Principles Of Event Management example essay topic

Principles of Event Management Since the dawn of time, in one way or another, events have existed to mark an important occasion that is to happen. Celebrating the changing of seasons and phases of the moon are all events because it gathers people of a common interest to a specified place at a particular place. Although events have been around for many years, the 1990's saw the events industry emerge. The events industry saw the growth of events related education in colleges and universities. At present times, events have grown in popularity to such a scale, that it is now a global industry. There are different types of event, which include social life cycle events, sporting, cultural, business and fundraising.

Events can be divided in terms of size and the impact they make on society economically and socially. These are called Hallmark, Mega and Major Events. A hallmark must earn its name. An event is considered to be so significant in the spirit or ethos of a city or region, that it helps form an identity for that city and region. It also gains widespread recognition. A classic example is the Carnival in Rio.

It represents Latin vitality and the exuberance of the city. Social Cycle events include birthdays, anniversaries and funerals. This events occur in accordance to the calendar, for example a person's birthday can only be an event at a specified time of year. Sporting events are categorized into three types, which are Mega events, calendar events, one-off events and showcase events. Mega events are events that are so large that they affect whole economies and obtain media coverage globally. Examples are the Olympics and Fifa World Cup.

It is difficult for many other events to be labelled a mega event. Getz (1997) defines a mega event: "those that yield extraordinary high levels of tourism, media coverage and prestige. Their volume should exceed 1 million visits, and their reputation of a 'must see' event". A smaller version of a mega event is called a Major Event.

Major events are capable of attracting significant amount of visitors, media coverage and economic benefits. There are numerous major events particularly in the cultural sector. For example, major musicals such as Cats and Mama Mia receive huge amounts of tourism revenue for London's West End. Glastonbury Festival is a main contender to be categorized as a major event. Festivals itself can indeed be divided into sub sectors.

These are festivals that celebrate a particular location, festivals that are art or music orientated and festivals that celebrate the achievements made by a community. The business sector, which includes conferences, exhibitions, corporate and hospitality travel, make up 25% of total tourism in the UK. This equates to an economic impact of lb 12 billion pounds and is expected to reach to lb 16 billion over the next decade, according to RS&M research. Around 20,000 journalists, exhibitors and technicians attended the Labour Party Conference held in Bournemouth International Centre in 1999. Conferences can be very diverse and is described as "An event used by any organisation to meet and exchange views and to open an debate. Although generally not limited in time, conferences are usually of short duration with specific objectives".

Rogers (1998). Exhibitions are a rapidly growing part of the business sector. Research conducted by the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers, suggests that money spent on marketing for exhibitions has increased by 18% over the past ten years. Exhibitions bring suppliers and services together with buyers who are in a particular industry. A survey held by RS&M who interviewed 77 companies found that exhibitions are the most frequently held event (36%), followed by sporting (14%), corporate hospitality (11%), road and trade shows (9%) and lastly product launches (8%). Having established the types of events and their impact on society society, it is now important to discuss the event management process.

Whether an event involves 10 people or 10,000 the process remains identical to all events. There are 3 main steps that are part of the process: Planning, Implementation and Evaluation. Before an event can be planned a concept needs to be identified. With increased regulations and government involvement in events, the environment of which events are staged has become much more complicated.

Stakeholders have to be identified and their needs and objectives to be met. A stakeholder is an individual or organisation who has an interest in an event. The chief stakeholder is the host organisation. This could be a local government staging an annual event.

It also could be a corporate organisation that is staging an event to raise their profile or promote goods or services. The community participating is also vital. Event managers must understand the values and traditions of the community and their impact on the event and vice versa. Sponsors are another crucial stakeholder.

Event managers need to cooperate with them effectively to create a successful outcome for both parties. Media coverage can make or break an event as the media reaches a wide sometimes global audience. The media influences people's perceptions of an event therefore the event organizers have to effectively work with this stakeholder to optimism coverage and the impact of the event. The last stakeholder who is equally important is the event participants. It is the event organizers' priority to ensure that they enjoy the event experience. When developing the event concept essential questions need to be addressed.

Goldblatt (1997) suggests the 'Five W's' are essential questions: Why is the event taking place? Who are the stakeholders? Where and when will the event take place? What is the event's purpose? This identification process is useful to our event as it will guide us through decisions and make clear what our objectives are. It will also keep the group focussed on the objectives.

The most important stage of the event is the planning. To achieve efficient planning, the event organizers need to establish their current position, and then determine what their desired position in the future will be. An organisation needs to figure out how they will successfully reach this desired position and this is done with planning. Thompson (1997) believed that planning "should concentrate on identifying and evaluating alternative courses of action, so that opportunities are created. Planning therefore increases awareness". Thompson (1997).

This is a very relevant quote and should be considered greatly when event organise begin to plan an event. There are a number of benefits that can be gained from planning. Foremost it enables managers to recognize and solve problems and what Thompson (1997) wrote, alternative strategies are highlighted and considered. Also staff responsibilities are clarified and uncertainties can be discussed. Johnson and Scholes (1999) commented that sticking to a rigid plan could usually lead to an unsuccessful event. Adapting to constantly altering factors such as culture, politics and staffing is crucial.

This element is something that our group should consider. With the group being so large and diverse, changes are more likely to occur therefore being willing to adapt plans could be very useful. Without planning it is possible that the final product will disappoint the intended audience and the event organizers themselves. Planning is usually divided into two processes: strategic and operational / implementation planning. Strategic planning focus on setting objectives and structures. Operational planning describes specific steps that need to be taken to ensure that the above strategies are implemented.

Factors such as logistics, funding and legislation are considered. Refer to Appendix, A which demonstrates how these processes combine. Every event no matter how small should have a vision and a mission. A vision is a long-term goal that the organizers wish to reach. The mission statement may only be a few concise lines, but it will help keep organizers focussed.

A mission statement should answer the following questions: Who is the event aimed at? What are they needs and how will they be satisfied? Lastly, what are the organizers trying to achieve? A mission statement will provide everyone involved in the event from organizers to participants, a clear understanding of the event itself and their role within it.

A mission statement will be useful to our event, as it will direct all members of the group to our desired end position. Once the mission has been decided, objectives need to be established. Objectives are the main feature of planning and they must be SMART. This stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Measurable, Relevant and Time. To summarise the objectives must be concise so they can be after the event. They must also be realistic and relevant to the current organisation.

Most important of all the objectives must be completed within the set time limit. Without SMART objectives organizers cannot determine whether or not they have been successful, or identify what objectives were not achieved. Acquiring this information will help improve events in the future. The environment in which we live in affect the success of events. Organisers need to be constantly aware of the environment. This can be done effectively by doing a PEST analysis.

PEST analyses the political, economical, social and technological influences on the external environment. The government has major affect on events. The food and beverage laws have changed dramatically since the 1950's and changing further still. For example from November 2005 pubs can apply for extended hours license. Technological changes are important because now in present times, it is easier to reach a wider range of audiences. For example a person can book tickets for a concert online or find more information about a upcoming event.

After considering the external environment, the event organizers must also analyses the internal environment by completing a SWOT analysis, which examines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organisation. Strengths can be anything from management to connections and the organizers must identify their strengths and use them to their advantage. It is also vital to be aware of weaknesses and discover ways of overcoming them. A threat may not be an immediate weakness, but by recognising who are potential threats can be useful for future events.

How an event management's team is organised differs from event to event. For smaller organisations there are three types of organisational structure: simple, functional and network structures. Simple structure is not complex and one manager makes the decisions. Refer to Appendix B. The manager is accountable for all staff activities. Staff are expected to be multi skilled and perform various tasks. This can result in high job satisfaction.

However because there is a lack of specialization, staff may have little expertise in certain areas. This structure can be seen as being autocratic as there is only one manager making decisions. Plus sickness could prove disastrous for the event since one person is handling various responsibilities. Functional structures is organised by departments. Employees perform a task that is relevant to their own department. Refer to Appendix C. This method can be advantageous as staff become skilled in their specific department.

However fictional structures are prone to conflict. Staff are reluctant to work with members of other departments. Due to the specialization, staff lack understanding of other employee's roles within the event. As Allen et al (2001) comments staff loose sight of the "big picture" and become too focussed on their own responsibilities. The network structure is a fairly modern organisational structure.

It works by one organisation relying on several companies to stage the event. Examples of these companies are accountancy, security and catering. Many festivals use network structures because they are huge one-off events that don't occur regularly e.g. V Festival, which requires a high amounts of input from various companies. This organisational method is excellent at controlling budgeting, but hiring contractors for sporadic events does accumulate low staff morale. Refer to Appendix D. It is important to consider all types of structures when planning an event.

All advantages and disadvantages must be contemplated and stuck to. For our event a network structure is inappropriate primarily due to the small size of the event. In theory a simple structure should prove successful because the group is large and no one has expertise in one particular field. It should help to maintain high team morale.

It is a common mistake to believe that once responsibilities have been assigned that the event process becomes easier as an organiser knows their tasks and can simply focus on it. The biggest battle that must be won in order to achieve a successful event is to maintain effective communication. Watt (1998) suggests that communication is "the giving, receiving or exchange of information, so that material is completely understood by everyone concerned... and that appropriate action follows". In present times it is lead to believe that it is effortless to communicate with one another due to rapid technological progress, but is this the case? Contacting potential clients can be quicker due to email and mobile phones, but these techniques lack evidence.

A letter is proof of contact and can be referred to later, but is time consuming and post is unreliable. So what are the barriers to effective communication? Foreign language is a major barrier. If your client is foreign, this can create major delays and confusion.

Lack of articulation is problematic. If a potential client misunderstands the organiser's plans, there is a high chance they will not return. Communication must be clear and concise and on every occasion inform the receiver all the information they require. One crucial factor is that communication must be regular.

Using the most suitable communication method that suits the clients and the organizers frequently will prevent a communication breakdown. There must be no uncertainty when organising an event and good communication will overcome that problem. Every stage and every decision must be discussed thoroughly and the concerning people informed. Timing is an essential element of the planning stage. An event simply cannot be left to the last minute.

As time begins to lapse and gets closer to the day of the event, timing becomes more and more important. Once a date is set a schedule can be set up complete with tasks and activities. A Gantt chart is very useful for timekeeping. Refer to Appendix E. It includes every task from room decoration to cleaning. The deadlines help to manage time and organizers are constantly aware of their deadline tasks. It also helps to create a "bigger picture" because the staff won't just be focussed on their current tasks and can plan for future activities.

Marketing is a tool that event organizers use to keep in touch with the participants. It expresses the event's purpose and objectives. Marketing analyses the target market and establishes what other competitors are offering to satisfy their consumer needs. Britain lives in a culture where disposable time and money is very important therefore the event industry is constantly "fighting for the leisure pound". Marketing should effectively answer the following questions: why, who, when, where and what? Hoyle (2002) suggests these 5 W's "are critical to all promotional activity".

The "why" question should emphasise the benefits of attending a particular event and appeal to the target market's needs. Marketing can reach people locally or on a wider scale. The interests of the targeted audience need to be identified. Marketing must inform the target market when the event is being staged. Is the event convenient for your target market? This also needs to be considered.

Is it a seasonal event? Could bad weather be disastrous for the event? Where that event is staged is closely linked to "when" considerations. Is the event easily accessible? Finally marketing must explain what the event purpose is. What is the event going to create?

What can be expected? Answers to these questions will motivate the targeted audience to attend. The marketing mix is a vital factor of marketing in events. Event organizers need to be aware of the consumer decisions-making process. The acronym PIECE explains this process, which stands for problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, choice of purchase and evaluation of post purchase experience. Problem recognition is involved in selecting a target market and appealing to their needs.

This links to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Refer to Appendix F. Does your target audience want to look for romance? Build self-esteem? Overall what need will your event fulfil. These needs must be highlighted through marketing.

Other competitors are a vital component in the decision-making process. What will make your event appeal more than another? What will finally convince a consumer to attend an event? What are the incentives? Post event is just as important. Did the target market enjoy the experience?

Was it enjoyable? How will customer satisfaction be monitored? Handing out questionnaires is one tool. Kotler et al defines the marketing mix in as "the set of controllable tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market.".