The CQ Model And Leadership Theory: Education And Religion In Saudi Arabia

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The CQ model

The CQ model is something that has given people a new way to evaluate one’s self for personal growth. Whether we realize it or not, the CQ is a part of our daily lives and is used every single day. Normally we would look at the CQ and apply it to an individual to assess and raise that one individual CQ level, but this time we will be applying the CQ model to a country. That country would be Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aribia is a country located in the middle eastern part of the world close to the northeastern border of Africa. For many years the country of Saudi Arabia has been known as a muslin country and also known for being behind and still following old practices till this day. This paper will analyse the CQ of Saudi Arabia’s education and religion to see if the country is still stuck in the old days or is the country finally making progress. Before that happens let’s get more background knowledge on the country of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is where Islam was born and home to Islam’s two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabia has a rich history and could be talked about for this whole paper. According to the CIA factbook “the population of Saudi Arabia is estimated to be thirty-four million people” (CIA factbook 2020). Till this day Saudi Arabia’s government is a monarchy. The king, prime minster, and crown prince control a majority of the government, which means they have the most power. Saudi Arabia is the world leading producer in oil for the world. Almost of the oil used in the U.S. is imported from Saudi Arabia. According to James Chen “The SAR is the currency abbreviation for the Saudi Riyal, which is the official currency of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Riyal is made up of 100 halala or 20 ghirsh, and is often presented with the symbol SR” (Chen 2019). The educational system is seen by some has reformed seen in the country of Saudi Arabia have pumped numerous resources into their educational system, while some still have a problem with the educational system. The main religion practiced is Islam since Saudi Arabia is where Islam started, and the teachings of Islam start at berth.

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1st area of focus: Education

Drive

Before jumping in the drive of Saudi Arabia, lets first understand what the drive phase of CQ means. According to Menzies “Drive is your willingness to work with diverse others. It involves your ability to overcome explicit and unconscious bias and includes your capacity to persist in interactions that are challenging, even when you feel confused, frustrated, or burnt out” (Menzies 2015). Over the years the Saudi Arabia has shown zero motivation and desire to learn and interact with other cultures. The education system in Saudi Arabia is mostly flawed. Even though the country has pumped resources into its educational system, what being taught in schools is not is supposed to be taught. The curriculum is Saudi Arabian schools is heavily Islamic based and everything else comes separate. Non-citizens of this country have to go a different kind of school because only the citizens of Saudi Arabia can attend the main schools in this country. This doesn’t not show a willingness to interact with other cultures and this doesn’t seem to be changing here soon.

Knowledge

Before jumping in the drive of Saudi Arabia, lets first understand what the drive phase of CQ means. According to Menzies “Knowledge is your understanding of culture and cultural differences. Members of a social group develop similarities in their thoughts and behaviors as they interact with one another” (Menzies 2015). Understanding the Saudi Arabia educational system is a complex thing. There educational system is heavily involved in the teachings of Islam. Seeing that Saudi Arabia is the home of the Islamic religion, it makes since that school curriculums are heavy on religion. Education in this country is hard to understand but knowing the history of this country will help us better understand their educational system.

Strategy

Before jumping in the drive of Saudi Arabia, lets first understand what the drive phase of CQ means. According to Menzies “Strategy is your ability to flex mentally. With high CQ Strategy, you are not confined to a single worldview, but are open to new or integrative ideas” (Menzies 2015). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established plans for its education system in the country. This plan considered all categories of education such as early childhood, basic education, adult education, the education of those from deprived environments and girls’ education. The kingdom intended to enhance accessibility of education to each by extending school enrollment and ensuring high-quality services for all. To achieve these goals, it can offer free education for all. The aim of these plans would be to equip students with Islamic religious values, skills, and attitudes. Additionally, it would enable them to interact with modern developments and cope with advancement in technologies. Even though something within the school is out of date and flawed, the country as a whole is trying to improve their educational system.

Action

Before jumping in the drive of Saudi Arabia, lets first understand what the drive phase of CQ means. According to Menzies “action is your ability to flex verbal and non-verbal behavior. This helps you to respond to diverse others in a way that conveys respect and builds trust and rapport and decreases the risk of miscommunication” (Menzies 2015). The educational system is not being modified to appeal to other cultures. Saudi Arabia is not a diverse country and if you are from another part of the world and are of a different religion, it will be hard to find a school that will actually give someone the tools they need to be successful. Schools in Saudi Arabia are designed to teach Islam and teach things that will help are serve the country in the long run. Education should be to the benefit of the student not to the benefit of the country.

2nd area of focus: Religion

Drive

Before jumping in the drive of Saudi Arabia, lets first understand what the drive phase of CQ means. According to Menzies “Drive is your willingness to work with diverse others. It involves your ability to overcome explicit and unconscious bias and includes your capacity to persist in interactions that are challenging, even when you feel confused, frustrated, or burnt out” (Menzies 2015). The people of Saudi Arabia which are muslin as well have not be known nor have they recently been seen as willing to be accepting to others outside of their country. Compared to the United States, were Americans try to make an effort to make people from other countries feel at home in America, as America is seen as the melting pot of the world. This is not for the few that actually are inviting, but most are not. Saudi Arabia does not see a lot of tourist from other parts of the world because most people don’t feel safe. Saudi Arabian people use their religion as law and strictly following the teachings of their religion. This has led to people of Saudi Arabia to be less willing to be accepting to people that don’t believe what they believe.

Knowledge

Before jumping in the drive of Saudi Arabia, lets first understand what the drive phase of CQ means. According to Menzies “Knowledge is your understanding of culture and cultural differences. Members of a social group develop similarities in their thoughts and behaviors as they interact with one another” (Menzies 2015). In Saudi Arabia they believe that their religion, Islam, holds all the answers to every question. Everything can be tied back to the readings and teachings of Islam for criminal proceedings to family matters. The Islamic faith is tied to just about every aspect of the country not just political proceedings. To be able to fully understand the religion of Islam would require a lot of time because this religion dates back well over a hundred years ago. But understanding some of the parts of Islam will help us understand the thinking behind the people who are a part of that religion. And in understanding some of those parts of Islam, we understand that all of the words and thoughts that Muhammad shared are similar to the words shared by Jesus Christ in the Christian faith. Islamic law follows a path that reflects the Sharia’s way which is based on two readings the Quran and the Sunna.

Strategy

Before jumping in the drive of Saudi Arabia, lets first understand what the drive phase of CQ means. According to Menzies “Strategy is your ability to flex mentally. With high CQ Strategy, you are not confined to a single worldview, but are open to new or integrative ideas” (Menzies 2015). The Islamic faith has not showing any signs of becoming more flexible to others and to people that are not of the Islamic faith. And there will probably never become more flexible to others. The teaching in the Islamic faith will not change and has not changed. Example of this would be that fact that there is only one version of their holy scripture. This shows us that change will not happen, and the acceptance of others will not be happening anytime soon.

Action

Before jumping in the drive of Saudi Arabia, lets first understand what the drive phase of CQ means. According to Menzies “action is your ability to flex verbal and non-verbal behavior. This helps you to respond to diverse others in a way that conveys respect and builds trust and rapport and decreases the risk of miscommunication” (Menzies 2015). The Islamic faith has not showing any signs of becoming more flexible to others and to people that are not of the Islamic faith. And there will probably never become more flexible to others. The teaching in the Islamic faith will not change and has not changed. Example of this would be that fact that there is only one version of their holy scripture. This shows us that change will not happen, and the acceptance of others will not be happening anytime soon

Leadership Theory

1st area of Focus: Education

The leadership theory for education is servant leadership. Servant leadership begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. What this means is that, one should want to serve naturally and shouldn’t have to be forced. The educational system is a strong form of servant leadership because the schools are grooming the Saudi Arabian kids to serve the country once they reach an older age. Servant leadership is a common leadership style used in Saudi Arabia because everyone is taught that what they are doing is serving the country. Saudi Arabia will continue to us this form of leadership because this form is leadership has been used since the beginning of time with the people of Saudi Arabia and I cannot see them changing anytime soon. The leadership theory that would work better with religion is transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is about transforming the next to be better. This a leadership style that can be brought to Saudi Arabian schools and this could have a positive impact on diversity in Saudi Arabian schools. In order for Saudi Arabia to make real progress in becoming more modern and being stuck in the pass, transformational leadership is needed in the Saudi Arabian school system.

2nd area of Focus: Religion

Servant leadership is also used when it comes to religion. The main purpose of the Islamic religion is to serve god. So, it only makes sense that servant leadership would apply to the second focus area which is religion. Saudi Arabia is the home of Islam and a lot of the teachings of Islam is about one’s service to god. Servant leadership has its pros and its cons, but in a way this form of leadership brings out the best who participate in this form of leadership. Naturally giving is a big part of this leadership and the Islamic religion is about giving and being self-less when it comes to god and your family. This is a leadership style that should be more practiced in America because Americans are selfish and rarely even in a mood the give back. For me personally, I will be practicing this leadership style because I see how it can only change my life, but I can have positive impact on someone’s else life.

In conclusion Whether we realize it or not, the CQ is a part of our daily lives and is used every single day. There are many different levels to one’s or a countries CQ and the fact is that all the CQ is designed to do is make us aware of our cultural weaknesses and gives us different ways to make those weaknesses strengths. Saudi Arabia has many cultural weaknesses when it comes to others and their culture, this doesn’t make the country of Saudi Arabia bad or a terrible place to be. Everything in life must change and evolve and as people on this planet, we have to evolve and change with the times as well. Some may change faster than others, Saudi Arabian is still behind the curve as a country when it comes to being modern, but we can see that change is happening and that’s all that matters. The CQ model is a tool that everyone should use because the CQ model can not only make us better people individually but make us better as a human race.

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