I have been a Minnesota Vikings fan as long as I can remember. After beginning my education at the Carlson School of Management and learning about the potential careers my degree could lead to, I decided upon my dream career, to be the CFO of the Minnesota Vikings. When I was presented this assignment I viewed it as both an opportunity to connect the concepts discussed in class to a business-setting and to learn about the organization I want to work for. I found Lisa Larson’s information on the Minnesota Vikings’ front office webpage and sent her a LinkedIn message. She responded and was receptive to meeting with me to discuss human resources at the Minnesota Vikings.
Questions and Answers What is a typical day in human resources at the Minnesota
…show more content…
I have very diverse responsibilities. It used to only be me in the HR department but we have recently added another HR professional. I do typically have two meetings a day and I am responsible for managing 162 full-time staff (Larson).
And how is that different than your job at Polaris (previous employer)?
Answer: At Polaris I had a team of 30 people so my responsibilities were much more specialized. Here my job with the Vikings is as more of an HR generalist (Larson).
Does a potential employee’s passion for the Vikings affect the likelihood they will be hired?
Answer: To an extent. We want someone who is passionate about the Vikings but not a ‘superfan.’ We recommend Viking ‘superfan’ stick to buying season tickets to support the team. I actually fell into working in sports. I was more drawn to the size of the organization and the breadth of responsibilities the job possessed (Larson).
Is there a busy season?
Answer: The offseason is much worse because we are expected to get everything prepared for the season which is the focal point of our organization. We feel our job is to get everything done so that football can focus on football (Larson).
How is managing the business side different than the football side? Can you describe your relationship with the
…show more content…
The employees are self-motivated because of their passion for their work. Most departments are very small as well so if you don’t get your work done there is no one to pass your work off to (Larson).
How do you recruit? Do you recruit for diversity?
Answer: We look at specific industries for external hires, we visit schools, and are now using LinkedIn. We had used a sports-specific job website but were receiving too many unqualified candidates. Yes, we do recruit for diversity. One way we do this is recruiting outside of Minnesota because Minnesota is mainly white. Another way is through referrals. We do not use quotas. Quotas are mainly government imposed.
How do you screen and select employees?
Answer: We have a database of applicants and are able to query the database for specific certificates, work history, etc. (Larson).
How do you manage performance?
Answer: We do have use annual performance reviews but our performance management is informal. One technique we use is to track conversations and if over time there is a need to make changes, then we will make them when needed (Larson).
How do you develop employees? Are there opportunities for
I have past experience working with sports, but not as an athlete. I have had the opportunity to work with ESPN to help broadcast the NCAA Division One National Wrestling Tournament. My job was to communicate essential
Motivation is a main point in which I am interested and in order to understand more about the topic I have based my review in 2 different sources: Forbes article “Motivation Mystery: How to Keep Employees Productive” and Daniel Pink Ted Talk “The Puzzle of Motivation”.
I personally think I took on the roles of co-ordinator, team leader, monitor-evaluator and completer (Hartly, 2010 p.6), for example, I was the first to comment on the wiki and continue with the groups week to week activities to keep the group moving forward. I also kept the wiki up to date, while also making sure everyone was on task with the assessment. Even though it was a long drawn out process, I tried to get everyone collaborating on the group wiki provided and also took the lead to keep in contact with our eLA about the progress of a team, due to complications with team members not showing or disappearing through the
When it comes to the sports industry, there are many different jobs within organizations and businesses. Prior to interviewing someone, I did a large amount of research on jobs within the NCAA. My ideal interview would have been with the athletic director for the University of Florida, because my goal is to one day become an athletic director. However, Jeremy Foley is a very busy man and was not available to meet with me. Therefore, I interviewed who I believe to be the next best person. I interviewed the coordinator of volleyball operations for the University of Florida Gators, Alesha Busch. Although Alesha does not deal directly with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), she abides by the organizations rules and deals with them through the University Athletic Association (UAA). The reason I chose to interview
It's the opposite for me. It's 6 days of anticipation finally arrived. It's a day to collect your thoughts, nerves, and plant yourself in front of your tv. Well if you have the Sunday ticket that is. If not then off to the closest bar. It's a time to evaluate the competition and how they match up with your team. It's time to see if the predictions and the Vegas odds are all on point. It's time to see who is gonna shock the NFL world and bring an upset no one saw coming. I think that collectively as a whole people think fans of football, well die hard fans of football are all completely and utterly insane, and to be fair this is partially true. But to me football and Dallas Cowboys are a way of life. It's not a hobby or something to watch on Sunday's.In my household, football season means Sundays are booked solid. No parties,no shopping, no work. From kickoff until the clock reads 0:00, no one better get in front of the tv and I’m not answering unnecessary questions, or taking random phone calls, no switching channels on commercials just me and the boys. The Cowboys that is, and well I’m sure you get the point. I sleep, eat, and breathe football. Not just during the season but year round. I can honestly say that my heart is genuinely involved. I'm sure most of you crazed fans like myself can
Tell me about your current team. What are your team members’roles and how do they work together?
I chose to interview Jamie Schoenherr, an assistant athletic trainer/head of education at Buena Vista University. She finished her undergrad degree at BVU then continued her education at Western Illinois University. Here she received her master’s degree while working for a grad assistantship. Her first job was with the University of Wyoming. From here she moved closer to home to work at a hospital/help with three different high schools. Jamie then decided to return to BVU where she still works to this day. She has been employed with BVU since 2013. The reason I selected Jamie was because of her overall friendly attitude and how approachable of a person she is. When meeting all BV’s athletic trainers, Jamie stuck out the most. She always has
Over 15 million Americans attend sporting events every year. Many spectators may falsely assume that they are safe at such events, or that the owner/operators of sporting venues are ensuring their safety and will take responsibility if they are injured. Over the years there has been several reports of fans falling or being hit and being severely injured. But who takes the responsibility for this? Just last week, a construction worker fell 50 feet off the roof into a snow gutter while working on the new Vikings stadium. The man died instantly (schwab 1). It may not be entirely the stadiums fault but people are still being harmed so there should be more safety cautions taken. There should be safer stairways. There should be higher and stronger
Football fans like Jonathan Bunge who hails from Cleveland Ohio goes the extra mile and not only spreads his love on the sport but also provides an insight on how this amazing game can actually instill positive life skills. If you closely examine life today, you will find that it is complete with challenges and adversities that you actually cannot avoid. It is important for you to be strong and face these challenges in life with grit and determination. You should have the confidence to put in your best and trust yourself.
The success of any business depends on the productivity and satisfaction of its employees. Employees need to be motivated to work. Motivation can be defined as the inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals. Motivation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. For an individual to be motivated in a work situation there must be a need, which the individual would have to perceive a possibility of satisfying through some reward. Intrinsic motivation stems from motivations that are inherent and arise from performing the task of the job itself, which the individual gets a feeling of either positive or negative motivation as a result of
Response: The current evaluation process is performed twice a year and is recorded and measured by the CEO/Executive Director of the organization. Since the organization is relatively small the Executive Director sets up performance measures with all employees and meets quarterly to ensure goals and objectives are pursued and completed. The actually performance evaluation is done twice a year in July and December.
this point home, when employees are motivated, it is something that they feel in their
No matter what career is selected, they all play an important role in managing a team. It is not necessary to be in a set position either as change is very common in this industry.
The New Orleans Saints franchise has an incredible reputation. They are well known for how much they give back to the community not only in Louisiana but other areas of the country as well. The owner of the company was a major contributor to the rebuilding of the city after it was demolished by Hurricane Katrina. He cares about the people of the city and is continuously donating money to various charities and encouraging business owners to help build up the local economy. That kind of vision is what makes them the kind of employee that I would like to be employed by. Not only is the company good to the community, they treat their employees great as well. They offer their employees a great base salary and a full
Performance appraisal process if made clear and transparent can help a lot to avert low morale in employees. Fair, trustworthy, and transparent processes for performances management and resource allocation help to meet people’s drive to defend.