framework for the implementation of a virtual design studio model in ...

professional background, with no restrictions of any kind on their
decisions.
The UAE is an economy that depended on simple trades before the
discovery of oil. This kind of trade that included fishing, pearl diving and
simple trade forced the kind of work culture that requires a collaborative
nature. The pearl divers used to travel in groups for months choosing a
leader to direct the whole trip called the “Nokhatha” which means the
captain of the ship. This kind of management can be classified using
Handy‟s gods as the Apollo God or the role culture. The Nokhatha is
the person in power who usually owns the ship and the divers are his
employees. The pearls then get traded to India where they are
industrialised and resold to the other parts of the world. 143 After the
discovery of oil, the UAE government launched plans to build its
infrastructure. Due to the lack of professional skills among UAE
nationals the development plans depended of the experiences and skills
of expatriates. These experts originate from different countries from all
around the world. Each individual exported his own culture of work that
they practiced in their home countries. This resulted in the variety of
management styles in the UAE. Yet, the role culture remained the
dominating work culture among UAE nationals. This type of culture
dominated in the UAE until lately when the ambitious government of the
UAE stated its mission for excellence achievements. This goal can only
be achieved by applying the right culture in the right place. A mixture of
cultures is required as opposed to a dominance of a certain culture.
3.4 IT Infrastructure in the UAE
The UAE has been classified as a country with a very strong IT
infrastructure 144 . The huge interest in the use of IT in education
motivated the HE institutes in the UAE to adopt a „laptop‟ strategy as in
the case of Zayed University and the UAEU‟s Laptop Strategy. This
strategy encourages the student to own a laptop each and facilitate
143 Abd Al-Rahman, A. (1990). The UAE in the memory of its people. (in Arabic). UAE writers union.
144 Vodanovich, S., Urquhart, C., Shakir, M. (2010). op.cit p1-21.
55