Diversity, fluidity and threats to social identity: The case of ELT in Oman

Abstract

The developing structure of Omani higher education sector sustains its dependence on culturally diverse staff body that constitutes a majority as opposed to locals. This creates unique group composition that is inconsistent with the largely Omanizing workplace context. Drawing on data gathered from a case study, this paper explores the effects of group instability resulting from faculty's cultural diversity on establishing a group's social identity. The findings of the study suggest that cultural diversity is associated with a number of factors that impede longevity within a group thus affecting identification with a common prototype. These factors include human resources management practices, such as outsourcing recruitment, inconsistent recruitment standards, low faculty agility and a number of individual factors that forefront individual identity. The paper concludes by arguing that the absence of social identity in higher education hinders establishing an intellectual capital in Omani higher education that aims to promote research and innovation as cornerstones for establishing a knowledge-based economy. The findings have implications to the GCC contexts that are characterised by depending on largely culturally diverse workforce.