Competencies of Departmental administrators in academic departments at a university of technology.
Bezuidenhout, Johanna Magdalena
Bezuidenhout, Johanna Magdalena
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Abstract
Universities are under pressure to keep up with new developments and changes due to growing student needs and academic and technology trends. Departmental administrators in academic departments fulfil a significant role in the functioning of universities. Limited research exists on the competencies required of departmental administrators in academic departments. This research endeavours to fill the knowledge gap. An exploratory, qualitative approach was applied with a phenomenological research design and an interpretivism philosophical assumption. The qualitative approach was deductive and inductive, consisting of a literature review and in-depth semi-structured individual interviews. ATLAS.ti was used to code and categorise the data. Themes were identified that represented the participants’ perceptions and experiences of the competencies required from departmental administrators in academic departments.
The main findings revealed that departmental administrators in academic departments should have job-related competencies which include basic (threshold), employability (generic) and differentiating (distinguishing) competencies. Furthermore, administrators should possess personal (individual) competencies, including emotional and social competencies, and finally, organisational competencies referring to departmental administrators as knowledge carriers and significant role players in academic departments. The findings are expected to contribute to the literature on the competencies required from departmental administrators in academic departments at a university of technology.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree, Master of Management Sciences in Administrative Information Management in the
Department of Business and Information Management Services, Faculty of Management Sciences at the Tshwane University of Technology.
Date
2024-01-08
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Tshwane University of Technology
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Keywords
Administrators, Departmental, Academic, Technology trends, University of technology