CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Professional sports provide a source of entertainment for millions of people. Players and games are seen as diversions to everyday life. Yet to athletes, and to those who work behind the scenes in the front-offices, professional sports is a job. Running and managing sports teams and leagues is big business. As such, hiring practices of these institutions should be of societal concern. Franchises impact the lives of not only those whom they employ, but entire cities as well. From the construction and operation of stadiums to the local merchants who take care of the fans, sports teams greatly affect a city's economy. A glance at the rosters can quickly show what the players' demographics are, but a closer look is needed to see the racial and gender make-up of these various teams and leagues.
"Olympia," arguably one of the greatest sports films ever produced, may have also been an effective propaganda tool that promoted National Socialism as a model form of government. A sports documentary of the 1936 Summer Olympics, "Olympia" was directed and produced by the renowned German motion picture producer Leni Riefenstahl.
Introduction
The developmental policy aims at achieving the balanced growth in the different fields of development programs. Any retardation in these programs will heavily influence the growth of the other fields. Such balanced growth can be accomplished through creating waves of private investments in a number of various projects all at once so as to realize advancement in these fields (16).
Introduction
As we move steadily through the first few years of the twenty-first century, it is only natural to reflect upon the most significant events of the twentieth century, and look ahead at what awaits us, particularly the next few years. Perhaps one of the largest groups of people pondering the future is the business community. Given all of the technological changes which occurred during the twentieth century, corporations have had to endure almost non-stop change to remain competitive in the global market. Open any history book to see the political changes...the end of the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the disintegration of the Soviet Union...or the social changes...the development of the entertainment industry with things like the television, VCR, compact discs, personal computers, and the Internet...and the economic changes...the global economy, instant communication for business purposes, planes, and even the beginning stages of video-conferencing.
Eight months ago, it seemed that the world rushed to embrace the "new millennium", the dawn of a new era. This is understandable when viewed in the global context of the previous century. Two world wars, countless civil wars, the Cold War and attendant social and political unrest overshadowed many of the remarkable advances in science and technology. The Olympic movement was not immune from the political and social problems in the twentieth century and ultimately became a microcosm of global politics. As the dawn of the new millennium approached, many people reflected on past events and envisioned a new world, dare I say a New World Order, where peace, progress, character development and prosperity would become a reality and not simply a dream. This vision was not a new one. Early guardians of the modern Olympic Games such as Pierre de Coubertin, William Sloane, Jules Simon, and Fredrick Le Play must have shared this same optimism and hope for a renewal of moral character and a lasting peace as they rang in 1900. How could they have known that the twentieth century would be among the most tumultuous and deadly periods in the history of the human race? The turmoil of the early part of the last century had a profound impact on Coubertin. He became a tireless crusader for peace and social change. The question that begs asking is to what extent will the new leadership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) continue Coubertin's Crusade for peace and social change via sport?
Ever since hits and home runs increased significantly after a leading aluminum bat manufacturer introduced the ABlack Magic@ bat in 1985, a controversy has raged in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) concerning the use of aluminum baseball bats. The first Abat summit@ with members of the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee and executives of aluminum-bat manufacturers was held in the summer of 1994. From this point on it was evident that the ability of manufacturers to manipulate the size and weight of baseball bats created an injury hazard and a player-development problem for collegiate-level baseball players. Although small steps have taken place to limit the hazardous equipment, a final solution would be found in a mandate by the NCAA for its member institutions to make a permanent and exclusive switch from aluminum bats to wooden bats. Specifically, this mandate should be directed to those programs at the Division I level where the baseball players are strong enough, fast enough, and skilled enough to injure one another by their use of aluminum bats.
The history of public relations is littered with confirmations and allegations of unethical behavior demonstrated by coaches and athletes. The latest firing of Indiana University's notorious Bobby Knight and the suspension of baseball's John Rocker are two recent cases that involved poor decision making on the part of Knight and Rocker. Professionals? One often wonders from what moral foundation do participants in the world of sport chose to make their decisions and subsequently act (1). Their ethical conduct was in question and steps were taken to remedy the situation.
I would like to break this winning formula down into "easy to chew" bite-sized chunks. In doing so, we will look at four smaller nuggets of truth. The first nugget is: "THE ROAD TO SUCCESS," the second is: "HARD WORK," the third: "DETERMINATION," and the fourth nugget worthy of a closer look is: "PERSONAL SACRIFICE." For our conclusion, I will ask, "Who will answer this call?"
Murphy et al., (1990), believe that the amount of publicity given to the superhooligan groups and their leaders increased the membership ranks with "hardcases and other socio-pathic nutters" (Murphy et al., 1990, p. 168), who were not previously involved with soccer hooliganism.
Introduction
This article will address the topic of information technology for sports management and will attempt to provide an overview of how information technology (called IT) is changing the nature of management practices in sport. The discussion of IT applications in the profession can be done in a few broad areas:
1st How the tools of today's "technological revolution" can be applied to the administration of sport.
2nd How developments such as the Internet and world wide web help in specific management functions such as training and marketing
3rd How e-commerce can make participation in sports more available through lower priced equipment and lastly,
4th The digital divide: and underlying condition that keeps some from participating fully in the benefits in the IT revolution.