How an academic leader can become more effective? This research question is examined in the context of middle level leadership in research universities that includes the Deans and Head of Departments.  It is based on a review of literature that focuses on the investigation of effective academic leadership. In the present situation of globalization, academic excellence is often related to being World Class University. Leadership effectiveness is more related to situational leadership style in research universities and in a global context. Hence situational leadership models such as Hersey and Blanchard and Yetton-Vroom are analyzed. It is suggested that effective academic leaders use the four styles proposed by Hersey and Blanchard that includes “telling, selling, participating and delegating”. These styles should be used in relation to ability and willingness of followers to perform the assigned tasks. The review also indicated that to be effective, academic leaders require certain competencies and perform the necessary roles in order to lead. Effective academic leaders need the skills and abilities to lead research universities towards excellence. Roles of academic leaders are examined in relation to Mintzberg leadership roles. The ten roles identified by Mintzberg are categorized into three major roles of interpersonal contact, information processing and decision making. To summarize, effective academic leaders utilized various leadership styles according to certain situations, possessed the required competencies and assumed certain roles when appointed as Deans and Head of Departments in research universities. As such it is important that a systematic leadership development programs should be developed to ensure academic leadership effectiveness

In Iran, thousands of students graduate from university annually and they join to the large number of unemployed which available right now. Today economic planners found that governmental organizations and large companies are not enough to attract all the graduated students. Hence one of the main concerns of the government in the Fourth development Economic, Social and Cultural Plan Act is creating jobs opportunity and reducing unemployment. This Plan, and especially constitutional law, has considered high attention to the cooperatives and the role of them in job creation, because according to the policy of the Government in economy, cooperatives sector can create an effective role in achieving government objectives in the field job creation. By lack of criteria and indicators of the reasons in people employment in cooperatives, this study identifies the factors in this regard. Thus by interviewing of several experts in the field of Agriculture in Semnan and Zanjan provinces, these criteria identified and according to these criteria, a questionnaire designed and the comments of people employed in agricultural cooperatives collected and finally by using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) we ranked them. The results show that two factors of having experienced managers and government support of cooperatives have the most important role in employment in the cooperatives sector