Sport Management Book Review

Ruben R. Rush

TDM 401 – Tourism Management

14 October 2009

Review of Popular Management Book

Sport Management Principles and Applications

Butterworth – Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803. ISBN – 13: 978-07506-6676-2, ISBN – 10: 0-7506-6676-5; 229 pages, paperback

This unique sport management book showcases an extensive examination of moral and ethical concepts, principles, and issues in sport management administration, sport organization and operation of sport management. In the introductory chapter, it presents what is sport management, unique features of sports, and the environment of sport management, three sectors of sports, and the difference about sports management. The growth and professionalization of sports has driven changes in the consumption, production and management of sporting events and organizations at all levels (Chapter 1). The unique feature of sport is the phenomenon of students and / or people having a passion for athletes, competitions, and professional sport teams. Sport management is concise in the areas of economic and social activity in the country. In the sport management environment, there are two sides: consumers and the government. The consumer can watch any elite sporting event (Olympic Games, English Premier League Football, National Football League, and Major League Baseball) through cable television, free air television; listen to them on the radio; and read about their favorite player or player’s statistics online or in the newspaper. The governments’ viewpoint of elite sporting events is a way to nationalism, economic development, and social development for the country as a whole. In chapter 2, it talks about the roles of the state in sport development. Today the state government institutions, provides a complex array of sport facilities and service. Many sport stadiums throughout the world were initially financed by government funds and while subsequently controlled and operated by independent operators, are subject to government legislation and policy guidelines (Chapter 2) In chapter 3 its goes over the roles of the nonprofit sector in sports development. It looks at why nonprofit sport has a huge part in the provision on sport participation opportunities. Chapter 3 also looks at the governing bodies of sports, the sports club environment (Administrators, Coaches, Officials, and General Volunteers), government intervention, and issues for the nonprofit sport sector. Chapter 4 inspects the key roles of professional sport organizations and looks at the unique features of professional sport leagues and clubs. Chapter 4 reviews the relationship between sport organizations and professional sports and the impact that professional sports has on the sport industry. Professional sports are the most expensive and most watched sporting event. Professional sports and the industry that surrounds it dominates world sport and those that play it are cultural celebrities on a global scale. Local, regional, state, and national sports organizations are often geared around feeding professional sport leagues by developing player talent or spectator interest. (Chapter 4) Chapter 5 analyzes the process and techniques of strategic management. Chapter 5 focuses on the analysis of an organization’s position in the competitive environment, the determination of its direction and goal, and the selection of an appropriate strategy. In the competitive environment analysis is the five forces analyses, which are 1. The threat of new entrants: At any time an organization is faced with the possibility that new competitors could enter their industry. 2. The bargaining power of buyers: Individuals, groups, and companies that purchase the products and services that the sport organization offers. 3. The bargaining power of suppliers: Raw materials essential to sporting organizations threaten to raise prices or withdraw their products or services. 4. The threat of substitute product and service: The traditional sport industry sectors are expanding, and it is more common for different sports to compete against each other. 5. The intensity of rivalry among competitors in an industry: More sports organizations offering virtually identical products and services as each other, which brings the higher intensity of rivalry. Chapter 6 and 7 reviews the organizational structure and the human resource management of sports development. Chapter 6 provides the unique feature of how sport organizations are structured and the principles for managing organizational structures within a community, state, national, and professional sport organizations. Chapter 7 looks at the most important concepts of human resource management within a sport organization, such as volunteer management and paid staff management. Chapter 7 also looks at non – sport organization and professional sport organization and their chief executive officers, general managers and other senior executives often receive performance bonuses and have access to share options that allow them to share in the wealth and profitability of the company. Chapter 8 reviews the role of leadership in sport management. Leadership is probably the most research topic but the least understood in the context of sport management. When there is leadership there has to be followersip too. In chapter 8 it states, Irrespective of the diversity of opinion in both academic and popular writings most leadership authors agree on one of the most basic of leadership principles: Leadership implies direction. One cannot lead if there is no destination or anticipated outcome. Even if the followers do not exactly know the destinations or anticipated outcome, the leader should at least have some understanding of where he or she will lead towards. Chapter 9 observes the influence of organizational culture in sports. In many countries sports has for some time been regarded as a particularly important social institution. A trait common too many sport organizational cultures, and one that many are seeking to change. However, the influence of the national culture means that such changes are more likely to occur in some nations than others. (Chapter 9) Chapter 10 talks about sports governance and what are the roles. Governance is necessary for all groups – nation states, corporate entities, societies, associations, and sport organizations – to function properly and effectively. (Chapter 10) This chapter talks about the theory of sport governance on how it provides a unique overview of the development of theories of corporate governance. Some of the important theories applied to the study of organizational governance include agency theory, stewardship theory, institutional theory, resource dependence theory, network theory, and stakeholder theory. The last chapter of this Sport Management book studies the ways sport organizations can manage their operations and evaluate their performance. Sport organizations face two conflicting models of organizational behavior when deciding upon their underlying mission and goals. The first is the profit maximization model, which assumes that a club is simply a firm in a perfectly competitive product market ant that profit is the single driving motivational force. The second is the utility maximization model, which emphasizes the rivalry between clubs, and their desire to win as many games as possible. (Chapter 11) This Sport management book will introduce you to the management principles within a sport organizations operating at the community, state, national, and professional level of sports. It will also give you insight on how international sport organization practices the range of management in sports. This is the review Barnes and Noble gives Sport Management: principles and application second edition provides a comprehensive introduction to the practical application of management principles within sport organisations, ideal for all students studying sport management at an introductory level. It presents an international balanced view between accepted practice and what research evidence tells us about the application of a range of management principles and practices in sport. (Barnes 2009)

Works Cited

Sports Management: Principles and Applications. January 2009. Barnesandnoble.com. 9 October 2009. <http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Sport-Management/Russell-Hoye/e/9780750687553>