Can Adherence To Religious Teachings, Principles, Values, And Traditions Affect HRM Practices? (HRM Practices in Saudi Arabia as a Case Study)

In its search for the sources of “ethics from within”, this thesis concurs with many researchers who believe that religions, or any belief systems, are the main sources of ethics, which found their way into the work place, and are still greatly affecting the cultures and economies of today’s world. The research aimed at discussing how religious principles, values and traditions have had, and will always have, a great impact on the ethics of the work place, provided that a certain level of adherence is observed. Culture, religion and economy are tied up in an inseparable matrix that has always been called upon whenever an answer to a problem is sought. The unique impact and influence that the belief of a Divine Omni-power exerts upon cultures and economies are unlike any other forces of change, leadership or otherwise. The research argues that its uniqueness lies in the fact that religious conviction is a power that stems from within people, and would need occasional stimulation rather than external supervision to produce a “self-monitoring” employee. The research is structured to zoom in from general idea towards a deeper analysis of a chosen case study. Chapter One discussed how culture and religion are interwoven notions that cannot be separated in any discussion of social characteristics, group behaviour, and national identity. Chapter Two investigated potential, relationships between economy and religion within the understanding that the sciences of economy and management cannot alone explain every aspect of human behaviour. Chapter Three attempted to answer whether ethics and morality rest on religion or not, and if so, how much influence do religions cast on the evolution of ethics and codes of proper conduct. Chapter Four took a closer look at professionalism - as a source of today’s ethics and work values - and its effect on the moral life of societies, aiming at exploring the role of ethical norms in the institutional life, and the way the structure and norms affect individuals and entire nations. Chapter Five shed more light on the necessity and importance of concepts like “Unsupervised Honesty”, “Quality from Within”, “Self- Discipline”, “Man as God’s Vicegerent”, and “Self-Appraisal” as driving forces behind “good” performance and as powerful regulators of human behaviour. Chapter Six discusses the methodology used in this study to attain quality data to support the research. Chapter Seven presents the results of the analysis of the quantitative and quantitative data gathered in the city of Jeddah, the international business centre of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where major businesses established their headquarters, where the desired sample types existed, and where international HRM practices are observed. Chapter Eight presents the qualitative data selected from interviews with professional from the educational and business sectors. It also contains the opinions of specialised HR specialists. The aim of this chapter is to gather some point of views regarding the concept of Unsupervised Honesty, direct and indirect supervision, and religion as a regulator for human behaviour. The thesis concluded that Western HRM practices should be modified and adapted to the national context in which it operates, and that time-old religious tradition must be promoted and admitted to the work place in congruence with the newly adopted Western HRM practices. The concept of Unsupervised Honesty represents a general agreement among professionals. Most respondents confirmed that religion is a major source of ethics, while others supported the Unsupervised Honesty concept, but did not necessarily attribute it fully to religion, rather to morality and professional ethics. All managerial levels agreed that the self-monitoring employee is the ultimately sought personnel, regardless of their source of ethics and moral values