mini paper #1

Aaron Rodriguez 

July 16, 2019

Mini Paper #1

Cohort 21S

` The readings highly relate to my past present and future and help me gain a deep insight on ways I could have handled previous situations and how I can handle them now if they ever come up again.  The readings that had to do with the operations of sports management could relate to my past of management, marketing, finance, and economics because I was able to review upon what I had learned in my undergraduate degree because of my background in marketing. The readings that had to do with leadership qualities in Wooden on Leadership tied to my present because it helped describe how I am approaching the growth of my career in sports. Next, the section talking about the process of success in the Wooden book can help me to understand the struggles I will endure in the future and ways that I can overcome these future struggles Finally, the law and history sections of the Foundations in Sports Maagment help me  understand the rules involved in the industry as well as the foundations of the industry to help me become successful in the future . 

The readings of the Foundations of Sports Management  relate closely to my past. The concepts in the management, marketing, finance and economics sections were all things I could relate to because of my undergraduate background in marketing. During my undergraduate, I was able to learn concepts that the book covered such as the 4 P’s of product, price, placement, and promotion as well as the steps of managing successful projects. While in college I was able to use these concepts to help completed different projects in class, to help my organization grow, and develop marketing plans for competitions to present to companies. While doing marketing projects the 4 P’s were always in mind when developing plans for organizations and I was able to put this into action when I did research for Amerisol ( wholesale food distributor) as well as multiple projects on the sports industry. One of these projects was on my schools Cal State LA NIght. This event was in coordination with the Dodgers and the Alumni Association at my school and we did research on the success of the event. Our findings showed that there was no interest among students and that there was little promotion of the event. In order to coordinate the research to come to this conclusion, we had to understand the 4 Ps. The Alumni Association was getting it all wrong when reaching out to students. Most students didn’t even know about the event despite being baseball fans and the price was too high for the students who had to worry about student loans and provided recommendations for the organizations. The readings were able to be tied to my past of working in my non-profit organization because I was able to use the same management concepts learned in my undergraduate as well as reviewed in the reading to make an assessment on how an event was doing and how it could be improved. My past was also able to be related to the readings of John Wooden. This was the most prominent when he was talking about how “when a decision is made it must be accepted by the team or they must be encouraged to find another team” (p.29). While in leadership roles I was able to experience this kind of decision of people not accepting leaderships decisions among the people who I was leading and in that situation I was trying to keep them around when I should have encouraged them to look somewhere else to use their efforts. This lead to a bunch of problems in the organization and situations that gave me as well as others in charge of more stress than there needed to be. 

The readings were also able to be tied to my present. Some of the qualities that John Wooden had talked about is tied to my present. The reason for this is when Wooden talks about intentness I can relate to that currently. Right now my goals are clear and set and every day I am working with intentness. I am constantly looking for job opportunities and am looking at gathering all the information that I need in the sports industry.  Another trait that Wooden talks about that are relevant to me right now is alertness. I am currently being surrounded in the sports industry with internships and classes and strive to produce a sense of alertness to be able to get the most out of these experiences. Other traits Wooden talks about that are relevant right now to me is competitive greatness. Right now with classes and my internship, I am preparing. I am preparing by understanding the sports industry and studying up on it so when the time comes I am going to be ready to use that information to perform at the highest level. 

The readings also help me to prepare for the future. With all the preparation that I am doing now, I will be able to call upon this information and experiences when I need it on a big project or a tense situation that requires an immediate decision. One of the rules to lead by that Wooden talked about was “Love the struggle”(p.58) and this is going to be an important thing to remember as my journey in the sports industry continues. There will be ups and downs in my journey and I have to understand that as well as understand that I will have to do things that I don’t want to do in the beginning. Remember that I have to love the struggle will help me get through the trials and tribulations of the future. Another word of wisdom that Wooden has spoken upon me that will help the future is to not let anyone define my success. Most of the other students that I have met seem to be way ahead of me when it comes to where they are in moving up in the sports industry. I need to remember that I am still young and will have time to achieve more in the sports industry. Other things that were useful to my future is the readings in Foundations in Sports Managment. The history that the book provided about how sports became a business is a very useful tool for the future. If I know the history of how sports became a business then I can understand more about the deep roots of the culture of sports which can help me be successful in operating in the current landscape of sports. Other useful information that the book gave me was highlighting current issues in the sports industry. These issues are diversity in the workforce and international sport management. Every sport is looking to expand its sport and tap into untapped markets. With this expansion so comes diversity in people. Understanding this concept that as you expand your workforce will become more diverse is an important thing to be aware of so as a manager I can take the appropriate precautions and implement the right protocols in order to develop and maintain a healthy and thriving work environment. The final topic that will be essential to my future in sports is the law section. This section will be important because as I continue my journey in the sports industry I will take more and more responsibilities, and as this happens more rules being aware of these rules will become essential to my success. Understanding fiduciary duties  and agency laws will become crucial to my growth because of, no matter if I am on the agency side or on the front office side of the business I will need to know these procedures to treat my client accordingly or to understand the duties that the person I am negotiating with is in charge of.

These readings were all very important to reflect upon my past, understanding my present and planning for my future. The marketing and management concepts already learned to allow me to understand my knowledge of the skills needed in the industry and how I can improve those skills in the present and future. The leadership concepts in the Wooden book are important to my present because I need to learn how to use these keys to develop myself into the leader I am growing to be by developing a plan and the qualities needed to become a better leader in the future. The readings also relate to my future because it helps me understand what more I need to learn about to help me understand the industry and how to thrive in my career in sports. These readings help shape my current vision of the industry and what to expect when growing in the future. These readings are tied to my entire journey, culminating my past, present and future.

References

Bradberry, Travis and Greaves, Jean. (2009). Emotional intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart:

Cunningham, G. B. (2013). Sport management. Cheltenham: Elgar.

John wooden wooden on leadership how to create a winning organization (2005, McGraw hill)