A sport organization, like any other one, needs efficient management that is based on the latest principles and is aligned with the key theses of a specific theory. In addition, it is essential to keep in mind that, due to the recent technological breakthrough, as well as the new health concerns stemming from environmental, economical and other issues of the XXI century.
Sport organizations have taken a new shape, which strategic management must reflect. By taking a closer look at some of the current management related sport issues, one can assess the present-day situation and provide solutions to the most urgent concerns of such sports organizations as NGBs.
It is worth stressing that the issue of sport organizations management can be approached from several angles, depending on the scope, depth and field of a research. Indeed, no matter how well funded a sports organization might be, it has to consider the current economical and financial situation within the state in order to stay afloat.
Thus, the necessity to analyze the current market with its numerous competitors and calculate the possible financial losses, the associated risks, the costs demanded by inbound and outbound logistic strategies, etc. appears.
The aforementioned issues take the process of a sport organization evolution to business setting. Most sources state that a sport organization needs to use Internet as its acquisition tool more often (Beech & Chadwick 2004, p. 344)
When it comes to the arrangement of events held by the organization in question, various issues regarding the mechanisms of the organizational processes are to be considered. (Westerbeek, Smith & Turner 2005, p. 80) In other words, time and communication issues are top priorities in the given case, which means that time management strategies, as well as a combination of leadership approaches, must be mentioned.
There is no secret that the internal processes, which occur within an organization, define its position among the rivals; therefore, a careful evaluation of the organization’s assets will help one attract the largest number of people (Lussiert & Kimball 2009, p. 11).
Like any other organization, the one that holds sport related events and encourages sporty lifestyle, at the same time supporting several sport teams and owning a particular sports club must offer the services of the finest quality to the clients, which is unattainable for a company in which information is distributed unequally and slowly.
Consequently, knowledge management, as one of the many aspects of a company communication processes, much be reconsidered (Houlihan, B & White, A 2002, p. 7). Introducing information sharing seems to be the most reasonable way out of the possible problems, as the latest researches explain.
As Hoye, Smith, Westerbeek, Stewart & Nicholson (2006) emphasize, when it comes to sport organizations management, the use of mixed strategies is especially efficient, with the transformational strategy being the dominant one (Hoye, Smith, Westerbeek, Stewart & Nicholson 2006, p. 11).
Finally, the safety issue must be mentioned. Encouraging safety awareness and providing high quality equipment for sport events allows avoiding a number of possible complexities, such as being sued for an accident during a game, which was funded by the organization in question (Hylton, Bramham, Jackson, & Nesti 2006, p. 4).
By far the most important aspect of a sport organization clockwork, health concerns include both taking care of the safety issues (or, in case of emergencies and accidents, being able to offer the clients fast and efficient first aid) and promoting to the largest amount of people, therefore, recruiting new customers.
Shannon (2002) explains that the given aspect of a sport organization coordination is the most difficult to handle, since it incorporates healthcare issues and legal concerns that one may possibly face within the setting of a game involving an injury threat.
Indeed, even with the most efficient safety system, which has been enhanced to the maximum, accident may happen, and players will get injuries in the process of training or the match, no matter what safety regulations are provided.
Therefore, it is mandatory that a sport organization should think through the legal issues that may possibly emerge. According to Shannon, it is imperative for a sport organization, or any other kind of organization with the setting that is potentially dangerous for the players’ health, to be aware of the current laws and regulations concerning the arrangement of sport events, as well as their use and maintenance (Shannon 2002, p. 7).
In addition, the way in which the safety statement of an organization is put defines the level of liability of the organization and its members, Shannon explains (2002). Therefore, among the key management issues that one must focus on, a careful consideration of the existing legislation and the definition of the organization’s safety statement must be given the top priority.
The process of managing a sport organization is admittedly a very complicated task, which includes the necessity to utilize not only the latest information concerning health, sports and other sports related issues, but also highly efficient time management strategies, strategies of coordinating the work of the staff and solving the conflicts emerging among the staff members, making sure that any kind of profiling, whether racial or gender related, and many other functions.
However, by getting the organization’s priorities straight and adopting the approaches that suit the organization’s vision and mission, one will be able to organize safe and exciting sport events, ensure safety and provide decent working conditions.
Reference List
Beech, J & Chadwick, S 2004, The business of sport management, Pearson Education, London, UK.
Houlihan, B & White, A 2002, The politics of sports development, Routledge, London, UK.
Hoye, R, Smith, A, Westerbeek, H, Stewart, B & Nicholson, M 2006, Sport management principles and applications, Elsevier, London.
Hylton, K, Bramham, P, Jackson, D & Nesti, M 2006, Sports development: policy, process & practice, Routledge, London, UK.
Lussiert, R N & Kimball, D C 2009, Applied sport management skills, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.
Shannon, J 2002, Health and safety: law and practice, Roundhall, Dublin.
Westerbeek, H, Smith, A & Turner, E P 2005, Managing sport facilities and major events, Allen & Unwin, Australia.