Leadership Challenges in a Culturally Diverse Environment: Case Study of the Construction Industry in Dubai

Dubai has emerged as an important center for international business attracting significant inflows of the foreign workforce. Dubai’s population is unique as nationals represent only 15% of the total population, with 200 other nationalities comprising the other 85%. Thus, Cultural Diversity is unavoidable. Cultural Diversity refers to cultural heterogeneity such as differences in race, ethnicity, language, nationality, and religion. As it is a characteristic of Culturally Heterogeneous Workgroups (CHWs), cultural diversity affects how they interact with each other. Since the core concepts of leadership are dealing, inspiring, and motivating teams, the team member’s diversity directly connects with the leadership concept.While many researchers argue whether (CHWs) suffer or benefit from cultural diversity, it is agreed that such diversity has its challenges. Diverse workgroups have been shown to suffer from poor cohesion and social integration. People who are different from their co-worker’s report feeling uneasy and having less organizational commitment. Miscommunication, the development of obstacles, and improper adaptation behaviors are all possible negative impacts. In the absence of local studies on how cultural diversity is related to leadership, this thesis questioned the connection between cultural diversity and leadership level through a quantitative research approach. This would help understand how different leaders at different levels perceive cultural diversity challenges, which would help focus on specific level(s) in future and research practical ways to address cultural diversity issues of cultural diversity. Measurement scales for leadership levels and cultural diversity challenges were developed. A survey was used to collect data from skilled workers in the construction industry in Dubai, and non-parametric statistical methods were used to analyze the collected data and answer the research question. Whereas a strong correlation was initially expected between work experience, whether in total or within UAE, and leadership level, this was not the case. Most importantly, no significant evidence was found to support a relationship between cultural diversity challenges and both participants’ leadership level and their UAE work experience.