AN ANALYSIS OF THE MANAGEMENT STYLES OF SELECTED SUPERINTENDENTS IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA AS PERCEIVED BY THE SUPERINTENDENTS AND THEIR SUBORDINATE ADMINISTRATORS

The purpose of the study was to compare and analyze the perceptions of selected public school superintendents and their subordinate administrators about the management styles of the superintendents in relationship to certain organizational variables and within the variable of school district size. The perceptions of the administrative groups were then translated into one of four management styles developed by Rensis Likert and projected by the instrument, The Profile of Organizational Characteristics.;From the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn. (1) The superintendents and their subordinate administrators who participated in the study perceived superintendents to be functioning in a management style that was consultative in nature. (2) Superintendents perceived their actions to be more participatory in nature and more supportive of their subordinates than the subordinates themselves indicated. (3) The administrative groups felt that superintendents were functioning lowest managerially when establishing organizational goals and when providing subordinates with proper management training. (4) Subordinate administrators perceived superintendents' management styles to be consultative and supportive in nature in relationship to various management functions performed by the superintendents. (5) Elementary school principals perceived superintendents to be less consultative and supportive in their actions than did any other administrative group. (6) Central office administrators and secondary school principals were very similar in their perceptions of superintendents' management styles, but were different in their perceptions from the perceptions of superintendents and elementary school principals.;The Profile was mailed to 46 superintendents operating in Louisiana public school districts during 1979-80 and to 481 of their subordinate administrators. The subordinate administrators selected in the study consisted of central office administrators, secondary school principals, and elementary school principals. The 46 school districts were stratified within the variable of district size, and the 481 subordinate administrators were selected by using a proportional, stratified random sampling procedure. Respondents in each of the administrative groups were instructed to select a description that best represented the management behavior of the superintendent relative to eight organizational variables. The selections were then assigned numerical values which were manipulated with appropriate statistical procedures, i.e., paired t test, analysis of variance, and Duncan's multiple range test, in order to answer various questions posed in the study.