Analyzing the relation between spiritual intelligence and communication skills, and effectiveness among Fars province principals
1. D.r Seyed Ahmad Hashemi
PhD, Lamerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran Hmd_hashemi@yahoo.com
2. Abolfazl Abbasi
M.A Student Educational Management, shiraz university, and Employee Education, Larestan. Iran A.Abolfazl1369@yahoo.com
3. Hamzeh Rahpeima
M.A, Student educational research, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Lamerd, Iran, Rahpeima.ashk@yahoo.com
Abstract
This study aims at investigating the relation of spiritual intelligence and communication skills with organizational effectiveness among Fars province high school principles. This is a descriptive correlation survey research and the population of this study is all of the principles(1500 persons) of Fars province high schools, in 2013-14 academic year. In this study, cluster random sampling used and 306 principles were selected based on Morgan's Table. The information gathered through 3 questionnaires (spiritual intelligence, communication skills, and organizational effectiveness) which used after determining their validity and reliability. The data were analyzed by using inferential statistics methods (Pearson's correlation coefficient and multivariate regression) via SPSS19 software. The results showed that there is a significant relation between spiritual intelligence and communication skills with organizational effectiveness and communication skills is a significant predictor for organizational effectiveness. Also, among spiritual intelligence factors, only two factors, "self-awareness, love and interest" and "predicaments controlling capability", can predict organizational effectiveness significantly but the first factor has more effect. In addition, among communication skills two factors, "message apprehension" and "decisiveness", have a significant relation with effectiveness; however, only the second one can predict organizational effectiveness significantly.
Key words: spiritual intelligence, communication skills, organizational effectiveness, high school
Introduction
Education system has long been an effective organization on all aspects of societies. In fact, as a dynamic, purposeful and intelligent system, it can lay the foundation to foster constant development in a society. Undoubtedly, it has been a challenge for organizations to keep up with such effectiveness in all circumstances. Today in professional and successful organizations, they seek organizational effectiveness with clear aims and use all their power to achieve them. What is similar in all these approaches is that organizations believe that effectiveness is a process by which they can find the answer for what and how organizations must achieve effectiveness.
Both facilities and instruments (process) and achieved results should be taken into consideration in defining organizational effectiveness. In Drukes’ perspective, organizational effectiveness is a rate or scale that organizations achieve their aims. Fidler defines effectiveness as principals’ communication with co-workers, pre-determined, rate of work and the power that principals achieve in their positions (Mirkamali, 1997). Effectiveness is a scale to evaluate organization function. In other words, effectiveness shows how much effort has been put in the achieved results.
Daft (2002), Hoy & Misckle (2004) believe that organizational effectiveness points to the scale of reaching to the determined aims and is considered as a criterion in education of organizational function in relation with expected results. On the whole, there is no consensus about the constituents or functions of effectiveness in respect to its components. Regarding organizational effectiveness, many views and paradigms have been taken into consideration such as the paradigm of aim, the paradigm of resource - system (Hoy &Misckle, 2008), the paradigm of partners satisfaction (Hall, 2002), systematical approach and competence values approach (Robins, 1987), Yachtman& Seashore (1967) approach in providing source, the approach based on Kanoli’s strategic factors (1983), and competitive values approach of Quinn &Rohraugh, and the basic subject of all these paradigms and approaches is organizations’ success in fulfilling their goals (Torkzadeh, 2008, Robins 2005, Hoy &Misckle 2008,Abtahi, 2004).
Intelligence is a factor that can lead to organizational effectiveness. Today, individuals with high intelligence are successful and efficient. These individuals deal with the vicissitude of life using their natural intelligence with the help of the power of their thoughts and knowledge. The same is true for organizational world, the more the time advances, the more organizations become more complex and managing them will be more difficult with respect to the developments in science and skills and the emergence of new needs and challenges (Azizi, 2010).
Spirituality is one of the aspects of intelligence that can ideally lay the groundwork for organizational effectiveness. As a new concept to the intelligence, spiritual intelligence constitutes compatibility and problem-solving behavior that can provide the highest level of development in cognitive, moral, emotional and interpersonal areas and help individuals toward integrating with environmental phenomenon and in achieving internal and external integrity. This intelligence gives individuals a general vision about all different aspects of life (GhobariBanab et al, 2009).
Nasel (2004) also defines spiritual intelligence as an ability to approach spiritual abilities and a source for recognizing, discovering and analyzing behavioral and spiritual approaches. Spiritual intelligence connects different aspects of individuals’ internal awareness and spirituality with external work environment and provide them with worldviews. Spiritual intelligence is the ability to behave with care and logic along with internal and external spirituality, regardless of events and consequences. With spiritual intelligence, individuals have the capability to be fair and caring. It makes us see things the way they are. This is the intelligence famous and popular leaders use to lead. Spiritual leaders can endure huge pressure by this ability (Fray, 2003). It can be used solving problems in respect to their values and levels. It also can be applied in knowing the function and the fulfillment rate of our aims.
Workers’ spiritual intelligence in occupational environment has some advantages such as the increase in the sense innovation, trust, personal development, organizational commitment, development in workers’ occupational perspectives, occupational satisfaction, contribution, the decrease in quitting jobs, increase in occupational ethics, high motivation, and high function and proficiency (Fatahi, 2008). In fact, individuals with high spiritual intelligence develop some specific advantages. These advantages are ideal perfection which grows in spiritual individuals. As they practice these advantages in occupational environment, organizations will get considerable benefits as well. For instance, individuals with higher spiritual intelligence have more commitment, more occupational motivation, and more effectiveness and proficiency than those in lower levels. Hence, the more individuals have spiritual intelligence, the more they can have effective roles in organizations.
In the late twentieth century, there were huge changes in the organizations and institutions due to the advancement in science, technology and political and economic revolution in the world. In the era of information and science production, organizations have new circumstances and requirements to deal with. They should take the changing needs and expectations into consideration carefully with respect to their surroundings in order that they play their role effectively (Rinhurt& Short, 1993).
Communication is one of the important tools of civilized societies and it is the main factor of human development. In other words, communication is vital for human beings. Therefore, on the importance of communication, Harburt Simon says that ‘There will not be any organizations without communication.’ As a result, the groups’ effect on individuals’ behavior will be impossible; principals use communication to coordinate and guide staffs, to plan and control the organizational programs. Communication is also the persistent factor of organizations’ existence (Boltot, 2002).
Communication is a vital and dynamic process in an organization. Staffs will not do their task efficiently and will lose their motivation gradually when there is no effective communication, because communication provides ideal chance for exchanging knowledge and experience (Moshksar, 2011). Making connection and exchanging staffs’ experiences inside and outside organizations insures proficiency, if individuals in organizations have experience and cannot explain it, then no other individuals or organizations can do it. Therefore, organizations should improve their staffs’ capability in exchanging experience in order that they do marketing by special explanation, capability, art, etc.
On the whole, with respect to above-mentioned explanations, spiritual intelligence and communication skills can lead to the effectiveness of organizational activities. We will mention to some research which has been done in this regard as well.
In a study, Fabricatore et al. (2000) found out that spirituality affects general satisfaction in life. Authentically, spirituality predicts more satisfaction from life. It is also evaluated as a capability mechanism that helps control tense factors easily with respect to those who are in a lower level of personal spirituality. In a research done by Mitroff (2003), reasons that leaders with high spiritual intelligence do effective things; challenging common outlook, making others capable, being example in work and cordially encouragement.
A research done by Fray (2003) on spirituality leadership shows that four main aspects bond humans; physical body, thoughts, feelings, and spirit. Leaders should find their fundamental values in order to create the feelings of partnership and spiritual responsibility through personal perspective and activities. In a research focused on the analysis of the relationship between developing capability and communications skills and occupational function in the staffs of Shiraz Design and Petrochemical Engineering Company, Moshksar (2011), found out that communication skills lead to staffs’ high occupational function. HashemTarami’s (2000) research shows the relation between effective communication and organizational atmosphere that can cause effectiveness. Hall (2007) points out that there is a positive connection between developing psychological capabilities and communication skills. If principals feel they have higher responsibilities and communicational skills, then it is obvious that they will understand their essential capabilities and skills for performing occupational functions (feelings of capability). Therefore, it is expected that communication skills will increase every aspects of developing psychological capabilities (meaningfulness, competence, self-determination, and effectiveness) and will add to principals’ occupational function.
Liu (2008), in a research found that the relation between principals and staffs has meaningful role in the success of related management and improve the effectiveness in their tasks. Regarding the above-mentioned details, in this study, we are trying to analyze spiritual intelligence and communication skills relation to high schools’ effectiveness in Fars province and find answer to these question:
1. Is there any meaningful relation between spiritual intelligence and effectiveness?
2. Which component of spiritual intelligence is a meaningful predictor of effectiveness?
3. Which component of communication skills is a meaningful predictor of effectiveness?
Research Method
With regard to the nature of the subject and its aim, the research method is a description of a type of correlation. The statistical number of participants in this research is 1500 and consists of all the high school principals of Fars province in 2012-13 academic year. In this research, the statistical sampling is based on cluster random sampling, and in doing so, 306 participants are chosen according to Korgesi and Morgan Table. To collect data in this research, the spiritual intelligence questionnaire of Badi et al. (2008) was used with the value of r=0.55, p=0.0007. Jerabeck’s communication skills questionnaire (2004) was used and researchers reported final test which was 0.69 using Croback’s Alpha for evaluating final test that shoed an acceptable internal similarity of the research.
To evaluate principals’ effectiveness, Fayal &Fridman& Lails questionary was used, consisted of 35 questions. Cronback’s Alpha coefficient questionnaire was used to evaluate final validity which generally resulted in 0.88 compatibility, 0.74 covering, 0.65 integrity, and 0.63 goal-oriented. To analyze data and to identify relation, intensity and the relation of the direction of research cases in all the aspects, Pearson Correlation Coefficient,and Multi-variable Regression Coefficient were applied.
Research Findings
First question; Is there any meaningful relation between spiritual intelligence and effectiveness? Correlation coefficient between predictor variables and criterion variable are calculated in Table 1.
Table 1
It shows that there is a direct and meaningful relation between predictors and effectiveness (p-value < 0.05).
Table 2
Table 2 shows the analytic result of multivariate regression. With respect to F and its p-value which is less than 0.05, it is concluded that the regression is meaningful and predictor variables (spiritual intelligence and communication skills) can predict criterion variable (effectiveness), correlation coefficient multiple value is also 0.463 and coefficient determination is 0.21 which shows that predictor variables can generally determine 21 percent of variations in effectiveness variable. From the value of t and its p-value, it is shown that only Beta coefficient related to communication skills is meaning full.
Second question; Which component of spiritual intelligence is a meaningful predictor of effectiveness? Correlation coefficient components of spiritual intelligence and principals’ effectiveness are calculated in the table 3.
Table 3
It shows that there is a meaningful relation between all the components spiritual intelligence and principals’ effectiveness (p-value < 0.05).
Table 4
Table 4 shows the results of multiple regression analysis. Concerning the value F and its p-value which is less than 0.05, it is concluded that the regression is meaningful and predictor variables (spiritual intelligence components) can predict criterion variable (effectiveness). Also multiple correlation coefficient is 0.414 and coefficient determination is 0.17 and shows that predictor variables determine 17 percent of variations related to effectiveness overall. Regarding the value of t, the Beta value of the components ‘predicaments controlling capability’ and ‘self-awareness, love and interest’; however, the component ‘predicaments controlling capability’ has bigger role in the determination and prediction of effectiveness variations of principals.
Third question: Which component of communication skills is a meaningful predictor of effectiveness? Table 5 shows correlation coefficient between the components of communication skills and principals effectiveness.
Table 5
It shows that there is a direct and meaningful relation between the components of ‘message apprehension’ and ‘decisiveness’, with principals’ effectiveness (p-value < 0.05).
Table 6
Table 6 shows the analytical results of multiple regression. Regarding the value of t and its p-value which is less than 0.05, it is concluded that the regression is meaningful and predictor variables (components of communication skills) can predict the criterion variable (effectiveness). Multiple correlation coefficient is also 0.591 and determination is 0.35, and shows that that predictor variables can determine 35 percent of effectiveness variables overall. Concerning the value of t and its p-value, only the beta value of the component ‘decisiveness’ is meaningful. This means that this component has more role in the determination and prediction of principals’ effectiveness.
Conclusion
The main purpose of this research is to analyze the relation between spiritual intelligence and communication skills with principals’ effectiveness of Fars province high schools. The results show that there is a meaningful relation between the correlation of spiritual intelligence and effectiveness. Among the components of spiritual intelligence, the value of beta components of ‘predicaments controlling capability’ and ‘self-awareness, love and interest’ are meaningful. This means that these two components can predict principals’ effectiveness. The results of this research are somehow in accordance to those of Fabricatore et al. (2000), Mitroff (2003), and Fray (2003).
There is also a meaningful correlation between communication skills and principals’ effectiveness. Among the components of communication skills, ‘message apprehension’ and ‘decisiveness’ have meaningful relations with principals’ effectiveness; however, the value related to the component ‘decisiveness’ is meaningful. This means that this component can predict principals’ effectiveness. The results of this research are in accordance to those of Lin (2008), Hall (2001), HashemiTari (2000), and Moshksar (2011).
Regarding the finding of this research, it is concluded that spiritual intelligence and communication skills to some extents affect principals’ effectiveness in Fars province high schools. Therefore, these concepts should be taken into consideration. In this regard, some recommendations are given as follows:
1. Setting a comprehensive educational plan for developing spiritual intelligence and communication skills in principals, considering that the results showed that those two variables could be effective.
2. To maintain meaningful relation between spiritual intelligence and communication skills with effectiveness, the research shows that only the components ‘predicaments controlling capability’ and ‘self-awareness, love and interest’ have meaningful relations with effectiveness and there is no relation between any of the other components. Principals and other authorities are suggested to create conditions for a development through effectiveness. This requires much consideration to these components.
3. Regarding the findings in the research, it is expected that all the components of communication skills should have a meaningful relation with effectiveness, although only the components ‘message apprehension’ and ‘decisiveness’ have meaningful relations with effectiveness. Therefore principals are suggested that they should consider the development by organizing groups to analyze communications in official and unofficial forms.
كلام اول 
موضوع: مقالات چاپ شده در مجلات خارجي ISC
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تاريخ: 13 مرداد 1393
بازديدها: 1407
