Research Korner: Sports

Emergence Of Sport Management

This paper seeks to critically analyze the emergence of sport management as an emerging form of management style which is particularly focused on the propagation of sport as a business. Moreover the study will also look into the assertion of Slack (1998) regarding the commonness of sport management as compared other forms of management. In order to carefully analyze the emergence of sport management, a discussion on the materialization of sports from its humble beginnings to the industry’s current magnitude will also be presented. Apparently, in the area of economic anthropology, Veblen (1899) stipulated on barbarian lifestyles of the upper, non-productive leisure classes that have existed since antiquity. Veblen writes that in his time, the normal and characteristic occupations of the class in this mature phase of its life history are in form very much the same as in its earlier days. These occupations are government, war, sports, and devout observances. Persons unduly given to difficult theoretical niceties may hold that these occupations are still incidentally and indirectly "productive"; but it is to be noted as decisive of the question in hand that the ordinary and ostensible motive of the leisure class in engaging in these occupations is assuredly not an increase of wealth by a productive effort (1899, 40). Moreover, non-productive occupations and endeavors are sought because of status and pecuniary considerations. Even the lower and middle classes of society, who are often engaged in productive and industrious activities such as civil engineering and farming, are prone to engage in what Veblen calls modest conspicuous consumption, conspicuous leisure, and wasteful behavior because these classes emulate the leisure class. Institutions slowly evolve and do so in response to novelty and to pressures from vested interests. Historically derived customs and mores unduly influence current, as well as future, thought and customs, even though the past may not be applicable to current or future situations. (Eby 1998) This conservatism is associated with "social inertia". (1899, 191) Veblen adds, "The leisure class is the conservative class". (1899, 198) Social scientists have written much on the influence that sports have had and continue to have on various cultures (Hoberman, 1984). According to Veblen, the glorification of sports and gaming in general is a powerful leisure-class value that shapes and influences all social strata and encourages institutional conservatism. This happens in several ways. First, just as the lower classes try to emulate the leisure class, sports fans admire and try to emulate their sports heroes. "Be like Mike" (Michael Jordan) was a popular commercial jingle designed to influence children to be like the NBA superstar and to consume a particular product that he was endorsing. More importantly, sports mania rekindles the "barbarian traits" and instincts that Veblen claims are perpetuated in modern society. These traits include predatory prowess and invidious comparisons with other people and are useful in acquiring wealth and success even at the expense of others. To Veblen, the promotion of predatory prowess among youth is antithetical to humanistic values, but it is inevitable. He also notes that sports terminology often parallels that found in the military and in warfare. "To crush one's foe," for example, is a phrase used in both warfare and sports. Sports is used to indoctrinate young people into leisure-class values and is used to maintain the prevailing ideology of rough, cutthroat competition as being acceptable (1899, 254-256). Various sports are often defended by claims that such activities develop among both participants and observers a sense of competition, leadership skills, workmanship, and craftiness. According to Veblen, this is especially true of football (1899, 262). Despite society's efforts to equate sports with socially redeeming values, Veblen simply sees sports as emulation of the predatory prowess. "Habituation to sports should conduce to a fuller development of the aptitude for fraud; and the prevalence in the community of that predatory temperament which inclines men to sports connotes a prevalence of sharp practice and callous disregard of the interests of others, individually and collectively" (1899, 274). In short, a "dog-eat-dog" mentality that is cultivated by an addiction to sports can lead to an unbridled self-interest that, when taken to extreme, can lead to business chicanery and nefarious financial dealings that are harmful to most if not all people within a society. Because sports was an industry that generated more than $70 billion in revenues in 1992, William F. Stier, Jr. (1993b) predicted "an ever increasing need for professionals trained in the managerial, administrative, and business aspects of sport." Carter (1994) lists and explains the ways that job seekers enter and are handsomely rewarded for sport management careers. Most major league sports franchises have between 20 and 35 highly skilled business professionals per team. Minor league and collegiate programs may have a smaller number of professionals per team. All of these managers are critical to such functions as public relations, event promotion, ticket sales, marketing, advertising, travel logistics, and financial management. Often, public relations people are responsible for "community outreach" programs, which are intended to show how local teams are helping their community to raise money for such programs as the United Way, the American Heart Association, or other charitable institutions. Such "public service" builds community support for a team and probably makes it easier for a team to gather more sponsors as well as local government support. Although the pay is initially low and the work is hard and irregular, successful managers can expect to earn large salaries over time (Carter 1994, 97). Moreover, people with a sport management background serve both amateur and professional sports organizations and can also be employed by media and promotional institutions (Carter 1994, 141-165). Such employees can help a TV or radio network estimate the potential earnings from carrying sporting events and selling advertising time. Both cable and regular TV networks sell their most expensive advertising slots during athletic events because demand for such ad time is highly inelastic and can reach a large number of young and middle-aged mid- to upper-income males. Advertising revenues are so important to networks that, on the advice of sports advertising and programming experts. Carter (1994) also points out the growing need for professionals in the  sports and gaming industries to monitor regulatory requirements, to manage athletes' public images and their personal financial affairs, and to manage the details of sporting events such as golf tournaments, bowl games, etc. Failure to meet rules can cost a university thousands of dollars in fines and sanctions such as being barred from both post-season play and playing on national television. Although, in the past, lawyers have typically dominated the field of sport management, Carter predicts that this will continue to change as lawyers focus on athletic contracts and legal issues, while professionals trained in accounting, advertising, promotions, and related areas serve other roles. It promotes and facilitates the conspicuous leisure and consumption of those who pay for the high-priced tickets of collegiate and professional sporting events; those who make large donations to university athletic funds; those executives who buy luxury suites in sports stadiums and arenas; and those who pay large sums of money each year traveling to watch their favorite team play away from home. It would probably be safe to say that a sign of conspicuous leisure today would be the ability of athletic fans to pay for season tickets for both home and away games for their favorite teams. Even people of modest means will pay dearly for season tickets and team memorabilia because of their devotion to athletics. Owning season tickets, especially those that come with ideal seats, confers a special status on these fans. Being able to travel from city to city in order to follow one's favorite team also confers a special status because few can afford such traveling expenses and time away from work. One of the jobs of a sports manager and promoter is to exploit the conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure aspects of fan loyalty in order to sell more tickets at ever-increasing prices. Even though athletic events can be viewed in the home, such limited participation is seen as the poor person's way of participating in sports. Moreover, Veblen would probably have viewed the proliferation of sport management education as a natural outgrowth of both the leisure and working classes' preoccupation with sports; the conservatism and pro-business attitudes and "pecuniary interests" of university trustees and administrators who have to approve such degree programs; the promotion and further affirmation within our society of the belief in the virtues of predatory prowess and competition; and the need for managers in industries that are full of conspicuous leisure and waste and non-productive labor. In the obsession with sports and gaming, people of all backgrounds show themselves to be increasingly dependent upon sports as entertainment, as a means of employment, and as a very lucrative business. With millions being made in the sports and recreation industries, colleges and universities have seen fit to provide programs that will supply a well-trained group of professionals to keep these industries strong and growing. However, the economics of professional sports has been preoccupied with the dual proposition that a large market team will dominate a small market team, and that the competitive imbalance will be invariant under a variety of institutional constraints designed to alter it. Similar to normal business entities, the business of sport considers as well its competition and its consumers. In order to better look into this similarity, we shall look into the case of football as a sporting industry, particularly the clubs that are within their respective leagues. Predicaments and issues have hounded the football industry in the 1980s. According to the documented works of Jennet and Sloan (1985), the game is constantly in a parlous state of crisis particularly shown in the peak of 41.3 million capacity crowds in the late 1940s dwindling down into more or less eighteen million in the early goings of the 1980s. This apparently was due to the inveterate absence of investment supplemented with a derisory supervision of clubs was to finish no more than a  small number of years later in the Heysel (1985), Bradford (1985) and Hillsborough (1989) arena debacles. Something had to be accomplished if the sport’s outlook was to be protected. It is one of the contradictions in terms of football as a business that while it had protractedly performed a significant function in the cultural existence of the country, in the aspect of commercial entrepreneurship, its were moribund. To illustrate, the Chester Report (Football League, 1983) emphasized the majority of the clubs' deficiency of profitable responsiveness, and a common dearth of sensitivity to consumer demands (Jennet & Sloan, 1985, pages 44-45). The commercial supervision techniques made use of by most clubs had kept on practically unbothered for virtually seventy years. An examination of the club's accounting practices by Arthur Anderson & Co. in 1982 found that 'these were chaotic' (Jennet & Sloan, 1985, page 54).  The first part of 1990s, professional football teams continued to hardly ever make proceeds. Szymanski & Smith (1997, p 149) argued that in considerable element the clubs' quandary emanated from the absence of a market in commercial jurisdiction. They asserted that while in a typical industrial organizations which were unsuccessful likely to depart from the marketplace sending-off the lingering clubs to develop stronger by creating a center of attention for customers from non-operational clubs, or underperforming clubs would be obtained by more efficient management organizations, in football, as a tenet neither of these occurrence transpired. This was for the reason that businessmen didn't by and large purchase clubs to burgeon, and so subordinated productivity to the purpose of being perpetually victorious improved league status, by means of financial support if required. As clubs were customarily not making money there was no inducement for them to be bought by new proprietors for profit-maximization motives. More importantly, football clubs were by no means premeditated to be conformist profit-maximizing companies. They were projected to perform as sporting clubs. Traditional financial examination is also unsuccessful to put into operation because clubs are efficiently local monopolies with commitments founded on emotional and not profitable interactions. If a club were to go insolvent then it is doubtful that its fans would forge an allegiance to another team. Thus, club proprietors had no encouragement to see to it that their local adversary go out of business; if they had an incentive is to see them continue to exist so they could stack the gate money from the local derby. In addition, there are two significant distinctiveness of football. Initially, there is the fan equity phenomenon. As stated earlier, teams exists because of emotional ties with their followers. Thus football is a social and cultural institution. Second,  it is also required for a good returns is for real competition between clubs, with the opportunity left ajar that even the negligible may attain laurels if they systematize successfully. (Salomon Brothers, 1997, page 9) A prosperous football fan base relies on the subsistence of bona fide competitive uncertainty. Thus the notions of 'fan equity' and 'competitive uncertainty' are meticulously entwined. As with the chronological situation of ground security, the football industry look as if not capable to be on familiar terms with this fact, or to bring into being a regulatory structure which will operate to save from harm its key assets. The said notions are important since fans pay money for products as a means of bracketing together themselves with their sporting heroes, but also as a way of putting across shared aims with their fellow enthusiasts. Organized sport and football especially, appeals to an emotional venture by the fan in the competitive events which is very much few and far between in the framework of the archetypal consumer and producer communication relationship. It is this capability to catch the attention of paying spectators at the playing field and through television, and put up for sale connected goods which makes sports clubs and franchises priceless as businesses. Moreover, football devoid of the fans with a communal emotional venture in their club's accomplishment, and an emotional investment in the letdown of their rival, does not happen as expected; either with the sole purpose as a human familiarity, or as a profitable endeavor. Marketable forces are in the offing to wear away both 'fan equity' and 'competitive uncertainty'. This is for the reason that institutional tenure of clubs will grind down links with indigenous geographic identities, which is at the starting place of the 'fan equity' conception. It will cut into sequential oligopolistic propensities which will trim down the by and large stage of competitive uncertainty in the course of action. Similarly, the deep seated perils of such commercialization are that the fan will come into being as to no longer be aware of any 'equity' in the match. The more understanding business analysts attach importance to the potential of this risk. References: Carter, David M. (1994) You Can't Play the Game if You Don't Know the Rules: Career Opportunities in Sports Management. Manassas Park, Va.: Impact Publications, 1994. Eby, Clare Virginia. (1988) "Veblen's Assault on Time." The Journal of Economic Issues 32, no. 3. September 1998: 689-707. Football League (1983). Report of the Committee on Football (Chairman Sir N. Chester), Lytham St Annes: The Football League. Hoberman, John M. (1984) Sport and Political Ideolgy. Austin: University of Texas Press. Jennett, N. and Sloane, P. J. (1985). ‘The future of league football: a critique of the Chester Committee of Enquiry’. Leisure Studies, 4, pp. 39–45. Salomon Brothers (1997). 'UK Football Clubs: valuable assets?', Global Equity Research: Leisure. November. London: Salomon Brothers. Stier, Jr., William F. (1993) "Meeting the Challenges of Managing Sport through Marketing, Fundraising, and Promotions." Paper presented at the International Meeting of the World University Games, Buffalo, New York, July 9. Szymanski, S. & Smith, R. (1997). 'The English Football Industry: profit, performance and industrial structure', International Review of Applied Economics, Vol. 11, No. 1, pages 135-153. Veblen, Thorstein. (1899) The Higher Learning in America. New York: B. W. Huebsch.

Emergence Of Sport Management

This paper seeks to critically analyze the emergence of sport management as an emerging form of management style which is particularly f...

OLYMPIC GAMES

OBJECTIVES As a person with knowledge of the Olympic Games, the author has always brought up to his superiors the viability of strategy formation regarding the analysis of this topic and at times fails to understand the reasons or logic behind certain strategic implementations imposed on it. By delving into this project paper, the author intends to have better insights into how the Olympic Games are thought up, formulated and then imparted down into the respective hosting country. The author hopes to have an in-depth understanding as to how the establishment of the Olympic Games enables countries all over the world to compete effectively and profitably in sports where competition is extremely intense. In order to reinforce the learning objectives, two key focal issues were focussed upon i.e. innovation and diversity. Innovation was discussed with regard to the Olympic Games where it was renowned for its developmental capabilities to constantly innovate. Diversity came under strategic thinking and formation as the author considered the diverse culture, political climate, economic surroundings, social environment, technological settings, government policies and legal systems in order to better understand the issues being discussed.     EXECUTIVE BRIEF This essay utilized the Olympic Games for 5 countries (upcoming 2008 Beijing, 2004 Athens, 2000 Sydney, 1996 Atlanta and 1992 Barcelona) as the models to review their past and present impacts, origins, economic and sustainability issues and how they dealt with critical situations. From the analysis, key trends in the Olympic Games for 5 countries were then identified, how they worked and their effectiveness in dealing with critical situations was ascertained. The paper then moved on to assess these Olympic Games with regard to their suitability to critical situations, during which the internal capabilities of these Olympic Games in relation to the strategy being followed by the hosting countries were determined also. An overall analysis of the performance and effectiveness of the Olympic Games for 5 countries was also conducted to assess and compare the capabilities of these Olympic Games with those of others. Gaps in the Olympic Games and hosting environment were then identified. Finally, several choices of strategies to improve the hosting of the Olympic Games for China as effective means in critical situations were recommended and evaluated in terms of appropriateness to the issues reviewed, feasibility in carrying out the options and acceptability within the key stakeholders and decision makers. Several key implementation issues related to managing strategic change were also addressed as well.     INTRODUCTION The Olympic Games pertain to the international sports festival that occurs every four years and composed of the summer and winter sporting events. Because of its international stature, the management of such a gigantic sports event requires the hosting country to have a system that can be efficient and effective in terms of the implementation of the policies and tasks necessary to satisfy the needs of the athletes and all of the participants. The hosting of the Olympic Games focuses on the careful management of the processes involved in making the playing venues safe and enjoyable for everybody especially for the athletes. More often than not, small and relatively underdeveloped countries don't really have the capabilities to host the Olympic Games. Instead, these countries engage in activities that issue their support for the Olympic Games. These activities include the sending of competitive athletes as well as experienced and well-respected umpires and referees. However, the Olympic Games deal with all operations done within the hosting country in order to make it successful. Activities such as the management of resources, the control of advertising and media coverage, logistics and evaluations are often related with the management of the Olympic Games. A great deal of emphasis lies on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, the Olympic Games include the analysis and management of internal processes. BEIJING OLYMPICS 2008   The 29th Olympic Games will be hosted by Beijing, China from August 8, 2008 to August 24, 2008. The city of Beijing won on the bidding to host the 2008 Olympics on July 13, 2001 against other powerful and highly industrialized cities including Paris in France. Preparations The organizing committee of the 29th Olympic Games has assigned workers that will have responsibilities in communications, recordkeeping as well as operations scheduling. The management team of the 29th Olympic Games is subdivided into key personnel. Cargo and freight agents. These people track cargo and freight shipments with connection to the 29th Olympic Games. They may come from airlines, terminals or from shipping docks. They are in charge of keeping the records of missing and destroyed sports items as well as its excess supplies. These people are able to sort the numerous cargos based on their destinations. They also establish payment scheduling with sports agents and arrange the pickup schedule and delivery of freight. Couriers and messengers. These people are assigned to deliver important business documents and packages of the 29th Olympic Games to other countries and their representatives. They keep records of deliveries and get the recipient’s signature. Production, planning, and expediting clerks. These people do the coordination of the flow of information, work as well as the materials needed in the hosting of the 29th Olympic Games. These are done usually on a production or work schedule basis. They also the gathering of critical information for reports on, for example, the progress of work and problems encountered in the manufacturing of the new playing venues. They are also scheduling the shipments of sports utilities, costs estimation, and inventories of sports items. Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks. These people are in charge of tracking all shipments of sports items being transferred among businesses, suppliers, and customers. Shipping clerks assemble and ship merchandise of sports items and their ingredients. Receiving clerks do the verification and recording of information on incoming merchandise. Traffic clerks do the recording of the destination and costs of all incoming and outgoing sports items shipments. Stock clerks and order fillers. These people are in charge of receiving and the storage of the sports items as well as the maintenance and distribution of inventories. These inventories may include sports merchandises, supplies, or even ingredients. They may perform all of the abovementioned tasks and even those commonly handled by shipping and receiving clerks. Marketing and Promotional Campaigns The organizers of the Beijing Olympics issued a press release regarding the launching of the 29th Olympic Games, but other methods including Internet releases were also conducted. However, in order for these tools and techniques to be effectively utilized by the media, they must be able to generate a great interest from the public. For this to happen, the organizers of the 29th Olympic Games manipulated the press release in order to be a perfect match to the public. The organizers of the 29th Olympic Games believed that the most successful publicity releases are often related to topics that the general public can easily relate to. Publicity is a term that is closely related to public relations. While public relations refers to the proper management of all means of communication among the organization and the people involved, publicity, on the other hand, is the careful management of a product or service’s means of communication between the organization and the general public. Therefore, it is basically an informative process. However, its main objective is the promotion of products and services being offered by an organization. Thus, a publicity plan is being made along the process in order to obtain excellent press coverage for the organization’s products. The advantages of the publicity programs made by the organizers of the 29th Olympic Games include having low costs, and its credibility. New technologies such as the Internet and convergence are gradually changing the cost-structure. The disadvantages include the lack of control over how the releases will be used, and the accumulation of frustration regarding the low percentage of releases that are being accepted by the media. ATHENS OLYMPICS 2004 The 28th Olympic Games was hosted by Athens, Greece, over a period of 17 days from August 13 to August 29, 2004. The city of Athens won on the bidding to host the 2004 Olympics on September 5, 1997 against other powerful and highly industrialized cities including Rome in Italy. A total of 11,099 athletes from 202 countries participated in the 28th Olympic Games, with the US, China and Russia topping the medal tally boards. Preparations Planning was a necessary function within the 28th Olympic Games. In the Olympic Games this process is often very difficult because of the fast rate of change and the occurrences of unplanned events. The organizers of the 28th Olympic Games used several methodologies depending on the rate of demand and the price of the tickets. Nevertheless, the objectives of the organizers of the 28th Olympic Games for every transaction did not change: efficiency and effectiveness. Planning was implemented by the organizers of the 28th Olympic Games in order for its activities and resources to be coordinated over time. This enabled the organizers of the 28th Olympic Games to achieve its goals with minimal resource utilization. Planning also enabled the organizers of the 28th Olympic Games to monitor the progress of their plans at regular intervals and maintain their control over operations. Planning within the 28th Olympic Games involved four elements: scheduling, labor planning, equipment planning, and cost planning. <ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Scheduling involved the specification of the beginning, the length or the duration, and end of the planned activities. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Labor planning involved allocating the necessary personnel and delegation of responsibilities and resources </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Equipment planning involved identifying the types and needs in terms of equipments. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Cost planning involved determining the costs and the possibility of their occurrence. </li> </ul> Marketing and Promotional Campaigns In a general sense, advertising was utilized by the organizers of the 28th Olympic Games to be able to impart to the public the existence of such a spectacular sporting event in Athens. In a way, advertising was also able to provide critical information regarding the 28th Olympic Games to the public. Since the advertising campaigns for the 28th Olympic Games were achieved effectively, this led to an increased demand for its media coverage. Advertising refers to the paid promotion of goods and services through a sponsoring organization or company. While marketing has the objective to choose markets that have the capacity to purchase a product,  advertising, on the other hand, is the paid communication through which relevant information about the product is conveyed to potential consumers. There were three main objectives of advertisements for the 28th Olympic Games: (1) conveying relevant information regarding the 28th Olympic Games; (2) persuading the public to support the 28th Olympic Games; and, (3) keep the 28th Olympic Games under the watchful eyes of the public. The success of the advertising campaigns for the 28th Olympic Games was because of the mix of the elements of all three objectives. The advertisements for the 28th Olympic Games included informative, institutional and persuasive ads. SYDNEY OLYMPICS 2000 The 27th Olympic Games was hosted by Sydney, Australia, over a period of 16 days from September 15 to October 1, 2000. Sydney won on the bidding to host the 2000 Olympics on September 23, 1993 against other powerful and highly industrialized cities including Berlin in Germany and Beijing, China. A total of 10,651 athletes from 199 countries participated in the 27th Olympic Games, with the US, China and Russia topping the medal tally boards. Preparations The occurrence of research within the 27th Olympic Games reflected the growing difficulty in its management that required the effective use of valuable resources such as money, materials, equipments, and people. This is the reason why research analysis was done by the organizers of 27th Olympic Games in order to determine the most effective ways to coordinate these resources through the application of analytical methods derived from fields of studies such as mathematics, science, and engineering. Through this process, problems related to the hosting of the 27th Olympic Games were solved in different ways and alternative solutions were then relayed to the organizers. The organizers then selected the appropriate course of action in line with the goals of the 27th Olympic Games. More often than not, research analysis was concerned with complicated issues such as top-level strategy, resource allocation, designing of production facilities and systems, pricing and the analysis of large databases. Research analysis actually may vary according to the structures and philosophy of the event. But in the case of the 27th Olympic Games, it centralized research analysis in one department. Marketing and Promotional Campaigns The existence of Internet and the continued revolution in the world of Information Technology were certainly positive signs for the blossoming of many new advertising opportunities for the 27th Olympic Games. For instance, Popup ads and email ads started to invade the Internet 2 years prior to the start of the 27th Olympic Games. Most advertising firms in Australia also started to exert efforts to make their advertisements appealing to the public.     ATLANTA OLYMPICS 1996 The 26th Olympic Games was hosted by Atlanta, Georgia in the US over a period of 16 days from July 19 to August 4, 1996. Atlanta won on the bidding to host the 1996 Olympics on September 1990 against other powerful and highly industrialized cities including Athens in Greece and Melbourne, Australia. A total of 10,320 athletes from 197 countries participated in the 26th Olympic Games, with the US, Germany and Russia topping the medal tally boards. Preparations The organizers of the 26th Olympic Games determined the best ways to utilize its basic factors of production. These resources include the people, materials, information, and energy needed in the hosting of the 26th Olympic Games. Engineering was the bridge that linked the goals of the organizers of the 26th Olympic Games and operational performance. They were concerned with the increase in productivity through the proper management of people and choosing the appropriate methods of organization. The organizers of the 26th Olympic Games performed the careful analysis and inspection of the 26th Olympic Games’ products, playing venues and their safety. In this process, they made use of various mathematical methods in its operations research to meet the requirements. They also developed systems of management control in order to aid in the planning of finances and cost analysis. These systems were eventually subjected to improvements for the effective distribution of Olympic services. The organizers of the 26th Olympic Games performed the tedious task of selecting which among the various playing venue locations had the best combination of raw materials availability and costs. This time, the organizers made use of computers for simulations and robots for controlling various activities and devices. They also were in charge of the development of administration systems and programs for evaluation of participating athletes. The organizers of the 26th Olympic Games had enough flexibility to move into management positions. Marketing and Promotional Campaigns Sales were an important part of the marketing and promotional campaigns for the 26th Olympic Games. The most common approach to personal selling of the tickets for the 26th Olympic Games pertained to a systematic process of continuous yet measurable methods in which the person selling described the value of the ticket in such a way that the buyer was able to visualize how to benefit from personally seeing the 26th Olympic Games in an economic way. Selling was basically a part of the implementation procedures of marketing for the 26th Olympic Games.  The continued interrogation in order to understand the goal of the 26th Olympic Games as well as the establishment of a set of feasible solutions by conveying the necessary information that convinces a buyer to achieve his goal at a reasonable cost was the main responsibility of the marketing team of the 26th Olympic Games. Aside from this, it was also the responsibility of the marketing team to be able to know the needs and satisfy the wants of the public effectively, and therefore convert possible customers into actual and reliable ones. BARCELONA OLYMPICS 1992 The 25th Olympic Games was hosted by Barcelona, Spain over a period of 15 days from July 25 to August 9, 1992. Barcelona won on the bidding to host the 1992 Olympics on October 1986 against other powerful and highly industrialized cities including Amsterdam, Netherlands. A total of 9,956 athletes from 169 countries participated in the 25th Olympic Games, with the Unified Team (Soviet), US, and Germany topping the medal tally boards. Preparations It is interesting to know the basic innate characteristics of the organizing team of the 25th Olympic Games that resulted in its success. ·         Mental Stability Mental stability was crucial especially in the pursuit of the correct decision as well as the management and development of the processes accompanying it. It was important for the organizing team of the 25th Olympic Games to remain updated with the latest developments to be able to stay aware and knowledgeable in all issues. ·          Performance and Credibility The production of the best outputs came as a result of well-funded research management and development activities. The strong performance of the 25th Olympic Games in the market could also be linked to the effective strategic planning and human resource mobilization of the organizers. Thus, the organizers and the country’s credibility increased as the 25th Olympic Games progressed. ·         Planning and Strategy Formation Capabilities Planning and strategy formation created the need for the organizers of the 25th Olympic Games to become aggressive especially in the area of marketing. This was because the access to strong media channels was critical for the success of the 25th Olympic Games. ·         Decision-making abilities. Upon arriving at the correct decision or choice, the organizers of the 25th Olympic Games now gained confidence in their ability to make critical decisions or choices especially when the integrity of the 25th Olympic Games was on the line. Thus, the organizers of the 25th Olympic Games now searched for even more challenges and opportunities where they could further enhance their decision-making abilities regarding the 25th Olympic Games. ·         Holistic Mindset of Issues Through the exposure to various puzzling issues in the 25th Olympic Games, the organizers along the process were able to develop a holistic mindset regarding the issues surrounding the 25th Olympic Games. The organizers now became keen observers of the truths and lies surrounding the issues being tackled, instead of relying on mere hearsays. The continuous pursuit of the truth behind the puzzling issues enabled the organizers of the 25th Olympic Games to consistently practice and enhance a healthy and holistic mindset which made it difficult for detractors to give influence. Because of this holistic approach, the organizers were able to effectively select the right choice and continue to maximize this potential. Marketing and Promotional Campaigns The TV commercial campaigns for the 25th Olympic Games were generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format, even amidst the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime. In the world of media and entertainment, a particular television commercial can be broadcasted continuously for months and even years. Normally, television commercial production studios often risk astronomical amounts of money for the production of a mere thirty-second television commercial. In this case, the broadcasting companies were financially capable for this kind of huge expenditures. The resulting number of high-quality 25th Olympic Games TV commercials, those with the best production values and the most popular personalities, were able to offset the huge expenses later on. Billboard advertisements were also able to catch the public’s attention and thus created an immediate impression. They also were readable especially because they were usually noticed in roads and highways in Spain while the public was boarded at vehicles with high speeds. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS For the hosting country to be able to successfully host the Olympic Games, the following success factors are critical: ·         Financial Stability Financial stability is crucial especially in the pursuit of the hosting of the Olympic Games. Along the process, it is important to remain updated with the latest developments to be able to stay competitive in the bidding process. ·         Available Resources The effective hosting of the Olympic Games comes as a result of well-funded research and development activities. The strong performance of the Olympic Games could also be linked to their cost-effectiveness. However, the hosting country has to be aware of the positioning in terms of process so as to maintain satisfactory profits margin and remain competitive in the bidding process. ·         Marketing Strategy and Distribution High awareness among the bidding countries has created the need for aggressive marketing, and access to strong media channels is critical in the bidding process of hosting the Olympic Games. OLYMPIC ISSUES Political Issues The five countries that hosted the Olympic Games have experienced electoral and political transitions and crises over the last 12 years.  There have been at least four political trends that have emanated from these political events. These are: (a) the cry for democracy and reforms; (b) increased popular and local-level assertiveness; (c) greater public accountability; (d) re-definition of the concepts of power and politics. Also, the forms of political economies have slowly shifted from a bipolar (big government-big business) to a tri-polar structure (authorities - private sector – civil society).                   Economic Issues Despite the adverse economic trends in the first half of the 21st century, among the five countries it was the United States as a whole which experienced a relatively robust economic growth. It is estimated that the United States, taken together, posted a better-than-expected GDP growth of 4.5% last year, slightly higher than the 4.1% growth that they achieved in 2002. Social/Cultural Issues There have also been social and cultural trends that have been evident over the last 12 years among the Olympic hosting countries. These include: (a) the irreversible rise of civil society among states; (b) the rise of civil society blends perfectly with a tri-polar structure of political economy; (c) the increase in the roles of intellectuals; and (d) the beginning of a period of introspection. Technological Issues It is a common knowledge that hosting the Olympic Games requires the technologies of the bidding country to be able to hold down such a sporting spectacle. Countries like Spain and China has shown signs of rapid growth and it is being estimated that there will be more than a million technologies that will be shipped within the year in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. And it is further being expected that within the next years the tremendous growth and technological advancements will continue among the five Olympic hosting nations. For instance, mobile commerce and multimedia terminals are just some of the technological advancements already being expected in China. Therefore, the continued growth and development will also make it imperative for localization to occur in the years to come. STRATEGIC OPTIONS Deriving from the analysis between the four previous Olympic hosting nations, together with their operations management and capabilities, many strategic options would become imperative for China to improve its upcoming Olympic Games hosting in 2008. It is therefore essential to evaluate these strategic options as to whether they are appropriate to the issues addressed, whether they are feasible enough to be implemented and their acceptability to key stakeholders. There is definitely a need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in capabilities. While China’s strategy in hosting the Olympic Games in 2008 involves focusing on its core competencies with market position following its resource base, the nation will be put into a disadvantageous position should it choose to neglect both the macro as well as the micro environment. Therefore, China has to be aware of the latest operations management changes, as well as changes in political, economic, legal and even demographic trends in order to develop the outside-in capabilities, such as market sensing, public linking, channel bonding and technology monitoring. The advantages enjoyed by China may come in the form of increased revenues. Knowing what the hosting of the Olympic Games demands and the latest trends could help China fully exploit its research and development capabilities to come out with innovations which are not only cost-effective but also high in quality. The strategic option can even be used as marketing tool where the focus is on staying close to the public and listening to their feedbacks. On the flip side of the coin, there will be huge mobilization of resources involved, and the associated risks bestowed on China. Nevertheless, the mentioned strategic option seems the most practical in the wake of globalization, since there is a sudden shift towards a more integrated and independent Olympic Games. The key stakeholders too should not have any objections so long as China’s core strategy is not threatened. By virtue of China’s centralized control of its hosting chores, it is being expected that major barriers should not exist in carrying out such an option except additional time may be required given the scope and span of operations. Understanding the strategic importance of hosting the Olympic Games is something China has to be familiar with. China normally practices a centralized and globally scaled configuration of operations and capabilities. This allows information dissemination to be retained.   RECOMMENDATIONS A tie-up with various countries that already hosted the Olympic Games offers tremendous benefits in terms of access to their policies, infrastructure and even their resources. However, China must not lose sight of its core competencies and strategies while pursuing these tie-ups. Otherwise, the image of China might be put in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the collaboration of China with its major competitors can be seen as a ridiculous move at first.  However, upon close examination, this move could pave the way for China to improve even more its capabilities to host the Olympic Games. The bottom line is both sides would be able significantly gain in such an alliance. China’s strengths in modern technologies combined with the operations management capabilities of their competitors can transform them suddenly into an unbeatable force to reckon with. One possible setback, however, is the differences in the cultures of the countries involved. Another possible setback could be whether any of China’s competitors has the need to form alliances. The third option also focuses on alliances, but this time with either one of the suppliers specializing in sports products. The benefits of these alliances should outweigh the costs in the long run. In terms of appropriateness, all three options are able to directly address the current issues mentioned. However, the question remains whether China could be able to implement any of these options, and whether these options can be acceptable to the key stakeholders. Any merger or alliances may also involve the sharing of expertise. China has traditionally relied on the inside-out approach. It is important to note that any transactions would have many implications on China’s values and culture as well as its resources. The key stakeholders definitely would be concerned with such options and need to be convinced of the positive aspects. Somehow, China will be able to overcome this barrier in managing strategic changes in the process of implementing any of the above mentioned strategic options. CONCLUSION The results of the analysis carried out on the five nations that hosted the Olympic Games indicated very significant effects, even amidst the threats of unrest. Therefore, we could conclude that the Olympic hosting in the future could still be expected to improve faster than average. The review of the five previous Olympic Games, the hosting nation’s capabilities and its resources revealed very little inconsistencies regarding its hosting strategies. This is coherent with their traditional inside-out approach. However, the need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in approaches becomes imperative now for China as the upcoming hosting nation. The analysis among the Olympic environment as well as the various Olympic issues revealed certain gaps, most of which are biased towards the environment. However, these gaps paved the way towards determining a number of recommended strategic options to secure the competitiveness of the Olympic Games.     REFERENCES

OLYMPIC GAMES

OBJECTIVES As a person with knowledge of the Olympic Games, the author has always brought up to his superiors the viability of strategy...

Athletics and Student’s Performance-- A Proposal

Purpose of the study Statement of purpose This study aims to create understanding of the relationship of athletics to student’s performance. Through the study, the related literature of athletics and student’s performance can be used to prove that the study is necessary. The study through the use of different methods and techniques in gathering necessary data aims to gain information that can assist in showing the relationship between athletics and student’s performance. The data collected can be used to prove/disprove the hypothesis and formulate necessary conclusion and attainable recommendations.   The study building on previous research Previous research will be used for the betterment of the study. Through the use of previous research, the need for the study can be strengthened more. The previous research tends to strengthen the importance of the study. The previous research tends to help in analyzing the benefits and disadvantages of conducting the study.  The previous research can help in analyzing what studies have been done, and what further studies can be accomplished.      The study’s contribution on the knowledge about education Since the main focus of the study covers the area of education, it can’t be denied that the study can contribute more to this area. The study can determine the current trends in education. The study can also determine the characteristics and study habits of students nowadays. The study can also help in ascertaining the effects of athletics to students’ performance. Through this information, problems on the education sector can be given appropriate action. The information regarding the education sector, student’s qualities, and other information can be used to innovate ways to improve the education sector. The study can also help in determining what changes to the education system can be accomplished, and can be useful for the benefit of future generations.   Research questions, hypothesis, or objectives Objectives The study is focused on athletics and student’s performance. The study as mentioned aims to try to determine the relationship between athletics and student’s performance.  The study also has other objectives it intends to reach that include: 1.      Determine the impact of athletics to performance of a student. 2.      Identify the benefits and disadvantages of athletics to the health of human beings 3.      Determine what causes a child to perform well in school, at the same time know the factors that enable a child to perform badly at school. 4.      Know the difference of the benefits a student-athlete has from a non- athlete student. 5.      Find out the disadvantages of being a student-athlete and the advantages of being a non-athlete student. 6.      Acquire other related information that can assist in making a valid conclusion and appropriate recommendation.   Research Questions The study will try to give answers to the following questions: <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> How do athletics impact a student’s performance?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> What is the correlation between student athletes and non-athletes graduation rates?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> What benefits do student athletes receive?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Do student athletes receive different treatment from students that are non- athlete? If such is the case, what are the reasons for this? </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Do the privileges that the student athletes receive help them and the non-athlete students to improve their performance in school? </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Has athletics helped improving the student’s performance?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> What can be done so that the drop in graduation rates be stopped?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> What are the factors that contribute for a student to perform well?</li>   Hypothesis Hypothesis is a preliminary assumption or tentative explanation that accounts for a set of facts, taken to be true for the purpose of investigation and testing (Burton & Steane, 2004).In the study the hypothesis includes: <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> The student athletes have more privileges than the non-athlete students. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> The non-athlete students perform well in school than athlete students.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> Athletics has both positive and negative effect to a student’s performance.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> Student’s school performance is affected by athletics.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> The changes in the way student-athlete and non-athlete students are handled can be a big start in improving the education sector. </li>   Literature Search Education system and quality education Management of education systems changes in ways that reflect new insights into education and management but also in ways that reflect ideology. Some highly centralized systems, like those in the Australian states, have devolved authority to regional structures on the basis of claims that regional culture and context should be given expression in education. More recently, some of these systems have gone further in devolving responsibility to schools. In some cases, the justification in advance involves local community ownership and responsibility, and the local structure involves school councils with a strong community voice. In other cases, the justification involves local professional leadership, particularly by the principal, and is based on the view that decentralized management with local discretion yields more professional engagement and greater efficiency. Within the schools, the most complete delegation grants local control over resource allocation. There are some important countervailing trends which are evident in attempts to develop national, or at least state or provincial  goals for education. This is evident in long-standing devolved systems, like those of the USA and England and Wales, and in systems which are at the same time devolving responsibility in other respects, like some of the Australian states (Townsend, 1997).   One of the most severe challenges that the education systems is facing in most countries today is how to meet the demands for higher quality public education within increasingly severe national economic and fiscal constraints. Faced with severe economic pressures, many countries must find new fiscal resources, accept quality deterioration and continued inequity in access, or increase the efficiency with which educational resources are applied to the problems of instructional quality and equity of access (Carrier & Chapman, 1990).   Many interventions that intended to improve education quality have focused on improving a particular dimension of the educational experience for example, teacher training, facilities construction, instructional supervision, or the provision of instructional materials. These interventions often fail because they do not recognize or address the interacting nature of these components (Carrier & Chapman, 1990). Particular attention is given to the issues confronting educational quality improvement in the developing world. This focus is of particular importance since, first, there is substantial evidence of serious declines in educational quality in many developing countries even at a time when massive donor assistance has been directed towards educational improvement; second, developing countries are the focus of many of the large-scale instructional improvement activities. These large-scale projects often try to implement strategies for quality improvement that have not been fully tested on a large scale in more industrialized countries; third, the volatility of social, economic, and political environments that characterize developing countries makes education quality improvement efforts a particularly complex challenge; fourth, lessons from developing countries' experiences often have direct relevance for more developed countries. However, inadequate attention has been given in documenting those lessons as they have occurred in developing country contexts; and fifth the transfer of instructional systems design technology from developed to developing countries has fallen short of expectations because insufficient attention has been paid to contextual differences (Carrier & Chapman, 1990).   Student Athletes In an article by Siegel (2004), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) approved a major reform package designed to change the emphasis of schools and athletes particularly in the big money-making sports, football and basketball put on academics and hold accountable schools with low graduation rates.  The reforms will bring change to college sports. For the first time ever, the NCAA will have the ability to hold institutions and teams accountable for the academic progress of the student athletes. The reforms set standards for academic achievement that athletes and programs must meet and provide penalties if those standards are not met. The penalties include loss of scholarships, probation, and postseason bans. A program could be ranked No. 1 but denied a chance to play for the national title because of a substandard graduation rate. The question is whether reform that metes out such punishment can succeed against the lucrative tide of NCAA athletics. The games played by college athletes mean big business for schools, advertisers, and television networks, attracting many millions of dollars in sponsorship and broadcast-rights deals each year (Siegel 2004). Chronically low graduation rates at high-profile programs prompted a move for change (Simons & Van Rheenen, 2000).   The system had chosen to alter the current culture and encourage improved academic progress. Under eligibility rules that will be phased in between 2005 to 2008, recruits will be required to earn a minimum 2.0 grade-point average in 16 up from 14 core high school classes in English, History, Science and Math. Those grades will be the only factor in determining a player's NCAA eligibility. Standardized tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test and American College Testing will not be considered (Reeves, 1998). Once on campus, an athlete would be required to graduate within five years and complete 20 percent of his degree work each year. Each athlete would be required to maintain at least a 1.8 grade-point average as a freshman and a 2.0 every year thereafter to remain eligible. The NCAA will calculate the Academic Progress Rate (APR) for each scholarship athlete and compute a cumulative APR for each program. Each team will be required to maintain a minimum APR over a four-year period in order to avoid penalties. Players who fail to meet requirements will be ineligible to play, lowering the team APR. Those who leave the school will also lower the team APR, though not severely if they leave in good academic standing. Programs that don't meet the goal will receive warnings. Harsher penalties for chronic offenders, including probation and postseason bans from lucrative events such as the basketball tournament and football bowls, would be levied when the rules fully take effect in 2008 (Reeves, 1998).   Inevitably, any talk of graduation rates eventually turns to race. Blacks account for 24 percent of Division I scholarship athletes, including 60 percent of men's basketball players and 54 percent of football players. A recent study showed that 47 percent of black athletes graduated compared to 64 percent of whites. Black men's basketball players graduated at a 36 percent rate, their white counterparts at a 53 percent rate. In football, white players graduated at a 59 percent rate and blacks at a 44 percent rate. Some coaches fear that the reforms will reduce the number of black athletes that the measures will be difficult to implement in a fair way, that marginal students no longer will be recruited, and that the reforms don't address practical problems that coaches and athletes may face. This move is considered to be racially and geographically biased, penalizing students from school systems in inner cities and rural areas. The reforms will force coaches to get more players from white suburban America and private schools in order to stay academically eligible (Bivens & Leonard II, 1994).   The new reforms are an experiment on a grand scale designed to revolutionize academics in college sports. The reform package fulfills the NCAA's mission of making the education of student athletes paramount in collegiate sports. With these proposals, institutions, teams and coaches will know exactly what they need to accomplish to ensure that their student athletes are progressing in a timely fashion towards completing a degree. If they do not meet the requirements, they will suffer consequence (Just, 2002).   Research Design   This research requires an organized data gathering to answer the objectives. In this lieu, the research will use the descriptive approach employing a qualitative research method. A descriptive research is a type of study that tries to explore the cause of a particular phenomenon, present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study, and portray an accurate profile of persons, events or situations (Creswell, 1994; Robson, 2002). The approach undertaken for such type of study was chosen for a number of reasons. Because the descriptive approach is quick and flexible, three advantages arise: first, when new issues and questions arise during the duration of the study, this approach allows a further investigation; second, when there are unproductive areas from the original plan of the study, the researcher can drop them; and third, the approach is more practical in terms of time and money (Creswell, 1994).    In addition, since the basic focus of the study is on Athletics and student’s performance, the descriptive approach will help to provide a clear picture of the dilemma it creates and why such dilemma occurs (Saunders et al, 2003). Finally, this type of study may serve as an extension or a forerunner to a piece of exploratory research, a valuable research approach employed to: discover what is happening; seek new insights; ask questions; and/or evaluate a phenomenon in a new light (Robson, 2002). On the other hand, the qualitative research method is multi-method in focus and involves an interpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter (LeCompte & Preissle, 1993). In this lieu, qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings that people bring to them (LeCompte & Preissle, 1993). In order to accomplish this, a wide range of interconnected methods are employed in the hope that a better fix on the subject matter will be achieved (LeCompte & Preissle 1993).   Sampling The respondents of the study will be centered from student athletes and non-athlete students. These students can be divided to those performing well and not performing well in school. The student’s understanding of issues surrounding them can be of big help to the study. Due to time constraint and also, for the convenience of the researcher, only fifty (50) respondents were considered for the study. The convenience sampling technique was imposed in the study to pick up the fifty respondents, mainly because the availability of the student athletes and non-athlete students was put into consideration. This part of the study is important because the most important data needed to fulfill the objectives of this study will only be supplied by the student athletes and non-athlete students.   Methods of data collection A large number of methods of data collection and sources of data can be used. This includes self-administered questionnaires, structured interviews, participant observation, unstructured interviewing, structured observation, simulation, and archival information (Bryman, 1995).The study shall use survey using questionnaires and interviews to gather pertinent data. Moreover, the study shall also use previous studies and compare it to its existing data in order to provide conclusions and competent recommendations. Survey can be done either by personal survey, telephone survey, self administered questionnaire, mailed questionnaire, and email questionnaire.   Primary Data The primary source of data will come from a survey using questionnaire and interviews conducted by the researcher. The primary data frequently gives the detailed definitions of terms and statistical units used in the survey. These are usually broken down into finer classifications.   Secondary Data The secondary source of data will come from research through the internet; books, journals, related studies and other sources of information. Acquiring secondary data are more convenient to use because they are already condensed and organized. Moreover, analysis and interpretation are done more easily.   Data Analysis procedures When all the data are gathered, the researcher will employ the following qualitative methods in the data analysis: typology, a classification system, taken from patterns, themes or other kinds of groups of data (Patton 1990); constant comparison/grounded theory, a widely used data analysis method that looks at document, such as field notes, looks for indicators of categories in events and behavior, and compares codes to find consistencies and differences (Strauss 1987); logical analysis/matrix analysis, an outline of generalized causation, logical reasoning process, etc., and uses flow charts, diagrams, and the like, to pictorially represent these causation, reasoning process, etc., as well as written descriptions (Ratcliff 2002); and, event analysis/microanalysis method, where the emphasis is on finding precise beginnings and endings of events by finding specific boundaries and things that mark boundaries or events (Ratcliff 2002).   Ethics and human relations Possible threats to participants and steps to minimize the threats To the participants of the study, this can lead to rift between the student athletes and non-athlete students. The study can also discourage students to be athletes. The study can also lower the morale of athletes and can minimize school spirit. To minimize the threat, the things that can be done include explaining to the students that the study does not intend to discourage them to be athletes. The students will also be informed that the study aims not to degrade but to help them to perform better and bring more pride and honor to the school.   Procedures to gain cooperation of participants To gain the cooperation of participants initially the intention, aims, and benefit of the study will be explained to them. The second procedure is to give them the outmost assurance that their identities and answers will be treated in strict confidentiality. The third procedure is giving them a background of why the study was initiated and what will happen if they participated in the study.   Timeline As shown in the table, the study will last for more than a month. This is done to ensure that everything will be done accordingly. Although not stated, it is implied that the first and foremost step is to have this proposal approved. Every step in the study is given at least a week to be finished so that time will not be wasted and at the same time; the accomplishment of the steps will not be hurried too much.

Athletics and Student’s Performance-- A Proposal

Purpose of the study Statement of purpose This study aims to create understanding of the relationship of athleti...