Departmental leadership roles and responsibilities : a case study

Date
2006-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT : Role ambiguity and role conflict are issues that regularly confront departmental leaders in academic departments at higher education institutions. This research focused on the roles and responsibilities of departmental leaders in four academic departments in the Faculty of Business at the Bellville campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The research was conducted within the framework of the "Qual-quan" research approach. The "Qual-quan" research approach is a combination of the traditional qualitative and quantitative research approaches, with the qualitative approach being used predominantly and the quantitative approach being used as a complementary approach to the qualitative approach. The researcher employed the "personal hand-delivery and collect" data collection method and more specifically questionnaires to elicit information from respondents. Each of the four questionnaires was linked to a research aim. The first aim was to establish how ready each departmental leader was for the leadership role. The second aim was to find out what the dominant and back-up role identities of departmental leaders were. Job analysis, that is the systematic gathering of information regarding a job, in this instance the position of the departmental leader, was the third aim of the research. The fourth aim of the research was to establish the perceptions and expectations of what followers have of departmental leaders in terms of the roles and responsibilities that the departmental leader must perform. The research results indicated that one departmental leader was not ready for the leadership role. In terms of the categorisation of departmental leaders' role identities, the research showed that three departmental leaders had "leader" as their dominant role identity and the other departmental leader had "manager" as dominant identity. The responses to the job analysis questionnaire showed that all departmental leaders needed to prioritise duties under the domains of leadership, interpersonal relations and research/professional/community endeavours. The responses to the leadership matrices indicated that the majority of responses were plotted in the "savour success and maintain effectiveness" quadrant. This meant that on aggregate, followers regarded the roles of the departmental leaders as important and at the same time were satisfied with the level of skill development attained by the departmental leaders in terms of their roles and responsibilities. Based on the findings of the research, several recommendations were made. A change in certain behaviours is required for those departmental leaders who were not ready for the leadership role. Departmental leaders should align their dominant role in accordance with the nature of the department and the future direction of the department. All the departmental leadership domains should be regarded as essential by departmental leaders. It was also recommended that the focus in terms of the location of responses on the leadership matrices should be on the "opportunity for leadership development" quadrant, particularly to shift those plotted responses to the "savour success and maintain effectiveness" quadrant.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Roldubbelsinnigheid en rolkonflik is kwessies waarmee departementele leiers in akademiese departemente by hoeronderwysinstellings gereeld gekonfronteer word. Hierdie navorsing het op die rolle en verantwoordelikhede van departementele leiers in vier akademiese departemente in die Besigheidsfakulteit van die Kaapse Skiereiland Universiteit van Tegnologie se Bellville-kampus gefokus. Die navorsing is binne die raamwerk van die "Kwal-kwan" navorsingsbenadering gedoen. Die "Kwal-kwan" navorsingsbenadering is 'n mengsel van die tradisionele navorsingsbenaderinge van kwalitatief en kwantitatief, met die kwalitatiewe benadering wat oorheersend gebruik word en die kwantitatiewe benadering as komplementere benadering. Die navorser het gebruik gemaak van die "persoonlike handaflewering en afhaal" data-insamelingsmetode, en meer spesifiek van vraelyste om inligting van respondente in te win. Elk van die vier vraelyste is aan 'n navorsingsdoelwit gekoppel. Die eerste doelwit was om te bepaal hoe gereed elke departementele leier vir die leierskaprol was. Die tweede doelwit was om uit te vind wat die dominante en ondersteunende rol-identiteite van departementele leiers was. Posontleding, dit wil se die stelselmatige insameling van inligting aangaande 'n pas, in hierdie geval die posisie van die departementele leier, was die derde navorsingsdoelwit. Die vierde navorsingsdoelwit was om die persepsies en verwagtinge van navolgers aangaande die rolle en verantwoordelikhede van die departementele leier te bepaal. Die navorsingsresultate dui aan dat een departementele leier nie gereed was vir die leierskapsrol nie. In terme van die kategorisering van departementele leiers se rol-identiteite, toon die navorsing dat drie departementele leiers se dominante rol die van "leier" is, terwyl een departementele leier "bestuurder" as dominante identiteit beskou. Die response tot die posontledingsvraelys toon dat alle departementele leierstake onder die domeine van leierskap, interpersoonlike verhoudinge en navorsing-/gemeenskaps-/professionele pogings moet prioritiseer. Die response tot die leierskapmatrikse toon aan dat die meerderheid response in die "geniet sukses en handhaaf doeltreffendheid" kwadrant gevind is. Dit beteken dat volgelinge in die algemeen die rolle van die departementele leiers as belangrik beskou het en dat hulle terselfdertyd tevrede was met die vlak van vaardigheidsontwikkeling wat betref die departementele leier se rolle en verantwoordelikhede. Verskeie aanbevelings is op grond van die resultate gemaak. 'n Verandering in sekere houdings word verlang vir daardie departementele leiers wat nie gereed is vir die leierskapsrol nie. Departementele leiers sal hul dominante rol by die aard van die departement en die toekomstige rigting van die departement moet aanpas. Aile departementele leierskapsdomeine moet as essensieel beskou word. Daar is ook aanbeveel dat die fokus met betrekking tot die leierskapsmatriks op die "geleentheid vir leierskapsontwikkeling" kwadrant moet wees, spesifiek om daardie response na die "geniet sukses en handhaaf doeltreffendheid" kwadrant te beweeg.
Description
Thesis (MPhil) -- University of Stellenbosch, 2006.
Keywords
Universities and colleges -- Administration, Universities and colleges -- Departments, Universities and colleges -- Leadership, Cape Peninsula University of Technology -- Faculty of Business -- Administration, College administrators -- South Africa -- Cape Town
Citation