WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

Department of Human Performance and Health Education

HPHE 4990 RECREATION/SPORT MANAGEMENT INTERNSHIP
MANAGEMENT FUNCTION QUESTIONS

GOAL DEVELOPMENT - ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES

1. What are the most important goals in the organization? Organize and manage
events for the community.
2. How were these goals developed? The goals were developed by the whole KELC
staff working together. Who was actually involved? KELC staff and interns.
3. How are these goals communicated to the employees? To the patrons, participants
or clients? The goals were communicated right away on our first workday. We set
goals and communicated daily to achieve a great environment for the community.
We spread the word of these great events through fundraisers, advertisements, and
word of mouth around the community.
4. How are the employees involved in organizational goal development? The
employees and interns were given tasks to complete to the best of our abilities.
5. How and when are the organizational goals reviewed and/or revised to meet
changing conditions? Our goals were reviewed after every event.
6. Attach examples of information produced by the organization which depicts the
goals and objectives by which they operate.

POLICY DEVELOPMENT

1. How are the policies of this organization actually developed? Deb Droppers
develops the policies and then communicates them to employees.
2. At what level within the organization is policy formulated? From our boss, Deb
Droppers.
3. Who is actually involved in the process - management personnel and/or employees
throughout the operation? Deb Droppers. Interns were not involved with the process
of policy development, but we were able to express our thoughts and concerns.
4. What internal or external influences may affect the development of policies? An
internal example would be, some of our employees had concerns about the policy,
so when they expressed those concerns, the policy was updated.
5. How are policies and practices actually disseminated throughout the organization to
the employees? To the patrons or participants? Policies were communicated
through meetings and emails.
6. How are policies monitored and reviewed? Who does this? Policies are reviewed
after every event. If something wasn’t right, then we fixed the issue together. Deb
Droppers monitored the policies.

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7. Describe the process and/or procedures that are required for changing a policy.
Meetings would be organized and we would communicate through email.

PLANNING AND ORGANIZING

1. How is the planning function carried out? Is there a special committee or board or
group charged with this responsibility? We would meet before every event and
discuss planning for the day.
2. Who is involved in the planning phases which determine the actual agency
objectives, strategies, tasks (jobs), timelines, schedules and programs? The entire
KELC staff and interns.
4. Is there a master plan for the organization which is written and available for review?
If so, how often is it actually revised? There are templates for certain events that we
follow when planning for an event. After we complete the event, we review the
template to see if we need to make changes or not.
5. Are there departmental or unit plans within the organization? There was a main goal
for the summer, and then for each event there was a plan.
6. Organizing and gathering appropriate resources are important functions in any
leisure service operation. What are the most valuable resources in this
organization? Communication and trust were valuable. Trusting other employees to
get their job done was critical for success.

DECISION MAKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

1. How are problems handled in this organization? What constitutes typical problems
that are handled on a "routine" basis? When we stumbled over problems, we would
come together, communicate, and construct a plan to get the job done.
2. What is the routine procedure that might be used to deal with a problem? Informing
Deb about the situation and finding out how to handle that situation.
3. What constitutes a major problem or issue that faces the organization? A major
problem was having companies not on the same page as KELC. When this happens, we
contact them, and find a solution.
4. How are these situations handled? Who becomes involved? Deb Droppers
becomes involved and she talks to the owners of those companies.
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? “The
oh shit tote”. This bin had extra tools and resources in case we ran into a problem
or forgot something.
6. What is a standard procedure for dealing with a "crisis situation?" Come together
and make a decision on a solution.
MOTIVATION AND LEADERSHIP

1. How is leadership defined in this organization? In other words, what are examples
of true leadership? Explain and give examples. An example would be Deb
Droppers. She taught us how to take charge and host an event. Being direct is
important for success with events.

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2. How are leaders within this organization identified? What do they do that is different
from the average staff member that sets them apart? Leaders guide when times get
tough.
3. What special characteristics are sought out in personnel that might identify them as
having "leadership potential"? Guiding and teaching employees that are less
experienced.
4. Explain whether or not there a belief that different "leadership styles" are required
for different situations? Provide examples. There were different leadership roles.
For instance, Deb handled the food trucks while Adam and I handled the fencing
around the event.
5. Describe the established method for motivating employees to excel. Providing
positive reinforcement.
6. Provide examples of motivation techniques that are utilized by the management
personnel to improve the quality of work efforts and/or productivity. Providing positive
reinforcement.

COMMUNICATION PATTERNS

1. Identify the ways in which information is communicated within the organization?

Give examples. Emails and meetings.
2. All organizations recognize the difficulty of communication blockages or
breakdowns. What are examples that may have occurred in this organization? We
didn’t have any issues with communication blockages.
3. Who is the a particular staff member that has the title and/or major responsibility to
communicate to the public or patrons? Describe this role. Deb Droppers. She is the
owner of KELC.
4. How are communication problems handled in this organization? Everyone would
make sure we are on the same page before an event so there aren’t any problems.
5. Describe the special staff training or special sessions offered which addresses the
need to improve communications and service? There were no training sessions.

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6. Provide examples of actual communication materials, such as newsletters,
announcements, brochures, memos, program bulletins.

PERSONNEL SUPERVISION AND DEVELOPMENT

1. Describe the processing that takes place when a new employee joins the
organization. Meetings are held to communicate the standard, and to introduce the
staff.
2. What kind of special training or orientation takes place? There is no special training.
3. Is there an employee's hand book that describes expected behaviors and attitudes?
Yes.
4. Describe several expectations that the organization instills in each of their
employees. Show up on time, do your best, and help the community.
5. If some personnel violate or do not comply with the policies/practices, what will
happen to them? How is the problem handled? You will have a meeting with Deb to
discuss what happened and how you can get past that issue.

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6. How are employees evaluated and/or monitored in this organization? They are
monitored by performance.

MARKETING AND PROMOTION

1. Explain the marketing division or department, or how this function is handled. There
was a Facebook page for KELC events. It was ran by an employee.
2. What is the role and mission of this function within this organization? To show the
community what KELC is about.
3. Discuss the agency's target market segments. Kalamazoo community.
4. What market research and target marketing does the agency do? There was no
specific target marketing.
5. What specific strategies does the agency implement? We are not aware of the
strategies.
6. What type of promotional efforts does the agency make? KELC posted on social
media, made news letters, and spread the word around the community.

BUDGETING AND FINANCE

1. How is the agency financed? What are the sources of revenue? It’s a nonprofit
organization, so they receive grants.
2. What is the estimated annual revenue income? What is the estimated annual
expenditure? We were not made aware of income and expenses.
3. Describe this agency's a profit or non-profit focus? Who profits? Who subsidizes?
It's a nonprofit organization where the community benefits.
4. How is the actual annual budget/funds allocated to various departments? Grants
that we received were allocated towards specific events.
5. What is the process for departments to develop annual budgets? Timelines?
Company meetings.

EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

1. Describe the area and facilities in which you work. We worked in the community of
Kalamazoo, an office, and a storage barn with all the supplies.
2. How are these maintained? Who is involved in custodial and maintenance of the
facilities? Who supervises? Who is totally responsible? Deb Droppers was
responsible for the office and barn, then the city of Kalamazoo was responsible for
the area we held events.
3. Determine if there is an actual maintenance management plan and/or a preventive
maintenance program (PMP). Not to my knowledge.
4. Who pays for the maintenance or repairs? Deb Droppers for the office and barn,
the. Kalamazoo for event sites.
5. How is the area and facility designed for its original purpose? How could the design
be improved? It can be improved by updated the area and features.

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6. How is the area facility aesthetically pleasing? How does it appeal to clients,
guests, participants and staff? We leave every site better than how they were left.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Develop five to eight (5-8) questions of your own and answer them.
1. How was the work environment? The work environment was fun and enjoyable. We
all worked towards our main goal.
2. How was the scheduling process? The scheduling process was easy, every week
we would read an e-mail sent from deb droppers on what we had coming up.
3. How did athletics interfere with this internship? Athletics didn't interfere with his
internship. Our boss was very lenient on scheduling when it came to football.
4. Do you feel like you can run your own events after working this internship? Yes, I
think I can run my own events because I learned from other employees.
5. Was your experience worthwhile? I believe my experience was worthwhile. This
experience has giving me the confidence to excel in a job after college in this field.
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