Authority, Readership & Perception

Theory: Rule #1

• All perceptions stem from prior experiences including culture, family, education, and myths.
• The multitude of stimuli influencing perceptions are constantly increasing.

Authority & Readership: Authority

• 'Authoring' is the act of writing and capturing knowledge from a specific viewpoint.
• An 'author' is a recognized expert or reference point in a field.
• Canonicity establishes a relationship to authority, and is a list of great works worthy of academic study.
• Michel Foucault's concept of authorship suggests authors provide guideposts and boundaries for meaning-making.
• "Greatness" is subjective, determined by what we choose to highlight, with increased coverage leading to diverse opinions.
• Considerations such as: who gets a voice and how do we determine who is worthy are important questions to ask.

Authority & Readership: Sports "Authored"

• It's important to consider if sports are "authored."
• Distinguish what is objective in sports from what is subjective.
• Consider motivations for watching/playing sports and the meaning-making that occurs.

Authority & Readership: Readership

• Meaning-making is rooted in the arbitrary nature of language.
• Words are signifiers and actual objects are referents.
• Social and historical context is needed to make meaning.

Social Sciences: Definition

• Social sciences study humans in social relations, including economics, anthropology, political science, psychology, and sociology.
• Social sciences are useful in developing critical thinking skills and senses of right and wrong.
• Studying social science prepares individuals to be better citizens, add value at work, and understand themselves.
• Humanities and social sciences are key to critical thinking, reasoning, and writing skills, and prepare individuals for civic life and the workforce and STEM.

Social Sciences: Economics

• Economics studies scarcity, resource use, and decision-making.
• Topics include scarcity, decision-making, and money.
• Economics helps understand historical trends, interpret headlines, and make predictions.
• In sports, economics informs analytics and fantasy sports.

Social Sciences: Business Science

• Business science includes management, accounting, marketing, finance, information systems, business ethics, and quantitative decision-making.

Social Sciences: Anthropology

• Anthropology studies what makes us human through a holistic approach.
• The American Anthropological Association recognizes four subfields of Anthropology: archeology, biological, cultural and linguistic.
• Archeology studies beginnings of sports and training techniques.
• Biological studies differences that don't necessarily exist.
• Cultural studies how societies of the past operated.
• Linguistic studies how societies communicate about different sports/words/phrases.
• Sport can be considered within each of these subfields.

Social Sciences: Political Science

• Political science studies political and governmental institutions and processes.
• Large sports organizations need political understanding to maneuver.
• Examples include: The NCAA as a member organization, the NFHS as a rule making group and the IOC as a commerce engine.

Social Sciences: Psychology

• Psychology studies the behavior of individuals and their mental processes.
• In sports, psychology includes performance coaching, associative needs, and deviant behavior.

Social Sciences: Sociology

• Sociology studies society, social relationships, social interaction, and culture.
• Includes how we interact with others in and through sport.
• In sports, structural considerations include:
• Access: Who has it, how is it maintained, and who could benefit?
• Development: How do we emphasize it, and what do we build?
• Distribution of attention: Who should be paid attention to?
• Interplay of constructions: How do social and physical constructions relate?

Management: Definition

• Management involves meeting goals or objectives within limited resources with and through people.

Management: Goal

• The goal of sport managers is to get workers to do what the manager wants efficiently and cost-effectively.
• Management theory evolved through scientific management and the human relations movement.
• Today management utilizes organizational behavior.
• Studies the human side of management and organizations.

Management: Scientific Management

• Taylorism, or scientific management, suggests workers perform jobs in the "one best way" found through scientific processes.
• Managers can motivate workers to perform best through economic rewards.

Management: Human Relations

• Hawthorne studies find social factors in the workplace are important.
• Job satisfaction and output depend more on cooperation and feeling of worth.
• Mary Parker Follett suggests effective management exists in partnership and cooperation.

Management: Organizational Behavior

• Organizational behavior studies the human side of management and organizations.
• Managers restructure organizations to improve productivity.
• Current theory includes employee involvement and empowerment.
• The managerial role has moved from dictator to facilitator.

Management: Functional Areas

• Sport managers must perform in different functional areas and execute various activities.
• These areas include:
• Planning: defining organizational goals and appropriate means.
• Organizing: putting plans into action, determining jobs, and staffing.
• Leading: delegation and management/resolving of conflicts.
• Evaluating: measuring progress toward objectives by establishing reporting systems, performance standards and designing reward systems.

Management: Major Keys

• Management should be defined by managers so employees have clear direction.
• Understand how we've shifted in management practices from Taylorism to organizational behavior, through understanding human relations.
• Be specific with your POLE functional areas.

Management: Key Skills

• People Skills are necessary in a "people-intensive" industry.
• Important to treat all people fairly, ethically, and with respect.
• Communication skills mean; knowing how to say something is as important as knowing what to say.
• Professional and courteous interactions can win a lifelong fans.
• Sport managers must be able to write and speak in many different styles.
• Managing Diversity means understanding differences including age, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, education, and social background.
• Women and minorities are underrepresented in managerial positions in the sport industry.
• There are many components of the employment process that businesses must oversee.

Management: Managing Technology

• Technology is used in customer data collection and advanced ticket systems.
• Also used for videoconferencing, multimedia presentations, computerized ticketing systems, and online surveys.

Management: Decision Making

• Decision Making involves understanding the opportunity or problem.
• Utilizing the decision-making process to make an effective decisions.
• Participative decision making allows employees to participate in the decision-making process.
• Group decision making should be used when more ideas need to be generated, there is a great deal of information to share, alternative perspectives are needed, and the fairness of the decision is highly valued

Management: Organizational Politics

• Organizational Politics is when you use power or other resources outside of the formal definition of a job to get a preferred outcome.
• Includes political tactics such as coalitions, outside experts, links/networks, and controlling information.
• Sport organizations have formal and informal leaders--new sport managers can understand politics of a sport organization through this lens.

Management: Managing Change

• A manager should:
• Appreciate and plan for employees' resistance to change.
• Select priorities for change and deliver early tangible results.
• Publicize successes and ensure top management support.

Management: Motivation

• Motivation is critical for everyone to be on the same page with organizational goals.
• Many theories exist, including Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two factor ideas, Vroom's expectancy theory, and Adam's equity theory.
• Katzell and Thompson specify appropriate motives and values, attractive and consistent jobs, defined work goals, appropriate resources and supportive environments, performance reinforcement, and harmony.
• Herzberg's two-factor theory includes:
• Hygienes (environmental): company policies, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations, and work conditions; absence causes dissatisfaction, presence is a neutral state.
• Motivators: achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, and advancement; create satisfaction by fulfilling individuals' needs for meaning and personal growth.

Management: Taking Initiative

• Initiative allows you to learn about different functions of your sport organization.
• Helps you meet and interact with people outside of your office and expand your network.
• Shows your employer your commitment to working in the sports industry.

Management: Current Issues

• Issues include:
• Focusing on diversity, performing self-studies to evaluate effectiveness of recruitment and employment of diverse individuals.
• Managing technology to understand how it will improve customer relations and service.
• Understanding that domestic models of sport governance cannot be unilaterally imposed on other cultures.
• Focusing on empowerment and emotional intelligence in new management theories.

Finance: Key concepts

• Finance is concerned with how an organization generates funds and how these funds are allocated and spent.

Finance: Basic components

• Income statement is a summary of profit and loss during a certain period.
• Cash flow statement is a summary of sources and uses of cash over a period of time.
• Balance sheet is a snapshot in time of the financial condition of an organization.
• Divided into assets, liabilities, and SE (A = L + SE).
• Assets are anything an organization owns that can generate future revenues.
• Teams can finance assets through owner's equity (SE) and debt.
• College sports are nonprofit and use budgetary transfers from the university and other innovative methods.

Finance: Pro sports revenue

• In 2019 MLB Franchise with the greatest annual revenue was the NY Yankees at $375m.
• In 2019 NFL Franchise with the greatest annual revenue was the Washington at $345m.
• In 2019 NBA Franchise with the greatest annual revenue was the NY Knicks at $208m.
• In 2019 NHL Franchise with the greatest annual revenue was the Toronto at $160m.
• In 2019 European Soccer Franchise with the greatest annual revenue was Real Madrid at $576m.
• In 2021 Franchise with the greatest valuation worldwide was the Dallas Cowboys at $5b.

Finance: College Sports Revenue

• In 2008, Alabama had the greatest revenue at $123.8m.
• Revenues come from TV and marketing, championships, investments, and other sources like donations, services, and development.

Finance: Key concepts of sports economics

• The existence of one franchise benefits the others, as they face no direct competition.
• This gives them greater bargaining power when dealing with stakeholders and allows them to potentially charge higher prices.
• They can earn higher profits and enact financial policies, such as salary caps and revenue sharing.
• Professional sports leagues are only legal monopolies in USA

Sport Event Management: Definition

• Sport event management includes all functions related to the planning, implementation (organizing, leading), and evaluation of sport-related events.

Sport Event Management: Areas to consider

• Finance/budgeting involves predicting revenues and expenses for an event.
• Scale of event dictates the budget needed.
• Budget model can be:
• Zero-based: Reviewing all activities and related costs as if it were the first time.
• Cash-flow: Accounting for the receipt and timing of all sources and expenditures of cash.
• Risk management is protecting the organization from anything that could lead to loss.
• Can be managed using DIM process: developing, implementing, and managing the risk management plan.
• May require purchasing insurance to provide security against potential financial losses.
• Tournament operations are the nuts and bolts of an event.
• Divided into pre-event, actual event, and post-event activities.
• The pre-event the type of event being planned and the event's goals are determined.
• A script is a specific, detailed, minute-by-minute schedule of activities throughout the day.
• Post event activities surround completion of event and may be an evaluation of scoreboard time.

Sport Event Management: Registration and Volunteer Management

• Registration makes the staff come into contact with participants for the first time.
• The registration system is crucial for making a good first impression on clientele.
• System involves determining information that needs to be collected and disseminated during the registration process.
• Most events need volunteers to be successful.
• Requires determination of volunteer needs, recruitment, training, and volunteer satisfaction.

Sport Event Management: Event Marketing

• Event marketing includes invitations and an integrated marketing approach: corporate sponsorship, advertising, public relations, hospitality, ticket sales, broadcasting, website development, licensing/merchandising, and fundraising.
• Corporate Sponsorship
• Events rely on sponsorship but competition for sponsors has increased.
• Is commonly sold by the event (in-house) or by an outside sport marketing agency (IOC).
• Advertising
• Advertising expenditures are a minor part of an event's expenses.
• Advertising sought through media sponsors or corporate sponsor advertisements.
• Trade-out sponsorships occur when the event provides the typical sponsorship benefits in exchange for free advertising space.
• Public Relations
• Generating free publicity is important.
• A good working relationship with the media is required (through hospitality).
• Press conferences can be used to introduce the event.

Sport Event Management: Hospitality, Ticketing and Broadcasting

• Hospitality should provide a satisfying experience for all stakeholders of the event.
• One way of improving event loyalty.
• Rewards and builds relationships with current customers; generate business from new customers; rewards employees for good performance; rewards suppliers for excellent sales
• Hospitality is one the 10 most common functions of a sport agency
• Sporting events rely on ticket sales to varying degrees.
• For medium-sized and smaller events, ticket sales are less effective way to generate revenues
• The ability to charge admission is dependent on where the event occurs and how easily the event manager can control entry to the event
• Radio/television broadcasts add credibility to an event and provide increased exposure, benefiting sponsors.
• If a broadcast outlet does not feel an event will be attractive to a large audience, it will not be willing to pay a rights fee to televise or broadcast the event.
• The event promotor can also use a barter agreement or purchase airtime directly from outlet

Sport Event Management: Website Development, Licensing/Merchandising, Fundraising

• Imperative that any event, has website to provide important information and promote the event.
• The website and URL should be the name of the even or something that is very close to the name of the event.
• Website should provide basic event details: when/where the event is occurring, how tickets can be purchases for the event, online ticket purchase option, news releases, and so forth
• Sale of items that display an event's name or logo.
• Usually only beneficial for large, televised, multi day events.
• To cover the costs of inventory, staffing, and space allocation, significant sales must be achieved for the event to make a profit
• Not-for-profit events can use fundraising as a means of revenue generation.
• Events can also focus on raising money for some charitable enterprise.
• Cause-related marketing efforts by corporations are another instance in which fundraising may be appropriate

Sport Management/Marketing Agencies

• According to rankings:
• The top corporate consulting/marketing service is Octagon.
• The top athlete/talent representations is IMG.
• The top property representation and media sales agency is IMG.
• The top event planning and management agency is SportsMark Management Group.

Sport Management/Marketing Agencies: Agency Functions

• Agency functions include:
• Client representation in contract negotiations.
• Client marketing -- finding endorsements/booking appearances.
• Event development and management.
• Meeting demands for television production work.
• Developing/marketing grassroots programs.
• Soliciting corporate sponsorships.
• Evaluating the success of events through market research.
• Studying impact of sponsorship activities.
• Financial planning.

Sport Management/Marketing Agencies: Types of Agencies

• Full-service agencies perform the complete set of agency functions.
• Specialized agencies limit either the scope of services performed or the type of clients serviced.
• In-house agencies are formations of separate departments or divisions dealing with event management within major corporations.

Sport Management/Marketing Agencies: Career Opportunities

• The event management field offers lucrative career opportunities.
• The successful candidate must be prepared to work long hours.
• Careers in event management involve working with sport management/marketing agencies, events, and charities.

Sport Management/Marketing Agencies: Current Issues

• Vertical Integration has Agencies controlling all aspects of an event.
• This raises a potential ethical dilemma.
• Consolidation of Agencies due to benefits of vertical integration.
• Larger, diversified companies purchases sport management/marketing agencies.
• Made-for-TV Events have generated profit for appealing to large television audiences.
• Increased outlets provide sport programming and need to attract audiences.

Marketing: Definition

• Sport marketing includes all activities designed to meet the needs and wants of sport consumers through exchange processes.

Marketing: Thrusts

• In marketing, there are two thrusts:
• Marketing of sport products and services to sports consumers.
• Marketing of other consumer and industrial products or services through sport promotion.

Marketing: Creating Demand

• Hype and suspense should be created around events.
• Market to a 12-month calendar that includes events outside of the regular season.

Marketing: The Marketing Mix

• Marketing Mix consists of controllable variables that a company puts together to satisfy a target group.

Marketing: Five "P"s

• Product: the actual event/experience and product supplements/extensions.
• Price is driven by value or perceived value like tickets.
• May also utilize variable pricing and mini plans.
• Place: Pre selling and exceptional locations
• Promotion Advertising, publicity, and sales promotion like deals and packages.
• Includes non-price promotions include things like fireworks nights or bobbleheads.
• Personal selling: Included in promotion

Marketing: Segmentation

• Dividing broad consumer market into sub-groups of consumers with similar characteristics
• Demographic, geographic, psychographic, behavioral
• Purpose: specialize marketing mix

Marketing: Sales Escalator

• The Sales Escalator is the visual of the possible path a consumer can take to become a devoted fan
• From prospect to loyal fan
• What does the bottom of the escalator look like?

Marketing: Relationship Marketing

• When a company tries to create, maintain, and enhance strong long-term relationships with customers
• End result: customer loyalty

Marketing: Current Issues

• The cost of attendance is increasing in major sports leagues.
• There is increasing evidence fans are not willing or able to pay such prices.
• Fans need to see the value of attending a game to purchase tickets.
• There is a significant challenge for sport marketers to develop relationship marketing strategies to increase revenues for sport teams.

Marketing: Major key points

• Know the definition of marketing.
• Know the two thrusts of sport marketing.
• Remember the Five Ps of sport marketing.