Building_Dubai

~No Kingdom should be built on the backs of slaves. ~ The Prince Of Egypt: DreamWorks Entertainment Sheik Mohammed’s “vision” of his empirical city exemplifies the three factors of competitive arousal, alongside greed, ambition and a few choice character traits that are less than admirable. There is no refuting that he and his ancestors changed the face of this city-state, and possibly the course of the Middle East with the westernization of this small fishing town in a few tempestuous decades. But was it because his admirable qualities as a “leader” or his self-motivated vision, and intense rivalry to be the best, which placed his creation in the spotlight of the world, and accomplish more in his lifetime than his predecessors' “Israel used to boast it made the desert bloom; Sheikh Maktoum resolved to make the desert boom” (Johann Hari: the Dark Side of Dubai: The Independent: April 2009). And boom it did. Maktoum has a list of accomplishments under his belt ranging from manmade islands to the tallest building erected in history. In accomplishing these feats of wonder, he allowed rivalry to define his task oriented and strongly autocratic leadership style as evidenced from his early years attending Majlis with his grandfather culminating in his ascension to Emir. With this position came dictatorial, and totalitarian control of his subordinates. Did his intense rivalry with the rest of the world drive him to create a better society for all living in Dubai, or for the few select nationals, the Emiratis' Or was it his desire geared toward a capitalistic approach designed to consume as much tourism industry dollars his state could draw to its newly expanded 600-plus miles of coastline rivaling the Spanish coast or Frances’ Riviera' These accomplishments placed his-self, his country, and his subordinates in the spotlight of the world. Intense rivalry is evident in his statement during an interview with Steve Kroft of a CBS’ 60 Minutes special: Dubai Inc. “I want to be number one. Not in the region, but in the world…number one in everything: High education, health, housing…give my people the highest way of living.” (Interview by Steve Kroft). As political and religious leader I’m lead by this statement to believe Maktoum desires to bring the world to his doorstep in an attempt to use western capital to achieve his vision, while maintaining the oppressive control over his subjects at the same time. I am conflicted in my decisions of whether he was a leader, or egotistical-entitled monarch. The spotlight he placed on himself and Dubai during the explosion of growth served to fuel his desire to make winning everything. He is quoted saying, “I want everyone in this country to benefit and to be of benefit at the same time.” I find that hard to believe after examining the case, and discovering what his government permitted to reach his shared vision. How can one be an effective leader when ones ambitions are being built to serve a targeted group of local Emiratis which is less than 17%, and the foreigners and expats that are performing all of the work for that demographic outnumber these nationals almost 9-1' My contention is that one can’t, unless you utilize your power as supreme ruler to subjugate the population into building this empire without a choice. The time pressure associated with reaching this achievement, coupled with his rivalry to be number one, and his goal to show the world and his investors their prosperity, produced some poor decisions. By allowing companies to operate in his kingdom, recruit workers under false pretenses, provide work under a guise of prosperity so they can provide for their families a dream of achieving a better future, all while allowing these companies to deny workers their meager wages, force them to work excessive hours, confine them to deplorable living conditions, confiscate their passports so they cannot leave, or face being arrested, (Sheikh Mohammed and the making of Dubai: Page 10) you do not prove yourself as an effective leader rather a tyrannical one. Did the situation change' Yes, only after state leaders attracted international attention from human rights organizations and the government’s incentive to make such changes so they could join the World Trade Organization, where International Labor Organizations held specific mandates for treatment of workers. (Sheikh Mohammed and the Making of “Dubai, Inc.”). Many Dubai nationals because of the economic and tourist development enjoyed some of the highest standards of living, and GDP per capita of nationals was more than $120,000 (page 13), while the majority of those living, and building Maktoum’s wonderland, were forced to live in the desert, making $1 an hour. Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum did convert his little coastal village into a world-class city. He led his state under his reign to prosperity. His leadership to focus on growth, and rivalry to be the best in the world combined with the presence of the world audience watching, has made a better life, for his native, Emirati, the tourists, and elite clientele they serve verifying a perilous mix of contributing factors of competitive arousal. His conversion of government into a business from a high-level view looks as if he succeeded in maximizing profit potential with minimizing overhead costs, all CEO’s dreams. But under his leadership he segregated two separate classes of people, leading them to a nation built on slavery and indentured servitude, to benefit his state. The cost' His subordinates’ national identity, as his study in the summer of 2008 showed the two most emerging concerns: 1) preserve national identity; 2) increase nationals’ participation in the workforce and society. Could he have diffused these competitive arousals' I believe he could have by managing the explosion of growth at a slower more defined pace. However I don’t believe that was important to him. I believe his concern was production of his legacy, not attending to concerns of his subordinates, until the summer of 2008 when Dubai’s national identity was under threat. ----Leadership: Leadership is the process by which a person exerts influence over other people and inspires, motivates and directs their activities to help achieve the group or organizational goals. Dictatorship and totalitarianism are not leadership. The Dark Side of Dubai: Johann Hari: The Independent: April 2009 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html