Human resource management in city states: Dubai and Singapore

Dubai and Singapore serve as interesting cases for the comparative examination of HRM processes and systems. Both are small city states (Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates—UAE) with extensive government regulation alongside a liberal approach to trade and investment, high rates of economic growth, and a dependence on short-term foreign labor. Both depend upon and encourage trade and investment with low rates of taxation and supportive programs for foreign investment. Singapore is ranked number one (and has done so for nine consecutive years) and the UAE twenty-second out of 189 countries on the Ease of Doing Business Scale (World Bank, 2015). A high Ease of Doing Business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. As a result, many MNEs have situated their regional headquarters in the respective cities.