Work Outcome Preferences of Muslim and Jewish Managers in Israel:  Analyzing the Differences According to the Individualism-collectivism Model

Moshe Sharabi; Ilan Shdema; Oriana  Abboud-Armaly

doi:10.29333/ejecs/1511

Authors

Moshe Sharabi Yezreel Valley Academic College https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8570-8769
Ilan Shdema Department of MA Studies in Organizational Development and Consulting, Yezreel Valley Academic College https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9791-480X
Oriana Abboud-Armaly Department of MA Studies in Organizational Development and Consulting, Yezreel Valley Academic College https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7883-0854

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/1511

Keywords:

work outcome preferences (WOPs), managers, Muslims, Jews, culture, Israel

Abstract

While there is an increasing number of Muslim managers in Western countries, to the best of our knowledge no study has compared their work values to those of managers of other religions. The present study compares work outcome preferences (WOPs) of Muslim and Jewish managers in Israel, a Western country where Muslims constitute a substantial but marginalized minority. The methodology involves questionnaires administrated to 100 Muslim and 253 Jewish managers. The findings indicate significant differences between Muslim and Jewish managers across all work outcome preferences examined. While both groups view income as the most important value, Muslims have emphasized, in addition, serving society and status and prestige, whereas among Jews interest and satisfaction and interpersonal connections are more highly valued. The value differences between the two ethnoreligious groups can be explained mainly by cultural differences – individualism vs. collectivism. Implications are discussed in the context of labor market integration of minorities.

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Author Biographies

Moshe Sharabi, Yezreel Valley Academic College

Moshe Sharabi earned his Ph.D. at the University of Haifa; he is an associate professor at the Sociology and Anthropology Department and former head of MA studies in Organizational Developing and Consulting, Yezreel Valley Academic College. His current research interests include human resource management, religions, gender, cross sectional and cross-cultural comparative research on work values. He is the editor of the book: Generational Differences in Work Values and Ethics: An International Perspective and his studies have been published in varied international journals including International Labour Review, International Journal of Psychology, Cross Cultural Management, Employee Relations and Sociological Perspectives.

Ilan Shdema, Department of MA Studies in Organizational Development and Consulting, Yezreel Valley Academic College

Ilan Shdema (Ph.D.) is a faculty member in the department of Human Services at the Yezreel Valley Academic College, Israel. His research areas include integration of ethnic minorities in recipient labour markets and ethnic relations with emphasis on the Arab society in Israel. He is the author of Jewish-Arab interrelation in the mixed cities Lod and Ramla, Ideology vs. day-to-day life. Jerusalem: Carmel Publ. and his work has been published in a large array of journal such as: Urban Studies, Islam and Christian-Muslin Relations; Urban Geography; Employee Relations and Papers in Regional Science.

Oriana Abboud-Armaly, Department of MA Studies in Organizational Development and Consulting, Yezreel Valley Academic College

Oriana Abboud Armaly (Ph.D.) is an expert researcher in the field of identity-based conflict. She is a joint head of the Center for Diversity and Intergroup Conflict Studies, a fellow researcher at the Action Research and Social justice Centre, and a faculty member in the Department of MA Studies in Organizational Development and Consulting at the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College. Oriana is also a senior organizational consultant with experience assisting organizations in the areas of leadership, organizational learning and crisis management. Fields: Identity, Intercultural and inter-group relations, Intra group conflict, Dialogue, Minorities, Organizational learning, Qualitative Research and action research.

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