The impact of time management on employee productivity: A study at private universities in Erbil city-Iraq

Time is one of the most valued resources available to academic institutions, a steady and dynamic resource, and plays a crucial role in successfully conducting academic and administrative processes besides achieving the desired institution's goals. Thus, this study aimed to identify the concept of time management and the reality of its application in private universities in Erbil city. This study also purposed to examine the impact of time management on employee productivity of the private universities in Erbil City-Iraq. The methodology implemented by the study is to classify the study problem, through investigating several questions, focused on the nature of the relationship, effect, and the variance between independent and a dependent variable. Besides a conceptual model considered, and formed several hypotheses, to ensure that the hypotheses are accepted or rejected, they are subjected to several statistical tests: Cronbach alpha, factor analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation test, and multiple linear regression analyses. The study method was used to define the study variables and their dimensions in private universities in Erbil city, represented in three universities. Meanwhile, the study's samples are academic members as (122) contributed to the survey by responses to the survey questions, and were obtained for examines and statistical analysis methods through SPSS version 25. The results showed that all dimensions of the independent variable would improve the academic members' employee productivity in private universities in Erbil city. Nevertheless, time organizing, time planning, and time directing, respectively, the significant dimensions motivating the impact on the academic staff's employee productivity in surveyed private universities, then, time control, which has the lowest impact than the other three dimensions of time management. The study found that time management has a positive relationship with the private universities' employee productivity and their faculties in Erbil city. The study also found that three dimensions, namely time directing, time planning, and time controlling, have significant and positive relationships with employee productivity. However, time organizing has a lower relationship with employee productivity, compared to the other two dimensions. Moreover, the regression results demonstrate that statistically, time management impacts employee productivity; thus, the study model has been significant in terms of how time management and its dimensions impact improving employee productivity. We also examined the impact of time management dimensions on employee productivity. As a result, the study found that three dimensions, namely time directing, time planning, and time controlling, significantly impact employee productivity while time organizing has a weak impact on employee productivity. The ANOVA and independence t-test found no variance in time management according to the gender characteristic. However, there was variance in time management based on ages; hence, those with old ages could better manage their time than younger ones. However, the study found no variances towards time management according to academic members' academic degrees in private universities in Erbil. While there was no variance towards time management according to the scientific title, lastly, for overall job experience in higher educational institutions, there was variance towards time management; those who have experienced could manage their time better than once with less experience. The ANOVA and independence t-test results showed no variances for all demographic variables in employee productivity. Keywords: Time, Time Management, Employee Productivity, and Universities