Question: Research these five philosophical positions identifying the main elements and proponents of each. Discuss the benefits and challenges of each that a sport administrator may face.

1. Introduction The word philosophy comes from the Greek words philein which means “to love “and sophia which means “wisdom. “ Philosophy can therefore be defined as a love of wisdom. Philosophy may begin with curiosity and a question, however aims to end with you finding your own answers. We must evaluate our own thoughts and understand ourselves, religion, customs and conduct without leaning on the views of society, lectures, technology, guardians or our era. Modern philosophers would state that the mission of philosophy is autonomy: the liberty of a person to act in harmony with their decisions about themselves and what they believe in by using there own logical thoughts (Velasquez, 2009). As we examine these five philosophical positions we will determine the benefits and challenges of each that a spot administrator may face.

2. Idealism Idealism may be referred to as the act or practice of envisioning things in an ideal form with the pursuit of ones ideals. The philosophy of idealism suggests that the object of external perception, in itself or as perceived, consists of ideas.
The idealist therefore will more likely represent things in an ideal form or as they might or should be rather than as they are. He/She cherishes or pursues high goals somewhat as an optimist.
Idealism is perhaps the oldest systematic philosophy in Western culture and one of the most notably proponents of this is the outstanding philosopher Plato. He has developed one of the most historically influential philosophies of education which still exist. Socrates, also a well known philosopher and may be described as Plato’s mentor in modern times had influenced people during his time into thinking and examining their way life through a dialectical question and answer approach. In some quarters, Immanuel Kant is considered a modern day proponent of idealism especially for his work on “Space, Time and Transcendental Idealism” (Guyer, 2004).

2.1 Benefits: An administrator who is perceived to be an idealist or has an idealist view will have high goals and expectations of their company. Their drive to always strive for excellence will encourage fellow colleagues to do the same in every project they take on. They would be willing to take the risk to enforce their sole vision which may bring the company immediate or long-term success. They would look for the future benefits before making a final decision rather than, only the present benefit.
2.2 Challenges: The individual would have difficulty to become open to change which might lean out of there ideals. Their attitude to be perfectionist may cause conflict between their colleges who might have a more carefree attitude. They may over think on a situation and end up using unnecessary effort, resources and time on a project of little importance which may not pay off.

3. Realism
Realism can be described simply as the tendency to see things as they really are. It is a term in philosophy that describes that what we see has to be proven or therefore it is unreal. It states that objects are composed of matter, have properties and occupy space thus their characteristics are usually anticipated correctly.
Aristotle is considered to be the foremost proponent of realism, proposing that ideas can free float without having matter, whereas matter cannot exist without some semblance of form, and this form is independent of mental cognizance. Modern realism has various forms such as, scientific, socio-political, aesthetic, epistemological and moral realism. Religious realism was put forth by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century stating that true reasoning lies with the supreme reasoner - God - and that by aligning our rational reasoning minds with his tenets, we too can understand the universe and the nature of reality (Dogra 2012). Philosophers such as Francis Bacon, John Locke and later G.E. Moore and Ayn Rand forwarded theories relating to moral realism, whereas German theoreticians like Otto Von Bismarck and Carl Von Clausewitz were proponents of political realism.

3.1 Benefits: They may have more patience than other in order to discuss and come up with an almost perfect solution to unresolved problems. The may have a more abrupt approach toward people and their views allowing them to appreciate their advice.

3.2 Challenges: They would not believe in their colleagues’ ideas if he/she cannot show them proof on how it would work. By using ideas which were verified before they would lack uniqueness and some might see it as lack of drive. They would not be open to risking resources on a new idea that may not “pan out.”

4. Pragmatism
Pragmatisms are based on the principle that the usefulness, workability, and practicality of ideas, policies, and proposals are the criteria of their merit (Thayer & Rosenthal 2013). It stresses the priority of action over doctrine and experience over fixed principles. Thus, ideas are essentially instruments and plans of action. Rather than understand theory and action as two different activities and phenomena, pragmatism regards theories as tools or instruments in the human endeavour to cope with situations and events (Brandi & Elkjaer, 2013). a practical approach to problems and affairs
Pragmatism was a philosophical tradition that originated in the United States around 1870. The most important of the ‘classical pragmatists’ were Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and John Dewey (Hookway, 2010).
4.1 Benefits: The individual is always practical and focused on reaching a goal. He/She does not allow emotions to distract getting the job done. His drive would allow give his colleagues a clear understanding of what he would except from them and what they need to do in order to succeed.

4.2 Challenges: He/she may sometimes ignore his/her own ideas to get the job done and in this way prevent self-success. They would not be willing to take risk that would easily change the total image of their company either positively or negatively in the eyes of many.

5. Existentialism
Existentialism may be defined as the philosophical theory which holds that a further set of categories, governed by the norm of authenticity, is necessary to grasp human existence (Crowell, 2010). It is oriented toward two major themes, the analysis of human existence and the centrality of human choice. The theory focuses on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad.
Among the major philosophers identified as existentialists (were Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, and Martin Buber in Germany, Jean Wahl and Gabriel Marcel in France, the Spaniards José Ortega y Gasset and Miguel de Unamuno, and the Russians Nikolai Berdyaev and Lev Shestov (Crowell, 2010).

5.1Benefits:
Administrating with this philosophical drive will enable the “charges” to appreciate that they can achieve anything with the right thinking and attitude that it within them to get the job done and succeed.

5.2 Challenges:
This may tend to cause stress to those who have low self esteems and thereby put strain on both administrator and “charges” to agree on such “school of thought”

6. Eclecticism
Eclecticism is the practice of selecting theoretical approaches without adopting the whole parent doctrine to arrive at acceptable explanations (Sanderson, 1987) It aims to find coherence in combining systems which inherently have contradictions between them. Its application draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases geared towards achieving higher outcomes than it approached in isolation.
Eclecticism was first recorded to have been practiced by a group of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers. Well known eclectics in Greek philosophy were the Stoics of Panaetius and Posidonius, Carneades and Philo of Larissa and Marcus Cicero among the Romans.
6.1 Benefits: The individual will be willing to hear everyone’s views and take risk to result in a positive outcome. His open-mindedness would also promote qualities such as dedication, comfort, coordination and greatness.

6.2 Challenges: Being open too many opinions may confuse the individual and stray him/her away from their important task as head of the department. He may not be able to make a final decision efficiently and effectively in a short amount of time if or when needed.

7. Conclusion
It seems that every human operates sometime throughout their life based on these five philosophies discussed. Application of these however must be carefully considered based on the merit of the situation. Administrators can incorporate parts of each philosophy and receive equal amounts of both negative and positive outcomes; the best philosophy does not exist. Balance therefore must realise in order to achieve desired outcomes.

8. References
• Brandi, U. and Elkjaer, B (2013) Pragmatism. Retrieved 9/9/2013 from: http://srmo.sagepub.com/view/the-sage-dictionary-of-qualitative-management-research/n79.xml
• Crowell, S. (2010) "Existentialism", The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 7/9/2013 from: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2010/entries/existentialism
• Dogra, A. (2012) Idealism vs Realism. Retrieved 9/9/2013 from: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/idealism-vs-realism.html#realism
• Encyclopaedia Britannica (2013) Eclecticism. Retrieved 9/9/2013 from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/178092/eclecticism
• Guyer, P. (2004) Kant, Immanuel (1724-1804). Retrieved 7/9/2013 from: http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/DB047
• Hookway, C. (2010) Pragmatism. The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 9/9/2013 from: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2010/entries/pragmatism/
• Kant, I. (2011) Idealism and Education. Retrieved 7/9/2013 from: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0132540746.pdf
• Sanderson, S. (1987) Electicism and Its Alternatives. Current Perspectives in Social Theory, Volume 8 Retrieved 9/9/2013 from: http://stephenksanderson.com/documents/EclecticismandItsAlternatives.pdf
• Thayer, H. and Rosenthal, S. (2013) Pragmatism. Retrieved 9/9/2013 from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/473717/pragmatism
• Velasquez, M. (2009) Philosophy: A text with reading. Eleventh Edition. Wadsworth Cenage Learning, Boston USA. Retrieved 9/9/2013 from: http://books.google.tt/books?id=BrSYXnrqInkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=philosophy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KHcvUpLhMYbs8gTEgIHYCA&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false