This case highlights key elements in Pelled’s (1996) model of diversity, and is based on real life interactions of an actual grounds crew in intercollegiate baseball. The small work group of three individuals collectively prepares the grounds of a new collegiate ballpark for opening day. In the course of daily facility maintenance, the staff encounters both affective and substantive conflict according to Pelled’s model. This leads to both destructive and constructive performance outcomes. Also of issue in the case is the differential relationship that the supervisor shares with each of his subordinates, or leader member exchange (LMX). Together with the teaching notes, the case is designed to highlight (1) elements of group conflict arising from demographic diversity and (2) the nature of LMX within sport organizations. An overview of theory, student applications, and discussion questions and answers are provided to aid instructors in teaching this case.
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A Case Study of Diversity and Leader Member Exchange in Intercollegiate Athletics
Samuel Y. Todd, Ian Christie, Marshall J. Magnusen, and Kenneth J. Harris
New to the Board: A Case Study of Canadian Tire Corporation and the Potential Purchase of the Forzani Group Limited
Michael L. Naraine, Jess C. Dixon, and Candice Horton
This case study explores the potential purchase of the Forzani Group Limited by the Canadian Tire Corporation. Students take on the role of Sara Brown, a new member of Canadian Tire’s board of directors. With an emergency meeting scheduled for the following morning to decide the fate of the proposed acquisition, Brown has been called upon to provide input to the board given her aptitude for corporate acquisitions and mergers. The case profiles both companies and details the state of the retail sport industry in Canada. Notably, there is emphasis on company product offerings (e.g., merchandise), financials (e.g., balance sheets), and goodwill (e.g., charities) to provide students with pertinent information to develop their argument(s) for and/or against the acquisition. Primary learning objectives include engaging in environmental scanning exercises (e.g., SWOT analyses) and evaluating market forces present in the retail sporting goods industry.
Using the Time Value of Money Decision Tree to Calculate an Athlete’s Contract Offers
B. David Tyler
Time Value of Money (TVM) is an essential concept within finance, yet its fundamentals confuse many students. This case offers the TVM Decision Tree to guide students to logical solutions through a step-by-step approach that requires critical thinking about cash flows. Students follow a sport agent as she reviews contract offers for her client. She received four offers with payments structured in wildly different ways, including single payments, growing annuities, and delayed annuities. She must use her knowledge of TVM and the TVM Decision Tree to determine which contract will provide her client with the largest contact in terms of PV. She will find that the contracts with the largest nominal values are not necessarily worth the most in terms of PV. She will also see the impact that different discount rates can have in making her decisions, as well as learn about deferred compensation within professional sports.
Diamond Dollars Case Competition: The Mike Trout Dilemma
Vince Gennaro
This case was prepared by the author for the Diamond Dollars Case Competition in March 2013. It was developed for the purpose of a case discussion. It contains various assumptions that were generated for illustrative purposes and is not intended to serve as a source of primary data. It takes the hypothetical 2013 performance of young baseball superstar Mike Trout to provide students with an opportunity to apply analytical skills to the types of real-world problems faced by professional sport organizations. The case study invites students to weigh the many factors that Los Angeles Angels management must consider in determining how to realistically negotiate with Trout for the benefit of the ball club following the 2013 Major League baseball season.
Enforcing Club Seat Contracts in Professional Sports
James Reese, Mark Dodds, Richard Southall, and Kevin Heisey
A professional sport team began play in a new stadium. Although the old facility had no such seat inventory, one of the features at the new facility was the addition of 8,800 club seats. According to the marketing materials provided by the team, the new club-seat inventory offers amenities not available at the old stadium, including upscale concessions, a heated and air-conditioned lounge, padded seats, and increased restroom capacity. After the opening of the new stadium, fans complained about their club seat experience, including long concessions and restrooms lines (typically longer than at the old facility) and consistent premium food shortages. In the off-season, the team began the process of sending ticket-renewal invoices for the upcoming season. Approximately 100 club-seat holders declined to renew, claiming the team breached the contract by not providing the services promised. The team attempted to negotiate with the affected customers with limited success.
An Age-Old Problem in Little League Baseball
Jess C. Dixon, Laura Chittle, and Sean Horton
The relative age effect (RAE) has become a well-studied consequence of organizations utilizing a cutoff date to establish age cohorts. Within this case study, students will explore and learn how to perform various statistical analyses (i.e., chi-square, effect sizes, standardized residuals) to determine whether the RAE exists among those who competed in the 2011 and 2012 Little League World Series (LLWS). Students will learn about the mission and history of Little League Baseball (LLB) and discuss potential changes and/or strategies that could be used by the organization to make the LLWS more inclusive. Furthermore, students can use the knowledge gained from this case study to critically analyze the current status of various other sport organizations to help develop potential strategies to ensure fairness and equality for all participating athletes.
Volume 6 (2017): Issue 1 (Jan 2017)
cssm Case Studies in Sport Management 2372-5540 2167-2458 2017 6 1 10.1123/cssm.2017.6.issue-1 Case Study 1 10.1123/cssm.2016-0003 Case Study 2 10.1123/cssm.2016-0010 Case Study 3 10.1123/cssm.2017-0008 Case Study 4 10.1123/cssm.2017-0027 Case Study 5 10.1123/cssm.2017-0025 Case Study 6 - Special
Volume 5 (2016): Issue 1 (Jan 2016)
cssm Case Studies in Sport Management 2372-5540 2167-2458 2016 5 1 10.1123/cssm.2016.5.issue-1 Case Study 1 10.1123/cssm.2015-0010 Case Study 2 10.1123/cssm.2015-0013 Case Study 3 10.1123/cssm.2015-0020 Case Study 4 10.1123/cssm.2015-0055 Case Study 5 10.1123/cssm.2015-0042 Case Study 6 10
Plains State University’s Naming Rights Dilemma
Nels Popp, Terry Eddy, and Chad McEvoy
In this case study, readers are placed in the role of a National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I Athletics Director and challenged to consider the issue of selling the corporate naming rights to the department’s premier on-campus sports venue. Readers are exposed to a myriad of issues impacting such a decision and must weigh out such factors as: (a) the appropriateness of corporate commercialization in college athletics, (b) the pressure to balance a tight athletic department budget, (c) the impact of changing a facility name which holds significant nostalgic value to the fan base, (d) what type of sponsors might be an appropriate fit for a corporate naming rights sponsorship, and (e) what are the current trends among sport facility naming rights within college athletics. The case study is supported by many scholarly research citations but also includes important appendices, including a database of 44 current college athletic facility naming rights deals, populated with key variables. This database will assist readers in the difficult process of attempting to value naming rights for a fictional facility depicted in the case study.
Implementing Self-Managed Teams at Western Field University: A Human Resource and Leadership Case Study
Jeffrey Graham and Sylvia Trendafilova
This case challenges future sport managers to consider the importance of organizational structure and the impact structure has on job performance and motivation. In the case, students are presented with a university ticket sales department with a traditionally tall bureaucratic organizational structure. In 2014, the department struggled with poor performance, high turnover, and low levels of employee morale. However, the department took drastic steps and adopted an organizational structure that is based on the idea of self-managed teams. Now in 2016 the department is undergoing a thorough evaluation to see whether the organizational change made two years ago has had a positive impact. Even though the case uses a fictional university (i.e., Western Field University), the issues and challenges involved in changing an organizational structure, motivating employees, and leading change stem from real-world situations. The case contains ticket sales data, employee turnover information, and sample quotes from employees that aid in the analysis. This case is intended for use in human resource management classes, but it also has implications for organizational behavior or leadership courses.