Alyssa Wiebusch: November 2009 Archives

Through the concepts learned in class and research of the organizational structure of an actual sport organization, I've learned several concepts and methods that will help a sport organization operate effectively. Initially, I believed an organization with a fun environment for its guests and employees, a high-quality training program for new and old employees, a goal setting criteria in which all employees strived towards their goals, and an organization that puts its customers in the #1 spot in all employees eyes, success will be reached. 

I really enjoyed all of the presentations on Thursday. I found Andre's presentation of Gopher Basketball to be especially interesting. He conducted his speech in a way that kept my attention the whole time, and he shared a lot of interesting facts about the organization. It was easy to tell he was well-informed of the organization and takes great pride in working for them. I enjoyed listening to his analysis of Tubby Smith's leadership style and qualities. With Tubby having such a strong reputation in the basketball world, it was cool to hear what an employee thinks of him, and sees in his leadership style everyday. I also found RJ and Yuri's presentations interesting because they were about National Organizations. They are both organizations that mostly everyone has heard of, but would never know/understand how they are run. They both broke their organizations down in ways that make it easier to grasp how national organizations are run and how they can be successful, which they both are. The organizations are similar in that both are really only in nation-wide public eye during Olympic years. It's interesting to think about how an organization keeps themselves successful when it's not in the public eye. The leadership needed to run a national organization needs to be top-notch, and as explained in each presentation, both organizations have this trait.

Making a quality, well-thought-out decision is extremely important in an organization. Certain decisions may have the power to make or break the manager's job, or even the organization as a whole. Peter Drucker states, "a decision is a judgement...a choice between alternatives." When making a decision a manager must evaluate all alternatives and the solutions that will result from those alternatives. Slack & Parent recognized two types of decisions: Programmed and Nonprogrammed. Programmed decisions are one's that managers face regularly. This may be a hockey coach deciding what line plays next, or a manager of a store deciding to exchange a returned item, as stated in the book. Nonprogrammed decisions are those in which a manager does not face regularly. Oftentimes with nonprogrammed decisions, the manager has no past experience to base his alternative ideas off of, therefore he may enter the decision making process 'blind'. Decisions in a sport organization are often made under one of three conditions: certainty, risk, and uncertainty. Certainty occurs when the manager is aware of all alternatives and the costs and benefits of each alternative. This means the manager is well-informed of what may happen after the final decision has been made. The most common condition is risk. This is when a manager knows all alternatives but is unaware of the costs and benefits of each. The manager must make their decision based on a subjective processes based off of past experiences. Uncertainty comes when alternatives and outcomes are all unknown. These decisions can be considered the one's that could 'make or break' the managers career. Slack and Parent recognized two Individual Decision Making approaches. The first is called the 'rational model'. This model uses a step by step analysis of the alternatives and decision making process. These steps are, briefly: monitor the decision environment, define the problem relating to the decision, diagnose the problem, identify and analyze the alternatives, select and implement the best alternative, and evaluate the decision to be sure that the original problem has been solved. The second individual approach is called 'the administrative model'. These decisions are followed by time constraints, and the managers are often times not able to analyze all alternatives. A manager is then forced to settle for the best alternative at the time. Slack & Parent also analyzed Organization decision making approaches. The first is 'management science', in which numbers and statistics are used to make decisions. There is also the Carnegie Model in which managers form coalitions, usually one manager from each department involved, and make decisions based on each managers thoughts and input. The third approach is 'the structuring of unstructured processes' where major decisions are broken into smaller decisions that collectively contribute to the major decision. They also created a three phase decision making process: identification, development, and selection phase. The fourth approach is 'The Garbage Can Model' which states that several aspects of organizations are changing as the decision making process is happening. Therefore, choices are made when problems come together with the right solutions and participants. The influence a decision can make on an organization can often times lead to a great amount of stress for the manager. It is extremely important to analyze all alternatives, and the costs and benefits that could occur because of them.

In defining culture, I would agree most with Sathe's definition, "a set of important understanding that members of a community share in common". During my employment with the Lunkers baseball organization, I learned a lot about the importance of culture in a sport organization. Every employee knew exactly what the culture of the Lunkers organization was, and the general manager of the team never directly stated it. It was just evident every time an employee stepped into 'Lunkerland' just what was expected of them, and what the Lunkers were all about. Lunkerland, as the town of Brainerd referred to the Lunkers Home Ballpark, had an extremely positive reputation around town. In the past, there have been other teams in the Northwood League that had found Brainerd home, but none of those teams understood the importance of a culture of a team. The stadium was always seen as run down, the leaders of the organizations never put themselves in the public eye, and a respect for the organization was never evident. All that changed when the Lunkers declared Brainerd home. As last summer was the inaugural season, expressing the culture of the team immediately was extremely important. The owner of the team, Joel Sutherland, knew exactly what kind of culture he wanted in his organization, and made sure he did all he could to make it perfect. He knew that since Northwoods League teams in Brainerd didn't have a very good reputation, and were often short-lived, he had to do it right the first time and right away. Prior to the first home game, there was a Lunker Luncheon, announcing all the players, coaches, and staff to the Brainerd Lakes Area (BLA). The highlight of this luncheon was the keynote speaker, Mr. Harmon Killebrew. As a baseball Hall-of-Fame inductee, Killebrew is an extremely honored person in the baseball world. Sutherland was sure to make an impression on the BLA that he is here to do things right, and is here to provide a fun-filled atmosphere for every fan at Lunkerland. During the season, Sutherland was sure to check each game that all his employees were happy, that they were providing the customers with the best experience they could, and that each fan was indeed having the most positive experience they could have. Sutherland also made it clear that the well-being of the players was at the top of his priority list. He started this team in order to provide college baseball players with a team in which they would better themselves as players and as people. Sutherland is an extremely valuable role model to the organization. He is proud of his organization, and even if he does have some stressors regarding the team, he never lets them show while he's in the public eye. His main priority is to build and maintain the fun-filled, positive family experience, and good baseball culture of the Lunkers baseball organization. Since the Lunkers have created such a thick culture, (where the values are employed each day) for themselves, they are an extremely effective and successful organization.

 I believe leadership is one of the most important factors in an organization. Leadership can be affected by the structure, culture, environment, actors and processes in an organization. This winter, I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to coach a 12U Girls Hockey team. In the first few weeks of practice, the role of leadership has become extremely apparent to me. Through analyzing these components of an organization, I will apply them to my coaching position and my team to exemplify the importance of leadership in an organization.
The structure of our team is fairly simple. There are 12 girls on the team, one head coach (me), and two assistant coaches. There are also two parent managers, and the rest of the parents are obviously involved in some way because there daughters need their support. As the head coach, I feel as though I am the top leader. I have created a 'hierarchy' of some sort with the other 'subordinates' of the team. Each player, parent, coach, and manager is an important asset and actor to the team. However, without a hierarchy imposing leadership positions in the organization, the team would not be considered successful. As the leader of the team, it is my responsibility to make sure each person is performing their duties and striving to reach their goals. Each level of the hierarchy contains its own leader, or 'captain'. Amongst the coaches, the head coach takes the captain role. Amongst the parents, the two team managers take the captain position. In the players level, the coaches and girls themselves have chosen two of the players to take the captaincy position. In deciding these captains, I administered the Trait Approach that Slack & Parent discussed. I took into factor the players intellectual qualities and personality traits. At the age of 12, it is hard to say if the girls have been put into situations that would really get them thinking about what a leader would do, so one's personality and intellectual qualities will help them resolve conflicts and lead in a smart manner. 
I am working at creating a positive, and fun environment on the ice for these girls in order to create a strong, hockey culture in these girls lives. With this fun, positive environment comes the manner and processes by which we run the team and manage the environment. I have decided to have the coaches handle on-ice situations, while the managers handle off-ice situations. I have laid down rules explaining my expectations of the parents and players, and if these rules are followed, a successful team will result. It is known on this team, because of statements made during parent meetings, that the coaches and I are there to provide an environment that girls want to be in. They will want to come to practice, and will want to play in all the games, because it is fun, and they are with their friends, and it's not all about winning.