Managing Organizations for Sport and Physical Activity: A Systems Perspective

This edition by Packianathan Chelladurai, one of the preeminent scholars in the field of sport management, presents a clear and concise treatment of managing organizations in sport and physical activity. The four functions of management--planning, organizing, leading, and evaluating--provide the book's general framework. This framework, used in the majority of texts written for business students, represents the simplest and best approach for introducing students to the intricacies of management. For each function, Chelladurai presents relevant theories and their practical applications to the actions of sport and physical activity managers, citing those theoretical models that are most appropriate to the unique aspects of the sports industry. He uses the open systems perspective, placing organizations in the context of their environment and emphasizing the manager's role in adapting and reacting to changes in that environment. To apply theory to sport management practices, Chelladurai provides numerous examples from the fields of physical activity and sports, including professional sports, intercollegiate athletics, health and sports clubs, and nonprofit sports/fitness programs. New to the third edition is a chapter on staffing, which looks at matching people with jobs through recruiting and hiring, and discusses the processes of training and mentoring. This edition also contains new industry examples and current issues presented in sidebars throughout the book. Additional highlights of the text include outstanding chapters on leadership by one of the preeminent researchers and scholars in this area; the presentation of the athletic team as an organization, which allows students to grasp organizational theory and relate it to a familiar context; the open systems perspective, which places organizations in the context of their environment and emphasizes the manager's role in adapting and reacting to changes in the environment; and numerous pedagogical aids such as thought-provoking questions, lists of key points and key terms, short summaries of the most important points in a section to help crystallize concepts, and extensive references.