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 strategies of knowledge management have became the basis in the promotion of core competencies. Therefore gained an increasing prominence. This led the administrations of organizations to work to effectiveness of there strategies, which results to build there core competences through teamwork, empowerment and personal effectiveness of employees. From this arises research problem about the organizations leaders recognize extent of knowledge management strategies which that lead to core competence. In addition the research tray definition the relation and nature of affect between its variables. The research was carried on sample (72) managers from board of supreme audit in Iraq and used statistical tools and methods.
... Show MoreAbstract:
This study aims to identify the level of patients’ satisfaction among a sample of hospitalized patients in the targeted hospital (Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital, and Al-Yarmook Teaching Hospital). Moreover, this study highlights the reality of services for patients, especially in the targeted governmental teaching hospitals. The Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care (PSNCS) has been measured in these hospitals through the revised scale by Tang et al, (2013).This scale includes four major domains; Health Information (5 items), Influencing Support (4 items), Decision Control (4 items), Specialized Technical Competence (7 items). The method of surveying patients’ opinions about the degree
... Show MoreThis study focuses on the biodegradation of oxymatrine insecticide by some soil fungi isolated from four agriculture stations. The results showed that the highest degradation rate 94.66% was recorded by Ulocladium sp. at 10 days and A. niger recorded the lowest degradation rate 45.86%, while at 20 days Ulocladium sp. also showed the highest degradation rate 94.98% and the lowest degradation rate reached to 82.49% with A.niger. The mix (Exerohilum sp.+Ulocladium sp.) recorded the highest degradation rate of oxymatrine insecticide 90.22%, 88.51%, 85.34% at 4, 8 and 12 ppm.The use of mixed isolates enhanced the biodegradation process. There is no study of oxymatrine biodegradation
... Show MoreMany researchers used different methods in their investigations to enhance the heat transfer coefficient, one of these methods is using porous medium. Heat transfer process inside closed and open cavities filled with a fluid-saturated porous media has a considerable importance in different engineering applications, such as compact heat exchangers, nuclear reactors and solar collectors. So, the present paper comprises a review on natural, forced, and combined convection heat transfer inside a porous cavity with and without driven lid. Most of the researchers on this specific subject studied the effect of many parameters on the heat transfer and fluid field inside a porous cavity, like the angle of inclination, the presenc
... Show MoreThis study deals with the impact of leadership styles in its three main dimensions (democratic, autocratic, lenient) as an independent variable of the dimensions of functional combustion (emotional stress, inhumanity, personal achievement). The research sought to achieve a set of goals, the most prominent of which are: studying the reality of the researched organization to identify the leadership patterns used in its management and its impact on the phenomenon of functional combustion, Moreover, knowing the extent of support for these established patterns and their contribution to mitigating the phenomenon of functional combustion in the organization's environment, and testing the impact of these leadership patte
... Show MoreTo identify the fungi associated with water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms), an aquatic weed, which presents in Tigris river from Baghdad south ward. Five regions from middle and south of Iraq (Al-Noumanya, Saeid Bin-Jubier, Al-Azizia, Al-Reyfay and Al-Hay) were selected for this study. Twelve fungal species were isolated. Alternaria alternata, Acremonium sp and Cladsporium herbarum, were the most frequently species (91.66 % ,50 % and 25 %) respectively. The fungi Alternaria alternata, Acremonium sp. and Phoma eupyrena were more aggressive to water hyacinth as (91.66%,83,33%, and 75%) in pathogenicity test.
Iridoid glycosides are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds. They are a large family of compounds biosynthesized by plants, they often have pharmacological effects. The aim of this study is to isolate and identified iridoid glycoside in a newly studied, cultivated in Iraq named Gardenis jasminoides. The medicinal importance of iridoid glycoside, on one hand and absence of phytochemical investigation on leaves of Gardenia on the other hand, acquired this study its importance. Many compounds were isolated from leaves plant part one of these compounds was identified by different chemical analysis like: melting point (MP), thin layer chromatography (TLC), Fourier transforms infrared spectra (FTIR) and high performance l
... Show More
