A Study of Leadership and Management in a UK University

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, it would give me great pleasure to show my gratitude to my professor, for his propositions, remarks, understanding and patience. It would also be an honour to express gratitude to my parents, my mother, my father, my sister and my brother for their endless support in my life and allowing me to make all my decisions. I would also like to take the opportunity to show appreciation to my co-workers for their expert cooperation on every occasion. I would also like to be grateful to the Department, managers of the university, instructors and students who have supported me throughout this research.

DECLARATION

I declare that the content presented in this thesis/dissertation is, in my understanding and opinion, original and has not been presented for scholarly assessment in the past, either completely or partly, for an academic degree at this educational institution or elsewhere. I would also like to admit that I have studied and understood the principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines of the University regarding the higher academic degree research award and to my dissertation. I would also like to declare that I have abided by the University's principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines.

ABSTRACT

The main research centred on issues of qualities / qualifications and leadership styles / traits of appointed academic middle managers. It also tried to establish if there were differences in managing academic tribes and other issues surrounding gender, trust and power.

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTii

DECLARATIONiii

ABSTRACTiv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Research Background2

Identifying the Problem7

Research Aims and Objectives10

Research Questions12

Research Method13

Significance and Outcome of the Study13

The Thesis in Context14

Background of the researcher14

The Selected University15

The Research Context17

Structure of the Thesis18

REFERENCES21

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

This thesis investigates the process of how heads of departments are appointed to the post, the motivations that drive one to become a head of department, the qualities and qualifications expected from the appointed head as well as their own expectations of what is required from them, once appointed, within a selected post-1992 UK university. It aims to construe the reasons behind individual's interpretations of why they become heads of department, what is their expectations from the being a head of department as well as what is their senior managers' expectations of what is required from the head of department to successfully fulfil the role of head of department in a UK university. Furthermore the research carried out also focused on any variations in managing academics, which is accepted as the major job function from the head of department, of different disciplines and / or units, as well as if there was a significant difference in managing an academic role as opposed to an administrative role.

Research was carried out using semi-structured interviews of existing 'appointed' heads of department from four different departments / units selected within the university. Existing documents, such as staff attitude survey reports, job advertisements and person specifications, were also consulted to enrich the research findings. In total 15 interviews were conducted which included senior managers as well as heads of ...