Chapter 2
Management Principles
Applied to
Sport Management
Definition and History
• Goal of sport managers
– To get workers to do what the manager wants
in an efficient and cost-effective manner
• Management theory evolved through two phases
– Scientific management
– Human relations movement
• Today: Use of organizational behavior
– Study and application of the human side of
management and organizations
Definition and History: Scientific
Management
• Taylorism
• Workers should not be doing the
same job different ways, but
instead in the “one best way”
(most efficient way)
• Manager can get workers to
perform job the “best way” by
enticing them with economic
rewards
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Definition and History: Human
Relations
• Hawthorne studies: Social factors in the workplace
were important, and job satisfaction and output
depended more on cooperation and a feeling of
worth.
• Mary Parker Follett: Effective, motivational
management existed in partnership and
cooperation.
Functional Areas
• Sport managers must perform in a number of
functional areas and execute various activities in
fulfilling the demands of their jobs.
• Areas include planning, organizing, leading, and
evaluating.
• This list is not comprehensive because
organizations are constantly evolving.
Functional Areas: Planning
• Defining organizational goals and determining the
appropriate means by which to achieve these
desired goals
• Setting course of action for the sport organization
• Organizational plans should change and evolve
– Should not be viewed as set in stone
• Managers must participate in both short-term and
long-term planning
Functional Areas: Organizing
• Putting plans into action
– Manager determines what types of jobs need to
be performed and who will be responsible for
doing these jobs
• Develop an organizational chart
• Develop position descriptions
• Develop position qualifications
• Staffing
– Orientation, training, and development of staff
members
Functional Areas: Leading
• “Action” part of the management process
• Delegation:
– Involves assigning responsibility and
accountability for results to employees
• Managers must manage any differences or
changes that may take place in organization
• Managers handle conflicts, work problems, or
communication difficulties; stimulate creativity;
and motivate employees
Functional Areas: Evaluating
• Measuring and ensuring progress toward
organizational objectives
• Progress is accomplished by the employees
effectively carrying out their duties
• Establish reporting systems, develop performance
standards, compare employee performance to set
standards, and design reward systems
Key Skills: People Skills
• Sport management
industry is a “peopleintensive” industry
• Interaction with unique
clientele
• Must be able to treat all
people fairly, ethically,
and with respect
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Key Skills: Communication
• Knowing how to say something to another person
is equally as important as knowing what to say to
another person.
• Answering each question professionally and
courteously wins a lifelong fan.
• Sport managers must be able to treat all people
fairly, ethically, and with respect.
• Sport managers are often asked to give speeches.
• Sport managers must be able to write in many
different styles.
Key Skills: Managing Diversity
• Diversity
– Differences between individuals, including age,
race, gender, sexual orientation, disability,
education, and social background
• Women and minorities still underrepresented in
managerial positions in the sport industry
– More women, people of color, and people with
disabilities are needed at managerial level in the
sport industry
• Employment process:
– Recruitment, screening, selection, retention,
promotion, and ending employment
Key Skills: Managing Technology
• Usage of technology in the sport industry
– For example: customer data collection and advanced
ticket systems
• Usage of technology in the workplace
– For example: videoconferencing and multimedia
presentations
• Computerized ticketing systems such as M-ticketing,
PACIOLAN, and PROLOGUE
• Online surveys used for data collection
• MLB Media Tracker and Fan Tracker
Key Skills: Decision Making
• Need to have a comprehensive understanding of the
opportunity or problem, and engage in a decisionmaking process that will lead to an effective decision
• Participative decision making
– Employees or members of the organization
participate in the actual decision-making process
• Group decision making should be used when:
– more ideas need to be generated, there is a great
deal of information to share, alternative
perspectives are needed, and the fairness of the
decision is highly valued
Key Skills: Organizational Politics
• Use of power or some other resource outside of
the formal definition of a person’s job to get a
preferred outcome
• Four types of political tactics used
– Coalitions
– Outside experts
– Links/networks
– Controlling information
Key Skills: Organizational Politics
(cont.)
• Sport organizations have formal (e.g., athletic
director) and informal (e.g., coach) leaders.
• Learning who the informal leaders are in an
organization can help new sport managers
understand politics of a sport organization.
Key Skills: Managing Change
• Managers should appreciate employees’ resistance
to change.
– Plan for resistance, involve employees, and
provide additional training and communications
• Managers should select priorities for change.
• Managers should deliver early tangible results.
• Managers should publicize successes to build
momentum and support.
• Managers must make sure top management
sponsors are fully committed to implementation.
Key Skills: Motivation
• Critical for everyone to be on same page when it
comes to working to accomplish organizational goals
and objectives
• Many theories:
– Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two
factor ideas, Vroom’s expectancy theory, and
Adam’s equity theory
• Katzell and Thompson:
– Appropriate motives and values; attractive and
consistent jobs; defined work goals; appropriate
resources and supportive environments;
performance reinforced; harmony
Key Skills: Taking Initiative
• Initiative enables you to learn about a
different aspect of sport organization you
are working with
• Allows you to meet and interact with people
outside of office you work in, thus
increasing your network
• Shows your employer your commitment to
working in sport industry
Current Issues
• Diversity
– Perform self-study to evaluate effectiveness of
recruitment and employment of diverse individuals
• Managing technology
– Understand how expanding technology will
improve customer relations and service
• International sport management
– Be aware that domestic models of sport governance
cannot be unilaterally imposed on other cultures
• New management theories
– Empowerment and emotional intelligence