{"id":6454,"date":"2026-06-10T21:02:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/%d9%85%d9%82%d8%a7%d8%a8%d9%84%d8%a9-%d9%85%d8%ac%d9%84%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%88%d9%8a%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%a1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%81%d9%83%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%85%d8%b9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d8%b3%d8%aa\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T21:25:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:25:49","slug":"baian-harb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/baian-harb\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview With Professor Dr. Bayan Hani Harb"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Prologue: Reviewing the Path and Roots<\/b><\/p>\n

Question 1:<\/b> At the outset, we would like to grant you the space to define the “academic identity” of Dr. Bayan Harb. How would you describe your journey in the world of scientific research and university teaching, which culminated in reference works in business administration? What are the intellectual and methodological foundations that shaped your scientific convictions over the past decades? And how do you today view the role of the “academic” in shaping collective consciousness and contributing solutions to societies facing major structural transformations?<\/span><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/b><\/p>\n

First, my greetings to you for the effort you are making to disseminate culture and expand knowledge in an environment that thirsts for such richness. I also wish your magazine success and brilliance with every new issue. And I thank you for granting me the opportunity and space to introduce myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

I, Bayan Hani Harb, was born in the village of Doma “al-Maqran al-Sharqi” on the outskirts of the mountain toward al-Hamad, known as “al-Wa’ir.” This is the towering village that was subjected to ISIS’s first raid in July 2018, sacrificing the best of its youth: 26 martyrs who died defending the mountain’s eastern thresholds and the gateway to our village. Together with its neighboring sister villages and the courageous men of the mountain who rushed to aid, it managed to repel that aggression at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

I studied at Doma’s elementary school before transferring to Ibrahim Zain al-Din Secondary School in the historic city of Shahba to obtain my secondary diploma in 1976.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was born into a farming family. My deceased mother played the primary role in raising our five children after my father’s death when I was only fifteen. This compelled me to experience life with its usual hardships prevalent in that era, plus additional responsibilities stemming from my commitment to help my family endure. My contributions included farming the land or performing arduous labor during summer periods and official holidays.<\/span><\/p>\n

The harshness of life at that time left impressions I still feel clearly today in building my personality and convictions\u2014convictions that have become unshakeable constants, foundational principles for building and sustaining life under all circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n

Professionally, I am a Doctor at Damascus University\u2014Faculty of Economics\u2014since 1990, after having been a student in the same faculty before being dispatched to Germany to earn my PhD in Business Administration from Rostock University in 1989.<\/span><\/p>\n

After graduation, I returned to Damascus University and was appointed to the same faculty to begin my academic work in the Faculty of Economics, Department of Business Administration. I progressed through academic ranks until I attained the title of Professor from Damascus University in 2003.<\/span><\/p>\n

I taught business administration and marketing sciences at public and private universities in multiple Arab countries, in addition to Damascus University. I have authored several books and published research in business administration, marketing, and management of small and medium enterprises, which are still taught at some universities today.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the practical side of my life, linked to my academic work, I was appointed General Director of the “Anti-Unemployment Authority” in Syria at that time. It was one of the pioneering institutions in the Middle East region then, as it was connected\u2014not only to the Syrian government but also to global organizations specialized in administrative development programs and economic development. This enabled it to offer unique development programs during that period, before it suffered what other institutions suffered: the usurpation of its pioneering development role.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was entrusted with several studies in the field of human resource management and small and medium enterprise programs, as I am a certified expert with the Arab Labour Organization affiliated with the Arab League, during the period between 2005 and 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n

I left Syria based on a work invitation to the United Arab Emirates as a consultant to the Board of Trustees of the Sheikh Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development in Abu Dhabi in 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n

I currently serve as Director of “Al-Bayan for Management Consultations,” an institution specialized in managing government and private institutions in the United Arab Emirates.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Regarding the second part of the question concerning the academic’s role in shaping social consciousness, I must emphasize several points.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first point<\/b>\u00a0relates to the academic’s role, which has undergone and continues to undergo constant change. In its traditional role, the academic was concerned primarily with theoretical intellectual work alone. However, the current reality has made lessons learned from practical applications and experiences\u2014translated by the academic or co-translated by them on the ground\u2014of paramount importance. This has led to a transformation in the academic’s role today. Through blending theoretical knowledge with its practical applications, even partially, over time knowledge emerges arising from practical life experience. This is a knowledge wealth that can be invested as a reference trusted to a large degree for its validity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The possibility of benefiting from this applicable and investable knowledge wealth leads us to\u00a0<\/span>the second point<\/b>, relating to the academic’s pivotal role in establishing philosophical knowledge foundations as references for seekers of knowledge and as a roadmap for the new generation to shape collective opinion and the community’s overall strategic direction in which the academic lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

From another perspective, knowledge accumulation constitutes a knowledge wealth that nations currently compete for. It forms the highest-value and most sustainable wealth. Competition today revolves around the “knowledge economy.” The availability of knowledge at a certain entity is a key indicator of its development compared to other nations in a world now governed by standards and metrics linked to the practical application of sciences and technologies in their astonishing manifestations, currently embodied by artificial intelligence, which now competes with humans in everything the latter considered exclusively theirs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Section One<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>Crisis Management and Building Independent Economic Systems<\/span><\/p>\n

Question 2: <\/b>Our magazine’s objective is centered on enhancing awareness of the structural issues of al-Suwayda’. From your position as an expert in “business administration,” how can al-Suwayda’ benefit from modern management sciences to serve a community living in extraordinary circumstances? Does it need new administrative laws, or rather an “administrative culture” that redeploys the mountain’s dormant resources outside traditional frameworks?<\/span><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/b><\/p>\n

One of al-Suwayda’s most important assets today is its specialized human competencies in many sciences and multiple fields, in addition to the practical and professional expertise that has historically existed in the local environment of the mountain. In order to invest these competencies, I see the necessity of providing an advanced management philosophy that places these competencies in a position of historical responsibility to play their required role.<\/span><\/p>\n

To benefit from modern management sciences in our current situation, we can gather the available human competencies and organize them into groups according to specialized professional criteria as a first stage. Then, we form work teams to establish economic and social objectives for each group, as an introduction to planning, organizing, and directing these competencies and energies, with self-monitoring of their performance using strategic management methods within a modern structure characterized by flexibility and innovation. This would serve as a framework for investing the energies we have.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding the second part of the question concerning the priority of management systems or administrative competencies for developing the local economy: there is no doubt that the success of economic activity fundamentally rests on management systems that can guide economic activities across their various sectors\u2014agricultural, industrial, service, and others\u2014based on them. Consequently, there must inevitably be renewed laws regulating work and relationships, whether between employers and their workers or between businessmen and other institutions. The conclusion is that without such laws, we cannot gamble on economic success.<\/span><\/p>\n

The equivalent of these laws from another perspective is administrative culture, which I prefer to call “administrative competencies and skills” to give the true meaning to the human resources working to manage and organize economic activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding the priority of the need for regulating administrative laws relative to administrative culture (administrative competencies), I see that they are two wings (competencies and law) that can carry the economy to the desired place. And here, the main requirement currently is to meet immediate needs, followed by economic development and moving forward to open the door widely to the possibility of investing available natural resources in a model and standardized manner. This forms the framework guaranteeing the safety of society and ensuring protection of natural resources from disappearance and waste.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is needed now, and with utmost urgency, is to form a specialized work team for activity in two directions: the first is to inventory administrative cadres of various specializations inside and outside al-Suwayda’, and the second direction is to inventory the tasks requiring urgent completion in al-Suwayda’ (water, bakeries, agriculture, commerce, municipal affairs, etc.). Consequently, an action plan should be developed to form integrated teams as collective work to implement the tasks required to be completed by the formed teams.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, it is worth noting the necessity of investing the governance philosophy and establishing specific standards and indicators to measure the competence of cadres on one hand and the viability of productive projects on the other. Otherwise, project management would become random, administered with backward methods without controls, leading to the absence of accountability and the loss of resources and objectives.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Question 3: <\/b>You previously handled the issue of unemployment during the peak of its former equilibriums, and today we live in a reality that is radically different in al-Suwayda’. From a purely economic perspective, how do you distinguish between “resource idleness” resulting from war and “structural unemployment”? Does the local community possess the necessary tools to transform this idleness into productive energy without relying on the center?<\/span><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/b><\/p>\n

It is exceedingly difficult to compare the labor market conditions in Syria at that time with what they are now in al-Suwayda’, but it is worthwhile for us to think specifically about al-Suwayda’ in its current situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we attempted to reduce unemployment in Syria previously (2004\u20132007), we had sufficient financial capacity to train, fund, and support entrepreneurs and projects. The number of projects reached just under one hundred thousand across the entire breadth of Syria. What deserves highlighting here is that our branch in al-Suwayda’, which was directly under our supervision, was among the most successful branches\u2014whether in selecting projects and their viability or in the level of loan recovery. The loans were granted without interest, and I personally consider this a positive indicator suggesting that al-Suwayda’ possesses the administrative expertise and knowledge wealth that can be relied upon and invested in the current labor market in al-Suwayda’. I should also note the necessity of development according to what the current conditions require.<\/span><\/p>\n

The prolonged war has produced a major crisis for al-Suwayda’s economy, and the matter became even more complicated after the latest invasion and the vile blockade practiced by the temporary authority in Damascus against al-Suwayda’.<\/span><\/p>\n

This situation has returned economic activity in al-Suwayda’ to the lowest levels of growth, making it similar to a barter economy in many aspects, or even to complete idleness if the expression is permissible. There is no driver for the economy except some traditional work and commodity exchange at its lowest levels, which relied primarily on external aid from humanitarian and friendly organizations and cash transfers from the mountain’s sons abroad, which were and remain the primary source of assistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unemployment rates have risen sharply beyond what they were already before the invasion of al-Suwayda’, whether this unemployment was disguised or explicit. The reasons return to the scarcity of activities that attract labor forces in al-Suwayda’, in addition to the low level of services related to the infrastructure necessary for economic activity. This infrastructure was itself designed in this manner of backwardness by previous governments purposefully and for political reasons that led to the displacement of youth and the failure to provide conditions for stability in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, the diverse natural resources and human resources with their skills can be invested. Rather, these resources must be invested at the current time because the social viability of these projects takes priority when compared with economic viability. This is aimed at meeting the social needs of people as the utmost priority to protect human dignity and contribute to reducing other social problems such as theft, crime, and similar other social diseases, not mentioning the role of these projects in reducing unemployment and moving the economic wheel toward recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n

From another perspective, strategic management for investing diverse natural resources and human resources constitutes an inevitable stage for establishing an integrated economy capable of future growth and development, whether the connection with the center continues or not. Strategic management of the province’s economy requires preparing and arranging the necessary foundations and stages for the future, whatever it may be. And investing\u2014rather, beginning to invest\u2014the available resources in the mountain is a highly important stage in this direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Investing diverse natural resources and human resources within al-Suwayda’s geographical framework only is effective solutions to some extent at the near level and executable up to a specific time. However, in the long term, highly important steps must be taken. The first is the gradual dismantling of the connection relationship with the center, which obstructs launching into a new economic horizon. The process of abandoning the center is accompanied by many difficulties, the least of which in the foreseeable future is, first, the absence of a decision to do so, and second, that the historical connection cannot be simply severed\u2014especially regarding legal affairs, the monetary system, educational curricula, foreign relations, exporting and importing, and so forth.<\/span><\/p>\n

From another perspective, there is an urgent need to create new economic relations alternative to what existed in terms of connection with the center, namely with other countries and organizations in this world. Development and growth can occur only through participatory relations and the exchange of available expertise and knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Section Two\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Sustainable Development and Livelihood Sovereignty<\/b><\/p>\n

Question 4: <\/b>In light of the current financial collapse and the absence of reliable banking systems, you present a vision for building a sustainable “civic financing” system. How can this system overcome the obstacles of financial incapacity to become a real engine for projects that protect human dignity?<\/span><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/b><\/p>\n

The current network of commercial relations and commodity exchange in the current conditions in al-Suwayda’, from an economic perspective, can be likened to a barter economy. This is an occurrence in conditions such as these, especially regarding the daily needs of families, household provisioning, and similar matters. A barter economy is the result of the absence of a monetary system capable of facilitating economic exchange and possible investment. Based on this, we proposed a civic financing system that requires a set of necessary factors for its establishment:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Adopting a reliable monetary unit<\/b>\u00a0(such as the dollar, for example) that is supported against currency devaluation.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Establishing support and development funds<\/b>\u00a0that can support entrepreneurs and low-income individuals with necessary loans and without interest under certain conditions.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • A suitable lending system<\/b>\u00a0to build a fractured economy, if the expression is permissible, by establishing binding, regulating, and flexible laws for the loan recovery mechanism or even for waiving them. Here, we can benefit from the experiences of many countries and international development organizations that have a long track record in forming investment funds that can effectively contribute to supporting family and small projects, which we in al-Suwayda’ currently need most urgently.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • A specialized administrative body<\/b>\u00a0worthy of managing institutions of this type, subject to governance systems. This body must also determine the social and economic dimension of its tasks by identifying the sectors that have priority for support and development according to each situation and region. In addition to direct care for newborn projects and assistance in promoting and marketing products of stalled projects.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Funding entities for these funds<\/b>\u00a0as loans or investments with relatively low interest rates. Here, the mountain’s sons in the expatriates must play a main role, in addition to the necessity of building relations in this regard with non-profit institutions and international organizations that care for the social aspect.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    From another perspective, and perhaps most importantly, there is the necessity of beginning to establish a central management for an independent banking system or affiliated with an entity worthy of support\u2014at least for the upcoming period until there is a possibility of standing firmly and with stability the customary monetary system that will be responsible for the exchange rate and proper exchange, and protecting and guaranteeing properties in a scientific manner.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The current economic situation urgently requires a banking system through which financial relations between projects, each with the other, and their relations with external entities can be organized. This makes forming banking systems an urgent matter for economic construction and development. In addition, the availability of such a system means the availability of a real engine for the success of projects that protect human dignity and establish the principle of “food and livelihood sovereignty” for the mountain’s sons, as I mentioned before.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Question 5: <\/b>As an expert in administrative training, how do we ensure the fortification of these projects through an aware “financial culture” among their owners, one that prevents the depletion of capital in daily consumption and guarantees the continuity of the production cycle?<\/span><\/p>\n

    Answer:<\/b><\/p>\n

    To the extent that this matter appears difficult, to the same extent we can possess the knowledge and expertise regulating this subject. There are many training programs accredited globally that we also possess, and certainly, upon reaching implementation, we will offer them gladly and free of charge to those following up on this matter. These programs vary in terms of depth, professional specialization, project nature, project management methods, and so forth. Therefore, what is required is the availability of a central entity or entities to qualify entrepreneurs and families preliminarily as a first step on the path to successfully helping beginners establish their projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Among the very important matters for supporting these projects is assistance in marketing processes and cooperation in developing solutions for this issue. From another perspective, caring for these projects for a certain period to guide their owners is of utmost importance, as I mentioned before.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Global experiences have proven that approximately 80% of these projects fail in their first year, which drives the adoption of support and care programs to avoid some known causes of stagnation. This is most often done by sponsoring entities accomplished in this field. In this regard, although I do not wish to enter into details, it is useful to mention the most important support programs for an economy still in the establishment and growth phase:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Focusing primarily on entrepreneurs and certificate holders.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Administrative qualification programs.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Basic principles of economic viability for the project.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Financial management for beginners and loan management.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Banking relations and proper handling methods.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Negotiation skills and ways of successful marketing.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Collaborative work and teamwork skills with different working methods.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      From another perspective, there are many programs that entrepreneurs, financial institution managers, and their work teams must undergo regarding ways of economic care in conditions like those we are in now. Moreover, necessity dictates enacting a law sponsored by the supreme leadership to guarantee the rights of parties and conduct investment work within relevant standards and laws.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Several years ago, I wrote a book on this matter titled\u00a0<\/span>“Establishment and Management of Small and Medium Enterprises.”<\/b>\u00a0It contains the fundamental material for a training program to help entrepreneurs transition from theoretical thinking to the practical application of the investment idea they wish to work on implementing.<\/span><\/p>\n

      The aforementioned training program,\u00a0<\/span>“Establishment and Management of Small Enterprises,”<\/b>\u00a0within the book contains a sufficient answer to this question, as the program represents a pathway to guide entrepreneurs to know their personal entrepreneurial characteristics and understand the skills and conditions necessary for establishing and managing a small project.<\/span><\/p>\n

      I will briefly indicate the most important topics related to our current question, which I see necessary to ensure the fortification of projects\u2014not only financially but also for their continued productive and social service\u2014by providing trainees with topics that enhance the required guarantee. Among these are:<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Developing the entrepreneurial spirit and creative energies of entrepreneurs.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Sources of ideas and how to develop an idea into practical reality.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Basic principles of economic viability for the small project idea.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • How to establish the project legally and what are the steps in this direction (“perhaps this step is currently postponed until a law is drafted on this matter”).<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Strengthening the culture of self-employment among entrepreneurs and guiding them toward creating new job opportunities.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Developing and preparing financial plans and identifying funding sources and the advantages of self-financing.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Basic knowledge in managing medium, small, and home-based projects. (“This element is the most important regarding the necessity of the project’s future success and development.”)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        In this book, I attempted to define for whom this program is intended so that administrative intellectual knowledge becomes a culture for everyone, as many administrative affairs are the same, and thus become a work culture and knowledge of relationships and so forth. Therefore, it is the right of every young man or woman to dream of a better, more radiant, and successful future and to become someday a man\/woman of business. Out of our desire to contribute to implementing this dream, we created this book\/program for target groups that form a wide segment of society, among which come:<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Recent graduates from colleges, universities, and secondary schools…<\/span><\/li>\n
        2. Entrepreneurs (male and female) who possess the ability for new innovations and wish to transform them into reality.<\/span><\/li>\n
        3. Those searching for a new idea\/project opportunity.<\/span><\/li>\n
        4. Those wishing to work independently by establishing their own project.<\/span><\/li>\n
        5. Those wishing to develop their existing projects.<\/span><\/li>\n
        6. Producing families and owners of home-based projects.<\/span><\/li>\n
        7. Owners of skills and handicrafts related to heritage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Although this program targets those wishing to establish small enterprises, develop them, and know the available opportunities and challenges they face, it also includes useful information for medium enterprises, especially since there are no precise and clear dividing boundaries between the two types of projects.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Prologue: Reviewing the Path and Roots Question 1: At the outset, we would like to grant you the space to define the “academic identity” of Dr. Bayan Harb. How would you describe your journey in the world of scientific research and university…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[211],"class_list":["post-6454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-researcher-dialogues","tag-knowledge-dialogues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6454"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6475,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6454\/revisions\/6475"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}