Concepts Application Essay

Dave McKey, Megan Gray, and Chris Miller all attend the same university. All three will earn a degree in sport management, although each will have completed a different internship experience.
Dave completed his internship with Boathouse Sports (www.boathouse.com), based in Philadelphia, as sales representative. Boathouse Sports is a sports apparel company that specializes in custom team outerwear.
Megan did her internship in the ticket office of the Chicago Bears (www.chicagobears.com) of the National Football League (NFL).
Chris completed his internship with the East Bank Club (www.eastbankclub.com), an upscale fitness center located in downtown Chicago, in the event-planning department.
        As part of their culminating experience at the university, Dave, Megan, and Chris are to write a team report and make a presentation to sport management faculty and students describing their internship experiences relating to the field of sport management and the sport industry. In preparing for the report and presentation, Dave reported that his internship experience with Boathouse consisted of traveling to sporting goods shows and universities, introducing Boathouse's new products, and taking product orders. Megan stated that she spent long hours at the Bears ticket office on the telephone dealing with customer complaints regarding seat selection and ticket orders. She also worked all home game days from 8:00 A.M. until one hour after the game as a customer service representative, which could turn out to be twelve-hour days. Chris, on the other hand, related that his days were spent promoting upcoming events at the East Bank Club. He developed brochures, fliers, and advertisements for newspapers. In addition, he worked some event days at the registration table. After talking for a while, it became apparent that, although each experienced a part of the sport industry and the field of sport management, all three were exposed to different elements of the sport industry.

1.      What are some ways that Dave, Megan, and Chris can describe their experiences in the field of sport management and the sport industry in terms of classifying sport products? Were there any similarities or differences?

2.      How might Dave, Megan, and Chris depict the coordination of human resources involved in each sport setting?

3.      What types of technologies are used in these businesses and how do they vary depending on the service(s) offered?

4.      Using the Internet, find evidence for the growth of the field of sport management. To get started, use “sport,” “sport industry,” and “sport management” as your key search words.

5.      View the Internet sites of the three sport organizations discussed in the case study. Which site has the strongest production and marketing orientation? Why?


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