Browsing by Author "Visser, Dirk"

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    Contemporary leadership behavior enabling leadership effectiveness in a public university
    (University of the Western Cape, 2021) Jansen van Vuuren, Carel Daniel; Visser, Dirk; Du Plessis, Marieta
    The purpose of the present study is to enrich academic knowledge, the understanding of management theory, and professional management practice for leaders in a South African Higher Education Institution (HEI) under volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions. Due to increased globalisation and rapid changes in the technological, social, economic, and political spheres, the environment in which organisations function has become increasingly VUCA. These factors create a unique set of challenges for the leaders of these organisations. Traditionally tested and proven methods of leading organisations no longer guarantee high performance. The dynamic environment is challenging leaders to find new ways to be successful. To further complicate matters, the speed, frequency, and intensity with which the organisational environment is changing are ascending in nature. The field of Higher Education in South Africa demonstrates the challenges and opportunities VUCA imposes on organisational leadership.
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    Crisis management competencies: a university stakeholder perspective
    (John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2024) Pharaoh, Courtley D.; Visser, Dirk
    South African universities faced an unforeseen crisis in the form of the #FeesMustFall (#FMF) movement. The executive management of the affected universities was criticized for how the crisis was handled. Due to the significant cost (over R1 billion) to the higher education sector, not just in fiscal losses, but the loss of life, the investment into crisis management would be justified. Crisis management is a business action that includes planning and organising to prepare for and to respond to threats to business activities. Reviewing the literature identified a void regarding the crisis management competencies needed by the Executive Management as perceived by stakeholders. This exploratory study made use of a mixed methodology research design. A self-administered questionnaire incorporating open-ended questions was used to identify and explore the competencies perceived by the stakeholders as important during times of crisis. Simple descriptive statistics were used to identify the top management competencies needed in a time of crisis as perceived by the stakeholders. This was compared with the findings in the literature. The study identified 10 management competencies perceived by stakeholders of which eight competencies are consistent with crisis management competencies found in the literature.