Strategic management of campus recreation at the University of Pretoria

Abstract

Campus recreation is an essential part of any tertiary educational institution, and contributes to the development of students. Recreation activities not only enhance the quality of student life, but also help combating perceived academic stress. Research has suggested that campus recreation has a positive influence on tertiary university’s organisational climate, culture, and reputation, and can contribute to the loyalty of important constituencies (e.g. students, alumni, and legislators). This implies that recreation programmes could contribute to the competitive advantage of tertiary educational institutions in general and the University of Pretoria specifically, and can therefore enhance the attainment of its mission in the areas of teaching, research, and service. In order to unlock the full potential of recreation on tertiary educational level the sport or recreation manager has to continuously craft a strategic plan concerning campus recreation. Modern sport and recreation function on business principles and any sport or recreation programme should meet the needs of the users, be cost effective or risk the possibility of being phased out. To achieve this the sport or recreation manager must plan a specific pattern of action to achieve organisational goals (strategy) to take advantage of the planning process. Strategic management involves broad environmental scanning (strategic planning) to generate applicable strategies (strategy formulation) to obtain and maintain competitive advantage (strategic control). If TuksSport (as the business unit responsible for sport and recreation at the University of Pretoria) wants to achieve organisational success, it has to analyse its environment, assess its strengths and weaknesses and identify opportunities where it could gain a competitive advantage. The following hypothesis was formulated for this study: “Campus recreation at the University of Pretoria lacks strategy and structure and does not satisfy the needs and preferences of all enrolled students”. In the study, relevant strategic facets of TuksSport service delivery were analysed and discussed in attempt to test the above hypothesis and answer the research questions posed in Chapter 1. The primary goal of this study was to provide strategic guidelines for efficient strategic management of campus recreation at the University of Pretoria. Based on the strategic management process the secondary aims are therefore to: -- to determine the role and place of campus recreation in tertiary institutions (external environment analysis); -- to analyse the existing campus recreation product and service supply and structure at the University of Pretoria (internal environmental analysis / supply analysis); -- to determine the client (enrolled students) preferences and needs pertaining to campus recreation at the University of Pretoria (demand analysis); -- to synchronise the demand and supply regarding campus recreation at the University of Pretoria in a strategic management plan.<p The gathered and collected data in this study was processed by means of qualitative research. Research methods include an external environmental analysis (literature review analysis), an internal environmental analysis (literature study, interviews) and a research questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to a 10% sample of undergraduate students at the University of Pretoria from the men residences, the women residences, and the daily student’s house Zeus. The following dimensions of campus recreation were focused on in the questionnaire: Section A: Demographic information: questions in this section included personal information and the social environment of the students. Section B: Current sport and recreation participation patterns: this section focused on identifying the students’ demonstrated preferences towards sport and recreation participation, as well as identifying the problem areas that inhibit the students to participate in sport and recreation activities. Section C: Latent sport and recreation participation: this section focused on identifying the needs and the interests of students concerning sport and recreation participation. Section D: Evaluation of sport and recreation facilities and services at the University of Pretoria: questions in this section dealt with identifying possible problems concerning the current sport-, and recreation facilities and services, and aimed to identify means and ways to improve and upgrade the sport, and recreation facilities and services at the University of Pretoria. The results indicated the following: -- Lack of a formal strategic plan for campus recreation -- Lack of relevant management information -- Incongruity of mission statement and product/service mix -- Misunderstanding of the concept of “recreation” -- Emphasis on elite sport. The following recommendations were concluded: TuksSport needs to give attention to their strategic management plan, mission statement, external business environment, internal business environment, strategies, strategic objectives, and their functional plans. In order to deploy the full potential of recreation at tertiary educational institutions, the following issues are suggested for further research: -- Longitudinal research on tendencies of campus recreation at South African tertiary educational institutions. -- Comparative research on campus recreation in SADEC and other African universities.