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.
Abstract :
The research aims to Estimate the Strength of Strategic Innovation application in terms of application strength , and on the overall level in number of Iraqi Industrial business organizations . After wards determine whether their is differerences among those organizations in application process for the dimensions , and for the overall process .
The Research revealed number of conclusions including that the process of strategic innovation is applied in a good Level , and demonstrates the desier of the industrial companies Leaders to Launch beyond the familiar products , and to provide new products that
... Show MoreBusiness Ethics play a major role in explaining the behavior of those interested in the management of tourism enterprises in the field of management gains, which sometimes turn to manipulation in the specification of the service of tourism and influence in the technical characteristics at the expense of the brand and market share, as well as misleading beneficiaries about the fact that the performance of the service of tourism, may depend activities tourist dramatically when submitting and sharing various services on the types of mutual relations the framework for moral distinct, in interaction or direct contact between producers of tourism services and tourists or their beneficiaries, in order to provide comfort and recreation a
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The industry can use this standard to identify the variance, which make the evaluation of performance easier and support the efforts to develop the hotel industry at all levels and enable to give high quality services to customers.
The study believed that this situation would not be achieved unless the hotel industry will app
... Show MoreThe kaizen is considered as one of the most important modern techniques which has been adopted by various economics entities especially manufacturing firms and its beginnings return to the middle of the earlier century that has been used by companies like Toshiba, Matsushita Electric, and Toyota. Which realized that these modern techniques would make a total change in the competitive environment and started qualifying and its staff in such away that enables them to go along with this unique environment. The continuous improvement (Kaizen) depends on the small continuous improvements in the product and the production operations during the production stage. Consequently, the research problem is represented in the improperly of the budg
... Show MoreBackground: To evaluate the effect of antierosive agents (10% Nano-Hydroxyapatite (NHA), 10% Casein Phophopeptide-Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (CPP-ACP), and combination of 10% NHA and 10% CPP-ACP) on loss of minerals from enamel surface of permanent teeth treated with antierosive agents when exposed to an acidic beverage and investigate the morphological changes of treated enamel surface after demineralization with cola based beverage under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Materials and Methods: Sixty maxillary first premolars were randomly divided into four groups, 15 teeth for each group. Group I treated with 10% NHA, Group II treated with 10% CPP-ACP, Group III treated with 10% NHA and 10% CPP-ACP, and Group IV did not treat with any
... Show MoreThe Audit evedances represent the reconciliation tools between the Financial data shown on financial statements, and the level of satisfaction level of the Auditor about these statements. According that, the Auditor try to achieve the highest quantity of These evidances, and the most satisfactive of it…, but that will be so hard sometimes, when the internal controlling system is not good, and when the Auditor had some satisfied evidences, but not sharp… So, this research comes to inspect the relation between the quantity, and the level of satisfaction, and argument to prove that evidences gives. This research assumes that getting enough evidences leads to reduce faults, improves the auditing operation, and avoids risks. The research
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