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I Say: The Impact of Motivation on Employee Performance

I believe that this study relates strongly to franchises in the National Basketball Association. If players are not motivated to play hard then they will not. There are numerous ways teams motivate players every day. One is the common goal to win a championship. The goal for every NBA player and team is to win a championship. This forces players to go out every day in order to make it to the playoffs. Another way players are motivated is through money. If an athlete performs well then many people around the league take notice. After their contract is up players can test out the free agent market. If they are coming off a great year this can cause a bidding war between teams. This can make the player a lot of money. On the other end of the spectrum if a player performs badly they will likely be offered less money on the free agent market. Another way teams motivate players with money is with bonuses. If a player scores a certain number of points in a season or grabs a certain number of rebounds they can make a lot of money. This motivates them to play their best every night. The last way I believe teams motivate players is with playing time. If a player plays very well off the bench he can see an increase in playing time. If a player plays bad they will see a decrease. These rewards make NBA athletes play as hard as they can every night.

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They Say: The Impact of Motivation on Employee Performance

I chose to analyze a study done by Nkafu Fondu Fomenky titled The Impact of Motivation on Employee Performance. In this study Fomenky interviewed fifty workers from various levels of occupation in an effort to determine if motivation increases employee performance. He tells us that there are various levels of motivation. The first level of motivation is Extrinsic Motivation. Extrinsic Motivation is present when a reward is given for someone to perform a task. The second level is Intrinsic Motivation. Intrinsic Motivation is when someone performs a task because it is personally rewarding. Fomenky asked the fifty people three questions. The first asked whether or not incentives motivated them to do their jobs. All fifty people answered yes. The second question asked what rewards motivated them the most. Thirty people answered a salary increase, ten said a promotion, five said a performance award, one said motivational talks, and four said leave. The third question asked whether if there was no reward performance would suffer. All fifty people again said yes. From this report Fomenky comes to the conclusion that it is important for companies to offer rewards to its employees. He says if companies offer rewards to their employees then they will work as hard as possible. On the other hand if companies do not offer rewards for their employees then employee performance will decrease.

Works Cited:

      Fomenky, Nkafu. "THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE." Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings 10.1 (2015): 332-36. Web.

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I Say: From College to the Pros: Predicting the NBA Amateur Player Draft

In the article From College to the Pros: Predicting the NBA Amateur Player Draft it was proven statistically that a player’s performance in college often does not transition to the pro game. I would have to agree with this data. Just looking in terms of the Atlanta Hawks, we have very few players who were superstars in the college game. The only member of our team that I considered a high level player in college is Al Horford. The Hawks are a team that many believed would be very average at the beginning of the season because they lack a superstar. The superstar model did not work at all for Atlanta in the past. Josh Smith was supposed to be the next Lebron James so we drafted him straight out of High School. While this looked like a very promising decision at the time, anyone that is an Atlanta Hawks fan can tell you it was a big mistake. The Hawks never found success with Smith in an Atlanta uniform. Now the team is clicking on all cylinders. We drafted average college players like Jeff Teague. We also acquired many more hard working players who had average college careers like Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap. This team however has done far more than any other Atlanta Hawks team. They clinched the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and have the first sixty win season in franchise history. I believe the Atlanta Hawks are the perfect team to solidify what the data found. A player’s individual performance at the college level is not likely to carry over to the NBA.

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They Say: From College to the Pros: Predicting the Amateur Player Draft

The article I chose to examine was titled From College to the Pros: Predicting the NBA Amateur Player Draft. In this article authors, David J. Berri, Stacey L. Brook, and Aju J. Fenn, examined how to predict how high an NBA player will go in the draft. They decided that the draft was created in order to give the worst teams in the league a shot at getting the best players. In the previous free agent system many top players would go to the top teams because those teams had the best opportunity to win. They decided to test if the teams that drafted first actually got the best players. They compiled data from 1995 till 2009 and evaluated players based on points scored, rebounds per game, steals per game, height, age and many other statistics. They found that players were drafted based mainly off of their points per game over rebounds and steals per game. They also found that shorter players were drafted less. They also found that a player coming off a big performance in the NCAA tournament was more likely to be picked. Once all of the data was run they came to the conclusion that all of these things had very little to do with NBA players performance. A player’s ability in college is far different than professional basketball because he is no longer playing against the same competition. This model seems to prove that NBA teams should not decide who to select in the draft based solely off of their performance in college.

 Berri, David J., Stacey L. Brook, and Aju J. Fenn. "From College to the Pros: Predicting the NBA Amateur Player Draft." Journal of Productivity Analysis 35.1 (2011): 25-35. Web.

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I Say: Inside the White House with Social Secretary Jeremy Bernard

The article Inside the White House with Social Secretary Jeremy Bernard discusses some themes in politics that are very prominent in the NBA community. The main theme is adversity. Jeremy Bernard is the first man and first openly gay person to do his job. This makes his job especially hard. He has people following his every move waiting for him to mess up. This relates to the NBA because fans are constantly waiting for players to make a mistake. We can see this every night Lebron James steps on the floor. Many people want to see Lebron fail but he goes out every night and gives his best. Another theme is being the first openly gay individual to do his job. Last season Jason Collins played as the first openly gay player in the NBA. Both men have to deal with the reality of the world we live in and realize that some people are not okay with gay people. This adds extra pressure to them as they try and perform to the best of their ability. From the article it is very evident that Jeremy Bernard is great at his job. He has overcome tough times in his life with great determination to reach where he is today. Many NBA players also have stories of great hardship. Whether it be injury or other circumstances many NBA players have overcome their issues to play the game they love at a high level. This theme of determination is present in the NBA as well as the Political arena that Bernard comes in contact with every day. Jeremy Bernard has displayed many qualities in his life that NBA players also display.

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They Say: Inside the White House with Social Secretary Jeremy Bernard

The article I chose was featured in Vogue and is titled Inside the White House with Social Secretary Jeremy Bernard. Jeremy Bernard was selected as the Social Secretary for President Obama four years ago. He is the first man to ever hold the position. Jeremy is also the first openly gay person to hold the position. Mr. Bernard is in charge of planning all social events that take place at the white house. Social Secretaries have traditionally been white women from wealthy families. Obama took a different approach and went after someone who knew politics very well. Jeremy Bernard got his start in politics as an active member in Bill Clinton’s campaign. He helped make decisions in Clinton’s campaign that helped Clinton win the presidential race. Bernard then worked for many years as a consultant before starting his own political consulting firm named B & G Associates, with his then boyfriend. Bernard became an active member of Obamas campaign in 2007. After winning the 2008 presidential election Obama gave Bernard a job as White House liaison. Bernard then became senior adviser and chief of staff to the U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Rivkin. While in in France Bernard was asked to apply for the job as Social Secretary. He thought the idea was dumb and that he would not win, but he applied anyways. He ended up getting the job and after four months in France he flew back to Washington. Bernard has been a trailblazer in his new job. Being the first man and the first openly gay person to hold the position has not been easy. Bernard’s more political approach has taken the job in an entirely new direction.

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I Say: Atlanta Hawks Doing their fair share

I have always believed that Jeff Teague was a great point guard. I remember watching him defeat an undefeated Duke team when he attended Wake Forest. He put on an absolute show that game. When my favorite team, The Atlanta Hawks, drafted him I was nothing short of ecstatic. His first few years in the league Teague was misused. Like Sports Illustrated said Teague was instructed to pass the ball to Joe Johnson or Josh Smith who had a very isolated style of play. They would get the ball and go straight to the basket and more often than not miss their shot. It was very frustrating for me to know we had an all-star caliber point guard and we were horribly misusing him. We then hired Mike Budenholzer and everything changed. Budenholzer brought a team first style of basketball to Atlanta that allowed Teague to thrive. Every play started with Teague facilitating the ball and cutting to the basket. There was very little isolation play which gave Teague the opportunity to get more assists and create more plays. The article references one play in which all five Hawks players touch the ball before anyone shoots the ball. This is the style of play that Jeff Teague is best at. Coach Budenholzer has allowed Teague to become a pass first point guard again and his play has taken off. Teague was an all-star this season and the Hawks are the number one team in the eastern conference. Coach Budenholzer has taken the Hawks from mediocre to a serious title contender.

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They Say: Atlanta Hawks Doing their fair share

In their March 9th edition, Sports Illustrated published an article titled Atlanta Hawks: Doing their fair share. The article is centered on the Hawks all-star point guard Jeff Teague. It begins by explaining Teague’s struggles when he first entered the league. The Hawks were a very isolation style oriented team and Teague fell victim to this system. Instead of moving the ball around like a point guard is supposed to, Jeff Teague was primarily instructed to pass the ball to Josh Smith or Joe Johnson. Jeff Teague hated this style of basketball. After some mediocre seasons Atlanta decided that the team was not heading in the right direction and fired then head coach Larry Drew. The Hawks then hired Mike Budenholzer. Jeff Teague was a free agent and already had a contract in place with the Milwaukee Bucks when Budenholzer came in. Lucky for Atlanta Budenholzer convinced Teague to stay. He also brought in Kyle Korver and other team oriented players. With these new pieces in place, Teague became a true point guard again. Jeff Teague has blossomed into an all-star in Budenholzer’s new system, and the Hawks are doing things that they have never done before. They are first place in the Eastern Conference and are the proud owners of the NBA’s longest win streak this season. With the new system Atlanta has become a serious NBA finals contender.  

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Seems T.I. has taken himself out of the running to buy the Atlanta Hawks -- telling us NBA owners have no real power and the whole thing seems like a…

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I Say: T.I. and the Atlanta Hawks

The sale of the Atlanta Hawks is very exciting for the city of Atlanta. With the teams recent success owners from all over the country will be interested in buying the Hawks. I am very upset that T.I. is not interested in buying the team. I believe that at least one major owner should be from the city of Atlanta. There has been speculation that the Hawks could leave in wake of the news of the sale. It is said that the Hawks will stay in Atlanta upon the sale of the team this year. While this is good news for fans of the Hawks in the short term, this may not stop the team from moving in the future. Atlanta is primarily known in the sports community as a baseball town. The Atlanta Braves attracts fans from all over Georgia, but the Hawks have never been able to pull a strong fan base outside of Atlanta. Having an owner who is a member of the Atlanta community will solidify the Hawks staying in Atlanta. This owner would be able to stop possible plans to move the Hawks out of Atlanta. Without an Atlanta native or community member I believe that there is real potential that the Atlanta Hawks will not stay in Atlanta in the future.

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They Say: T.I. and the Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are currently for sale on the open market. Earlier this year, in wake of racism allegations, one owner agreed to sell the team. The other owners decided to sell their shares of the Hawks as well. There has been much speculation about who will buy the team. Many people have speculated that a prominent member of the Atlanta community will buy the team. Rapper T.I. has been speculated by many to buy The Hawks. TMZ caught up with him in New York outside a steakhouse in New York City. T.I. squashed any rumors of him buying the team by elaborating on his views on NBA ownership. The main point of his disinterest stemmed from his thoughts that NBA owners are powerless. With these comments T.I. has taken himself out of the speculation of potential owners. Forbes has projected that the Hawks will sell for a haul of eight hundred and twenty five million dollars. The Hawks are currently the number one team in the eastern conference so these numbers can easily increase to one billion dollars. While T.I. is not interested in buying the team, he did say how thrilled he is about the Atlanta Hawks success this season.

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Take a look back at the best plays from the Atlanta Hawks' franchise-record 19-game win streak. About the NBA: The NBA is the premier professional basketball...

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I Say: Top Ten Plays of the Streak

The ten plays that are showcased by the National Basketball Association served as high points in the winning streak. The plays came in big games in even bigger moments. The top three plays serve as statements to the rest of the league that the Atlanta Hawks are the real deal. The Hawks have had many doubters this season, but the winning streak showed everyone that the Hawks can and will beat anybody in the National Basketball League. The top three plays in particular came in big statement games. The number three and number two plays both took place in a heated battle against the Portland trail Blazers. The Blazers currently sit at number four in the Western Conference which is widely considered better than the Eastern Conference. The Hawks went into the game and fought hard and eventually came out with a victory. Those two plays swung the momentum in our favor and gave us a much needed boost in a crucial game. The top play was a part of the biggest statement game that took place from the streak. The Hawks came into the game as the number one team in the Eastern Conference and absolutely annihilated the number two team, The Toronto Raptors. This play in particular by Al Horford blew the game wide open. The Hawks already had a significant lead but wound up beating the Raptors by a score of 110 to 89.

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They Say: Top Ten Plays of the Streak

The Atlanta Hawks went on a historic win streak in the month of January winning nineteen games in a row. The National Basketball Association youtube account put a video up containing the top ten plays from the streak. The clip showcases the great ability that the Atlanta Hawks displayed during the streak. Many plays include great defense, exceptional passing, and terrific shots. The top three plays were especially significant. Play number three starts with an opposing player driving to the hoop. Al Horford the rejects the players shot and the ball is scooped up by Kent Bazemore. Bazemore then passes the ball to Mike Scott for a rim rattling dunk. This play brought the whole arena to its feet. Play number two begins with Jeff Teague with the ball. Teague drives to the basket and gives a ridiculous ball fake that sends two defenders into the air. With the defenders out of the way Jeff uses his pivot foot to lay the ball into the basket. Play number one was clearly the right choice as the best play from the entire streak. The play takes place in the third quarter with the Hawks up by fourteen. Al Horford receives the pass at the block and immediately drives past his defender. Another defender tries to come over and stop Horford from scoring, but Al Horford throws down a vicious two hand slam right lover the defender.

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NBA Basketball Recap: Final statistics from the Toronto Raptors vs. Atlanta Hawks game played on February 20, 2015

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I Say: Phillips Arena

Phillips Arena inspired me to choose the Atlanta Hawks as my blog theme because I have been watching the Atlanta Hawks in Phillips Arena since I was a young kid. On the Phillips Arena website the arena is described as “one of the best state-of-the-art multi-purpose sports and entertainment complexes in the world”. I completely agree with this statement. I remember when I went to my first Hawks’ game when I was around six years old. I walked into the arena and was overcome with excitement. The Atmosphere is breathtaking every single time you walk in. Growing up I visited Phillips Arena many times but one experience solidified my love for the Hawks. When I was 13 my basketball team was invited by Phillips Arena to meet the players and participate in shoot around. Just standing on the court made me feel like a star. Looking around at the beautiful arena from the court was breath taking. I was given a Hawks jersey and treated like a real player. This experience solidified my intense fandom for the Atlanta Hawks. The great people of Phillips Arena made this possible and I am still incredibly grateful. This wonderful venue and the incredible people who run it inspired me to make my blog about the Atlanta Hawks.

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They Say: Phillips Arena

Phillips Arena is the current arena of the Atlanta Hawks. Phillips Arena was also used by the Atlanta Thrashers before they were sold in 2011. Phillips Arena is located in downtown Atlanta across from Centennial Olympic Park in the Luckie Marietta District. The arena officially opened in 1999 and cost about 213 million dollars to construct. It holds approximately twenty thousand people and has twenty three food venues inside. Since its opening close to twenty million people have attended an event in Phillips Arena. Some events other than the Atlanta Hawks that Phillips Arena has hosted include the 2012 ACC basketball tournament and the 2004 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Phillips Arena is also a premier concert venue and has hosted artists such as Kanye West, Elton John, and Madonna. The largest crowd recorded for an Atlanta Hawks game was Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where 20,425 fans packed the arena. The venue is connected to the CNN Center and is in close proximity to the Georgia Dome, Georgia Aquarium, and the World Congress Center. In 2009 the arena achieved LEED for existing building certification by the United States Green Building Council. This certification was awarded to Phillips Arena to show that it has met green building operating standards and performance measures. It is the only basketball arena with this certification.