Studies show investment in leadership
development yields results in financial
performance, talent attraction and
retention, organizational agility, and
employee productivity.
1. A Driving Force in the
Knowledge Economy
How the Government and Businesses of the
United Arab Emirates are Creating a Vision
for Success
2. A knowledge economy, like the one developing in the
UAE, survives on producing and distributing workers’
knowledge and the information gleaned from technolog-
ical resources. More importantly, a knowledge economy
thrives when those resources come together through
research and development to make jobs more efficient.
Effects of the Knowledge
Economy on Workers
It’s often assumed that because the knowledge economy
prospers around a base of highly-skilled workers that
other sectors with low-skilled workers suffer job losses
and other detrimental consequences. However, this is not
the case. While it’s true that some jobs were affected by
the rise of this economy, it’s also true that the knowledge
economy performs at its best when advancements created
by thought leaders filter to all levels of employment. This
creates growth in all sectors and at all levels, including
leadership.5
And growth is a key goal. But who and what does it take
to reach a place where low-skilled workers truly benefit
from the advancements and discoveries made by those
highly-skilled thought leaders at the top of the pyramid?
THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
While it sounds like the knowledge economy is driven
solely by private enterprise, the reality is government
plays a large role in its promotion and advancement. Ac-
cording to the paper “A plan for growth in the knowledge
economy” by The Work Foundation, a part of Lancaster
University that is a leading provider of research-based
analysis, “The world economy is changing at an unprece-
dented rate. The forces of globalization and technological
progress are altering the way that people all over the
Knowledge, or intellectual capital, is a resource that
cannot be easily quantified by accountants, and yet,
its influence is being felt more and more in companies
around the globe as they shift their focus to stay relevant
in what is being called the knowledge economy.1
This term
has been thrown around since the 1960s, but has come
into popularity more recently as companies have begun
to harvest data in place of the natural resources that once
drove economic growth.2
Gone are the days when agriculture and industry drove
many economies. Even the mass-production economy
is being outpaced because the way we think about and
engineer products is changing.3
“A new car today is less
and less the product of metal fabrication and more a smart
machine that uses computer technology to integrate safe-
ty, emissions, entertainment, and performance.”4
Therefore, the old saying ‘knowledge is power’ translated
into today’s digital landscape is more apt to be ‘knowledge
is money.’ Knowledge and technology are taking over
the way we plan, invent, research, and conduct busi-
ness. Since the development of personal computers, the
Internet, e-mail, and
other technological
improvements, soci-
ety continually wants
more advancement,
faster.4
What results
is a society that has
shifted to wanting
something that
doesn’t rust, spoil,
or deteriorate over
time – knowledge.16
THE COMMODITIZATION
OF KNOWLEDGE
This is why in places like the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
knowledge is swiftly becoming one of the most sought
after commodities, and it is hard to imagine a more ideal
one. It cannot be used up. It cannot be depleted. When
it is shared, it increases and expands.3
Put another way,
knowledge begets knowledge. When a company makes
an investment in learning and skills, they strengthen the
economy by giving their employees the tools needed to
add value to their organizations whilst also setting up
a framework to have those benefits filter to other sectors.
It is easy to see why the knowledge economy is becoming
more and more imbedded into our culture and business
style and why it’s flourishing.
The old saying
‘knowledge is power’
translated into today’s
digital landscape
is more apt to be
‘knowledge is money.’
A knowledge economy survives on
producing and distributing workers’
knowledge and the information
gleaned from technological resources.
More importantly, a knowledge
economy thrives when those
resources come together through
research and development to make
jobs more efficient.
2
3. planet make a living. Some coun-
tries, especially in the emerging
world, are using this wave of change
to drive rapid growth in their econ-
omies. Other countries, including
many in the Eurozone, are struggling
to come to terms with these funda-
mental shifts in the global economic
order.”5
Essentially, entire coun-
tries are affected by this economy,
illustrating that businesses are not
the only key players and that they
cannot succeed on their own.
So how can government and business come together to ensure they flourish in today’s knowledge
economy?
First, it takes time. No individual, business, or country can become a success overnight. There is
a great deal of planning and collaboration that must come into play before any group can start ex-
ploring how the knowledge economy can benefit them. In fact, for many countries, this is a discus-
sion and collaboration that has been years in the making.
The paper “A plan for growth in the knowledge economy,” first released in 2011 after two years of
initial research, says, “By 2020, the UK economy will have successfully recovered the output lost
during the 2008/09 recession and will be experiencing sustained economic growth. Unemploy-
ment will have returned to pre-recession levels. This prosperity will have been driven by sustained
growth in the UK’s knowledge economy.”5
Not only did the initial research take two years, but the culmination of all this planning isn’t expect-
ed to be fully in play until 2020. This is why it is so important for businesses and governments to
start putting down roots now. The longer they wait, the further behind they will grow.
FOUR PILLARS OF THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
The next steps companies and countries need to focus on in order to succeed are what The World
Bank calls the four pillars of the knowledge economy:
• Economic Incentive and Institutional Regime
• Innovation and Technological Adoption
• Education and Training
• Information and Communications Technologies Infrastructure7
Economic Incentive and Institutional Regime centers around the idea that governments and
leaders must not only be open to entrepreneurship and creating and sharing new knowledge, but
they must actively promote it.6
In this way, governments must lead by example and encourage
businesses to follow suit. Looking at what tariffs, regulations, and laws are in place can sometimes
indicate how open countries are to this particular pillar.6
“The world economy is changing at
an unprecedented rate. The forces
of globalization and technological
progress are altering the way that
people all over the planet make
a living.” –The Work Foundation,
Lancaster University
3
4. dom to digest and process it as a means of creating more
useful data and technologies.
The four pillars create an environment
where government, employees, and
ordinary citizens not only have access
to information, but have the freedom
to digest and process it as a means
of creating more useful data and
technologies.
A MODEL FOR SUCCESS:
THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
One country that not only understands the four pillars, but
is modeling them successfully is the United Arab Emirates.
As part of the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda, the UAE
is putting concrete plans into place to assure the country
becomes a front-runner in the knowledge economy.
Innovation and Technological Adoption means that
universities, consultants, think tanks, entrepreneurs, and
other inventors must have access to knowledge in order
to create value.6
This could be measured by indicators like
the number of journal articles published or the number of
patents granted. 6
Education and Training plays up the idea that in order for a
country or company to have the highly-skilled workers who
lead the knowledge economy, there needs to be available
education to develop employees and citizens into these
leaders.6
This can be measured by looking at factors like
school enrollment rates and adult literacy rates. 6
The Information and Communications Technologies
Infrastructure needs to be one that allows for direct and
efficient communication between groups. This includes
looking at how many people have computers, phones,
and Internet connections so that information can be pro-
cessed and shared.6
Overall, these four pillars create an environment where
government, employees, and ordinary citizens not only
have access to information, but where they have the free-
FOUR PILLARS OF THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
Economic Incentive and Institutional Regime
Governments and leaders must be open to and actively promote
entrepreneurship and the creation and sharing of new knowledge.6
Innovation and Technological Adoption
Universities, consultants, think tanks, entrepreneurs, and other
inventors must have access to knowledge in order to create value.6
Education and Training
Education must be available in order to develop the highly-skilled
workforce needed to lead the economy.6
Information and Communications Technologies
Infrastructure
Infrastructure must allow for direct and efficient communication.6
4
5. Economic Incentive and
Institutional Regime
The UAE is succeeding at the first pillar, Economic In-
centive and Institutional Regime, by actively supporting
and promoting the UAE Vision 2021. This agenda plans
to focus “on the UAE becoming the economic, touristic,
and commercial capital for more than two billion people by
transitioning to a knowledge-based economy, promoting
innovation and research and development, strengthening
the regulatory framework for key sectors, and encouraging
high value-adding sectors. These will improve the coun-
try’s business environment and increase its attractiveness
to foreign investment.” 8
Not only is the UAE forward thinking in this matter, but
they are building toward results. “Sound economic policies
and development strategies have allowed the UAE to
achieve a prominent status in the world economy.” 28
In the
2011-2012 Global Competitiveness Index, the UAE ranked
27th. 34
In the 2014-2015 rankings, they have moved up
to 12th place, and they rank first for the Middle East and
North Africa regions.28, 33, 34
By supporting entrepreneurs
5
As reported by the World Economic Forum, these rankings were determined by
assessment of more than 140 economies across the globe.34
2011-2012 2014-2015
Global Competitive Index Ranking 27 12
Basic Requirements 10 2
Institutions 22 7
Infrastructure 8 3
Macroeconomic environment 11 5
Health and primary education 41 38
Efficiency enhancers 25 14
Higher education and training 33 6
Goods market efficiency 10 3
Labor market efficiency 28 8
Financial market development 33 17
Technological readiness 30 24
Innovation and sophistication factors 27 21
Business sophistication 23 14
Innovation 28 24
HOW THE UAE RANKS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
and business start-ups, the UAE will continue to see
results like these that point toward success in a
knowledge economy.
Innovation and Technological Adoption
The UAE meets the demands of the second pillar, Inno-
vation and Technological Adoption, by striving “to instill an
entrepreneurial culture in schools and universities to foster
generations endowed with leadership, creativity, respon-
sibility, and ambition. This will allow the UAE to be among
the best in the world in ease of doing business, innovation,
entrepreneurship, and R&D indicators.”8
They also plan to
establish themselves as an academic hub by attracting top
professors so that students will have access to the very
thought leaders who are responsible for writing and ad-
vancing the journals and ideas which are driving success
in other countries.30
However, they are already seeing
improvements. According to the Global Competitiveness
Index, in 2011-2012 they ranked 28th for Innovation. 35
In 2014-2015, they’d moved up to 24th. 36
6. developing.20
The UAE is on the right track, and theirs is a
prime example to follow because they implemented their
plan in 2010 and are continuing to build upon it to reach
their goal of thriving in the knowledge economy.
Investing For Success in the
Knowledge Economy
While advanced planning with a focus on the four pillars
factors into success, there are steps businesses and
governments can take now to get on track and follow the
example set by the UAE.
Education Investment
Countries can take the first step by actively nurturing
highly-skilled workers. They can ensure their educational
systems present classes consistent with the skills students
will need as they transition to employees. Further, “uni-
versities need to carry out constant assessment of their
own performance, strive to recruit the very best staff, and
invest heavily in research.” 23
Only through a combination
of the right courses with the right professors will a country
organically develop the talent they will need to make them
leaders in this economy.
Banks in the UAE recognize this. “One of the biggest
challenges facing the banks today, and Islamic banks
in particular, is a shortage of skilled professionals who
will become the next-generation of banking leaders and
administrators. Today, the demand for banking skills is
outstripping [supply], and there is a pressing need to
supplement the existing education and training programs
to provide the necessary talent to support the growing de-
mand for banking services.” 24
But, like any thought leader
of the knowledge economy, they also recognize what it will
take to correct this. “It is time for the nation’s banking in-
dustry to take the long-term view when it comes to having
a skilled and knowledgeable talent pool. And that means
corporate financial education in different forms — short-
term training based on the needs of the banks, as well as
long-term undergraduate and diploma degrees.” 24
The Case for National Hiring
Countries need to take nurturing students one step further
and help assure them jobs will be available to them. “The
UAE and the Middle East once attracted foreign white-collar
workers in droves.”25
But those days are gone since some
groups in the UAE and surrounding countries now require
that nationals be hired for positions. “There is a definite pref-
erence in certain sectors like banking, where there is high
demand for nationals. Moreover, some positions in certain
Education and Training
The UAE is succeeding at the third pillar, Education and
Training, by emphasizing “the development of a first-rate
education system, which will require a complete trans-
formation of the current education system and teaching
methods.” 21
The UAE aims to equip all schools and
students with smart systems and devices, like iPads.21
They also promote enrollment in preschools and work
to have graduation rates from secondary schools reach
international standards.21
Their goal is for students to “rank
among the best in the world in reading, mathematics and
science exams and to have a strong knowledge of the
Arabic language.” 21
Already, according to the Global
Competitive Index, the UAE has improved in Higher
education and training, moving from ranking 33rd in
2011-2012 to ranking 6th in 2014-2015. 35, 36
Moreover,
they strive “to have exceptional leadership and
internationally accredited teaching staff.” 21
While it is clear by these goals and advancements that
the UAE is dedicated to the education of its students by
paying “significant expenditures on education,” they do not
stop at training their students.31
The UAE government is
also aware of the need to train and educate employees.
In 2014 alone, the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and
Industry executed 112 training programs for all Chamber
employees.32
They recognize the competitive edge pro-
fessional training can grant to employees, and they have
plans to continue training in the future.32
Information and Communications
Technologies Infrastructure
By looking at results, it’s clear the UAE is adhering to the
fourth pillar, the Information and Communications Tech-
nologies Infrastructure, by improving Internet accessibility.
From 2010 to 2012, the number of individuals with access
to the Internet rose nearly 20 percent.19
The number of
mobile-cellular subscriptions also increased in that same
time period.19
Further, the UAE Vision 2021 National
Agenda website supports this pillar by using the Inter-
net to share knowledge. Their site indexes 12 indicators
used to monitor growth and success. This index includes
everything from how much they spend on research and
development as a percentage of the Gross Domestic
Product to the Gross National Income per capita, which
is knowledge they can use to beget other knowledge – a
central tenant of the knowledge economy.
By following the four pillars, the UAE has established a plan
for success. They are strengthening their education and
training systems, are open to entrepreneurship, and are
improving access to knowledge and information. And it’s
already having an effect. New jobs and roles are already
6
7. Eighty-six percent of companies with strategic leadership
development respond rapidly to change9
, and responding
to change is what companies must do now in order to catch
up to competitors who are already adapting to the new mar-
ketplace. Every dollar spent on leadership development has
shown a return investment of $2.20 USD9, 37
, so companies
can develop competent leaders without hurting their bottom
lines. Moreover, not only will leadership and management
play a huge role in whether or not a company can envi-
sion and execute a plan to succeed, but studies show that
investment in leadership development yields results in
financial performance, talent attraction and retention, organ-
izational agility, and employee productivity.9
Perhaps this
is why one study of large businesses in the UAE reported
that “86 percent of organizations deliver job-specific training
programs, 67 percent deliver general management pro-
grams, and 95 percent deliver programs that focus on skills
development. All organizations agreed that a main purpose
of their training and development activity is to improve work
performance, and 59 percent mentioned that they particu-
larly target the training and development of UAE nationals.”
22
The UAE recognizes that having strong, informed leaders
positions an entire company for success.
While leaders set the pace and example, success will still
depend largely on how well equipped employees are to
face today’s economic challenges. Just as the Abu Dhabi
Chamber of Commerce and Industry recognized when
training its employees, opening up avenues, whether they
are to courses and certifications or to online libraries and
on-the-job training, can put employees on the path to
becoming leaders of the knowledge economy. Success-
fully training managers and supervisors can result in a 24
percent higher profit margin, and as an added benefit, 31
percent of employees cite training/education as a benefit
that would increase engagement and loyalty.17, 15, 18
countries in the region are limited to their nationals.
For example, in Saudi Arabia, [human resources] roles are
now being dedicated to local nationals in an effort to encour-
age more talent from the country into the private sector.”25
By ensuring jobs are filled by nationals, the UAE and its
surrounding countries are effectively keeping more money in
their economy, which only serves to strengthen it further. 26
Leadership Development and
Employee Investment
While governments and universities are doing their part,
for businesses, the knowledge economy is primarily about
investing in intellectual capital, and there’s no better
source than employees. Respectively, when companies
are looking for an effective place to invest time and mon-
ey, employees are a good place to start.
Studies show investment in leadership
development yields results in financial
performance, talent attraction and
retention, organizational agility, and
employee productivity.
Since the knowledge economy is driven by highly-skilled
workers, it makes sense that companies would want to do
all they can to either develop existing employees or attract
skilled workers. Companies can start by ensuring they
have leaders in place who have the ability to guide them
through the changes needed in order to prosper.
7
INVEST FOR SUCCESS:
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING
Each dollar spent
on leadership
development shows a
$2.20 return
on investment.
86% percent of
companies with
strategic leadership
development
respond rapidly to
change.
Successfully training
managers and
supervisors can result in
24% higher profit
margins.
31% of employees cite
training/education as a
benefit increasing
engagement and
loyalty.
$
$$
86% 31%
TRAINING
PROFITMARGIN
ENGAGEMENT
LOYALTY
8. UAE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
One study of large businesses in the UAE reported:
–International Journal of Training and Development
Driving
Force
However, with training and development spend rising by 15 percent in 2013 alone, busi-
nesses would be wise to consider cost effective avenues.10
They may want to consider
services that excel at nurturing a person through their education years and well into
their careers. Companies that supply these services can provide everything from com-
puter skills training to help developing leadership qualities. Some even include access
to online libraries, online training courses, and programs that pinpoint an employee’s
working style to see how they can best collaborate with colleagues. Investing in this
type of all-encompassing service can align employees around central goals and expec-
tations while also providing them with the skills training they need in order to achieve
those goals and help the company thrive.
Employee Retention
Yet, investing in an employee means nothing if a company cannot retain them. Thirty-two
percent of companies struggle to retain top talent, and only 34 percent of companies
focus on developing and retaining current employees. 11, 12, 18
Moreover, replacing an ex-
perienced worker can cost a company greatly, upwards of 50 percent of that individual’s
annual salary.13, 18
But simply investing in employees, as the knowledge economy calls
for, will increase the rate of retention. In a survey about employee retention in the Middle
East and North Africa, nearly 15 percent of respondents stated that training and develop-
ment opportunities were the most important factor for employee retention. 27
This is why it
is imperative that companies focus on office culture, employee engagement, and training
and advancement opportunities because employees who have opportunities to develop
are twice as likely to say they will spend their careers with their company.14, 18
Once an organization has empowered its leaders and
employees with the necessary skills, that company will
have taken significant steps towards being a driving force in
the knowledge economy.
Offer job-specific
training programs
Offer general
management
programs
Offer skills
development
programs
Reported targeted training
and development
of nationals22
67%86% 95% 59%
8
9. About Wiley
Wiley is a global provider of knowledge and knowledge-enabled
services that improve outcomes in areas of research,
professional practice and education. Through the Research
segment, the Company provides digital and print scientific,
technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works,
books, database services, and advertising. The Professional
Development segment provides digital and print books, online
assessment and training services, and test prep and certification.
In Education, Wiley provides education solutions including online
program management services for higher education institutions
and course management tools for instructors and students, as well
as print and digital content.
Success in the knowledge economy is reliant upon effective
leadership development, targeted talent solutions, and education.
Businesses globally and governments such as that of the UAE
have recognized the importance of being successful in this
growing economy and are already reaping the benefits. Once
an organization has empowered its leaders and employees with
the necessary skills, that company will have taken significant
steps towards being a driving force in the knowledge economy.
Making an investment in learning and skills, strengthens the wider
economy whilst adding measurable value to organizations.
To learn more about positioning your organization and
equipping your staff to excel in the knowledge economy,
get in touch with Wiley:
Lowri Gregg
Associate Market Development Manager
lgregg@wiley.com
9