High-Education Institutions Hold a Stable Role in Sociaty

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Throughout history higher education institutions have had a stable role in society. This is primarily due to their steadfast mission, management, and organizational infrastructures. Although funding and appropriation have decreased, trends show that during periods of economic downturns student enrollment levels increase. (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education). However, many higher education institutes experience a wide variety of challenges during financial crisis. As individuals in the work force and business arena seek to develop human capital, professional development and advanced degrees, colleges and universities are forced to diversify competitiveness. Many institutions now offer distance education, (coursework complete online) and hybrid programs (an amalgamation of face-to-face classroom teaching and online learning). Rapid advancements in technology and innovation have resulted in an increase of Internet usage for the purposes of education (Christo-Baker, 2004). To be competitive, instructors must possess a spectrum of leadership strategies that will be suitable for the educational institution. Moreover they must consider differences of students in regards to societal, cultural and diverse learning abilities. Beaudoin, (2007) suggests that distant learning instructors must develop a new innovative set of rules for teacher-student engagement. Due to the uncertain milieu of distance learning, proper placement of effective leadership could well make the difference between success, failure, or retention. Beaudoin (2007). Consequently as colleges and universities rethink the effectiveness of infrastructures, particularly for distance learning offerings, a closer look at quality instruction, selection o...

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...Purvanova and Bono (2009) examined employee performance and satisfaction in a virtual organizations compared to a face-to-face organization. Results indicated greater satisfaction and overall performance from those employees of transformational leaders.

Further support for the impact of transformational leaders can be found in a study, Ruggieri (2009) that examined transformational and transactional leadership in relation to follower outcomes in interactive virtual contexts. In the findings the transformational leaders were described by followers as being more progressive innovative and being visionaries (Ruggieri).
Finally these findings can be found consistent with Hoyt and Blascovich’s (2003) study of a virtual interactive context whereby follower satisfaction was greater and motivation than those of transactional leaders. (Hoyt & Blascovich; Ruggieri).

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