Doctoral Dissertations

Ali A. Kassim

Date of Award

12-1993

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Political Science

Major Professor

David Welborn

Committee Members

Robert Cunningham, Michael Betz, David Folz

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine problems of public sector productivity in Saudi Arabia. It has three basic themes: to examine public sector productivity problems that are associated with developing countries evident in Saudi Arabia, to study the relevance of Western perspectives on improving productivity, and to try to derive an appropriate approach toward productivity improvement in Saudi Arabia that is based on these Western perspectives.

To obtain the views of the officials in leadership positions, interviews were conducted with 24 educated and experienced top to middle management personnel in Riyadh and Alkharj in Saudi Arabia in the summer of 1990. In that year, a survey of 503 respondents who consulted government service agencies was conducted. The purpose of the survey was to provide an evaluation of the clients' satisfaction with and the quality of services provided by those agencies, to gauge their perceptions of productivity problems and government effectiveness, and to investigate the effects of the connection phenomenon on the accessibility to government services and employees and on speed of finishing tasks.

There were no shortages of suggestions by those managers interviewed. They offered some methods and experiments for improving productivity. But there was a sense of apathy and frustration among them concerning this matter. The survey indicated the existence of dissatisfaction with the services and their quality. This is more evident among the less educated than among educated respondents. The connection phenomenon plays a major role in speeding tasks, making public employees more accessible to clients, and clients getting better treatment.

Western approaches toward motivating employees are not totally applicable in Saudi Arabia due to its social and cultural values. But a combination of elements from some might be of value, such as Simon's decision making model that is based on available information, the Japanese model with its recognition of human needs. Quality Circles involving of employees, and System 4 participation ideas. In conjunction with some elements of these theories, other sets of recommendations are necessary for improving the performance of the bureaucracy and reducing the dissatisfaction of the people of Saudi Arabia with less-optional bureaucratic performance.

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