Globalisation and rapid environmental change have created many challenges for public and private organisations across Iraq as a developing country, particularly in the higher education sector. This includes, for example, decreases in government funding; increased demand for higher education; a need for economic transformation, and related competitiveness of organizations. Such challenges require exceptional leaders and strategic planning in order to take action to improve. In Iraq, the higher education sector is still one of the main foundations in progressing the knowledge economy. Studies into leadership style, strategic planning processes, and the importance of leadership and organisational culture to an organisation’s success have been used to assist both public and private Iraqi colleges in responding to the challenges they face. Although, some studies have examined the interaction between leadership and strategic planning, and leadership and organisational success, there has been no empirical study that has investigated how these three variables interact together. Thus, this study aimed, firstly, to identify the current leadership styles and strategic planning processes in the colleges and the challenges they faced, and to gain an understanding from the perspective of the senior leaders themselves as to how they might best respond to the current situation. Secondly, based on the participants’ experiences, knowledge and perceptions, the study aimed to identify implications for both practice and policy to help improve the colleges’ outcomes. The study involved a mixed-methods approach and was conducted in two stages. During the first stage, the researcher gathered quantitative data by administering a survey package to 129 leaders (deans, associate deans, and heads of departments) across both public and private colleges in the capital city of Baghdad. During the second stage, the researcher gathered qualitative data to more deeply explore the survey results by conducting individual interviews with a sub-sample of 21 leaders from both college types (ten public and 11 private). In the data analyses stages, both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were applied to compiling tables and charts, and to test hypotheses, by employing the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Microsoft Excel, and NVivo. The results of study showed that both transformational and transactional leadership styles played a varied and vital role in the colleges’ strategic planning processes, and in turn their success. The fact that private colleges were ‘for profit’ and public colleges were ‘not for profit’, as well as their contrasting funding models, highlighted key differences between the two college types’ leadership and general modus operandi. While it was found that both transformative leadership and transactional leadership styles were necessary to address the challenges colleges faced in the Iraqi educational context, the impetus for change extended far beyond the need for professional development of leaders. The embracing of information communication technologies, and reliable Internet was seen as necessary in all aspects of the colleges’ work and provision for teaching and learning, and students’ success. This applied to both college types along with the need for closer adherence to government regulations and more focused government coordination of colleges’ administrative functions. Furthermore, implications for making successful improvements to practice also identified the need to manage the challenge of sociocultural influences on the appointments and promotions of leaders. It was concluded that a greater emphasis on teamwork and provision of incentives for staff, along with a ‘boost’ to pedagogy and practice, which could be provided through the adoption of information communication technologies and appropriate professional development strategies, would enhance the colleges’ ranks and the status of their qualifications. Also, theoretically, the study offers a value-add to leadership, strategic planning process, and organisational success literature in the form of a conceptual model that links these variables in the context of Iraqi higher education sector.
The urban Gentrification is an inclusive global phenomenon to restructure the cities on the overall levels, the research to propose a specific study about the concept of urban Gentrification in the cities and showcasing its, specifications, and results, and how to deal with the variables that occur on cities through improvements as part of urban renewal projects, then the general axis of the research is shrinked, choosing the urban centers as the most important areas that deal with the urban Gentrification process due to its direct connection with indivisuals and social changes, and to process the specific axis of the research theses and studies will be showcased that discuss the topic in different research directions, and emerged
... Show MoreCantilever beams are used in many crucial applications in machinery and construction. For example, the airplane wing, the microscopic probe for atomic force measurement, the tower crane overhang and twin overhang folding bridge are typical examples of cantilever beams. The current research aims to develop an analytical solution for the free vibration problem of cantilever beams. The dynamic response of AISI 304 beam represented by the natural frequencies was determined under different working surrounding temperatures ((-100 ℃ to 400 ℃)). A Matlab code was developed to achieve the analytical solution results, considering the effect of some beam geometrical dimensions. The developed analytical solution has been verified successful
... Show MoreThe importance of knowledge is represented in the use of various sources of information, the corresponding to the same level of importance is the use of modern means and technologies in the delivery and investment of these sources to the beneficiaries, among these means and technologies are the multimedia that deal with most of the human senses, but the most important of which is sight and hearing, if these are invested the means in the field of education will give many positive results, such as the speed of receiving information, its clarity, and its freedom from impurities and influences, as well as its stability in memory as it is based on nderstanding, not memorization. On this basis, the experience of supporting the education process
... Show MoreThe study aimed to investigate the relationship between empowerment strategies and their impact on the success of enrichment work, it included the dimensions of empowerment strategies (power, knowledge, information, rewards), The dimensions of Job enrichment are (Skill variety, Task identity, Task significance, Autonomy, Feedback). The study was conducted at the headquarters of the Iraqi Oil Ministry in Baghdad and was based on a sample of the leadership of the ministry of managers consisting of 215 people. The data were collected using the questionnaire method based on scientific standards adopted in previous st
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The current research aims to demonstrate the relationship of correlation and influence between the independent variable strategic control through its dimensions represented by (organizational structure, human resources management, commitment to specialization, defining powers and responsibilities, values and integrity) and the dependent variable the performance of the insurance company, and the degree of arrangement of these dimensions according to their importance, as well as Detection of significant differences in the sample's response to the questionnaire paragraphs in the researched company, and the research problem
... Show MoreBackground: Chief complaint of patients attending dental clinic represents the first step towards treatment plan. However, most of patients are not aware but the extent and severity of periodontal disease, which could be also, misdiagnose by the dentist. Aim of the study: To investigate whether reported chief complaint(s) are consistent with oral hygiene status Materials and methods: Records of 1102 patients, attending periodontics clinics in the college of dentistry/ university of Baghdad, were used to determine ten most commonly reported chief complaints. Sample of patients was further subdivided according to gender and age. In addition, plaque and gingival index were recorded to determine oral hygiene status. Results: Patients mostly
... Show MoreThe current research focuses on the extent to which the strategic orientation(entrepreneurial orientation, customer orientation, technology orientation, learning orientation, and investment orientation) affects the learning organization (building common vision, systemic thinking, personal dominance, mental models, team learning)The first hypothesis to test the connection relation between research variables and The second hypothesis was to test the relationship between these variables. In order to ascertain the validity of the hypotheses, the research was based on a questionnaire questionnaire prepared according to a number of In addition to building a fifth sub-variable for the strategic orientation (investment orientation) based
... Show MoreEfficacy of Several Forms of Storage Medium on Avulsed Teeth's Enamel Surface Roughness (An in Vitro Study), Rawaa Sadiq Obeid1*, Muna Saleem Khalaf2
Background: Because of the demands for aesthetic orthodontic appliances have increased, aesthetic archwires have been widely used to meet patient's aesthetic needs. The color stability of aesthetic archwires is clinically important, any staining or discoloration will affect patient’s acceptance and satisfaction. This study was designed to evaluate the color stability of different types of aesthetic archwires after immersion into different types of mouth washes. Materials and methods: Four brands of nickel titanium coated aesthetic arch wires: Epoxy coated (Orthotechnology and G&H) and Teflon coated (Dany and Hubit) were evaluated after 1 week, 3 weeks and 6 weeks of immersion into two types of mouthwashes (Listerine with alcohol and
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