Management Function Questions

Goal Development – Organizational Values

1. What are the most important goals in the organization?
a. The most important goals in the Growler’s organization are having the “Fan for
Life” mentality, which means going above and beyond for every fan. Another
goal or ideal the Growlers focus on is “Fun Makes a Difference”, this meaning
that the Growlers focus more on the entertainment than the actual baseball
game. The biggest goal for every season with the Growlers is the “Sellout
Mentality”, meaning the one biggest goal is to increase the number of sold-out
games.
2. How were these goals developed? Who was actually involved?
a. These goals were developed in the beginning of creating the Growlers, all front
office staff members sat in a meeting and brainstormed for an entire day. The
ones involved were the front office staff at the time.
3. How are these goals communicated to the employees? To the patrons, participants or
clients?
a. These goals are communicated to the employees in a variety of ways. Signs all
around the office and ballpark focusing on the two primary goals. For the clients
that come to the games, they experience these goals firsthand. By providing the
entertainment and fun, each fan gets their own personal experience.
4. How are the employees involved in organizational goal development?
a. Every Monday, all front office staff members would have a meeting and go over
the best ways to keep improving on the goals. Meetings sometimes lasted more
than four hours.
5. How and when are the organizational goals reviewed and/or revised to meet changing
conditions?
a. As stated in the question before this, all front office staff would meet every
Monday to review and revise the goals for the upcoming week.
 6. Attach examples of information produced by the organization which depicts the goals
and objectives by which they operate.
a. Fan for Life, Fun Makes a Difference, Sellout Mentality
Policy Development
1. How are the policies of this organization actually developed?
a. The policies of the Growler’s organization are developed in sort of a joint
communion. This meaning that the GM develops the same policies as the Sales
Director. Within the organization, there’s a supervisor for each branch. But
each branch gets experience with the others because it provides the best chance
for success.
2. At what level within the organization is policy formulated?
a. Policy is formulated at every level of the organization, but the GM has the final
say on what policies he wants to see.
3. Who is actually involved in the process – management personnel and/or employees
throughout the operation?
a. Management asks for the opinions of employees, but the primary people that
focus on policy implementation is management.
4. What internal or external influences may affect the development of policies?
a. Internally, the interns that were hired for the Summer influence the
development of policies for the next season. Externally, the team owner may
come around to say something or the fans will have an issue that isn’t yet part of
one of the policies.
5. How are policies and practices actually disseminated throughout the organization to the
employees? To the patrons or participants?
a. Policies are given to the employees in the form of a handbook. This handbook
lists out the policies regarding COVID, rain out games, canceled firework shows
and more. The fans are directed to our website to read up on all of our policies.
6. How are policies monitored and reviewed? Who does this?
 a. Policies aren’t really reviewed once the season starts because they can’t change
them around on the fans. The Fan Experience Director and GM would be the
ones to monitor the policies.
7. Describe the process and/or procedures that are required for changing a policy.
a. To change a policy means a problem or issue arises. First, assessing the issue is
what’s most important. Then going about changing the policy is fairly easy, the
GM would go into the website and edit what needed to be changed.
Planning and Organizing
1. How is the planning function carried out? Is there a special committee or board or
group charged with this responsibility?
a. There really isn’t a special planning committee or board with this responsibility.
Planning is carried out by every front office staff member fairly equally. That’s
the way this organization is ran, everyone working together.
2. Who is involved in the planning phases which determine the actual agency objectives,
strategies, tasks (jobs), timelines, schedules and programs?
a. The planning of agency objectives and strategies are every front office staff
member. Tasks are given out to the employees by whoever their respective
supervisor is. Timelines, schedules and programs are all done by the Media
Director, Fan Experience Director and both the GM and Assistant GM.
3. Is there a master plan for the organization which is written and available for review? If
so, how often is it actually revised?
a. There’s not really a master plan within this organization because everything is
already written out in the goals and objectives.
4. Are there departmental or unit plans within the organization?
a. Each department or branch has their own plan to follow, for example the box
office team has a completely different plan to follow than the operations team.
5. Organizing and gathering appropriate resources are important functions in any leisure
service operation. What are the most valuable resources in this organization?
 a. The most valuable resources for the Growler’s organization are the interns they
hire, the players they sign for the Summer, the multitude of different
entertainment options provided on gamedays and the season tickets holders.
The most valuable resource is absolutely the interns hired, this is because the
pay is not good, and the interns basically run the ballpark themselves after a
month of training.
Decision Making and Problem Solving
1. How are problems handled in this organization? What constitutes typical problems that
are handled on a “routine” basis?
a. Problems are handled in a variety of ways, depending on the severity of the
problem. Typical routine problems would be fans not having the seats they
wanted, running out of drinks and food when there’s four game homestands,
season ticket holders wanting to swap seats and fans wanting to swap tickets to
other games after they’re purchased.
2. What is the routine procedure that might be used to deal with a problem?
a. If an intern or employee can’t handle an issue, that intern or employee is
supposed to find the nearest front office staff member to help. It could be the
GM that’s closest to help or it could be the Events Director, routine procedure
was all about finding the nearest front office staff member.
3. What constitutes a major problem or issue that faces the organization?
a. A major problem or issue would be having too many groups booked in one of our
group outing areas. Another major issue I experienced firsthand was handling
the exiting of the ballpark after firework nights, traffic is horrendous and without
having people out to direct anything can happen.
4. How are these situations handled? Who becomes involved?
a. These major issues are usually handled by the GM or Assistant GM. They do
what they can to fix the issue, usually by giving upset fans free tickets to another
game or giving them vouchers for free food.
 5. What is a methodology for trying to anticipate potential or underlying concerns or
problems that the organization may have to contend with at some future date?
a. The policies already implemented help drastically when it comes to unexpected
concerns in the future. The organization is very well run and doesn’t experience
many unforeseen issues.
6. What is a standard procedure for dealing with a “crisis situation”?
a. Standard procedure for a crisis situation is getting all hands-on deck to help with
whatever it is. That means wherever in the ballpark employees are at, they must
drop whatever it is they’re doing and help with the crisis at hand. Front office
staff gathers their respective teams, and all find a way to help the situation at
hand.
Motivation and Leadership
1. How is leadership defined in this organization? In other words, what are examples of
true leadership? Explain and give examples.
a. Leadership in this organization is defined as having the fan for life mentality,
being someone that goes above and beyond for the fans. One example, one
time I was walking back to the front office and I saw a little kid spill his popcorn
and ice cream on the ground. He started crying, so I went and grabbed a
popcorn and an ice cream voucher and gave it to the family. Another example
would be picking up a piece of trash that someone threw on the ground, it’s a
small thing to do but it’s the leadership the Growler’s organization appreciates.
2. How are leaders within this organization identified? What do they do that is different
from the average staff member that sets them apart?
a. Leaders within the Growler’s organization are identified by doing the little things.
Picking up one small piece of trash, staying after everyone else to help clean up
the ballpark, checking on fans to see if they’re having a fun experience. It’s the
little things that set leaders apart from an average staff member.
3. What special characteristics are sought out in personnel that might identify them as
having “leadership potential”?
 a. The biggest characteristics that show leadership potential are being able to keep
calm and collected when talking with an upset fan, being honest and upfront,
having the ability to make people smile or laugh, and being a solid listener.
4. Explain whether or not there’s a belief that different “leadership styles” are required for
different situations? Provide examples.
a. There’s definitely a belief that specific leadership styles are required for certain
situations. If you need to get all of the employee’s attention for a big
announcement, you’d want a loud and demanding leader. If there’s an upset fan
with issues, you want a calm and quiet leader to handle that situation.
5. Describe the established method for motivating employees to excel.
a. The method used within the Growler’s organization to motivate employees is the
use of fun. It might not be a common method to motivate employees, but it
works. Employees had multiple weekends where they could all meet up for
company outings, we had an intern Olympics throughout the Summer to keep
the interns happy.
6. Provide examples of motivation techniques that are utilized by the management
personnel to improve the quality of work efforts and/or productivity.
a. One of the biggest motivation techniques used by management is asking for
intern input, asking the interns questions about how to improve productivity
gives us a chance to feel wanted and appreciated. Another technique used is
radiating positivity, this goes hand in hand with the fun. Everyday each front
office staff member was in good spirits, seeing them in a good mood puts the
interns in a good mood.
Communication Patterns
1. Identify the ways in which information is communicated within the organization? Give
examples.
a. The primary way information was communicated to all employees was through
the app “GroupMe”. GroupMe was used as the primary form of communication
 between everyone. Each branch also had a group chat through text, texting was
used for the little things that didn’t need to be shared with everyone else.
2. All organizations recognize the difficulty of communication blockages or breakdowns.
What are examples that may have occurred in this organization?
a. A few times this Summer some communication breakdowns occurred. A couple
weekends we didn’t have games, but we did have festivals that we hosted. The
Events Director wouldn’t send us anything in the GroupMe until a couple days
before the event. This provided plenty of scheduling problems because so many
people make plans on the weekends and these people had to ditch these plans
because of poor communication. Another example of mishandled
communication, applying for the internship it stated 40-hour work weeks all
Summer. This did not turn out to be true, sales interns worked 50-hour weeks
with a couple 60 and 70-hour weeks.
3. Who is the particular staff member that has the title and/or major responsibility to
communicate to the public or patrons? Describe this role.
a. The staff member in charge of communicating with the fans was the Fan
Experience Director, who was also my supervisor. His role was to handle all
ticket issues with fans, answer any voicemails or emails sent to him by fans with
questions, have a complete understanding of the tickets available to sell for each
game, knowing what groups are located where and even more. It was his first
year in the role and he performed exceptionally well.
4. How are communication problems handled in this organization?
a. Communication problems are handled quickly within the Growler’s organization.
Since all communication was done through GroupMe, there never really was any
problems. The only problem was the Events Director not giving us a heads up
about festivals.
5. Describe the special staff training or special sessions offered which addresses the need
to improve communications and service.
 a. There wasn’t any special staff training to address the need to improve
communication, everything was done through the GroupMe.
6. Provide examples of actual communication materials, such as newsletters,
announcements, brochures, memos, program bulletins.
a. The fans that wanted to receive newsletters and announcements would simply
be emailed consistently throughout the season. Everything was posted on the
website for the fans to have easy access, some of the programs were handed out
to fans as they left the games. But the website is where we directed people
regarding any of that stuff.
Personnel Supervision and Development
1. Describe the processing that takes place when a new employee joins the organization.
a. On day one of the internship all of the interns showed up for orientation day.
Everyone introduced themselves to each other and learned a little more about
the Growler’s organization. Following the big meeting of everyone, every intern
separated into their own branch with whoever their supervisor was. I went with
the Box Office/Sales team, the other branches were operations, media,
entertainment, and broadcasting.
2. What kind of special training or orientation took place?
a. Each branch underwent their own form of training, the sales team underwent
the most extensive training. The entire first two weeks involved training. The
first week was all about understanding how the CRM worked. The CRM is what
we used to sell tickets to fans. The second week was practicing calls and learning
different sales techniques.
3. Is there an employee’s handbook that describes expected behaviors and attitudes?
a. There is an employee handbook that describes expected behaviors and
attitudes. It was actually just a PowerPoint printed off and handed out to the
interns on day one.
4. Describe several expectations that the organization instills in each of their employees.
 a. The Growler’s always expected the employees to show up with a positive
attitude, even if they were feeling down. Being an employee that does the little
things is another huge one. The most important expectation day in and day out
was always making sure you’re having fun and providing fun for the fans.
5. If some personnel violate or do not comply with the policies/practices, what will happen
to them? How is the problem handled?
a. If an employee wasn’t complying with the policies in place, they would have to
sit down with whoever their primary supervisor is first. If the issue can’t be
resolved that way, the GM will talk to the employee. Seeing how the policies in
place within the Growler’s organization aren’t that bad, it doesn’t make sense
that an employee would ever violate the policies. If the GM can’t find a way to
work around the employee’s concerns it could result in the termination of that
employee’s contract.
6. How are employees evaluated and/or monitored in this organization?
a. The employees are evaluated by their supervisor in whatever branch of the
organization they’re part of. The supervisor can decide how much supervision
his employees need. At the beginning of the internship, my supervisor was in
the box office watching over us basically 24/7. After about a month of
evaluating and monitoring us, he started to help in other areas around the park
and left the box office interns handle everything themselves.
Marketing and Promotion
1. Explain the marketing division or department, or how this function is handled.
a. The Growler’s organization didn’t have a specific marketing department. Each
front office staff member did their own form of marketing to help. The Media
Director, Event Director, GM, Fan Experience Director and more all were the
marketing department.
2. What is the role and mission of this function within this organization?
 a. The role and mission of marketing within the Growler’s organization is simply to
reach out and encourage more people to come to games. I’m sure if there was
actually a marketing department this would be easier to answer.
3. Discuss the agency’s target market segments.
a. The agency’s target market in the demographic area was focused on age and
profession. The target market in the psychographic area was people that enjoy
baseball as a hobby. Then geographically, the target market was directed at
primarily citizens of Kalamazoo but also Southwest Michigan. Behaviorally the
Growler’s organization didn’t really target anyone, we just focused on marketing
to fans and customers that have already been to games.
4. What market research and target marketing does the agency do?
a. The market research the agency does is in house. For example, every person
that buys a ticket from the Growlers has to give us their name, phone number,
email and address. This way we know who’s good to target and who’s not good
to target. I explained what kind of target marketing the agency does in the
question above this one.
5. What specific strategies does the agency implement?
a. A few specific strategies that the agency implements are using social media and
viral marketing, email marketing, direct selling and word of mouth. The primary
focus for marketing is the use of social media, the Growlers have a large number
of followers on all forms of social media.
6. What type of promotional efforts does the agency make?
a. The Growlers use a variety of promotional efforts to reach out to more fans.
Teaming up with a vast number of sponsors gives them the outreach they need
to grow their fanbase. Having promotional nights on certain game days is
something they focus heavily on. A few examples: Bark-in-the-Park night,
fireworks nights, Star Wars themed night, Harry Potter themed night and plenty
more. As I said earlier, the Growlers also partner up with big companies for
festivals.
Budgeting and Finance
1. How is the agency financed? What are the sources of revenue?
a. The most obvious source of revenue is ticket sales, which I was lucky enough to
get firsthand experience with. Single game tickets are a big source of revenue,
the big moneymaker for the Growler’s organization are group outings. The
reason group outings are the largest revenue stream is the fact that the group
sizes can range anywhere from 10 to 400 people. Concessions are another big
form of revenue, as well as the team shop. The team shop has everything from
jerseys to broken bats used in game.
2. What is the estimated annual revenue income? What is the estimated annual
expenditure?
a. There isn’t an estimated annual revenue or expenditure number available. It
can’t be known until the end of the season. I just know the revenue stream
always is more than the expenses on the season because of how little they pay
the employees and interns.
3. Describe this agency’s a profit or non-profit focus. Who profits? Who subsidizes?
a. Within the Growler’s organization the front office staff members profit the most
because it is a profit focused business. Who subsidizes can either be the fans or
the Northwoods League, the league that the Growlers play in.
4. How is the actual annual budget/funds allocated to various departments?
a. The departments that use the most money obviously get the majority of the
funds. This means the sales and media teams receive the most funds.
Operations is in a close third. It’s ran how any business is, the departments that
make the most money receive the most funding.
5. What is the process for departments to develop annual budgets? Timelines?
a. Each department head creates what he/she thinks they need budget wise for the
upcoming season during the month of December. The GM looks at each report
and makes changes where he sees fit with the Assistant GM.
Equipment and Facilities
1. Describe the area and facilities in which you work.
a. I work in the box office and front office primarily, like I said before though,
everyone does a little bit of everything around the park. Working in the box
office means handling the cash from selling tickets and running a computer on
gamedays to sell tickets.
2. How are these maintained? Who is involved in custodial and maintenance of the
facilities? Who supervises? Who is totally responsible?
a. There’s not one person who is totally responsible. Every Monday a cleaning
service company comes in and cleans the entire office. Nobody supervises them
because it’s their job and there’s more important things to pay attention to. At
the end of a three or four game weekend, all the interns help clean the entire
ballpark.
3. Determine if there is an actual maintenance management plan and/or a preventive
maintenance program (PMP).
a. There is not a maintenance management plan in place because a separate
company is hired to come in and clean.
4. Who pays for the maintenance or repairs?
a. The organization as a whole pay for the maintenance, the GM is the one that
gives them the money.
5. How is the area and facility designed for its original purpose? How could the design be
improved?
a. The box office is designed very well for its purpose, which is to sell tickets. With
four box office windows open on gamedays and two tickets printers it works
well. The design could be improved by having a ticket printer at every window,
having a chip reader for cards at each window and having more box office space.
When we had six people in there this year it would get very cramped.
6. How is the area facility aesthetically pleasing? How does it appeal to clients, guests,
participants and staff?
 a. The facility is aesthetically pleasing because it’s a baseball field, they’re the
prettiest fields to look at in all of sports. Having the box office right in the front
helps fans find the entrance, or if they have any immediate questions, they can
just come up and ask. What really appeals to the fans are the areas where we
have group outings. Our Bear Cave, Bear Trap and Tailgate area are all a
pleasure to sit in and watch the game from. Being right next to the Kalamazoo
Airport adds more to the environment as well, seeing planes fly overhead like at
Petco Park in San Diego is very enjoyable.
My Questions
1. What ways can the morale of the interns be improved?
a. There are more than a few ways to keep morale high. The best way is to
decrease the number of hours worked, saying we’ll only have 40-hour weeks
when applying for the job and then giving us 50 to 70-hour weeks all Summer is
not the way to do it. More money for the number of hours worked is another
way to improve morale.
2. Were the employees you worked with enjoyable?
a. The employees are what made me enjoy every day, if the people weren’t fun
then this Summer would have been a tough one. There was only one or two
employees that didn’t show kindness throughout the internship.
3. Would you go back to the Growler’s organization for another internship or job?
a. I loved working for the Growlers all Summer, the people and environment was
always fun and exciting. I would not go back though; this is only because of the
hours I was made to work. Living in Michigan and working in baseball isn’t ideal,
Summer is only so long and that’s during baseball season.
4. Would you recommend this internship to another student in Sports Management?
a. I would recommend this internship to other students. I would do this because I
learned so much about sales and the way a baseball organization is ran. I would
tell the student that the pay is bad, and the hours are worse, but once again it’s
such a fun environment and you’ll learn more than you could possibly imagine.
5. Did this internship provide you with the tools and experience you need to further your
career?
a. I 100% believe this internship provided me the tools and experience needed to
further my career in sports. Working with a minor league baseball team makes
any resume stand out because of all the different things you learn and the
diversity of the different tasks you do on a day-to-day basis. I’m very thankful
for the time I had with the Kalamazoo Growlers and I can’t wait to see what
opportunities arise from it.