The Salt Lake Organizing Committee: 2002 Olympics. Harvard Business Review.

9-604-092
UNIT 2 PAPER: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS The Salt Lake Organizing Committee: 2002 Olympics. Harvard Business Review. 9-604-092 Case Facts: This case study deals with the many variables that surrounded the hosting of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah and the outside variables that threatened its operation. Not the least of these variables was the timing of the international event, just months after the 9/11 bombings in the U.S. The entire country was still trying to figure out how to operate safely and productively in the wake of the first direct attacks on our soil in centuries. Not only were U.S. citizens and businesses unsure of how to operate, foreigners were uncertain about traveling to the U.S. and businesses didnt know how to operate with the new restrictions and guidelines immediately put into place after 9/11. The case study in the opening paragraphs on Page 1 describe how large the capital investments were in bringing the Olympics to this site and the only remaining way to generate revenues at this point in time were through ticket sales, which were suffering from the post 9/11 turmoil. (Bowen, 2006) This wasnt the first symptom of trouble for the 2002 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in June of 1995 the selection of Salt Lake City, Utah as the site for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. In just over three years later, in November 1998 the media broke the story about a scandal involving the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) and the IOC. The allegations against the SLOC included a scholarship and international assistance program that awarded scholarships totaling $400,000 to 13 students who were relatives of IOC members. The SLOC allegedly was also trying to influence votes by the IOC selection site committee by providing free plastic surgery, health care, shopping sprees, ski weekends, first-class air travel, luxury accommodations, fur coats, and other expensive gifts to IOC members and their families. Some of these gifts included $10,000 worth of guns and rifles made by Browning, a Utah-based firearms maker. It was reported that a shotgun and rifle were sent from the company to the IOC president at the request of the SLOC just one month before Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Olympics. The total value of the gifts exceeded more than $1 million. As a result of this alleged scandal one of the main sponsors, US West, delayed $5 million worth of sponsorship monies. This placed the total necessary amount of sponsorship in doubt of being met. Because of this, the SLOC signed a contract stating that the state of Utah and its taxpayers would cover any deficit that the city could not cover. These problems prior to 9/11 made the added pressure of continuing on with the Olympics after this attack even greater. (Bowen, 2006)

Case Problems: The case study notes on page four that SLOC chairman Mitt Romney appointed Fraser Bullock to oversee bringing the Olympics to fruition without the high deficits it was facing. Bullock approached each of the management team and asked for cost cutting measures to help with the deficit. Additionally, Bullock worked with the SLOC to address the staffing and functional organization and operation issues. This resulted in a complete revamp of how the more than 20 Olympic event venues would be managed, staffed, marketed and coordinated to be part of one large event over a several week period. (Bowen, 2006) As if these reorganization and venue staffing and operational coordination challenges werent enough, beginning September 12, 2001 and every day after leading up to the opening ceremonies in 2002, all that had been planned for and accounted for changed. Page 11 describes the state of the SLOC and its efforts to revamp and put on this global event in only a few months. Each day brought new challenges and new bulletins about security alerts, sponsorship withdrawals, Olympic teams threatening to pull out of the games, slacking ticket sales that went to next to none, travel restrictions. All the contingency plans that had been revamped over the past months in an effort to save the Olympics were no longer in play in the U.S. that was emerging post 9/11. (Bowen, 2006) There were so many unanswered questions and the SLOC was required to come up with real solutions in a very unsure world. Additional Information: The United States became a different society in September 2001. The 2002 Olympics were on the way to recovering from the bribery scandal that had started the whole process of hosting this event. The bombings on 9/11 added a wrinkle to the process that no one could have predicted. Many U.S. citizens were hesitant to travel within our own country. It is not unreasonable to learn that citizens from other countries were equally as worried about traveling to the U.S. to participate in the games as athletes or ticket purchasers. Possible Solutions: The focus of the SLOC and Bullock was to empower its management teams to come up with solutions for operational and functional challenges. Rather than from the top down mandate what needed to be changed, abandoned or expanded the top level managers worked with subordinates and empowered them to come up with solutions to the daily challenges, to find ways to control costs, work more efficiently, generate revenues through changes in operations, functions, facilities, etc.

The case study also shows that despite the growing uncertainty at all levels, there was a greater desire to allow the Olympics to help the world heal from this tragedy and showcase the resiliency of the U.S. Rather than run from the challenges, the SLOC and the Salt Lake community came together to erase the missteps of the past and to use this event to get on with life post 9/11. Consequences of Alternatives: Was the SLOC ever given any alternatives? The case study alludes that after the bribery scandal and certainly after 9/11, there were closed door discussions about whether to hold the event. (Bowen, 2006) However, the players involved in the leadership of this event pushed these aside and instead chose to overcome this adversity and hold the event for the betterment of the community. Decision: The 2002 Olympics were held with little incident and not much perceived difference than other Winter Olympics games. The SLOC generated the revenues necessary to alleviate the burden on Utah taxpayers to host the event through strategically restructuring how the events were held, how the people and physical resources were managed, all behind the scenes functionality of the Olympic games, etc. This change in the business of running an Olympic event came from the grass roots rethinking of the people involved with the daily operations of the Olympics, rather than a top down mandate for changes that were needed. Reactions to Case - Points of Agreement: I agree with the following point from page six of the case study: They realized that there were two elements crucial to SLOCs success: clear guidelines and a fun work environment. Additionally, a list of five guiding principles was developed: (1) involve the community; (2) embody the highest standards of integrity; (3) show fiscal responsibility and restraint; (4) display to the world a great exhibition of sports; and (5) leave a great legacy. (Bowen, 2006, page 6, paragraph 3) The most important part that I agree with is that there was a top level commitment to drive all that the committee did under these principles and to constantly communicate these principles to everyone involved with putting on the Olympics, volunteers and paid staff. Another important point from the case study, also on page 6, that I agree with is Bullocks commitment to convince his staff that he trusted their judgment and wanted them to find their own solutions. (Bowen, 2006, page 6, paragraph 5) Obviously, like other good managers, he realized that this was a huge task to overcome and that he could not do this alone with mandates or directives that only came from the top down. Reactions to Case - Points of Disagreement:

Where I disagree with this case study is the closing paragraph comments on page 11 that offer as bad as these problems were, Bullock knew that time and money could address all of them. (Bowen, 2006, page 11, paragraph 7). Im not sure that the original scandals surrounding getting the games to Salt Lake City, the decrease in sponsorship dollars, the post 9/11 uncertainty of safely traveling to the U.S. and the post 9/11 efforts to return to normalcy were all outside variables that could have been solved with enough time and enough money. It took a unique approach and a grass roots commitment to fundamentally change the way these Olympics games were run to successfully pull this event off with five months of such a worldwide catastrophe. Application of Case to Current Real World Scenarios: The activities and attitudes that are described in this case study are quite typical of a fundamental change in how businesses got back to business all across America. There has been a rise in the use of technology to communicate as well as a resurgence in the attitude that were all in this together. Especially in the most recent years of economic downturns, there has been a greater sense of employees and management working together to bring efficiencies and cost savings by rethinking how things get done. REFERENCES Bowen, H. Kent. 2006, February. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee: 2002 Olympics. Harvard Business Review. 9-604-092. The 2002 Olympic Winter Games Security Lessons Applied To Homeland Security. Retrieved from www.markle.org. The 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Historic Success For the Winter Olympic Games. Retrieved from http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_557.pdf.