Sports Management: Case Studies, Assignments, Projects

Case studies, assignments, projects related to sport management education that helps provide a deep understanding of the business of sports.

Planning, Writing Reports & Complex Documents

Assignment: Restructuring a Recreation Center (Facilities Management)

You have just been appointed general coordinator of youth sport at a respectable Athletic Recreation Center. On the first day in office, the club manager calls you to your office. After the formalities of welcome and presentations, he asks you to start thinking whether it is necessary to reform the current organizational structure in the sports sections for youth sports. The manager had been discussing this aspect with the different sport managers in each sport section, although these discussions did not lead to any kind of consensus, since they were based only on their subjective perceptions. This was not enough to raise a proposal to the club’s Board of Directors. In 48 hours you are invited to a meeting in which you will have to explain what you propose to answer your concerns.

While it is impossible to assess in two days whether to modify the management of youth sport in the club but you can propose the next steps to be able to decide. Explain the sequence of actions you would take to decide on the problem raised by the manager.

• What would you analyse?
• Who should participate in the process?
• Which major sections would include the final report?
• How much time would you need to carry out the proposed actions?

The aim of this exercise is to understand what you would do for each of the questions asked.

Assignment:

You are employed by Workplace Solutions Agency. Your task is to plan the draft, edit and write a report on a Sports and Leisure Centre using the materials provided and the Workplace Solutions Agency report style guide.

The target audience for the report is the manager of the Sports and Leisure Centre. Your assessor will adopt the role of the manager in a simulated client consultation. Your report should be approximately 1,000–1,500 words.

Carefully read the Sports and Leisure Centre report findings. Analyse, generate ideas, research and plan an outline for the writing task scenario in the assessment description. Gather documents you have produced while planning, such as:

• a. PAMS analysis
• b. brainstorming activities
• c. mind mapping
• d. outline.

Meet with the manager of the Sports and Leisure Centre to discuss your planning process. In your meeting, carry out the following. a. Present the documentation you have produced.
b. Describe your planning process by answering the following questions.
i. Look at your PAMS analysis. What is the purpose of the writing task and how will you achieve this?
ii. What is the most appropriate document format for this task and why is it appropriate to the task?

PAMS Analysis

P: Purpose: Explain the working of Moortown Sports and Leisure Centre and list findings

A: Audience: Moortown Sports and Leisure Centre manager

M: Message – Analyze, list problem areas and suggest improvements

S: Style: Report (size 16 font for section heading, size 12 font for body text, 1.5 line spacing)

Brainstorming Activities

• The Five Whys: Ask “why is this happening?”
• SWOT Analysis
• Starbursting: At the center of the star, write the challenge or opportunity, at each point of the star, write one of the following words: who, what, where, when, why, and how…to generate questions

Mind Mapping

The report will be structured as follows: Title page, Acknowledgments, Executive summary, Table of contents, Operational structure, Communication, Marketing and promotion, Recommendations.

Your assessor will be looking for a final report that:

• is structured correctly for a report and task
• has an executive summary that includes: outline of report, method of research, at least two areas of concern ○ at least two broad recommendations.
• uses findings to analyse: operational structure – communication – marketing.
• makes at least two recommendations
• uses correct spacing, heading size and style specified by style guide
• uses language and style appropriate to task and audience: tone, vocabulary, sentence structure, etc.
• uses a complex, coherent structure of linked paragraphs with simple and complex grammar as appropriate for the task: ○ linking words ○ lexical chains ○ compound sentences ○ subordinate clauses.
• includes graphical elements: least two, appropriately formatted (including the additional information provided by assessor) – collation and presentation of data.
• integrates additional information with the original draft
• adheres to all task requirements such as word limit