Loughborough London School of Sport & Exercise Sciences Evaluating the Competencies of Sports Managers in Taiwan: A Delphi Approach Ling-Mei Ko Professor

Loughborough

London

School of Sport & Exercise Sciences

Evaluating the Competencies of Evaluating the Competencies of Sports Managers in Taiwan: Sports Managers in Taiwan: A Delphi ApproachA Delphi Approach

Ling-Mei KoLing-Mei Ko

Professor Ian HenryProfessor Ian Henry

Professor Joe Chin-Hsung Kao Professor Joe Chin-Hsung Kao

Structure of the presentationStructure of the presentation

• Introduction– The definition of competency– The development of competency-based approach in

sports management– The deficiencies of previous competency-based approach

in sports management

• The Delphi method and its applications in this study– The Delphi Method– Delphi process in this study

• Findings and discussion• Conclusion

IntroductionIntroduction

• The definition of competency– “Competencies are the combination of knowledge, skills,

abilities, and personal traits which are utilized to perform a variety of activities and behaviors effectively.”

• The development of competency-based approach in sports management– The purpose is to identify the body of required

competencies for a sports manager which could be used for education and training purpose.

– Most competency studies use quantitative survey techniques.

IntroductionIntroduction

• The deficiencies of previous competency-based approach in sports management

– Quantitative survey has been argued to limit the response of respondents in a simple checklist.

– Most previous studies mainly focused on particular settings; therefore, there is not much information regarding the generalized competencies across different settings in sports industry.

The Delphi method and its applications in The Delphi method and its applications in this studythis study

• The Delphi Method– Taylor and Meinhardt (1985) claimed that “since there

are no “right” answers, a consensus of opinions is an acceptable second choice” (cited in Mitchell 1991).

– Aims to obtain the most reliable consensus of opinions from a group of experts without group discussion.

– It uses a series of intensive written questionnaires with controlled feedback to facilitate the development of a group consensus.


• This study was aimed to identify the important competencies required of a successful sports manager in Taiwan.

1. Set objectives

2. Select knowledgeable experts

3. Conduct Round 1 Questionnaire

6. Further analyze




• Taiwan Society of Sports Management (TASSM) was invited to collaborate as partner in this study.

• 27 experts participated in this study.– 2 from the government– 12 from sports industry– 13 from sports

management academic institutions

1. Set objectives



6. Further analyze




• Round 1 Questionnaire : Identify competencies of sports managers

• After receiving the responses from the first round, all competencies were combined and refined into Round 2 questionnaire.

1. Set objectives



6. Further analyze




• Round 2 Questionnaire: Competencies importance ratings

• After receiving the responses from the second round, the average of each competency was computed and reported in Round 3 questionnaire.

1. Set objectives



6. Further analyze



CompetencyFrequency

no. %

Ability to lead is important to conduct sports manager job.

Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Strongly agree

27 27 100


• Round 3 Questionnaire : Competencies importance ratings reconsidered

• In Round 3 questionnaire, each statement was provided with each expert’s own score and the group means obtained from round 2.

1. Set objectives



6. Further analyze



CompetencyScore

Average Your score

Ability to lead is important to the successful conducting of a sports manager job.

Strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Strongly agree

6.74 5


• Following the return of round 3 questionnaires, the average of each competency was computed again.

• Information obtained through 3 rounds of this Delphi study was further analyzed.

1. Set objectives



6. Further analyze



Findings and DiscussionFindings and Discussion

• Delphi Round 1 –

Identify competencies of sports managers

– Findings:• In the first round, 27 questionnaires were received from

the participants.

• The competencies suggested by experts were carefully analysed and then a list of 79 competencies was developed.


0 5 10 15 20 25

Self / Personal Management (22)

Management Techniques (18)

Business Procedures (18)

Philosophical Foundation (9)

Communications/ Public Relations (7)

Legality/ Risk Management (4)

Research (1)

• Classification of 79 Competencies



Competencies importance ratings

– Findings• The second round had a 100% response rate with 27

experts responding.

• Ranking of the most “important” and “unimportant” competencies (Table 1 and Table 2).

Findings and Discussion - Table 1Findings and Discussion - Table 1

Round Two ranking of the most “important” competencies

Mean Score

All (n=27)

Officer (n=2)

Academy (n=13)

Practitioner (n=12)

1. Ability to communicate 6.74 7.00 (1) 6.92 (1) 6.50 (1)

2. Skilled at planning 6.70 7.00 (2) 6.92 (2) 6.42 (2)

3. Ability to coordinate 6.44 6.50 (4) 6.62 (3) 6.25 (3)

4. Skilled at marketing 6.26 6.50 (5) 6.62 (4) 5.83 (13)

5. Skilled at problem solving 6.26 6.00 (7) 6.38 (6) 6.17 (4)

6. Knowledge of sports industry environment 6.22 5.00(22) 6.62 (5) 6.00 (8)

7. Skilled at crisis response 6.15 4.50(33) 6.38 (7) 6.17 (5)

8. Ability to implement 6.11 6.00 (8) 6.08 (21) 6.17 (6)

9. Positive personal characteristics 6.11 4.50(34) 6.38 (8) 6.08 (7)

10. Ability to lead 6.07 6.50 (6) 6.23 (15) 5.83 (14)

Findings and Discussion - Table 2Findings and Discussion - Table 2Round Two ranking of the most “unimportant” competencies

Mean Score

All (n=27)

Officer (n=2)

Academy (n=13)

Practitioner (n=12)

70. Knowledge of exercise physiology 4.37 4.50(47) 4.46 (74) 4.25 (70)

71. Sports related license 4.35 2.50(76) 4.85 (69) 4.09 (75)

72. Skilled at advertising 4.33 3.50(58) 4.62 (72) 4.17 (73)

73. Skilled at sports major 4.26 3.50(59) 4.92 (66) 3.67 (79)

74. Knowledge of sports science 4.26 3.50(60) 4.54 (73) 4.08 (76)

75. Skilled at sports instruction 4.11 2.50(77) 4.23 (77) 4.25 (71)

76. Knowledge of sports rules 4.11 2.00(79) 4.31 (76) 4.25 (72)

77. Knowledge of sports sociology 4.04 2.50(78) 4.38 (75) 3.92 (78)

78. Knowledge of physical education and sports in China

4.00 2.50(72) 4.00 (78) 4.17 (74)

79. Knowledge of Taiwan history and relationship between China and Taiwan

3.78 2.50(73) 3.62 (79) 4.08 (77)



Competencies importance ratings reconsidered

– Findings• The third round also had a 100% return rate with 27

questionnaires received.

• Ranking of the most “important” and “unimportant” competencies (Table 3 and Table 4).

Findings and Discussion – Table 3Findings and Discussion – Table 3

Round Three ranking of the most “important” competencies

Mean Score

All (n=27)

Officer (n=2)

Academy (n=13)

Practitioner (n=12)

1. Ability to communicate 6.89 7.00 (1) 6.92 (1) 6.83 (1)

2. Skilled at planning 6.78 7.00 (2) 6.92 (2) 6.58 (3)

3. Ability to coordinate 6.67 6.50 (4) 6.69 (3) 6.67 (2)

4. Skilled at problem solving 6.56 7.00 (3) 6.62 (4) 6.42 (5)

5. Skilled at crisis response 6.44 6.00 (8) 6.46 (7) 6.50 (4)

6. Positive personal characteristics 6.41 5.50(25) 6.54 (5) 6.42 (6)

7. Skilled at marketing 6.30 6.50 (5) 6.54 (6) 6.00 (12)

8. Knowledge of sports industry environment 6.26 6.00 (9) 6.38 (10) 6.17 (8)

9. Ability to implement 6.26 6.50 (6) 6.08 (23) 6.42 (7)

10. Ability to think and analyze 6.22 6.00(10) 6.46 (8) 6.00 (13)

Findings and Discussion - Table 4Findings and Discussion - Table 4Round Three ranking of the most “unimportant” competencies

Mean Score

All (n=27)

Officer (n=2)

Academy (n=13)

Practitioner (n=12)

70. Knowledge of sports psychology 4.44 4.00(68) 4.69 (71) 4.25 (70)

71. Skilled at sports major 4.41 3.50(74) 4.85 (69) 4.08 (72)

72. Sports related license 4.37 4.00(69) 4.69 (72) 4.08 (73)

73. Knowledge of exercise physiology 4.33 3.50(75) 4.54 (74) 4.25 (71)

74. Knowledge of sports science 4.22 3.50(76) 4.62 (73) 3.92 (75)


4.19 4.00(70) 4.31 (76) 4.08 (74)

76. Knowledge of sports rules 4.19 3.50(77) 4.54 (75) 3.92 (76)

77. Knowledge of sports sociology 4.07 4.00(71) 4.31 (77) 3.83 (78)

78. Skilled at sports instruction 3.93 3.00(79) 4.08 (78) 3.92 (77)


3.74 3.50(78) 3.69 (79) 3.83 (79)


Round Two Round Three1. Ability to communicate 1. Ability to communicate

2. Skilled at planning 2. Skilled at planning

3. Ability to coordinate 3. Ability to coordinate

4. Skilled at marketing 4. Skilled at problem solving

5. Skilled at problem solving 5. Skilled at crisis response

6. Knowledge of sports industry environment 6. Positive personal characteristics

7. Skilled at crisis response 7. Skilled at marketing

8. Ability to implement 8. Knowledge of sports industry environment

9. Positive personal characteristics 9. Ability to implement

10. Ability to lead (R3-12) 10. Ability to think and analyze (R2-15)

Ranking of the most “important” competencies


Round Two Round Three70. Knowledge of exercise physiology 70. Knowledge of sports psychology (R2-69)

71. Sports related license 71. Skilled at sports major

72. Skilled at advertising (R3-68) 72. Sports related license

73. Skilled at sports major 73. Knowledge of exercise physiology

74. Knowledge of sports science 74. Knowledge of sports science

75. Skilled at sports instruction 75. Knowledge of physical education and sports in China

76. Knowledge of sports rules 76. Knowledge of sports rules

77. Knowledge of sports sociology 77. Knowledge of sports sociology


78. Skilled at sports instruction



Ranking of the most “unimportant” competencies


• According to ANOVAs test, there were only 4 significant differences among the 79 competencies between academy and practitioner groups in Round 3

• Skilled at time management• Skilled at Chinese and Taiwanese• Knowledge of law• Ability to search for sponsorship

• It means that on average, the academic and practitioner groups have similar opinions on the degree of importance of each competency.

ConclusionConclusion• This study was undertaken with 100% retention

across the three rounds of fieldwork which is relatively high for this type of research.

• This study produced a clear consensus about the competencies important to the successful conducting of a sports manager job in Taiwan.

• However, although such a consensus points to the types of competences required across a range of sports management roles, further work is still required to develop an understanding of core competencies in different sports specialist contexts.

Thank you!Thank you!

Documents

Loughborough London School of Sport & Exercise Sciences Evaluating the Competencies of Sports Managers in Taiwan: A Delphi Approach Ling-Mei Ko Professor