Managing people in
sport organisations:
A strategic human
resource
management
perspective
Chapter 1
Learning objectives
• Identify the unique challenge of managing people in
sport organisations
• Understand the general concept of human resource
management and how it has evolved historically from
personnel management
• Identify key human resource issues that affect sport
organisations
• Explain how the human resource management
perspective affects HR policies and practices
• Describe how effective human resource management
contributes to the sustainability of sport organisations
Uniqueness of sport
organisations
• The sport industry’s distinctiveness is
characterized by the inimitability of sport &
its ability to engender irrational passions
and emotional attachments, despite the
often variable quality of the product
• Sport’s uniqueness is further exemplified
by features of intangibility, heterogeneity
and inseparability of production and
consumption
Managing people in sport
organizations
• The distinguishing characteristics of sport
combine to create a unique management
environment for sport organisations
• The effective management of people who are
working and volunteering for the organisation is
the critical.
• In the same way that getting the best out of the
players is the hallmark of a good coach, getting
the best out of employees and volunteers is the
hallmark of a good manager.
Human resource management
considerations
• shaped by the environment in which the sport
organisation is located
• government policy and legislation can support,
regulate or dictate activities in the public sector,.
• Non-profit and voluntary organisations face
volunteer management challenges.
• Professional and commercial sport organisations
must meet customer expectations and
stakeholder demands
Sector
Organisation
Mission
Typical staffing profile
Public
National Institute of
Sport
To develop elite sport on a
national basis with a particular
focus on success at the Olympic
Games and World
Championships
Paid Staff – Head Coach, Executive Director, technical
and administrative support staff, nutritionist, sport
psychologist
Board of Directors – appointed by government
Voluntary
Youth Sport Club
To provide an appropriate
supportive environment for
youth to enjoy sport in an
atmosphere of fun,
sportsmanship, democracy and
peace.
Volunteers – large numbers in a range of roles. Coach,
manager, event organiser, fund raising, promotion,
maintenance, legal, accounting, risk management.
Paid administrative staff – limited number eg Executive
Director
Volunteer Board of Directors
Non-profit
Membership based
Local Golf Club
To be financially self-sustaining
while providing an quality
experience to members and
guests with a commitment to
exceptional perceived value
through loyalty, growth,
leadership and community
citizenship.
Paid staff – Chief Executive Officer, Golf Professional,
Green keeper, Catering staff
Volunteer Board of Directors
Commercial
Sport & Fitness
Centre
To inspire our members to
achieve their fitness goals with
the finest fitness equipment,
knowledgeable instructors and a
safe, fun and friendly
atmosphere
Paid staff – Administration, Aquatics, Dance & Fitness
instructors, Management, Operations, Personal
Training, Reception, sales
Professional
Sports Franchise
Dedicated to winning
Championships, growing new
fans, and providing superior
entertainment, value and service.
Paid – Chief Executive Officer, Vice-President,
management, Marketing and Broadcasting , Legal &
Financial, administrative and support staff
Head Coach, training and sport operations staff
Medical Staff
Stadium staff
Governance – Chair, Board members
Community and event day volunteers
Contemporary sport
organizations
• Sport organizations face increased globalization,
commercialization and greater accountability
• Changes include:
– government funding & restructured sport delivery systems
– Moves to professional status (eg Rugby Union, Triathlon)
– Development of global brand equity (eg Manchester United, AC
Milan)
– increasing transnational movement of athletes and coaches (eg,
IMG, Octagon).
– growth and increasing sophistication of chain organisations (eg
Fitness First which operates in 15 countries)
Changes to staffing
• growing numbers of paid staff have been
appointed in roles traditionally held by
volunteers
• increasingly employees are selected for their
technical or professional expertise in managing
a business irrespective of their knowledge of the
sport
• board members are recruited for their business
acumen and not just their sporting prowess
The people management
challenge
• Attracting, developing, and retaining
talented people can provide a sport
organisation with the resources it needs to
prosper, grow and ultimately, gain
competitive advantage.
• The right coach, manager, CEO or player
can transform the fortunes of a sport
organisation from bottom of the pile to a
league or world champion.
Competitive advantage through
human resources
• The ‘best mix’ of people will allow the sport
organisation to meet its strategic
objectives now and into the future.
• This can be achieved through strategic:
Planning
Recruitment
Retention
Reward and recognition
Training and development
Human resource management
• policies, practices, procedures, and
systems that influence the behaviour,
attitudes, values and performance of
people who work for the organisation.
• HRM ensures generic strategic decisions
are implemented effectively by
coordinating the people related aspects
The HRM system …
• can be shaped by many factors including:
– the type of organisation (eg public or private sector),
– the external environment in which the organisation
operates (eg the nature of the labour market)
– the choices made by the organisation about how work
is organised (eg the extent to which rewards are
equally shared within the organisation).
As a result of these factors and choices there will
be different human resource configurations
within different sport organisations
Evolution of HRM
• The first formal personnel practices were
implemented during the late Victorian
period in the UK
• These were basically welfare workers with
a concern for the well being of the worker
coupled with recognition that improved
welfare for workers would also enhance
the performance of the business
Scientific management
• Associated with Fredrick Taylor around the time of WWI
• Based on efficient standardised production techniques
with a division of labour so that jobs became simple and
could be easily learned by relatively unskilled workers
• adopted in industrial countries around the world and laid
the foundation for all job design for the remainder of the
Century
• personnel specialists became involved with the analysis,
design, evaluation and classification of jobs and the use
of this information in the administration of wages
Human relations movement
• The next major movement to influence the
practice of personnel management
• associated with the motivation theories of
Elton Mayo
• focused on the importance of building the
social identification of workers with each
other in and with the organisation as a way
of stimulating higher levels of motivation
and productivity
3 key developments from the
1960s onwards
1. the emergence of a role concerned with
organisational efficiency
2. the emergence of a role dealing with
employment law
3. achieving the best fit between resources
and organisational needs
This 3 dimensions signaled the emergence
of HRM
Stakeholder
Interests
-Shareholders
-Management
-Employee
Groups
-Government
-Community
- Unions
Situational
factors
-Workforce
characteristics
-Business
strategy and
conditions
-Management
philosophy
-Labour Market
-Unions
-Task
technology
-Laws and
societal values
HRM Policy
choices
-Employee
influence
-Human resources
flow
-Reward systems
-Work systems
HRM Outcomes
-Commitment
-Competence
-Congruence
-Cost
effectiveness
Long-term
consequences
-Individual wellbeing
-Organisational
effectiveness
-Societal wellbeing
Figure 1.2 The Harvard Model (Source Beer et al 1984)
Summary
• sport organisations face a number of challenges
to effectively managing employees and
volunteers
• human resource management and strategic
human resource management concepts and
approaches provide a framework for people
management
• effective human resource management is
essential for the sustainability of sport
organisations