Uncertain time calls for agile management and adaptation of contingency plan: Lessons from HEIs in Bangladesh

Abstract

The context of the future world is more likely to be globally driven, technologically allied, and economically adaptable, but demographically diverse and disruptive with contingency factors. Agile, strategic, and contingency plan-driven management, business innovation, and impact-leadership would be dominant factors in the social, economic, and organizational development of the new normal world. Organizational competence to tailor-made adjustment with an emerging complex environment and evolving business situation is likely to emerge as the new leading-edge competitive advantage. In the COVID-19 situation, amongst the higher education institutions (HEIs) in Bangladesh which had a robust contingency plan, technological soundness, and agile management, they adapted to the pandemic situation quickly and succeeded with a new business model and strategy. Such an evolving and disruptive world order in the increased globalized planet, organizational structure and model fitness, strong networking, collaboration and partnership, controlled external resource dependence, and survival with vigor are central to the success of the strategic management and impact leadership. The research has followed content analysis and focused synthesis methods. While it seems that the management of higher education institutions is supposed to be agile and resilient, and built on sound information communication technology and sturdy contingency plans, these are not widely evident in the case of Bangladesh. But the relevance of the open system organizational theories is evident, and these get strategic considerations in organizational management of HEIs in Bangladesh.