Environment

Possibly one of the most important topics to consider when studying sport organizations is the general environment. Our book, authored by Slack and Parent, defines the general environment as "sectors that, although may not have direct impact on the operation of an organization, can influence the industry in general ways that ultimately have an impact in the organization." Our book describes seven sectors of the general environment as economic, political, sociocultural, legal, demographic, ecological, and technical. Another important sector of the environment is the task environment, which includes suppliers, regulatory agencies, athletes' groups/staff, competitors, and customers/members/fans. (Slack and Parent 2006) These sectors of the environment generally affect organization more directly than the sectors of the general environment. Many of these sectors directly affect the whether or not the organization will meet its goals. The environment surrounding a sport organization can often times be unpredictable. Our book suggests that the degree of environmental uncertainty surrounding a sport organization can strongly influence the structure and process of that organization. Often times environments drastically change and are extremely unpredictable. Our book provides an example of this using Reebok Shoe Co. They explain how the athletic shoe industry went through an industrial boom over a very short period of time. In just three years Reebok's sales jumped nearly 25 times what they had been in the past. Because of such a drastic change Reebok could not keep up with customer's orders and had to completely revamp their distribution process. To meet the market demands they purchased a large facility and instated new methods of organization in order to help them successfully distribute their product and ultimately control their environment. The book provides us with a few specific ideas as to how to deal with and keep control of an ever-changing environment. First there are "internally directed actions." Buffering, Boundary Spanners, Smoothing, Rationing, and Planning/Forecasting are all internally directed actions. Buffering, for example, refers to the technical core or the organization or in other words, the production side of the organization (Slack and Parent). An example of buffering is stocking up on raw materials needed to make a certain product as a preparation for abrupt changes in demand (Slack and Parent). There are also "externally directed actions" that can help organizations prepare and adapt to uncertain environments. These include contractual agreements, joint ventures, cooptation, and interlocking directories. Overall, environmental uncertainty will always affect sport organizations, yet there are many ways to prepare for such uncertainty so that as a manager you can adapt to the environment and help create a successful organization.