In 2008, 75% of municipal sport and recreation facilities in South Africa were underutilised,
while 62% of these facilities were reported to be poorly managed (SRIMP,
2008). A possible reason for these reported findings can be the lack of managerial
skills. However, Goslin (2003:39) mentions that little research on recreation
management and education has been done in South Africa, which highlights the
increasing need for knowledge to establish and maintain future management practices
(Goslin, 2003:40). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the
management competencies applied by recreation managers for effective management
of local community centres. In addition, this study compares the gaps between the
recreation managers’ qualifications and the requirements for successfully providing the
public with quality recreation opportunities in community centres.
A qualitative method was applied as a practical guide for the research. The seven
regional recreation managers of the City of Johannesburg were selected for the case
study. The sample size (n=5) was determined through data saturation. Data was
gathered by means of a semi–structured interview with each regional manager (De Vos,
2005:296; Veal, 2006:386). Through the process of data analysis two main categories
were identified. The first, Tasks and limitations experienced by regional managers
in Johannesburg pointed out that the daily tasks of facility, programme and human
resource management is seen as essential responsibilities to recreation managers and
it is unfortunate that the majority of problems relating to these tasks are due to unskilled
staff that must be supervised on a daily basis. The second, Training needs of
recreation staff at recreation centres: Regional managers’ perspective indicated
that the staff’s inability to understand the term recreation may in fact be caused by
organisations’ bad choices regarding employment or the lack of setting clear criteria for
job positions (Mull et al., 2005:227). The answer to training needs for already employed
personnel, saving both money and time, may be short courses. By working with each specific centre’s problems and training needs, as well as with each individual
employee’s competencies, the short courses could be designed to specifically help
better equip the staff member and in turn provide better recreation services to the
community. / Thesis (M.A. (Recreation Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/4727 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Peters, Natasha |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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