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SPLS 1 04 Assessment Task 1 Essay

NON-PROFIT VERSUS PROFIT SPORT STRUCTURES

To begin with, what are the definitions of profit and non-profit organisations? A non-profit
organisation strives to provide a social service to the public by means of non-profit orientated
business activities. According to
this journal article (McDonald,
2007) any additional revenue
generated after covering the costs
of production must be used or in
essence, “recycled” back into the
organisation to further better their
services. No single individual may
take profit as reward. Examples of
non-profit organisations include
churches, schools, and sports clubs
such as our very own WPCC.
(Right image)

Seeing as some sporting structures
such as WPCC are classed as non-
profit organisations what are the
characteristics of these sports
organisations? The following cited
source provides various information
on this topic. ((PDF) The analysis and Characteristics of Non- profit Sport Organizations, n.d.)

One major characteristic outlined in this article, which can be concerning for athlete development,
is that non-profit organisations do not have the best facilities that are of international standard.
While this may be true for some, arguably, WPCC has provided two Olympic hockey athletes to
the recent Tokyo Games. So, to combat this statement, this is not a characteristic of all non-profit
organisations. However, it is understandable why some facilities are poorly run/mismanaged and
do not provide top class facilities, because the incentive to make profit is not there! Aside from the
facilities themselves- these sporting structures have to be loyal, accountable, trustworthy, and
honest in their management as there could be an employee manipulating the system to benefit
from additional revenue. The running of these businesses has to be as open and transparent with
their stakeholders as much as possible. As the already cited article above states, the way for
these businesses to truly thrive is to be extremely goal focused. The more they do this, the more
money invested into the non-profit business, and ultimately the better the services and facilities
provided.

How do for-profit organisations compare? According to (Difference between Profit and Non-Profit
Organisation, n.d.) the definition of a for-profit organisation is such that this particular business
strives to create profit through their activities with the intension of maximising wealth for the
owners and various stakeholders. Examples of for-profit organisations include any sole trading

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