Organizational structure of the Special Olympics (Group 6)

WWE evaluation

·          No it is not a sport. There is a pre-determined outcome. It is more for entertainment purposes and is a live production.

·         No it is not a sports organization because it is not an pre entity in the sports industry. It qualifies with all other parameters. It has a focus on entertainment rather than sports. Not governed like a sports are with things such as steroids.

Special Olympics

Contextual dimensions

1. Size - The assets are sponsorships from businesses. There a number of employees both at the corporate offices and local offices. Special Olympics also heavily rely on volunteers to ensure that the events can be put on. They also have fairly large sales with merchandise.

2. Technology - They has a website

3. Environment - They have a lot of people working for them and a large attendance at events. There are several different large corporate sponsors that have a large economic and social impact at the games. There are also political debates as to what qualifies as a disability.

4. Goals and strategy - The main goal is high participation at events. Competitions don't emphasize the competitive side of sports.

5. Culture - Emphasizes unity amongst participants and fans.

Structural dimensions

1. Formalization - There are several different jobs in the Special Olympics organization. Each job has a formal written description of the tasks and expectations of that position. This also holds true for the volunteers of the organization.

2. Specialization - Special Olympics is an organization that has offices and ties world wide, and because of this large area that is covered by them there are several subdivisions of jobs. It is broken down from the board of directors to the world leadership team to a specialist to donor response. The tasks of running this organization are broken down into categories and then subdivided into other jobs within that category.

3. Hierarchy of authority - The Hierarchy of authority is very top-heavy in the Special Olympics organization. The Chairman and CEO is at the top of the Hierarchy. There are three vice chairs within the Special Olympics organization and one treasurer. The Special Olympics Board of Directors are directly below those 5 and are next on Hierarchy of authority. The Board of Directors include 35 individuals and of them at least one person is from each of the seven geographic Regions of the world (Africa, Asia Pacific, East Asia, Europe/Eurasia, Latin America, Middle East/North Africa, and North America).

                There are other various positions held within each individual geographic regional headquarters that takes direction from the Board of Directors. Then there are the coaches of the athletes that participate in various events held around the world. Most of them if not all of them are volunteering their time towards giving the athletes a great experience. Then there are the volunteers that work the many events making sure they run smoothly and making sure that everyone involved in the event has an enjoyable time.

4. Centralization - The Board of Directors led by the Chairman and CEO for the Special Olympics organization makes all of the important organizational decisions throughout year. All of the little things that go on within the Special Olympics organization that usually go unrecognized are made mostly by the individuals on the second rung of the Hierarchy of authority. The coaches and volunteers really do not have much of a say in the decision-making process but I am sure if they have some good ideas they will be taken to heart and will be used towards improving future events.

5. Professionalism - The professionalism found in the Special Olympics is found in every aspect of its structure. It follows the same professional structure any pro sports organizations would: there are specific rules and regulations the participants must follow, there is a hierarchy in the operations department, and there are schedules of events.

6. Personnel Ratios - Personnel ratios are large since the Special Olympics covers the whole Nation with a couple sectors in each state.

Contextual vs. Structural