Ethical issues in sports management

In the modern era, development of business has played an important part in the midst of entertainment as well. According to Harriss and Atkinson (2015), the growth of business in an economy creates opportunities for enhancement and development of other activities within a society. For example, in the modern day, sports and activities have been of considerable interest among businesspersons. According to Harriss, MacSween and Atkinson (2017), ethical consideration in sports provides for a broader concept about the discipline of the athletes. The ethical issues related to sports are also considered. The review provides an analysis of the relationship that business organisations have with sports and the manner in which the ethical issues associated with it can hamper the growth of the sport teams. The review indentifies seven such articles that can help in identifying the ethical issues in sports and develop relationship that exists between sports and business in the modern world.

As observed by Simon (2018) ethical consideration is an important part of business as it helps in guiding an organisation and maintains its resources in a proper manner. In this case, an analysis can be made about the ethical issues that exist in sports management so that any type of gap or issue related to business can be understood. At the same time the relationship between the managers of sports and the business managers are to be identified.  The ethical consideration that is needed to be considered in effective sports management consists of:

Diversity: In the USA, diversity is one of the biggest issues that are faced in business organisations as well as in sports. In the modern world, racial discrimination does not take place. However, in some parts of the world such issues arise that curb the progress of a business. In their article, Shank and Lyberger (2014) stated that the business organisations take into consideration the ethics that are associated with the hiring of people. Recruitment of athletes needs to be done by keeping in mind every ethical and racial consideration that exists in conducting business. Thus, diversity is one of the ethical considerations that need to be undertaken by the managers.

Pay for play: According to Patterson, Wilkins and Painter (2018), it has been seen that most of the times, the Universities that promote sports activities spent a large fortune in trying to develop talents. However, due to the interference from the business organisations, these talented people tend to pay a heavy price so that they can be part of the big leagues. In the USA, the payment for a shot at competing in the big leagues such as the NFL or NBA require an excess amount of money to be paid to the business organisations. As observed by Roberts and Allen (2015) this is mainly to improve the promotion of the sports as well as allow the talents to continue with their dreams. The relationship that exists between the sports and business managers can be considered based on the ethical issues that exist.

Thus, after the analysis of the ethical issues, the relationship between sports and business can be taken into consideration. According to the article written by Weiss (2014), one of the relationships that exist is the fact that the sports are considered as an effective marketing tool. With the help of the sports people, business organisations can promote their market or product. It has been seen that most sports people in the USA are involved with providing assistance to the business organisations in terms of promoting a product. As stated by Crane and Matten (2016) this can be considered as a major positivity for the development of sports in a society as well as help in the promotion of a business.

Relationship between sports and business

At the same time, another consideration that needs to be considered is the fact that business organisations need to consider the ethical issues. As seen from the analysis made by Thayer (2015) it can be said that the ethical considerations that exist in the sports and business organisation usually consists of identifying any diversity in the business. Diversity often refers to the discrimination between races that exist particularly in the United States. Hence, business organisation in association with sports needs to ensure that the ethical rules in sports in terms of discrimination can be maintained. Therefore, the relationship that exists consists of identifying the talents within a business so that a proper dimension can be made for the development of ethics in business. Mitten et al. (2016) is of the opinion that the analysis focuses on the establishment of a proper business model so that strategies and related issues within sports can be solved.

It has also been seen that the business management in the USA are involved with the growth and development of sports. As observed by Shaw and Barry (2015) many times, it has been seen that business organisations become owners of a sporting club so that a large market share can be gained. This can be seen in the NBA in which every team is owned by a business organisation and the players are drafted based on the requirement of the team as well as the requirement of the business. Hence, the ethical point of pay to play can be applied in this case as the focus remains on the application of talented individuals for a considerable sum of money (Sarkar, Hill & Parker, 2015).

Several biases had been identified while conducting the literature review and reviewing the article. One such bias that had been identified is the fact that the articles had been directed at the ethical issues that exist in sports all over the world. However, specific sports had not been focused on that made it difficult for the continuation of the literature review. At the same time, it has been seen that the articles were also involved in discussing business management issues that may arise while mixing both the professions. This involves identifying the manner in which relationship among businesspersons and sports management can be controlled. One of the limitations is that the articles do not provide examples of other sports in which business plays a pivotal role. Hence, research of other articles need to be made in order to understand the impact of business in sports all around the world.

After the analysis of the existing literature, it can be said that in order to continue with the understanding of the relationship that exists between the sports and business management analysis of other sports in other countries need to be considered. For example, Barclays Bank sponsors the English Premier League and the teams are owned by business tycoons associated with the growth of market in the United Kingdom. Therefore, research have been made about the manner in which sports is used by the business organisations for promoting the business and at the same time enhancing the market share.

Bias and limitation of the literature

Another example can be provided is the development of cricket leagues across the cricket playing nations. As stated by Stein (2016) this can be considered as a perfect example of the manner in which business organisations are involved with sports. The value in the market is usually increased by bidding a price on the players and thereby analysing the profits of the business. Kirschen et al. (2014) is of the opinion that such activities also affect the growth of talents as value for all the players remain unequal despite the same effort.

The methods that have been used for conducting the research are the secondary data source. The secondary data research source is based on the analysis of various journals, books and websites. The issue in focus is the relationship between the sports management and the business management. The manner in which the ethical consideration of the business and sports culture are mixed with one another are analysed from the study of secondary sources. This can help in understanding the application of business related strategies so that organisations can contribute in understanding the differences that exists. For example, it has been seen from the research that the development of sports activities in the USA and the business management are analysed by gaining information from reputed scholars in both fields. Hence, this helps in providing a relation with the research proposal and help in gaining an understanding of the topic.

The relation with the research proposal is that it can help in addressing the research question and the objective. As seen earlier the research question focuses on the relationship between the sports activities as well as the business management. The articles chosen to identify the problem can help in understanding the necessity of ethical consideration in sports. Therefore, the research proposal can be made based on the analysis of the literature review and the contribution made by the scholars. At the same time, the use of secondary research for analysis of data can be related to the research methodology section of the research proposal. Justification can be provided for the selection of the secondary research and application of other methodologies. The literature review can help in identifying the relationship that exists between sports and business and provide opportunities for curbing the interest so that sports fans can enjoy the game. At the same time, analysis done on the literature review can help in formulating the research question, along with attaining the objective of the research.

Conclusion

Therefore, a conclusion can be made that highlights the potential of the business activities and the manner in which it can have an effect on the sports. The analysis of the articles shows that ethical consideration in business is important for the development of disciplined athletes. The analysis show that in the USA, the ownership of the sports organisation have provided an idea of mixing business with sports in other countries as well. It is a well known fact that most of the popular sports teams across the world along with the sport itself are owned by business that help in providing an understanding of the activities associated with the management. Hence, ethical issues need to be considered that can help in understanding the effect of sports in the countries and at the same time ensure that business activities does not cause hindrance in the manner in which activities of sports teams are taken into consideration. Thus, the relationship between sports management and business management need to be cordial as well as respect ethical issues that exist between one another.

Reference

Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.

Harriss, D. J., & Atkinson, G. (2015). Ethical standards in sport and exercise science research: 2016 update. Int J Sports Med, 36(14), 1121-1124.

Harriss, D. J., MacSween, A., & Atkinson, G. (2017). Standards for ethics in sport and exercise science research: 2018 update. International journal of sports medicine, 38(14), 1126-1131.

Kirschen, M. P., Tsou, A., Nelson, S. B., Russell, J. A., & Larriviere, D. (2014). Legal and ethical implications in the evaluation and management of sports-related concussion. Neurology, 10-1212.

Mitten, M. J., Davis, T., Smith, R. K., & Shropshire, K. L. (2016). Sports law and regulation: Cases, materials, and problems. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.

Patterson, P., Wilkins, L., & Painter, C. (2018). Media ethics: Issues and cases. Rowman & Littlefield.

Roberts, L. D., & Allen, P. J. (2015). Exploring ethical issues associated with using online surveys in educational research. Educational Research and Evaluation, 21(2), 95-108.

Sarkar, M., Hill, D. M., & Parker, A. (2015). Reprint of: Working with religious and spiritual athletes: Ethical considerations for sport psychologists. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 17, 48-55.

Shank, M. D., & Lyberger, M. R. (2014). Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge.

Shaw, W. H., & Barry, V. (2015). Moral issues in business. Cengage Learning.

Simon, R. L. (2018). Fair play: The ethics of sport. Routledge.

Stein, A. (2016). Journalism and Ethics. In Real-World Media Ethics (pp. 169-183). Focal Press.

Thayer, L. (2015). Communication: Ethical and moral issues. Routledge.

Weiss, J. W. (2014). Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.