Examining the transformational leadership status of staff managers and its relationship with the organization's attitude towards the indicators of the learning organization in the applied scientific universities of Semnan province.

Academic Thesis for Master's Degree

Financial Orientation Business Management

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate the transformational leadership status of the staff managers of applied scientific universities in Semnan province and its relationship with the indicators of the learning organization. The main question of this research was whether there is a relationship between the transformational leadership style of staff managers and the degree of compliance with the indicators of the learning organization. This research was a descriptive correlational research. The statistical population of this study included all the employees working in the applied scientific universities of Semnan province, according to the latest official information from these departments, the number of these employees in the academic year 90-91 was equal to 55 people. The sample size was considered equal to the population. In this research, two questionnaires of Peter Sange's learning organization, with 31 questions, and Bess and Olive's transformational leadership questionnaire, with 29 questions, were used to collect data. To check the validity of the data collection tool, a test implementation method was used on a random sample, and the reliability of these questionnaires was calculated using Cronbach's alpha. The results of this research showed that the behavior of the staff managers of the applied scientific universities of Semnan province is close to transformational leadership behaviors (ideal influence, spiritual motivation, individual considerations and mental stimulation) and these organizations tend towards the learning organization in terms of their members, and there is a significant correlation between the transformational leadership style and the learning organization. Among the components of transformational leadership, the mental stimulation component showed a greater contribution in predicting the learning organization compared to other components. Also, the linear combination of the variables of gender, education and work experience of the manager had an effect on the transformational leadership style, but the independent examination of each of these variables showed that they do not independently affect the transformational leadership and the learning organization.

Key words: staff managers, transformational leadership, learning organization

Chapter 1

Introduction and Generalities

Introduction

Not so long ago, organizations lived in a non-dynamic and static environment and it was impossible for them to predict future events; So that managers could manage and plan the organization in safe conditions. But, gradually and entering the 21st century, the changes related to science and technology, economy, culture and politics quickly affected organizations, so that the structure of traditional organizations and its leadership methods were not suitable for the complex and changing conditions of the new market. In such a situation, the only solution for organizations is to become a permanent learning system, and use appropriate leadership to identify the environmental needs and provide the necessary tools to adapt to the environment and thus continue to exist. In today's era, organizations are increasingly facing dynamic and changing environments. Therefore, in order to survive and dynamism, they must adapt to environmental changes. In other words, considering the accelerating speed of scientific, technological, social and cultural changes and developments in the present era, successful and efficient organizations are considered to be successful and efficient, which, in addition to coordinating with the developments of today's society, can also predict the path of changes and transformations in the future and are able to direct these changes in the direction of creating desirable developments to build a better future (Moidnia, 2015). Considering today's dynamic and complex environment, it is unlikely that traditional organizations will have a share in building future organizations; In the not so distant past, organizations lived in a non-dynamic and stable environment; It was almost possible for them to predict future events, managers could manage and plan the organization in safe conditions. But gradually, the changes related to science and technology, economy, culture and politics quickly affected organizations, so that the structure of traditional organizations was not suitable for the complex and changing conditions of the new market, and the management of traditional methods cannot open, predict or control the internal and external content of the organization. In the near future, only an organization can claim superiority that is able to optimally exploit the capabilities, commitment and learning capacity of people at all levels of the organization (Hedayt and Roshan, 1384, 10) learning organizations including such organizations.

The learning organization has critical principles that distinguish it from traditional organizations. These principles include: developing individual mastery, mental patterns, creating a shared perspective, team learning and systems thinking. Each of these principles gives a vital direction to building an organization that is able to truly learn and can continuously expand its capacity to realize the highest desires and aspirations. Learning organizations have characteristics that show their advantage over traditional organizations. The structure of these organizations is designed to facilitate organizational learning in them. Information systems in these organizations collect and process information that provides the infrastructure for organizational learning. Human resource activities in these organizations are designed to promote member learning. Learning organizations have strong cultures that support transparency, creativity, and the acquisition of experience by members. To achieve their goals, learning organizations continuously create, acquire, disseminate new knowledge, and finally change their behaviors based on the new knowledge and insight gained. All these matters in the organization are influenced by the leadership style. In other words, the success of any organization depends on how the manager's leadership style is applied. There is no doubt that leadership through influencing the conduct and behavior of followers can be effective in continuous improvement and creation, creation and maintenance of continuous transformation in organizations and as a result, grounding and accelerating organizational changes. The fact that continuous changes are ongoing has transformed the perspectives of leadership and the role of the leader. In this way, continuous change in the definition and functions of leadership is expected. Northhouse [1] (2001) suggests a simple definition of leadership. He believes that leadership is a process that helps people to work as a group to achieve the common goals of the organization more effectively. (Northus, 2001, 3).

In traditional organizations, the traditional point of view about leadership in which certain people determine the direction of movement, make basic decisions and give people the spirit and power to move, is deeply rooted in an individual and non-systemic worldview. This traditional approach to leadership is based at its core on the impotence of people, the lack of individual ideals, and the inability to master the forces that bring about change. Weaknesses that only a handful of people called leaders are unable to overcome.

But in the learning organization, the attitude towards leadership relies on more subtle and important points. Leaders in the learning organization must actively participate in organizational learning, model the transparency and risk-taking and reflection required for learning. In a learning organization, leaders must be designers, supervisors, and teachers. Their responsibility should be to build organizations where people continuously expand their abilities to recognize and understand complexities, clarify ideals and develop common mental models. This means that leaders are responsible for employee learning.

Results of research conducted abroad show that among new leadership styles, the characteristics of transformational leadership more than other styles enable districts and educational centers to face the complexities of the contemporary era (Dimock and Walker[2] 2005). 1990 was developed by Bess and Olive [4]. In this model, on one end of the spectrum is transformational leadership [5] and on the other end of it is exchange leadership [6]. In practice, transformational leaders show behaviors that distinguish them from other leaders. These behaviors include: ideal influence, spiritual motivation, individual considerations and mental stimulation.

The results of some research show that transformational leadership behaviors reduce the work stress of employees along with increasing their personal and social identity and self-efficacy (Shamir Vaylem [7], 2003), increasing organizational commitment and overall effectiveness of members (Walomba and others [8], 2004) and increasing organizational performance and learning (Aragon and others [9], 2007).

In today's era, educational organizations play an essential role in determining the future destiny of the society. Many changes have occurred in these organizations due to the information revolution.