2013 Berg Cup Case Study Competition Managing the Waiting List, Discretion, Opportunity and Responsibility

1.

Situation Anylysis

Business level analysis: Norfolk Minuteman is one of the most successful franchises in the national football league (NFL). There is a high demand of Minuteman tickets in the market due to the large fanbase of the franchise. Currently, there are 60,000 season ticket holders, and 5000 people who have placed their names on the waiting list. There are probably 50,000 fans who are not on this list would buy season tickets if given the opportunity. Each season, approximately 500 season tickets become available; 50 of which are under ownership and senior managements control. Company level analysis: Unlike other NFL franchise, the Minutemen season ticket waiting list is conducted in a formal, discretionary manner. As to the franchise tradition, there has been no standard formalized practice for distributing the 450 tickets each year. While other NFL franchises publish a formal waiting list that fans can follow, the Minutemen do not publish a list and instead inform fans on the list that they will have to wait at least ten years to get their tickets. In addtion, the teams management has consistently rejected formal policies for more than thirty years. Task: The Assistant Ticket Manager will have to decide who will get these 450 Minutemen season tickets for the 2013 NFL season.

2.

Ethical Issue

The Assistant Ticket Manager has recently been approached by a friend, Jay Latrobe, who offered a plan to make some extra money by selling the rights to the tickets and the waiting list. He has generated a list of people on the waiting list who would pay $1,000 to have two years cut from their wait, and a large list of others who would pay $5,000 for the rights to a ticket outright. The Assistant Ticket Manager will get a 75-25 split of all revenues. Should the manager accept the offer or find other ways to distribute the tickets? 3. Solution Analysis

According to the analysis above, there are four different options available to distribute the tickets to the fans: Do business with Jay Latrobe: selling the rights to tickets and the waiting lists through Jay, getting the 75 percents split of all the revenues. First come, first serve: inform the fans who have been waiting the longest that they are now having the right to purchase the tickets. Hold an auction: sell the tickets to whoever has the highest bid. Hold a lottery: determine who has the right to buy the tickets based on random selections.

Option Trade with Jay Latrobe

Advantages Earn some extra money for the time being Establish business relationship with Jay Latrobe for future lucrative opportunities Systematic, follows the common rule of fairness Fits the companys value of fan loyalty Transparent process Everyone gets an equal chance to get the tickets at regular price Generates publicity Transparent process Provides fans an opportunity to purchase the tickets Generates publicity and boosts fan spirit Generates revenue for the company Transparent process

Disadvantages On the slippery slope of being unethical Hurt fans loyalty toward the franchise and may destroy the good will Lacks transparency Disfavor young and new fan base No lucrative benefits or extra revenue Cost of coordinating the event No lucrative benefits or extra revenue Causes an economic stratification of fans, favoring the wealthier fans over the less wealthy

First comefirst serve

Lottery

Auction

Recommendations Firstly, we shall reject the first option of accepting Jay Latrobes offer because it promotes personal gain at the cost of the company, and goes against my societal and personal ethical standards. Also, the teams management has not expressed any interest in plans to sell the informal waiting list to a third party. We therefore propose a hybrid ticket allocation system utilizing the three remaining ticket sales options to allocate the 450 available tickets, under the assumption that the number of tickets allocated by upper management is 50. We shall take 250 tickets and distribute it using the first come-first serve option. This means that the first 250 tickets will be distributed among the first 250 fans on the waiting list. The remaining 200 tickets will be divided equally and allocated using the two following methods: 1) Lottery a) A total of 100 tickets will be allocated using this method, and the lottery will be open to all fans, including the remaining 4750 fans of the informal waiting list b) All the fans will be given a lottery ticket with a number, and when a number is drawn, the fan in possession of the ticket with that number will win the right to buy that ticket at regular price c) This will ensure a transparent process, and will provide all fans with an equal opportunity to win a ticket

2) Auction a) A total of 100 tickets will be allocated using this method, and the auction will be open to all fans, including the remaining 4750 fans of the informal waiting list b) 3 tickets will be up for auction at a time, and the bidding for those 3 tickets will be on for 60 seconds. At the end of those 60 seconds, the tickets will be sold to the 3 highest bidders c) The starting bid of the auction will be set at the regular season ticket price, and the starting bid of the last ticket will be set at twice the regular season ticket price Reasoning 1) Jay Latrobes offer is dismissed because it is on the slippery slope of being unethical, and lacks the transparency expected of a professional organization. Also, making personal gains at the expense of my place of work highly contradicts with my moral and ethical values. 2) The first come-first serve option is chosen so that the fans who have been loyal to the team for the longest time gets the tickets. In order to do this, the fans at the top of the ten year informal waiting list will get these tickets. This is fairly systematic, and values the companys policy of honoring fan loyalty. Though this option disfavors the new and younger fans, it is completely transparent and generates goodwill among the loyal fans. 3) The lottery option is utilized to make sure that all fans have an equal opportunity to buy the season tickets. The process is very transparent, and does not favor any group over the others. The lottery process nullifies the disadvantages of the first-come first-serve method, and makes sure the newer and younger fans have an equal chance of acquiring the season tickets. The lottery method does not stratify the fans on any basis, and ensures absolute fairness in ticket allocation. The cost of hosting a lottery session can be justified by the massive publicity that will be generated by the event. 4) The utilization of the auction method makes sure that fans that are willing to pay extra money in order to acquire season tickets get the opportunity to do so. This provides fans with the opportunity to show off their team spirit by taking part in biddings for tickets. Besides allowing fans to bid for season tickets, the auction also generates revenue for the company. Auctioning, like the lottery process, is also very transparent. Though the auctioning process stratifies fans based on their financial ability to pay for higher priced tickets, it is fair in a sense that every fan has the opportunity to bid for season tickets. Also, the fans who cannot win the bidding for one reason or another, has the option to take part in the lottery. Though there is a cost associated with hosting the auction, it can easily be justified by the revenue and publicity generated by the event. Conclusion Though as the assistant ticket manager I enjoy a high level of discretion, I also have a responsibility to be true to my job, the franchise, the upper management, and the fans by exercising the highest ethical standards. By utilizing a hybrid method in the allocation of tickets, I have tried to nullify the disadvantages of each system and reinforce their advantages. By trying to ensure that the processes are as fair and transparent as possible, I have made the best efforts to honor the fans loyalty and generate goodwill for the franchise. By holding the auction, I have also made the efforts to generate extra revenue for the company.