Senior management roles in medical universities of Iran from presidential to leadership: the views of middle managers

One of the characteristics of successful organizations is a dynamic and effective leadership which can provoke staff، the development of innovation and quality in improving and developing further than presidential role. This study aims to identify the roles of senior managers in medical universities in Iran، from presidential to middle leadership and from the view of managers and experts. This cross sectional study was conducted in 2012-2013 in deputy vice-Chancellery for Health in Medical Universities. Samples were selected randomly and quota. In the selected universities Managers and experts were interviewed in the census. The data collection tool was the questionnaire included individual and organizational variables and key questions about management and leadership. Data analysis was performed using Tests Spearma، Kendall، Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis in SPSS version 18. 0 through related statistical tests at a significant level of α <0. 05. Of the 267 executives and experts in this study، mean presidential and leadership role was 3. 04 and 1. 94، from 5 scores. Highest level of Presidential role for senior managers was identified for working within the bureaucracy، control of the organizational affairs in current form، and an emphasis on maintaining vertical communication. There was a significant relationship between type university، side of job and the level of perception of managers and experts (P=0. 014)، (P=0. 017). The study showed that the health department senior managers can play more roles in the Presidential Range. Therefore، it is recommended to arrange management training courses، especially to familiarize senior managers with the business excellence models.