Assignment:
Question A
You are the Executive Director for Under Armour. Over the years the company has developed a strong reputation for innovation in terms of sportswear as they provide technically advanced products engineered with superior fabric construction and exclusive moisture management.
This includes spending a considerable amount of money on the research and development division, which has allowed you to become an industry leader in terms of product innovation. For example, since its foundation in 1996, Under Armour is the originator of performance apparel- gear engineered to keep athlete cool, dry, and light throughout the course of a game, practice, or workout. Today, the organization has more than 14,000 teammates worldwide and has successfully added athletic cleats to diversify its product line to further extend your brand and organizational capabilities.
You continue to be one of the top brands in the North American soccer apparel industry. Yet despite the promising growth during recent years and the U.S. Women's national soccer team success at the 2019 World Cup in France, you are convinced that the future of your company depends on your ability to break in to the soccer equipment industry. Doing so, however, would require considerable changes throughout the organization. The lack of urgency for change is a challenge, but you firmly believe that this is in the best interest for the long-term success of Under Armour. Unfortunately, you have come across considerable resistance to change across various management levels during your preliminary discussions about your intentions. How do you proceed?
1) Why might your staff members be resistant to change?
2) Using the four stages in the change management model, how would you approach this situation?
a. Provide specific examples related to the case organization for each step of the change management process.
3) How does the urgency for change and level of formal authority of the change agent influence change management efforts?
a. Provide an example in the context of Under Armour.
4) Why is it critical that you also understand the motivation among the people in your organization in order for you to succeed?
a. Discuss the managerial implications of three need-based motivational theories (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory, and the Acquired Needs Theory).
i. How would you go about to identify an individual's motivation?
5) How can understanding the personalities of your staff help you better fulfill your desired goals and objectives?
a. Give specific examples in regard to at least four personality dimensions.
Question B
As of May 2019, Learfield IMG College announced it is restoring the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) brand name due to the combined organization of IMG College Licensing and Learfield Licensing Partners. As the new associate vice president for client relations, you are responsible for accounts with more than 100 athletic departments across the United States, indicating the importance of successful communication. This includes day-to-day operations of all merchandise licensing in local, regional, and national markets on behalf of each athletic department. Clients have contracted with CLC allowing you to negotiate and manage all licensing inquiries and agreements. This includes requests from small local businesses to national and international apparel companies. Furthermore, you also mobilize undercover operations to enforce licensing permits at collegiate sport events across the country.
This requires close coordination with different law enforcement agencies, your clients, and your own staff in regional offices as well as at your headquarters in Atlanta, GA. You are also going to hire new personnel as more positions have opened up and you need successful individuals to fill these positions. In addition, you also have at least one designated contact person for each client to ensure the athletic department's needs are met.
In order to manage these operations, you oversee staff teams across the country. As such, you recognize that your success will depend on your ability to mobilize people and communicate with internal and external stakeholders. This includes having a better understanding of the motivation of people you work with as well as their different personalities. You place a strong emphasis on preparing for your job responsibilities and decide to research key concepts and recommended strategies to ensure that you maximize your ability to succeed with CLC.
1) What questions would you ask prospective employees? Why?
a. Identify at least four common interview questions and provide key factors and strategies for successfully answering each of those questions when you are applying for a job.
b. Discuss two specific behavioral questions that you would ask prospective employees as you are overseeing the interview process for CLC.
2) What are barriers to effective communication for the sender and receiver? How do you overcome these?
3) Identify different types of group structures and factors influencing the cohesion of a group.
a. Discuss threats to group and team effectiveness and how you can overcome these potential challenges.
4) What are the five primary types of management skills? Explain each.
a. Provide examples for each type of skill and how they relate to the current case organization.
b. How do these relate to the three management levels (First-line, Middle, Top)?
5) With employees spread across different geographical locations, it is likely that the success of your organization will depend on the ability of you and your managers to mobilize and manage virtual teams throughout the organization.
a. Discuss examples of at least four specific strategies you would apply in this situation.
Question C
After the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history against the Boston Bruins in 2019, the men's ice hockey team at Boston University finally sent a letter with signatures from nearly 400 students to the president of the University asking for renovations to the existing ice hockey rink or for the construction of a new ice hockey arena. The reason for the request is that two years earlier, the University built a new women's ice hockey arena with updated bleachers, locker rooms, a scoreboard, and an announcer booth. The university president asked you, the athletic director, for a proposal of how the request could be accommodated in next year's budget and to draft a response to the students. You take the letter to the next athletic department meeting where the comments range from support for a new arena to concerns that a new arena would make it difficult to recruit top players to other sports if all funds went to support these requested investments.
Additionally, after reviewing the budget, you realize that the only way to accommodate a new arena is to cut the overall operating budget by 15% (totaling $450,000). This means you will have to determine where you will make budget cuts and who (e.g., team budgets, coaching or administrative staff salaries) will have to incur the cuts. All of your coaches already complain about their small budgets, inadequate equipment and facilities, and many think you favor women's teams over men's. How do you proceed?
1) What are the main issues in this case and describe the four functions of management?
a. Provide specific examples related to the case organization for each function
2) Why is it also critical that you understand the concept of organizational culture?
3) Describe how you would handle the situation.
a. Identify the people/groups that this case could affect. Pick three of the people/groups on your list and discuss the issues you foresee with each person/group.
b. Discuss the five types of conflict resolution approaches and the advantages and disadvantages of each one.
i. What type(s) of conflict resolution strategies would you use in the context of the case situation? Why? (Provide a clear and detailed rationale).
4) As a future sport manager, it is also important to recognize that conflict can be valuable if carefully managed by organizational leaders. How can a manager proactively manage functional conflict?
a. Identify the difference between functional and dysfunctional conflict.
b. Provide examples of at least two strategies for managing ‘healthy' conflict.
5) What leadership theory or theories do you believ are instrumental for enhancing the effectiveness of reaching a decision?
a. Discuss at least two specific leadership theories and provide examples in the context of the case organization.
Question D
Even though no name has been established yet, you are the newly appointed Vice President for the NHL Seattle organization-the latest expansion team of the National Hockey League. The owners of the new franchise have hired you based on your strong track record as a successful sport manager known for your human resource management expertise. As a new organization, the Chief Executive Office has tasked you with the responsibility of overseeing the hiring of all relevant staff and volunteers needed to successfully operate the organization and the 41 regular season home games in the New Arena at Seattle Center.
The owner of the organization has asked you to share your expertise and your human resource management plan with the ownership group as well as other senior-level administrators that have already been hired to develop effective human resource practices for long-term sustainability.
1) How do you begin recruiting new employees and what information would you include in your job advertisements? Provide specific examples.
2) How do the concepts of Implicit Association, the Halo Effect, and Personal Bias relate to your hiring decision-making?
a. Provide examples of strategies you would use to ensure that your team's evaluation of prospective candidates remains objective and avoids making fundamental errors.
3) What are the three types of communication and why are they important for you to understand in order to fulfill your job responsibilities?
a. Provide a specific example in the context of the case organization for each type.
4) Identify and discuss common pitfalls for managing diversity in organizations.
a. Identify and discuss at least four of the alternative approaches that would be more useful for the NHL Seattle organization to better manage diversity and become a leader in the professional sport industry.
5) It is also important to understand key concepts related to decision-making for successful change efforts.
a. How does active involvement among employees relate to organizational decision-making?