Sports Organization Behaviour: Challenges and Solutions

This article discusses the challenges faced by sports organizations in hiring professionals, integration of technology, gender equality, diversity, talent identification, ethics, and the use of artificial, cultural, and emotional intelligence. It also suggests solutions to overcome these challenges.

Running head: SPORTS ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR
Sports organization behaviour
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The world of sports management has been facing numerous challenges with respect to
hiring professionals who are experts in this field. The major challenge that is faced by the
management is the integration of technology due to its advancements. The presence of social
media has made it difficult in the hiring process, as constant information regarding the teams
are updated on the social networking sites. The focus on the negative stories that is present
with respect to athletes needs to be reduced so that it does not hamper the process of hiring in
the sports organizations.
The Australian issues
It is clear from the fact that globalization has affected the sports world in a different
manner. It has also increased the level of competition among the sports persons due to the
advance technologies that are being used for their training purposes. Most of the coaches and
trainers have accepted the opportunities so that it can help the players in training in a proper
manner (Thompson et al., 2014). The entire population of players in the country is estimated
to be just over 200,000 compared to around 2 million athletes in the United States and around
20 million athletes in China. Another major issue that the country is facing is that most of the
population is getting old compared to the other countries where they have a vast pool of
young people (O’Boyle, Murray & Cummins, 2015).
Another fact is that the closest competitors of the Australian players have increased to
a great extent due to the resources that are available in the other countries with respect to
sports. The use of target programs has helped in increasing the number of athletes in different
countries in a successful manner (McCullough, 2013). It has been seen that the government
of Britain had increased its level of spending before the London Olympics so that it can help
the athletes in training in a better manner. Most of the European countries are increasing its

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level of resources as compared to Australia who has a weak infrastructure with respect to
resources when it comes to sports. This has resulted in the players to suffer due to the lack of
the resources, which has hampered their training routine to a great extent (Eagleman, 2013).
Another issue that the country is facing is the use of drugs and latest fraud cases in
games like cricket and football. One of the recent cases that took place in Australia was with
respect to cricket where the ball-tampering scandal happened when the Australian national
cricket team was playing against South Africa. These issues has resulted in lowering the
goodwill of the teams in the country for which the players had been banned as well (Lock et
al., 2013).
Gender equality and diversity
The concept of equality and diversity in sports had gained popularity in the recent
years, as the potentiality of the sports helped in the promotion of diversity and bring together
employees from different ethnic backgrounds. It has also helped in promoting the different
cultures that are present in Australia so that it can help the employees to collaborate together
as a team and achieve the objectives (Araújo, 2013).
The changes in the policies however did not change the sexism and racism attributes
that were being meted towards the employees present in the organizations. These included
attributes such as race, ethnicity and gender based on which they were being discriminated.
The use of sexist and racist attitudes along with the feeling that they do not belong to the
organization also acts as a major barrier towards the feeling of participating in the event
(O’Boyle, 2015).
The period of 1788 saw that the composition of ethnic people was less than that of the
people who were migrating to the country to establish their identity. The interaction between
culture, religion and race was complex in nature. This had shaped the political as well as the

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economic structure present in the sporting environment. The post-White Australian period
had seen that there were many people who were migrating to the country so that they can get
recognized and mostly were those who did not know English (Darcy et al., 2014).
During the 1950s, it was seen that there was a change in the sports environment, as
women also participated in the sports that were played in Australia. This become a ‘golden
era’ for the women in Australia and during the 1956 Melbourne Games, seven of the gold
medals were won by the women teams. However, most of the women had limited access to
the facilities that were present in the sport, as some of the golf clubs did not allow women to
practice in the courts during the weekends (Trail, 2015). However, in the year 2009 the
National Rugby League chief had stated that the clubs will not be allowed to participate in the
games until they showed respect to the women (Maitland, Hills & Rhind, 2015).
The socio-cultural barriers with respect to the participation of the women from
different backgrounds in the Australian scenario has been linked with the organized nature of
the sports. The major constraints were that the women felt different and faced difficulties in
communicating with each other. Moreover, they also needed coaches that were only female
so that they can train under proper environment along with flexible dresses (Arthur &
Tomsett, 2015). It was also seen that women who belonged to the same cultural backgrounds
were trying to train with their own community so that it can help them in communicating in a
better manner. Australia has bought many norms in the sports facility so that it can help in
encouraging the women to participate in the games so that it can help the country to increase
its level of diversity (Hajli & Hajli, 2013).
According to the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 in Australia, it is important to eliminate
the rate of discrimination to the greatest possible extent so that the individuals can get an
equal opportunity to participate in the game. It helps in reinforcing the positive duties so that

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all the individuals take up proportionate measures in eliminating the discrimination that they
face in the work place. Moreover, the Equal Opportunity Act also makes discrimination with
respect to sports so that it can help in the smooth operations of the employment along with
the goods and services provisions (Parent, O’Brien & Slack, 2013).
The special measures that needs to be taken according to this act is that the
individuals need to take up steps so that they can be proactive in their nature and help in
tracking down the discrimination that is taking place. It can be done by promoting good faith
among the members so that equality can be maintained and the purpose can be achieved as
well (Meggs, Ditzfeld & Golby, 2014).
Advantages and disadvantages of internal and external recruitment and selection
The advantages of internal recruitment is that it helps in increasing the morale of the
employees, as some of the employees get a chance to advance to the next level due to the
responsibilities that they had carried out. It also helps them in getting rewarded for the
accomplishment that they achieved within the company (O’Boyle, 2014). It also helps in
maintaining continuity in the operations, as the internal employees will take up less amount
of time in understanding the job roles that has been bestowed upon them. This will also help
the company in saving its times and increase its level of production as well. It also involves
less paperwork, which will help the human resources department in an effective way (Moran,
2016).
The disadvantages of this recruitment system is that there can be hostile situations
within the company with respect to the ranking of the employees, as the promotion of one of
the employees may affect the level of motivation of the other employees. It may also lead to
stagnation within the institution, as new talents will not be recognized. This might also
hamper the competitive advantage of the firm. Another disadvantage is that internal

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recruitment may also affect the diversity of the organization, as people belonging to different
culture may help in bringing new insights in the businesses (Trenberth, 2013).
The advantages of using external process of recruitment is that it helps in including
fresh skills and inputs in the organization so that it can help in the growth. The use of external
recruitment will also result in increasing the level of competition, as new employees will be
recruited, which will increase the level of competition in the organization. The organizations
also look for potential candidates who has the capability to handle the jobs in a skilful
manner. It will also help the organization in gaining better insights from the market, as some
of the candidates may have experience of working in rival companies in the past (Stewart &
Smith, 2014).
The disadvantages of using external recruitment is that the organization may have a
limited understanding of the candidates before hiring them in to the system. This may also
affect the activities of the organization in the future due to some issues that may be present
within the employees. Another disadvantage is that it is also time consuming in nature, as the
external recruitment may need the HR department to go through a vast number of candidates
in selecting the favourable one (Cruickshank & Collins, 2016).
Talent identification
Talent identification is the process through which the participants are identified so
that they can excel in the field of sports. It is also important to develop their talents in a
proper environment so that it can help them in achieving the highest level of excellence. The
use of the latest technologies in increasing the talent of the participants helps them in
analysing the game so that the weaknesses can be identified, which needs to be turned in to
strengths (Anagnostopoulos, Winand & Papadimitriou, 2016).

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The identification of the talents at an early age helps the individuals to nurture it so
that it can help the individuals in performing in a better manner in the later stages as well.
The level of endurance of the performers are also increased to a great extent, as the training
are given to them at an early age. This also results in increasing their level of stamina and
endurance to a great extent (Veal & Darcy, 2014).
Use of media
Media plays an important role in the recent world and helps in spreading the relevant
information that are taking place at a particular place to the rest of the world. They help in
streaming the live or the recorded video to the locality as well as to the other places. Media
also plays an important role in bringing unity among among the individuals with respect to
religion and cultural backgrounds, as it helps in portraying that the game that is being played
is under a team that helps them in achieving victories (Ringuet-Riot & James, 2013). This is
very prevalent in Australia, as the aboriginal people along with the immigrants get an
opportunity to showcase their talent. The use of media also helps in the promotion of
education among the children, as most of the young people will strive hard to work towards
their goals. It has also helped in boosting the economy of Australia, streaming of live matches
by media houses help in earning remuneration for the government (Parnell, Spracklen &
Milward, 2017).
Ethics and problems
The concept of integrity is that it helps in increasing the values of the individuals and
performs according to their principles and beliefs. The integrity that needs to be shown in
sports is increased participation that will help in increasing the loyalty of the employees and
attract new persons as well. The on-field success of the team will help in attracting more

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number of candidates, as it will help them in gaining recognition within famous organization
(Lee & Pinheiro, 2014).
The major problem of this is that it can often lead to manipulation of the results by
using unfair methods such as drugs and fixing of matches. These type of behaviours may
often lead to degradation of the teams and its goodwill in the market is also decreased (Sarkar
& Fletcher, 2014).
Sports ethics is the type of behaviour that is accepted in the game taking in to
consideration that the integrity level is maintained in a proper manner. It also helps in
differentiating the right from the wrong so that the ethics in the game can be maintained.
These system in games helps in maintaining the code of conducts, values and the concepts so
that the rules and regulations of the games can be implemented in an effective manner
(Meggs, Ditzfeld & Golby, 2014).
Artificial, Cultural and Emotional intelligence
The use of artificial intelligence helps in developing the use of technology in the
game, as the players can understand the techniques of playing it in a proper manner. The
findings from the analysis will also help in calculating the risks that are present so that it can
help in training the employees in a better way (Trenberth, 2013).
The use of chatbots act as virtual assistants so that the queries regarding the games
can be solved in a proper manner. It also helps in tracking any misconduct that may take
place in the game so that the sportsman spirit of the game can be uplifted. The use of
computer vision helps the researchers in gaining a better knowledge regarding the networks
that helps in building accuracy within the individuals. The use of wearable technology has
helped the employees in optimizing their level of performance and training (Cruickshank &
Collins, 2016).

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Cultural intelligence is often associated with the decision that is taken up by the
coaches regarding the factors that will help the individual to gain prosperity in the field of
sports. The major success of the sport organization depends solely on the level of competency
and the capacity that is present with respect to human resources (Veal and Darcy 2014). The
use of common language within the team helps in reducing the cultural differences, which
can only be done with the help of management. They helps in building the traditions and
values within the team so that they can perform together as one unit (O’Boyle, 2014).
Emotional Intelligence can be defined as the capability to recognize the emotional
state in which the individual is present. It also helps in sensing the different emotions that are
portrayed by others so that it can help them to be motivated and result in increasing the level
of performance. The use of this also helps in building up of relationship with others that are
productive in nature. The use of emotional intelligence also helps in developing self-
awareness, as the assessments of the employees will help the management in developing the
individuals in a better manner. It also helps the players in self-control, which is essential for
the coaches as well. This will help the players in controlling their emotional impulses so that
their level of performance can be increased (Stewart & Smith, 2014).
Social awareness also helps in increasing the level of empathy among the employees,
as it helps them in responding to the problems at a faster rate. This helps in meeting with the
demands of the individuals at a faster rate so that they do not become disengaged from the
organization. It also helps in building up of relationship with other team members so that the
ability to trust each other can develop at a quicker rate (Trail, 2015).
Globalisation in hiring in sports management
The advent of globalization has led to many changes in the field of recruitment due to
the advance use of technology. In sports as well, the organizations do not have to look for

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local talents but instead have many options from the global scenario. This has helped the
sports organizations to hire talents that are outside their country by giving them a better
monetary reward. This also helps in securing their spot so that the individuals can work hard
and help the organization to benefit as well (Hajli & Hajli, 2013).
There are many challenges in hiring individuals in sports organization due to
globalization as well. The major reason is that the cost of living has increased to a great
extent and the individuals that will be hired from other countries will demand a higher fee
than the rest of the employees. The use of talent that is available globally is also important for
the growth of the sports organization, which can only be done by integrating the process of
hiring. This will help in expanding the growth strategy of the organization to a great extent
(Darcy et al., 2014).
These challenges can be mitigated by using different techniques such as assessing the
positions for which global talents are required within the organization so that the hiring can
be done accordingly. The investigation of cultural and legal issues need to be done so that
there is no differences within the organization. This will help the individuals to work together
as a team so that it can help them to be successful in the competition. A proper plan needs to
be taken up by the organization so that it can help in recruiting the team members in an
effective manner (Lock et al., 2013).
Organisation fit and Job fit
The organization and job fit are the two processes through which the organization
hires its people. Most of the employers tend to follow any one of the traits so that it can help
them in recruiting the effective people within the organization. Job fit is the process through
which the persons are employed within the organization based on their level of skills and
abilities so that it can match the requirement of the job that is listed on the job description.

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The sports organizations also look for athletes that have the necessary skills so that it can help
the organization to be successful as well (Stewart & Smith, 2014). The smaller sport
organizations uses this particular type of hiring technique as it helps them in hiring the
individuals on their own. It also helps them in keeping the costs to a minimum as well. It will
also help in reviewing the resumes of the players so that without interaction, it can help the
organization in getting a better review of the candidates (Moran, 2016).
Organization fit on the other hand is the process through which the candidates may fit
in to the culture of the organization. This type of hiring process is mainly for the management
personnel who are being recruited within the organization. The basic level of requirements
need to be met and the management does not need to be strict with these candidates. This will
also help the organization in effectively removing the candidates that do not possess the skills
to fit in to the organization (Lee & Pinheiro, 2014).
It can be stated that the job fit design is more of a traditional approach that helps in
retaining the employees for a longer duration and the use of organization fit helps in reducing
the turnover of the employees to a great extent, which results in saving money for the
organization. The challenges of job fit is that it may not help the individuals in mixing with
the other people who are present within the organization. This may lead to a feeling of
disconnection between the athletes that may also lead to a poor performance (Sarkar &
Fletcher, 2014).
The challenges of organization fit is that the individual may have no proper skills but
fits well within the organization. This may lead to a feeling of inadequacy in the individuals
within the organization as well. It may sometimes be seen that the organization may hire the
person but may not give the right position to the candidate that may lead to a downfall of the
level of productivity. It is therefore necessary that the sports organizations of Australia use a

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mixture of the hiring technique that is job and organization fit so that it can result in hiring
the right people in the job processes (Maitland, Hills & Rhind, 2015).
Conclusion
Therefore it can be concluded that the hiring system in the sports organizations are
facing many challenges with respect to hiring management officials as well giving contracts
to the professional athletes to represent their teams. This is due to the fact that the
organizations are facing issues related to selecting employees based on job and organizational
fit. Another major challenge is that the higher level of cost is being incurred by the
organization in hiring the employees who are skilled and can result in increasing the level of
efficiency in the company. These factors can be mitigated with the help of proper
understanding of the advantages and disadvantages that are present with respect to external
and internal recruitment practices.

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