Strategy and planning in the context of sport

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this chapter you should be able to:
- Explain the concepts of strategy and the strategic management process;
- Understand the different approaches that can be used in strategic planning, formulation, implementation, control, and evaluation;
- Recognise the different strategic contexts that influence strategic management in sport organisations;
- Explore the growing influence of sustainability issues on strategic management in sport.

KEY TERMS:
Competitive advantage – we say that a sport organisation has competitive advantage when its profit rate (or however success is broadly defined in that organisation’s particular sector) is higher than average among competitors (cf. Hill and Jones, 2001).
Strategic management – strategic management is the process of planning, implementing, controlling, and evaluating the many different strategies aimed at fulfilling the vision of the sport organisation.
Strategic planning – strategic planning is a process involving external and internal environment analyses and visioning (identifying/revising the vision, mission, and core purpose) leading to the establishment of goals/objectives, specific strategies and tactics, and benchmarks and indicators (Slack and Parent, 2006).
Strategy – strategy is a plan, ploy, pattern, position, or perspective, where all sets of organisational activities are integrated in a coherent manner (fit) so the organisation may meet its goals (Mintzberg, 1987; Poister and Streib, 1999; Porter, 1996).
Sustainability – sustainability in business pertains to organisations fostering not only economic value but also healthy ecosystems and socially strong communities (see The Network for Business Sustainability, 2010).

OVERVIEW:
To paraphrase the former Major League Baseball player and manager Yogi Berra, ‘If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else’. Thus, it is important, especially for organisations – which include two or more people whose work must be coordinated towards a common goal – to have a strategy. Moreover, organisations must compete for a variety of resources in order to survive, and hopefully thrive. In this chapter, you will learn about strategy and planning, both fundamental concepts for sport managers, and processes that can assist an organisation in surviving and thriving. Nike, for example, understood the importance of these concepts and processes when it appointed a vice-president of global strategic planning in 2005.