Instructions

Each Case Study assignment is designed to help the student make application of course content to a real world situation. Read the assigned case study and connect the key issues in the case to assigned readings and presentations. Respond to the questions with direct, thorough responses.

Each case study assignment should include the following:

· Title Page in APA format

· Introduction to the case summarizing the situation

· Questions converted to sub-headings – responses to each question

· Strong conclusion that summarizes the ideas

· APA Style Reference page (as needed)

Submit each Case Study by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the assigned module/week, except for Case Study 7, which is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday of Module/Week 8.

Jackson Ultima Case Study

Highly competitive and professional figure skaters are finding that some of the best figure skating blades are manufactured in the United States. Ultima Skates LTD (www.jacksonultima.com), a division of Jackson Ultima Skates Inc., has become one of the most popular names in the figure skating blade industry. The company was founded in 1994 by Dan Nicholson and his partner Larry James; it produced its first skate blade in 1998. To learn more about Jackson Ultima Skates and its products, visit its website at (www.jacksonultima.com) or its Facebook page at Jackson Ultimate Skates.

Dan Nicholson is the president of Ultima Skates. He is originally from Blackpool, England. Nicholson competed nationally and then skated professionally for a number of years. His ice skating experience convinced him that ice skating blades were not performing as well as he thought they could; Nicholson believed that skate blades could be made better and yield better performance.

“After I stopped skating professionally, I was a distributor for one of our competitors. I then went on to design skates,” says Nicholson. “It was when I started designing skates that I really decided I could make a better ice skate.”

Ultima Skates began blade production in July of 1998 and launched its first blade at the National Figure Skating Championships in January 1999. What makes the blades unique is the manufacturing process. “We use modern machines and laser cutting, whereas our competitors are still making skates the way they always have, with stamping and making them by hand,” says Nicholson. “At Ultima Skates, we are really trying to take full advantage of all of the new technologies. We use a much harder steel, and we computer-profile all of our blades. By using computers to profile our blades, we are able to make blades that are exactly the same, last longer, and hold their edges better. Others still profile by hand, which is not very accurate,” he says.

Nicholson points out that these blades are not for everyone. When skaters get into championship level competition, most wear custom boots and pick specific blades to fit their needs on the ice. “We make blades for a very specific market of high-level competitors and professionals, who need more from a skate than you can buy from a store,” says Nicholson. Top skaters, including Tara Lipinski and three-time World Champion and Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko, skate on Ultima Blades.

The prices for the blades vary but are often upwards of $100, sometimes approaching $500 for customized blades with graphics. “Skate blades are kind of like cars, in that depending on what you want, you may pay a lot or a little. We are making the Mercedes Benz of skate blades,” Nicholson explains.

Ultima Skates is also the only skate manufacturing company that holds a patent on black skate blades. “We are the only company that can make black skate blades, which is a really sharp-looking blade,” he says.

Ultima Skates is the only skate blade manufacturer located in the United States; the only other two manufacturers are located in England. Ultima Skates is in DeKalb, Illinois, sixty miles west of Chicago. “While DeKalb may not seem like a hotbed of skating activity,” Nicholson says, “the location has worked out very well. The Chicagoland area is seeing a huge growth in the terms of skating rinks and skaters. There is at least $100 million worth of new ice and facilities within one hour of DeKalb.”

The next time you watch figure skating on TV, check to see if the skaters may be skating on Ultima skate blades manufactured in the United States—you’ll know they are if the skates are black.

1. What are the organizational attributes of Ultima Skates? Explain the organizational attributes that could be improved.

2. How has technology aided the development of Ultima Skates? What is the role of innovation in Ultima Skates future? How would you classify the Jackson Ultima Skates company?

3. Review the Jackson Ultima Skates website. Does it do an effective job of marketing and promoting the company and its products? How might you improve the website?

4. What are some tactics and techniques that you could used to market and sell Ultima Skates?

Module/Week 6: Case Study 5 Kent Lampert

Instructions

Each Case Study assignment is designed to help the student make application of course content to a real world situation. Read the assigned case study and connect the key issues in the case to assigned readings and presentations. Respond to the questions with direct, thorough responses.

Each case study assignment should include the following:

· Title Page in APA format

· Introduction to the case summarizing the situation

· Questions converted to sub-headings – responses to each question

· Strong conclusion that summarizes the ideas

· APA Style Reference page (as needed)

Submit each Case Study by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the assigned module/week, except for Case Study 7, which is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday of Module/Week 8.

Kent Lampert Case Study

One year ago Kent Lampert achieved his primary professional goal. At age 42, he was named athletic director of the third largest university in his state, StateUniversity. It was quite an accomplishment, considering that his background in athletics was modest and the university has had a history of hiring well-known high-profile former athletes to lead its athletic program.

As a child, Kent dreamed of playing professional sports, particularly basketball or golf. Ever since he could remember, sports were a big part of his life ,and he never doubted that he would someday be involved in the management of a sport organization. After high school, Kent attended a small private university where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. While in college, Kent played on the basketball and golf teams, lettering in golf during his last two years. Upon graduation, Kent worked as a salesman for a small golf manufacturing company. He traveled to golf pro shops and sport stores throughout the midwest, promoting and selling the company’s golf equipment.

After seven years of golf equipment sales, Kent decided to go back to school at a local university to purse an MBA with an emphasis in marketing. While earning his MBA, Kent got involved with the intercollegiate athletic office by providing extra help for event management. In addition, he worked with the sport marketing department, using his skills in marketing the golf and soccer teams. When he earned his MBA, the university’s athletic director, recognizing Kent’s leadership traits, offered him a position as an assistant director of athletics to oversee minor sports. Kent enjoyed his new job, and coaches liked his leadership style. He worked with each coach and let the coaches participate in the marketing strategies for their particular sports. The coaches respected Kent’s marketing expertise and sought his advice regarding their operations. Word spread quickly of Kent’s success as an assistant athletic director, and it was apparent to many people that Kent had promise to be a good athletic director.

At the end of Kent’s fifth year as assistant athletic director, he received a phone call from StateUniversity asking if he was interested in interviewing for their position of athletic director. Kent was surprised yet honored by the call. After all, StateUniversity had a reputation of hiring former athletes, often alumni of the university. StateUniversity explained that they needed some new blood—fresh thoughts and ideas to improve their entire athletic program. Kent agreed to an interview; shortly afterwards he was offered and accepted the position of athletic director.

Kent had reached his goal of becoming an athletic director. Shortly after taking the reins, Kent learned that about 90 percent of the athletic administrators in the athletic department differed from him in one basic way: They had been promoted to their current positions within the organization. In fact, many had never worked for another university’s athletic department. This information was significant with regard to the dismissal of his predecessor, for he too had worked his way up through the university system, and his dismissal was opposed by most of the administrative staff.

Kent speculated that there would be some resentment toward him as an “outsider.” He was comforted, however, by the knowledge that the entire athletic board supported his appointment. Kent decided that he first had to convince the administrative staff that he could provide leadership. He prepared an official statement outlining his position on key issues. Included were the following points:

· His administration is focused on the future. He is not interested in the ways things were done in the past or in previous relationships or allegiances.

· He expects the administrative staff and coaches to function as a team, in order to accomplish department goals.

· The first goal of his administration is to review all of the programs from top to bottom and to come up with a strategic plan to improve all programs.

Before distributing the statement to all of the administrative staff and coaches, Kent had his associate and assistant athletic directors read it. As a group, they thought Kent was making a big mistake. They warned, “The rest of the administrative staff and coaches are not going to like your approach. That is not the way things have been done around here in the past. Coaches are used to reviewing their own programs and not receiving mandates from the athletic director.” Kent decided to send out the statement anyway.

1. Based on Kent’s progression through his career, how do you think his experiences might have shaped his leadership style?

2. What leadership traits does Kent have which might make him successful as an athletic director? What leadership traits might Kent need to improve in order to be successful in his new position as athletic director?

3. Using the various leadership models presented in Chapter 11, analyze Kent’s leadership style. What changes in style would you recommend to him that might result in acceptance of his official position statement?

4. According to Fiedler’s views on leadership, how might the university change the situation to make it more favorable to Kent? Do you think Kent can be successful in his new role as athletic director, assuming no major changes are made?

5. Which types of power does Kent have in his new role as athletic director? Which types of power would be most beneficial for anyone accepting the role of athletic director?

6. If you could find the “perfect” athletic director for State University, what leadership traits, characteristics, and style(s) would this type of person have?

7. Go online and find websites for three university intercollegiate athletic departments. After reviewing these sites, can you determine the type of leadership style of the athletic directors? Do there appear to be any visible trends in what makes a particular athletic director and department successful or not in terms of leadership traits, behaviors, and so forth?

Module/Week 5: Case Study 4 Managing Sport, Inc.

Instructions

Each Case Study assignment is designed to help the student make application of course content to a real world situation. Read the assigned case study and connect the key issues in the case to assigned readings and presentations. Respond to the questions with direct, thorough responses.

Each case study assignment should include the following:

· Title Page in APA format

· Introduction to the case summarizing the situation

· Questions converted to sub-headings – responses to each question

· Strong conclusion that summarizes the ideas

· APA Style Reference page (as needed)

Submit each Case Study by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the assigned module/week, except for Case Study 7, which is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday of Module/Week 8.

ManagingSport, Inc. Case Study

Nathan Hamel has been an employee of ManagingSport, Inc., since its inception. His career began as a paid intern helping with marketing the new company. Hamel impressed the executives at ManagingSport with his organizational skills, creativity, reliability, work ethic, and ability to work closely and effectively with individual staff members as well as clients. Upon completion of his internship and graduation from college, ManagingSport hired him fulltime as assistant director of marketing. During his tenure at ManagingSport, Hamel has worked in many departments within the organization: sales, marketing, public relations, and programming. His goal was to obtain an executive position in the company, so, he sought to learn how the entire organization operated. He always received good performance evaluations, which led to his being appointed vice president of ManagingSport, Inc. this past year.

ManagingSport has 23 employees who work in various capacities toward the accomplishment of the company’s mission: to assist organizations within the sport industry with their business operations. ManagingSport’s aim is to work jointly with clients in the development of business plans and the accomplishment of organizational goals. Its employees work with clients to design and implement activity programs to meet the client’s general and specific goals.

As vice president, Hamel works directly with groups of people within and outside the organization. This is in contrast to his previous roles within the organization, in which he worked with individuals as opposed to groups. Therefore, his strategies of motivating staff members and clients will need to change.

Recently, Hamel has noticed that many company employees are less productive than they used to be. Employee performance evaluation ratings are lower, and overall morale seems to be down. Staff members are arriving late for staff meetings, and some have even missed the meetings. Clients have reported that phone calls and emails have not been returned in a timely manner. Client reports and programs are submitted late, and many times they need corrections before being sent out. These behavior patterns are of great concern to Hamel as it is a poor reflection on ManagingSport and on him.

In order to get the situation under control, Hamel met informally with a number of employees to discuss the situation. He learned that many employees feel overworked and underpaid. The number of ManagingSport employees has decreased during the past three years from 28 to 23, with no new employees being hired. Some employees have taken on more responsibilities with no reward—“not even a thank you,” in their words. Other employees noted that ManagingSport, Inc. is falling behind in technology. Computers are old and often use outdated software, or they are unable to operate software programs used by their clients. Employees feel embarrassed about this situation. Some have even purchased personal laptops and tablets that they use for work projects.

Hamel made an appointment to discuss the situation with the president of ManagingSport, Inc., Mr. Frey. Frey did not seem too concerned and said, “This behavior is nothing new. It has been going on for at least two years. That is why I appointed you as vice president. I figured that you work well with people and that you would be able to motivate our employees. Therefore, I am charging you with developing a conceptual framework on how to improve employee motivation at ManagingSport. Please have a draft of your proposal on my desk next week.”

Hamel was stunned by this conversation. As he walked back to his office, Hamel wondered why this problem had just surfaced and why Frey had not mentioned it earlier. As he pondered the situation, Hamel was also thinking of strategies he could develop to motivate ManagingSport employees.

1. How do you think Hamel’s experiences at ManagingSport influence how other employees perceive him?

2. What do you think are some of Hamel’s motivations for joining ManagingSport in the first place? How did Hamel’s motivation change when ManagingSport hired him fulltime? Which motivational theories do you think could be applied to Hamel’s motivation(s)? Explain.

3. What role has Frey played in the motivation of Managing Sport employees? Do Hamel and Frey have the same or different motivations in their respective roles of vice president and president? Explain.

4. As vice president of Managing Sport, what strategies might Hamel develop to motivate employees to return phone calls and emails in a timely manner, attend meetings, and submit professional reports? Which motivational theories could Hamel use? What actual practices could Hamel implement to cause changes to employees’ negative behaviors?

5. If you were in Hamel’s shoes, what other changes would you make to fix any of the issues listed? Because resources are limited, prioritize your list of potential changes and discuss the costs and benefits associated with each.

What’s the difference between ethics and morals?

Using one of the examples from your discussion write a one-page paper to determine/explain if this is a violation of ethics or a violation of a morals. Feel free to find additional readings on this topic to support your argument however give credit to the author through in-text citations and a reference page.

1. You paying your bill at a restaurant and give the waitress a 20.00 bill, she gives you change for 100.00 dollars. Do you give it back or keep it. Explain why?

Prompt : Throughout Modules Three and Four, you have had opportunities to fine-tune your selected social sciences issue and begin exploring academic sources that can support your continued research on your issue. As you complete this work throughout Modules Three and Four, you should continue to build from the previous work you completed and submitted in Research Investigation Progress Check 1. Specifically, in this assignment, you will submit the Project One elements listed below for review by your instructor.

In Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation (Continued), learning block 4-2 (page 1), you completed the following work, building from your work in Modules One and Two:

I. Introduction A. Describe the issue in the social sciences that you have selected to investigate. Why is this issue significant? In Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation (Continued), learning block 4-2 (page 3), you completed the following work: I. Introduction B. Describe at least three social science resources that you could use to investigate the issue you selected. Your sources must be relevant to your issue and must be of an academic nature appropriate for the issue. In your description, consider questions such as these: What are the similarities and differences in the content of your sources? What makes them appropriate and relevant for investigating your issue? What was your thought process when you were searching for sources? How did you make choices? In Module Two: Exploring Social Science Issues (Continued), learning block 2-3 (page 2), you completed the following work: II. Body A. Identify the social science principles that apply to your issue. In other words, which principles of social science apply to the issue you selected? B. Explain how the principles you identified apply to your issue. In other words, how are the social science principles you identified relevant to your issue? In Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation (Continued), learning block 4-3 (page 3), you completed the following work: III. Conclusion A. Based on your investigation, develop a research question related to the issue you selected. In other words, what would you like to know more about? B. Explain how a social scientist would go about investigating the research question you developed. In other words, what would the next steps be if a social scientist were to continue researching your question? In Module Three: Performing the Research Investigation, learning block 3-3 (page 3); and Module Four, learning block 4-1 (page 3) and learning block 4-2 (page 3), you began working on the following section of the prompt: IV. Provide a reference list that includes all of the social science resources you used to investigate your issue and question. Ensure that your list is formatted according to current APA guidelines (or another format with instructor permission). Please note that the numbering included above directly aligns with the numbering of these elements as they are presented in the Project One Guidelines and Rubric document.

Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Submit your progress check assignment as a Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Your submission should be 2 to 4 pages in length. Any citations should be formatted according to APA style.