Background Information
At the onset of the 21st century, sports management has embraced techniques and strategies used by modern businesses and organizations. This has been attributed to the rampant growth, professionalization, and development in sports. This has changed the production, consumption, as well as management of the sporting activities, personalities, and organizations. The majority of people today probably millions are involved in sports in one way or the other (Yow, 2000). This has changed sports from an amateur pastime thing to an important profession. A sports manager is involved in the strategic planning and management of the crucial sporting events and personalities. This includes the largest human resource, huge contracts worth billions of money, and welfare of sportsmen/women just to mention a few (Baker, and Esherick, 2013). This has led to a major concern about understanding the special sports features; environment under which sports operate; and forms of sports organization both in the public and private sectors of the sports industry.
Scope of the study
This proposed research will use a deductive approach where both qualitative and quantitative research methods will be used. It will be based on primary, as well as secondary data. Primary data will be collected from various selected sports managers through the semi-structured interview and quantitative self-completion surveys. The semi-structured interviews will target the management personnel of the selected sports. On the other hand, quantitative self-completed surveys will target the sportsmen/women.
This research will aim to assess the reasons why sports organizations need to be revitalized with specific/unique management techniques. The study will display a comprehensive stand about the connection management techniques has on improving sport organizations. This research will assess the former management techniques in sport organizations. In addition, the research will uncover the significance of applying specific management techniques. The result of this research will offer a clear understanding about sports management.
Significance of the Study
This research will aim to explore reasons why sports organizations need to embrace unique/specific management techniques. The following question will underpin the research about this subject:
- Why are specific management techniques required in sport organizations?
Therefore, the main objectives of this research will be:
- To examine the existing literature concerning sport organization/management in a comprehensive manner.
- To define the research key terms “sport organizations” and “management techniques.”
- To establish the connection between the sport organizations and management techniques.
- To establish reasons why unique/specific management techniques are needed in sport organizations.
- To establish the research methodology and plan for this proposed research.
- To draw a conclusion and recommendations about the need for unique management techniques in sport organizations.
Literature Review
There are many studies conducted about sports management. However, the majority of the studies considers the strategic planning of sport organizations. Little has been done about the reasons why sport organizations need to apply specific management techniques. Hoye, Smith, Stewart, Nicholson, and Westerbeek (2012) identified different unique sports features that influence the need for specific management techniques in sports organizations. To begin with, they viewed sports as a phenomenon in the way sports fans develop the irrational passion for the teams and competitions. Sports differ significantly with other fields in the manner in which the performance results, success, and achievements are perceived, presented and celebrated. Therefore, sports managers are required to be knowledgeable on how to harness the fans’ passion for the benefit of the sport. These include appealing to fans to buy tickets and other sports merchandise, become club members and volunteer in sports activities (Butenko, Gil-Lafuente, Pardalos, & Gil, 2010). The achievement of this requires sports managers to have specific management techniques (Hoye, Smith, Stewart, Nicholson, and Westerbeek, 2012).
Next, sports organizations bear great differences with other organizations in terms of performance evaluation. Public or privately listed organizations are profit oriented to increase the wealth of their shareholders/owners. On the part of sport organizations, they are guided by other imperatives like winning titles, services provision to stakeholders, members and the larger community over the financial ambitions. Nonetheless, sports managers must balance between these imperatives and financial issues. The competitive balance is another factor to consider in sports management. Sport organizations both infield and off-field aim to maintain the viability of the teams and the leagues in the long run. Therefore, sport organizations cooperate with each other in sharing of revenues and players. Additionally, they regulate themselves to avoid certainty of the game results amongst them in order to maintain the fans’ interest. On the contrary, most business organizations target to eliminate all competition in order to gain monopoly and the largest shares in the market (Hoye, Smith, Stewart, Nicholson, and Westerbeek, 2012).
Further, the varying quality of sports products is of key concern. In general, the outcomes of games are quite uncertain. For instance, one team can dominate thus reducing the game’s attractiveness. This is damaging as it creates a perception of diminishing game’s quality especially to the losers. In turn, guarantee of quality becomes difficult. Besides quality, sports products/brands attract a high degree of loyalty and optimism from the fans that are less influenced by the results or standards of officiating. This can be an advantage, as well as a disadvantage in the sense that attracting of new fans is difficult while expanding the market. Such loyalty stimulates certain behaviors in sports fans like buying or wearing a uniform of their teams or favorite player or imitating sports heroes (Hoye, Smith, Stewart, Nicholson, and Westerbeek, 2012).
Hoye, et al (2012) argued that sport organizations are reluctant and limited to adopting new technologies connected to sports. This portrays sport organizations as conservative and based on traditions. Moreover, sports organizations are also limited in terms of availability. In this case, they are tied to length of the season together with scheduled games. Unlike sports, other organizations are flexible to changes in order to meet their demand such increasing production (Hoye, Smith, Stewart, Nicholson, and Westerbeek, 2012). The above mentioned reasons can influence sport organizations to apply specific management techniques.
Research Methodology
This research will follow a deductive and an explanatory approach where qualitative and quantitative research methods will be used. An explanatory design approach will ensure the variables involved in the research, sport organizations, and management techniques will be related. This research will rely on both primary and secondary data. This research will seek approval from the respective authority and abide to research rules and regulations particularly in the collection of data. Primary data will be available from questionnaires, whereas secondary data will be obtained from textbooks, journal articles, newspaper articles, international and government sources, internet sources and websites. The qualitative method will be used to overlook the outcomes of the research hypothesis and develop further study to test and support the research. In regard to the quantitative approach, customer questionnaires will the primary tool of research. Questionnaires are preferred due to their validity and reliability. An online questionnaire will be used in order to save time and reach many sports managers in different countries. The questionnaires will be simple and closed-ended to enhance high response rate. Qualitative interviews will be used to verify and clarify the data collected. This will be carried on managers of respective online questionnaire services. Data analysis will be conducted using statistical tools, which enable input and coding of data. In regard to ethical issues, the proposed research will uphold accuracy and privacy of the data collected, especially in the collection of primary data (Bryman, and Bell, 2011).
Research Plan
This proposed research will be assembled as follows: Chapter 1-introduction and background information regarding the variables of this study, sport organizations, and management techniques. Definition of the variables and objectives of the research will be explained in this section. The research questions and research rationale will also be provided. In addition, the hypothesis of the research will be developed in this chapter. The next chapter is Chapter 2, which is the literature review. The literature review will explore various concepts and ideas developed by various authors. The literature will be linked and differentiated to identify the main ideas of the research. In addition, a theoretical model will be developed which will contain the variables used in the research. The model will be used to identify the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Therefore, theoretical model will be a summary of the concepts and ideas in the research paper. The next chapter is Chapter 3, which is the research methodology. This chapter will explore the various methodological tools applied during the research. As such, the population sample and data collection process will be explained. The various aspects and characteristics of the sample will be explored. Lastly, Chapter 4 will provide the outcome coverage, estimation, analysis, discussion and formulate the required recommendations. Statistical knowledge will be applied in explaining the chapter. The findings obtained in the research will be examined, and appropriate conclusions derived from the findings.
References
Baker, R. E., & Esherick, C. (2013). Fundamentals of sport management. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Bryman, A., and Bell, E. (2011). Business Research Methods. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Butenko, S., Gil-Lafuente, J., Pardalos, P.M., & Gil, A. J. (2010). Optimal strategies in sports economics and management. Heidelberg: Springer.
Hoye, R., Smith, A., Stewart, B., Nicholson, M., and Westerbeek, H. (2012). Sport Management: Principles and Applications. New York: Routledge.
Yow, D. A. (2000). Strategic Planning for Collegiate Athletics. Binghamton, NY: Haworth.