Page 213 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

Building Your Team: Human Capital Strategies for the GCC 195

GCC insiders can relate many such stories and are increasingly
wary of noncommitted expatriates. While such exploitative behav-
ior is clearly blameworthy, GCC leaders must also acknowledge
that the alienating labor practices of the Gulf have a hand in foster-
ing a short-term outlook on the part of expatriate workers.

THE LABOR CRUNCH: NATIONALIZATION
PROGRAMS ROOTED IN DEMOGRAPHIC
PRESSURES
Demographic change is one of the key drivers that make the GCC
market more attractive than ever before. Population trends have led
to a vibrant GCC market that includes a growing number of youths
and young adults. The GCC consumer is more sophisticated and
better educated than before, with access to global information and
brands. As we have argued throughout this book, attractive
demographic shifts represent a core element in the Opportunity
Formula for multinational firms operating in the Gulf.
One tool often used by demographers to analyze population
shifts is a graph called a “population pyramid.” A population pyra-
mid graphs the number of people within each age group (ages 0–4,
5–9, etc.) and reveals which age groups are more highly represented
within the population. Figure 7.3 depicts a population pyramid for
the United States, based on 2005 census data.

Figure 7.3 United States population pyramid, 2005 (Source: US Census
Bureau, International Database)