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Papers by Khalil Al Jerjawi

Research paper thumbnail of The role of human resource executives in mergers : a comparative case study of two bank mergers, the merger of Westpac Corporation and St. George Bank (Australia) and the merger of Emirates Bank International and the National Bank of Dubai (UAE)

In recent years, human resources (HR) managers have been triggered to play a more enhanced role i... more In recent years, human resources (HR) managers have been triggered to play a more enhanced role in their organisations, especially in making decisions and going through radical and strategic organisational changes such as a merger process (Bjorkman and Soderberg 2003). Today, this requirement is even more crucial because the past decade has been characterised by the enormous growth in mergers. Most of the studies in the field of mergers have focused on the legal and financial aspects of mergers and have a very limited focus (if any) on the human side of a merger which, in fact, has the highest effect, for various reasons, of merger failure. This study addresses the existing research gap in the study of mergers by investigating the most prominent role of HR managers among the different roles that were first defined and characterised by Conner and Ulrich (1996), then enhanced by Ulrich (1997) and later developed by Ulrich and Brockbank (2005). This prominent role will be examined in a merger process at different phases: pre-combination, through integration and post-integration. Further, this study aims to add value to Ulrich's study by adding a new original phase to his model in order to distinguish the actual contribution and how it was performed, whether it was a key role player, a consultative role player, or just a tool/doer role player as HR manager in a merger team. This investigative study looks at two comparative cases of a horizontal merger: one in Australia, the merger of Westpac and St. George Bank; the other in the United Arab Emirates, the merger of the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) with the Emirates Bank (EB) to form the Emirates National Bank of Dubai (Emirates NBD). Specifying the most prominent role of the HR manager in a merger and distinguishing the actual performance contributions required clear indicators at the heart of the merger to be established in order to examine the varied roles and explore the actual performance contributions. In this study, these indicators included: • Staffing in the merger • Downsizing and rightsizing • Survival syndrome xiv • Cultural issues in the merger. Based on semi-structured interviews with corporate-level managers in these corporations, the roles and practices of corporate HR managers at different stages of the merger process were analysed. This work demonstrates that HR managers are an essential part of mergers and that HR practices should be given extensive emphasis throughout such organisational change as 'the merger process'.

Research paper thumbnail of Crisis Leadership: Political Leadership during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sustainability

This article identifies leadership attributes that enable effective leaders to manage crises. Dat... more This article identifies leadership attributes that enable effective leaders to manage crises. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 13 Australian political leaders, including senators, members of federal and state parliament, premiers, ministers, and mayors of local governments. The findings suggest that, to be an effective leader during a crisis, political leaders need to be: visionary; courageous; calm; inspirational; ethical; empathetic; authentic; and resilient. Single leadership theories do not capture all the attributes necessary to lead during a crisis, suggesting the importance of different, complementary theories. The findings clarify what it takes for politicians to lead during a global crisis, like COVID-19. Furthermore, they provide a foundation to enable constituents to gauge their political leaders’ leadership capacities. Despite extensive research on what it takes to lead, little is known about political leadership during a crisis. The study unveils ...

Research paper thumbnail of HR Managers' Roles & Contributions in Merger

As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order ... more As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order to match the macroeconomic trends operating on a worldwide and more recently to cope with the current global financial crisis, human resource managers have been encouraged to play a more strategic role in their organizations, especially in the case of extensive and radical organizational change such as merging process. This study addresses and works on the existing research gap by investigating the roles of HR managers among the different roles which were defined at the fist by Dave Ulrich. This paper demonstrates that HR managers are an essential part of merger and that HR practices should be given an extensive emphasizing throughout such organizational change “the merger process”.

Research paper thumbnail of Cultural Dimensions’ Impact on Performance Management in the UAE Market

Innovative Journal of Business and Management, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of HR Managers’ Roles & Contributions in Merger Processes

International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 2011

As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order ... more As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order to match the macroeconomic trends operating on a worldwide and more recently to cope with the current global financial crisis, human resource managers have been encouraged to play a more strategic role in their organizations, especially in the case of extensive and radical organizational change such as merging process. This study addresses and works on the existing research gap by investigating the roles of HR managers among the different roles which were defined at the fist by Dave Ulrich. This paper demonstrates that HR managers are an essential part of merger and that HR practices should be given an extensive emphasizing throughout such organizational change “the merger process”.

Research paper thumbnail of Subjectivist and objectivist views in research

International Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry, 2010

Human Resource Management (HRM) research, especially that focused on the organisational context, ... more Human Resource Management (HRM) research, especially that focused on the organisational context, is increasingly recognising the 'subjective' as a realm of interest distinct from the 'objective' realm that previously was its predominant concern. This paper argues that, although this is a step forward, it is a mistake to pose a dichotomy between the two or to suggest that there are two different kinds of researchers (objectivist and subjectivist) who focus either on one realm or another. The hermeneutic turn taking place in the broader social sciences is properly understood as a rejection of the subjective-objective dichotomy. The hermeneutic turn appreciates that our knowledge of HRM and organisations is not guaranteed by a method that separates the objective from the subjective in order to penetrate to the 'laws' of the social universe. Instead, our knowledge of HRM and organisations is constructed through a social practice in which such distinctions are not meaningful. However, due to the neglect of economics in subjectivism, the divide between objectivism and subjectivism still exists. It thus follows that adopting both the subjectivist and objectivist views towards research is more beneficial and realistic.

Research paper thumbnail of HR Managers' Roles & Contributions in Merger Processes

As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order ... more As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order to match the macroeconomic trends operating on a worldwide and more recently to cope with the current global financial crisis, human resource managers have been encouraged to play a more strategic role in their organizations, especially in the case of extensive and radical organizational change such as merging process. This study addresses and works on the existing research gap by investigating the roles of HR managers among the different roles which were defined at the fist by Dave Ulrich. This paper demonstrates that HR managers are an essential part of merger and that HR practices should be given an extensive emphasizing throughout such organizational change "the merger process".

Research paper thumbnail of The role of human resource executives in mergers : a comparative case study of two bank mergers, the merger of Westpac Corporation and St. George Bank (Australia) and the merger of Emirates Bank International and the National Bank of Dubai (UAE)

In recent years, human resources (HR) managers have been triggered to play a more enhanced role i... more In recent years, human resources (HR) managers have been triggered to play a more enhanced role in their organisations, especially in making decisions and going through radical and strategic organisational changes such as a merger process (Bjorkman and Soderberg 2003). Today, this requirement is even more crucial because the past decade has been characterised by the enormous growth in mergers. Most of the studies in the field of mergers have focused on the legal and financial aspects of mergers and have a very limited focus (if any) on the human side of a merger which, in fact, has the highest effect, for various reasons, of merger failure. This study addresses the existing research gap in the study of mergers by investigating the most prominent role of HR managers among the different roles that were first defined and characterised by Conner and Ulrich (1996), then enhanced by Ulrich (1997) and later developed by Ulrich and Brockbank (2005). This prominent role will be examined in a merger process at different phases: pre-combination, through integration and post-integration. Further, this study aims to add value to Ulrich's study by adding a new original phase to his model in order to distinguish the actual contribution and how it was performed, whether it was a key role player, a consultative role player, or just a tool/doer role player as HR manager in a merger team. This investigative study looks at two comparative cases of a horizontal merger: one in Australia, the merger of Westpac and St. George Bank; the other in the United Arab Emirates, the merger of the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) with the Emirates Bank (EB) to form the Emirates National Bank of Dubai (Emirates NBD). Specifying the most prominent role of the HR manager in a merger and distinguishing the actual performance contributions required clear indicators at the heart of the merger to be established in order to examine the varied roles and explore the actual performance contributions. In this study, these indicators included: • Staffing in the merger • Downsizing and rightsizing • Survival syndrome xiv • Cultural issues in the merger. Based on semi-structured interviews with corporate-level managers in these corporations, the roles and practices of corporate HR managers at different stages of the merger process were analysed. This work demonstrates that HR managers are an essential part of mergers and that HR practices should be given extensive emphasis throughout such organisational change as 'the merger process'.

Research paper thumbnail of Crisis Leadership: Political Leadership during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sustainability

This article identifies leadership attributes that enable effective leaders to manage crises. Dat... more This article identifies leadership attributes that enable effective leaders to manage crises. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 13 Australian political leaders, including senators, members of federal and state parliament, premiers, ministers, and mayors of local governments. The findings suggest that, to be an effective leader during a crisis, political leaders need to be: visionary; courageous; calm; inspirational; ethical; empathetic; authentic; and resilient. Single leadership theories do not capture all the attributes necessary to lead during a crisis, suggesting the importance of different, complementary theories. The findings clarify what it takes for politicians to lead during a global crisis, like COVID-19. Furthermore, they provide a foundation to enable constituents to gauge their political leaders’ leadership capacities. Despite extensive research on what it takes to lead, little is known about political leadership during a crisis. The study unveils ...

Research paper thumbnail of HR Managers' Roles & Contributions in Merger

As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order ... more As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order to match the macroeconomic trends operating on a worldwide and more recently to cope with the current global financial crisis, human resource managers have been encouraged to play a more strategic role in their organizations, especially in the case of extensive and radical organizational change such as merging process. This study addresses and works on the existing research gap by investigating the roles of HR managers among the different roles which were defined at the fist by Dave Ulrich. This paper demonstrates that HR managers are an essential part of merger and that HR practices should be given an extensive emphasizing throughout such organizational change “the merger process”.

Research paper thumbnail of Cultural Dimensions’ Impact on Performance Management in the UAE Market

Innovative Journal of Business and Management, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of HR Managers’ Roles & Contributions in Merger Processes

International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 2011

As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order ... more As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order to match the macroeconomic trends operating on a worldwide and more recently to cope with the current global financial crisis, human resource managers have been encouraged to play a more strategic role in their organizations, especially in the case of extensive and radical organizational change such as merging process. This study addresses and works on the existing research gap by investigating the roles of HR managers among the different roles which were defined at the fist by Dave Ulrich. This paper demonstrates that HR managers are an essential part of merger and that HR practices should be given an extensive emphasizing throughout such organizational change “the merger process”.

Research paper thumbnail of Subjectivist and objectivist views in research

International Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry, 2010

Human Resource Management (HRM) research, especially that focused on the organisational context, ... more Human Resource Management (HRM) research, especially that focused on the organisational context, is increasingly recognising the 'subjective' as a realm of interest distinct from the 'objective' realm that previously was its predominant concern. This paper argues that, although this is a step forward, it is a mistake to pose a dichotomy between the two or to suggest that there are two different kinds of researchers (objectivist and subjectivist) who focus either on one realm or another. The hermeneutic turn taking place in the broader social sciences is properly understood as a rejection of the subjective-objective dichotomy. The hermeneutic turn appreciates that our knowledge of HRM and organisations is not guaranteed by a method that separates the objective from the subjective in order to penetrate to the 'laws' of the social universe. Instead, our knowledge of HRM and organisations is constructed through a social practice in which such distinctions are not meaningful. However, due to the neglect of economics in subjectivism, the divide between objectivism and subjectivism still exists. It thus follows that adopting both the subjectivist and objectivist views towards research is more beneficial and realistic.

Research paper thumbnail of HR Managers' Roles & Contributions in Merger Processes

As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order ... more As companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers over the last few years in order to match the macroeconomic trends operating on a worldwide and more recently to cope with the current global financial crisis, human resource managers have been encouraged to play a more strategic role in their organizations, especially in the case of extensive and radical organizational change such as merging process. This study addresses and works on the existing research gap by investigating the roles of HR managers among the different roles which were defined at the fist by Dave Ulrich. This paper demonstrates that HR managers are an essential part of merger and that HR practices should be given an extensive emphasizing throughout such organizational change "the merger process".