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PRT 359

Through the scope of the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Industry, we learned about best practices when approaching ethical dilemmas. Through excursions and course material, I gained insight into how different leaders stay true to their values when combating social and environmental issues.

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Munich,Germany

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Innsbruck, Austria

course components

Ethics Case Study

Through ethics studies centered around the Sports, Recreation, and Tourism industry, I found it inspiring to learn how different backgrounds and perspectives shape different approaches to ethical dilemmas. This insight proved the value of working in diverse teams when handling ethical decision-making in order to account for as many varying perspectives as possible. 

Excursions

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Schliersee, Germany

While we were in Schliersee, we visited the local club TSV Schliersee and interviewed the president of the club, Hubert Strobl, it was evident that community was an essential driving factor in his decision-making processes. He cared most about the children in Schliersee and to ensure that they each had access to opportunities to connect with the community through sports and recreation. It was evident through his generous leadership style that, to Hubert, nothing was more important than his community. Despite opportunities to expand his club and make more money off of participation fees, he chose to stay small and maintain the affordable price point so that he was able to preserve the community feel of his organization and include as many families as possible. 

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City of Munich Sport

When my team interviewed Florian Thamm from City of Munich Sports, he spoke to his personal experience where he chose to stay true to his values in his leadership role. Previously, Florian worked in mega sporting event planning. In this sector, he felt that there was an intense emphasis on monetary gain and status, at the cost of the best interests of the community. He felt trapped in this role within the organization and the only way to improve the impact on the community was to promote smaller, more inclusive events. To do this, he created his own sector where he had more control over developing community-focused events. As a leader, Florian recognized that his values weren’t in alignment with his current position and took the leap to find a role that was a better fit. This was an inspiring example of how Florian did what was best for his organization, by not only working to his strengths but also finding a role he was passionate about. 

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Bergisel Ski Jump, Innsbruck

One of the most immediate impacts of climate change on the Sports, Recreation, and Tourism industry can be seen through the steadily declining snow season. The declining snow season not only impacts the athletes but also communities that regularly host these athletes and winter sports tourists. Early in the week, we heard from Professor Martin Schnitzer, a leader in the ski tourism industry in Innsbruck, about how his team is working diligently to innovate the ski resorts to be able to host summer adventure worlds in order to support the local tourism industry from taking massive financial blows from the waning snow season. These communities, built to host thousands of tourists, are unable to support their businesses off of the shorter season. In order to subsidize this, new innovation for warmer weather is essential to supporting these local businesses.

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