SSM - Blog #3 - Acting in the eyes of those who matter most

Mariela Pena is a leading female within the sporting industry. She is currently the general manager of Volleyball Victoria (VV), as well as the match commissioner at Football Federation Australia. Mariela has been working at VV for 8 months, however she has been working in the sporting industry for over 15 years. Mariela was interviewed by Sports Management course coordinator, Robbie Coyle, to gain an insight for Sport Management students regarding industry strategic management processes. Mariela's current focus is the renewal of VV’s strategic plan, as it is about to come to its completion. Mariela is placing large emphasis in the preparation of the strategic plan, to VV’s stakeholders.

 Stakeholders are “vital to the survival and success of the organisation” (Greenwood 2001).  Along with the significant role stakeholders play in the success of an organisation, they also benefit the most from the success of sporting organisation. VV is a very small sporting organisation, and as Mariela pointed out “it is a bit easier to reach out to main stakeholders” (Pena 2013) allowing them to gain necessary advice from primary stakeholders.  The “key primary stakeholders such as employees, customers and owners/investors have a considerable interest in the long-term viability of the organization” (Schraeder & Self 2010) and giving them the opportunity to provide advice is important as this strategic plan will be “what they truly want to work on” (Pena, 2013). Implementing stakeholder advice will largely influence the success of the strategic plan. Primary stakeholders are constantly exposed to the issues VV would be faced with which would suggest that “they are uniquely positioned to offer collective insights regarding strategic missteps or oversights” (Schraeder & Self 2010) which makes their advice invaluable to the production of the strategic plan.

Mariela also shows great management skills in showing how valuable she deems the advice from the stakeholders.  She stated that “it is important everyone has an opinion and they can express that opinion” (Pena 2013) which also sends a “message to these groups that their input and continued involvement in the future of the organization are valued by leadership” (Schraeder & Self 2010). This reiterates to the stakeholders how they are valued within the organisation, and will keep their interest in participating with the organisation. Mariela’s action is largely relative to the Stewardship theory of governance as opposed to the agency theory. Stewardship argues “that managers’ and shareholders’ interests are actually aligned and that managers (agents) will act in the best interest of the shareholders” (Hoye et al. 2012). Mariela’s focus is producing the best possible strategic plan for VV, and the application of stewardship theory in this situation shows Mariela’s real “sense of commitment to the organisation” (Hoye et al. 2012).

References

Schraeder, M. & Self, D.R. 2010, "Potential benefits of engaging primary stakeholders in developing a vision", Strategic Direction, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 3-5.

Hoye, R, Smith, A, Nicholson, M, Steward, B, & Westerbeek, H 2012, Sport Management Principles and Application, 3rd Edn, Routledge, New York, NY.

Greenwood, M 2001, 'The Importance of Stakeholders According to Business Leaders', Business & Society Review (00453609), 106, 1, p. 29, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 2 November 2013.

Pena, M. 2013. Blog 3 Mariela Pena General Manager Volleyball Victoria Interview. Interviewed by Robbie Coyle [viewed on echo] University of Canberra, 10 September 2013.