Culture Shock, Saudi Arabia, Case Study Example

Education plays a crucial role in the production and growth in economy of Saudi Arabia. The question about whether poverty is a matter of destiny or choice can only best be addressed by engaging every member in the society to education. Education also plays a crucial role in the promotion of critical aspects in the life of the people in the society (Ishac & Maurice, 2002). The aspects include reason and Critical thinking, Liberty and freedom, Participatory democracy and culture, justice, the rule of law, equality in society, accountability, competence and plurality. Education plays a crucial role in promoting economic growth of the country through promoting the real GDP per person and the living standard of citizens and these two features vary widely from country to country. Education is also influential on the growth rate of the country. This is manifested in how rapidly real GDP per person grew in the typical year. The Ranking of countries by income changes substantially over time is the basis of the differences in growth rates.

For example, the United Kingdom is an advanced economy and considers education as an integral part in the process of production. In 2011, its GDP per person was $36,010. A negligible share of the population lives in extreme poverty, defined here as less than $2 a day. A baby born in the United Kingdom can expect a relatively healthy childhood: Only 5 out of 1,000 children dies before reaching age 5. Educational attainment is high in this country. Among children of high school age, 98 percent are in school. Another perfect example of a country that values education due to its contribution in production is Mexico. Mexico is a middle-income country. In 2011, its GDP per person was $15,390. About 5 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day, and 16 out of 1,000 children die before age 5 years. Among those of high school age, 71 percent are in school. On the other hand, Mali has not done enough in promotion of education. Mali is a poor country and with poor education background. In 2011, its GDP per person was only $1,040. Extreme poverty is the norm with more than three-quarters of the population living on less than $2 per day. Life is often cut short and 176 out of 1,000 children die before age 5. And educational attainment in Mali is low. Among those of high school age, only 31 percent are in school (International Monetary Fund, 2013).

Productivity is marked by the quantity of goods and services that are produced from each unit of labor input. Growth in productivity is the key determinant of growth in living standards. An economy’s income is the economy’s output (Long, 2005). The most important determinants of productivity include physical capital per worker, human capital per worker, natural resources per worker. The Knowledge and skills that workers acquire through education, training, and experience also plays a crucial role in production. Technological knowledge is also crucial in production that entails the society’s understanding of the best ways to produce goods and services. Investment in human capital is an important aspect of policy making. A significant gap is prudent between wages of educated and uneducated workers. The Muslim mind lost its ‘ability to give birth to new ideas, to update its institutions, and to produce the planning, means and policies essential to further progress at the civilization level. This has significant implication to the productivity and overall situation of Muslim/Arab world.

According to labor productivity data for Saudi Arabia, employees usually enjoy high wages while working in the government jobs. This consequently attracts Saudis to seek employment in government jobs thus the private sector suffers from shortage of workers. The data also reveals that, there is relative high freedom foe importation of labor, which in turn depresses market wages (International Monetary Fund, 2013).

Education has a crucial role to play in higher productivity in the knowledge economy. Education plays a crucial role in development of skills as well as competency. Education is the source of critical values that are needed in any organization such as team spirit, decision making and reliability (Anthony, 2003). The qualification of the economy in any country to become the ‘knowledge economy’ is the sustainability of innovative knowledge that forms a core segment in the process of national development. Human resource must make use of ICT systems in acquiring as well as disseminating new knowledge. Acquisition of knowledge is crucial in production especially in the era of technological revolution and globalization. Education is there the most crucial driver in economic development. It is therefore prudent to initiate policy measures that are likely to improve the current state of education in the Arab World in general and Saudi Arabia in particular. Education starts at the primary school level, proceeds to the secondary level and finally the tertiary institutions. Each stage of education plays a crucial role in career development. it therefore implies that, one stage depends on the other and therefore it is recommended that equal emphasis is to the primary, secondary as well higher education.

Works cited

Ishac Diwan & Maurice Girgis. Labor Force and Development, 2002 in Saudi Arabia http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/idiwan/files/diwan_on_saudi_labor.pdf

International Monetary Fund . Saudi Arabia: Selected Issues 2013.           https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2013/cr13230.pdfAnthony H. Cordesman, Saudi Arabia Enters the 21st Century, 2003.

Harvey Tripp.  Culture Shock, Saudi Arabia. Singapore: Portland, Oregon: Times Media Private Limited, 2003.

House, Karen Elliott. On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines—and Future. Alfred A. Knopf, 2012.

Long, David E. Culture and Customs of Saudi Arabia, 2005.