“…Oman's position in the Global Competitiveness Index (2106/2017) dropped from 62 to 66 of 138 countries, with its higher education ranked at 85 and the skills of its current workforce ranked 82 of 138 countries (Schwab, 2017). on the differences in HR practices across GCC countries and attributed to cultural factors (Aycan et al, 2007, Katou et al, 2010, Leat and El-Kot, 2007, the Islamic religion (Budhwar et al 2010), employment policies and their impact on the dual labour market (Bashir, 2012, Forstenlechner et al, 2012. Some Omani organisations have shown strong interest in developing strategic HR responses, but they struggle to define a suitable indigenous approach and struggle to align these with the influences of Islam, civil service laws, social elites and the expatriate workforce (Al-Hamadi et al, 2007;Khan, 2011).…”