Effectiveness of flexible staffing practices in selected small size organizations in Dubai, UAE: an empirical study with reference to Atkinson’s Model

Abstract

Peripheral staffing, also known as flexible staffing has emerged as a strategic choice for most of the organizations across the globe. With the fast changing economic-commercial environment, such practice has become a compulsive strategic priority in almost all industries. Specially, in the small and medium industries, where challenges of business sustainability have evolved as a major issue, flexible staffing in one form or other has been widely adopted as a diligent option. Atkinson’s study has been the pioneering research in terms of framing such workforce composition and is widely accepted globally as the key reference contribution. Though, few other subsequent researches have come-up with new ideas, yet, the significance of the contribution of Atkinson’s work has remained the main guiding framework in the specific domain. In the present quantitative and descriptive research, attempt has been made to evaluate the observations of the 175 middle level executives employed in six medium scale organizations in three main industries, located in Dubai, the financial and commercial hub of the middle east. The parameters incorporated in the study can be referred  to the issues identified in Atkinson’s model and few other significant researches, based on the same. Recommendations have been developed and further scopes of expansion of research have been empirically suggested.

 

Key words: Peripheral workforce, Atkinson’s model, quantitative and descriptive research, Dubai, medium scale organizations