Case Study 1: Manchester United - a whole new ball game Q1: Using Exhibit 4. 8 identify the main conflicts of expectation for the organisation today As today Manchester United is not only a football club anymore but a listed company, there are a main conflicts of expectation as in other comparable enterprise as well. The biggest conflict is in my point of view to deal with the big gap between the supporters which loves the club and the game and those, who are interested in the brand Manchester United and in making money.
Manchester became that famous like it is today and got that many supporters basically because of their unique history. Football is dependent to its fans. Without them it would not be that special and interesting for the public. But today the company Manchester United is selling their brand but at the same time they are destroying their roots.
For example by selling the right to name the stadium (Old trafford is an essential part of Manchesters’ history) or by increasing the ticket prices by 54 per cent.It will be tough to combine the past and the present Manchester but it will be necessary to be successful – in the sport field as well as in merchandise and business activities. Q2: Identify the main stakeholder groups involved in the takeover and using Exhibit 4. 9 map their power and level of interest The main stakeholders can be split of into four groups regarding their level of interest and power. First of all there are the “Key Players”.
These stakeholders have a high level of interest as well as high power.This group includes the Glazor because of his financial power and financial and strategic abilities, the supporters because they make football that unique furthermore they can be seen as customers, the press, which has a big influence on the reputation of the Club and, of course the team and the coach which are responsible for the success of the (sporting) success. The second stakeholder group is very powerful but has a low level of interest. These are for example banks because of their financial power and the government because of its legislative force.Due to their power, it is important to keeps these stakeholders satisfied. The third group has a high level of interest, but low power.
This group includes small shareholders, the unions IMUSA and Shareholders United. The last group is the group with the least important stakeholders. These stakeholders have low power and a low level of interest. The general public can be put in this group.
Manchester should put minimum effort into satisfying this group Q3: Using Exhibit 4. 0 assess the power exercised by Malcolm Glazer Malcolm Glazer has outstanding negotiation skills as well as strategic leadership abilities. These abilities in combination with his financial power let him became the most powerful man in the football club Manchester United. After the takeover Glazer increase the revenue of Manchester United extremely. ‘Under his lead the Club became the highest generator of match-day revenue in the world’ Furthermore he modified the idea Outstanding shareholders had to accept that it is almost useless to fight against Glazer.
Especially the supporters which do not like the new philosophy of the Club tried a lot to protest against the leadership of Glazer (for example: stop buying merchandise articles of Manchester United or avoid buying or using the products of its key partners). But at the end of day they founded a new football club because they were not able to stop him. Q4: Reflect on Exhibit 4. 4 and explain how over time the organisation’s ethical stance has shifted Organisations and enterprises can be separated in different corporate social responsibility stances.Manchester United ran through almost all of these stances during its foundation in 1892.
At the beginning Manchester United was a regular football club, which focused the game itself. During the years the Club became successful, popular and got more and more supporters. Due to this fact the Club owners began to merchandise the brand Manchester United all over the world. This step let the Club became one of the most popular football clubs all over the globe..
Nowadays Manchester is far away from focusing the game itself. It has become a big business unit with listed stocks.
