Introduction Crisis management in professional sport is an ever evolving area which requires constant attention by the organisation in order to maintain a positive social image and the smooth operation of an organisation. Coombs (2012), defines a crisis as “the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders and can seriously impact an organization’s performance and generate negative outcomes” (p. 2). This case study will be discussing the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal and the Canterbury Bulldogs breach of the salary cap. With specific reference to relevant journal articles, websites and statistics, this case study will provide relevant examples identifying possible causes and solutions towards these areas of crisis in relation to the NRL. Problem The NRL introduced a salary cap in 1999 to do two things. Firstly, it was established to spread player talent evenly across the competition. Second, it aims to restrict clubs overspending or spending beyond their means of player payments (NRL, 2012). The current salary cap stands at $4.3 million for the 25 highest paid players at each club and an additional $350,000 for players outside of the top 25. The Canterbury Bulldogs first breached the salary cap in 2002 by about $2 million over three years. (Andon & Free, 2012). The Melbourne Storm were accused of allowing third party payments to Cameron Smith (Proszenko, 2010) and of contractual discrepancies and unreported player payments that pushed the club over their salary cap by around $300,000 in 2008 and $200,000 in 2009 (Smith, 2010). Cause Financial performance is a huge factor and potential reason as to why organisations would engage in unethical acts. Sport is one of the fastest gro... ... middle of paper ... ... ensure the game fulfills its broadcast commitments (Sydney Morning Herald 2013). This initiative has been lauded as a smart business plan as it prepares for a number of scenarios and allows the league to keep functioning. Conclusion The salary cap breaches by the Melbourne Storm and Canterbury Bulldogs highlight areas in which both correct and incorrect crisis management approaches were applied. Correct PR methods included diversion and portraying a consistent message. McGregor & Harvey (1999) conclude that most of the public relations work is performed by players, coaches, managers and agents, rather than by specialist public relations personnel due to an old fashioned culture. This suggests an area for improvement as it is vital for current day organisations to have a team of PR specialists in place to deal with crisis planning and management, 365 days a year.
However, if the current rules remain in place and baseball continues without a salary cap, the only hope a small market team may have is to fend for themselves on the big market with financially superior teams. This becomes an exceedingly harder task when one team can afford the salary of two top players while those contracts are equal to the entire payroll of another team’s entire roster. Therefore, the question remains should baseball implement a salary cap, and if they do, how would it come into play. When asking the question regarding the salary cap, four supporting ideas arise for either the implementation of a salary cap or keeping it nonexistent.
A salary cap in pro sports is the amount of money every team in a league can spend on all of the players on its roster in one year. Major League Baseball does not have a salary cap. The reason for a salary cap is to keep teams competitive and not have just two or three outstanding teams that dominate everyone. Another reason leagues like the National Football League and the National Basketball Association have a salary cap is it is fair and gives teams an equal chance to get players which can make a large impact on their team by using their skill and experience. Salary caps also keep players from receiving contracts which give them an extremely large undeserved salary. This is why I am for a salary cap in Major League Baseball.
Professional sports, like most of our popular culture, can be understood only partly by through its exiting plays and tremendous athletes. Baseball and football most of all are not only games anymore but also hardcore businesses. As businesses, sports leagues can be as conniving, deceitful, and manipulative as any other businesses in the world. No matter what the circumstances are, it seems that Politicians are always some how right around the corner from the world of sports. These Politicians look to exploit both the cultural and the economic dimensions of the sports for their own purposes. This is what is known in the sports industry as “playing the field”.
By abolishing the salary cap, the Department of Justice ruling has had a substantial impact on the competitive balance of the NFL. Because the salary cap was removed, over the past 10 years teams from big markets, or who have deep-pocketed owners, have been spending money rampantly. Small market teams have been marginalized to a point of having very little chance to win, as they cannot afford to spend freely on talent, as they do not have the income potential to make money. This progression is similar to what we have seen over the years in professional soccer, specifically in the UEFA champion’s league and Spain’s. In the UEFA Champions League, 12 teams have combined to win 48 out of the 58 championships, or 82.76% of championships. There has been such a lack of Competitive Balance in revenue splitting and salary cap free soccer that even among the best teams in the world there is great disparity. An even more extreme example can be found in Spain’s La Liga, where the top 2 teams have won 65.85% of the league’s 82 championships and the top 5 teams have won 93.9% of the league’s championships. This lack of competitive balance is certainly caused by a lack of salary cap, as the top 2 teams spend up to €190,000,000 per year on players while lower level teams spend up to €14,000,000 per year on players. The NFL’s continued revenue sharing, however, has made it so that disparity in the league isn’t quite as large as it is in professional soccer. Despite these effects of Revenue sharing, the lack of a sal...
For many years economists have been studying trying to understand the main components in salary determination in different professional sports.
The case of the Indiana state fair was a clear example of what happens when an organization does not have a crisis management team, plan, strategy, or crisis organizational learning experiences. As we observed, so many individuals from separate departments did not effectively communicate with one another. It sort of reminds me of the whole Titanic disaster, only smaller in nature. Where there were so many signs, and opportunities to prevent the crises from effecting them directly. Unfortunately there were too many missed opportunities, and eventually it was a race against time, and time won!
The Salary cap for the NFL is an agreement/rule that is put into place for a limit of money that the sports league can receive. Because the Saints bounty program violated the NFL constitution they also violated the rules surrounding the Salary cap. The New Orleans Saints lacked the behavior that is desired for the NFL and portrayed bad ethics by Saints ultimate decision makers. When we look at the Utilitarianism negative impacts from a business context it states that it “may result in harm if the organization does not accurately predict the consequences of the act” (Davidson, Forsythe, 2013). It is evident that the coaches and players did not think about the impact it would have on them, or their opposing teams but overall how it can impact all those who are involved directly or indirectly. We can also look into the Game Theory for this investigation if the players truly were not aware of the rules for the bounties that were set in place. If that is the truth, then there is nothing ethically wrong with how the players played in the game. However; knowing the rules and contracts set by the NFL and participating in the pools is still unethical for any business or sports league to
Negotiation is a fundamental process used in resolving conflicts, making business deals, and in managing working relationships with others. Negotiations occur for two reasons: (1) to resolve a problem or dispute between parties, or (2) to create something new that neither party could do on its own.
Norris, Michele. "Lifting of NFL Salary Cap Examined." Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Alabama Virtual Library, n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2014.
Salary caps in U.S sports have posed many problems and met with animosity. Top players have issue with salary caps and the reasons are
Professional athletes are modern day gods. We idolize and worship their abilities, powers and grace. However, as heartbreaking as it maybe to sports fans, the sports industry cathedral is drowning in lies and deception. The many forms of dishonesty to be found there are legion. Whether super-athletes, coaches or even referees, the lies and deception that are consuming the sports industry can be attributed to three simple causes: self- justification, self-deception and performance pressure.
When examining the issue of criminal acts in sports it is easy to realize that there are many places where these acts occur. The range of these acts is far more vast than just in the professional arenas. This is, however, what the public sees and hears about most often. While this is one of the major topics of this paper, criminal acts are found in all of sport ranging from professionals, to college, high school, and in youth sports, including the reaction of the fans. This paper will take an in-depth look at the four major points regarding criminal acts in sport: the acts themselves; the consequences of those acts; the possible reasons for the acts occurring; an analysis of a few major events that have occurred and the possible solutions to the problem of criminal acts in sport. In the section about fan reaction to sport, there will be an overall account of the individual acts and not personal cases due to the overload of personal events that occur.
The communication process is not something that begins when a crisis rears its ugly head rather it is a process that takes place in preparing for a crisis before it happens. While the term crisis represents a blanket term used to describe many situations, each situation is unique, thus presenting different obstacles to overcome. However, with a well-established advanced plan in place an organization places itself in a position to overcome and work around obstacles. The development of a comprehensive crisis management plan is one achieved through effective communication where each member of the crisis management team has an advanced shared understanding of his or her role and responsibility during a time of crisis (du Pr'e, 2005).
Many players have risen to stardom by becoming a professional athlete. Athletes have come from many different backgrounds; some from wealthy and some from poverty raised backgrounds. Salaries are continuing to rise, and money doesn’t seem to be an issue. Athletes are getting what they want from the owners by negotiating through their agents. Athletes’ salaries aren’t from their owners, but they come from other sources (“Athletes’ Salary”). Athletes get paid an extremely high salary for the work they do, and should consider the value of their work. They do not deserve the extreme amount they get paid and something should by done about it.
Sport has always entertained and influenced our lives. It creates dreams for children and goals for adults. However, many fans are oblivious to the millions they pocket each year. It is without doubt that our sports stars are grossly overpaid. Their annual earnings exceed those we make in a lifetime, even when compared to highly qualified professions. Despite the money factor, we sometimes question the values that are emphasized.