Event Management: Technical, Human and Conceptual Skills (Thesis Sample)

EVENT MANAGEMENT: TECHNICAL, HUMAN AND CONCEPTUAL SKILLS Name Course Professor University City and state 17th October, 2016 Event Management: Technical, Human and Conceptual Skills An experience that is meant to create a lasting impression (Hallmark) to those who attend can be referred to as an event. To establish the durable memory, the event has to have extraordinary elements, such as activities, environment and people so that an imperceptible impact is delivered, as suggested by Silvers and Goldblatt (2012) as well as Getz (2007). In the current times, events are characterised by the scale of the event, ranging from local, major, Hallmark and mega-events, in that ascending order, to the satisfaction of the attending guests and the need of the client (Getz and Page, 2016; Silvers, 2009). The increased need for professional event managers has emerged from the formality of events and the meaning they hold in the current societies (Bladen et al., 2012). Sports events continue to impact the economic performance of a country; explaining their importance to an economy (Cornwell, 2014; Westerbeek, Turner and Ingerson, 2002). Bowdin et al. (2012) express that event managers have to attain unique critical skills that include the ability to communicate, learn from past occurrences, and adapt to new technological capabilities as well as new ideas on how to carry out an event. The great manager must be able to direct their team of workers towards handling uncertainties within the ethics and values especially by engaging a dynamic and continuous learning in improving model (Hall, 2012). The competitive nature of most business activities have invaded the event organisations; and event managers have to be sure to give the attendees something that is not expected elsewhere (Tassiopoulos, 2010). Even though events take such a short time and are not everyday occurrences, they are supposed to remain in the minds of those who attend for a very long time, in the form of an almost tangible facade, as Tassiopoulos (2010) refers to this phenomena. Therefore, their impact matters a lot, and assessing their impact is a critical tool in determining the success of the event managers (O'Toole, 2010). Most event managers like to consider events as projects that must turn out successful on their own (Bladen et al., 2012). Integrating all the necessary skills, technology and human labour to yield a remarkable event demands leadership skills and management aids, as expounded in the factors explored below. Developing the right mixture for a successful event There has been hardly any unanimously agreed set of qualities of a good manager. This fact can be appreciated as every event has its course, environment and time, different from every other even out there. Therefore, for every unique situation, a manager has to cater for the following conditions; as demonstrated by Bladen et al. (2012) and explored by O'Toole (2010). The pack represents a procedure that is used by managers to incorporate available facts strategically and their experience in an in-depth exercise of developing a spectacular event. * Initiating the project idea * Establishing the needed resources, knowledge, policies and procedures * Adopting the incoming technological skills to improve the experience * Developing the needed research for event optimisation * Implementing the event by hosting and managing the actual event * Developing a contingency plan from lessons learnt * Assessing the general performance and report writing Knowledge areas come in handy and vary depending on the project event to be held and have been explored by (Getz and Page, 2016). Skills that must be developed rotate around the scope of the project. The range can be drawn up from the experience of past events, whereby the event to be held assumed to be an image of a previous event. A manager must be ready to develop the scope of the project by integrating past experience with technical simulations and profound research, as every event is a unique and never similar to another (Bladen et al., 2012; Goldblatt, 2010). Technical knowledge helps managers in projecting the event, managing its activities through the use of softwares and developing mitigation measures, in case of an incidence. Marketing process helps in defining the event and through its scope, create awareness to entice attendance from the crowd (O'Toole, 2010). It can be viewed as a control mechanism that can be sued to regulate dynamism of an event by detailing what is to be there and expected of the attending people. Great managers seize this opportunity to undertake a risk management strategy as they can now speculate possible occurrences (Silvers, 2009). Finance management determines the overall performance of the event. Proper fund allocation will ensure that a spectacular event is organised as the best technology is incorporated in running the event together with optimal resources that will make the event even more remarkable (O'Toole, 2010). Creating a work package, grouped resources that are expected to be provided by one supplier, reduces the management complexity as the outsourced duties can be correctly delivered by an external organisation. It is, however, important to consider the viability of the cost since it has been indicated that holding events is part of a business venture that is supposed to make profit (O'Toole, 2010; Goldblatt, 2010) Time management remains a tricky concept in games, as it was noted in the exploration of a match, it is supposed to occur in a moment, and not a constant process. This makes time a critical issue in that timelines and set schedules have to be followed carefully. Managers who develop that breakdown structure must be sure that each team does its work promptly and all teams coordinate through him to deliver the event without delays. Gantt charts have been used by many managers as they offer a clear and straightforward way of imparting information, to all the teams charged with various tasks. Networking entails relating functions with each other, so that there is a swift coordination of activities (Hall, 2012). The events that are set to occur must come to pass in an orderly manner, such as the one that is developed using a path analysis technique (Bowdin et al., 2012). Arrows can be used to direct the next step after one occurs, in order that eliminates confusion. While a path analysis does not necessarily show the relevant and most prioritised activities, it only shows an interdependence of activities, no matter how any of them is critical to the other. This indicates the fact that all of them are assigned an equal priority rate. Event evaluation involves assessing the level of success of an event, and the impact it has engraved on the minds of those who attended. The while exercise is encompassed in a set of activities known as ‘PEIR’ which is an acronym for Project Evaluation Implementation and review (Bowdin et al., 2012). Through an assessment f the performance of the event, various lessons can be learnt, to improve skills, while error mitigations strategies can be adopted through the use of technology (O'Toole, 2010; Silvers, 2009). The manager uses these practices to improve the quality of event management with time and increase the responsiveness of the control to the changing needs. Use of software in project event management has improved management discipline and strict adherence to set schedules. Bowdin et al. (2012) express the importance of software such as ‘Kepner-tregoe’ and ‘Prince 2’ as assistant management systems. The software is used to develop an outline and structure of the whole event, in a manner that is dispensable to all subdivided teams, to enhance co-operation for optimum timeliness. Popular project management system software includes Microsoft project, which is used to develop the Gant charts. The software is a useful tool in establishing changes and adapting to them as they occur. Complications in an Event Management Common difficulties are posed by the tight timelines, limited resources and the ongoing dynamism which makes planning be made as flexible as possible (O'Toole, 2010). Adjusting to these demands, while at the same time, ensuring outstanding services makes it very hard to beat the bar (Beech, Kaiser & Kaspar, 2014). Fluctuations call for constant monitoring of structures, a factor that requires vigilance and responsiveness of the event managers and their team (Silvers, 2009). The continuing evolution of has prompted software upgrades which can only be used by flexible hardware that can adapt to any changing technology (Bowdin et al., 2012). These efficiency improvements have demanded more professional approach to solving these situations, such as hiring professional events workers, to carry out duties in an event (Tassiopoulos, 2010). Volunteers as essential responsibilities executioners have presented a difficult management challenge as they are hard to regulate and their performance assessment may be hard (Bladen et al., 2012). According to Bladen et al. (2012), even labour force differs significantly from the kind of workers to be found in an organisation. The uniqueness of staffing approach depends on the mission, goals and the activities that are to occur in the event. This difference can be appreciated from the fact that games are based on a given project (project-led), rather than functional and systematic operations (Bowdin et al., 2012). While event management may appear to be fun and creative, Silvers and Goldblatt (2012) remind us that these developments are business oriented and the managers have to tackle a financial budget that is expected to meet satisfaction, in spite of the dynamic nature of events. Ensuring customer satisfaction while at the same...