PurposeTo give insight into human resource (HR) policy makers of the impact of the abrupt change in working conditions as reported from their primary stakeholders – the employees.Design/methodology/approachReported from a first-person point of view, 192 employees from Kuwait who are currently working from home were surveyed as to how the lockdown circumstances have impacted their conventional work expectations. The study compares the old working conditions (OWC) to the current working conditions (CWC) to give insight into the overall sentiments of the abrupt changes to the workplace.FindingsIt was found that most employees agreed that OWC need to be reviewed, and that the general sentiment was almost equally split on the efficiency of CWC in comparison to OWC, yet the majority was enjoying the flexible conditions. Moreover, the majority of respondents found that overall conventional work elements either remained the same or had been impacted positively rather than negatively. Also, if given an option of a hybrid model inclusive of partly working remotely and partly working on-site, a considerable majority reported that they are able to efficiently conduct atleast 80% of their work expectation. Finally, it was found that employee expectation is changing as they consider post COVID-19 conditions.Research limitations/implicationsThis research was conducted using virtual crowd-sourcing methods to administer the survey and may have been enhanced should other methods have been integrated for data gathering. Also, a more comprehensive phenomenological approach could have been incorporated to add a qualitative method to the investigation. This could have freed the results of answer limitation and experience bias. Moreover, it is good practice to involve both quantitative and qualitative elements to any research when possible. Finally, future research can benefit from a bigger pool of participants so as to gain a clearer picture.Originality/valueThis research will give policy makers a look at what needs to be reviewed/changed for a successful roll-out of remote work in accordance with their original strategies.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the correlation between academic performance and attendance of e-learning, away from the conventional classroom setting.Design/methodology/approachThe study investigates the impact of attendance in the final grades of 389 undergraduate first- and second-year undergraduates taking Business Management classes online for the first time over the span of three consecutive academic semesters during an academic year.FindingsThe results show that there was a negative correlation between attendance and grades. However, splitting the results by year provided some insightful information as there was a difference between the relationships for first- and second-year students. Therefore, it can be concluded that both attendance and the year of the students did have a statistically significant influence on grades.Originality/valueAlthough the impact of students' attendance on their academic performance has not been the subject of extensive research, especially in the field of Management studies and in an online delivery medium, it is likely to be of interest to academics and policymakers as the pandemic continues to make e-learning more popular.

Background: The Gulf region is notorious for importing Asian laborers for blue-collar work due to the cheap costs associated with it. With many languages and cultural barriers present, understanding the needs of these workers and their preferred methods of communication has proven to be a challenge. Their ways are often misinterpreted, both collectively and individually. From years of observation, these mishaps are primarily due to the lack of understanding and resources available to investigate such issues, especially in masses. Team effectiveness and efficiency depend on numerous factors, such as structure, competencies of team members, commitment, collaboration, support, benchmarks of perfection, and leadership qualities. It is the most important component; the individuals can benefit from an evaluation of how each of their unique characteristics can contribute to the whole. Thus, we investigate the personality type and see if it has an association with their ethnicity, as well as correlations to their individual team roles. Objective: The study aims to find relationships between ethnicity and personality types in order to enhance their value creation in the workplace. Also, if there are correlations between them and team roles, managers will be better equipped when making decisions regarding team building and cohesiveness. Methods: Each participant was given the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality type and Belbin team role type computer-based questionnaires. Based on the test results, the participants were divided on the basis of their ethnicity, having one personality among 16 personalities and the team-work role played. The ethnicity, personality type, and the team-work role played were measured in terms of frequency. The hypothesis was tested to determine the relationship among the variables of the study, and cross-tabulation was done among personality and team-work roles to determine the association between them. Results: The test results indicated a significant relationship between ethnicity and personality type, however, personality type and ethnicity do not impact the team role. From the outcome of the research conducted and the use of several types of statistical analysis, it can be concluded that there is a significant relationship between personality and ethnicity type. As observed, the findings are as follows: - Egyptians are primarily (42%) ISTPs and secondarily ENFJs (25%). - In Indians, the most frequent type is ISTJ, with an occurrence of 52%. - Lebanese are most frequently ESTPs (46%). - In Filipinos, the most frequent type is ENFP, with 31%. Although the test results indicated that there is a significant relationship between ethnicity and personality type, however, personality type and ethnicity do not impact the team role. Furthermore, it was observed that ENFP personality types were complete finishers, coordinators and monitor evaluators in a team. ESTP personality types were implementers, team-workers and specialists. ISTP played the role of plant, investigator, or specialist. ISTJ was observed to be shapers. Conclusion: The combined instruments will help break cross-cultural barriers and allow for a better understanding of ethnicity and stigmas, which may subconsciously exist, both projected by the individual and perceived by the receiver.

Once exposed, the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented pressure on all sectors causing many temporarily closures and organizations working from home. Daily norms were interrupted and further complicated with the declaration of quarantine curfews worldwide. One major sector which has been greatly impacted is the education sector. Due to the nature of its complicated infrastructure, all stakeholders were heavily affected as the world turned to online learning for solutions. By doing so, many educational institutes were able to continue with their teaching, even with strict social distancing measures in place. Although remote learning is not a new concept in the education sector, it is a new concept in Kuwait. In this chapter, a thorough review is given on the strategy which Kuwait's universities adopted as they prepared for distance learning for the first time throughout the country. Khan's 8-element VLE model will be used as a reference.

The MENA region needs to diversify and move towards building knowledge-based economies so that their participation in the human capital of the world can be improved. At present, despite an above average allocation of public spending on the education sector, the returns in terms of jobs and educational quality are not seen. Several challenges like unemployment, poor quality of education, lack of private sector jobs, inability to leverage on technology for increasing the scope of education, war and immigrant crises, and centralized control over education are acting as barriers in the improvement of efficiency of educational systems and hence, the human capital. This paper provides an overview of the current status of key indicators in the region regarding the subject and examines possible relationships between the proxies. This study aims at examining critically how education systems have contributed to downturn in socioeconomic development in the MENA region. It also suggestsa framework based on possible solutions that can allow the region to finally realize the returns on its investments in the education sector. The dependent variable of this study was Human Quality Investment in MENA region while the explanatory variables were; use of technology in learning, centralized control, regional threat, common language, information technology in education, unemployment rate and quality of education.