Introduction and Research Purpose
The purpose of the study is the investigation of the leadership behaviour and decision-making effectiveness with a specific focus on two basic strategic areas of Initiating Structure and Consideration. The author states the problem clearly; he provides the theoretical background and introduces the concepts and ideas identified in the previous literature findings. It is observed that the dimension of Initiating Structure is interrelated with the leaders’ ability to create the appropriate and effective patterns of the internal organization, communication with the subordinates, as well as to implement the specific methods aimed to achieve the desired goals (Al-Omari, 2010, p. 2).
The dimension of Consideration is related to the establishment of sound and friendly relationships within the working team, integration of interpersonal values of mutual respect, warmth, and interest. The investigation of the leadership styles allows the researchers to understand the criteria of strategic approaches’ effectiveness and contribute to the increase in the organizational efficiency.
Literature Review
The researcher introduces the basic concepts of leadership and emphasizes the significance of the leadership behaviour in the achievement of positive organizational outcomes providing the evidence from the academic works of over ten prominent scholars in the field of management. It is found that the success of any organization is largely dependent on the way it is managed. Since the leaders’ decision and behaviour may be regarded as a decisive factor in the organizational efficiency and the employees’ productivity, the selection of right strategic approaches in leadership may have a significant favourable effect on the performance and outcomes. The leadership strategies are meant to address a set of issues of both internal and external character, and through the elaboration of specific patterns of behaviour, the leaders may achieve great success in managing and guiding their subordinates.
Al-Omari (2010) also describes the theoretical framework that is interrelated with the methods and tools selection (p. 3). The researcher introduces the main ideas included in the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ), a tool for the measurement and assessment of leadership behaviour. The LBDQ is meant to evaluate the extent to which the leaders take into account the dimensions of Initiating Structure and Consideration that are proved to be essential to the effectiveness of organizational performance.
Methodology
The study employed non-probability convenience selection tools, and the study sample consisted of two university deans (male and female). The major qualitative data collection tools were the LBDQ, observations, and interview. Contrary to the quantitative methodology, the qualitative methods help in the identification of the interrelations between the variables of interest. The qualitative methods are chosen because they correspond with the selected theoretical framework and allow the interpretation of the accumulated data according to the leadership concepts introduced in the previous sections of the paper (Al-Omari, 2010). The author rationalizes the selection of tools and provides the comprehensive description of the methodology.
Results and Findings
The results are represented in the narrative format and include the citations from the interviews with the participants. The study findings demonstrate the deans’ perceptions of leadership strategies in terms of Consideration and Initiating Structure areas. Overall, the findings answered the formulated research questions related to the extent of leadership dimensions fulfilment. The study analysis provokes the necessity for the further expansion of data interpretation and evaluation of the leadership strategy efficiency.
Evaluation and Reflections
Strengths
The major strengths of the study include the introduction of the extensive theoretical framework and the application of data collection and analysis tools that allowed the researcher to evaluate the dynamics of interrelations between the variables of leadership, and strategic dimensions of Consideration and Initiating Structure.
The previous literature devoted to the investigation of leadership primarily employed the quantitative methodology while Al-Omari’s qualitative research (2010) was focused on the evaluation of leader’s perceptions in managing academic organizations. The study takes into consideration the demographic background of study participants including their gender. The findings helped to identify the role of the leaders’ personalities in the decision-making process and distinguish the aspects of performance to which the participants paid greater attention.
Weaknesses
Although the qualitative methods allow the researchers to look at the phenomena from the theoretical standpoint and to include the additional perspectives throughout the research conduction, the methodology is associated with a high level of subjectivity that may be considered the main limitation of the study. Moreover, the non-probability convenience sampling doesn’t guarantee that the research findings may be generalized and applied to the total population. For the increase of results’ validity and credibility, the author could employ the random sampling technique or enlarge the sample size.
It is possible to say that the small sampling and qualitative methods allowed Al-Omari (2010) to attain merely inconclusive results that didn’t help to evaluate the efficiency of the strategic approaches. Although the formulated questions were answered, the research provoked the emergence of new questions about the character of leadership and strategic effects. Therefore, the alteration of sample size and data collection tools in the future research design will help to obtain the data characterized by conclusiveness and validity.
References
Al-Omari, A. A. (2010). Perceived leadership style of Jordanian academic deans in higher education institutions: Qualitative study. Near and Middle Eastern Journal of Research in Education, 3(1). 1-8. doi:10.5339/nmejre.2010.3.1