The strategic management process involves the following elements, which are mutually influential and cycle back upon one another:

1. External and internal environment analyses
2. Strategic direction
3. Strategy formulation: business and corporate levels
4. Strategy implementation
5. Strategic control
6. Strategic restructuring if needed (Harrison, 2008)

Establishing a Feedback Control System (Harrison, 2008) Read more »

List of organizational structures

1. Functional
2. Product/Market
3. Matrix: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_management
4. Network
5. Team

This essay was inspired by an article by Wagner (2005) titled "Would you want Machiavelli as your CEO?" In this essay, the following styles of leadership are contrasted:

• Machiavellian (autocratic): The leader's sole purpose is to gain and maintain sole power of the organization by any necessary means. 
• Taoist (empowering): Based on Lau-tzu's ideas that a leader should lead by example and with humility, in many ways taking a laissez-faire approach to leadership.
  

The following is a collection of select administrator interviews related to Sport Management Read more »

Appropriateness of the level: Physical education has distinct emphases according to these levels

• Elementary
• Secondary
• University

National associations: AAPHERD and its sub-organization NASPE are the most definitive professional organizations.

Resources: See a list of Pedagogy Links

Curriculum related concerns Read more »

A double elimination tournament for 16 teams. All elimination tournaments can be created from 4, 8, or 16 team tournament brackets regardless of the number of entries. Know the seeding arrangement for 8 and 16 and you can construct  about any tournament. Byes substituted for anything less than the max number, starting at the lowest seed first (e.g. #16=bye, #15=bye, etc.). Any number of entrants more than the max should result in doubling the value. For example, 25 teams would equal two 16-spot brackets with the winner of each playing for the championship.

Job title: Head Coach
Company: Any University
Department: Athletics
Supervisor: Athletic Director

Status: Full-time Staff
Positions: 1
Hours: 40+ per week
Date: March 5, 2009

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Job summary: Purpose and objectives

The Head Coach is responsible for the performance and conduct of their assigned team. They must ensure that the team follows the direction and mission of the Athletic Department and the university.

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Duties and Responsibilities (Percentage represents approximate time devoted to duty)

25% Practices Read more »

Problems with secondary school athletics. As an athletic director or coach, expect to hear some of these concerns. What is your response? Think it out ahead of time. Are some of these legitimate?

1. Educational funding should not be allocated for athletics.
2. Unhealthy: Due to injuries especially in contact sports.
3. Inequities in funding sports favoring males.
4. Imbalance in money spent on football instead of lifetime sports.
5. Negative coaching techniques: Not playing everyone, abusive verbal attacks, etc.
6. Interference with academics
7. Problems hiring teachers who are more qualified to coach.
8. High cost (Horine, 2004)

Benefits: Read more »

Sample hiring procedure

1. Advertise position opening: Where applications are taken, Job description, Final date applications accepted
2. Requirements, Starting date of position
3. Screen applications
4. Notify rejected applicants in writing
5. Invite applicants on short list to interview
6. Interview applicants on short list
7. Call references
8. Narrow list more and perform final interview if needed
9. Make final decision and notify all remaining applicants.

Civil Rights Act (1964) Title VII: Unlawful to fail to hire on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Set up Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Read more »

Before evaluation begins goals and objectives must already be established so a standard exists to compare.

Functions of performance evaluations (Cherrington, D.J. [1995] The Management of Human Resources [4th ed.]. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.)

• Guide human resource actions: Hire, fire, promote. Defend decisions.
• Reward employees: Reinforce
• Personal development: Information
• Identify training needs
• Integrate human resource plan: New positions, etc.

Evaluation methods (Cherrington) Read more »

Public Relations (PR): Important for top management to emphasize. Bottom line is not to sell a product but rather build efficient programs based on policies, regulations, and laws. The program is owned by the public or constituents of private school. A university is more catered to serving the students and is owned by the students; however, students are not treated as typical customers from the customer-is-always-right standpoint.

PR Audit

1. Identify relevant public
2. Determine what they think of organization.
3. Measure what the public believes are important issues or concerns
4. Evaluate public as to their importance and power.

Marketing Mix: All factors interact to contribute to the success of selling the product. Read more »

There are basically 4 ways to get things done in a business: project, batch processing, flow shop processing, and flexible/programmable processing (Starr, 2009). Sport and recreation managers often work on projects. Because of this, understanding techniques for effective project management are important. 

Resource Leveling Read more »

As a school physical educator, coach, or athletic director there are 3 very important people you must befriend and maintain good relations with: the principal, head of maintenance, and your custodian.

Outdoor Maintenance

• Baseball field: Softball vs. Baseball. Grass infield or artificial turf. Type of fence. Layout and design of entire field. Mowing and dragging field.
• Soccer field: Place, size.
• Football field: Size. Goal posts.
• Tennis courts: Cleaning. Care for nets. Cover?

Turf management: Seek special help

• Sample soil
• Sprinkler system
• Fertilize early and late and aerate
• Who mows?

Outdoor facilities depend on program needs. Read more »

Physical activity is a high risk endeavor. The following are recommended ways to reduce risk:

• Scan the environment: Look for any hazards that my potential cause injury. Examples include wet surfaces, standing equipment in the playing area (e.g. volleyball standards), loose clothing or bags on the floor, uneven surfaces, and weather hazards (e.g. heat, lightening).

• High risk sports : Identify the riskiest sports and take extra steps to manage risk or remove them from the curriculum. These include gymnastics, dodge ball, flag football, softball, and any contact sports.

Value: Somewhere between cost of production and price.

The program determines what equipment and supplies are necessary.

Accomplish by purchase: Objective is to maximize buying power and minimize cost.

• Best quality: Quality of equipment should be sufficient to be safe or activity should be terminated.
• Correct quantity
• Best price
• Best source
• Most auspicious time
• Standardize
• Prompt payment

The importance of keeping a good inventory

• Identify and locate equipment
• Estimate value
• Provide information on serviceability
• Plan future buying
• Identify theft and damage problems.

The inventory system Read more »

Interview with Brian Avila, Equipment Manager at Eastern Oregon University on May 11, 2010. Avila had been equipment manager for 25 years at EOU. In the interview he discusses strategies for purchasing equipment, choosing vendors, check-out systems, and inventory of equipment. Interview conducted by Brian Sather. 

Interview Questions Read more »

A useful document for doing an inventory.

Three basic steps to building a facility Read more »

General Principles of Risk Management

• Increase care commensurate with increases in risk.
• Identify and remedy controllable hazards
• How many hazards in the activity are controllable and how much control can the activity tolerate? For example, participants could be required to wear protective gear wearing basketball, but is this practical?
• Will the benefits justify the calculated risk? Many have chosen to forgo gymnastics because the benefits were deemed not worth the high risk. Having a climbing wall may not be worth the risk.

Transportation recommendations Read more »

Reasons PE teachers and coaches often move into administrative positions because the following reasons have good crossover:

• People skills
• Administration of classes
• Legal emphasis

How paranoid should you be?

Definitions

• Malfeasance: Commission of illegal act
• Misfeasance: Unlawful performance of lawful act
• Nonfeasance: Failure to perform duty legally required
• Tort: Civil wrongs not arising from a breach of contract.

Negligence: Doing or failing to do what a reasonable and prudent person would have done under the same circumstances.

General recommendations for avoiding negligence: Read more »

Because many injuries and lawsuits are attributed directly to playground equipment, safety is very important in design and maintenance of playgrounds. Certifications and playground guidelines should be adhered to. Here is a list of resources Read more »

Description: Principles and procedures in development, organization, administration, and supervision of physical education, health, and athletic programs. Topics include facility management, intramural activities, program supervision, fiscal management, leadership, and legal issues related to physical education.