of methods that precedes a definite research in the best feasible manner. For realism philosophy of research, the reliance has always been on the design of reality independence from the minds of humans. The realism philosophy depends on the supposition of a scientific advancement to the improvement of knowledge. In the scenario where the researcher has chosen the philosophy of realism, the researcher can prefer only one approach or method between the quantitative and qualitative. For this particular research study, the philosophy of pragmatism is the most suitable one, as it would take account of both the quantitative and qualitative method.

A data collection process has two procedures for the purpose of assorting the data. For successful completion of any research study, it is mandatory from the viewpoint of the researcher to collect data in an honest manner from the data field

On the other hand, the secondary research can be done by making use of the data that has been formed by certain other sources. For the purpose of the primary research study, the survey method has been chosen. A researcher can follow any particular method for conducting the primary research like that of observation. For the purpose of secondary research, the secondary source of information might be available from the newspaper, journals, government census data and the yearly financial report. Researchers can gather data from the different sources, though they get presented in the own elucidation of the researcher (Kelly and Walters 2016).

The research objectives of this particular research study would be accomplished by the significant contribution of either qualitative or quantitative data. The researcher has thought of using both in implementing required information for achieving of the result aims. The primary data would be achieved by the exploits of interviews, survey and questionnaire. It is generally the landscape of a meticulous research that establishes the data collection techniques that might be put to use.

Generally, in most of the cases, secondary data may be obtained from broad literature review like research sources, reverberation articles containing academic materials and the information that is documented to fulfill the research objectives. The research affianced in the review of the literature through collection of important information from the academic journals on Google scholar, Robert Gordon library and other authoritative databases is also used.

Research methodology

One of the most popular methods of data collection is the questionnaire form. This is better as the respondents are free from having to be biased and the researcher can also interact with more people on a large scale basis through technology and the platform of survey markers.

There exist various sampling methods in nature and any researcher will need to settle with one in accordance with the research objectives. In this research, the stratified systemic sampling can be employed. The two otherwise broad techniques of sampling are probability and non-probability (Fraley and Hudson 2014). Time, workforce and money always bound a research study for which it almost becomes difficult to arbitrarily sample the complete population and it becomes essential to utilize a different practice of sampling, the non-probabilistic sampling. In contrast to the prospect sampling method, non-probability sample is not a creation of the randomized process of selection. Subjects in the non-probability sample are generally selected depending on their convenience or by the purposive individual verdict of the researcher.

The data analysis portion of this research study would utilise tools like excel in altering data obtained through various sources and then covering it up with practical information. The researcher has considered the use of Microsoft office tools like excel for extraction of data from the surveys, questionnaires and interviews. The research data that is being extorted through the management of questionnaires and accomplishing of interviews would be accumulated to fit into the premeditated information.

The timetable is shown with the help of a Gantt Chart to portray the length of time required for completion of literature review, methodology, and the outcome of the research that was carried out.

Conclusion

There are more indigenous people involved in the semi-government sectors as compared to the private sector in Abu Dhabi, especially in the top supervisory roles. The challenge is mainly the retention of the employees rather than the recruitment. For example, the banking sector of Abu Dhabi faces almost 25 to 30 per cent rate of attrition of workers every year. The influence of the government is also markedly strong and direct on the organisation and the regulations that they have are applicable not only to the public but also to the semi-governmental organisations.

References

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