Sustainable management vital as Rugby World Cup looms
As the clock ticks towards the biggest sporting event ever held in New Zealand, masters student Soeren Groetzner is taking a close look at how sustainably the Rugby World Cup is being managed.
The All Black fan, who is studying for a Master of Commerce specialising in Management, is working on a thesis about organisational structure, allocation of responsibilities and stakeholder management within the Rugby World Cup.
"I'm looking at the potential impact of factors identified by the organising committee and regional councils, and how they are being addressed. I will also consider strategies for sustainable consumption of food, transportation and merchandise before, during and after the Rugby World Cup," Groetzner explains.
Once the thesis is finished in May, it will provide a strategic framework to help event management teams and organisers implement sustainable management at major events.
His interviews have shown that sustainable management is already a high priority in the build-up to the World Cup.
"The Auckland region, for example, has adopted a sustainable procurement toolkit. The toolkit is also a resource for event suppliers, especially those that have just started to focus on sustainable management."
Groetzner shifted his attention to new trends in the sustainable management of major events after working as an intern in the marketing division of a biomedical engineering company in Berlin and carrying out competitor analysis studies of consultancies in Germany.
Research on sustainable management in the planning and organisation of international rugby tournaments is rare, so the World Cup is a perfect opportunity to study emerging trends, he says.
Groetzner's supervisor, Dr Rachel Wolfgramm of the Department of Management and International Business, who is working alongside colleague Dr Denise Conroy on similar projects involving new trends in lifestyle consumption, says the Rugby World Cup is fertile ground for his "highly contemporary" work.
"Research into lifestyle consumption has shifted in recent times to incorporate issues of sustainability and sustainable consumption. Strategic management decision-making models that incorporate sustainability-related issues are increasing in demand from a broad variety of stakeholders involved in major lifestyle events," Wolfgramm says.
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