The Provision of Sports Products and Services - Term Paper Example

Sport Organization Introduction Over the past few decades, it has emerged that sport is a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse industry, particularly due to the rising proportions of discretionary incomes, increasing awareness of the relationship between active lifestyles and good health, as well as the increased opportunities for people to participate in sport. A vast diversity exists in the range of organizations that are involved in the provision of sport products and services, from private to public, to voluntary organizations; for instance, whereas some sport organizations are for profit, others operate as voluntary or nonprofit organizations that support activities that benefit members or communities. Evidently, organizations are inevitably an integral part of the sport industry, which makes knowledge of the organization theory a vital prerequisite in understanding the nature of the different types of sport organizations providing sport products and services. According to Slack and Parent 2006 (p.3), “to operate effectively and efficiently, any sport organization needs to adapt its structure and management processes to meet the demands of its contextual situation.” Drawing examples from the sport industry, this paper will discuss the implication of this statement for sport managers while considering the manner in which knowledge of organizational theory and behavior can enhance organizational effectiveness and efficiency in the current climate for sport. Types of sport organizations Sport organizations possess different unique features that can be used to categorize them into three min distinct types namely governing bodies, sporting event organizations, as well as sport-providing entities (Gomez, Opazo and Marti 2008, p.4); sport-governing bodies are responsible for the administration and regulation of sports to foster its development at all levels. The sporting event organizations are responsible for the establishment of a competition system that meets and articulates the needs of professional sports while the sport-providing entities produce and deliver either recreational or competitive sport programs at the grassroots. Examples of sport governing bodies include the National Associations, Federations, National Organizations, Olympic associations or committees while the Sport-providing entities comprise clubs, community centers, fitness-centers, and university sports programs among others; Sporting event organizations include leagues, associations, circuits, as well as tours. The different types of sport organizations highlighted above inevitably possess varying organizational structures, and the different structural characteristics of sport organizations influence their overall effectiveness. Organizational structure in this respect refers to the manner in which labor is divided and how different tasks are coordinated within the organizational hierarchy; inevitably, the division of labor and coordination of different tasks undergoes differentiation and integration over time as the organization adapts to constantly shifting contextual situations. Presently, besides performance, various other factors determine the effectiveness of a sporting organization just as other parties besides the fans are interested in the performance of sport organizations; these two dimensions underscore the pressure sport organizations are facing in their respective contexts. Each type of sporting organization is bound by specific contextual demands that require particular structural characteristics and management practices; in that respect, effective managers in these different types of sporting organizations must consciously adopt management practices that resonate with their organizational structures for effectiveness and efficiency. Managing sport organizations A sport organization has been conceptualized as any social entity that operates in the sport industry, thus, highlighting the fact that all sport organizations comprise of people or groups of people that work jointly to deliver essential services to the organization and are exclusively located in the sport industry. Sport organizations are oriented to specific goals such as making profit or encouraging participation in given sports, and they operate in deliberately structured activity systems with identifiable boundaries that distinguish their members from nonmembers. Sport organizations’ administrators or managers are responsible for empowering their followers to achieve common goals and the extent of their individual leadership skills is highly attributable to the outcomes of leadership. The effectiveness of sport organizations can be measured in different perspectives including the goals perspective, process perspective, as well as the system resources perspective (Soucie 1994, p.3); managing sport organizations is not different from the management of organizations in the corporate sector, particularly because it also applies management theories, principles, and strategies. However, the varying contextual situations of sport organizations have a profound influence on the structure and nature of leadership that is required for the success of the particular sport organizations (Hoye, Nicholson, and Smith 2007, p.503); for instance, the structure of profit sport organizations follows the conventional hierarchical management structures of divisions or departments with specific roles. Take for instance, a sport organization such as a professional sport team such as Arsenal or Manchester United; the organization structure of the organization will be based on the functional criteria, that is, different departments will be established to deal with various aspects of the organization. For instance, different departments such as player management department, marketing department, venue management department, finance department, as well as the human resource management department will characterize the structure of professional sport organizations. The organizational structure of nonprofit sport organizations such as the International Sport Federations (ISOs) or National Sport Organizations (NSOs) and community sport organizations, on the other hand, vary significantly from the structure of profit sport organizations. Generally, nonprofit sport organizations have five basic components including members (players, athletes, participants, coaches, officials, and administrators), volunteers, salaried staff, a council, as well as a board of management committee among other subtle components. Precisely, the non-profit organizational structure is inevitably more complex and cumbersome, but deliberately so to encourage participation or direct involvement of individuals in decision-making to ensure transparency. Generally, the vast diversity of sport organizations in existence reveals that sport organizations vary greatly at all levels of the sport system, and massive differences are notable in the degree of formality, centralization, as well as specialization. Sport organizations in all their varied contextual environments have a greater potential for conflict between staff and volunteers, encounter rapid changes, are subject to government policies, as well as other forces in their environments, which necessitates the need for formalized structures as well as management practices. Implications for sport managers The unique structure of different sport organizations and the organizational strategies must be linked to the organizations’ contextual environments, that is, the structure of the sport organization and management practices must be tuned to meet its environmental demands. For instance, professional football teams have a profit end in mind, which implies that they must be structured in ways that promote competitive advantage to satisfy both fans and other actors in the sport environment. Managers of a sport organization such as professional football teams must align their leadership practices to the contextual demands of their environment, which includes all the tasks associated with developing a highly competitive team. Since organizations are systems of interrelated behavior, different sport organizations have different roles and accompanying tasks, which constitute parts or subsystems that contribute to the effective performance of the whole system (the specific sport organization in this case) (Gomez, Opazo and Marti 2008, p.2). The division of tasks in a sporting organization has both internal and external implications and managers must ensure that the sub-units in their organizations meet the specific complex demands of their contextual situations. While facilitating internal harmony within the sport organization, the particular sub-units found within the structure of the sport organization also respond to the challenges in the external environment. Sporting organizations vary immensely basing on the extent of professionalization as well as commercialization and the professional sport organizations have greatly been affected by these two factors due to remarkable media coverage and their substantial fan base. The impact of increased commercialization and professionalization of sport has prompted the need for management of professional sport organizations to differentiate functions, positions, and responsibilities. Given the centrality of formal organizational structures to the effectiveness and efficiency of professional football teams, it is imperative that managers of profit sport organizations adopt formal organizational structures that will guarantee not only the smooth internal operation of their organizations, but those that will also address contextual challenges in their external environments. For instance, the communications departments held by the advertising manager, as well as the economic or financial management departments in professional sport organizations such as Manchester United are crucial for the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. Organizational theory and behavior in sport In the present highly commercialized and professional sport environment, knowledge of the organizational theory and behavior is inevitably an invaluable tool for enhancing both effectiveness and efficiency of all sport organizations dedicated to the promotion and development of sports industry, despite their varied goals and means (Hoye, Nicholson and Smith 2007, p.503). Several organizational theory and behavior perspectives have emerged in the past, all focusing on specific aspects of effective management practices and the behavior of individuals and all of them have been applied at the workplaces with considerably varied results. Precisely, organizational theory provides a sociological explanation to the interrelationship between formal social organizations such as businesses and their contextual surroundings, complementing the studies of organizational behavior, which focus on highlighting the impact of individuals, groups, and structures on behavior at the workplace. Generally, awareness of organizational theory is crucial since it enables one to comprehend the nature, structure, as well as the operations of organizations, and the complex challenges facing them. knowledge of organizational behavior, on the other hand, is essential since it enables one to understand people and groups, the meanings behind their actions; similarly, this knowledge enhances people’s ability to predict actions and to change behavior. In that respect, by understanding organizational theory and behavior, sport managers can be in a better position to make informed decisions regarding the management of sport organizations. Managers of sport organizations in the prevailing sport industry climate of commercialization and professionalization would benefit greatly from an awareness of organizational theory and behavior since their organizations are essentially similar to other organizations both in the public and private corporate sectors. Application of organizational theory and behavior knowledge in sport organizations is more likely to yield increased efficiency and effectiveness in different perspectives; for instance, in terms of a goals perspective this knowledge will enable managers to promote the achievement of organizational goals such as club membership or enrollment into fitness programs. In terms of a process perspective, knowledge of organizational theory and behavior will enable managers to transform the internal processes as well as the general functioning of the sport organization leading to the smooth and efficient conversion of inputs into outputs. For instance, this knowledge will enable managers to encourage the establishment of productive work environments and to promote employee satisfaction and motivation thereby promoting overall organizational performance. Within the system resource perspective, knowledge of organizational theory and behavior will enable sport organization managers to locate and secure limited resources from the environment and to utilize them effectively in achieving organizational goals. Overall, it is undoubtedly clear that to operate effectively and efficiently, especially in today’s highly commercialized and professionalized sport industry, sport managers must achieve a contextual fit by aligning their management practices and organizational structures to the actual demands of their environments. The vast diversity of sport organizations operating in different contexts is matched with different organizational structures and management practices, both of which are aimed at meeting the unique needs of each environment. The extent to which the sporting organization’s internal structure and management practices are aligned to its contextual situation determines its effectiveness and efficiency in the highly commercialized and professionalized sport industry today. The structure of profit sport organizations like the professional sport teams such as Arsenal or Manchester United follow the conventional hierarchical management structures of divisions of labor with differentiated and specialized roles; precisely, the structure of the organization is based on the functional criteria, that is, different departments perform different roles. The increased commercialization and professionalization of sport has prompted the need for management of professional sport organizations to differentiate functions, positions, and responsibilities. Given the centrality of formal organizational structures to the effectiveness and efficiency of professional football teams, it is imperative that managers of sport organizations apply organization theory and behavior tools in sport organizations management. Adopting formal organizational structures will guarantee not only the smooth internal operation of sport organizations, but will also address contextual challenges in their external environments thereby leading to efficiency. References Gomez S., Opazo M., and Marti C. (2008). Structural characteristics of sport organizations: Differentiation within the elite Spanish professional football clubs. Working paper 751. Print. Gomez, S, Opazo, M., and Marti, C. (2008). Structural characteristics of sport organizations: Main trends in the academic discussion. Working paper 730. Print. Hoye, R., Nicholson M., and Smith A. (2007). Unique Aspects of Managing Sport Organizations. Available at: http://www.aaronctsmith.com/Article%20PDFs/Hoye%2021C%20-%20unique%20aspects.pdf Slack, T. and Parent, M.M. (2006). Understanding sport organizations: The application of organization theory. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers. Soucie, D. (1994). Sport Management Perspectives: Effective Management Leadership in Sport Organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 8: 1-13. Read More