Here is a fact to mull over: almost 50 per cent of undergraduate students in the UAE belong to business families but only 22 per cent of them are willing to join and lead their family businesses, as per a recent report titled Next Generation Succession Intention in the UAE.
This leads one to wonder if the education system is doing enough to train undergraduate students to take on leadership roles in the companies, the charge of which could be passed down to them eventually.
The report on the next generation – by the Sheikh Saoud bin Khalid bin Khalid Al Qassimi Chair in Family Business at American University of Sharjah and the Family Business Council Gulf – challenges our understanding of why undergraduate students do not see themselves developing a successful career in their family businesses. These are companies in which two or more family members own and/or manage the firm.
For decades, following the international trend, management education in the UAE has focused on developing undergraduates' skills and capabilities to be employed in organisations where owners are different from the managers. However, the 2008 global financial crisis challenged this traditional educational pattern in the UAE and incorporated in education an entrepreneurial-oriented perspective.
The UAE government has sought to lay the foundations to develop a resilient economy by shifting from the resource-based economic model into a knowledge-based-entrepreneurial one.
However, an entrepreneurial education is not enough to address future challenges. In a country like the UAE, family businesses play an important role in generating and preserving wealth. It is estimated that more than $1 trillion in private wealth is going to pass from one generation to another in the Gulf region in the coming decades. But what about the non-economic wealth, such as the tacit business knowledge that is passed down from parents to children? This includes social networks – relationships that are crucial for business growth, and the emotional endowment that business families invest in their firms, embracing legacy, recognition and family identification.
The effort to develop an entrepreneurial mindset among the country's youth via an entrepreneurial education is necessary and important to develop a diversified and dynamic economy.
The fact is that family businesses matters. Here in the UAE, they are legacy institutions. Big family conglomerates such as Al Futtaim Group, Al Ghurair Group, or Easa Saleh Al Gurg co-exist with small and medium firms such as Suwaidi Pearls and create a unique ecosystem in the country.
A comprehensive understanding of this ecosystem is required to speed up the economic and social transformation and to achieve a knowledge-and entrepreneurial-based economy.
In this context, an education in family business is necessary to preserve and expand the current economic, social, emotional wealth across generations. Competitive firms require cohesive and happy families.
Almost 50 per cent of the undergraduate students in the UAE belong to business families and this percentage increases to 80 per cent for Emirati undergraduate students. Most of them will assume responsibilities as owners, managers, or board of directors or as wealth managers, board members of the business council, or as family philanthropists.
Increasingly, undergraduate students who do not belong to business families, are nonetheless going to go work for family businesses and their professional careers are going to be developed within the boundaries of those businesses. Even if one day some of them create their own companies, it is most probable that support by way of financial, human and emotional assistance will come from their families.
But despite the importance of family businesses for the labour market, the educational system has not fully adapted to societal demands. There are only a few courses offered in family business in UAE-based universities for a small group of students. There is no road map yet defined by the Ministry of Education to create and disseminate solid family business knowledge. To tackle this challenge, family business education in the UAE is needed.
The strong local role of family businesses in today’s economy make them an essential contributor for developing the regional economy. To develop a resilient region, a consolidated model of UAE family businesses will be a good step.
Today’s local business leaders can initiate this debate to raise the awareness of their problems and future challenges. Students must also organise themselves as a group, to share their doubts and challenges and create a solid ecosystem in the UAE, that can then benefit future generations.
The Ministry of education could also implement actions to ensure undergraduate students receive training and develop the knowledge, helping them understand basic practical concepts about how to own, govern, and manage family firms.
Why should the next generation of family members, who study mechanical engineering, art or any other programme, not receive the basic education on how to own, govern and manage family business? Family business education is not only for business students but also for those students with different educational backgrounds, who in the future, may directly or indirectly be connected with their family businesses.
UAE has the opportunity to become an international hub for family business education. It is time to go for it.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The five pillars of Islam
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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MEYDAN CARD
6.30pm Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Conditions Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
7.40pm Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 2,000m
8.15pm Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m
8.50pm The Entisar Listed Dh265,000 (D) 2,000m
9.25pm The Garhoud Sprint Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm Majestic Thunder
7.05pm Commanding
7.40pm Mark Of Approval
8.15pm Mulfit
8.50pm Gronkowski
9.25pm Walking Thunder
10pm Midnight Sands
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Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
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How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
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Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
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If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
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Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.