Sport Organization Theory and Behavior: Australian Grand Prix Report

This report examines the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) as a case study in sport organization theory and behavior. The analysis begins by defining the AGPC as a sporting organization and highlighting the unique characteristics of the sports industry, such as fan loyalty and low cross-elasticity of demand, and how these aspects affect the AGPC. It differentiates between organizational theory and organizational behavior, illustrating these concepts with examples from the AGPC's operations. The report then explores critical thinking, emphasizing the importance of an interdisciplinary approach. The second part of the report focuses on the AGPC's goals, which involve organizing the annual Grand Prix events in Australia, and the significance of these goals for the organization's reputation and existence. It further discusses how the AGPC manages competing issues with scarce resources, differentiating between effectiveness and efficiency. The report includes discussions on the role of organizational environments, change management, and the impact of external factors on the organization's success. The AGPC's ability to involve fans, manage events, and adapt to the dynamic sports environment are all critical aspects of its organizational design and behavior.

Running head: SPORT ORGANIZATION THEORY AND BEHAVIOR
Sport Organization Theory and Behavior
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Chosen Organization – The Australian Grand Prix Association
Part 1 – Organizational Theory and Research
1. Understanding how the Australian Grand Prix Corporation is a Sporting
Organization
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation is most definitely a sporting organization as it
is responsible for hosting the formula 1 series in Australia, with formula 1 grand prix being
regarded as one of the most popular sports across the globe. The annual formula grand prix in
Australia is staged by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation usually once in the month of
March and once in the month of October. Currently the Australian Grand Prix Corporation is
under contract to host annual grand prix events in Australia until the year of 2023. The
corporation was earlier based in Adelaide and now runs its operations from Melbourne. All
matters pertaining to Formula 1 racing Australia, right from determining the venue where this
is going to take place, to the Formula 1 stars who are going to be participating in it, and the
number of tickets that are going to be sold and the price at which these are going to be sold
are all determined by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation. The Australian Grand Prix
Corporation by virtue of all its activities therefore fit the definition of a sporting organization
very well. A sporting organization is a body that has sanctioning or regulatory function and is
seen to be manifest in many different forms. Sporting organizations are usually national in
character and may or may not be affiliated to international organizations or bodies. The
Australian Grand Prix Corporation is essentially domestic in the sense that it runs its
operations from Australia and conducts grand prix events in Australia twice a year. Yet the
event, that is, Formula 1 racing is international in character and involves participation by
formula 1 race car drivers from all over the world. The organization enters into collaboration
with multiple sponsors and donors to ensure that the Formula 1 racing event takes off

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successfully in Australia twice a year. The involvement and elimination of players from the
events and the supervision of rules and standards pertaining to Formula 1 racing are carried
out in detail by specific people appointed by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation for this
purpose.
2. Understanding what is Unique about the Sporting Industry and How this Affects
the Australian Grand Prix Corporation
As argued by Stewart and Smith (2010), one of the most important features of a sporting
industry or sport in general is the ability that such an activity has to involve fans. The
passionate loyalty and attachment that fans shows towards all of their favorite teams in sport
is something that is unique to this industry with loyalty often being the foundational emotion,
providing a sense of identification as well as vicarious emotions. Stewart and Smith (2010),
further argue that as and when fans develop this passionate sense of loyalty or fidelity to their
favorite sport stars, what developed in the process is a low cross elasticity of demand. Such a
low cross elasticity of demand is something that refers to products usually but in the domain
of sports, it implies that one game cannot be replaced too easily by an alternative option. In
this sense a sporting event is quite unique from all other commercial products that are
accessible in the market to which there is a price tag attached. Another one of the unique
features of the sporting industry as pointed out by Stewart and Smith (2010), is the fact that it
cannot be concluded that sporting teams are profit maximisers as such, with a high win-loss
ratio being what is regarded as the most accurate measure of a superior performance in sports.
When it comes to a sporting organization like the Australian Grand Prix Corporation much of
what is unique about sporting organizations in general is seen to be true. The Australian
Grand Prix events are seen to get fans involved to absolutely crazy and insane levels. People
come from all over the world to witness the Australian Grand Prix Events taking place and
there is an absolute furor among fans, both Australian as well as international, regarding the

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various racing events, and the formula 1 racers taking part in them. The Australian Grand
Prix Corporation enables passionate fans to come watch their favorite Formula 1 stars race
against one another, by offering great rebates, deals and discounts on ticket prices while
making it possible for them to witness Formula 1 scores in real time.
3. Understanding the Difference between Organizational Theory and
Organizational Behavior with respect to the Australian Grand Prix Association
Organizational theory states essentially that organizations are units of people who
have been brought together to achieve a common aim or set of collective goals and
aspirations. Organizational behavior on the other hand refers specifically to the study of
human beings in an organization. Organizational behavior alludes to how the behavior and
traits of human beings shapes the work that is done in an organizational set up. The
difference between organizational theory and organizational behavior is something that can
be witnessed with ease when one looks at the case of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation was established with the purpose of hosting the grand
prix in Australia, annually, or twice in a year, an event which involves participation by
Formula 1 racers from different parts of the globe and not just Australia. However, the
corporation is actually able to achieve all its goals and objectives in this respect because of
the hard work and the dedication that is shown by people who are working for the
corporation. Right from event management to ticket selling, to signing up Formula 1 drivers
for taking part in the different racing events, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation is able to
get its goals achieved as an organization, because of the collective efforts that are made by its
team. If the workers of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation were not enthused by the work
that is being done by the corporation and were not committed to their job roles, then it
wouldn’t be possible for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation to host the event in Australia
and keep hosting it as it is supposed to until the year of 2023. The corporation is serviced by a

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committed and dedicated web development team, event management team, PR team and
financial management team all of who have a vital role to play in deciding what is going to
happen and where. The PR team speaks to the press, the event management team organizes
the execution of Formula 1 racing events, the finance team is responsible for ticketing and
pricing, the web development team prepares the website of the corporation for easy viewing
by people online etc.
4. Different Aspects of Critical Thinking and the Importance of Deploying an
Interdisciplinary Approach to Critical Thinking
One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is the notion that all types of
thinking have some purpose or some end to it. Logical reasoning has a definitive end to it,
and if one is thinking along logical and rational lines, then there is a clear purpose behind it.
Critical thinking advocates that reasoning takes place in order to be able to resolve a problem
or to arrive at a solution to a problem. It is also advocated by critical thinking theories that the
act of logical reasoning is something that is entirely based on assumptions. People assume
and therefore they deduce. Two other important aspects of critical thinking are reasoning and
logical reasoning in particular is carried out by keeping some sort of perspective in mind.
logical reasoning is also based on evidence, information and data. Logical reasoning and
critical thinking is not something that can take place unless there is some kind of evidence to
support the lines along which thinking is taking place. The importance adopting an
interdisciplinary approach to critical thinking lies in the fact that interdisciplinary approaches
provide an individual with many different perspectives to consider in order to arrive at a
solution to a critical problem. For instance, the answers to many political, economic and
social problems can be found not only by adopting a set perspective like a sociological
perspective, but also by falling back on disciplines like political science, economics and
history all at the same time. The many different perspectives or lines of thought as presented

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by different disciplines prove to be very useful when aiming to arrive at a logical resolution
of a logical problem. In other words, a problem has to be considered from many different
angles if one has to come up with a solution that can adequately deal with the problem in the
most effective way. The use of the interdisciplinary approach is something that proves to be
especially useful when engaging in critical thinking activities in the domain of social sciences
and the humanities. Social problems can be understood from a myriad of perspectives and not
just one.
Part 2 – Goals, Effectiveness and Structure
5. Understanding the Goals of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and why
these are Important
The goals of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation are to organize the grand prix in
Australia two times in a year, if not one time at least. The corporation hosts this international
event that involves participation by Formula 1 drivers from different parts of the globe, and
which is attended by thousands and thousands of Formula 1 fans from all over the world and
from within Australia. The primary goal and purpose of the corporation is to ensure that the
grand prix is organized in Australia every year, and that it takes off in the desired manner
with no stone being left unturned by the management of the corporation to ensure that events
are executed in as smooth and hassle free a manner as possible. Australia is a country that is
well known for its sports, and when it is given the responsibility of hosting the grand prix
annually every year till 2023, it has a reputation to keep in front of the whole world. Such a
goal has been entrusted specifically to the Australian Grand Prix Corporation which has been
established specifically for this purpose, and which aims to ensure that grand prix events of
an international standard take place in Australia once a year drawing the attention of people
in each and every part of the globe. Such a goal is very important to the organization as its

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very existence is based on the planning and execution of Formula 1 racing events in Australia
that form a part of the country’s annual grand prix. It is a fact well known that grand prix is
one of the most prestigious Formula 1 racing events in the history of Formula 1 racing, and
being given the responsibility of organizing such an event in Australia every single year is no
mean task. The Australian Grand Prix Corporation takes its goals, duties and responsibilities
very seriously indeed and is serviced by an efficient and dedicated team that works night and
day to make sure that the goals of the organization in ensuring that grand prix events take off
in the desired manner at specific times of the year are achieved with much success.
6. Understanding how the Australian Grand Prix Corporation makes the most to
resolve Competing Issues with Scarce Resources, with special reference to the
difference between Effectiveness and Efficiency
Efficiency implies that whatever is being produced or performed is done the most
perfect way possible. Effectiveness on the other hand implies that whatever is being done or
performed is something that is done in a way that the objectives or aims of performing such
an action in the first place, are achieved. In other words, effectiveness is when the desired
results of a particular action are achieved. The difference between efficiency and
effectiveness can be well understood with reference to the Australian Grand Prix
Corporation. The corporation has several teams of committed and dedicated individuals who
work night and day to make sure that tickets are produced and sold on time, Formula 1
drivers from around the globe are contacted and collaborated with for participating in the
grand prix events in Australia and that promotional are carried out at the right time and in all
the right places to ensure that the events go off as smoothly as possible. However, it is only
when the corporation is able to sell all of the tickets that it intends on selling for its grand prix
events, it is only when it is able to secure the participation of the top most Formula 1 race car
drivers in the Australian grand prix and only when it is able to attract the attention of car

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racing lovers in Australia and around the world to the grand prix events in Australia through
active promotion on social media and elsewhere, that it is actually effective in meeting its
goals. Since the Australian Grand Prix Corporation is able to meet almost all if not all of its
goals with regard to grand prix events in Australia in every successive year, it can be
regarded to be an organization that is both efficient and effective in terms of its functioning.
Organizational efficiency can be witnessed in the efforts that are made by the different teams
of the corporation in advertising and selling formula 1 tickets, advertising the event on social
media, seeking sponsorships for all the different events, getting formula 1 racers to attend the
event etc. The effectiveness of the organization can be witnessed through the actual number
of tickets that the corporation is able to sell for the events, how many famous Formula 1 car
racers it is able to rope in for the events, and how many well known and prominent sponsors
it is able to acquire to get all the different events up and running.
7. Understanding the Different Levels of Complexity in the Australian Grand Prix
Corporation
There are multiple levels of complexity as far as the Australian Grand Prix Corporation is
concerned. For one, the organization is not responsible for managing just one major Formula
1 event, but many events. There are multiple events to organize, all of which are to be
attended by thousands of people from around the world, and viewed by millions more on
television. One of the most effective methods that ought to be opted for addressing the
complexity that can be witnessed in the functions of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation is
to divide the work of the organization into different teams. There should be one team that is
devoted to handling specific responsibilities while another team handles another set of
responsibilities and this indeed an actual way by which an organization like the Australian
Grand Prix Corporation is able to maintain efficiency and effectiveness at the same time.
Different people working the organization are given diverse roles to perform, which they do

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to perfection, resulting in the goals and objectives of the organization being achieved in the
most effective way possible.
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation does enlist the services of women who work as
cheerleaders when the events actually take place. I personally believe that the services of
cheerleaders is something that the Australian Grand Prix Corporation can do without, since
the brand of Australian Grand Prix can survive well without cheerleaders and the resources
which are spent on the recruitment of cheerleaders can instead be spent on other important
aspects of event management. A trade off can take place by exchanging cheer leaders with
another formula 1 racing company in Australia for a greater number of cars that can be used
in the Australian grand prix as and when it takes place. the shelf life of a formula 1 car is
something that is greatly limited, so there more cars that are exchanged in lieu of cheer
leaders who don’t really serve any purpose to the organization, the better it would be.
The type of organizational design that is seen to suit the Australian Grand Prix
Corporation the best is the team structure or team design. This is because the organization
does not perform one specific role but roles of a diverse character, all of which can be
successfully implemented only by having different teams of competent professionals in place,
who have the skills and the expertise needed to handle the specific responsibilities that are
designated to each team or department.
8. Competitive Strategies adopted by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation
The competitive strategy that has been adopted by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation
in order to take successfully on rivals is the strategy of differentiation. Although the
Australian Grand Prix Corporation is primarily responsible for hosting two international
formula 1 racing events in Australia every single year, the corporation has offered a number
of exciting additional services that have increased the interest of passionate formula 1 lovers,

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giving them greater reason to attend the grand prix events in Australia. For one, the
Australian Grand Prix Corporation has diversified in the sense that it now offers grand prix
travel packages for customers to avail. The travel packages entail exclusive and affordable
priced accommodation in well known hotels in Melbourne, a fixed seat at the grand stand in
Melbourne where the racing events take place and the ability to enjoy exclusive weekend
previews. Such travel packages have made it highly convenient and exciting for grand prix
enthusiasts from around the world and not just Australia alone to come and attend the
Australian grand prix. Additionally, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation also arranges for
convenient transportation options that grand prix goers can avail in order to get to the racing
events from their respective accommodations in the city of Melbourne and back, in a
convenient manner, adding in turn greater appeal to such events in the city.
9. Using the Blue Ocean Strategy to Develop new Product or Service for the
Australian Grand Prix Corporation
The Blue Ocean Strategy is one that entails the use of differentiation and low cost options
in order to explore the wider potential or scope associated with a particular market place.
When it comes to an organization like the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, a strategy that
the organization can make use of is to offer low cost formula 1 tickets for those studying at
school and at university. The youth of the country are sports enthusiasts always, and by
catering to the youth of Australia by offering grand prix tickets at affordable prices, the
Australian Grand Prix Corporation will facilitate the young people of the country to attend
their favorite events, while earning a considerable amount of revenue at the same time, given
that the student population attending grand prix is likely to be quite high. Some amount of
differentiation should be thrown in by offering special discounts and rebates on the prices of
the formula 1 tickets to people who are disabled or people who belong to the third gender
community, and who would traditionally not have been allowed to attend such events.

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10. Potential Strategic Allies for the Australian Grand Prix corporation
Three potential strategic allies for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation are the three
well known car companies, Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren. This is because the
Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren vehicles are those that are used the most for formula 1
racing, so by entering into a strategic alliance with these car companies, the Australian
Grand Prix Corporation will always be assured of their participation in the Australian
grand prix events and the corporation will also always be assured of a plentiful supply of
cars from these companies that will be needed heavily for the racing events to take place.
Five considerations that need to be made by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation
when entering into a strategic alliance with Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, are
availability of vehicles, commitment to be in a long lasting partnership, availability of
financial resources on the part each party to enable the goals and objectives of the alliance
to be realized, brand value of the strategic allies and the liabilities that come with each
strategic ally, if any. The latter should be given special consideration, because if any of
the car companies are in bad debt, entering into a strategic alliance with them will not be
a good idea.
Entering into a strategic alliance is certainly a sound idea, given the fact that the
Australian Grand Prix Corporation can rely on the participation of the three car
companies in the events, and can also count on their ready supply of vehicles needed for
the success of such events.
11. Change, Isomorphism and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation
As argued by Di Maggio and Powell (1983), Isomorphism is the process by which one
unit of a population is compelled to resemble other units of the populations that are faced

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with the exact same types of environmental conditions. Coercive isomorphism takes place
when pressure is generated from other organizations in which there is a great deal of
dependency due to cultural expectations from society. Mimetic processes are processes where
uncertainty is seen to encourage imitation. Normative pressures are the pressures that are
brought about by profession.
When it comes to understanding change and strategy in an organization it is
imperative to remember that change strategy is implemented by altering the structure or
components of an organization in a way that the organization is better able to respond to the
needs of its target market. In the case of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, this took
place when the corporation decided to announce grand prix travel packages in order to reach
out to its target customers better. Those who like to attend grand prix events were encouraged
even more to attend so, given that accommodation options are now made available by the
corporation in addition to benefits like exclusive weekend previews and great seats at the
event venues.
12. Changes in the Australian Grand Prix Corporation in the Last Decade
The paradoxical theory of change is one which states that the more there is an attempt to
change the more likely it is that change will not take place. This is largely due to the fact that
change is an organic occurrence and should be perceived as a crucial side effect of all
orgasmic growth. When it comes to the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, one of the ways
by which the organization has initiated change in is to diversify its products and offer grand
prix travel packages. There was no institutional pressure that the corporation had to witness
or respond to, however.

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