Analysis of Head of Departments Leadership Styles: Implication for Improving Research University Management Practices INTRODUCTION NOVELTY This is the first research on lecturers’ job satisfaction and administrators’ leadership styles since the establishment of RUs. Findings regarding current leadership practices, more on transformational but still practicing laissez-faire. Crucial information about lecturers’ job satisfaction, professors are more satisfied and lecturers (regardless rank) are happy with work itself. To achieve the vision of MoHE- to be international center of excellence in higher education - administrators’ leadership styles and lecturers’ job satisfaction are pivotal factors. Methodology Design: Quantitative correlational Population: Academic staffs of three Malaysian RUs (UM, UKM, UPM) Sampling procedure and sample size: Stratified proportional random sampling, 305 Instruments: Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5x (MLQ 5X), Wood Faculty Job Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction Scale (WFJSDS) New Proposed Model for Understanding Lecturers’ Overall Job Satisfaction r=.90 Contingent reward Transformational. L r=.46 Overall job Sat Lecturers’ Job Satisfaction Laissez-faire. L r= -.30 Relationship between Head of Departments’ Leadership Styles and Lecturers’ Job Satisfaction Variables Intrinsic Sat Extrinsic Sat Overall Sat Transformational .365** .506** .465** Transactional .263** .297** Laissez-faire - .192** -.356** -.297** **correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) n=298 Predictors of Lecturers’ Overall Job Satisfaction I Vs Beta R R² Adj R² R² change Transformational .L .405 .465 .216 .213 Laissez-faire. L -.21 .507 .257 .251 .041 Usefulness/ Advantages Providing important information regarding different constructs of intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction such as work itself, growth, interpersonal relations (highest mean scores), responsibility and salary (lowest mean scores). Note: R²=.26, F {2, 294} = 50.726, Sig F=.000. Transactional Leadership was not significant and excluded. Market Potential Practicing transformational leadership less and laissez-faire leadership more than ideal norms by heads of departments. These indicate necessity for leadership training. Contingent reward exhibited characteristics of a multidimensional leadership factor. The instruments of the study can be utilized for future research to improve university management practices. Job satisfaction model can be shared with all RUs and non-RU public as well as private universities. Leadership model can be shared with all RUs and non-RU public as well as private universities. Project Leader : Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie Co-Researcher : Amir Sadeghi Department/Lab : Science and Technical Education Faculty : Educational Studies Email :zalp@educ.edu.upm.my Project Leader Expertise :Educational Administration and entrepreneurship education. Tel :0166295721