The Effects of Utilizing Social Media Tools During Crisis from Public Relations Practitioners\u27 Views in the UAE

Despite growing interest in social media over the last few years all over the world, there is a lack of empirical studies on the extent to which PR practitioners in the UAE are using social media tools, and in particular, during crisis. Consequently, this study is designed to bridge this gap in research. The study aims to bring to attention the dynamics of using social media among public PR practitioners during crisis in one of the Gulf countries -countries that have different economic, social and political contexts. The current study is considered one of the pioneer studies in the public relations\u27 field in the UAE which aims to investigate how public relations practitioners are using social media tools in crisis. It also explores public relations practitioners\u27 perceptions and attitudes towards using social media during crisis. A random sample of 160 PR practitioners was selected from different public and private organizations in the UAE. The results indicated that PR practitioners are active and heavy social media users in their organizations during crisis. Furthermore, the study confirmed that the most commonly used communication strategies were compensation, corrective action and justification. Additionally, the study suggested that the organization\u27s websites and Twitter were the most effective social media tools used during a crisis

THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SOFT POWER IN THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS CONTEXT

In the modern world, soft power is a significant concept referring to nations’ ability to influence others without the need to use force or threats. Developed nations have made a great effort to enhance their soft power practices in order to utilize this power to influence fellow nations. The United Arab Emirates’ soft power is still considered a relatively new area of practical academic discipline. Nonetheless, the UAE\u27s soft power practices remain essential in determining its position on the global scale. To develop a soft-power strategy, objectives and needs must be outlined. To address these objectives and needs, mixed-method research was conducted to (1) determine the UAE’s citizens’ perception of the effect of soft-power practices (humanitarian aid, economic diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, academic diplomacy) and media framing on international relations, and (2) explore the best soft-power practices to improve the UAE’s image internationally from the point of view of UAE’s diplomats and citizens. First, a quantitative survey of 300 citizens stratified from seven Emirates from the UAE was administered online using SurveyMonkey. Data analysis for the main hypothesis was tested using the Spearman’s Rho correlation and indicated that citizens perceived that a higher level of soft power practices will promote the UAE internationally and that media framing increases the level of soft power. However, the relationship between cultural diplomacy and international relations, as well as framing and cultural diplomacy, were higher than the other factors examined. At the end of the survey, respondents were asked to suggest the best soft power policies to strengthen the UAE\u27s image internationally. The responses were analyzed thematically using ATLAS.ti. The following factors were ranked based on effectiveness: (1) cultural diplomacy, (2) media mediation effect, (3) foreign diplomacy, (4) nation branding, (5) economic diplomacy, (6) educational diplomacy, (7) humanitarian aids, and (8) sports diplomacy were explored using a thematic analysis of citizens\u27 point of view. Second, a qualitative study was conducted through an interview with twenty diplomats to rate the generated factors. Applying thematic analysis using the ATLAS.ti, shows that all diplomats agreed that cultural diplomacy is one of the most effective forms of soft power, which confirms the citizens\u27 point of view. The diplomats were also asked to rate the effectiveness of the eight factors of soft power extracted from the survey, of which the results show that all were rated as highly effective. However, among the eight factors, the foreign diplomacy initiatives were rated as most effective, and the media mediation factors were rated as least effective. In conclusion, the UAE must continuously measure its citizens’ perception to continuously stay informed about which areas require focus concerning its soft-power strategy

Strategy and Profitability: Managing Profits in Inflation Economy

The inflation rate in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) rose to 5-year highs in 2014 and higher by 28% in the first half of 2015. This situation has challenged business managers to sustain business goals. Guided by Kaplan and Norton\u27s balanced scorecard framework. the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies business managers use to maintain profitability with rising operating costs. Two organizations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates were purposefully sampled for this multiple case study. Data were collected through multiple semistructured interviews of a single senior manager from each organization, then triangulated with company e-mails and focus group interviews of 2 junior managers from each of the organizations. All data were analyzed using a 5-phased cycle of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding to understand the emerging patterns. The themes revealed cost reduction initiatives and revenue enhancements initiatives as the key strategies used by the business managers. The approach and direction used in these strategies showed variance based on cost and revenue drivers of the organizations. The findings of the study can be a guide for business managers to understand the essence of effective business strategies that counter challenging economic environments, thus sustaining profitability and developing additional employment opportunities for the surrounding community

The Use of Social Media by PR Practitioners and Organizations in Saudi Arabia

This study examines and analyses how social media are being used for PR practice in Saudi Arabia, and how organizations integrate social media into their PR communication. Three research methods were consequently adopted: a survey to gather data from 117 PR practitioners, an online questionnaire conducted with 20 PR practitioners, and one-on-one interviews with senior PR managers from four organizations, and five Saudi academics. This research compares the use of social media with traditional methods of PR communication, finding that PR practitioners and organizations mainly use social media for their low cost, and prompt and wide dissemination of information. The findings also indicate Twitter as the most important and most frequently used platform across the entire study sample, followed by YouTube, and Facebook. Additionally, the findings show that the main purpose for using social media in PR in Saudi Arabia is to collect information about customers and products, but PR practitioners and organizations rarely use social media to build new relationships or to communicate with clients and stakeholders. Likewise, it was found that the use of social media did not differ across organizations of different sizes and sectors. Furthermore, the findings revealed that traditional media are valuable for PR practitioners and organizations in Saudi Arabia, with TV, radio and newspapers representing essential tools of PR communication, while social media form part of the same media pie, sharing the budget and adopting the same strategies as traditional media. Moreover, the main challenge encountered by the PR practitioners and organizations was the management of online interaction and exchange with the public. Here, the practitioners generally avoided engaging with online communities, partly due to their limited ability to develop suitable content, and partly because of their inability to use the proper Arabic dialogue or dialect as a means of engaging with the public to build and maintain relationships

THE IMPACT OF THE WIKI-ENHANCED TBLT APPROACH ON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL IN A BOYS’ PUBLIC SCHOOL IN AL AIN, UAE

This study investigated the impact of the wiki-enhanced task-based language teaching (TBLT) approach on students’ writing skill in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, it explored the students’ and teacher’s views and perceptions toward the implementation of the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach. The study data were collected quantitatively and qualitatively from two classrooms in a public high school in the UAE, which consisted of 30 students. The quantitative data were collected via a pretest–posttest design from the two assigned groups of students: the control and experimental groups. The qualitative data were collected via a survey of the students and a semi-structured interview with the teacher. The study was conducted during a whole academic semester. The findings of the study show that implementing the wiki-enhanced TBLT technique considerably improves EFL learners’ writing skills in relation to the four language components examined in this study: syntactic complexity, grammatical accuracy, fluency, and lexical complexity. In addition, the students enjoyed working together on writing tasks using the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach. Their responses showed that the TBLT approach encourages better performance in collaborative writing tasks and classroom engagement. Moreover, the classroom teachers indicated that the implementation of this approach played a significant role in promoting students’ performance, communication, collaboration, and engagement in the target language (English) in the experimental group. Furthermore, the findings showed that students can construct new knowledge with the aid of their peers, thereby improving their capacity to devise and discuss original ideas. As students can practice collaborative writing while at home, the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach is beneficial for online learning. Adopting this approach increased students’ participation in class because they were more comfortable working together while using technology, improving the quality of their writing and assignments. Several theoretical and pedagogical implications regarding the implementation of this approach have been drawn. The first theoretical implication of this study is that the wiki approach supports previous efforts to move the socio constructivist perspective of learning from the spoken discourse to the written discourse. The second theoretical implication is that it provides support to Chapelle\u27s framework (2003) where learning should be focused on tasks that require the use of the target language. Learning should take place in meaningful and real-life contexts, and instruction should be tailored to the individual needs of the learner. The third theoretical implication is that his study is the first to be conducted in the Gulf region, especially in the UAE. Regarding the pedagogical implications of the TBLT approach, the first pedagogical implication is that teachers need to consider the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach a standard and favored classroom strategy. The second pedagogical implication is that the wiki approach can be used by teachers as a teaching strategy to promote students’ participation and engagement and create a friendly social environment in the L2 classroom. The third pedagogical implication is that technology has proved to be integral in the classroom in teaching and learning the target language. The fourth pedagogical implication is for course designers who need to consider the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach as part of the curriculum. Based on these findings, future research can consider examining the effect of the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach on EFL learners’ writing skill at different levels, such as primary, college, or university students. Future research might also investigate the effect of Google Docs–based TBLT approach on developing students’ writing skill and explore students’ perceptions toward using this approach

Attaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage in Dubai\u27s Real Estate Industry

Real estate business leaders who fail to attain and sustain competitive advantage to increase profitability during periods of unstable or declining markets, experience either lost profits or bankruptcy. In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the brokerage market is saturated with over 5,000 active brokers and more than 2,000 registered real estate offices. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that successful leaders of Dubai medium-sized real estate businesses implemented to attain and sustain competitive advantage to increase profitability during periods of unstable or declining markets. The population for the study included business leaders of 4 medium-sized real estate businesses in Dubai, who had successfully implemented competitive advantage strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with the 4 leaders and from artifacts such as the company websites and social media pages. The conceptual framework for this study was the strength-weakness-opportunity-threat analysis technique. Inductive analysis was used to code and identify themes in the collected data, and the trustworthiness of interpretations was supported by member checking. Four themes emerged: reduce operating costs, execute corporate real estate management, promote corporate social responsibility, and utilize human capital. Findings from this study could contribute to positive social change by providing real estate business leaders with insights regarding strategy implementations necessary for attaining and sustaining competitive advantage and increasing financial independence, thereby promoting the culture and strengthening the local economy