Education Management
samira ali sofi; samaneh salimi
Abstract
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the effect of quantum management skills on readiness for change with the mediating role of organizational agility. The current study was done by descriptive correlatiove research method. The statistical population of the study consisted of all employees of Zahedan ...
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Abstract
This study aimed to examine the effect of quantum management skills on readiness for change with the mediating role of organizational agility. The current study was done by descriptive correlatiove research method. The statistical population of the study consisted of all employees of Zahedan Islamic Azad University (n=294). Using the Cochran formula, the sample size of 200 people was calculated and the applied sampling method was simple random. Azimi sanavi and Razavi Quantum Management Questionnaire (2011)was used for data collection; Sharifi & Young (2000) for Organizational Agility; and Dunham et al, (1989) for Readiness for Change questionnaire. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed. The reliability of the questionnaires was estimated based on Cronbach's coefficient as 0.881, 0.887, and 0.753, respectively. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed at two levels of descriptive and inferential statistics, including Pearson's correlation coefficient test and structural equation modeling through Spss23 and Lisrel8.8 software. The findings obtained from the structural equation model showed that the standard coefficient between quantum management on readiness for change (0.19), quantum management on organizational agility (0.58), as well as readiness for change and organizational agility (0.64) and the indirect effect of quantum management on change readiness (0.47) were significant.
Extended abstract
Introduction
Today's organizations, especially educational ons, are trying to surpass their competitors in terms of rapid and increasing developments. Organizations should consider many factors to achieve their goals. Therefore, managers should apply a management method with the highest efficiency for the organization. The thinkers of management science believe that managers in the 21st century should use new management methods to increase the capacity of employees. One of these types of management is quantum management. Quantum management is the empowerment of employees and is also an approach to improve the capabilities, powers, and effectiveness of managers and especially employees. Therefore, quantum management aims to increase the effectiveness and power of managers and employees of the organization. The concept of quantum management is an approach to improve the capabilities, powers, and effectiveness of managers and especially employees in the organization and to increase the effectiveness of managers and employees to prepare for organizational change and agility. The university is one of the most important fundamental elements for any change, transformation, and innovation; therefore, the realization of high goals, independence, and social and economic progress is provided through higher education. As a result, universities must be aware of new management features to have the necessary power to respond to changes.
Theoretical Framework
Quantum management was created based on the quantum paradigm in response to uncertainty in phenomena and the unpredictability of their behavior and environmental complexities, extensive and mutual interactions, and rapid and continuous changes that twenty-first-century organizations face with. Understanding quantum management creates a new perspective for understanding and managing today's organizations with the aforementioned characteristics. Quantum theory completely contradicts traditional management beliefs. This theory states that not only is the world unpredictable, but also there is not enough information to understand the current state.
Readiness for change is the employees' positive views and opinions about the need for change and the positive consequences of change-related efforts for the employees and the organization (Peach et al., 2005). Readiness for change refers to the beliefs, attitudes, and conscious intentions of organizational members regarding the needed changes and the organizational capacity to successfully implement these changes. The dimensions of readiness for change in the organization are 1. Newness tolerance: it refers to the tolerance of the organization's members towards new and unexpected conditions. 2. Complexity tolerance: it refers to little, irrelevant, complex, unorganized, and sometimes conflicting or contradictory information in the organization. 3. Difficult situations tolerance: refers to the tolerance of organization members for situations with unsolvable problems in which answers are not easily obtained.
Agility was introduced to the world by Yakoka Research Institute in 1991 as a strategy for organizations in the 21st century to quickly adapt to changes. Organizational agility is the ability to quickly respond to changes in the environment. Organizational agility is an organizational capability that managers of educational organizations should take it seriously to achieve organizational goals. Organizational agility has also the components of innovation, responsibility, speed in work, low complexity, high quality, flexibility, and readiness to react to changes, and is also very resistant to environmental problems and challenges.
Research Methodology
This research is applicable in terms of purpose, and descriptive correlative of structural equation modeling in terms of method. The statistical population includes all the employees of Zahedan Azad University, including 294 people (124 women and 170 men). Morgan's Table was used to determine the sample size, and 165 people were selected by simple random sampling. Three questionnaires were used to collect information.
Quantum Management Skill Questionnaire: Azimi Sanavi and Razavi's Quantum Management Skill Questionnaire (Azimi Sanavi & Razavi, 2014) were used in seven dimensions; Quantum thinking, quantum trust, quantum action, quantum vision, quantum feeling, quantum knowledge and quantum existence; and 34 items to measure quantum management skills. This questionnaire was based on a Likert scale (from never to completely agree).
Organizational Agility Questionnaire: Sharifi and Yang's Organizational Agility Questionnaire (Sharifi Yang, 2000) has been used in four dimensions of speed, competence, flexibility, and responsiveness; and 28 items with 5 options of the Likert type (from never to completely agree) to measure organizational agility
Readiness for Change Questionnaire: Dunham et al's Readiness for Change Questionnaire (1989) was used in three dimensions of cognition towards change, emotional reaction to change, and behavioral tendency to change; and in 18 items to measure readiness for change.
The questionnaire's validity of the current research is of the content type that was confirmed by the supervisor and the expert professors of educational management at Zahedan universities. To estimate the reliability coefficient of the questionnaires used in this research, 30 copies were first given to the subjects. According to Cronbach's alpha, its results were obtained 0.881 for the quantum management skill questionnaire, 0.811 for the organizational agility questionnaire, and 0.753 for the readiness for change questionnaire. These reliability coefficient values indicate the relatively good reliability of these questionnaires. In addition, Pearson's correlation coefficient and structural equation model were used to analyze the data. Calculations were carried out by spss23 and Lisrel8.8 software.
Results
According to correlation analysis, the relationship between quantum management and organizational agility (0.329), quantum management and readiness for change (0.826), and organizational agility and readiness for change (0.326) are positive and significant at the level of 0.01. The fit indices of the model were first calculated to examine the research model. The values of the model fit indices have a good fit. In addition, the data analysis showed that the significant numbers (t) between quantum management and readiness for change are 6.37, quantum management and organizational agility are 5.07, and readiness for change and organizational agility are 3.30. Since these values are greater than 1.96, the impact of quantum management and readiness for change, quantum management and organizational agility, and readiness for change and organizational agility are significant. In the corresponding figure, the standard coefficient between quantum management and readiness for change is 0.19, quantum management and organizational agility is 0.58, and readiness for change and organizational agility is 0.64. In addition, the indirect effect of quantum management on readiness for change (0.47) is significant. Since this effect impacts readiness for change through organizational agility, the mediating role of this variable in relation to quantum management on readiness for change is confirmed.
Discussion and conclusion
This research was carried out to investigate the effect of quantum management skills on readiness for change with the mediating role of organizational agility of Zahedan Islamic Azad University employees. Quantum skills in management try to use the laws, concepts, and principles of quantum theory in the form of metaphor and guidance to solve management problems and describe and explain organizational phenomena. The environment of today's organizations, especially higher education, values agility, innovation, change, vitality, and quality to succeed and increase employee productivity, which are all signs of quantum management. Therefore, having senior management with the necessary knowledge and skills, effective planning, leadership, and quantum culture is necessary to transfer from classical management to successful quantum management in the organization. The research findings regarding the first research hypothesis showed that the components of quantum management directly and significantly affect the readiness for change employees (0.19). The research findings regarding the second research hypothesis showed that quantum management components directly and significantly affect organizational agility (0.53). The research findings regarding the third research hypothesis showed that readiness for change directly and significantly affects organizational agility (0.64). Finally, the results obtained from the fourth research hypothesis showed that quantum management indirectly and significantly affects (0.47) readiness for change.
According to the findings, the following suggestions are made to improve organizational agility, strengthen quantum management skills, and provide a context for change in university employees. University managers should not be afraid and have a high tolerance for ambiguity to change purposefully to be innovative and face unknown phenomena. University managers can increase employees’ adaptability to changes by creating an atmosphere of optimism and risk-taking among them, which will lead to the acceptance of change and transformation. Managers should also make the most of their knowledge capital and learning ability by using quantum management skills and applying a new and innovative scientific approach in organizations and pave the way to achieve agility by emphasizing efficient and effective policies and programs. According to the changes and developments that have been created in organizational management, faculty members should always be encouraged to learn new and updated skills to achieve an appropriate level of hardware and software technologies in the university. In this regard, they can use new and diverse methods to provide educational and research services with the necessary quality to increase satisfaction and agility. University managers can use innovative and new methods based on the ability of the employees to deal with the turbulent organizational environment and solve problems. The research limitation is limiting the statistical community of the research to the employees of Zahedan Azad University and the inability to generalize the results to other universities.
sadegh kazemi; samaneh salimi
Abstract
The current study aimed to compare the sense of belonging to school, academic vitality, and academic emotions in first-grade students of District 2 of Tehran. The research method was comparative causal. Four hundred seventy-five first graders of District 2 of Tehran were the statistical population. The ...
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The current study aimed to compare the sense of belonging to school, academic vitality, and academic emotions in first-grade students of District 2 of Tehran. The research method was comparative causal. Four hundred seventy-five first graders of District 2 of Tehran were the statistical population. The statistical sample of the study included 212 students (106 first-grade students in the Corona era; 106 first-grade students in the pre-Corona era) during 2017 – 2020, selected using the Morgan table and cluster sampling. To collect data, Hossein Chari and Dehghanizadeh's academic vitality questionnaires (2013), Brew, Beatty, and Watt's (2004) student sense of connectedness scale (SSCS), and Pekrun et al.'s (2002) achievement emotions questionnaire (AEQ) were used. The data from the questionnaires were analyzed at descriptive and inferential statistics levels, including independent t-tests through SPSS23. The results revealed a significant difference between the academic vitality, sense of connectedness to the school, and the academic emotions of the first-grade students in Tehran during the period before and during the outbreak of Corona. Consequently, face-to-face education effectively forms a sense of connectedness to the school, creating students' academic vitality and emotions.Extended AbstractIntroduction The impacts of Coronavirus and the closure of schools and the challenges created by it in elementary schools, especially in the first-grade students, have been more, compared to the other educational grades since the first-grade students, who should have been familiar with the classroom and school setting, were familiar with only their teacher via computer or phone. Based on the experts, first-grade students understand the real concept of the classroom and education in the first communication with the teacher. However, during the Coronavirus outbreak, the communication and relationship between the first-grade students and the teachers were not established, leading to educational decline, problems in reading and writing skills, educational weakness, and numerous other factors for these students. Significant academic success and progress could be achieved, especially among first-grade students, in the absence of these problems. Thus, many factors affect the pervasive growth and development or drop in student performance. The factors investigated in this study are the sense of belonging to the school, academic emotion, and academic vitality.Theoretical FrameworkThe sense of belonging to the school is a psychological state in which students feel that the school supports them and other students. Accordingly, when students face strict rules from the school and are punished or even expelled for their first mistake in school, they will have a lower sense of belonging than students who study in lenient schools (Tachine et al., 2017). Academic emotions are defined as emotions that are directly associated with progress activities or progress outcomes. Past studies focused on the emotions related to progress outcomes, including the emotions of future outcomes such as hope and anxiety, which are respectively related to success and possible failures; and emotions of previous outcomes such as pride and shame, which are respectively related to previous successes and failures. The definition proposed by the control-value theory suggests that activity-based emotions are associated with activities related to current progress and are considered progress emotions, such as enjoyment of learning, fatigue experienced in the classroom, and anger in response to task demands of academic learning (Moghadamnia et al, 2020). Academic vitality refers to a positive, constructive and adaptive response that includes all kinds of challenges and obstacles that occur in everyday and normal educational situations (Putwain & Daly, 2013). Academic vitality is a construction that rises from positive psychology and refers to the fact that it can enable students to successfully deal with academic obstacles and challenges such as poor grades, exam pressure, difficult and arduous tasks that occur during education and school (Fouladi et al, 2017).Methodology The present study is applied in terms of aim, and comparative causal in terms of method. The statistical population of the present study includes two groups of first-grade students. The first group includes first-grade students before the coronavirus outbreak, and the second group includes first-grade students during the coronavirus outbreak in District 2 of Tehran (n= 475). To estimate the sample size, Krejcie and Morgan's table was used using the cluster sampling method, so the desired sample size was estimated at 212 first-grade elementary school students. Thus, for this purpose, 212 samples were divided into two groups; first group included 106 (80 girls and 26 boys) first-grade students studying before the coronavirus outbreak, and the second group included 106 (87 girls and 19 boys) first-grade students studying during the coronavirus outbreak. In the present study, three questionnaires were used to collect the required data: Chari & Dehghan Zadeh's (2012) questionnaire was used to measure academic vitality; Beri, Beti & Wat (2004) was used to measure the sense of belonging to the school (27 items and 6 components scored on a 5-point Likert scale); and Pekrun & et al (2002) questionnaire was used to measure academic emotions (75 items and 3 components scored on a 5-point Likert scale).Research FindingsThe mean vitality variable was 3.83 before the coronavirus outbreak and 2.66 during the coronavirus outbreak. The difference between the mean of these two groups (1.27) was examined by an independent T-test. Based on the obtained T-test score and the significance level (p < 0.01), it can be stated with 95% confidence that the mean academic vitality of students before the coronavirus outbreak is higher than that during the coronavirus outbreak and this difference is significant. The mean sense of belonging to the school and its components, including teacher support, participation in the community, respect and justice in the school, positive feeling toward the school, the person belonging to the school, and scientific participation, was obtained at 3.71, 3.59, 3.69, 3.98, 3.58, 3.60, and 3.99, respectively, before the coronavirus outbreak. It was also obtained at 2.40, 2.40, 2.45, 2.32, 2.50, 2.34, and 2.33, respectively, after the coronavirus outbreak. The difference between the means of these two groups (1.31, 1.81, 1.23, 1.66, 1.08, 1.25, and 1.65) was examined using an Independent T-test. Based on obtained T test score and the significance level (p < 0.01), it can be stated with 95% confidence that the mean variable of belonging to the school and its components, including teacher support, participation in the community, respect and justice in the school, positive feeling toward the school, the person belonging to the school, and scientific participation before coronavirus is more than that during the coronavirus. This difference is significant. The mean variable of academic emotions and their components, including positive emotion and negative emotion was 3.54, 3.33, and 3.63, respectively, before the coronavirus; and 2.46, 2.50, and 2.46, respectively, during the coronavirus. The difference between the mean of these two groups (1.077, 0.826, and 1.19 respectively) was evaluated using an independent T-test. Based on the obtained t-test score and the significance level (p < 0.01), it can be stated with 95% confidence that the mean variable of academic emotions and its components (positive emotion and negative emotion) before coronavirus is more than that during the coronavirus. This difference is significant.Conclusion and DiscussionThe present study was conducted to compare the sense of belonging to the school, academic vitality, and academic emotions of first-grade students before and during the coronavirus outbreak. The results of the first question showed a significant difference between the two groups of first-grade students studying before the coronavirus outbreak and the first-grade students studying during the coronavirus outbreak regarding academic vitality. Since no similar study has been conducted to compare the academic vitality of students during and before the coronavirus outbreak, it is not possible in this section to compare the results of this question with the results of other studies. The result also showed that the variable of sense of belonging to the school and its components (teacher support, participation in the community, respect and justice in the school, positive feeling toward the school, the person belonging to the school, and scientific participation) is different before and during coronavirus. The factors that expand the sense of belonging to the school are three factors: 1. Acceptance by others, 2. Interpersonal support, 3. Experienced sense of belonging. Since no similar research has been conducted so far to compare the students' sense of belonging to the school during the coronavirus and before it, in this section, it is not possible to compare the results of this question with the results of other studies. The results also showed that the variable of academic emotion and its components (positive emotion and negative emotion) are different before and during the coronavirus. Since no similar research has been conducted so far to compare the academic emotions of students during and before the coronavirus, in this section, it is not possible to compare the results of this question with the results of other studies. Based on the results, it is recommended that the quality of spending time in class should be proportional to the psychological characteristics of students. The structure of the class should not be traditional and the table and chairs should be arranged in such a way that the communication and access of the students to the teacher should be equal to each other. Since this study was conducted on first-grade students in Tehran, we should treat it with caution in generalizing its results to other students. Hence, this study has limitations from this point of view.
