Gender and leadership at State Universities in Saudi Arabia

Alsharif, Shuruq 2016, Gender and leadership at State Universities in Saudi Arabia , PhD thesis, University of Salford.

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Abstract

This thesis investigates the perceived gender differences in the leadership styles of leaders at selected Saudi Arabian universities, considering such phenomena from both the point of view of leaders and employees. It examines the link between the leadership styles of female leaders in these institutions and selected organizational outcomes such as leaders’ effectiveness and staff willingness to exert extra effort. The conceptual framework in this study encompasses a full range of leadership styles, including the transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles. This study has been conducted in King Saud University and the King Abdul-Aziz in Saudi Arabia. Administrative staff (n=379) were surveyed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) Rater Form, and leaders (n=40) were surveyed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) Leader Form. Data have been analysed using SPSS Version 20. Without pre-empting the final conclusions of the thesis, its research findings indicate that both groups of respondents, the employees and leaders, agree that the leaders follow both the transformational and transactional leadership styles at these universities in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the findings appear to confirm that there is a relationship between leaders’ styles and their effectiveness. However, the results also suggest that the employees and leaders strongly agreed that women leaders tend to follow the transformational leadership style more. Overall, there appears to be no significant relationship between transactional leadership styles and leaders’ effectiveness based on the views of the leaders questioned. Yet there is a negative correlation between laissez-faire leadership styles and leader effectiveness. In this context, it has been found that there is a negative correlation between laissez-faire leadership styles and leaders’ effectiveness, the subordinates’ satisfaction and their willingness to exert extra effort. This thesis contributes to and adds to existing research on gender roles and studies in the Middle East. Its specific contribution lies in its data-led focus on the gap between theory and application when investigating the gender differences and similarities of leadership styles at universities in Saudi Arabia within a conceptual framework of existing studies in gender leadership literature and pre-identified leadership styles. Keywords: Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, Laissez-Faire Leadership, Gender, Effectiveness, Satisfaction, Saudi Universities.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Schools:	Schools > Salford Business School
Funders:	Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia
Depositing User:	Shuruq Abdullah Alsharif
Date Deposited:	11 Jan 2018 13:39
Last Modified:	27 Aug 2021 23:28
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/38886

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