Strategic planning for effective sport managers

Sport Management

Identify and discuss the most important elements of strategic planning that sport managers need to know in order to be effective.

Strategic planning, evaluation and feedback are essential components to any sport manager within a business function. As sporting franchises continue to expand their reach in emerging markets, strategic planning will have a more profound role in the daily operations of these firms. Many firms including the Dallas Cowboys, the New England Patriots, and Manchester United are valued at over a billion dollars. Those teams based in developed nations, such as America or Europe, will have a strong foundation in which to evaluate strategic business initiatives as they attempt to gain international market share. As such, it is very important for individuals to accumulate a basic understanding of strategic planning, the merits behind such planning, and how to appropriately evaluate performance.

To begin, one important element for sport managers to focus on is the identification of strengths and weakness in regards to the overall organization. Each organization has competitive advantages relative to its peers within the industry. Management must leverage these strengths to provide a compelling value proposition for potential customers. These strengths can come in the form of brand, cost, product, value and so forth. Sport managers must recognize these strengths in order for the strategic planning process to become success. For example, the Dallas Cowboys can charge premium prices for seating to their events because of the brand recognition the organization commands. This pricing power allows the sport manager to increase prices without a subsequent decline in demand. As such, premium ticket prices for the Dallas Cowboys are some of the most expensive tickets within the entire NFL. Recognizing these strengths allows the sport manager to coordinate a strategic plan that is both viable and comprehensive. Likewise realizing the organizations weakness is also important in regards to strategic planning. Using our earlier example, NFL organizations in a weak market will not be able to obtain the same pricing power that the Dallas Cowboys command. As such, the must formulate another compelling value proposition for fans and employees.

Feedback is a significant component as it allows for continuous improvement within the sporting organization. Feedback also serves as a means of balance to ensure the strategic initiatives of the sporting organization are aligned with that of top level management. Through the proper use of feedback, management can correct any unnecessary behavior occurring in the firm. This mechanism will ultimately save the firm money as it is more efficient with its resources. More important however, feedback insures that the strategic planning process remains focused on the metrics of success rather than diverging from its intended purpose. Sporting organizations need focus in order to maintain their funding constituency. This comes in the form of ticket, merchandise, and television ad sales.

Furthermore, performance measures are important in regards to the overall benchmarking process. Performance measures provide a means of evaluation of both personnel and the strategic plan itself. With these measures of success management can better identify performance relative to strategic planning benchmarks. Also, through the use of performance measures, coupled with appropriate feedback mechanisms management can better ascertain initiatives. If performance is a substantial departure from management standards, organizational leaders can better determine what areas need improvement and coach to those specific areas. Through performance measures, management can identify opportunities or weaknesses with the overall strategic plan (Martin, 1998).