The Olympic Games Stakeholders - Case Study Example

?Running head: The Olympic Games Stakeholders Events concepts and Contexts Insert Insert Grade Insert September 8, Events concepts and Contexts Introduction Different kinds of events are encountered in the society. Sporting activities, music festivals, various ceremonial functions, a national or regional championship, or some government function are some of the events commonly encountered in the society. The events have significant effects on the lives of different individuals in a given society. They contribute to social, economic, and political developments in the regions in which they are conducted. An event that draws individuals from across the globe will have high positive economic impact on the hosting nation. As such, the events sector in a given economy plays an important role in ensuring sustainable development of the region. Different individuals influence, or are affected by, the events conducted in a region. There are individuals who have interests in the events. There are those who take part in the decision making process in the planning of the events. Other individuals will be affected in some way through conducting the event. There are also individuals with the resources that are necessary to conduct the event. Every event also has some target group(s) that will be its audience. The actual participants in the events are also important parties to be considered. In general, an event will draw members from both the public and the private organizations. The success of an event will depend on the ability of the organizers to identify the key stakeholders and understand their needs. The organizers of an event need to engage the stakeholders just from the preliminary stages of the event’s preparation. There is need to have a timely response to the needs of these individuals in order to meet the objectives set for the event. This paper focuses on Olympic Games as one of the events that are conducted on the international scene. The different stakeholders of this event are discussed with how they are closely attached to the events. There has also been a need to focus on the mechanisms that have been employed to engage these stakeholders in this mega-event. The Sporting event- Olympic Games Olympic Games constitute some of the mega-events that are conducted on the international scene. The event is organized after every two years with Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games alternating after every two years. Olympic Games involve a number of athletic competitions with athletes and players drawn from across the globe. The event has been in existence for centuries and has been hosted by different countries over this period. The recent hosts of the event include Sydney, Australia (2000), Salt Lake City, Utah-USA (2002), Athens, Greece (2004), Turin, Italy (2006), Beijing, China (2008), and Vancouver, Canada (2010).1 The event is also scheduled to take place in London, U.K. (2012), Sochi, Russia (2014), and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2016).2 The recent Olympic Games were also accompanied by the Paralympics Olympic Games as was witnessed in the Salt Lake Olympic Games in Utah.3 Stakeholders of the Olympic Games For a given organization, a stakeholder is an individual, groups of individuals, or other organizations that are affected by, or can influence the operations of the organizations.4 The stakeholders in a given business organization include the employees, the shareholders, the customers, the suppliers, the government, the competitors, and the community among many others.5 Similarly, an event, whether organized for profit or not for profit, also has stakeholders affecting or affected by the conduct of the event. The stakeholders have different ways through which they are attached to a given event. They have varied interest in the event as well as varied power to influence the planning and execution of the event.6 As such, there are primary and secondary stakeholders. The primary stakeholders have some formal relationship with the organizers of an event whereas secondary stakeholders only have influence in some way in the conduct of the event. This forms the basis through which the stakeholders of an event can be identified. Firstly, a stakeholder will be an individual or groups of individuals who the skills and resources that are necessary in the planning and execution of an event. This includes the athlete participants in the event, the volunteers who assist in various activities, as well as the donors, and other funding agencies that sponsor the event. The stakeholders also include the individuals with interest in this particular event as well as their close associates like families and friends. The Olympic Games draws spectators from within and without the hosting cities or countries. The other important stakeholder is the community in which the event occurs. The members of the public may be affected positively or negatively by conducting the event. The government and government agencies form another category of key stakeholders. The venue for the event in a given period is selected through election by the National Olympic Committees (NOCs).7 The NOC proposes a city to the International Olympic Committee and a thorough scrutiny is carried out on the proposed city. The political factors in the proposed region will affect the choice of the city. Similarly, The National Olympic Committees and the International Olympic Committee are stakeholders as they influence the decision making process concerning the event. It is also important to note that there are individuals who will have interests that are contrary to the objectives of the event. The individuals may be interested in activities that can disrupt the event when it is under way. Such individuals should be considered as well. Two important stakeholders are considered here namely the government and the spectators of the games. Both of these groups are primary stakeholders to the event. Relationship between the event and these two groups The relationship between event and the stakeholders can be determined from the general stakeholder theory, a theory that incorporates both ethical principles and the principles of organizational management.8 According to the theory, the management of an organization that intends to have a long-term success in its operations has to identify, understand, and respond to the needs and expectations of its stakeholders.9 It is important to understand and respond to the interests of the stakeholders10, the opportunities they bring, and the challenges they can pose in the preparation of the event. Maximizing the returns of the event should not be given the first priority since it is no longer sufficient.11 Strategies like cost analysis or differentiation are not sufficient in ensuring success of the organizations12. The organizations need to understand how to engage the key stakeholders in all of its operations. In this regard, it is desirable that the planning and conduct of the Olympic Games take into consideration the needs and expectations of the fans of these games from within and outside the hosting nation. The needs of the government of the host nation should also be considered. Measures put in place to ensure stakeholder support It is important to assess the number of visitors that are expected to attend the event in the preliminary stage of its preparations. The visitors to the hosting city will require accommodation and some form of luxury. A significant proportion of tourist movements are registered during this event. This prompts for development of the venues in which the vent is to be conducted. The facilities for the different track and field events should also be examined to ensure comfort both for the spectators and the participants. There is need to ensure security in the venues of the event. Infrastructural facilities like roads that access the event venue should also be improved. The event is organized after every two years with the Summer Olympic alternating with the Winter Olympic Games. The IOC and NOCs examines the proposed host city to check if all these requirements are met. The expected number of spectators and other stakeholders like the players can be estimated from the trend observed in the previous events. The committees work on the available resources and provide a schedule of how they will be used, and by whom. Once the committees settle on a city, the government of the host nation is engaged in all the subsequent preparations for the event. Preparation for the event needs to take some time. The spectators should have some time to prepare for the event. Similarly, the government needs to have time to ensure that it improves on its infrastructural facilities as required. This calls for a timely communication from the international body. The events are scheduled over a long period and the venue is communicated to the different stakeholders through different media. For instance, it has been scheduled that the event is to take place in 2018 at Pyeongchang, China.13 The information is available through web postings and other forms of advertisement. The stakeholders then have enough time for preparations. The events are also covered through live electronic media and print media to reach spectators across the globe.14 Benefits of stakeholder involvement The contribution of the above stakeholders towards the success of an event can be viewed in different perspectives. By engaging the government of the host nation, a kind of rapport is built that ensures successful delivery of the event. The government will be willing to provide the resources that are essential in the preparation for the event. It will be willing to skills and expertise within its jurisdiction to facilitate the event. Similarly, a consideration of the needs of the spectators in the preparation of the event will improve on the positive economic impact of the event, as more people will be attracted to the occasion. In general, stakeholder engagement improves on the overall quality and outcome of an event. Benefits of events to the stakeholders The Olympic Games has a number of benefits to the stakeholders. For the spectators, it is a form of recreation. Watching the different events in the Olympic Games is a source of entertainment. The individuals have opportunities to meet and interact with individuals from different cultures. The event provides opportunities for tourists who are interested in experiencing different ways of life and seeing varied features. The spectators turned tourists experience new site seeing as well as these new ways of life. The event also has benefits to the government of the hosting nation. Governments are generally concerned with economic, political, and social developments in the communities within their borders. An organized event will then be considered successful if it has positive economic impact the surrounding community. Hosting the events helps the government to improve on its infrastructure as the international body will intervene and support the process. It enables the country to gain expertise in some areas that have been applied in the preparation process. The event also exposes the country onto the global scene leading to better business and subsequent employment opportunities. The tourist attraction features in a given country can be identified when an event like this that draws individuals from all over the world is conducted in the country. Among the potential stakeholders the attending the event are representatives from multinational companies. The visiting investors get to identify the opportunities that are available in the hosting nation. If the organizations identify the opportunities and invest in the country, the country then experiences high rates of employment as more jobs are created. The foreign investors will also have positive effect on the economy of the country. Difficulties in engaging the stakeholders The application of stakeholder theory in ensuring the success of an event is not without certain shortcomings. In certain instances, there may be little time to identify and respond to the needs of the stakeholders. Unlike the business organizations that may have predefined customers, the spectators to the event cannot be explicitly identified to examine their diverse needs. Secondly, in most organizations, it is possible to obtain feedback from the stakeholders due to the long-term relationship. This is not possible with the event that is organized in different regions and after a relatively long interval. Besides, the short period that the event takes does not enable some of the key stakeholders to develop goodwill of the event. The stakeholders may consider it uneconomical to engage actively in the event that has short-term outcomes. Bibliography FACTSHEET. Roles and responsibilities during the Olympic Games, Jan 2010. http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reference_documents_Factsheets/Roles_and_responsabilities.pdf (accessed September 9, 2011). Fountain, Charles et al. The stakeholder theory, December 2006. http://www.edalys.fr/documents/Stakeholders%20theory.pdf (accessed September 9, 2011). Freeman, Edward et al. Stakeholder Theory and “The Corporate Objective Revisited.” Organization Science, 15(3), 2004; 364-369. http://my.t-bird.edu/files/personalfiles/133488/10Corp_Obj_Freeman_Reply.pdf (accessed September 9, 2011). 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