Search results for: management commitment and leadership

Authors: Maha Rashid Al-Azib, Almuzn Qasem Alqathradi, Amal Munir Alshahrani, Bilqis Mohammed Assiri, Ali Almuflih

Abstract:

The Occupational Safety and Health Management System in one of the largest Saudi companies has been experiencing in the last 10 years extensive direct and indirect expenses due to lack of proactive leading indicators and safety leadership effective procedures. And since there are no studies that are associated with this department of safety in the company, this research has been conducted. In this study we used a mixed method approach containing a literature review and experts input, then a qualitative questionnaire provided by Institute for Work and Health related to determining the company’s occupational safety and health management system level out from three levels (Compliance - Improvement - Continuous Learning) and the output regarding the company’s level was in Continuous Learning. After that Deming cycle was employed to create a set of proactive leading indicators and analyzed using the SMART method to make sure of its effectiveness and suitability to the company. The objective of this research is to provide a set of proactive indicators to contribute in making an efficient occupational safety and health management system that has less accidents which results in less expenses. Therefore, we provided the company with a prototype of an APP, designed and empowered with our final results to contribute in supporting decisions making processes.

Keywords: proactive leading indicators, OSH MS, safety leadership, accidents reduction

Procedia PDF Downloads 57

Authors: Kunkanit Sutamchai, Kate E. Rowlands

Abstract:

Recent public ethical scandals in many organizations around the world have raised concern about organizational ethics, which have, in turn, made ethical behaviors and conducts on the part of leaders become more critical topics in organizational studies. However, current research on the benefits of mindfulness within the workplace contexts has predominantly focused on stress reduction and work performance enhancement, while the aspects of ethical behavior development have been far less investigated in mindfulness research in the organizational and management fields. Only recently has there been an emerging call for organizational researchers and practitioners to study mindfulness concepts and practices from the original Buddhist perspectives given that ethics is regarded as a foundation for Buddhist mindfulness. Yet little, if any, empirical research on the contributions of mindfulness practices to ethical leadership has been done in Eastern Buddhist contexts. Therefore, this study aims to explore the extent to which and how Buddhist-based mindfulness practices can influence organizational leaders’ ethical values and practices. On this basis, Thailand was selected as a context of study due to a predominantly Buddhist society and culture. Qualitative data were gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews with twenty executive leaders from various private organizations in Thailand, who practice Buddhist-based mindfulness meditation regularly. The findings from this study shed light on the role Buddhist-based mindfulness practices can play in promoting ethical behavior among executive leaders in Thailand. The results also suggest that ethical values and practices influenced by Buddhist-based mindfulness practices are well aligned with the elements appeared in the inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural ethical leadership framework, namely: humane, justice, sustainability and responsibility, and moderation. This study concludes that the integration of ethical dimensions to mindfulness practices may provide promising opportunities for ethical leadership development, particularly in the context of Thailand. This could contribute significantly to the future development of both organizations and society at large. The study also suggests that mindfulness interventions in organizational contexts should place more explicit emphasis on ethics. This may be done by relating the ethical principles underlying Buddhist-based mindfulness to other ethical systems in different contexts and cultures where they can be aligned.

Keywords: Buddhism, ethical leadership, leadership development, mindfulness, Thailand, training

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Derrick Boakye Boadu, Zahra Fakhri

Abstract:

Transformational leaders are the catalyst of change and focus more importantly on members or followers. Involvement of transformational leadership style in organizational structures can provide interesting nuances to the implementation and enhancement of citizen and customer participation mechanisms in an organization regardless of the time consuming, cost, and delaying process of analyzing the feedback of workers and citizens/customers which stifles good outcome of organization’s department performance. It posits that transformational leadership has a positive direct effect on organization-departmental performance and the intervening role of citizen and customer participation and internal communication. Using the NASP-IV 2007 data, the article finds support for the five hypotheses in a structural equation model, and the findings show that transformational leadership does have a direct impact on organizational-departmental performance a partial mediation effect of the relationship through the role of internal communication and citizen and customer participation.  

Keywords: transformational leaders, departmental performance, internal communication, citizen/customer participation

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Ali Muhammad

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of employees’ perception of political behavior on their behavior and attitudes. The model tested in this study suggests that employees’ perception of political behavior in their organizations leads to lower levels of job satisfaction, and organizational commitment, and higher levels of work-related stress, and intentions to leave the organization. A sample of 182 employees working in six Kuwaiti business organizations were surveyed using a questionnaire, and data was analyzed using correlation analysis, regression analysis, and non-parametric tests. Results reveal that employees’ perception of political behavior is negatively associated with job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and positively associated with work-related stress and employees’ intentions to leave the organization. The results of the current study are discussed and are compared to the results of previous studies in this area. Finally, the directions for future research are suggested.

Keywords: perceptions of political behavior, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, intention to leave

Procedia PDF Downloads 331

Authors: Mahmoud Mohamed Emam, Yasser Fathy Hendawy Al-Mahdy

Abstract:

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Arab countries have witnessed large scope transformations as a result of embracing globalised practices. The introduction of program academic accreditation in HEIs in the Arab context has been regarded as a change enterprise that has proponents and opponents. In essence, introducing new systems or practices trigger changes that may shatter employees at a given organization. Therefore, it is argued that the interaction between organizational, contextual, and individual-related variables are likely to determine how the organization succeeds in facing resistance to change. This study investigated a mediated-effects model of organizational support and citizenship behavior. The model proposes organizational support as an antecedent of citizenship behavior and commitment to change as a mediator in the organizational support–citizenship behavior relationship. Survey data were collected and analyzed from university faculty (n=221) using structural equation modeling. Findings showed that organizational support significantly contributes to increasedcitizenshipbehaviour and the commitment of university faculty to program accreditation as a change enterprise, which has a significant and direct impact on their citizenship behaviour. We conclude that university-level organizational support shapes faculty’s commitment to change both directly and indirectly. The findings have significant practical implications for HEIs in Arab countries when they introduce new practices that aim at improving institutional effectiveness.

Keywords: organizational support, accreditation, commitment, citizenship behaviour

Procedia PDF Downloads 70

Authors: Samaila Liman Gamba

Abstract:

This paper discussed the importance of good governance and its impact on the socio-economic and political development of African countries and, conversely, its underdevelopment and consequent stagnation. The study employed the use of quantitative and descriptive methods of collecting secondary data. The system analysis approach was also adopted as the theoretical framework. It is a global system, but it is also used to analyze the place of regions and single states within it. The study showed that political leadership in Africa based on empirical observation and documented evidence since the hard-won political independence from colonial Europe has become one of Africa’s sources of problems confronting the states and their resources became the primary purpose of political contestation and the establishment of a political culture based on ethnicity and authoritarian pattern of governance. The solution is for African leaders to learn and imbibe the leadership qualities of the late Nelson Mandela, Nyerere and Kwame Nkrumah, who carried their citizens along and were devoid of ethnicity and personal aggrandizement. They sacrificed their lives for their countrymen and fought against imperialism and are counted as patriots.

Keywords: political leadership, African development, constitutional democracy, power and resource control

Procedia PDF Downloads 38

Authors: Mohammed Aman Kassim

Abstract:

This study explored the attitudes of hotel managers toward climate change adaption and mitigation practices in resort hotels located in Bishoftu town, Ethiopia. Weak resource management in the area causes serious environmental problems. So sustainable way forward is needed for the destination in order to reduce environmental damage. Six resorts were selected out of twelve resort hotels in Bishoftu City by using the systematic sampling method, and a total of fifty-six managers were taken for the study. The data analyzed came from self-administered questionnaires, site observation, and a short face-to-face interview with general managers. The results showed that 99% of hotel managers possess positive attitudes toward climate change adaptation and mitigation practices. But they did not show a high commitment to adopting all adaptation and mitigation practices in their hotel’s actions and day-to-day operation. Key adoption influencing factors identified were: owners' commitment toward sustainability, the applicability of government rules and regulations, and incentives for good achievement. The findings also revealed that the attitudes of resort hotel managers toward climate change adaption and mitigation practices are more significantly influenced by their social factors, such as level of education and age, in this study. The study demonstrated that in order to increase managers' commitment and hotels become green: government led-education and training programs, green certification actions, and application of government environmental regulation are important.

Keywords: climate change, climate change adaptation and mitigation practices, environmental attitude, resort hotels

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Ayşen Bakioğlu, Gökçen Seyra Çakır

Abstract:

This study aims to explore how research assistants who work in project teams experience team member autonomy and how they reconcile team member autonomy with team collaboration. The study utilizes snowball sampling. 20 research assistants who work the faculties of education in Marmara University and Yıldız Technical University have been interviewed. The analysis of data involves a content analysis MAXQDAPlus 11 which is a qualitative data analysis software is used as the data analysis tool. According to the findings of this study, emerging themes include team norm formation, team coordination management, the role of individual tasks in team collaboration, leadership distribution. According to the findings, interviewees experience team norm formation process in terms of processes, which pertain to task fulfillment, and processes, which pertain to the regulation of team dynamics. Team norm formation process instills a sense of responsibility amongst individual team members. Apart from that, the interviewees’ responses indicate that the realization of the obligation to work in a team contributes to the team norm formation process. The participants indicate that individual expectations are taken into consideration during the coordination of the team. The supervisor of the project team also has a crucial role in maintaining team collaboration. Coordination problems arise when an individual team member does not relate his/her academic field with the research topic of the project team. The findings indicate that the leadership distribution in the project teams involves two leadership processes: leadership distribution which is based on the processes that focus on individual team members and leadership distribution which is based on the processes that focus on team interaction. Apart from that, individual tasks serve as a facilitator of collaboration amongst team members. Interviewees also indicate that individual tasks also facilitate the expression of individuality.

Keywords: project teams in higher education, research assistant teams, team collaboration, team member autonomy

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Tan Xin Zhong Timothy, Chang Chen Jie Victor, Yew Kwan Tong, Lim Geok Peng Sandy

Abstract:

Background: Leaders in crisis response teams such as Trauma Teams in hospitals are essential to the effective coordination and direction of the team. The response to emergency trauma situations must be accurate, rapid, and well executed. To this end, the team leader’s social, technical and leadership skills are essential factors that implicate the success of an emergency trauma intervention. While each emergency trauma case varies in severity and complexity, and the experience and expertise of team leaders may vary, it would be productive to identify certain coordinative and directive functions that improve the capacity for leading a team. Methods: This qualitative study of Trauma Team physicians in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) involved 50 in-depth interviews with doctors and nurses involved in Trauma Team activations, observations of Trauma Teams managing emergency patients, and reviews of audio/video recordings of 65 trauma activations. The interviews were conducted with doctors of various ranks across the relevant departments, 12 from the Emergency Department (ED), 11 from General Surgery (GS) and 8 from Orthopaedics, while the 6 nurses were from ED. In accordance with the grounded theory approach, the content of the interviews was coded and analysed in order to derive broad leadership themes that corresponded with certain behavioural traits exhibited by trauma team leaders, supplemented with the observational and audio/video data. Results: The leadership behaviours of the team leaders could be typified into three broad categories: team orientation, engagement and activeness. Team orientation corresponds with the source and form of cognitive responsibility, decision-making and informational contributions, divisible into individualistic and consultative sub-categories. Engagement refers to the type of activity that leaders prefer to engage in, and which implicates their attentional focus, divisible into participatory and supervisory sub-categories. Activeness is a function of the leader’s attitudes towards the behavioural regulation of the team, which manifests in inactivity or activity to augment or merely align with protocol. These factors are not exhaustive and are contextually sensitive, but collectively implicate a significant portion of the leadership activity observed in trauma teams.

Keywords: trauma team activations, critical event management, leadership, teamwork

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Pilar Gamarra Gamarra, Michele Girotto

Abstract:

In the expanding field of leaders’ ethical behavior research, little attention has been paid to the association between finance leaders’ ethical traits (beyond personality) and ethical leadership, and more importantly, how these ethical characteristics can be predictors of ethical behavior at the leadership level in the financial sector. In this study, we tested a theoretical model based on uponsocial cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) and the cognitive-developmental model (Piaget, 1932) to examine leaders’ moral identity and moral attentiveness as antecedents of ethical leadership. After the 2008 economic crisis, the marketplace has awakened to the potential dangers of unethical behavior. The unethical behavior of the leaders of the financial sector was identified as guilty of this economic catastrophe. For that reason, it seems increasingly prudent for organizations to have leaders who are cognitively inclined toward ethical behavior. This evidence suggests that moral attentiveness and moral identity is perhaps one way of identifying those kinds of leaders. For leaders who are morally attentive and have a high moral identity, themes of ethics interventions are consistent with their way of seeing the word. As a result, these leaders could become critical components of change in organizations and could provide the energy and skills necessary for these efforts to be successful. Ethical behavior of leader from the financial sector and marketing sectors must be joined to manage the change. In this study, a leader’s moral identity, leader’s moral attentiveness, and self-importance of Ethical Leadership are measured for financial and marketing leaders to be compared to determine the relationship between the three variables in each sector. Other conclusion related to gender, educational level or generation are obtained.

Keywords: ethical leadership, moral identity, moral attentiveness, financial leaders, marketing leaders, ethical behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Yousuf N. Al Khamisi, Eduardo M. Hernandez, Khurshid M. Khan

Abstract:

Purpose: This paper presents a model of a Knowledge-Based (KB) using Lean Six Sigma (L6σ) principles to enhance the performance of healthcare leadership. Design/methodology/approach: Using L6σ principles to enhance healthcare leaders’ performance needs a pre-assessment of the healthcare organisation’s capabilities. The model will be developed using a rule-based approach of KB system. Thus, KB system embeds Gauging Absence of Pre-requisite (GAP) for benchmarking and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for prioritization. A comprehensive literature review will be covered for the main contents of the model with a typical output of GAP analysis and AHP. Findings: The proposed KB system benchmarks the current position of healthcare leadership with the ideal benchmark one (resulting from extensive evaluation by the KB/GAP/AHP system of international leadership concepts in healthcare environments). Research limitations/implications: Future work includes validating the implementation model in healthcare environments around the world. Originality/value: This paper presents a novel application of a hybrid KB combines of GAP and AHP methodology. It implements L6σ principles to enhance healthcare performance. This approach assists healthcare leaders’ decision making to reach performance improvement against a best practice benchmark.

Keywords: Lean Six Sigma (L6σ), Knowledge-Based System (KBS), healthcare leadership, Gauge Absence Prerequisites (GAP), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Porntipa Taksin, Jutamas Wongchan, Amornrat Karamee

Abstract:

The researchers’ experience of student affairs in 2011-2013, we found that few undergraduate nursing students become student association members who participated in co-curricular activities, they have limited skill of self-directed-learning and leadership. We developed “A Leadership Promoting Program” using Self-Directed Learning concept. The program included six activities: 1) Breaking the ice, Decoding time, Creative SMO, Know me-Understand you, Positive thinking, and Creative dialogue, which include four aspects of these activities: decision-making, implementation, benefits, and evaluation. The one-group, pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research was designed to examine the effects of the program on participation in co-curricular activities. Thirty five students participated in the program. All were members of the board of undergraduate nursing student association of Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Chonburi. All subjects completed the questionnaire about participation in the activities at beginning and at the end of the program. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and dependent t-test. The results showed that the posttest scores of all four aspects mean were significantly higher than the pretest scores (t=3.30, p<.01). Three aspects had high mean scores, Benefits (Mean = 3.24, S.D. = 0.83), Decision-making (Mean = 3.21, S.D. = 0.59), and Implementation (Mean=3.06, S.D.=0.52). However, scores on evaluation falls in moderate scale (Mean = 2.68, S.D. = 1.13). Therefore, the Leadership Promoting Program based on Self-Directed Learning Approach could be a method to improve students’ participation in co-curricular activities and leadership.

Keywords: participation in co-curricular activities, undergraduate nursing students, leadership promoting program, self-directed learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 328

Authors: C. Akhras

Abstract:

Change is the life blood of business. Dynamic factors inspire change yet may act as barriers, influencing the company’s position in the market and challenging its organizational mission and culture. Today, the business context has globalized with business enterprises in the North and South joint in mergers and the East forges a strategic alliance with the West. Moreover, given that very little remains stable in certain industries, national business goals in the millennial marketplaces might be rapid, accelerated, and differentiated growth while distinctive competitive advantage might mark new qualitative excellence in others. In a new age culture marked by change, organizations, leaders, and followers are impacted; indigenous business leaders seem to have a very important role to play in change management. This case study was carried out on 178 business employees employed in local industry to evaluate perceptions of indigenous business leadership, workplace assessment, and organizational change management in the Middle East and North Africa. Three research questions were posed: (1) In your work context, do you think business leaders are essentially changing agents? (2) In your work context, is workplace change more effective in business leaders perceived as a hierarchical change agent rather than those perceived as an empowering change agent? (3) In your work context, is workplace change more efficient in business leaders perceived as a hierarchical change agent rather than those perceived as an empowering change agent? The results of the study and its limitations imposed by time and space indicate that more comprehensive research is required in this area.

Keywords: catalyst, change management, business enterprise, workplace assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Naziema B. Jappie

Abstract:

Over the last 23 years leaders in government, political parties and universities have been spending much time on identifying and discussing various gaps in the system that impact systematically on students especially those from historically Black communities. Equity and access to higher education were two critical aspects that featured in achieving the transformation goals together with a funding model for those previously disadvantaged. Free education was not a feasible option for the government. Institutional leaders in higher education face many demands on their time and resources. Often, the time for crisis management planning or consideration of being proactive and preventative is not a standing agenda item. With many issues being priority in academia, people become complacent and think that crisis may not affect them or they will cross the bridge when they get to it. Historically South Africa has proven to be a country of militancy, strikes and protests in most industries, some leading to disastrous outcomes. Higher education was not different between October 2015 and late 2016 when the #Rhodes Must Fall which morphed into the # Fees Must Fall protest challenged the establishment, changed the social fabric of universities, bringing the sector to a standstill. Some institutional leaders and administrators were better at handling unexpected, high-consequence situations than others. At most crisis leadership is viewed as a situation more than a style of leadership which is usually characterized by crisis management. The objective of this paper is to show how institutions managed catastrophes of disastrous proportions, down through unexpected incidents of 2015/2016. The content draws on the vast past crisis management experience of the presenter and includes the occurrences of the recent protests giving an event timeline. Using responses from interviews with institutional leaders and administrators as well as students will ensure first-hand information on their experiences and the outcomes. Students have tasted the power of organized action and they demand immediate change, if not the revolt will continue. This paper will examine the approaches that guided institutional leaders and their crisis teams and sector crisis response. It will further expand on whether the solutions effectively changed governance in higher education or has it minimized the need for more protests. The conclusion will give an insight into the future of higher education in South Africa from a leadership perspective.

Keywords: crisis, governance, intervention, leadership, strategies, protests

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Kousar Shaheen

Abstract:

The electoral process of Pakistan always remains underestimated due to malpractices claimed by the political leaders. The democratic system relies on public decision, selectorial process, transparent arrangements made by public administration, and governance system. Political polarization plays a vital role in any democratic system, which depends upon the way of applying leadership capabilities. In modern societies, public engagement is playing a key role in changing political polarization and implementation of the newest technologies, e-leadership and e-governance to bring e-democracy. The Overseas Pakistanis are unable to cast their votes in the selectorial process of Pakistan. To align this issue with civil society, efforts were made to implement modernized services and facilities by intervening in the Supreme Court. However, the results were found insignificant because of ineffective citizen engagement, IT-based, governance and public administration. which proved that the shifting to advanced society is crucial in Pakistan due to the elected Officials of current democratic system. It is an empirical study to involve Pakistani nationals (overseas) in the democratic process by utilizing the digital facility of vote casting. The role of Government. The role of e-leadership in changing the political polarization for the implementation of e-election will be measured by collecting data from different sources.

Keywords: e-democracy, e-leadership, political polarization, public engagement

Procedia PDF Downloads 16

Authors: Saleem Abu Jaber, Khaled Igbaria

Abstract:

Tawfiq Zayyad was born in Nazareth in 1929 and died in 1994. He was a prominent Palestinian poet, writer, scholar and politician. He had participated in the Palestinian political life not only as a poet and writer but also as a mayor of Nazareth as well as a member of the Israeli Knesset. All of the above confirms not only that it is worthy to investigate deeply and academically Palestinian commitment and identity throughout poems of the poet, but also that the poet deserves to include him within the top significant Arab Palestinian poets in despite of his being Israeli citizen. This paper studies to what extent the poet was committed to the Palestinian goals and agenda throughout poetry as well as to explore the ways and techniques in which the poet employed poetry in order to explore the Palestinian belonging and identification of the Palestinians in Israel. Methodologically, this paper will literary analyze some considerable poems of the poet looking in-depth critically and objectively. Moreover, this article relies on several poems of the poet because they are much relevant to the aimed discussion. By addressing both commitment and identity, this article hopes to contribute to a fuller understanding of Palestinian poets of 1960s to 2000s.

Keywords: Tawfiq Zayyad, Palestinian poetry, poetic commitment, poetic techniques

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: Meseret Teshome

Abstract:

This study has the objective of assessing the effect of kaizen (5S, Muda elimination and Quality Control Circle (QCC) on employees’ affective attitude (job satisfaction, commitment and job stress) in Kombolcha Textile Share Company. A conceptual model was developed to describe the relationship between Kaizen and Employees’ Affective Attitude (EAA) factors. The three factors of Employee Affective Attitude were measured using questionnaire derived from other validated questionnaire. In the data collection to conduct this study; questionnaire, unstructured interview, written documents and direct observations are used. To analyze the data, SPSS and Microsoft Excel were used. In addition, the internal consistency of similar items in the questionnaire instrument was measured for their equivalence by using the cronbach’s alpha test. In this study, the effect of 5S, Muda elimination and QCC on job satisfaction, commitment and job stress in Kombolcha Textile Share Company is assessed and factors that reduce employees’ job satisfaction with respect to kaizen implementation are identified. The total averages of means from the questionnaire are 3.1 for job satisfaction, 4.31 for job commitment and 4.2 for job stress. And results from interview and secondary data show that kaizen implementation have effect on EAA. In general, based on the thesis results it was concluded that kaizen (5S, muda elimination and QCC) have positive effect for improving EAA factors at KTSC. Finally, recommendations for improvement are given based on the results.

Keywords: kaizen, job satisfaction, job commitment, job stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Laila Albughayl

Abstract:

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore Saudi females’ leadership journeys as they navigate the labyrinth of leadership in higher education. To gain a better understanding of how these leaders overcame challenges and accessed support as they progressed through the labyrinth to top positions in Saudi higher education. The significance of this research derived from the premise that leaders need to acquire essential leadership competencies such as knowledge, skills, and practices to effectively lead through economic transformation, growing globalism, and rapidly developing technology in an increasingly diverse world. In addition, understanding Saudi women’s challenges in the labyrinth will encourage policymakers to improve the situation under which these women work. The metaphor ‘labyrinth’ for Eagly and Carli (2007) encapsulates the winding paths, dead ends, and maze-like pathways that are full of challenges and supports that women traverse to access and maintain leadership positions was used. In this study, ‘labyrinth’ was used as the conceptual framework to explore women leaders’ challenges and opportunities in leadership in Saudi higher education. A proposed model for efficient navigation of the labyrinth of leadership was used. This model focused on knowledge, skills, and behaviours (KSB) as the analytical framework for examining responses to the research questions. This research was conducted using an interpretivist qualitative approach. A case study was the methodology used. Semi-structured interviews were the main data collection method. Purposive sampling was used to select ten Saudi leaders in three public universities. In coding, the 6-step framework of thematic analysis for Braun and Clarke was used to identify, analyze, and report themes within the data. NVivo software was also used as a tool to assist with managing and organizing the data. The resultant findings showed that the challenges identified by participants in navigating the labyrinth of leadership in Saudi higher education replicated some of those identified in the literature. The onset findings also revealed that the organizational barriers in Saudi higher education came as the top hindrance to women’s advancement in the labyrinth of leadership, followed by societal barriers. The findings also showed that women’s paths in the labyrinth of leadership in higher education were still convoluted and tedious compared to their male counterparts. In addition, the findings revealed that Saudi women leaders use significant strategies to access leadership posts and effectively navigate the labyrinth; this was not indicated in the literature. In addition, the resultant findings revealed that there are keys that assisted Saudi female leaders in effectively navigating the labyrinth of leadership. For example, the findings indicated that spirituality (religion) was a powerful key that enabled Saudi women leaders to pursue and persist in their leadership paths. Based on participants' experiences, a compass for effective navigation of the labyrinth of leadership in higher education was created for current and aspirant Saudi women leaders to follow. Finally, the findings had several significant implications for practice, policy, theory, and future research.

Keywords: women, leadership, labyrinth, higher education

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: Yahya Al-Gabri

Abstract:

This study aimed to identify the availability degree of transformational leadership dimensions among heads of scientific departments in the Education Faculty at King Saud University. It also aimed to identify the degree of opinions divergence of the study sample on the availability degree of transformational leadership dimensions among the department heads according to the variable of scientific rank. The researcher used the descriptive approach. The study sample consisted of (34) members of education faculty which chosen randomly. To collect the data, the researcher developed a questionnaire consisting of (47) items distributed on four areas after ensuring validity and reliability. Results showed that the degree of practicing the dimensions of transformational leadership by the heads of scientific departments was medium and the mean was (3.21). The dimension of Individualized consideration came first and had a high degree of availability with a mean of (3.31) and the dimension of idealized influence came secondly and had a medium degree (near of high) of availability with a mean of (3.25), also and the dimension of inspirational motivation came thirdly and had a medium degree of availability with a mean of (3.16), whereas the dimension of intellectual stimulation came finally and had a medium degree of availability with a mean of (3.13). The study also showed that there are no statistically significant differences at the level of significance (0.05) in the availability degree of transformational leadership dimensions among the heads of scientific departments at the Faculty of Education according to the scientific rank variable. Finally, the researcher made a number of recommendations and suggestions.

Keywords: transformational leadership, heads of scientific departments, individualized consideration, idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Mohamed Shaban, Adel Yahya

Abstract:

The goal of this paper study is to schedule the power generation units to minimize fuel consumption cost based on a model that solves unit commitment problems. This can be done by utilizing forward dynamic programming method to determine the most economic scheduling of generating units. The model was applied to a power station, which consists of four generating units. The obtained results show that the applications of forward dynamic programming method offer a substantial reduction in fuel consumption cost. The fuel consumption cost has been reduced from $116,326 to $102,181 within a 24-hour period. This means saving about 12.16 % of fuel consumption cost. The study emphasizes the importance of applying modeling schedule programs to the operation of power generation units. As a consequence less consumption of fuel, less loss of power and less pollution

Keywords: unit commitment, forward dynamic, fuel cost, programming, generation scheduling, operation cost, power system, generating units

Procedia PDF Downloads 573

Authors: Auttasuriyanan Pakpoom, Setthasakko Watchaneeporn

Abstract:

The main purpose of this study is to gain a clearer understanding of key determinants that drive environmental management and barriers that hinder its development. The study employs semi-structured interviews with key informants accompanied by site observations. Key informants include production, environmental and plant managers of six beverage companies, including three Thai and three multinational companies in Thailand. It is found that corporate image, government subsidies, top management leadership and education institutes are four primary factors influencing the implementation of environmental management in the beverage processors. No demand from Asian buyers, employee resistance to change and lack of environmental knowledge are identified as barriers.

Keywords: environmental management, beverage, government subsidies, education institutes, employee resistance, environmental knowledge, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Obiajulu Anthony Ugochukwu Nnedum, Bernard Chukwukelue Chine, Jerome Ogochukwu Ezisi

Abstract:

A notable challenge of organizational citizenship behavior in Nigerian organizations is the prevalence of individualistic work cultures among employees, as this mindset can result in employees being less willing to go beyond their formal job requirements to contribute to the organization overall success. However, the dearth and scarce research on the antecedents of organizational citizenship behavior, such as paternalistic leadership and employee loyalty to supervisors in sub-Saharan African cultures such as Nigeria, motivated the current study to take a deep investigation into the moderating role of employee loyalty to supervisor on the relationship between paternalistic leadership and organizational citizenship behavior. The relevance of the current study ensures that when employees are loyal to their paternalistic leaders who show care and support, they are more likely to exhibit organizational citizenship behavior. The current study employed a sample size of four hundred and twenty participants (one hundred and five managers and three hundred and five subordinates) from eleven large organizations randomly selected through lucky dip from twenty-two large organizations from the directory of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Anambra state, south-eastern Nigeria. Also, a twelve-item organizational citizenship behavior scale, a thirty-nine-item paternalistic leadership scale, and a six-item loyalty to supervisor scale were employed for the collection of data for the current study. Adopting a one manager/Leader by triad subordinates cross-sectional survey design, Hayes process micro model and statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version twenty-five, the findings from the result of the analysis of the hypotheses demonstrated that loyalty to supervisor moderated the relationship between paternalistic leadership and organizational citizenship behavior-conscientiousness. Also, the findings from the result revealed that loyalty to the supervisor moderated the relationship between authoritative leadership and organizational citizenship behavior identification. Furthermore, the findings from the result showed that loyalty to the supervisor moderated the relationship between moral leadership and organizational citizenship behavior. Accordingly, the result from the analysis implies that when employees are loyal to their supervisors, they are more likely to exhibit organizational citizenship behavior by going above and beyond their formal job requirements, as this loyalty can be fostered through a paternalistic leadership style that emphasizes a supportive and caring relationship between supervisors and subordinates.

Keywords: authoritative leadership, moral leadership, loyalty to supervisor, organizational citizenship behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 39

Authors: Priyanka Botny Srinath, Alessandro Suglia, Mel McKendrick

Abstract:

Background: Organizational cultural studies integrate sociology and anthropology, portraying man as a creator of symbols, languages, beliefs, and ideologies -essentially, a creator and manager of meaning. In our research, we leverage analytical measures to discern whether an organization embodies a singular culture or a myriad of subcultures. Fast-forward to 2023, our research thesis focuses on digitally measuring culture, coining it as the "Work Culture Quotient." This entails conceptually mapping common experiential patterns to provide executives insights into the digital organization journey, aiding in understanding their current position and identifying future steps. Objectives: Finding the new age skills that help in defining the culture; understand the implications of post-COVID effects; derive a digital framework for measuring skillsets. Method: We conducted two comprehensive Delphi studies to distill essential insights. Delphi 1: Through a thematic analysis of interviews with 20 high-level leaders representing companies across diverse regions -India, Japan, the US, Canada, Morocco, and Uganda- we identified 20 key skills critical for cultivating a robust organizational culture. The skills are -influence, self-confidence, optimism, empathy, leadership, collaboration and cooperation, developing others, commitment, innovativeness, leveraging diversity, change management, team capabilities, self-control, digital communication, emotional awareness, team bonding, communication, problem solving, adaptability, and trustworthiness. Delphi 2: Subject matter experts were asked to complete a questionnaire derived from the thematic analysis in stage 1 to formalise themes and draw consensus amongst experts on the most important workplace skills. Results: The thematic analysis resulted in 20 workplace employee skills being identified. These skills were all included in the Delphi round 2 questionnaire. From the outputs, we analysed the data using R Studio for arriving at agreement and consensus, we also used sum of squares method to compare various agreements to extract various themes with a threshold of 80% agreements. This yielded three themes at over 80% agreement (leadership, collaboration and cooperation, communication) and three further themes at over 60% agreement (commitment, empathy, trustworthiness). From this, we selected five questionnaires to be included in the primary data collection phase, and these will be paired with the digital footprints to provide a workplace culture quotient. Implications: The findings from these studies bear profound implications for decision-makers, revolutionizing their comprehension of organizational culture. Tackling the challenge of mapping the digital organization journey involves innovative methodologies that probe not only external landscapes but also internal cultural dynamics. This holistic approach furnishes decision-makers with a nuanced understanding of their organizational culture and visualizes pivotal skills for employee growth. This clarity enables informed choices resonating with the organization's unique cultural fabric. Anticipated outcomes transcend mere individual cultural measurements, aligning with organizational goals to unveil a comprehensive view of culture, exposing artifacts and depth. Armed with this profound understanding, decision-makers gain tangible evidence for informed decision-making, strategically leveraging cultural strengths to cultivate an environment conducive to growth, innovation, and enduring success, ultimately leading to measurable outcomes.

Keywords: leadership, cooperation, collaboration, teamwork, work culture

Procedia PDF Downloads 25

Authors: Shaker Aladwan, Paul Forrester

Abstract:

This paper explores the challenges that face leaders when implementing business excellence programmes in the Jordanian public sector. The study adopted a content analysis approach to analyse the excellence assessment reports that have been produced by the King Abdullah II Centre for Excellence (KACE). The sample comprises ten public organisations which have participated in the King Abdullah Award for Excellence (KAA) more than once and acknowledge in their reports that they have failed to achieve satisfactory results. The key challenges to the implementation of leadership criteria in the public sector in Jordan were found to be poor strategic planning, lack of employee empowerment, weaknesses in benchmarking performance, a lack of financial resources, poor integration and coordination, and poor measurement system: This study proposes a conceptual model for the as assessment of challenges that face managers when seeking to implement excellence in leadership in the Jordanian public sector. Theoretically, this paper fills context gaps in the excellence literature in general and organisational excellence in the public sector in particular. Leadership challenges in the public sector are generally widely studied, but it is important to gain a better understanding of how these challenges can be overcome. In comparison to many existing studies, this research has provided specific and detailed insights these organisational excellence challenges in the public sector and provides a conceptual model for use by other researchers into the future.

Keywords: leadership criterion, organisational excellence, challenges, quality awards, public sector, Jordan

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Thomas Jerome Yeboah

Abstract:

Inclusive school leadership is not a standalone project. It is spread across a broad array of individual leaders in the school. Successful inclusive education thrives on collaborative, shared, and participatory leadership. School prefects are generally not included in leadership discourses in respect of the implementation of inclusive education and the benefits inherent in it, yet they live at the closest proximity to the learners and wield much influence over them. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the participation of school prefects in inclusive school governance could be used as a strategy to prepare them to champion the course of individuals who live with disability and special needs in order to build a more inclusive society. The exploratory study employed a purposive sampling technique to select ten (10) school prefects from five (5) inclusive schools in Ghana. Semi-structured interview was used to glean information from the selected participants to answer the research questions raised in the study. Results from the study were thematically analysed. The study concluded that the school prefects could be agents of societal transformation who would be capable of creating an environment where those with disability and special needs would be accepted by society as ‘normal.’

Keywords: inclusive society, participation, inclusive school leadership, societal transformation, school prefects

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Lobna Cherif, Valerie Wood

Abstract:

The importance of both character and resilience for military members has been emphasized at the highest levels of military leadership. Initial research suggests that the presence of character strengths might be relevant in predicting success and well-being for some military populations (e.g., recruits). In this presentation, we will first review our research investigating the perceived importance of character strengths for Canadian military cadet (N = 134) success, the top strengths endorsed by cadets, and, in a subset of cadets (n = 94), the relationships among core strengths and resilience. Participants first completed a survey comprised of a resilience measure and demographic items, then one month later completed a Values in Action (VIA) character strengths profile, questions related to character strengths (their personal top-five character strengths, and strengths they believed were important for military-related stressors and leadership, academic success, resilience, and completion of the military challenge). Findings indicated that military cadets consider (among others), perseverance, judgment, and teamwork to be most critical for bouncing back from stressors. However, the most frequently endorsed strengths that characterized cadets were bravery, honesty, and perseverance. Finally, perseverance, bravery, and humor were positively correlated with cadet resilience, while endorsement of love was negatively correlated with resilience.

Keywords: character strengths, leadership, positive psychology, resilience

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Kvnkc Sharma

Abstract:

Globalization, coupled with increase in competition is compelling organizations to adopt innovative strategies and identify core competencies in order to distinguish themselves from the competition. The capability of an organization is no longer determined by their products or services alone. The intellectual assets and quality of the human resource are fast emerging as key differentiators. Corporations are now positioning themselves as ‘brands’ not solely to market their products and services, but also to lure and to retain the best talent in the business. This paper identifies leadership as the ‘key element’ in developing an organization’s brand, which has a significant influence on the employee’s eventual perception of this external brand as portrayed by the organization. External branding incorporates innovation, consumer concern, trust, quality and sustainability. The paper contends that employees are indeed an organization’s ‘brand ambassadors. Internal branding involves taking care of these ambassadors of corporate brand i.e. human resource. If employees of an organization are not exposed to the organization’s branding (an ongoing process that functionally aligns, motivates and empower employees at all levels to consistently provide a satisfying customer experience), the external brand could be jeopardized. Internal branding, on the other hand, refers to employee’s perception of the organization’s brand. The current business environment can at best, be termed as volatile. Employees with the right technical and behavioral skills remain a scarce resource and the employers need to be ready to capture the attention, interest and commitment of the best and brightest candidates. This paper attempts to review and understand the relationship between employer branding and employee retention. The paper also seeks to identify potential impact of employer branding across all the factors affecting employees.

Keywords: external branding, human resource, internal branding, leadership

Procedia PDF Downloads 214

Authors: Michael A. Genovese

Abstract:

The struggle for LGBTQ rights in the United States began in Greenwich Village, New York, in 1967, when police tried to break up a gathering of mostly gay men who were partying at the Stonewall Bar in NYC. As unlikely as it may sound, this “riot” proved to be consequential in raising the political consciousness of gay men in America. From that point on, gays engaged in a political battle to achieve the rights to which they were entitled. This essay examines changes in popular opinion regarding LGBTQ rights from the late 1960s through the Trump administration, and examines the role public pressure played on presidential politics. For most of this period, presidents “followed” public opinion. This was true even during the administration of Barack Obama when gay Americans finally achieved some clearly spelled out rights (e.g. same-sex marriage). The findings of this paper call into question certain assumptions about presidential leadership, and underline the power of public opinion in shaping policy.

Keywords: presidential leadership, gay rights, LGBTQ, popular opinion

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: Majed Aldusaimani

Abstract:

Introduction: The researcher aims to verify the extent of the criminal investigator's commitment to the Islamic morals set out in the Holy Quran, their application in his work, and to understand the point of view of police officers, clerks and suspects regarding the investigator's commitment to moral and ethics in practice. Research question: Are the criminal investigators at the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia committed to the application of the practical morals set out in the Holy Quran in the view of the police officers, clerks and suspects with whom they work? Objectives of the study: 1. Identifying the standing of morality in Islam. 2. Identifying the practical morals outlined in the Holy Quran. 3. Identifying the most important practical morals in the Holy Quran that must be met by the criminal investigator from the viewpoint of the investigator himself. 4. Identifying the criminal investigator's commitment to the practical morals set out in the Holy Quran as perceived from the perspectives of police officers, clerks and suspects. Methodology: This study will use a descriptive methodology through quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data from respondents, who will be asked to answer questions about the extent of the commitment to the practical morals set out in the Holy Quran of the criminal investigators at the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution that they have encountered.

Keywords: Islamic, investigator, Morals, Quran

Procedia PDF Downloads 464

Authors: Marco Sewald

Abstract:

WWSE School Development (Wahrnehmungs- und wertorientierte Schulentwicklung) contains surveys on pupils, teachers and parents and enables schools to align the development to the requirements mentioned by these three stakeholders. WWSE includes a derivative set of questions for Christian schools, meeting their specific needs. The conducted research on WWSE is reflecting contemporary questions on school development, questioning the quality of the implementation of the results of past surveys, delivered by WWSE School Development in Christian schools in Germany. The research focused on questions connected to organizational development, including leadership and change management. This is done contoured to the two other areas of WWSE: human resources development and development of school teaching methods. The chosen research methods are: (1) A quantitative triangulation on three sets of data. Data from a past evaluation taken in 2011, data from a second evaluation covering the same school conducted in 2014 and a structured survey among the teachers, headmasters and members of the school board taken within the research. (2) Interviews with teachers and headmasters have been conducted during the research as a second stage to fortify the result of the quantitative first stage. Results: WWSE is supporting modern school development. While organizational development, leadership, and change management are proofed to be important for modern school development, these areas are widespread underestimated by teachers and headmasters. Especially in comparison to the field of human resource development and to an even bigger extent in comparison to the area of development of school teaching methods. The research concluded, that additional efforts in the area of organizational development are necessary to meet modern demands and the research also shows which areas are the most important ones.

Keywords: school as a social organization, school development, school leadership, WWSE, Wahrnehmungs- und wertorientierte Schulentwicklung

Procedia PDF Downloads 200