A descriptive study of supervisory behaviors used by chairs and deans of business, engineering, and health in selected technical colleges in Ohio

摘要

The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the preferred and success-oriented behaviors used by supervisors in the Dean, Associate Dean, or Chairperson position across the arenas of business, engineering, and health in selected technical or community colleges in Ohio.;The study included four academic vice presidents and 11 division chairpersons and 30 department heads who represented the Divisions of Business, Engineering, and Health Technologies in four selected Ohio technical colleges. These 45 subjects represented a response rate of 51.1%. The colleges operated under the auspices of the Ohio Board of Regents: two were located in small towns and two in large cities.;The Literature Review focused on legitimacy and the formal organization, leadership effectiveness, change theory and employee satisfaction, and communication. Entry into the colleges was made via a Letter of Inquiry to the Academic Vice Presidents. Participation was voluntary. The methodology consisted of a self-administered sequence of Survey Questionnaires for all subjects and follow-up interviews with the vice presidents and division chairpersons. The chairpersons completed Fiedler's (1977) Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) Scale, and Ghiselli's (1971) Self-Description Inventory.;The data were tabulated and categorized. Preferred supervisor qualifications were Instructional Supervision, Interpersonal Communication and Listening Skills, Educational Requirements, Prior Educational and Non-educational Experience, and Professional Rolemodelship; the preferred entry behavior was Effective Interpersonal Communications/Listening Skills; preferred supervisory behaviors were Effective Instructional Supervision, Effective Interpersonal Communication/Listening Skills and Professional Rolemodelship. All of the above findings were common to the supervisory levels. In addition, Advocate of People and Programs and Knowledge and Experience in Discipline were common categories of behaviors to the technical arenas. Differences among technologies were slight, except for the desire for chairpersons to have disciplinary competence and occupational skills.;Results from Fiedler's LPC Scale showed low relationship-motivated scores for chairpersons, but extreme scores existed. High scoring chairpersons according to Ghiselli's criteria exceeded the managers' mean in the areas of Intelligence, Self-assurance and Maturity, and placed lower in Need for High Financial Reward. High scorers on Ghiselli's Inventory had high task-motivation on the LPC. This study pioneered the application of Fiedler's and Ghiselli's instruments to technical education supervisors.