Search results for: university leadership

Authors: Li Lin, Hein Roelfsema

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To achieve aggressive expansion goals, many Chinese companies are seeking resources and market around the world. To an increasing extent, Chinese enterprises recognized the Netherlands as their gateway to Europe Market. Yet, large cultural gaps (e.g. individualism/collectivism, power distance) may influence expat leaders’ influencing process, in turn affect intercultural teamwork. Lessons and suggestions from Chinese expat leaders could provide profound knowledge for managerial practice and future research. The current research focuses on the cultural difference between China and the Netherlands, along with leadership tactics for coping and handling differences occurring in the international business work. Exclusive 47 in-depth interviews with Chinese expat leaders were conducted. Within each interview, respondents were asked what were the main issues when working with Dutch employees, and what they believed as the keys to successful leadership in Dutch-Chinese cross-cultural workplaces. Consistent with previous research, the findings highlight the need to consider the cultural context within which leadership adapts. In addition, the findings indicated the importance of recognizing and applying the cultural advantages from which leadership originates. The results address observation ability as a crucial key for Chinese managers to lead Dutch/international teams. Moreover, setting a common goal help a leader to overcome the challenges due to cultural differences. Based on the analysis, we develop a process model to illustrate the dynamic mechanisms. Our study contributes to the better understanding of transference of management practices, and has important practical implications for managing Dutch employees.

Keywords: Chinese managers, Dutch employees, leadership, interviews

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Authors: Pisit Potjanajaruwit

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TThe research objective was to study the integrated marketing communication strategy that is affecting the student’s decision making to study at Rajabhat University in Thailand. This research is a quantitative research. The sampling for this study is the first year students of Rajabhat University for 400 sampling. The data collection is made by a questionnaire. The data analysis by the descriptive statistic include frequency, percentage, mean and standardization and influence statistic as the multiple regression. The results show that integrated marketing communication including the advertising, public relation, sale promotion is important and significant with the student’s making decision in terms of brand awareness and brand recognized. The university scholar and word of mouth have an impact on decision-making of the student. The direct marketing such as Facebook also relate to the student decision. In addition, we found that the marketing communication budget, university brand positioning and university mission have the direct effect on the marketing communication.

Keywords: decision making of higher education, integrated marketing communication, rajabhat university, social media

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Authors: Jane O`Halloran

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Japanese university students have traditionally shown antipathy towards English due to a generally unsatisfactory language-learning experience at the secondary level with a focus on grammar and translation rather than communication. The situation has become urgent, however, due to the rapid decline in the Japanese population, which will present both difficulties and opportunities as employees will increasingly be forced to use English in the workplace. For university lecturers, the challenge is to overcome the students` apathy and convince them of the need for English in the increasingly diverse workplaces they will be entering. This article will illustrate how English teachers and content teachers at a private science university came together to address this quandary.

Keywords: student motivation, CLIL, globalization, demographics

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Authors: Sofia Sutera

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Despite the introduction of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda in 2000, thanks to the UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions, and the clear stance of the UN towards the support of increased participation of women in peace and security processes, women’s leadership in this context remains very low. Considering specifically the framework of peacekeeping operations, the aim of this paper is to analyze the way women’s leadership is constructed in the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF). In the context of the WPS Agenda, Sweden has been chosen as a case study because of the relevance of its singular feminist policies (the statement in 2014 from Wallström, previous and current Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, that Sweden is pursuing a feminist foreign policy is a clear example). Moreover, the SAF adopted in 2016 the Handbok Gender. This policy addresses explicitly the gender perspective embraced by the Swedish military institution, a sui-generis organization even in the Scandinavian reality. Indeed, the SAF has assumed a clear commitment to represent its institution as gender aware and gender equal. The theoretical perspective utilized in this research, which focuses specifically on women, is feminism and particularly a feminist constructivist approach, with an institutional focus on the military institution, has been chosen. Taking into account the specificity of the feminist research, the above-mentioned gender policy has been examined by means of a critical discourse analysis (CDA) whose main aim is to investigate the social structures of discourse and the power relationships inherent to it. Thus, CDA appears to be quite relevant in order to understand the construction of women’s leadership in the Handbok Gender. Nevertheless, even in a country which officially identifies as feminist and which is characterized by a peculiar military institution, the conclusions of this analysis revealed that women’s leadership in peacekeeping operations remains very low.

Keywords: feminism, peacekeeping operations, swedish armed forces, UNSCR 1325, women's leadership, WPS agenda

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Authors: Anette Forssten Seiser, Ulf Blossing, Mats Ekholm

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The expectation on principals to manage, lead and develop their schools and teachers are high. However, principals are not left alone without guidelines. Policy texts, curricula and syllabuses guide the orientation of their leadership. Moreover, principals’ traits and experience as well as professional norms, are decisive. However, in this study we argue for the importance to deepen the knowledge of how the practice of leadership is shaped in the daily social working life with the teachers at the school. Teachers’ experiences and expectations of leadership influence the principal’s actions, sometimes perhaps contrary to what is emphasized in official texts like the central guidelines. The expectations of teachers make up the norms of the school and thus constitute the local school culture. The aim of this study is to deepen the knowledge of teachers’ expectations on their principals to manage, lead and develop their schools. Two questions are used to guide the study: 1) How do teachers’ and principals’ expectations differ in realistic situations? 2) How do teachers’ experience-based expectations differ from more ideal expectations? To investigate teachers’ expectations of their principals, we use a social psychological perspective framed within an organisational development perspective. A social role is defined by the fact that, within the framework of the role, different people who fulfil the same role exhibit greater similarities than differences in their actions. The way a social role is exercised depends on the expectations placed on the role’s position but also on the expectations of the function of the role. The way in which the social role is embodied in practice also depends on how the person fulfilling the role perceives and understands those expectations. Based on interviews with school principals a questionnaire was constructed. Nine possible real-life and critical incidents were described that are important when it comes to role shaping in the dynamics between teachers and principals. Teachers were asked to make a choice between three, four, or five possible and realistic courses of action for the principal. The teachers were also asked to make two choices between these different options in real-life situations, one ideal as if they were working as a principal themselves, and one experience based – how they estimated that their own principal would act in such a situation. The sample consist of two elementary schools in Sweden. School A consists of two principals and 38 teachers and school B of two principals and 22 teachers. The response rate among the teachers is 95 percent in school A and 86 percent in school B. All four principals answered our questions. The results show that the expectations of teachers and principals can be understood as variations of being harmonic or disharmonic. The harmonic expectations can be interpreted to lead to an attuned leadership, while the disharmonic expectations lead to a more tensed leadership. Harmonious expectations and an attuned leadership are prominent. The results are compared to earlier research on leadership. Attuned and more tensed leadership are discussed in relation to school development and future research.

Keywords: critical incidents, principal leadership, school culture, school development, teachers' expectations

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Authors: R. A. Moronfolu, I. M. Ndaks, O. E. Ifekoya

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This study investigated Gender Stereotypes in Leadership Behaviour and its consequent effect on Job Performance of Sports Council Personnel in Lagos State. The descriptive research method was adapted in conducting the study, while eighty sports personnel of Lagos State sports council, Lagos, Nigeria were drawn as respondents using the stratified random sampling technique. A self-structured questionnaire titled “ Gender- Leader Performance Questionnaire (GLPQ) ”was used for data collection. The GLPQ was face validated by three experts in sports management and was subjected to a pilot test using the test retest method for reliability. A total of eighty copies of the validated GLPQ were administered on selected respondents and retrieved on the spot. The descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages were used in describing the demographic data collected, while the inferential statistics of Chi-square (X2) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used in drawing inferences at a level of significance of 0.05. It was observed that gender stereotypes and behaviours of leaders in Lagos State Sports Council, significantly differ. In addition, gender stereotypes and leadership behavior were observed to significantly influence the job performance of sports council personnel in Lagos State.

Keywords: gender, leadership, stereotype, performance

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Authors: Troy A. Tyre

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Organizational behavior and organizational change are elements of the ever-changing global business environment. Leadership and organizational behavior are 21st century disciplines. Network marketing organizations need to understand the ever-changing nature of global business and be ready and willing to adapt to the environment. Network marketing organizations have a challenge keeping up with a rapid escalation in global growth. Network marketing growth has been steady and global. Network marketing organizations have been slow to develop a 21st century global strategy to manage the rapid escalation of growth degrading organizational behavior, job satisfaction, increasing attrition, and degrading customer service. Development of an organizational behavior and leadership theory for the 21st century to help network marketing develops a global business strategy to manage the rapid escalation in growth that affects organizational behavior. Managing growth means organizational leadership must develop and adapt to the organizational environment. Growth comes with an open mind and one’s departure from the comfort zone. Leadership growth operates in the tacit dimension. Systems thinking and adaptation of mental models can help shift organizational behavior. Shifting the organizational behavior requires organizational learning. Organizational learning occurs through single-loop, double-loop, and triple-loop learning. Triple-loop learning is the most difficult, but the most rewarding. Tools such as theory U can aid in developing a landscape for organizational behavioral development. Additionally, awareness to espoused and portrayed actions is imperatives. Theories of motivation, cross-cultural diversity, and communications are instrumental in founding an organizational behavior suited for the 21st century.

Keywords: global, leadership, network marketing, organizational behavior

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Authors: M. F. Páramo, F. Cadaveira, M. S. Rodríguez

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The first year at university is a critical period for personal-emotional and academic adjustment in emerging adults. Moreover, some studies show that alcohol consumption increases in young adults on transition to university. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of hazardous alcohol consumption and gender on adjustment to university, understood as a multidimensional construct involving an array of demands. A sample of 300 first year students in Spain completed the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Examination of the data by analysis of variance revealed that adjustment to university was lower in the students undertaking hazardous alcohol consumption than in the other students. Surprisingly, the personal-emotional adjustment of students with hazardous alcohol consumption was not lower than in the other students. Analysis of the gender effect revealed that levels of personal-emotional adjustment were higher in males than in females. This is our first study examining the influence of alcohol consumption on university adjustment. Future research should examine this relationship more closely, with the aim of designing public health strategies focused on limiting abusive consumption of alcohol in university students.

Keywords: alcohol consumption, first year university students, gender, SACQ

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Authors: Hamzah Kamil Adeyemi, Oyesikun Abayomi Nathaniel

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The plural nature of Nigeria state has created a leadership gap in the 21st century. The leadership problem encapsulated socio-economic system has called for a reorientation in youth to channel a programme that will redeem the image (OT) the country among the committee of nations and chart a way forward in bailing the country out of bad governance unemployment corruption and other anti-development policies. The touth need to raise up to the challenges of nation building. This study engaged theoretical analysis, both written records was used to add value to its quality and recommendation was made with conclusion.

Keywords: youth, education, unempolyment, rebranding, Nigeria

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Authors: Chuks Odiegwu-Enwerem

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The classical notion of opinion leadership presupposes that the media is at the center of an effective and successful opinion leadership. Under this idea, an opinion leader is an active media user who consumes, understands, digests and interprets the messages for the understanding and acceptance/adoption by lower-end media users – whose access and understanding of media content are supposedly low. Because of their unique access to and presumed understanding of media functions and their content, opinion leaders are typically esteemed by those who look forward to and accept their opinions. Lazarsfeld and Katz’s two-step flow of communication theory is the basis of opinion leadership – propelled by limited access to the media. With the emergence and spread of social media and its unlimited access by all and sundry, however, the study interrogates the relevance and application of opinion leaders and, by implication, the two-step flow communication theory in Nigeria’s Northcentral region. It seeks to determine whether opinion leaders still exist in the picture and if they still exert considerable influence, especially in matters of political conversations and decision-making among the citizens of this area. It further explores whether the diffusion of social media is a reality and how the ‘low-end’ media users react to the new-found freedom of access to media, and how they are using it to inform their decisions on important matters as well as examines if they are still glued to their opinion leaders. This study explores the empirical dimensions of the two-step flow hypothesis in relation to the activities of social media to determine if a change has occurred and in what direction, using mixed methos of Survey and in-depth interviews. Our understanding and belief in some theoretical assumptions may be enhanced or challenged by the study outcome.

Keywords: Opinion Leadership, Active Media User, Two-Step-Flow, Social media, Northcentral Nigeria

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Authors: Olusola Olasupo, E. O. C. Ijeoma

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The University of Fort Hare and the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU), the registered labor union at the University recognizes the significance of collective bargaining. This prompted both parties to enter into agreement with the notion to strengthening the relationship between them. The agreement was therefore entered into between NEHAWU representing the employees and the University. The agreement was signed on August 31st, 2005. The study adopting historical research method reveals the trend and implementation of bargaining agreements at University of Fort Hare from 2012 to 2016. This study examines how the implementation of bargaining agreement is utilized to solve labor related challenges and also improve on employee’s wages and conditions of service thereby strengthening the relationship between the management and employees at University of Fort Hare. The study contributes to knowledge on the effects of the implementation of bargaining agreement on wages and other conditions of service leading to harmonious relationship between the Staff and the management towards the effective administration of the University of Fort Hare. Findings reveal that ever since 2005 when the agreement was reached, University of Fort Hare and NEHAWU have been committed to improving the employees’ wages through substantive agreement. The study concludes by recommending a more effective implementation of bargaining agreement at University of Fort Hare.

Keywords: agreement, bargaining, implementation, trend

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Authors: Donald C. Lantu, Henndy Ginting, M. Yorga Permana, Dany M. A. Ramdlany

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We constructed a training program for top-talents of a Bank with Scharmer Theory-U as the model. In this training program, we implemented the action learning perspective, as it is claimed to be the most effective one currently available. In the process, participants were encouraged to be more involved, especially compared to traditional lecturing. The goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of this particular training. The program consists of six days non-residential workshop within two months. Between each workshop, the participants were involved in the works of action learning group. They were challenged by dealing with the real problem related to their tasks at work. The participants of the program were 30 best talents who were chosen according to their yearly performance. Using paired difference statistical test in the behavioral assessment, we found that the training was not effective to increase participants’ leadership competencies. For the future development program, we suggested to modify the goals of the program toward the next stage of development.

Keywords: action learning, behavior, leadership development, Theory-U

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Authors: Alison L. Miles

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Almost all major financial institutions in the world suffered losses due to the financial crisis of 2007, but the extent varied widely. The causes of the crash of 2007 are well documented and predominately focus on the role and complexity of the financial markets. The dominant theme of the literature suggests the causes of the crash were a combination of globalization, financial sector innovation, moribund regulation and short termism. While these arguments are undoubtedly true, they do not tell the whole story. A key weakness in the current analysis is the lack of consideration of those leading the banks pre and during times of crisis. This purpose of this study is to examine the possible link between the leadership styles and characteristics of the CEO, CFO and chairman and the financial institutions that failed or needed recapitalization. As such, it contributes to the literature and debate on international financial crises and systemic risk and also to the debate on risk management and regulatory reform in the banking sector. In order to first test the proposition (p1) that there are prevalent leadership characteristics or traits in financial institutions, an initial study was conducted using a sample of the top 65 largest global banks and financial institutions according to the Banker Top 1000 banks 2014. Secondary data from publically available and official documents, annual reports, treasury and parliamentary reports together with a selection of press articles and analyst meeting transcripts was collected longitudinally from the period 1998 to 2013. A computer aided key word search was used in order to identify the leadership styles and characteristics of the chairman, CEO and CFO. The results were then compared with the leadership models to form a picture of leadership in the sector during the research period. As this resulted in separate results that needed combining, SPSS data editor was used to aggregate the results across the studies using the variables ‘leadership style’ and ‘company financial performance’ together with the size of the company. In order to test the proposition (p2) that there was a prevalent leadership style in the banks that failed and the proposition (P3) that this was different to those that did not, further quantitative analysis was carried out on the leadership styles of the chair, CEO and CFO of banks that needed recapitalization, were taken over, or required government bail-out assistance during 2007-8. These included: Lehman Bros, Merrill Lynch, Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS, Barclays, Northern Rock, Fortis and Allied Irish. The findings show that although regulatory reform has been a key mechanism of control of behavior in the banking sector, consideration of the leadership characteristics of those running the board are a key factor. They add weight to the argument that if each crisis is met with the same pattern of popular fury with the financier, increased regulation, followed by back to business as usual, the cycle of failure will always be repeated and show that through a different lens, new paradigms can be formed and future clashes avoided.

Keywords: banking, financial crisis, leadership, risk

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Authors: Shannon Richards-Green, Suzanne Gough, Sharon Mickan

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Background: Healthcare leaders work in highly complex and rapidly changing environments. Consequently, they need both flexibility and the capacity to hold multiple perspectives simultaneously. My research explored how healthcare leaders understand and make sense (meaning) of their leadership experiences and how this understanding was manifested in their leadership behaviours. Methods: This grounded theory study was conducted via 2 x 1-hour interviews with healthcare leaders within acute care hospitals. A total of 33 hours of interviews were conducted with 17 participants. Participants were recruited using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded to explore emergent patterns and relationships within the data, utilising constant comparative analysis. Adult developmental stage was defined through a subject-object interview with each participant, in alignment with the tenets of constructive development theory. Findings: Participants from acute care hospitals within Australia have participated in the study, with the majority representing the executive leadership level. Broad categories emerging from the data include; Broadening perspectives and abilities as a leader, Dealing with and experiencing conflict within the workplace, Experiencing rewarding times as a leader, and Leading in alignment with a strong personal values system. Discussion: Successfully dealing with complex challenges requires an ability to engage with nuanced perspectives and responses, an integral part of adult developmental growth. In dealing with conflict, for example, leaders at various levels of adult development approached the situation quite differently. Understanding how healthcare leaders make sense of their experiences can assist in providing insights into the value of supporting adult developmental growth in healthcare leadership.

Keywords: leadership, adult development, complexity, growth

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Authors: Agnes Havril

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The aim of this paper is to introduce some partial findings of an ongoing research project which is investigating the improvement of intercultural competence of Saudi female university students in English as a Second Language academic environment at the multicultural Jazan University. Since previous research results support the idea that this university generation has the desire to become interculturally or globally competent university students, the present-day investigation is focusing on the assessment of Saudi-specific cultural terms and intercultural competence components in comparison with the Anglo-Saxon oriented western perspective of intercultural competence theories and models. On this stage of the research quantitative research methodology is applied and a survey is being conducted among the female university students in different academic specializations. This paper discusses some empirical data with the aim of identifying and evaluating certain supplementary aspects of intercultural dimensions and components of the intercultural competence construct. The research results also highlight several gender issues in the gender separated higher education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: gender separation, globally competent university student, intercultural competence, intercultural competence construct, higher education

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Authors: Yolanda Ramirez, Angel Tejada, Agustin Baidez

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There is currently a growing interest in the improvement of university governance and the disclosure of information on corporate governance processes as an essential part of the transparency and accountability of universities. This paper aims to know the importance given by Spanish university stakeholders to the disclosure of information about structure and mechanism of corporate governance. So as to meet this objective we propose a model for disclosing information on the main aspects of university governance in Spanish universities. This model will be validated using a questionnaire sent to members of the Social Councils of public universities in Spain. Our results show that Spanish university stakeholders attach great importance to the disclosure of specific information on aspects of corporate governance, which would result in improved transparency and accountability. According to the results of this study it may be concluded that the university stakeholders feel that it is relevant to publish information on corporate governance in the university accounting information model.

Keywords: corporate governance, transparency, accountability, universities, Spain

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Authors: Carolina Cuéllar, Paz González

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Research has shown that school leadership has a significant indirect effect on students’ achievements. In Chile, evidence has also revealed that this impact is stronger in vulnerable schools. With the aim of strengthening school leadership, public policy has taken up the challenge of enhancing capabilities of novice principals through the implementation of induction programs, which include a mentoring component, entrusting the task of delivering these programs to universities. The importance of using mentoring or coaching models in the preparation of novice school leaders has been emphasized in the international literature. Thus, it can be affirmed that building leadership capacity through partnership is crucial to facilitate cognitive and affective support required in the initial phase of the principal career, gain role clarification and socialization in context, stimulate reflective leadership practice, among others. In Chile, mentoring is a recent phenomenon in the field of school leadership and it is even more new in the preparation of new principals who work in public schools. This study, funded by the Chilean Ministry of Education, sought to explore the challenges and lessons arising from the design and implementation of mentoring processes which are part of the induction programs, according to the perception of the different actors involved: ministerial agents, university coordinators, mentors and novice principals. The investigation used a qualitative design, based on a study of three cases (three induction programs). The sources of information were 46 semi-structured interviews, applied in two moments (at the beginning and end of mentoring). Content analysis technique was employed. Data focused on the uniqueness of each case and the commonalities within the cases. Five main challenges and lessons emerged in the design and implementation of mentoring within the induction programs for new principals from Chilean public schools. They comprised the need of (i) developing a shared conceptual framework on mentoring among the institutions and actors involved, which helps align the expectations for the mentoring component within the induction programs, along with assisting in establishing a theory of action of mentoring that is relevant to the public school context; (ii) recognizing trough actions and decisions at different levels that the role of a mentor differs from the role of a principal, which challenge the idea that an effective principal will always be an effective mentor; iii) improving mentors’ selection and preparation processes trough the definition of common guiding criteria to ensure that a mentor takes responsibility for developing critical judgment of novice principals, which implies not limiting the mentor’s actions to assist in the compliance of prescriptive practices and standards; (iv) generating common evaluative models with goals, instruments and indicators consistent with the characteristics of mentoring processes, which helps to assess expected results and impact; and (v) including the design of a mentoring structure as an outcome of the induction programs, which helps sustain mentoring within schools as a collective professional development practice. Results showcased interwoven elements that entail continuous negotiations at different levels. Taking action will contribute to policy efforts aimed at professionalizing the leadership role in public schools.

Keywords: induction programs, mentoring, novice principals, school leadership preparation

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Authors: Katie Wood

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Cyber criminals are constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to exploit organisation and cause destruction. This could lead to significant cause of economic loss for organisations in the form of destruction in finances, reputation and even the overall survival of the organization. Additionally, this leads to serious consequences on national security. The threat of possible cyber attacks places further pressure on organisations to ensure they are secure, at a time where international scale cyber attacks have occurred in a range of sectors. Stakeholders are wanting confidence that their data is protected. This is only achievable if a business fosters a resilient supply chain strategy which is implemented throughout its supply chain by having a strong cyber leadership culture. This paper will discuss the essential role and need for organisations to adopt a cyber leadership culture and direction to learn about own internal processes to ensure mitigating systemic vulnerability of its supply chains. This paper outlines that to protect national security there is an urgent need for cyber awareness culture change. This is required in all organisations, regardless of their sector or size, to implementation throughout the whole supplier chain to support and protect economic prosperity to make the UK more resilient to cyber-attacks. Through businesses understanding the supply chain and risk management cycle of their own operates has to be the starting point to ensure effective cyber migration strategies.

Keywords: cyber leadership, cyber migration strategies, resilient supply chain strategy, cybersecurity

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Authors: Lin Yanyan

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This research set out to understand early childhood practitioners’ perceptions of continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities and its relationship to career progression and leadership roles in Singapore. The small-scale qualitative inductive study was conducted in two phases. Phase one used close-ended questionnaires with a total of 24 early years practitioner participants, while phase two included a total of 5 participants who were invited to participate in the second part of the data collection. Semi-structured interviews were used at phase two to elicit deeper responses from parents and teachers. Findings from the study were then thematically coded and analysed. The findings from both questionnaires and interviews showed that early years practitioners perceived CPD to be important to their professional growth, but there was no conclusive link that CPD necessarily led to the progression of leadership roles in the early years. Participants experience of CPD was strongly determined by their employer- the preschool operator, being government-funded or a private entity, which resulted in key differences emerging between their responses. Participants also experienced road blocks in their pursuit of CPD, in the form of staff shortage, budget constraints and lack of autonomy as their employers imposed specific CPD courses on them to suit the organisational needs, rather than their personal or professional needs.

Keywords: continuous professional development (CPD), early years practitioners (EYP), career progression, leadership

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Authors: Robin C. Ladwig

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The future of work becomes less predictable, which requires increasing the adaptability of organizations to social and work changes. Society is transforming regarding gender identity in the sense that more people come forward to identify as trans and gender diverse (TGD). Organizations are ill-equipped to provide a safe and encouraging work environment by lacking inclusive organizational structures. The qualitative multi-method research about TGD inclusivity in the workplace explores the enablers and barriers for TGD individuals to satisfactory engage in the work environment and organizational culture. Furthermore, these TGD insights are analyzed about their organizational implications and awareness from a leadership and management perspective. The semi-structured online interviews with TGD individuals and the photo-elicit open-ended questionnaire addressed to leadership and management in diversity, career development, and human resources have been analyzed with a critical grounded theory approach. Findings demonstrated the significance of TGD voices, the support of leadership and management, as well as the synergy between voices and leadership. Hence, it indicates practical implications such as the revision of exclusive language used in policies, data collection, or communication and reconsideration of organizational decision-making by leaders to include TGD voices.

Keywords: future of work, occupational identity, organisational decision-making, trans and gender diverse identity

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Authors: Omar Alsetoohy, Mohamed Ezzat, Mahmoud Abou Kamar

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The success of a restaurant or hotel depends very much on the quality and quantity of its human resources. Thus, establishing a competitive edge through human assets requires careful attention to the practices that best leverage these assets. Usually, hotel or restaurant employees recognize customer defection as an unfavorable or unpleasant occurrence associated with failure. These failures could be in handling, communication, learning, or encouragement. Besides, employees could be afraid of blame from their colleagues and managers, which prevents them from freely discussing these mistakes with them. Such behaviors, in turn, would push employees to withdraw from the workplace. However, we have a good knowledge of the leadership outcomes, but less is known about how and why these effects occur. Accordingly, mindful leaders usually analyze the causes and underlying mechanisms of failures for work improvement. However, despite the excessive literature in the field of leadership and employee behaviors, to date, no research studies had investigated the impact of a failure-tolerant restaurant culture on the employees’ withdrawal behaviors considering the moderating role of psychological empowerment and mindful leadership. Thus, this study seeks to investigate the impact of a failure-tolerant culture on the employees’ withdrawal behaviors in fast-food restaurants in Egypt considering the moderating effects of employee empowerment and mindful leaders. This study may contribute to the existing literature by filling the gap between failure-tolerant cultures and employee withdrawal behaviors in the hospitality literature. The study may also identify the best practices for restaurant operators and managers to deal with employees' failures as an improvement tool for their performance.

Keywords: failure-tolerant culture, employees’ withdrawal behaviors psychological empowerment, mindful leadership, restaurants

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Authors: Gilbert Makanda, Roelf Sypkens

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In this study we investigated the relevance of high school mathematics in university education. The paper particularly focused on whether the concepts taught in high school are enough for engineering courses at diploma level. The study identified particular concepts that are required in engineering courses whether they were adequately covered in high school. A questionnaire was used to investigate whether relevant topics were covered in high school. The respondents were 228 first year students at the Central University of Technology in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. The study indicates that there are some topics such as integration, complex numbers and matrices that are not done at high schools and are required in engineering courses at university. It is further observed that some students did not cover the topics that are in the current syllabus. Female students enter the university less prepared than their male counterparts. More than 30% of the respondents in this study felt that high school mathematics was not useful for them to be able to do engineering courses.

Keywords: high school mathematics, university education, SPSS package, students' perceptions

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Authors: Bilgen Ozluk, Ayfer Karaaslan

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Introduction: Adaptation to university life is a difficult process for students. In peer support, students are expected to help other students or sometimes adults using their helping skills. Therefore, it is expected that peer support will have significant effect on students’ adaptation to university life. Aim: This study was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of peer support on adaptation to university life in the first year students of the faculty of health sciences. Methods: The population consists of 340 first year university students receiving education in the departments of nursing, health management, social services, nutrition and dietetics, physiotherapy and rehabilitation at an university located in the province of Konya. The sample of the study consisted of 274 students who voluntarily participated in the study. The data were collected between the dates 23 May 2016 and 3 June 2016. The data were collected using the socio-demographic information, the peer support scale and the university life adaptation scale. Ethical approvals for the study and permission from the university were taken. Numbers, percentages, averages, one-Way ANOVA, pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis have been used in assessing the data. Findings: When the problems most frequently encountered by students just starting the university were ordered, problems regarding their classes took the first place by 41.6%, socio-cultural problems took the second place by 38.7%, and economic problems took the third place by 37.6%. The mean total score of the Adaptation to University Life Scale was found to be 216.78±32.15. Considering that the lowest and highest scores that can be gained from the scale are 132 and 289 respectively, it was found that the adaptation to university life levels of the students were higher than the average. The mean adaptation to university life score of the nursing students was higher than those of the students of other departments. The mean score of ‘the Peer Support Scale’ was found to be 47.24±10.27. Considering that the lowest and highest scores that can be gained from the scale are 17 and 68 respectively, it was found that the peer support levels of the students were higher than the average. As a result of the regression analysis, it was found that 20% of the total variance regarding adaptation to university life was explained by peer support. Conclution: Receiving the support peer groups becomes highly important in the university adaptation process of first-year students. Peer support will create the means for easier completion of this difficult transition process.

Keywords: adaptation to university life, first years, peer support, university student

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Authors: Isaiah Phillip Smith

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It is reported that alcohol consumption accounts for 3 million annual deaths globally, thus, it is a significant public health challenge internationally. The excessive consumption of alcohol is argued in literature to be related to problematic behaviors like crime, accident, fighting, violence, and unprotected sex, among others. Alcohol consumption among university students in South Africa particularly is considered endemic – with a prevalence rate of 25.27%, 32.34%, and 23.34% across universities, colleges, and high schools. Adopting the tenets of social learning and ecological theories, the culture of drinking amongst male university students is critically explored. This study found that age, gender, early exposure to alcohol, and peer pressure are significant factors contributing to alcohol consumption amongst university students. While participants acknowledged that moderate and responsible consumption of alcohol is necessary, they agree that it does not translate to responsible drinking behaviours.

Keywords: alcohol, drinking, university, students

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Authors: Ambreen Amir Ali

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In todays’ dynamic environment, it has become very crucial to have comprehensive management trainee program to hire future leaders of organization. It is being proved that fresh graduates mostly join organizations because of its institution but later on they leave organization because of their immediate manager or supervisor. The concept of coaching and mentoring in talent management systems are very important, because mentors are those who can advise, facilitate, help and support new entrants to advance in their career. When it comes to going for talent hunt, one point needs to be highlighted that MTs are the raw talent for your organization, now it’s the responsibility of employers to nourish them, polish and developed them so that they can enthusiastically take care of senior leadership roles.

Keywords: management trainee, retention, leadership roles, coaching

Procedia PDF Downloads 606

Authors: Han Hongmei

Abstract:

University image is receiving attention because of its key role in influencing student choice, faculty loyalty, and social recognition. Therefore, all universities strive to promote their positive images. However, for most people, the positive image of a university is often from fragmented perceptual understanding. Since universities’ official websites are important channels for image promotion, a corpus approach to university profiles in their official websites can reveal holistic positive images of universities. This study aims to compare positive images of high-level universities in China and English-speaking countries based on a profile corpus of theseuniversities. It is found that the positive images revealed in these university profiles are similar, with some minor differences. The similarities are reflected in the campus environment, historical achievements, comprehensive characteristics, scientific research institutions, and diversified faculty; while the differences are reflected in their unique characteristics. Furthermore, the findings also reveal a gap between Chinese universities and high-level universities in the English-speaking countries.

Keywords: university image, positive image, corpus of university profiles, comparative analysis, high-frequency words

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Prakash Singh

Abstract:

This study focused on the importance of collegiality to improve the effectiveness of a poorly resourced school (PRS). In an effective school that embraces collegiality as its culture, one can expect to find a teaching staff and a management team that shares responsibilities and accountabilities through the development of a common purpose and vision, regardless of whether the school is considered to be poorly resourced or not. Working together in collegial teams is a more effective way to accomplish tasks and to create a climate for effective learning, even for learners in PRSs from poor communities. The main aim of this study was therefore to determine whether collegiality as a leadership strategy could extract the best from people in a PRS, and consequently create the most effective and efficient educational climate possible. The responses received from the teachers and the principal at the PRS supports the notion that collegiality does have a positive influence on learning, as demonstrated by the improved academic achievement of the learners. The teachers were now more involved in the school. They agreed that this was a positive development. Their descriptions of increased involvement, shared accountability and shared decision-making identified important aspects of collegiality that transformed the school from being dysfunctional. Hence, it is abundantly clear that a collegial leadership style can help extract the best from people because the most effective and efficient educational climate can be created at a school when collegiality is employed. Collegial leadership demonstrates that even in PRSs, there are boundless opportunities to improve teaching and learning.

Keywords: collegiality, collegial leadership, effective educational climate, poorly resourced school

Procedia PDF Downloads 388

Authors: L. K. Karimova, K. I. Shariukova, A. A. Kirpichnikova, E. A. Razuvalova

Abstract:

This article deals with technology of virtual reconstruction of Kazan Imperial University of XIX - early XX centuries. The paper describes technologies of 3D-visualization of high-resolution models of objects of university space, creation of multi-agent system and connected with these objects organized database of historical sources, variants of use of technologies of immersion into the virtual environment.

Keywords: 3D-reconstruction, multi-agent system, database, university space, virtual reconstruction, virtual heritage

Procedia PDF Downloads 242

Authors: Tiina Brandt, Isaac Wanasika

Abstract:

Culturally diverse global companies need to understand cultural differences between leaders and employees from different backgrounds. Communication is culturally contingent and has a significant impact on effective execution of leadership goals. The awareness of cultural variations related to communication and interactions will help leaders modify their own behavior, and consequently improve the execution of goals and avoid unnecessary faux pas. Our focus is on young adults that have experienced cultural integration, culturally diverse surroundings in schools and universities, and cultural travels. Our central research problem is to understand the impact of different national cultures on communication. We focus on four countries with distinct national cultures and spatial distribution. The countries are Finland, Indonesia, Russia and USA. Our sample is based on business students (n = 225) from various backgrounds in the four countries. Their responses of communication and leadership styles were analyzed using ANOVA and post-hoc test. Results indicate that culture impacts on communication behavior. Even young culturally-exposed adults with cultural awareness and experience demonstrate cultural differences in their behavior. Apparently, culture is a deeply seated trait that cannot be completely neutralized by environmental variables. Our study offers valuable input for leadership training programs and for expatriates when recognizing specific differences on leaders’ behavior due to culture.

Keywords: communication, culture, interaction, leadership

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Enes Ergün, Sedat Geli̇bolu

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and subjective well-being among university students. We are aiming to determine whether self efficacy of university students predicts their subjective well-being and if there is a statistically significant difference among boys and girls in this context. Sample of this study consists of 245 university students from Çanakkale, ages ranging between 17 and 24. 72% (n=171) of the participants were girls and 28% (n=69) boys. Three different scales were utilized as data collection tools that Life Satisfaction Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Positive Negative Experiences Scale. Pearson correlation coefficient, independent sample t test and simple linear regression were used for data analyses. Results showed that well-being is significantly correlated with self-efficacy and self-efficacy is a statistically significant predictor of well-being too. In terms of gender differences, there is no significant difference between self-efficacy scores of boys and girls which shows the same case with well being scores, as well. Fostering university students' academic, social and emotional self-efficacy will increase their well-being which is very important for young adults especially their freshman years.

Keywords: positive psychology, self-efficacy, subjective well being, university students

Procedia PDF Downloads 251