ABSTRACT

Why would you want to know about organisation theory? Well, look around you. We live in a world that is full of organisations of different sizes, types, and goals. Sport organisations, of course, are no exception. You will likely work in some type of organisation(s) now or at some point in your life, notwithstanding the fact that the university or college you are attending is also a type of organisation. But why should a sport manager be concerned with organisation theory? The analogy of a car is useful here. Many of us know how to drive a car, but relatively few of us know what to do when it breaks down. So what do we do? We lift the hood and look at the motor. Again, relatively few of us know what we’re looking at. We might take a stab at a quick fix, but are never really sure if we’ve sorted out the problem. Sometimes we might even ignore the problem, hoping it will go away. More often than not, this leads to a worsening of the situation. Eventually, the car breaks down altogether and is rendered useless and in need of costly servicing or, worse, total destruction.