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DATE:
TO:
FROM:
Ashley Dunn
Student
SUBJECT:
Introduction
My little sisters best friends mom gets her and her friend free tickets to events at
Arrowhead Stadium and the Sprint Center. My mother and I knew her mother worked
for the Chiefs football team and thought that was how she was able to get so many free
tickets. We were not aware of her actual position, Kirsten Krug is the Vice President of
Administration for the Kansas City Chiefs. Although I have decided I want to go to Law
School, I am still unsure what I want to do after I get my degree. This project was an
opportunity to explore an organization that many people, besides athletes, overlook. I
am even guilty of just thinking of a football team as being the just players and the
coaches. Speaking with Kirsten Krug was very eye opening. There are opportunities
for every major in this organization.
About Krug
Kirsten Krug is an alumni of the University of Kansas. She received her degree in
Communication Studies, the same degree I am working toward. We talked about areas
we thought about going into with the degree. Like myself, Krug aspired to be a political
speech writer. It was actually one of her first jobs out of college. She spent time writing
speeches for former Kansas Governor Mike Hayden. The job felt like an internship but
it was fun while it lasted. To make a living off of writing speeches, the speeches need to
be written for someone who makes a lot of money off of the speeches. The people that
make good money off of writing speeches for politicians and dignitaries. There are not
many of those in the Midwest and she had just met her soon to be husband. Moving to
somewhere like D.C. was not an option.
After the small speech writing job, Krug worked for the Lawrence Human Rights
Commission. She received the job because someone on the City Commission
recommended her for the job. Krug was not even looking for the job but luckily
someone was thinking of her. The Lawrence Human Rights Commission is similar to
the IOA at KU. Before someone can go through with any course of legal actions they
must first file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission. Like the IOA, the Human
Rights Commission deals with complaints of discrimination anything against age, race,
gender, religion, and so on. If the Commission believes that an act of discrimination did
occur then the filing party is able to sue.
I am not sure how she received her next job, but she spent a chuck of her career with
an organization and gained much of her relevant experience. For the next 14 years
Krug worked at a garage door company. She started out just working in their Human
Resources department. She worked her way up through the ranks in the Human
Resource department until she became the head of the department. That is one of
those jobs I never would have thought of wanting to work but is a position that would
work with my degree. When people think of a garage door company, they tend to think
of the people who literally make and install the doors. I never would have thought that a
garage door company would have a job for me. When Krug left the company, they were
battling a public complaint on age discrimination.
A friend of Krugs went to a gala with someone who worked with the Kansas City Chiefs.
This person told Krugs friend that there was an open position in their Human Resource
Department. Krugs friend suggested Krug for the job. Networking and having the right
connections is so important. She did not sign up or apply for the job, it was offered to
her in June. There were three big problems with the original job offer. Krug would spent
more than six months negotiating over. First problem, they were asking Krug to take a
pay cut from her current job. Second problem, they were asking Krug to take a lesser
title. Third problem, they were asking Krug to work in a Human Resource Department
that would within the Financial Department. As a women she realized that it is and was
hard enough to get the title and income she received at the garage door company. She
was willingly to make a lateral move if her title improved. That is how it started with the
Chiefs organization, she became the director of Human Resources. She was insistent
on having the Human Resource Department stand alone from the Financial
Department. When the Human Resources Department is within the Financial
Department they get bogged down with payroll and paperwork. That is not what Krug
believes a Human Resource Department should be doing. Just like the title, a Human
Resource Department should be a resource for the humans that work within the
organization. Krug got all of the things she asked for after over six months and began
working the job in January seven years ago.
Chiefs Structure
There are 225 members of the Kansas City Chiefs. This number includes coaching staff
but does not include players. Krugs department is made up of three people including
herself. The Chiefs experienced two large shifts in leadership one in 2009 and one in
2013. After a not so good season in 2009, 2-14 to be exact, their general manager
resigned. Their general manager at that time, Carl Peterson, had just finished leading
the expansion of their new training facility and three new practice fields. The shift in
leadership in 2013 was when they hired a new head coach so things on the field were
really shaken up for a while. After a few too many crummy seasons, other staff
members besides the coaches and players were being replaced. The general manager
was just one of several others who lost their jobs that year.
When the current President, Mark Donovan, took his job in 2011 he made changes.
Donovan had the heads of several departments start reporting directly to him. Before
obtaining his current position as President, Mark Donovan spent two years as the Chief
Operating Officer for the Chiefs. Today the Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of
Development, Vice President of Communication, Vice President of Business, and Vice
President of Administration all report directly to the President. Krug starts her mornings
by checking in with the President. Though the owner of the team is in the office usually
twice a month Krug does not take her orders from the owner. If the owner does have a
request, the President usually sits in on the meeting and is also in the loop.
Chiefs Communication
Every organization communicates differently meaning that their communication
problems are also different. Communication may differ from the different departments
even within the Kansas City Chiefs. So these are communication patterns and
challenges perceived by Krug. She cites the number one problem with the way her
organization communicate is email. There are tons of emails that get sent to Krug every
day. When she first started the job the number of emails gave her so much stress and
she wanted to respond to every single email and quickly. This past year before Krugs
daughter went back to school and the season started, Krug and her family took a trip to
the Bahamas. While most people knew she was out of the office she received almost
900 emails every day she was gone. She has now devised a system of her own to deal
with the amount of email she gets. Because of her title, power, and authority she gets
ccd on so many emails. All of those emails now get directly sent into a folder cutting
down the amount of emails she needs to handle. She checks her email twice a day. I
cant believe she gets that many emails and only checks her emails twice a day, once at
9:00 a.m. and again at 2:00 p.m. She starts by going through a color coding the email
green, yellow, and red like a stop light. Green means they do not need a response and
out informational. Yellow means this email is time sensitive but not urgent. Red means
the email needs to be handled right now. Its funny because everyone in the office is
aware of her system. People who are aware of the system know when to send her an
email. People who are aware of the system tend to also put the color in the subject of
the email. If something is urgent they tend to text rather than call. A lot of calls are
missed or the phone number is not saved. She does not answer calls to number that
are not recognized or saved. A text message shows up on her apple watch and she is
able to read the message without stopping what she is doing. But if all else fails, she is
usually in her office.
Chiefs Background
The Kansas City Chiefs have not always been the Kansas City Chiefs. When the
National Football League (NFL) first started there were only a handful of teams. It
started as two teams that have been renamed and moved. The third team, the Green
Bay Packers, has been the longest continuous franchise. The game of football was
only being played in select parts of the country. In 1958, a Texas oilman by the name of
Lamar Hunt wanted to bring football to great state of Texas where everything is bigger
and better. Hunt started a franchise team called Dallas Texan which would eventually
move to Kansas City. His football team could not be a football team without another
team to play against.
American Football League - AFL
Hunt played a big part in the creation of several other franchises such as the Denver
Broncos, Boston Patriots, LA Chargers, and the Oakland Raiders. The National
Football League refused to add these teams to their league so they created their own
league. This league would become known as the American Football League, AFL. Not
only did the AFL bring football to new parts of the country, but it revolutionized the game
of football and made it what everyone knows and loves. The AFL had the first ever
cooperative TV plan. The TV plan brought football to new parts of the country in more
way than one. The AFL physically a brought team to the Midwest when the league start,
and with the TV plan the League was into peoples living rooms across the country.
Previous Chiefs Owner
Hunt would spend the rest of his life, since creating the Dallas Texans in 1958, devoted
to football. I never anything about this legend who was so close to me growing up.
Hunt founded the American Football League. He founded the Chiefs team specifically.
Hunt named the Super Bowl, which must be a big reason why the Chiefs played in the
very first Super Bowl. Hunt is to thank for major innovations like names on the back of
jerseys. Although they dont happen very often, Hunt is responsible for the creation of
2-pt. conversions.
Chiefs Current Owner
Clark Hunt, the son of Lamar Hunt took over ownership of the Chiefs. When Clark Hunt
became the Chairman and CEO in 2010 the head coach, general manager, and team
president all started to report directly to him. Clark Hunt continues to live in Dallas, TX,
and visits the team at least two times a month. Clark Hunt knew he would become the
owner of the team when he father died. In 2002, Clark Hunt became the Vice Chairman
for two years, then he became the Chairman of the Board for five years. When his
father died, he became the owner. Most owners are around 70 years old, Clark Hunt on
the other hand is the second youngest owner in the NFL at 51 years old.
His first two years with the Chiefs, they won more games (20) than any other new
owner. Clark Hunt has spent time increasing fan experience, new technology, and
innovation ideas. My favorite to come of these initiatives is Wi-Fi for Arrowhead
Stadium! Under his leadership, the Hunts have expanded the league again. This time
the Hunts have taken the league abroad. The Chiefs along with a handful of other
team will play regular season contest in London until 2025.
People who know Clark Hunt well describe his as quiet but well spoken (Kansas City
Star, 2016). Clark Hunt has been part of many committees, such as the LA Relocation
Committee. He was the only one in favor of the St Louis Rams relocating to Los
Angeles. People will continue to debate whether or not it was the right decision but he
was a big reason that change happened. Clark Hunt knew that people would judge him
based on his dad and family name. He knew that the team would be passed down to
him at some point. As a result, Clark Hunt did not get involved in the Chiefs until it was
necessary. Clark Hunt attended Southern Methodist University and received his degree
in Business Administration with a concentration in finance.
NFLPA
The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is an important organization
that play a role in Krugs job. The football players are a union and their wants and
demands are funneled through the NFLPA and everything is then approved by the NFL.
The players elect player representatives to sit on the board. This board meets once a
year to make all important decisions for the organization. These decisions can include
anything from membership dues, draft and implementation regulations, safety studies
and more. A big part of the NFLPAs responsibilities is to help players deal with
grievances.
Grievances can be divided into two categories. Injury grievances are when players are
released while injured and unable to play. Non injury grievances are when players are
fined, suspended, dispute over incentive bonus, or they are unable to play due to the
previous years injury. All of these things affect the players income. Krug shared
something with me that I continue to marvel over. It is a piece of knowledge I wish I
could share with prospective professional athletes. The average professional football
player plays for four years. They only receive 16 paychecks. Those paychecks are
given during weeks with games. As the general public has been able to see,
professional athletes tend to live a lavish lifestyle. As a result, 80% of all professional
football players filed for bankruptcy within five years of leaving the league. What they
fail to realize is that they need to make a lifetime worth of living in four years. Or they
need to have a college degree or go to college while they are in the league (the NFL will
pay for it) so they can get a job after they leave. I think that is so interesting and makes
me want to share that message with prospective professional athletes to push them to
finish their degrees or promise themselves to get their degree with they are playing pro
ball.
Conclusion
I am glad I interviewed and research this team. I was worried I would not be able to fill
five pages but I actually have stuff left over that I am looking forward to sharing in my
presentation. It makes me hopeful for entering the job market. I used to think that there
werent many places in the world for a Communication Studies major in the world. The
Kansas City Chiefs has a whole department, like many other companies, devoted to
Communications. Many people in the higher positions, like Chief Operating Officer,
have law degrees. If Kirsten Krug needs to be contacted she can be reached at
kkrug@chiefs.nfl.com or (816) 920- 4866.
References