Senior managers in Iraqi society: their background and attitudes

Sulieman, Moayaid S. (1984) Senior managers in Iraqi society: their background and attitudes. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to cast light on a group of senior managers currently working in Iraq. It investigates their personalsocial background. career patterns and decision-making styles in the light of the Western management standards. The thesis also tries to bring into the light how the Iraqi managers spend their time and what activities they exercise inside their firms. In addition. it attempts to show the contemporary social constraints or pressures which face managers in Iraq.

The assumption is made that in order to understand management styles and the principal personal-social background and career patterns of a group of managers in a given country. prior understanding of their social and cultural values is vital. Without such prior understanding of the social and cultural context. the analysis and the interpretation of the managers' characteristics and their management styles will be incomplete.

Thus, the point of departure is to start the analysis by careful examination of Iraq; its geography, social communities, religions, education, political and economic development. In addition, the analysis extends itself to cover the past and the contemporary attitudes toward men and women, time. manual work and toward the size of the family.

The thesis then proceeds to discuss the principal characteristics of forty four Iraqi manuging directors. The results broadly indicate that most of the personal-social characteristics and career patterns of these managers are a reflection of their larger society. The same is equally true with their management styles. What already exists in the industrial firms studied also exists in the larger society; the links between industrial organisations and the Iraqi society in terms of social values and attitudes toward time. manual work. superiority of men over women. remain strong despite the fact that the society is undereoing considerable social and economic changes. So. too, the principal characteristics of the managers studied. whether in terms of their personal-social background. their career patterns or their decision-makine styles. are by and large similar to the general features of the society in large. The analysis also indicates that in order to work according to Western management standards. the Iraqi manager needs not only a long period of time, but also requires massive efforts to get rid of a heavy heritage of different but interlocking social pressures and constraints.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences
• Supervisor's Name: Weir, Prof. David H.
• Date of Award: 1984
• Depositing User: Miss Louise Annan
• Unique ID: glathesis:1984-6555
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 17 Jul 2015 11:27
• Last Modified: 06 Jul 2022 09:45
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.6555
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/6555