management
Fariba Abdi; Rasoul Davoodi; Naghi Kamali
Abstract
Abstract
The purpose of the current research is to design a crisis management model for administrators of Farhangian University. The research method is qualitative; and applicable research in terms of its purpose. The statistical population of the research includes 16 university experts, managers and ...
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Abstract
The purpose of the current research is to design a crisis management model for administrators of Farhangian University. The research method is qualitative; and applicable research in terms of its purpose. The statistical population of the research includes 16 university experts, managers and academic staff members who had experience in crisis management, and were individually interviewed and selected by theoretical (non-probability) and purposeful sampling. And semi-structured interviews were used with university experts. The components and quality requirements of crisis management were obtained through theme analysis during three stages of data coding. The results showed that the components of crisis management in Farhangian University include the degree of preparedness to deal with the crisis (individual factors, organizational factors, educational factors, economic factors); preparation of risk management plan (before the crisis, during the crisis); Organizational structure; participation of organizations; organization communication (internal communication plans, external communication plans); Continuous monitoring (crisis maneuver, possible crisis scenario, review and evaluation); organizational leadership (leadership and management, organizational culture); organizational agility; and university infrastructure.
Extended abstract
Introduction
As one of the main social institutions, the university has the important task of personnel training, scientific research, social services, cultural heritage, and innovation. In the period of rapid social transformation, the outer space of the university becomes more and more complex, which causes the university to face various tests in the process of reform and development. Critical incidents show a growing trend that is also reflected in the universities themselves. At all times, when the university faces a critical incident, the society, people, and media have paid great attention to it. In recent years, more researchers have studied university crisis management (Wenting, 2019). Crisis management is the process of quick decision and action, all-round flexibility to anticipate in order to be prepared to prevent its occurrence, deal with the crisis and repair the effects of the crisis on the environment and actors. Iran is at the top of the most damaged and vulnerable countries in the world (Darvishzadeh, 2018).
According to the mentioned materials, the main problem of the research is; what is the model of crisis management for Farhangian University administrators?
Theoretical Framework
Crisis Management
The crisis is clear to the general public, and they easily understand its meaning. People consider crisis as a bad event and a negative thing and define it as sudden and dangerous events that can have bad and negative effects (Nazemiyan, 2019). Crisis management is an art through which the government of elite men, actors on the stage, display their decisive role. Paying attention to the complexity of natural disasters in cities and the urgent need to use risk reduction funds in urban residential areas, risk management has been used in different ways in the world as a new and effective method in the stages of prevention and preparedness in crisis situations (Hoseini et al., 2018).
The concept of crisis management in the university
Crisis management is an applicable science that, through systematic observation of crises and their analysis, seeks to find a tool by which crises can be prevented, and in case of a crisis, it can be prepared, dealt with effectively, organized and coordinated, and planned action (Rahimi & Moradi, 2021).
Balachi et al, (2023) investigated the role of organizational structure in the ability of crisis management in the organization. The results of the research also show that flexible organizational structure and high coordination improves the ability of crisis management in the organization. In addition, strong communication and cooperation between organization members are also considered as essential factors in crisis management ability. This study brings important results to managers and policy makers of organizations and recommends that organizations improve crisis management ability by creating a flexible organizational structure and strengthening cooperation between members.
Sazmand et al, (2022) investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and crisis management of the Corona pandemic at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. The findings of the research showed that among the dimensions of emotional intelligence, the average of interpersonal skills was higher than the other dimensions. Also, there is a positive and significant relationship between the three dimensions of interpersonal skills, adaptability, and general mood with crisis management. In addition, there is a significant positive relationship between the overall score of emotional intelligence and crisis management.
Research methodology
The present study was applicable in terms of its purpose, and qualitative in terms of data collection. The statistical population includes 16 university experts who were identified using theoretical (non-probability) and targeted sampling, and semi-structured interviews were used.
Research findings
Thematic analysis method was used to analyze the data obtained from the interview,. The results showed that the components of crisis management in Farhangian University include the level of preparedness to deal with the crisis (individual factors, organizational factors, educational factors, economic factors); preparation of risk management plan (before the crisis, during the crisis); Organizational structure, participation of organizations, organization communication (internal communication plans, external communication plans); Continuous monitoring (crisis maneuver, possible crisis scenario, review and evaluation); organizational leadership (leadership and management, organizational culture); organizational agility; and university infrastructure.
Conclusion
The present research was conducted with the aim of designing a crisis management model for Farhangian University administrators. The findings of the present research are in agreement with the findings of Rezaei & Nuri (2018), Jamaledini et al, (2016), AlQahtany & Abubakar (2020), Kwesi-Buor et al, (2019), Lin et al, (2018), Torani et al, (2019), Wasson & Wieman (2018), Lauriola et al, (2018), and Aghaei et al, (2018). In explaining this finding, it can be said that the dimensions that can be a reason for crisis in universities are divided into six categories. The first category is the dimensions of the crisis caused by natural or human factors, such as earthquakes, floods, gas leaks, and accidents caused by damage to vital arteries. The second category of crisis-making dimensions is in the political dimension. For example, the presence of unorthodox people in various forms and shapes in the university campus, politicization among students, the lack of transparency and lawfulness of political activities in the university territory, political dissatisfaction in universities and the migration of elites, politics mistrust of students and professors towards university management can be mentioned as examples of this dimension. The third category of crisis-making dimensions is in the management dimension; among which can be mentioned the inadequacy of managers' commitments to implement changes, the application of parallel management as a factor of conflict in university administration, the prevailing bureaucratic and inflexible management in universities, problems related to the centralized system of university management, and the lack of familiarity of managers with crisis management in universities. The fourth category is the dimensions of the crisis in the educational dimension. In this context, we can refer to things such as the large number of applicants to enter the university, the lack of physical space and student dormitories, the inappropriate quality of food and the physical space of the university, the lack of up-to-date information, and knowledge of university professors, the way of accepting students and the predominance of doctrinal thinking among the students. The fifth category of crisis-causing dimensions is the economic dimension. The severe financial dependence of the university on the approved budget, the low salaries and benefits of university faculty members, the personal and social agitations of students due to the pressure of increasing tuition fees, and the lack of suitable job opportunities to attract university graduates are clear examples of the crisis. The sixth category is the dimensions of the crisis in the cultural-social dimension, such as the increase in the tendency of students to migrate abroad, the alienation of students from the culture and national identity and the loss of self in front of foreign culture, the clash of student values with the cultural values of the university, and psychological aspects of unemployment among graduates, etc. Therefore, it can be concluded that in order to manage the crisis in Farhangian University and higher education, Special attention should be paid to these components.
According to the results, it is suggested that in order to achieve a more practical and effective model, the final model of the research should be implemented as an example in one of the provinces of the country and be tested and evaluated. Considering the importance of the quality of resources in the research results, such as the quality of educational resources, the persons involved should provide the necessary grounds for employing skilled and quality professors and training according to people's needs in order to make these trainings more effective.
Azimeh Motekalem
Abstract
Extended Abstract
Abstract
The aim of this study is to identify and analyze the factors affecting the outcomes of student selection in Farhangian University, which has been done in a mixed method. Delphi technique has been used in the qualitative part in this research. The statistical population of ...
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Extended Abstract
Abstract
The aim of this study is to identify and analyze the factors affecting the outcomes of student selection in Farhangian University, which has been done in a mixed method. Delphi technique has been used in the qualitative part in this research. The statistical population of the study includes 550 professors of Farhangian University in the campuses located in three provinces of West and East Azarbayjan, and Ardabil. 27 persons were available through purposeful sampling in the qualitative stage, and 227 persons were chosen through cluster sampling in the quantitative stage. The research tool was a semi-structured interview in the qualitative part, which was validated by means of the participant's feedback method. In the quantitative part, a researcher-made questionnaire was used. Average values of extracted variances (AVE) in all components are higher than 0.7. Therefore, the reliability of the research questionnaire is confirmed. Coding method was used for qualitative data analysis, and structural equation modeling was used for quantitative data analysis using PLS version 3 software. Based on the findings of the qualitative department, the most important factors affecting the consequences of student selection in Farhangian University are: process-based selection, selection criteria, and selection tools. The results of the quantitative section show that the studied structural model is of good quality and the observed values are well reconstructed and the studied model has a high predictive ability which can predict the endogenous latent variable.
Introduction
Education is the foundation of social, economic, political and cultural development of any society and has the greatest impact on the promotion of society in various dimensions. Any fundamental change in society requires the transformation of the educational system of that society and the main axis of development of any educational system is the quality of teacher performance (Nazarpour, 2017). Formal education has been an inclusive system since the beginning of this century, first in advanced societies and then in all developing societies, and today there is no society in which this system has no role in its evolution and development (Golshan, 2018). But what is most important among the various teacher education programs is the issue of attracting and selecting the right people. This issue has always been important in the educational systems of most developed countries and has been prioritized in their educational programs (Soleymani & Motakallem & Namvar, 2021). In Finland, for example, the selection of qualified people for the teaching profession is a complex process, and the selection of these people takes place with ultimate precise. (Garbe & Shiel & Sulkunen, 2017). However, despite the importance of this issue, there are always disagreements about the process of selecting the right people, and these different perspectives should be benefitted to form a suitable program to select the right people (Kitchen & Petrarca, 2016). Undoubtedly, universities and teacher training centers are places that must use appropriate and sufficient criteria to select the right people from among the various candidates. If they refuse to play their role, the quality of selected individuals and even future teachers can not be guaranteed (Raths & Lyman, 2009). In any country, providing the favorable condition to achieve the positive and applicable results in the process of students' learning involves special attention to the process of selecting and training candidates to enter the profession of teaching in teacher training centers. Groundwater-Smit Mockler, 2009). Given the above, the process of selecting the right people to enter teacher training centers is of particular importance in the education system, and it seems that this issue has been neglected in the studies of researchers in the country. Therefore, the present study focuses on this main issue and seeks to answer the following questions:
What are the factors affecting the consequences of student selection in Farhangian University?
What are the most important factors in choosing the right student in Farhangian University?
To what extent do these factors affect the outcome of student selection at Farhangian University?
Theoretical framework
Selecting the right people for the teaching profession is a step to accept or reject the applications of applicants for the teaching profession so that the most suitable and appropriate ones are selected. (Mirsepasi, 2015) The conditions for selecting the right people are the criteria and indicators individuals volunteering for the teaching profession must meet. In Unesco's manifest (UNESCO, 2017) concerning the "teacher training", the teacher is introduced as the axis and center of learning, and having effective and skillful teachers is considered the right of every child in the world, which is conditioned on the careful selection of interested and capable people to enter the profession. In this manifest, the selection of the appropriate teachers for the learners is introduced as one of the main factors in growth and development of the educational systems (Soleymani & Motakallem & Namvar, 2021). Mahdavi Hazaveh et al. (2017) in a study entitled "Good life, a perspective for children" while highlighting the importance and position of teachers in society, showed Given the position of this job in society, a teacher requires special qualifications, and certainly those involved in this field must be careful in choosing the right people to enter this sacred profession. Ragnarsdóttir & Jóhannesson (Ragnarsdóttir & Jóhannesson, 2014) in their study entitled, have investigated the admission process in Iceland. According to this research, due to the limited admission capacity to select the right people, each institution and center has defined some approximate criteria for itself, but what is common among all teacher training centers in this country includes criteria such as work experience, participate in social organizations and activities in them, having and cooperating in related and additional training (Nazarpour, 2017).
Methodology
The present study uses a mixed and exploratory design in which qualitative and quantitative data are collected and analyzed. In this research, Delphi technique has been used in the qualitative part. The present study began with the collection and analysis of qualitative data in which the most important factors affecting the consequences of student selection in Farhangian University were identified through interviews and three stages including open, axial and selective coding from the perspective of participants. In the second step, quantitative data were collected and analyzed. The statistical population of the study is 550 professors and lecturers of Farhangian University in the campuses of three provinces of West, East and Ardabil in 1399, of which 27 persons were available through purposeful sampling in the qualitative stage, and 227 persons in the quantitative stage by Cluster sampling were selected. The data collection tool was semi-structured in the qualitative stage of the interview. In order to collect quantitative data, a researcher-made questionnaire from the qualitative section of 35 questions was used. Structural equation model with PLS software was used to analyze the quantitative data.
Discussion and Results
Based on the findings of the qualitative department, the most important factors affecting the consequences of student selection in Farhangian University are: process-based selection, selection criteria, and selection tools. The results of the quantitative section show that the studied structural model is of good quality and the observed values are well reconstructed and the studied model has a high predictive ability and can predict the endogenous latent variable.
Process-based selection elements, selection criteria, and selection tools can explain 43.3% of the variance of outcomes, which is significant. Also, the value for the outcome variable is equal to 0.508, which is considered strong. Therefore, it can be said that the studied structural model is of good quality and the observed values are well reconstructed and the studied model has a high predictive ability and can predict the endogenous latent variable.
Conclusion
The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the factors affecting the outcomes of student selection in Farhangian University. The findings of the qualitative section showed that the most important factors affecting the consequences of student selection in Farhangian University from the perspective of research participants are: process-based selection, selection criteria, and selection tools; each composed of subcomponents. From the perspective of research participants, one of the most important factors affecting the consequences of optimal student selection is process-based selection. Intelligence measuring, mental abilities, communication skills, having the right articulation, skills related to creativity and writing, having the spirit of teamwork and participation, and having the right emotional and personality traits are the most important criteria for choosing a good student in Farhangian University according to the perspective of research participants. Canadian experts, including Caskey et al. (2001), believe that this tool can motivate volunteers, show their true quality, and demonstrate volunteer's communication skills. Therefore, favorable strategies for selecting students in Farhangian University have desirable consequences for the educational system, and, training and employment through the selection of qualified people leads to the development of the educational system.
