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This study aims to examine the relationship between TQM practices and teachers' job satisfaction in Qatar, visualizing this relationship through a path causal model.

A cross-sectional survey from different schools in Qatar was conducted, using a questionnaire administered to 359 teachers. Factor analysis was used to establish the construct validity of the questionnaire, using two statistical tests: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy, and Bartlett's test of sphericity.

The TQM practices measured were information, professional development, teachers' involvement in decision-making, teamwork and salary. Regression analyses showed that only four of the five constructs were significant in predicting teachers' job satisfaction. The path causal model's results revealed that each explanatory variable's direct effect was strengthened via the effect of the other independent variables.

Teachers who are highly satisfied with their jobs are willing to give their best. This study proposes a conceptual causal model for TQM adoption in the Qatar educational system. The proposed causal model will help policymakers and decision-makers in Qatari schools to draw strategies based on the antecedents and consequences of teachers' involvement in decision-making.

Empirically, this article has employed the concepts of TQM and job satisfaction to construct a causal model, demonstrating the effect of TQM practices on teachers' job satisfaction in schools in Qatar, thus bridging the gap between the two fields. To the best of the researcher's knowledge, no prior studies have examined this relationship within Qatari schools.

This paper aims to provide insights into the female transformational leadership behaviours within a socially dynamic environment. Research was conducted in the State of Qatar, a country that is going through a rapid social change.

The research framework was based on the transformational leadership framework (TLF) initially proposed by Burns (1978) and further developed by Bass (1985). A respondent set, consisting of 25 Qatari female managers, was taken from the largest public university in the State of Qatar. In-depth interviews were the main source of collected data. The data were analysed using NVivo 11.

Predominantly, Qatari female leadership behaviours were reflective of transformational leadership. In their dealings, Qatari female managers displayed motherly instincts, encouraged open communication, used relationship adaptations and used trust. From time to time, Qatari female managers displayed non-transformational leadership behaviours. This occasional leadership style switch was part of behavioural flexibility that was required in a mixed age, mixed gender, mixed experience and mixed nationalities work environment. The key reason for the change in transformational leadership approach came as a reaction to subordinates’ attitude. In particular, the male-dominated work environment required behavioural adjustments (such as being more assertive and autocratic) to deal with masculine subordinates.

A range of respondent perceptions were related to defining leadership. There was some overlapping between the tested determinants. For example, idealised influence and individualised consideration shared a degree of similarity in terms of how they were perceived.

Socially dynamic environment should be seen as an opportunity for female transformational leadership development. Social dynamism may result in an evolved TLF that could be more appropriate for Qatari organisations. Hence, experience and problem sharing between Qatari female managers may help in developing a socially and culturally fitting transformational leadership model.

The study presented a perspective of a socially dynamic environment where women were practicing transformational leadership primarily through behavioural flexibility and change management. The study suggests an extended version of TLF that would be more suitable for female leadership within a socially dynamic environment.

This paper aims to present recently published resources on information literacy and library instruction providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2016.

The paper provides information about each source, describes the characteristics of current scholarship and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Business schools are becoming invaluable platforms linking academia, business and industry. The constantly changing nature of markets requires a continuous and iterative dialog between business schools and other constituents including the government, the private sector and the civil society to guarantee that business and management education is catering for local and global market needs. The purpose of this paper is to address the growing role of business schools in transforming the society, building on the experience of the school of business of the American University in Cairo, and its impact in preparing the business leaders and entrepreneurs who can make a difference in society through rigorous and adaptive business and management education while addressing the elements of governance, accreditation, internationalization, and relevance, creativity and innovation in research.

In this study, desk research is coupled with sharing of the development of the accreditation journey of American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Business and the lessons learned over the last 15 years.

While undergoing multiple accreditations, the school should effectively and efficiently manage the timeline, otherwise the maintenance of all accreditations could end up in one year, and that could be really challenging, a situation faced by the school during the academic year 2016–2017. While having a task force or a committee is mandatory, for the long-term development and sustainability of a continuous improvement culture, an office for academic assessment and accreditation is a must. For the school, the office helps create and embed the culture that accreditation is a journey and not a destination. Accreditation as a process should involve all school stakeholders on and off campus including faculty, staff, students, alumni, advisory boards, employers and the university administration; they should all be engaged and their buy-in through creating a sense of ownership and empowerment is invaluable. Throughout the accreditation journey, nothing is more important than communication, a school can never have enough of it. While the accreditation process needs a strong, transparent, effective leadership style, a bottom-up approach aligning and motivating the school’s different constituents is essential. For accreditation and continuous improvement to be sustainable, it should be driven and guided by a unified school-wide strategy addressing and catering to its different objectives. Accreditation is all about an invaluable triangle of building blocks, including an informed human capital, a respected and well-thought process and a timely, accurate and efficient wealth of data and knowledge about the school.

The limitations are primarily the focus on the case of Egypt and AUC School of Business. Obviously, there is no one size that fits all, but there are lessons learned that could be replicated and tested in business schools located in similar environments.

The study presents the experience of the governance model at AUC School of Business with both internal council of the school of business and external board of advisors.

The study presents the implications of the school on the society and the role, directions, guidelines that accreditation and continuous improvement introduce to the curriculum.

Historical background of business and management education at large in Egypt and Middle East North Africa is coupled with the overview of the school of business, sharing the challenges and opportunities of accreditation and continuous improvement.

This study aims to investigate the effects of individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO), entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and entrepreneurial managerial skills (EMS) on project performance at both the individual and team levels using a holistic framework.

Data were collected from 308 university students involved in two different types of projects (entrepreneurship and nonentrepreneurship) in Qatar.

The confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling showed that both IEO and EMS positively and almost equally influenced project performance. However, ESE’s impact on project performance was significantly mediated by both IEO and EMS and, in practice, it should be considered a motivational factor for increasing the impact of IEO and EMS on project performance.

Project managers should recognize the value of the management and leadership skills examined in this study and their implications for project outcomes.

This study provides novel insights into the role these factors play in effective project management, thus allowing organizations to make effective decisions to reinforce these factors and gain a competitive advantage.

Organizational behavior.

Upper-level undergraduate courses, introductory MBA courses.

This case study unveils the story of Al Qatef Holding, a Gulf-based real estate company that was created on the vision of one ambitious businessman. The case begins in 1999 when Faisal Al Qatef decided to pursue his dream of establishing a full-fledged corporation to serve the mounting real estate needs in the Gulf region. Faisal started his company by launching a number of residential and commercial property developments in his home country, Kuwait. During its early years of operation, Al Qatef Holding witnessed an impressive success and an increasing appetite for growth. A couple of years down the road, the founder made the strategic decision to open a new branch in Doha to seize the opportunity that the Qatari real estate market presented at that time. Yet, along with the rapid expansion came the company’s incapacity to deliver on its promises, generating many customer complaints and a damaged reputation owing to poor construction quality and significant delays in project delivery. The case describes the multiple challenges experienced by Al Qatef Holding throughout its evolution and portrays the external and internal dynamics that led to its initial success and subsequent decline.

Assess the internal dynamics and challenges that are associated with the management of small firms; discuss how leadership styles and characteristics affect the organizational climate and employee performance; demonstrate understanding of how corporate culture drives human behavior in the workplace; perform an analysis of firm structure to estimate its impact on individual and organizational outcomes; apply different techniques for enhancing employee motivation in organizations; and evaluate the effectiveness of managerial decisions and provide recommendations for securing corporate survival.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

The aim of this study is to make students understand the significance of strategy formulation and the impact of internal and external factors on the strategy adopted by the firm. Upon the completion of this case study, the students will be able to achieve the following: • map out relevant macro-environment strategical factors of an organization; • assessing organizations industry and competitive environment; • outline strategic group maps to assess positions of key competitors; • develop issues priority matrices; • testing competitive power of resources; and • identifying an organizations internal strengths and external threats.

Across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic left few organizations untouched and many entrepreneurs fighting to stay afloat. Here we look at the survival dilemma faced by the founder of Little Birds Kindergarten, in Doha, Qatar. Founded by a local Qatari businesswoman, the kindergarten offered a British-style curriculum and an Early Years Foundation Stage structure; with her profound passion for technology, the founder (here called Fatma) has always believed that integrating technology into a child’s early learning opens the door to limitless opportunities and potential. Therefore, she ensured that the kindergarten consistently invested in advanced educational technology and the accompanying software. Yet, while the reputation of Little Birds Kindergarten stayed high, the COVID-19 pandemic stunted the growth in enrolments. Fatma stopped paying herself a salary and even drew on her own savings to keep the kindergarten going but it still did not earn enough to compensate for her initial investment. So, despite her passionate concern for the kindergarten, she worried about being unable to keep it afloat for much longer. The purpose of this case study is to shed light on the strategic posture, performance and market position of one kindergarten. From there, it surveys the opportunities in the education industry that are unique to student enrolment and highlights what a kindergarten can do to develop a survival strategy.

The case is suitable for teaching basic and advanced courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The aim of this paper is to present the main findings of the studies in the field of quality management (QM) in primary and secondary education. Grouping these findings into themes and these themes, in turn, into broad categories as well as prioritizing the themes of findings are also aims of the present study.

A systematic literature review (SLR) of articles focusing on QM in primary and secondary education was carried out based on major publishers, namely Emerald Online, Taylor and Francis, Elsevier/Science Direct, Springer Link, Sage Publishing and Online. In total, 133 articles published in 62 journals during 1983–2019 were collected. The affinity diagram was applied in order to group the findings of the QM studies into logical themes and these themes into broad categories. Moreover, the Pareto diagram was applied to prioritize the themes revealed.

A plethora of articles focusing on QM in primary and secondary education have been published in the last decades. The findings of the QM studies presented in the 133 reviewed articles are grouped into 43 themes and these themes, in turn, into 6 broad categories, namely management practices, school characteristics, teachers, stakeholders, government and pupils. The analysis also reveals themes that can be characterized as “vital” and “useful.”

Researchers and school managers can take into consideration the findings of the QM studies in primary and secondary education as well as the themes of high priority for the design of future studies and QM implementation plans, respectively.

This is the first literature review study which presents analytically the findings of the QM studies in primary and secondary education. This study also contributes to the literature by formulating meaningful themes of these findings and broad categories of these themes and by prioritizing the themes revealed.

Critical success factors (CSFs) in total quality management (TQM) implementation are vital to the quality improvement of organizations, including higher education institutions (HEIs). The present study aims to attempt to develop a TQM paradigm contextualized to HEIs in the Philippine setting.

A total of 309 randomly selected officials/faculty members from four public and four private HEIs participated in the study. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. Factor analysis, using principal components with varimax rotation, was used to extract the main CSFs for TQM.

Results showed the extraction of two principal components. The first component (accounting for 42.95 per cent of the variance in the model) consisted of 25 quality indicators generally considered to fall under “people empowerment” and “continuous quality improvement” (CQI), while the second component (accounting for 42.31 per cent of the variance in the model) consisted of 24 quality indicators that fall under “leadership commitment” and “stakeholder satisfaction”.

The study was focused on determining the CSFs in the TQM implementation of Philippine HEIs.

Findings of this study may be used by HEIs as basis for planning, decision-making and in directing their strategies and resources in the integration of the paradigm in their business process.

The proposed TQM paradigm, upon adoption by Philippine HEIs, may be used as a quality measurement tool to improve performance, embed and sustain quality culture.

This is the first study that developed a TQM paradigm for Philippine HEIs. The identified CSFs are basically the same as those in the cited studies but with relatively greater emphasis on people empowerment.

The variable applications of information technology (IT) have brought with it remarkable changes in the total setting of the information professionals' (IPs') preparation programs around the world. In Oman, several considerations have been taken into account as they are related to the information profession and professionals, including the establishment of the Department of Library and Information Science (DLIS), the Omani Librarianship Association (OLA), Learning Recourse Centers, and the Omani e‐Government Project. It is, then, the aim of this paper to investigate such developments and to explore the Omani IPs' perspectives toward a list of competencies that they are effectively participating in and agreed with for managing their information institutions, resources, services, and others related to their attitudes toward the use of technology and their professional personality.

To investigate the Omani IPs' perspectives toward the set of competencies, a questionnaire was developed based on the predefined competencies for IP. The list and definitions of the competencies were prepared by the Special Committee on Competencies for Special Librarians for the Special Libraries Association Board of Directors in 2003.

The results show that Omani IPs are generally carrying positive perspectives toward the list of different groups of competencies for common satisfaction of their users. Yet, their prominence perspectives center on technical skills, general awareness of technology, and current awareness competencies, but are less concentrated on and agreed with competencies related to new tools and techniques of management such as evidence‐based librarianship, negotiation, consultation, association networks, and satisfaction measurement.

The paper provides an inclusive view of the Omani IPs' perspectives toward the predefined list of competences and recommends that the DLIS and the OLA and the parent organizations should cooperate together to develop a kind of “job approach” preparation and training approach so that a new picture of the Omani IPs as being effective partners in their workplace will be achieved.