DBA thesis defense: “Leadership challenges in Egypt”

Mr. Khaled El Sayed Bekhet Mohamed successfully defended his Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) thesis on “The Relationship between Adversity Quotient and Leadership Styles of Business Leaders in Egypt” at Maastricht School of Management (MSM) on 28 May 2015.

In his research Mr. Khaled Bekhet describes how private sector business organizations face different structural challenges that deter their development. Such challenges have created obstacles for business managers who are key contributors to the overall performance and achievements in business organizations. Despite application of conventional remedial measures, there is insufficient knowledge in private business organizations about a conceptual approach that takes into consideration the

relationship between the individual leader’s personal qualities expressed in his personal demographic profile, leadership styles in terms of transformational and transactional, and the degree of control over decisions and emotions in adversity times expressed in the level of adversity quotient in terms of overall score and its four dimensions namely; control, ownership, reach, and endurance (CORE).

The study found that, no significant relationships exists between the respondents’ overall AQP and their personal demographic profile in terms of age, tenure, and highest level of education attained. However, the study found a significant relationship between the control dimension of CORE and highest level of education attained. This suggests that, since AQ can be learned and enhanced, Egyptian private sector business organizations should instil AQ measure in their recruiting system for hiring or promoting business managers, making them more conscious to deal with adversity which is part of their daily life. The awareness of their AQ level will create a powerful factor in inspiring others to understand their drawbacks and turning them into opportunities.