The Importance of Event Management

Any activity in our society that demands numerous attention from the public may be termed as an event. It is occasionally a meeting in the form of a party, ceremony or any other serious matter. Every event has a massive impact on the culture of a person. (Bladen 2012 Pg. 12) Various activities have to be perfectly executed in each event for it to be termed successful. These activities may be termed as event operations. Event operations need to be properly calculated and effected using well-laid out logistics portfolios (Allen 2012, p.15). Human resources, machinery, and other items are vital for this area. There is a need for proper organization in a manner which every item required is delivered. People are required in the different stages of event creation. Some are required to advertise or publicise the possibility of the event happening while others are required for the actual happening of the event.

            Notably, every event has a huge impact on the well-being of the society in three ways. The social life of the society, its economy and the maintenance of the environment. As a consequence, every event to be organised should strive to adhere to the sustainability of these goals. Palmer and Lloyd discovered that the occurrence of events could be used to study the culture and history of a community (Palmer & Lloyd 1972, p.10). That is possible when the rise and fall of events are carefully studied. In a bid to conserve some of these events affiliated to a community’s culture, several policies have been developed and continue to be raised every year. In addition to that, many efforts have been invested with an aim to ensure easy and proper event creation and execution (Thomas and Middleton 2003, p.9). Event managers have learned several tough lessons over the course of time especially on the need for proper preparation (Shone and Parry 2004, p.6). The venue and the people to organise and ensure the smooth running of the event are now mandatory before advertising an event. The incorporation of event management in the curriculum has been beneficial to budding event managers, and I will use these skills to illustrate the proper way of organising an event and show all the required items for any event to be successful. I will contrast the organisation of the Edinburgh International festival to the content in the events planning classes.

Job Title:  Event Planner and Manager: Edinburgh International Festival

Date: 15/05/2018

Reports To: Head Manager

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Purpose and Scope of Job:

To provide planning management and customer services for the individuals attending the event. Coordinate all the activities ranging from staffing, food and beverages and accommodation.

Essential Functions (Other duties assigned):

1. Visualizing the space within the detailed map by planning the stage, restrooms, seats and accommodation, food and beverages.

2. Planning the entry flow that is starting from the parking to the vendor’s gates and stages

3. Coordinating volunteers and the on-site staff

4. Getting the right check-in equipment’s for the event

5. Monitoring the resources and the traffic flow to ensure flexibility

My Reflections towards the event

 Edinburgh International festival happens every year in Edinburgh, Scotland. In this event, the festival director invites performing artists from around the globe to showcase their talents. Although dance and theatre are the most common activities engaged in this event, it also accommodates other forms of visual art such as displays. The event portrays many modern means of planning a huge event. This year, I got the chance to be a part of the planning team where I coordinated all the activities in response to the event. Unlike the time it was conceptualized, times have changed, and this year modern planning techniques were used in the event.

Several things have changed over time apart from the structure of leadership. The event adhered to most of the requirements for any event today. Issues of the venue, the targeted group, and the audience were met. One festival director was in charge of all the other employees in the festival. They were free to form a group of people with whom they work together from the beginning to the end. A series of meetings were conducted where every issue regarding the event operations and logistics were discussed. Duties and responsibilities were equally shared amongst the team members, and they were supposed to report their progress after some time. Each leader was free to form their committee that helps them achieve their set objectives. The leaders performed administrative tasks as well as the motivation of the junior members.

            In addition to the leadership required in the event, additional human labour was required. Acquiring the right people for this opportunity was very crucial. Some people were taken in as volunteers while others were formally employed. A formal contract was signed before the job was commenced. One thing that I learned from the event was that working with employed people is different from dealing with volunteers. Volunteers had different intentions while applying for the job. The key motivating factor of most volunteers to the event was to build their recommendation letter. Consequently, some volunteers were willing to work with the leadership in charge of the event. Different tactics were implemented in planning stages of the Edinburgh festival to maintain the employees. A series of meetings were held where the employed members, as well as the volunteers,  were recognised.

             A specific team was set up to deal with the legal issues concerning the festival. They were employed to ensure the event complied with all the laws of the country. A law expert was required to be part of the team with a good understanding of all the legal needs that are needed when organising the event. In addition to that, the team dealt with the cultural requirement of the event. The relationship between any culture and the events organised amongst the culture is very deep. Events are organised for the people, and after every event, the Edinburgh Festival requests feedback from the attendees, which they use to improve their services in future.

A special team was authorised to advertise the event and welcome the public to participate in the preparation and attendance. Such an event required proper publicising and management of the booking process. The use of websites and mobile applications made the task of advertisement and booking relatively simple. Once the basic details about the event were ready, the information was displayed to the public. Information regarding the venue of the event and the charges for each ticket was then availed to the public. In the process, important information regarding the event was acquired. A vague number of people expected to attend the event was acquired and used for planning and logistic purposes.

From this point, the event planning process applied all the project management rules. First was the definition of the project, all the stakeholders involved in the project had to understand what the event aimed to achieve. Details about the date, when the event was prospected to happen, the actual venue, and the resources available were discussed. Secondly, the scope of the work to be done was explained in detail. All the materials needed on the day of the event were outlined. However, resources required before and after the event also had to be raised. People were then assigned the tasks of acquiring all these items and placing them in the right areas of use. Each task was to be broken down into subtasks for it to be efficiently carried out. Once broken down, each person in the planning committee was allocated a single task. Event planners made use of planning models to subdivide and monitor the tasks required. Some questions were necessary while looking at various chores such as the time it took to complete the task, people in charge of the job and number of people who depended on the task. Scheduling was performed at this time. Working backward from the time of the event was a common practice in this modern event planning.

If the planners identified tasks that slowed down the process, more attention was given to it and resources were distributed equally. From the event, one of the activities that I disliked were the planners forgetting after event activities. When the event was over, they were responsible for returning all the hired items and settling all the bills at hand. The use of a Gantt chart was implemented in the event, which served as a visual picture for the tasks, how they depend on each other and the rate at which they were being executed. Managers were also given the opportunity to identify the people responsible for various tasks. In addition to these skills, other techniques were required for the success of the event. Virtues among the workers speeded up the organisation process. Good communication skills, creative and critical thinking were vital to the project (Getz 2007, P.288). Finally, the management of onsite logistics was equally important. Managers were required to visit the sites and witness first-hand how the resources are being utilised. In the process, the manager became accountable concerning the resources entitled to them.

Evaluation of my experiences in response to the literature in event management

Modern events are faced with the challenge of security. Any event is susceptible to some risks. Any gathering of people has this risks in plenty. Crowd management and control are therefore very important in any event (Kittur et al., 2013, p.1301). For any successful event to be conducted, crowd control measures have to be put in place before and during the event. A clear distinction between management and control of a crowd should be provided (Barron & Rihova 2011, p.201). Management of a crowd is done before any event and involves implementing measures that limit the formation of large crowds. Efforts to ensure large crowds behave in the right manner when attending an event may also be termed as crowd management efforts. Carefully studying the audience or people to attend an event is important to any event. Religious events are not likely to spark chaos when compared to political rallies or other sporting events. In other events, the materials being consumed may cause the attendees to behave abnormally. Therefore, security agencies should be contracted in such events.

There are situations that may occur without prior anticipation. Animal attacks, fires or electric faults may occur. All event planners should be able to minimise or curb the occurrence of these tragedies. However, emergency services should be available in all events. The Edinburgh International festival takes care of these needs. Stakeholders of the event ensured there is sufficient security as well as easily accessible health facilities. Personal property was also properly taken care of. Ample parking was provided for all the people participating in the event, and their automobiles were safely looked after. In the case of the performers and the important guests, they were provided with personal security guards. The public relationship between them and the audience was also noted before they were contracted.

Experience gained at Edinburg international Festival    

As witnessed during the Edinburgh festival, the luxury of the audience is paramount in any event. When the right capacity calculations are done, the ultimate luxury may be achieved. In the process of planning any event, the sitting arrangement of the audience should be discussed. The details about the layout of the event should be concise and accurate. There are four factors that any capacity calculation seeks to serve. First is the size of the venue and the number of people that it can hold at a time (Shone & Parry 2004, p.6). Every person’s private space should be preserved during this calculations. At the same time, it should be possible to evacuate all the people in good time in the case of an emergency. Furniture to be used in any event should be designed in a manner that accommodates more people. Secondly, the movement of people around should also be considered. Some social amenities have to be easily accessible at all times.  Ingress, circulation, and egress have to be worked out. Especially indoor events require proper air circulation to prevent communicable diseases.

The means of accessing the venue comfortably by all the members and the manner in which they shall leave the venue is also illustrated. Cases of bottlenecks and congestion should be avoided through proper timing and use of alternative ways when needed. Thirdly, the atmosphere of the audience is also looked into. The manner in which the audience behave during the event should be considered. Edinburgh festival is structured in such a way that every person attending the event has a good view of all the performers and ample space to dance. Fourthly, Arrangement of people determines the profits made by the event organisers in any event. When an event accommodates more people, the profits realised from the event are likely to be high. I discovered that cultural artifacts affiliated to a given culture are also sold during the Edinburg festival right after a performance of that culture. The tactic may be applied to other events with different items such as food materials (Shone & Perry 2004, p. 9). Finally, it is wise to detach all the pathways to be used properly. Simple and precise instructions should be displayed to all the relevant groups of people.

The issue of providing food or other beverages during events also needs to be tackled. Some circumstances do prefer the sale of foods and drinks but there are several risks posed by the same. First of all, any event that supplies food in addition to the normal activities attracts a higher number of participants than an event without food resources. More profits are therefore realised as a result. However, some great events have been spoiled by the idea of providing food services to the attendees. Threats such as food poisoning, choking and allergies may be evident. Some steps may be taken to try to curb these risks (Devney 2001, p.87). Studying the health records of the attendees may be one step. Another step is observing standard health policies as outlined in the health acts. Finally, the caterers have to provide the menu and recipe for each food that they prepare and mark it for all people to see.

On a separate issue, offering alcoholic drinks in an event may not be a good idea. Dangers of underage people consuming alcohol are prevalent. The elderly may also be tempted into buying the young people alcoholic drinks. Some of the ways of controlling alcohol consumption, in any event, include enforcement of strict rules about the sale of alcohol in any event. The suppliers should agree with the management of any event about the manner of handling alcohol in the event. Preferably, alcohol should be permitted into an event once the event is over and not before. Otherwise, there should be a restricted area for eligible people who wish to consume alcohol.

            The major drawback about the provision of any material for consumption, in any event, could be the hustle involved in the process of preparing and availing the materials to the event (Palmer and Lyod 1972, p.76). Paying the caterers or people who will serve the audience is another issue. There are clearly outlined rules about the safety of food materials and the sanitary required for them to be offered during events. (Studies, 2007). Finally, the materials used for distribution of food need to be disposed of. On most occasion, they tend to be hazardous to the environment. Although alternative means may be used in place, it is advisable to keep off the idea. Edinburgh festival has opted not to distribute food materials to its attendees.

Conclusion

The Edinburg festival is a perfect event where any event manager can learn the art of event operations and logistics. Organisers of the event have applied most of the skills taught in the class setting in the real-life scenarios. Prospecting students are also easily absorbed into the company to learn the art of events management. Since the company has been conducting events for a long time now, it has sufficient experience about most of the issues facing the events industry. In addition to that, it has adopted modern means of technology and applied these techniques in the planning and holding of its events. The motive behind the creation of the event is praiseworthy and the role it plays in the society. The company has sought to meet all the needs of the different stakeholders involved. The government, the artists and the audience alike. Collaboration and unity between the company leadership and the performing artist are visible. Modern social evils such as corruption and tribalism have been eliminated in the company and replaced with unity. Any budding event manager should emulate this company and follow in these footsteps.

Recommendation.

    From my findings, I recommend that,

1.    The curriculum should be updated to teach new advanced methods of event planning through the use of technology.

2.    Students to be given the opportunities to enhance their skills by internship opportunities in the already established events.

3.    The government to increase the opportunities for budding event managers through awarding them contracts to organise some government events.

4.    The government to develop policies and regulations that favour the process of conducting an event.

References

Allen, J., O’toole, W., Harris, R. and McDonnell, I., 2012. Festival and Special Event Management, Google eBook. John Wiley & Sons, p.15.

Bladen, C., Kennell, J., Abson, E. and Wilde, N., 2012. Events management: An introduction. Routledge, p.12.

Barron, P. and Rihova, I., 2011. Motivation to volunteer: a case study of the Edinburgh International Magic Festival. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 2(3), pp.202-217.

Devney, D.C., 2001. Organizing special events and conferences: A practical guide for busy volunteers and staff. Pineapple Press Inc, p.87.

Getz, D. and Getz, D., 2007. Event management & event tourism, p.65.

Kittur, A., Nickerson, J.V., Bernstein, M., Gerber, E., Shaw, A., Zimmerman, J., Lease, M. and Horton, J., 2013, February. The future of crowd work. In Proceedings of the 2013 conference on Computer supported cooperative work (pp. 1301-1318). ACM.

Palmer, G. and Lloyd, N., 1972. A Year of Festivals: A Guide to British Calendar Customs. Frederick Warne Publishers, p.76.

Shone, A. and Parry, B., 2004. Successful event management: A practical handbook. Cengage Learning EMEA, p.6.

Studies, E., 2007. Theory, Research and Policy for Planned Events.

Thomas, L. and Middleton, J., 2003. Guidelines for management planning of protected areas (Vol. 10). GlandCambridge: Iucn, p.9.