Learning Objectives

After reading through this chapter you will be able to:

• Appreciate the growth of the event industry and its different characteristics

• Understand a range of useful definitions used within the operational management and project management literature

• Explain the importance of having a clear mission and how this must translate in to 'making it happen' for the customer

• Evaluate the need to match the environment, values and resources (i.e. EVR congruence)

• Understand the transformation process and appreciate the use of resources, which are the inputs into the process, and services and products, which are the output of the process (i.e. the event itself).

Introduction

We are at the start of the event operations management model, and as such it is important to take stock of all that is happening around the organization and the event. This chapter identifies some basic definitions that are essential to understand before we proceed through the rest of the chapters. In particular, the chapter introduces terminology from the events industry, general management theory and operational management theory. It establishes the framework in which event managers work, looks at the constraints of policy, and shows how events are limited and affected by resources and the nature of the event. The chapter serves as an explanation for the need for external and internal analysis which is required for any event organization that is in the process of creating an event and having sustained business success. The analysis of these two environments is covered in depth in...