Elabbar, A A H (2011) Time management operations of heads of academic departments in Libyan Universities. Doctoral thesis, Liverpool John Moores University.

Preview

Text 570883.pdf - Published Version Download (14MB) | Preview

Abstract

The overall objective of the research" outlined in this document was to analyse the practice of time management operations by the heads of academic departments in Libyan universities. This was accomplished through attention to four sub-aims: firstly, the extent to which time management operations are practiced by heads of academic departments in Libyan universities according to the specific fields, of planning, organising and controlling time; secondly, to determine which principles of time management are most commonly used by heads of departments; thirdly, to define which factors, both internal and external, have impacted on the practice of time management by Libyan heads of academic departments; and, finally, to determine whether there are any significant differences in time management practice as a result of key variables, including managerial experience, specialization, qualifications, gender and the number of universities heads of department are working in. The data was collected through the use of two main tools, a self-administered questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire was designed to employ a likert scale, and was piloted before final administration in order to ensure validity and reliability. The questionnaire was distributed by hand to 331 heads of academic departments in Libyan universities and the response rate was 309 - - completed questionnaires out of 331 administered. The semi-structured interviews lasted for about one hour in each case and involved 15 heads of academic departments. The two tools were employed in order to gain the strengths of each and so to provide a greater understanding of the topic under investigation, to complement each other and to enrich the research findings. The gathered data was translated from raw material into usable information to be ready for statistical analysis and the 309 received questionnaire forms were analyzed through implementation of descriptive statistics using SPSS software. The semi- structured interviews were analyzed through textual analysis by reading and -re- reading the interview content. The content was subsequently analysed carefully to gain an understanding of the key themes and in order to identify commonalities and differences. The researcher the organised the material by dividing the data into groups of themes under the main key issues. Quotations have been used in order to exemplify the thoughts of the respondents about the issues discussed. The analysis of data revealed that time management operations are not practiced well by heads of academic department in Libyan universities. However, control over time is practiced better than time planning and time organizing and control over time interruptions is the principle that is most commonly used by the heads of academic department. With regard to time wasters, heads of academic department affirmed through their answers that external factors such as poor channels of communication between the department chair and faculty, hesitation in decision making due to lack of clear wanted information, unexpected visitors and the overall instability of Libyan universities' management. as a managerial factor are the most important factors that impede the practice of time management, surprising, no differences in the practice of time management were found according to the managerial experience, specialization, qualifications, gender or number of universities individuals were working at. The researcher believes that these findings may aid in developing _ university administration in Libya in particular and in developing societies in general through discovering the main shortcomings and problems which are faced by heads of academic departments. The researcher thus makes key recommendations for practical procedures which may be adopted to ameliorate the problems faced by heads of department in managing their time. It is suggested that consideration should be given to' reconsidering the current articles of governance relating to the . duties heads of the academic department and to the processes used in the selection of the heads of academic department in Libya. It is also suggested that training and development courses for the professional and managerial growth of department heads in Libyan universities should be established.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Divisions:	Education
Date Deposited:	31 Mar 2017 10:11
Last Modified:	03 Sep 2021 23:31
DOI or ID number:	10.24377/LJMU.t.00006155
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/6155

View Item