‘Herding cats’? Challenges to effective HRM in Jordanian higher education institutions

ABSTRACT

Studies debating the applicability of conventional human resource management to higher education institutions relating to particular characteristics of academic staff members and their roles have not considered Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan. This research explores challenges to incorporating effective human resource management in Jordanian higher education institutions based on in-depth interviews with 21 academics with experience working in public and private universities in Jordan. Five major challenges were identified: (1) the lack of a comprehensive evaluation system for academics; (2) the negligence of the significant role human resources departments may play; the nature and characteristics of academic institutions themselves; (3) the underdevelopment of human resource management practice in Jordan; (4) the ethos of academic staff members; and (5) the role of wasta (a local variant of nepotism) in influencing various human resource-related decisions. This paper provides unique insights on the successful management of human resources in academic institutions locally, regionally, and possibly internationally, giving due consideration to contextual factors (e.g. national culture) that affect operations. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are presented at the end of the paper.

KEYWORDS:

• Human resource management
• challenges
• higher education
• Jordan

Nomenclature

Human Resource Management (HRM)

Human Resource (HR)

Higher Education (HE)

Higher Education Institution (HEI)

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

New Public Management (NPM)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Arwa Al-Twal

Arwa Al-Twal Holds a Ph.D. degree in Human Resources Management from the University of South Wales, UK. She is currently a full-time Assistant Professor and a Chairperson of the Human Resources Management department in the Faculty of Business and Finance at the American University of Madaba, Jordan. There, she offers lectures on International HRM, HR planning, strategic management, and business ethics. Her research interests include performance appraisal and performance management within Higher Education context, cross-cultural management, Wasta, Social capital, HRM in the Middle East, and women career development. Arwa has participated in a number of local and international conferences and has published articles on HRM, Wasta, and women career development.