Editorial

Abstract

The spread of COVID-19 has been a catastrophe and impacts on a broad range of areas in the society. John Merriman Gaus, who was an American social scientist, argued that to be most effective to manage catastrophic events, the government should be considered as part of an ecological system. An ecosystem comprises people, physical place, technology, social environment, wishes and ideas, catastrophes, and personalities. According to Gaus, a catastrophe requires a large scale of relief and repair if it is destructive. But if it is disruptive then it challenges views and attitudes, and affords the inner self as well as others a respectable and face-saving reason for changing one’s views as to a policy.
Elements in the ecological systems are interconnected within a complex environment. When a catastrophe such as COVID is introduced into the system, it produces a ripple effect as interrelated components respond to the disastrous event. As one element adjusts to the stimulus, other parts of the system react in response. As people are impacted and change their behaviour, physical and social technologies shift as well, and vice versa. This reaction continues until a new equilibrium is reached.
The education sector is one that is negatively affected by COVID-19. The acceleration of COVID-19 necessitated a shift from the traditional face-to-face delivery to virtual learning in higher education, with a vast impact on people, place, and physical and social technologies. However, the manner in which these interact as they move toward equilibrium will be unknown for some time. Student demands for online education have been growing. Online education technologies have been in place for years, although they need to expand dramatically, and new technologies will emerge as more people use them after the pandemic has decelerated.
In this issue of the Journal of Management and Administration we have carefully selected articles that are very relevant in the current VUCA environment.

To cite: Hoque, M. (2021). Editorial. Journal of Management & Administration (2021), i–ii.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7631812