Purpose – Wasta is an Arabic word that means the intervention of a patron in favor of a client in attempt to obtain privileges or resources from a third party. In Arab countries, wasta is often used to obtain employment, thus causing unequal opportunity. The purpose of this paper is to study the attributions that people make regarding the competency and morality of wasta users. The main hypothesis is that those that use wasta in obtaining employment will be perceived as less competent and moral than those that do not. Design/methodology/approach – The study is designed as a factorial quasi-experiment, with three independent variables; wasta, employee qualification and socioeconomic status. The dependent variables are perceived competency and morality. Data were gathered from 421 Egyptian undergraduate business students attending a public and a private university. Findings – In support of the hypotheses, subjects discounted the competency and morality of employees that used wasta to obtain the job. Additionally, subjects from lower socioeconomic groups evaluated wasta users more positively than more affluent subjects. Originality/value – This is the first study that attempts to use attribution theory to examine the effects of wasta on perceptions of competency and morality. The study may be useful in identifying the disadvantages of using wasta, thus reducing its use.

Education is the foundation of culture and the engine of economies; it is an essential part of life. However, it remains inaccessible or unavailable in some parts of developing nations. Moreover, such barriers for girls and women can extend beyond education and into the workplace, and this is a bone of contention based on erroneous beliefs and other factors. Barriers for girls’ and women’s education are debatable in the literature; however, there is a sparsity of literature that focuses on the bridge to the workplace. Therefore, through a focus group study, this study explores the barriers that prohibit the transition for women from higher education to employment in Egypt. Based on qualitative data from focus group participants, the barriers to girls’ and women’s education are related to cultural, economic, family, and structural–educational barriers. In addition, stereotypical thinking and discrimination are factors hindering girls and women from ‘decent’ employment in Egypt. Based on this study’s results, some practical recommendations were elicited, which centre around awareness enhancement, formulation of laws and policies, and development of employability skills and entrepreneurship skills. The managerial and societal implications of this study are illustrated. It is anticipated that the results of this study will serve to create an inherent need to undertake a larger survey to investigate the barriers from a wider number of respondents.

Biblioteka cyfrowa regionu śląskiego - kulturowe dziedzictwo Śląska w jego historycznej i współczesnej różnorodności.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the reliability and factor structure of the Arabic translation of the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS‐41‐A), a popular trait‐based emotional intelligence test in Arab countries.Design/methodology/approach: A sample of 453 professionals from Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE completed the EIS‐41‐A.Findings: Findings show that the Arabic scale did have acceptable reliability and demonstrated the same factor structure as the original English language scale.Research limitations/implications: Limitations of the study include the small sample size from some of the countries included.Originality/value: This is the first paper to investigate the characteristics of an Arabic language emotional intelligence scale and opens the door to further research on emotional intelligence in the Arab world.

This study investigated the association of substance use with daily hassles and coping strategies. The use of three classes of substances was investigated: psychotropic medications, illegal drugs, and alcohol. A representative sample of 300 Egyptian manufacturing workers was drawn. The average age of participants was 37.34 years (SD = 9.57). The results indicated that alcohol was used in the last month by 20% of the workers. Daily hassles and coping strategies are associated with substance use. However, coping strategies did not moderate the association. Positive coping strategies were associated with reduced likelihood of using substances, whereas negative coping strategies were associated positively with using substances. These findings point to the importance of addressing substance use in workers and suggesting strategies.