Unique Features and Historical Influences in Sports Management
Question 1
Two Unique Features of Sports Management
Sports Management has been divided into two contrasting perspectives. This is making sports management a unique aspect. First of all, sports management has been divided into a unique enterprise where sports are considered a unique cultural institution that has some special features which are supposed to be managed differently. The second aspect is that sport is generally looked at as a business and nothing more and considered as a generic business enterprise (Adair & Megan, 2011). These two aspects make sports management very unique. Sports always come under a lot of scrutiny and criticism both inside and outside the field. The current issues, practices and activities that athletes receive are always too demanding. This is making sports management to be very unique. At the same time, there is always the rational aspect of unique performance evaluation where there is a conflict between financial performance and the overall performance of the team. It can be very difficult to balance between the physical performance of the team about the financial performance.
Sports as a Business
It is not easy to manage sports and turn it into a business. This is because aspects of winning the premiership and remaining accountable making the stakeholders and members profitable is always challenging. However, some of the sporting activities have remained significant financial institutions for their stakeholders. This is because they can achieve a lot of financial gains and revenues. At the same time, sports management must ensure that business in sports requires competitive balance. This means that there must be an aspect of quality and discipline. The level of uncertainty and outcomes as predicted by the funds is also making sports management a challenge (Behrendt, Cunneen, Libesman, & Watson, 2019). At the same time, sports is a seasonal business which must be managed properly to understand the effects. The degree of high brand loyalty is also affecting market shares and expansion plans in the sports business. For that reason, the sports managers are supposed to apply clear business logic and management techniques so that they are sustaining the club in terms of events and tickets. It is also necessary to attract members of the club to purchase sporting equipment and even donate their time to help run volunteer sporting organizations.
It is also important to look at the aspect of the financial implication of sports management. Sporting organizations are always under scrutiny for performance. For example, winning the premiership is likely to provide stakeholders and members with financial gains. It is also meeting the communitys pride. On the other hand, this is likely to have a huge impact on the process of management. There have been arguments and debates that certain leagues are functional as single business entities while others are viewed as joint ventures or cartels that are independently operated like franchises.
Sports as a Cultural Institution
Most people view sports as a cultural institution because of how the sport is related to goals and achievements on values, passion and desire. It is required that sports managers maintain the tradition by connecting the nostalgic aspects of sports consumption. This is by ensuring that they can capitalize on people's desires during the events to completely sustain their sporting activities (Cottle & Angela, 2010). The culture which is highly rooted in brand loyalty means that most of the fans are not likely to switch their allegiance. The degree of brand loyalty is usually very high and this also affects the sports as a culture. Sports develop a sense of togetherness and it is a social-inclusive aspect that is bringing together individuals and communities. Sports have been used to overcome differences and encourage dialogue in the past (Coakley, 2011). It has also been used to break down prejudice, stereotypes and cultural differences especially as seen through the fight against racism. Sports are used to stop ignorance, intolerance and discrimination and remain a key aspect of cultural development. Sports have special features that are unique in terms of culture that at the same time must be used as a generic business enterprise. Australians are seen to have a passion for sports and therefore sports managers are supposed to integrate culture into the sports so that there is a connection between the tradition and strategic aspect of sports consumption (Dean, 2018). The emotional connection to clubs must also inherently be attributed to the cultural diversity of sports. These aspects make sports management unique.
Question 2
Colonization and Immigration as a Shaping Factor in Early Australian Sports
Australian sports history has a deep rich history that is linked to its culture. Sports remain a mirror of so many things and it also reflects the social and political aspects of Australia. It is argued that sports in Australia were mainly influenced by the English settlements. Sports in Australia were influenced by the British who were prominent soccer players but also engaged in basketball, volleyball, water polo and weight lifting (Atalay, 2020). Australian sports are also known to have grown from different cultures and significant ideas from immigrants who contributed to its growth. The immigrants also contributed widely in swimming, athletics gymnastics, skiing and shooting. The history of sports in Australia has always understated the influence of immigrants contribution to sports. Meanwhile, there is a great recognition of sports people from different ethnic backgrounds and their contribution to national and international sports.
Sports history in Australia cannot fail to mention the contribution of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. This is because they played cultural effects in transforming sports in Australia. The physical activities engaged in sports created the competitive physical ritual of the daily life of the indigenous communities (Dean, 2018). Sports were also inculcated in the form of recreational activities that indicated the daily way of life of the indigenous communities. The environment also demanded that there be a psychological fit for the indigenous communities to enable them to survive. In most cases the children were also encouraged to always go participate in supporting activities like running, jumping and climbing.
The British culture impacted Australian sports. The colonial era considered sports as a lovely and important social function which was mainly valued by the British Empire. This aspect was also cemented within the Australian culture. The first 150 years of colonization by the British in Australia saw the nation improve in its sporting activities which were more durable and elated in the form of identification for the imperial powers (Darnell & Linda, 2011). Most of the Aboriginal groups that survived the European invasion were forced to take part in sporting activities as a form of leisure. This means that sporting activities were not voluntary but mandatory for the indigenous communities. With time sports changed and created a means of survival for most of the indigenous communities because it was designed as a cultural activity.
Female exclusion from sports is one of the notable aspects that were seen to be propagated by the Australian colonizers (Evans, 2023). One of the most notable events is the Aboriginal cricket team of 1868 comprised of 13 cricketers who sailed to England from Victoria (poifis, Demelza, & Andrew, 2017). It was the first Australian cricket team tour for the country. There was also an intercolonial competition that was restricted because of lack of transport. There was also a lack of government involvement and this led to fragmentation of the Australian sports management which emphasized volunteerism, especially through funding the membership subscription as a form of social activity to attract donors.
During the mid-colonial period very, few sports developed but there were still pre-existing sports such as horse, racing, cricket and boxing that continued to develop. After the colonial period, sports were able to develop much further because of social development. The discovery of gold created a lot of wealth and a population explosion. Technological advancement in terms of sports and the invention of the light bulb also enabled sports to continue and grow in Australia. The ability of the local government to take over social responsibility in providing and maintaining basic sports facilities also saw the development of sports in Australia. In the year 1850, there was the establishment of private secondary schools and universities which also encouraged participation in sports as a process of education (Murray & Tim, 2023). Progress in terms of transportation which made overseas competition easy also enhanced competition among teams leading to national pride and confidence within the Australian population.
Recently there have been other developments that also promoted sports in Australia. For example, in 1974 the first sports minister was appointed and that prompted the government to begin funding, developing and supporting sports activities in Australia. The Australian Institute of Sport was established 7 years later when there was a lot of government intervention, especially in sports development (National Museum Australia, 2023). Currently, sports are being viewed as a channel of self-esteem and a symbol of nationalism. For that reason, most sports athletes have dedicated their pride in sports to help overcome societal class divisions while the government is still spending a lot of money on high-performance sporting activities. Sports is also considered as a major source of income and this has attracted a lot of donors hence promoting sports development in Australia.
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