One of the major factors militating against sports development in Nigeria today is the lack of effective management. Concerned and patriotic Nigerians are proffering many solutions daily to bail us out of the dilemma. One such solution is this text, “Modern Trends in Sports Administration and Management.”
It was written by Dr. Joseph Awoyinfa, a lecturer in the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Lagos, Nigeria, a researcher and an educational consultant. The author and the university invited me to review the book when it was presented to the public on December 4, 2008, in Nigeria.
According to Awoyinfa, it is a truism worldwide that sports are now a reference issue that can no longer be ignored in various sectors of the economy and spheres of life. The author adds that this text thus critically examines topical issues in sports administration and management, dwelling on theories and principles of modern sports administration and management trends, such as leadership, organization, planning, motivation, etc.
The text contains 16 chapters. Chapter One is called “The Concept of Sports Management.” Here, Awoyinfa says management implies different things to different people at different times, thus leading to its multiplicity of definitions. He explains that management has been described as an art, a science, a person or people, a discipline, and a process of Web Job Posting.
This author expatiates that as an art, sports management is all about carrying out sports organizational functions and tasks through people, while as a science, sports management is about establishing sports philosophy, laws, theories, principles, processes, and practices. Finally, as an organization, according to him, sports management is defined as creating formal structures and an establishment based on a mission, objectives, targets, functions, and tasks.
Awoyinfa says that sports management may refer to the head alone or all the senior staff, committee, etc.; in contrast, it is a field of study with various subjects and topics. Finally, the author illuminates that sports management is a process.
Awoyinfa highlights management functions in sports administration, such as planning, organizing, staffing, directing/leading, controlling, coordination, budgeting, and evaluation. Regarding who a sports manager is, this author states that a sports manager is anyone at any level of a sports organization who directs other people’s efforts toward achieving organizational goals sports-wise.
Related Articles :
- Leading Mobile Application Development Trends of 2012
- The Mechanism of Sports Sponsorships
- 5 Key Things You Need to Know About Extreme Sports Insurance
- Understanding Mobile Phones
- The 5 Most Popular Sports in Ireland Include Ancient Gaelic Games
Chapter two is based on the evolution and trends of sports management thought. Here, Awoyinfa discloses that the development of thoughts on sports management dates back to when people first attempted to accomplish goals by working together in a group. He said there was serious thinking and theorizing about managing many years before the dawn of the twentieth (20th) century.
This marked the beginning of modern sports management thought. Major efforts to develop theories and principles of sports management began in the early twentieth (20th) century with Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol. The industrial revolution of the nineteenth (19th) century probably provided the climate for this very serious theorizing.
Awoyinfa adds that since the turn of the 20th century, writers on sports management and business theory have propounded different theories about managing work and personnel more efficiently and effectively. This author explains that the three main management concepts are classical, human-behavioral, and integrative. In this chapter, Awoyinfa also highlights early sports management theorists, principles and characteristics of scientific management, appraisal of the scientific management theory, etc.
Chapter three is thematically labeled “Principles of Sports Management.” In this chapter, the educational consultant explains that sports principles are the basic laws on which sports management is built. Therefore, he adds that management principles must be based on general terms to apply to sports organizations of varying sizes and characters. “Modern sports managers and administrators are expected to be able to identify and use appropriate principles relevant to particular situations. This is because no single principle can suit all administrative situations,” submits Awoyinfa.
He says the fundamental principles of sports apply to all sports organizations. Because of their general acceptability, they are sometimes referred to as “universal principles of sports management.” This author elaborates on some of these principles.
Responsibility, delegation of authority, and communication. Regarding humanitarian principles of sports management, Awoyinfa identifies them as democracy, justice, human relations, sympathy, empathy, consideration, and humility.
In chapter four, based on behavioral theories in a sports organization, the author says human beings are unique creatures because they behave differently under different conditions and are most difficult to predict.
Awoyinfa stresses that since human beings constitute the most important element in a sports organization, sports managers need to understand why people behave in one way or another so that they (sports managers) can influence people to perform exactly the way sports organizations find desirable.
