title: Dimensions of leadership of assistant/associate deans in collegiate schools of nursing.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to discover whether there were differences in the perceptions of deans, assistant/associate deans, and faculty of leadership styles, initiating structure and consideration, and position power of assistant/associate deans in selected collegiate schools of nursing. In addition, the effect of leadership styles on performance as perceived by the three groups related to the position power of assistant/associate deans was also examined. Collegiate schools of nursing, identified as having a hierarchal organization structure with persons identified by the title "assistant/associate dean," were invited to participate. Data were collected from a sample of 36 collegiate nursing schools. The tools used were the Ohio State Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire, and the Fiedler Position Power Scale. Three questions were posed. A multi-variate analysis of testing the three hypotheses showed a significant difference between the three groups' perceptions of initiating structure, consideration, and position power. A main effect for initiating structure was found in the deans' perceptions of position power. A main effect for consideration was found in the perception of the faculty sampled.
authors.affiliation: University of South Carolina-Aiken.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: D000288:Administrative Personnel; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D005181:Faculty, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D009718:Nurse Administrators; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012579:Schools, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D012938:Social Perception