Determination of the Perceptions of Sport Manager Candidates Related on the Concept of Manager: A Metaphor Analysis Study

The aim of present study was to determine the perceptions of the candidates of the sport manager on the concept of manager through metaphors. The sample of study consists of a total of 50 sports managers. In order to collect data in the research, a "metaphor form" was prepared to determine the perceptions of sport manager candidates on the concept of manager. In the form of metaphors, the sport manager candidates were asked to complete the sentence  "Manager is like ...; because…". In the research, phenomenological design from qualitative research approaches was used. In the analysis of the data, content analysis technique was used. For the reliability of the analysis of the research data, the inter-participants reliability co-efficient was calculated and found to be 91%. By evaluating the data, it was observed that the sport manager candidates produced totally 33 metaphors. All metaphors were collected in 7 different categories. It was determined that the perceptions of the sport manager candidates on the concept of manager mostly “in terms of being indispensable for organizations†category (14 metaphors), “in terms of being authoritarian†category (10 metaphors) and “in terms of being leader†category (8 metaphors). These categories were followed by the categories of “in terms of being a problem solver†, “in terms of unifying†, “in terms of being guide†and “in terms of being fighter†. The most produced metaphors by the sport manager candidates were the Brain, the Leader, the Father, and the Queen Bee. Alive, lifeless, abstract and concrete metaphors were used for the concept of manager.