Effective Leadership for Cross-Cultural Workforce: Abu Dhabi SMEs Case

This research proposal investigates effective leadership within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, focusing on the challenges and opportunities presented by multilingual and cross-cultural workforces. The study aims to identify the factors of effective leadership, evaluate issues arising from diverse workforces, and provide recommendations for managing cross-cultural teams through effective leadership practices. The proposal outlines research questions addressing the impact of leadership on workforce management, potential issues arising from multilingualism and cultural diversity, and the outcomes achievable through effective leadership implementation. A hypothesis is presented to test the significance of leadership's impact on managing diverse teams. The literature review explores existing research on effective leadership traits, the impact of multilingualism and multiculturalism on organizational productivity, and the specific context of SMEs in Abu Dhabi. The proposed research methodology adopts a pragmatism research philosophy, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection and analysis.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research Proposal on ‘Effective leadership for the multilingual and cross-cultural workforce: A
case study of small and medium enterprises in Abu Dhabi, UAE’
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
This research proposal aims to address the issue of effective leadership for the
multilingual and cross-cultural workforce in the small and medium sized enterprises in Abu
Dhabi, UAE. Due to rapid globalization, there has been increase in the multinational
corporations in the prosperous countries, including UAE and thus, the number of cross cultural
expatriates has been increasing too. The small and medium sized enterprises in Abu Dhabi are
also employing the skilled and unskilled multicultural immigrants and thereby encouraging the
integration of the cultures (Almezaini, 2013). However, as more and more multilingual and cross
cultural workforce is being employed, there are some potential issues in managing the
workforce. Hence, this study will focus on the impact of effective leadership on managing the
cross cultural workforce and bring out the best performance from the employees in the small and
medium sized enterprises in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The paper will present the background of the
study, research aim, objectives, and questions, research significance. This will be followed by
literature review and research methodology to be used for the study.
1.2 Background of the study
Abu Dhabi is the capital of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the second most populous
city, following Dubai. Thus, the economy of Abu Dhabi is quite developed and it is mostly based
on the oil and gas production. The city has launched Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 for
building a resilient infrastructure for supporting the economic growth and developing highly
skilled labor force (Wamda.com, 2018). The initiatives under this scheme focuses on the growth
of the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) by taking various measures such as exemption
of new licenses for having office spaces for two years, allowance of permanent home licenses

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
and instance licensing for the commercial businesses, new liberal regulations for developing
infrastructures for the commercial, industrial and residential properties, developments of
ecotourism programs and facilities and recreational sports, facilitating healthcare and education
sectors, establishment of Abu Dhabi Accelerators and Advanced Industries Council and many
others (Deresky, 2017). It has also been reported that Abu Dhabi will spend around US $13.6
billion over the next three years to develop its SME sector (Wamda.com, 2018).
It is also to be noted that Abu Dhabi has a growing population of the skilled as well as
unskilled migrated workforce. This has resulted in highly multicultural and multilingual
workforce in almost all the sectors including the SMEs. However, as there is integration of cross-
cultural workforces, extra efforts are needed to handle the issues. The small and medium sized
enterprises have a small employee strength, and if there is cross cultural issues among the
employees, that would affect the productivity of the enterprise. Thus, through this research study,
the researcher aims to explore the impact of effective leadership on handling the issues related to
the efficient working of the employees belonging to different cultures and having different
languages (Bealer & Bhanugopan, 2014).
1.3 Research aim and objectives
The aim of the research paper is to explore the factors and outcomes of effective
leadership on handling the organizational issues related to multilingual and multicultural
workforces in the context of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
The objectives of the research study are:
 To explore the factors of effective leadership and their impact

3RESEARCH PROPOSAL
 To evaluate the issues originating from multilingual and multicultural workforce in the
SMEs
 To provide recommendations to the SME sector of Abu Dhabi to manage the cross-
cultural and multilingual workforce by applying effective leadership
1.4 Research questions
1) What are the factors of effective leadership and what are their impacts on the workforce?
2) What are the issues that can arise from the multilingual and cross-cultural workforce in the
companies, especially in the SMEs?
3) What outcome could be achieved by applying the effective leadership on the cross cultural
workforce in the SMEs in Abu Dhabi?
4) How to apply the leadership in the most efficient manner to get the maximum outcome?
1.5 Research hypothesis
H0 (null hypothesis): Effective leadership does not have significant impact on efficient
management of multilingual and cross-cultural workforce in the SMEs of Abu Dhabi.
H1 (alternative hypothesis): Effective leadership has significant impact on efficient management
of multilingual and cross-cultural workforce in the SMEs of Abu Dhabi.
1.6 Significance of the research
The research study has significance in both the academic and corporate world. Firstly,
through an extensive research, the study will contribute knowledge and findings in the academic
world. It will provide information on the unexplored area of research, that is, impact of effective
leadership on the cross-cultural workforces in Abu Dhabi, especially in the SME sector, which
will create opportunities for further research in this field of study. Similarly, the study is

4RESEARCH PROPOSAL
expected to give an overview of the factors of effective leadership, which can handle the
management and performance issues related to the multilingual and cross-cultural workforce in
the SMEs of Abu Dhabi. Thus, with the help of the findings, the SMEs of Abu Dhabi can take
appropriate actions to maintain a healthy working environment while working with the
multilingual and cross-cultural workforce.

5RESEARCH PROPOSAL
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature review is a significant part of a research study. It presents the knowledge
gathered from exploring various previous research papers by other scholars, which not only helps
in gaining a perspective and direction of the research study, but also makes the readers
acquainted with the research topic. The literature review for this research paper is presented
below.
2.1 Effective leadership
Effective leadership is a significant factor that contributes in the success of an
organization. As mentioned by Aktas, Gelfand & Hanges (2016), an effective leader must have
the qualities or traits of honesty, confident, helpful, motivating, trustworthy, respectful of others,
able to understand the emotions of the employees, that is, empathetic, and credibility. They
would lead the followers by working together and not by being commanding. They will be
willing to accept their mistakes and rectify those and help the followers to push their skills to
achieve productivity. As stated by Rosenbach (2018) in his book that, emotional intelligence is a
crucial factor of leadership and how the leaders display it in achieving organizational goals.
Although, different situations require different styles of leadership, yet the common factor is the
emotional intelligence, which needs to be applied in every situation.
Showry & Manasa (2014) stated that effective leadership comes from personal
experiences of the leaders. The personal experiences make a person more knowledgeable and
mature, which gets reflected in their personality and actions. Thus, those experiences also
enhance their skills of understanding the driving forces of the situations, responding by
rethinking about themselves, redirecting the moves and reshaping the actions. Self-awareness is a

6RESEARCH PROPOSAL
key element in effective leadership, as it is a pillar in the management capabilities and it is more
important than the IQ and technical skills. There are unprecedented complexities in the
businesses and hence, the leaders need not only explicit knowledge but also knowledge of the
inner-self to handle the complex situations.
2.2 Impact of multilingual and cross cultural workforce on the organizational environment
and productivity
Ferraro & Briody (2013) highlighted that globalization and global businesses have a
cultural dimension. According to the authors, increasing globalization has a significant impact on
not only the businesses but also on the demographics of the nations. Thus, cross cultural
workforce has become a common phenomenon in the businesses. Cooperation and collaboration,
trust and conflict arises when working in a multilingual and cross cultural work environment and
the leaders are responsible for establishing a cooperative environment in the workforce. Due to
globalization, rising immigration has been resulting in increasing migrated workforce in a
country and thus, there is increase in the multilingual and cross cultural workforce.
Bordia & Bordia (2014) showed in their paper that language plays a major role in
sustainable global expansion of the multinational companies. The difference in the functional
and local language can create severe obstacles in the path of effective communication between
the headquarters and subsidiary locations. The local language can also be a barrier in the
effective functioning of the expatriates as it poses a threat for linguistic identity and this affects
the willingness of the migrants to adopt the foreign language. Thus, such a situation can affect
the productivity of any organization that employs workers with different cultures. Sometimes,
the multinationals also send their employees to different locations, and they sometimes find

7RESEARCH PROPOSAL
difficulty in performing with maximum productivity due to adverse work culture and unknown
language.
Rozkwitalska & Basinska (2015) showed that the impact of multiculturalism on the job
satisfaction is quite inconsistent. According to the authors, sometimes multiculturalism
encourages the cognitive component of the business, while sometimes this affects the business
process negatively. Thus, the leaders have the responsibility to ensure that multiculturalism does
not hamper the business process in a negative way and rather they should encourage growth.
2.3 SMEs in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is contributing significantly for the growth of the small and medium sized
enterprises (SMEs), which are considered as the driver of economic growth. The city is
providing the SME sector credit guarantees under the three year Dh50 billion Tomorrow 2021
programme (Khan, 2018). It has been stated that the SME sector contributes more than 60% of
the GDP of the UAE. However, this sector struggled to get the adequate financing in the last four
years due to the reason that the banks tightened their lending policies after the three year oil price
slump happened in the mid 2014. Thus, UAE has been taking reform policies to push the growth
of the SME sector by increasing their credit access facilities. With growing globalization, the
SME sector of Abu Dhabi is also employing the migrant expatriates with different cultural and
language background, which requires more attention from the leadership.

8RESEARCH PROPOSAL
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the systematic plans and strategies to proceed with the data
collection and analysis methods on the basis of some set assumptions to conduct the research
study. As stated by Mackey & Gass (2015), research methodology presents the particular
techniques that are used to identify, choose, process and analyze the information about the
research topic. The methodology consists of research paradigm, approach, design, data collection
method, sampling, data analysis techniques, ethical considerations and timeline for the research.
The chosen methodology for the study is presented below.
3.1 Research paradigm
It describes the belief or assumptions regarding the data collection, analysis and
application process in a research study. The source, nature and development of the data
determine the research paradigm or philosophy. Positivism, interpretivism, pragmatism and
realism are the most common research paradigms used in the research studies. in the given study,
the researcher will apply the pragmatism research philosophy, that allows the researcher to apply
both the qualitative and quantitative research methods (Ryan, 2018). Both the numeric and non-
numeric information will be collected and analyzed accordingly to get an extensive overview on
the research topic.
3.2 Research approach
This consists of the detailed plan and methods to be applied for data collection and
analysis and interpretation (Graneheim, Lindgren & Lundman, 2017). The nature of the research
problem determines the research approach to be followed. Inductive, deductive and abductive
research approaches are three types of approach, among which one is chosen for a study. While

9RESEARCH PROPOSAL
inductive research allows for deriving generalized findings from a specific phenomenon through
exploration of the untested area of research, the deductive research approach allows the research
to evaluate the research topic on the basis of established theories and derive findings for the
specific event from the generalized information (Eriksson & Kovalainen, 2015). Abductive
research approach allows the researcher to choose a solution from a set of possible solutions by
applying the judgment and perspectives (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Thus, in this study, the
researcher will apply deductive research approach to find out the impact of effective leadership
on the cross cultural workforce in the SMEs in Abu Dhabi, which is a specific research
phenomenon. Some established theories on leadership will be explored to get the specific
findings.
3.3 Research design
In the given study, the researcher will apply the case study research design. This is
beneficial to understand the research problem in a practical and real world scenario and provide
solutions more accurately (Lewis, 2015). Since, this research study will explore the SME sector
of Abu Dhabi, an SME will be considered as a case study company for data collection. Bond
Creative is a advertising and creative agency located in Abu Dhabi, which works on branding
and designing. The enterprise also has studios in Helsinki, London, Dubai and Tallinn (Bond-
agency.com, 2019). Thus, the company operates as a multinational one, which has very less but
multilingual and cross-cultural workforce.
3.4 Data collection process
The researcher will collect both the primary and secondary data for this study. Using both
types of data enables the researcher to have an in-depth and extensive knowledge about the
research topic. Primary data will be collected through a survey (Morse, 2016). The survey will be

10RESEARCH PROPOSAL
conducted on the employees of Bond Creative and the survey questionnaire will contain 10 close
ended demographic and non-demographic factors. The secondary data will be collected from
authentic secondary sources, such as, peer reviewed journal articles, books, government
publications, reports, company websites and newspaper articles etc.
3.5 Sampling
Sample refers to a small subset of the larger population containing the same
characteristics (Gentles, 2016). Since, entire population cannot be studied for the research, thus
by applying appropriate sampling technique, a sample is drawn. The researcher will apply simple
random sampling technique, which is a type of probability sampling. Under this sampling, each
of the samples has equal and random chance of being selected. This helps in reducing sampling
biasness and fluctuation errors (Gupta, 2016).
3.6 Data analysis process
This study will follow mixed methodology, that is both the qualitative and quantitative
analysis methods will be applied on the collected data. The primary data, that is, the survey
response will be converted into numeric data using replicable scale values. Then, quantitative
tools, that is, mathematical and statistical tools will be applied to get the relevant findings. On
the other hand, the secondary data will be analyzed using qualitative method. Thematic analysis
method will be applied on the non-numeric secondary data.
3.7 Ethical considerations
The research paper will strictly maintain its originality. Moreover, informed consent will
be taken from the participants and the management of the case study company. The participants
will be clearly informed about the purpose of the study, data confidentiality and clause of

11RESEARCH PROPOSAL
anonymity. Furthermore, the participants will have the right for voluntary participation and no
one will be forced or bribed to take part in the survey.
3.8 Timeline
3 Years
Task
Q
1
Q
2
Q
3
Q
4
Q
5
Q
6
Q
7
Q
8
Q
9 Q10 Q11 Q12
Making a strategy
Making a framework
Literature review
Primary data collection
Conducting survey
Secondary data
collection
Data analysis
Presenting the findings
and discussion
Providing the conclusion
Thesis submission
(Source: Author)