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.
حضيت القيادة باهتمام كبير من قبل الباحثين ودورها الإيجابي في التأثير على الموظفين ونجاح المنظمات، في الآونة الأخير بدأت الدراسات تركز على الجانب المظلم للقيادة وتأثيرها على التابعين وبيئة العمل، وقد تم تحديد القيادة السامة بأنها أخطر الأساليب القيادية التي تتسبب بتكاليف مادية ومعنوية على المنظمات بمختلف جوانبها، ان القيادة السامة تأثر على دوافع المرؤوسين وقدرتهم على انجاز المهام، ورغبتهم في الاستمرار في
... Show MoreDNA, as the basis of every living cell, is one of the most important and influential scientific discoveries. This research aims to identify and compare the organizational DNA to the leadership practices of school principals in the Sultanate of Oman and to reveal the similarity between principals’ leadership practices and the structure of DNA. In addition, it intends to identify any statistically significant differences between the responses of the participants due to the study variables: gender, job title and experience. A questionnaire was designed and data were collected from a randomly selected sample composed of (100) teachers in the Sultanate of Oman. The study found limitless diversity in the characteristics of DNA of leadership
... Show MoreThis research dealt with the impact of internal control on tax performance using balanced scorecard indicators because of its special importance in improving tax performance and reform. The internal control system is a safety valve for senior management in all organizations, it plays an important role in the regularity and development of work and the fight against corruption To provide reliable and accurate data and information, follow up on compliance with laws, regulations and instructions. The aim of this research is to demonstrate how control affects tax performance and how to adapt internal control components to improve tax performance. In the General Authority for taxes and its branches,. The research resulted in a number of conclu
... Show MoreThe need for participants’ performance assessments in academia and industry has been a growing concern. It has attendance, among other metrics, is a key factor in engendering a holistic approach to decision-making. For institutions or organizations where managing people is an important yet challenging task, attendance tracking and management could be employed to improve this seemingly time-consuming process while keeping an accurate attendance record. The manual/quasi-analog approach of taking attendance in some institutions could be unreliable and inefficient, leading to inaccurate computation of attendance rates and data loss. This work, therefore, proposes a system that employs embedded technology and a biometric/ w
... Show MoreThe integration of gender in urban studies is considered a goal and objective to build a society characterized by justice and equality. It further allows all its residents to enjoy the opportunities to live in a safe urban life. Based on the that, the limitations of the research and its field of interest related to the relationship between gender and urban studies have become clear. The insufficient knowledge in this regard considers gender as a concept that does not exist in itself, but rather overlaps and intersects with several concepts and studies, including urban studies. Thus, it has become necessary to adopt a descriptive methodology that helps reach a theoretical framework to explain the beginnings of such an interaction and inte
... Show MoreThe Political Thinking Regarded as an important element for the formulation of the stat, weather in its formation, the structure of it s entity, its political system and it s governmental instruments .The political thinking can not act without determined strategy, So they intend to work hard to formulate a railed strategy that make them able to determine its directions to general issues.
The Study aimed to solve the problem through the following question:
1- What are the levels of Political Thinking and Strategic Analysis in the financial ministry?
2- What are the relation ship between the dimensions of Political T
... Show MoreVolunteerism is an element included in many human cultures. It represents a positive cooperative act between individuals and groups. It expresses the social value systems. As a social phenomenon, it develops in societies according to innumerous circumstances and conditions. This study uses a functional approach that assumes that volunteering performs six functions for volunteers. Namely, we assume that volunteering (1) creates a sense of protection (2) meets significant cultural values (3) improves professional status of volunteers, (4) strengthens their social relationships, (5) helps them achieve a better understanding of life, and finally, (6) enhances their outlook and self-esteem. The central aim of the study is to discuss these fun
... Show MoreOur work included a synthesis of three new imine derivatives—1,3-thiazinan-4-one, 1,3-oxazinan-6-one and 1,3-oxazepin-4,7-dione—which contained an adamantyl fragment. These were produced via the condensation of the Schiff`s base (E)-N-(adamantan-1-yl)-1-(3-aryl)methanimine with 3-mercaptopropanoic acid; 3-chloropropanoic acid; and maleic, citraconic anhydride, respectively. These new imines were prepared via the condensation of adamantan-1-ylamine and 3-nitro-, 3-bromobenzaldehyde in n-BuOH. We obtained a good yield of products. FTIR, 1H NMR spectroscopy and C.H.N.S analysis were used to diagnostic the products. The molecular structure of (E)-N-(adamantan-1-yl
... Show MoreKE Sharquie, SA Al Mashhadani, AA Noaimi, RK Al-Hayani, SA Shubber, Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal, 2012 - Cited by 1