CIOs' transformational leadership behaviors in community colleges: A comparison-based approach to improving job satisfaction of information technology workers.

摘要

The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive research study was to determine, through statistical analysis, any correlation between the perceived transformational leadership traits of CIOs at two-year community colleges in Kansas and measures of the job satisfaction among IT workers at those community colleges. The objectives of this research project were to help fill the gap in the body of knowledge about the growing number of employees of technology in higher education, and arm community college leaders with the information needed to better serve staff, and more positively affect employee experiences, leading to improved campus-based outcomes. Four research questions were used in this examination. These research questions included the extent to which Kansas-based community college CIOs are perceived as transformational leaders, whether information technology workers of Kansas-based community colleges express satisfaction with their jobs, how job satisfaction ratings of those IT workers compare to national norms, and the extent to which workers' job satisfaction correlates with perceptions of the CIOs' transformational leadership behaviors. The research methods employed included: (a) defining the variables, (b) the ethical collection of data, (c) aligning statistical hypotheses with the research questions, and (d) calculating appropriate t-tests and Pearson product moment correlation coefficients (r), and conducting ANOVA analyses. The results of this research suggested that CIOs were perceived to display transformational leadership behavior similar to national norms; workers expressed overall job satisfaction, but were not satisfied with opportunities for promotion, and were ambivalent about pay; and a positive relationship between transformational leadership behavior and workers' job satisfaction was identified.