[01] Farough Amin Mozaffari, Social Sciences Department, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran. [02] Mohammad Abbaszadeh, Social Sciences Department, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran. [03] Javad Yoosefi Lebni, Social Sciences Department, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

Department chairs’ job position in higher education is a unique one as it is full of conflict. No business, academic or non-academic unit can avoid conflict between its employees. Conflict is inherently more likely to occur within an academic department than in any other type of business unit. Survey and questionnaire are employed as the research methodology and technique, respectively. The study population consists of two groups: professors and department chairs. The questionnaire was distributed among all 66 department chairs. Random sampling was used to select professors. 200 professors received the questionnaire. Statistical results of the data analysis show that there is a significant direct relationship between role overload and role conflict. Additionally, there is a significant relationship between department chairs’ leadership styles, roles and some personal and professional characteristics (e.g. how they were selected as the department chair or head of an academic group) and role conflict. Department chairs who follow a liberal leadership style experience lower levels of role overload and conflict compared to those who follow authoritarian and mixed leadership styles. The findings also show that there is a difference between what professors expect from roles of department chairs and what department chairs expect from their own role. Furthermore, there is a significant difference between what professors think of leadership styles of department chairs and what department chairs think of their own leadership styles.

Department chairs, Professors, Role Conflict, Role Overload, Leadership Styles

[01] Asghari, J. (2008). Management of Organizational Behavior. First Edition, Tehran: Saffar illuminated. [02] Amin Mozaffari, Farough (2012). The four department chairs and academicleadership challenges. Unpublished. [03] Ezadi yazdan abadi, A. (2000). Conflict Management. The first edition, Tehran. Emam Hossein University. [04] Parkinson, North, big ideas in management. Translation of iran nejad Parizi, M. (1998). Tehran. Iranian banking institution. [05] Khodaverdi, Yadu'llah (1996). Higher Education and university management. First Edition: Publications Ocean Sciences. [06] Dargahi and colleagues. H. (2009). Conflict management and related strategies, Journal of Medical Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Issue 1 -2 .63-72. [07] Robbins, Stephen (2001). Organization theory, translation Seyed Mahdi Alwani and Hussein Danaei Fard, the twenty-eighth edition, Tehran: Saffar illumination. [08] Robbins, Stephen P., Di menzoo, David A. (2001). Management Basics. Translation Seyed Mohammad Arabi and Muhammad Ali Hamid Rafiei. The first edition, Tehran: Bureau of Cultural Researches. [09] Rezaeian, A. (1998). Management principles. Eighth Edition, Tehran Publication side. [10] Rmzdn, Paul (2002). Learning leadership in higher education. Translator Abdul rahim nooh Ibrahim and colleagues. . First Edition, Tehran Publication Institute for Research & Planning in Higher Education. [11] Avaz Malayeri, A, Shaban Mayani M. (2010). Role of conflict in organizations and approaches to dealing with it. Journal of the rubber industry. No. 55, 65-73. [12] Ghafourian, H. (2006). Organizational Conflict, Journal of Management. No. 102. 101. 37-42. [13] Fayyazi, M. (2010). "Conflict perception and management styles", a change management research. The first year, No. 2. 90-110. [14] Gorji, Abdul Raheem, Taheri, Mohammad Ali (2011). Management and organizational conflict. Correctional magazine. No. 104, 32-34. [15] Moshbaki, A. (2007), organizational behavior management. Third Edition, Tehran Publication the Terme. [16] Masoumeh Shaban, L. (2009) investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership style and organizational commitment of teachers and academic achievement of primary school students in the academic year 87-88 for girls in Tabriz. Master's thesis, educational psychology. Tabriz University. [17] Nekoeimoghadam and colleagues, M (2011). The relationship between leadership styles and conflict management strategies used by senior and middle managers of Kerman teaching hospitals. Journal of hospital. year 9. No. 34, 57-66. [18] Afzalur Rahim. M (2001). Managing conflict in organization. 3red ed. British library cataloguing in publication Data is available. [19] Austin, A. (1994). Understanding and Assessing Faculty Cultures and Climate. In M.K. Kinnick (Ed.), Providing Useful Information for Deans and Departmentchairs. New Directions for Institutional Research, No. 84. (pp. 47-63.). [20] Bass, B. and Riggio, R. E (2006). Transformational Leadership (2nd ed), Mahwah, New Jersey: LEA, Inc. [21] Balay, R.. (2006). Conflict Management Strategies of Administrators and Teachers, Asian Journal of Management Cases, 3(1), 5-24. [22] Booth, David B (1982). Professional Development and Role Conflict The, AAF1E-ERICI hgher Education Research Report No. 10. [23] Bertram, Groos (1964). The Managing of organizations. Vol. 2. Glencoe, collier- Macmillan limited. [24] Carroll, J. B., & Gmelch, W. H. (1992, April). A factor-analytic investigation of role types and profiles of higher education department chairs. Paper presented at theannual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Franco, CA [25] Duze, Chinelo O(2012), Managing Role Conflict among University Administrators in Nigeria, Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies (JETERAPS) 3 (2): 162-169. [26] Ferst, S. M. (2002). Priorities for academic chairs: How deans, chairs, and faculty prioritize the responsibilities of the academic chair. Dissertation Abstracts International, 63(05), 1736A. (UMI No. 3052721). [27] Gmelch, walter h and et al (1984), Sources of stress in academe, Agaothon press inc, vol 20, No, 4.447-490. [28] Greenberg, J. & Baron, R. A. (1997). Behavior in organization, New Jersey, Pearson, Prentice Hall. [29] Gray, B.; Coleman, P. T. & Putnam, L. L. (2007). Intractable conflict: new perspectives on the causes and conditions for change, American Behavioral Scientist, 50(11), 1415- 1429. [30] Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P, & Snoek, J. D. (1964). Organizational stress:Studies in role conflict and Ambiguity. New York: Wiley. [31] Machado, F. (2001). Managing conflict in general practice, Available online at http://www. Abersychan. Demon. Co. uk. [32] Ronald c, McArthur(2002), Democratic Leadership and Faculity empoverment at the community college, Community College Review, Volume 30, No. 3, 1-10. [33] Tucker, A. (1981). Chairing the academic department: Leadership among press NewYork: American Council on Education. [34] Young, Kristine M (2007), Illinois Public Community College Department Chair Roles and Role Conflict, dissertation, for the degree of Doctor of Education in Human Resource Education in the Graduate College of the Universit.