Crisis management competencies: perspectives from executive management of selected universities of technology

Abstract

The start of the 2021 academic year saw a new wave of student protests erupt all over the South African Higher Education sector. Furthermore, the Covid-19 Pandemic reach its climax forcing the closure of all higher education institutions. The aim of this study was to identify the crisis management and management competencies needed to effectively manage a university of technology within South Africa from the executive management viewpoint. In this exploratory research study, the analysis of current literature on general management competencies, crisis management competencies plus qualitative interviews of executive management members, the researcher identified crisis management and management competencies necessary to effectively manage a university of technology within South Africa in non-crisis times as well as in times of crisis. This study identified the crisis management and management competencies needed by executive management members of universities of technology to manage these organisations within South Africa during a time of crisis and provided verbatim explanations for the importance of these crisis management and management competencies.