Abstracts Business

Investigating occupational therapists management skills as business unit managers within the Free State Department of Health

by Jacobus Coetzee

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to investigate the management skills of occupational therapy business unit managers on Assistant Director Level in the Public Health Sector (PHS) of the Free State (FS). For the purpose of this study, management skills referred to the occupational therapy business unit manager’s perception of the importance and competency experienced while doing their work within the Free State Department of Health. Occupational therapy form an integral part of the Free State Department of Health, which is a provincial public sector entity and solely responsible for health services to the majority of the population. An inquiry was initiated based on the researchers’ observation of occupational therapy business unit manager’s challenges regarding knowledge and skill when exposed to management. The investigation was conducted by making use of a questionnaire for the quantitative typical descriptive study design and semi-structured telephonic interviews for the qualitative study design. Electronic self-administrative questionnaires were distributed to all the occupational therapy business unit managers in the service of the Free State Department of Health. Ten (n=10) questionnaires, a hundred percent of employed occupational therapy business unit managers, were used for the analysis of quantitative data. Subsequently to this base-line data gathered, semi-structured telephonic interviews with open-ended questions were conducted among the target population. In conclusion the results of the study showed that the occupational therapy business unit managers in the PHS of the FS perceive a gap between their current and desired performance management skill levels. This was found to be in accordance with studies worldwide as clinicians promoted to a managerial post would prefer to utilize gained qualifications and experiences as managers within their specialty field. Advisors/Committee Members: Cloete, Deon.