Games-Makerization - creation of the Purple and Red Army: A conceptual review of literature examining traditional and contemporary management theory relating to the recruitment, training and development of staff within modern leisure service industries

‘People’ are key to the successful delivery of modern leisure services and it is essential that leisure managers acknowledge and respond to the differing management approaches which continually evolve, and which significantly influences, organisational effectiveness. With Rio 2016 just around the corner, comes a perfect time to reflect on the ‘human resource phenomena’ of the London 2012 Games Makers, and in examining this ‘unexpected triumph’ in recruiting, training and deploying 70,000 volunteers. This conceptual review analyses research relevant to the London 2012 Games Makers, exploring how traditional management approaches (scientific, classical and bureaucratic principles), are arguably still underpinning successful leisure services today. Concepts such as ‘McDonaldization’ and ‘Disneyfication’ are applied to the management of the Games Makers, dispelling the myth that ‘old school’ management has no place in contemporary leisure industries. Instead, it suggests today’s leisure managers consider prioritising ‘process’ ahead of ‘people’ in the right circumstances, to achieve effective results.

Key words: Management theory, human resource management, organisational behaviour/culture, commodification, and commercialisation of leisure services, London 2012 Olympic Games Makers