THE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCES IN ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURING: PERCEPTIONS OF HRDEPARTMENT, LINE MANAGERS, AND EMPLOYEES

Mohamed Abdulla Al Hammadi

First, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to the Almighty ALLAH, the only one who has given me the opportunity, strength, courage and blessing t pursue this work. Conducting the research and writing this thesis required the patience, persistence, and motivation of many people whom I would like to personally acknowledge. First, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Professor Riyad Eid, for his patience, help, and guidance in completing this research. He was always available and willing to help. I am also grateful to Professor Mohammad Madi, Dr. Rihab Khalifa, and Dr. Mohamed Al Waqfi for their support and value orientation.

At the UAE University, I am grateful to all of the Business and Economics faculty members who provided me with valuable feedback during the years of my research. I am sincerely indebted to the management of the organizations who participated in the survey and provided me with great support. I would also like to sincerely thank those individuals who agreed to be part of this study for their time and support. Many other people- too many to mention individually- contributed in one way or another to this study. To all of you, please accept my sincere and profound gratitude.

Abstract

The process of organizational restructuring is an integral and common aspect that has been integrated into the growth and development of organizations all around the globe. It is mainly undertaken to ensure that organizations are up to date with ever-changing external and internal business environments to improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency. The government of Abu Dhabi emirate has developed a long-term plan to guide the future growth of the emirate (Abu Dhabi 2030). As a result, all of its departments and entities need to align to this strategic plan, which involves change. In many cases, this has forced organizations/entities to restructure.

This study empirically examines and rigorously investigates organizational restructuring covering all of the stages that the organizational restructuring process goes through, starting from the adoption stage, which identifies the main reasons leading organizations to undertake organizational restructuring. Then the study evaluates the role of the HR department in the organizational restructuring implementation and finally, it analyses the perception that line managers, HR department, and organization employees have towards the HR Department’s role played during the organizational restructuring. It takes into consideration government and semi-government entities in Abu Dhabi Emirate, which has undergone restructuring in the last four years. The research methods include desk research and a survey questionnaire given to 307 participants. The study proposes a conceptual framework, which can be used as a guide to improving the management of organizational restructuring including its stages of adoption, implementation, and perception/implications.