Core Competencies

I have used the obtainment of my Masters Degree in Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Sport Management as a tool to better equip me for my duties with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. In December 2009 the Commission accepted and approved the strategic plan for the agency. I started the program in January 2010 with the strategic marketing class and it became quickly apparent that I would be able to utilize the core competencies of the courses to be better enable myself in achieving the goals of the NCWRC’s newly adopted strategic plan.

 

PRT 500: Conceptual Foundations in Parks, Recreation Tourism & Sport

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the implications of the profession’s historical foundation on contemporary professional and social problems.
• Describe the conceptual frameworks associated with leisure, recreation, tourism, and sport.
• Describe the theoretical foundations associated with leisure, recreation, tourism, and sport.
• Discuss the various contemporary trends and issues in leisure, recreation, tourism, and sport.
• Appreciate the importance of leisure and recreation in our lives.
• Exhibit good communication and writing skills, and sound methods of thinking and analysis.

Reflection

I have always been a student of history.  Not so much for the dates, but as an informative tool to answer the complicated question of why.  History not only can assist in the enlightenment of the past but also as a beacon into the future. You must know where you’ve been, know where you are currently so you can decide your path for the future.  PRT 500 was instrumental in giving a look back at recreation and leisure and answering the question of why it is important to society. This course examined frameworks and ideas that have shaped recreation management.

 

PRT 503: Advanced Fiscal Management for Parks, Recreation Tourism & Sport

Learning Objectives:

• Learn advanced financial theories as related to parks, recreation, tourism, and sport management organizations.
• Apply analytical techniques and principles of budgeting to enable sustainability.
• Discuss and apply current financial practices as they relate to the generation, consumption, and disbursement of funds.
• Discuss and apply ethical financial analysis to the current economic situations within parks, recreation, tourism, and sport management organizations.

Reflection

As state budgets become more stringent, fiscal responsibility becomes more important. The PRT 503 course learning objectives were very insightful and beneficial. The analytical techniques presented in this course were very useful in assisting with justifications of the spending of public trust monies. As budget belts tighten it becomes more and more important to have strong justifications for program activities.  This course’s real world scenarios were very helpful in my professional career.

 

PRT 504: Data Management and Evaluation in Parks, Recreation Tourism & Sport

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the logic behind and steps involved in program evaluation.
• Describe the importance of data in evaluation and explain how data can be used in evaluation.
• Formulate meaningful evaluation objectives to guide data collection and analysis.
• Conduct basic descriptive and inferential statistical procedures as a part of program evaluation.
• Choose appropriate methods of displaying data analysis results.
• Use appropriate terminology to interpret and communicate results from data analysis.

Reflection

This course was one of the most informative courses that I completed. The practical application of Microsoft Excel was very insightful. As a state agent we collect and capture all sorts of data. This class offered me the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully interpret the data. The biggest take away from PRT 504 was the use of the Excel software and the application of descriptive and inferential statistical procedures.  As a result of this class, I have a better outlook toward statistical data. Now I realize statics is not just an honest way of lying.

 

PRT 505: GIS and Spatial Analysis in Parks, Recreation Tourism & Sport

Learning Objectives:

• Define geographic information science, GIS and GPS and articulate their relevance to the PRTS fields.
• Describe and explain the basic concepts and typology of spatial reasoning and spatial analysis.
• Identify spatial data sources and acquire data relevant to the field of PRTS.
• Collect and integrate spatial data from various data sources (field collection, Internet, etc.).
• Perform basic operations in GIS (ArcGIS), digital earth software (Google Earth) and widely accessible GPS units (Garmin).
• Formulate meaningful spatial questions and implement a conceptual model to solve the questions in the GIS environment.
• Communicate spatial analysis results effectively with peers via different media.

Reflection

With my love of history, I have also been fond of maps. Though I found the ArcGIS software utilized in this class highly frustrating at times, I was equally intrigued by the power of the platform. The ability to think spatially is becoming more and more important in managing a statewide program. With limited resources, sometimes you have to do a lot with a little. This course gave great insight on how to practically use maps and GIS software. The power and information at our finger tips is mind boggling. This course has made Google Earth and Arc GIS an important tool in my decision making and sharing of ideas and thoughts.

 

PRT 506: Organ. Behavior and Leadership in Parks, Recreation Tourism & Sport

Learning Objectives:

• Exhibit an understanding of the environment in which sport, park, tourism and recreation (SPTR) organizations operate.
• Identify and describe key principles related to effective administrative practice, such as planning, resource acquisition, positioning, and personnel & volunteer leadership.
• Demonstrate knowledge and application of relevant theory, research, and practice related to key aspects of organizational behavior in SPTR organizations.
• Recognize organizational behavior challenges and demonstrate intervention techniques used for recruiting and managing staff and employees.
• Demonstrate the ability to evaluate critical factors contributing to organizational leadership in SPTR organizations.

Reflection

Strategic Planning, mission statements, visions, goals and objectives all have become common terminology within the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Every week it seemed that a situation I was dealing with at work would be a topic of study in PRT 506. This course was very beneficial and shared very important insights and commentary on the daily happenings of the organizational review process being undertook by the NCWRC. The ability to recognize organizational behavior challenges was essential. The study of the four-frame model presented by Bolman and Deal (2008) was intriguing and gave insight to a lot of situations I am currently facing in my professional life.

 

PRT 507: Strategic Marketing Management in Parks, Recreation Tourism & Sport

Learning Objectives:

• Define and apply key sport/rec. marketing concepts.
• Understand the theories that underline sport/rec. marketing processes.
• Understand how to create and apply a sport/rec. marketing plan.
• Evaluate sport/rec. marketing strategies and tactics.
• Identify future trends and challenges in marketing and how they can associate with current sport/rec. marketing practices.

Reflection

The take away from the strategic marketing course was target markets. This was a very valuable course and I have employed many of the competencies in my professional career. The theories and processes examined in this course are very beneficial in trying to reach the North Carolina hunting public. There is a dilemma of definition of marketing within wildlife agencies. Management is quick to say that we are not allowed to do marketing but in theory that is all hunter education, recruitment and retention programing is about. The practical exercises were very beneficial, and the informational sources will help me and the NCWRC in an attempt to better understand the hunting public and our target audience.

 

PRT 508: Risk Management for Parks, Recreation Tourism & Sport  

Learning Objectives

• Summarize principals of risk management within the context of basic management functions such as governance, human resource management, and organizational operations.
• Identify and describe policies and practices for managing program and service risks. Emphasis on employee selection & qualifications, supervision issues, training considerations, safety and security issues, appropriate documentation.
• Advanced analysis of policies and practices for managing recreation facility, built environments, trails & open space risks such as maintenance/inspection issues, OSHA guidelines and compliance, and contract negotiation and management.
• Identify and describe policies for managing human resource risks (e.g., constitutional law issues, EEO, OSHA, discrimination, fair labor standards, working conditions).
• Discussion how effective strategies for risk management in parks, recreation, tourism and sport organizations can facilitate active-healthy lifestyles and sustainable communities.
• Critically evaluate the risks inherent in selected parks, recreation, sport or tourism operations and discuss strategies for managing risks.

Reflection

Risk Management is necessity in today’s society. This course gave me the insight to better identify risks to protect the participants and the N.C. Hunter Education Program. The case studies from the course were essential in developing the skills to analyze policies and practices of the recreation industry. This course was very interesting and definitely very relevant.  Some managers have a tendency to over manage risks and this course provided excellent real world case studies that showed a realistic view of acceptable risks without interfering with the activity being offered.