A qualitative analysis of Sport Management interns’ perceptions of rotations in internships

The sport industry, which has evolved into a multi-billion rand industry, offers an increased number of complex and varied job opportunities. University Sport Management graduates are thus likely to face greater job demands in a highly competitive work environment. Rotations in Sport Management internships have been identified as an approach to prepare students for the job market. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of Sport Management interns of rotations in internship. A qualitative case study research approach was used in the study. Eight semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with Sport Management interns who completed their internship. The results of the study indicated that the positive experiences associated with the internship outweighed the negative experiences. Participants reported many benefits of rotations in internship. Among these were their experiences of different aspects of a sport organisation, exposure to different leadership styles, opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in the workplace, social issues in the workplace and development of different competencies. The findings also identified areas in which the internship experience could be strengthened. Given the great satisfaction experienced by interns, rotations in interns appear to be an ideal replacement to the traditional implementation of internship

Assessing gender equality in the South African sports sector

Abstract: Sport has generally been a male-dominated domain which appears to discriminate against women by preventing their advancement to high-level positions in sports organisations. The article conceptually utilises the Gender and Development approach as a theoretical framework. The rationale behind this approach is that in a patriarchal society, there are stereotyped mentality, social practices, and cultural traditions confining women to household tasks only; role-conflict between men and women; and gender challenges in terms of work-family-balanced tasks that restrict women from advancing their careers outside their delegated and expected home-based tasks. This approach therefore aims to empower, incorporate, integrate, and mainstream gender in the sport sector. The article contextually utilises a comprehensive literature survey, document analysis, and a desktop review of the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa to identify gender gaps. Through document analysis, the gender gaps will be discussed in the South African sports sector at strategic and policy levels that suppress women from holding decision-making and strategic positions. Authors believe that women alone are not responsible for the lack of gender-based representation in sports management. Male counterparts hold equal responsibility to encourage, promote,..