Why discuss ethics?
The temptation for sport club managers and clubs to act unethically or
immorally has become greater for the following reasons:
1. overemphasis on
success
2. pursuit of prestige
and material rewards
3. self-interest
Basic Ethical Concepts in Sport Management
Ethics…
“the objective basis on which judgments are rendered regarding
right and wrong, good and bad, authentic and inauthentic behavior”
Ethical issues…
“the
questions, problems, situations, and actions that contain legitimate questions
of right and wrong”
Example of an ethical issue
When a club
manager recognizes that an oversight has occurred regarding the age eligibility
of an athlete that will allow that athlete to compete in a younger age
classification, should she bring the oversight to attention of thee governing
body, or let the athlete compete so that the club team has a competitive
advantage?
Ethical concepts
1. Values
- A person ethics are
based on values.
- A value is anything a
person assesses to be worthwhile, interesting,
desirable, or
important
- Values in the form of virtues
or moral values (loyalty, integrity,
honesty, compassion, courage, perseverance)
- Values in the form of
tangible outcomes:
-Money
-Material
objects
- Values in the form of
intangible outcomes:
- Fame
- Prestige
- Reputation
-
Values are derived from a variety of source such as family,
friends, teachers, and religion.
2. Principles
- Principles are
universal guides that tell what actions, intentions,
or motives are prohibited.
- Principles enable
values to be translated in action.
Example, If
the club manager values honesty, he will develop a principle
that he will not falsify the
paperwork regarding the age of
participants.
3. Action
- An action is the
ultimate statement of a person’s values and
principles.
Example, a sport club manager can say he values honesty
and develop a
principle that he will not be dishonest
in managing the club,
but when asked to replace a player
for one whose parents are
influential in the club, what
he does is the ultimate statement
of his ethics.
4. Morality
-Morality is the debate
over the rightness and wrongness of an action.
- A moral person does
what is right.
Example, a club’s coach who
recruits a player away from another club
to improve his team and further
his reputation as a successful
coach. In his recruiting, the
coach fabricates false information
about the player’s current club
that sway’s the player’s decision.
This coach can justify his action
based on self-interest, arguing
that he needs to stay employed or
continue with his coaching
career. Some may view his action as
morally wrong, others may
make normative judgments about the
coach because he has
benefited at the expense of
another.
- Moral development affect’s people’s ethical decision.
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Kohlberg’s Levels
and Stages of Moral Development
Preconventional level
- The coach does not use overage players for
fear of being discredited.
- The coach does not use overage
players because he wants to continue his
career in the right way.
Preconventional level
- The
coach does not use the overage player because he does not
want to be viewed as a cheat by his
family, close friend, and mentors.
- The coach does what is deemed right to avoid guilt as well as to feel
that
he is a member of society.
Postconventional level
- In this case the coach does not use the overage player because if
others do
the same, a total breakdown of
the integrity of competition as it is known
could occur.
-The coach does not use the overage player because it is not the right
thing
to do.
Ethical Theories
I. Teleological
theories
-are characterized by a focus
on consequences.
- Decisions
are based on what will result from those decisions.
- Actions
that lead to good and valuable consequences are right,
whereas actions that lead away from them are
wrong.
1. Egoism
- is the
belief that all people act in self interest.
An egoist
club manager will develop a topflight club program not for the benefit of the
participants but for his own benefit (e.g.monetary reward, enhanced reputation,
personal glory).
2. Utilitarianism
- is the belief that the only
moral duty is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people, such as to
promote the greatest amount of happiness.
A utilitarianism sport club
manager will make decisions that will be of the most benefit to the greatest
number of people within the club.
3. Situation ethics
- Situation
ethics do not take into account overriding moral principles
or rules.
- Sport club managers practicing
situation ethics evaluate acts in light
of the situational
context.
II.
Deontological theories
-
Sport club managers who practice deontological ethics believe they have
an obligation to do right without considering the outcomes of their decisions.
- Consequences do not
determine the rightness of actions.
A sport club
manager with this ethical orientation will not recruit a player away from
another club because it is wrong.
1. The Golden rule
“Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you”.
-based on the assumption
that all people want to be treated well.
A sport club
manager will not try to recruit an athlete away from another club because he
would not want that done to his club.
Guidelines for Ethical Behavior
1. Golden and Platinum Rules
Golden
Rule – treat others as you would have them treat you
Platinum Rule – treat other
people as they want to be treated
2. Four-way
Test
- Is it the truth?
-
Is it fair to all concerned?
-
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
-
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Managing Employee Ethics
Managers
develop their organization’s guidelines for ethical behavior, set
example, and enforce the rules
they want to play by.
1. Code
of Ethics
-also called
codes of conduct, state the importance of conducting business in
an ethical manner and provide guidelines for
ethical behavior
-
purpose is to establish moral guidelines to monitor the behavior of those
under its authority
-
can address issues such as player recruitment, treatment of players and
officials, dealing with parents,
sponsorships, relations with other clubs, etc.
2. Support and example of top
management
-Manager’s
primary responsibility is to lead by example
-Managers
set the standard because employees tend to imitate manager’
behavior
3. Enforcing ethical behavior
-If
employees are not punished for unethical behavior, they will continue to
pursue questionable business
practices.
-
To help keep people honest, many organizations create ethics committee.
-Such
committees act as judge and jury to determine whether unethical
behavior has occurred and what
the punishment should be for violating
company policy.
Reference:
Eksteen, E. & bookboon.com.2014. Sport
Management: Manual for
Sport
Management.
1st ed.pp.78-85
Prepared by:
Mr. Dennis Mark A. Dela Cruz
