Abstract:
To what extent the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs utilizes effective recruitment and selection processes? And what can be done to improve on these processes?
One can recognize many issues standing in the way of promoting for diplomatic work such as the clear definition of the role of Egyptian foreign policy and the exact missions of the diplomatic body in light of the changes in Egyptian, Arab, African and Islamic political scenes. Another important issue is the Human Resource Management in the ministry. This research provides a guide on how to promote the Egyptian diplomatic body to be more able to handle the challenges of the New World order through a better selection and recruitment process
This Research intends to provide a guide for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Post the January 25th Revolution) based on:
o Evaluating the Current recruitment and selection process.
o Deriving lessons learnt from the Turkish Experience
o Recommending ways for improving on the current system of recruitment and selection
The research started by analyzing current literature related to the topic. Specific arguments and ideas related to the reform of ministries of foreign affairs were highlighted. Preliminary investigation of the literature related to the management of ministries of foreign affairs revealed relative scarcity. The research adopted a case study approach where information was collected about the acquisition process within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs using various methods such as in-depth qualitative interviews with various stakeholders, investigation of published literature, reports, plus participant observation, . The research, stressed on in-depth investigation with various stakeholders and purposive sampling instead of random sampling was used.
The study concluded that in the perfect sense, if the ministry functions properly, and decision making is made in a proper way, the quality of diplomats is of vital importance to rise up with Egypt in the international arena, but since the foreign policy was controlled by the presidential center, and the Supreme Council of Armed forces after the revolution, the ministry's role is marginalized. Yet this study's main objective is to provide a framework that could benefit Egypt post-revolution. Even if the ministry wont perform all its functions, a strong, creative, dynamic, and intellectual corps will surely improve the performance of one of the oldest diplomatic bodies in the world.
