Abstract

There are countless books, articles and journals written about leadership, whether the discussion centers on traits, characteristics, beliefs, values or the development of said leadership. All in all, the proliferation of information on the subject matter is vast (Northouse, 2013). This is afforded due to the nature of the cultural and political climate of the United States. As a democratic capitalist society, it is afforded the protections of the first amendment therefore, you are able to write about and conjecture on what leadership is. Leadership is cultivated in a variety of ways, through action, education, or as some might argue, through birth. Success of Iranian Americans in the US can be attributed to the level of importance that education has for the Iranian community. Iranian Americans hold leadership roles in a variety of fields. Because of their standing when first immigrating to this country, Iranians have added advantages that other immigrant groups do not. It stands to reason that the success of these leaders is based on a variety of factors; it is thought that their success is based on socio-­‐ economic and demographic status as well as to their leadership style and decision making approach (Miramontes, 2008). Iranian Americans are doing more business in Iran as the opportunities develop due to globalization. To be adequately prepared, an understanding of Iranian American leadership and decision making is needed. A better understanding of Iranian leadership can be developed by looking at the characteristics and assumptions associated with Iranian American leaders. This study focused on successful Iranians in the US and was meant to identify characteristics and assumptions that inform decision-making and leadership practices and how the demographic characteristics correlate. Survey responses were used to identify characteristics and assumptions that inform decision­making and leadership practices. The most common decision making preferences were soloist and conductor while the most common leadership styles were coaching and democratic. Most of the correlations (95 of 108 correlations, 88.0%) were not significant at the p < .10 level that compared either the decision making preferences with the demographics or the leadership styles with the demographics.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Dissertations (EdD) -- Organizational leadership; Iranian Americans; Leadership

Date of Award

2014

School Affiliation

Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Department/Program

Education

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate

Faculty Advisor

Stephens, Ron;

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