Lucie Thibault, Jerome Quarterman chapter 14 Management Theory and Practice in Sport Organizations

Introduction Growth of sport organizations Earle F. Zeigler (1987) Trevor Slack (1997) SportsBusiness Journal

Defining Organization Jones (2004) A tool used by people to coordinate their actions to obtain something they desire or value, that is, to achieve their goals

Working Collectively People work collectively to achieve goals Allows organizations to achieve –Economies of scale –Economies of scope

Managing the Internal and External Environments Internal –Divide labor by area of expertise –Qualified employees in appropriate roles –Use technology and provide stability –Supports ongoing production of goods and services External Exert power and control over people and other organizations

Who Is in Control? People can control organizations –Create organizations –Determine goals –Determine structure –Determine processes that will be used Organizations can control people –Control behavior of people –Through rules, processes, and structural elements

Inputs Transformation Outputs Inputs –Financial and human resources –Raw materials –Expertise and knowledge Transformed Using technology Outputs Goods and services

Types of Organizations Public –Government or quasi-government –Federal or state agencies –Regional and local departments (continued)

Types of Organizations (continued) Nonprofit –Managed by volunteer executives –May hire paid staff to carry out day-to-day operations Commercial Main goal to make a profit

Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Effectiveness is the extent to which goals are achieved Efficiency is the achievement of goals Assessment of results –Cost–benefit –Return on investment –Budget evaluation

Approaches to Evaluating Organizational Effectiveness Traditional approaches –Goal –System –Internal process Contemporary approaches –Stakeholder –Competing values

Traditional Approaches Goal Focus on outputs System Focus on inputs Internal Process Focus on transformation

Contemporary Approaches Stakeholder –Focus on identifying groups –Groups both inside and outside the organization are stakeholders –They have a stake in the organization’s performance Competing values –Effectiveness depends on interests represented –Various groups hold interests –Consolidate values of all groups to determine effectiveness

Organizational Structure Specialization –Considered the division of labor –Degree to which tasks are subdivided into separate jobs –Three levels of complexity: vertical, horizontal, spatial (continued)

Organizational Structure (continued) Formalization or standardization –Job descriptions –Policies –Procedures –Regulations (continued)

Organizational Structure (continued) Centralized decisions –Hiring and firing employees –Establishing strategic direction of the organization Decentralized decisions Purchasing organizational supplies

Organizational Design Simple structure –Suitable for small organizations –Low levels of specialization and formalization –High levels of centralization Machine bureaucracy –Design better for sporting goods manufacturers –High levels of specialization, formalization, and centralization (continued)

Organizational Design (continued) Professional bureaucracy –Design better for national sport organizations –Professionals responsible for products and services Entrepreneurial –Minimal number of staff –Little need for specialization and formalization –Much of work coordinated at the top (continued)

Organizational Design (continued) Innovative –Designed to allow greater flexibility –Provides decentralization –Emphasizes climate of creativity –Power resides with the experts Missionary Once indoctrinated into the organization, employee has considerable freedom to make decisions Political –Has no dominant mechanisms of coordination –Has no stable form of centralization or decentralization

General Environment Includes elements that have the potential to affect all organizations Economy Technology Politics Social and cultural forces Demography

Specific Environment Includes stakeholders external to organizations Customers Distributors Unions Competitors Suppliers Government

Defining Strategy Definition A plan, a pattern, a position, and a perspective Plan Course of action or a direction to assist the organization Pattern Actions undertaken that represent consistency in behavior over time (continued)

Defining Strategy (continued) Position A focus on certain products, services, or markets Perspective An organization’s way of doing things

Gaining a Competitive Advantage Organizations undertake the process of strategy to gain a competitive advantage Access to resources might lead to success and greater share of profit (continued)

Gaining a Competitive Advantage (continued) Resources might include –Financial resources –Sponsorship –Media visibility –Participants –Clients –Members and fans –Market share –Equipment –Facilities

Organizational Culture Definitions Schein (1985) and Jones (2004) Manifestations –Stories and myths –Symbols –Language –Ceremonies –Physical setting –Artifacts

Organizational Change Definition Process by which organizations move from their present state to some desired future state to increase their effectiveness Goal To find new or improved ways of using resources and capabilities

Organizational Diversity Diversity variations –Age –Gender –Race and ethnicity –Religion –Sexual orientation –Socioeconomic status –Ability or disability (continued)

Organizational Diversity (continued) Treating diverse employees unfairly –Biases –Stereotypes –Overt discrimination Managing organizational diversity –Reactive strategy –Defensive strategy –Accommodative strategy –Proactive strategy (continued)

Organizational Diversity (continued) Initiatives –Leadership –Diversity compliance professional –Employee involvement –Ties to performance evaluation and reward system –Availability and communication of data Challenge Achieving diversity initiatives possible when organizational culture and employees are open to diversity