Encouraging migrant foreign workers in Saudi Arabia to participate in problem solving: the role of leadership, trust, and security. (2015) - Nahm, Abraham Y.
Successful implementation of lean manufacturing requires shop-floor employees to actively participate in problem solving. Encouraging migrant foreign workers in Saudi Arabia to do so may be a challenging task. This research examines a research model that links transformational leadership with workers' trust in management, perceived security, and participation in problem solving. Analysing the survey data collected from 93 manufacturing workers in Saudi Arabia, we find that while transformational leadership and trust in management have largely positive effects upon workers' participation in problem solving, perceived security has negative to no effect. Migrant foreign workers' temporary status in Saudi Arabia appears to work as a disincentive for workers to participate in problem solving. Implication for managers and possible future research directions are provided.