MMS714 Sport Organisation Behaviour: Cricket Australia Case Study

This report delves into the organizational behavior of Cricket Australia, prompted by the 2018 sandpaper gate incident. The report, based on files analyzed by Patrick Murphy, examines integrity strategies, staffing issues, workplace diversity, player conduct, and the involvement of interns. A cultural audit is undertaken, utilizing the cultural web to assess the organization's stories, rituals, symbols, power structures, control systems, and organizational structure. The analysis identifies critical issues related to ethics, leadership, and organizational behavior, with a focus on ethical breaches, discrimination, and player conduct. Strategies are proposed for the Board of Directors to address these challenges and foster a more disciplined and ethical environment both on and off the field, recommending improvements to integrity, staffing practices, diversity, and player management. The report concludes with recommendations to enhance Cricket Australia's ethical standards and overall performance.

Running head: SPORT ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR
Sport organisation behaviour
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The report focuses on the issues that exist in Cricket Australia. The issues are brought about
in limelight based on the incident that occurred due to the sandpaper gate incident. The issues
had been influenced by the manner in which each of the members in Cricket Australia had
played their part in the disciplining of the players. Research conducted by Patrick Murphy
had been analysed so that the discipline measures associated with Cricket Australia can be
analysed. Five such files researched by Patrick Murphy had been undertaken so that a proper
justification of the issues can be provided with proper ethical considerations that are required
to be maintained. Strategies are recommended to the Board of Directors so that Cricket
Australia can be made into a disciplined place both on and off the field.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
1. Identifying the main issues at Cricket Australia....................................................................3
2. Undertaking a culture audit at Cricket Australia....................................................................7
3. Ethical considerations confronting Patrick and its way to address......................................10
4. Identifying strategies proposed for the Board of Directors at Cricket Australia to endorse 12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................15
Reference..................................................................................................................................17
Appendix..................................................................................................................................19

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Introduction
Sports organisational behaviour is one of the most underrated analyses that is
conducted to understand the organisational situations that exists. The issue that is brought
about in the report is that of the Sandpaper gate incident that took place during Australia
cricket team’s tour to South Africa in 2018. The incident occurred in the third test between
the two teams at Newlands, Capetown. From the report provided by Avdeev, Nassiripour and
Wong (2019), the action was reported and three Australian cricketers namely, Steve Smith,
David Warner and Cameron Bancroft along with Coach Darren Lehmann were summoned on
an immediate basis. The issue was one of the most talked about and researched all over the
world, with many former and current masters of the game having criticised the sportsmanship
spirit of the Australian players.
The ethical considerations that are usually associated with sports came into the
spotlight and thus, due to this Cricket Australia (CA) had to face certain difficulties that had a
severe impact on the sport of the country (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Thus, the code of
behaviour related to the anti-corruption measures came under the scrutiny and thus, the
Cricket Australia had to suffer from severe poor performances on the field
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
Penalty in the form of six months to one-year ban was also imposed on the players
responsible (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The report considers the main issues that were
associated with Cricket Australia since the aftermath of the sandpaper gate incident. The
report analyses the files provided by Patrick Murphy that highlighted the issues with Cricket
Australia. Cultural audit is undertaken so that an understanding of the situation can take
place. At the same time, the ethical consideration that is to be undertaken was addressed and
thus, the strategies proposed by the Board of Directors at Cricket Australia are endorsed.
1. Identifying the main issues at Cricket Australia
From the analysis of the files, provided by Patrick Murphy regarding the incident, a
detailed analysis of the issue can be undertaken which can highlight the most effected people
in the country and within the Cricket Australia (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
File One: Integrity strategy

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The integrity strategy was undertaken to outline the integrity unit aimed at specific
and protecting Australian cricket from threats associated with doping of players as well as
match fixing (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Accusation had been made to former Australian
players in the case of doping and a reputed excellent player like Shane Warne had to suffer
from a year ban due to doping (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Thus, the integrity strategy needed
to undertake measures that deal with the anti-corruption as well as code of behaviour issues
that are associated with Cricket Australia (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). In this regard, it can be
said that from the research provided by Patrick Murphy it had been seen that despite efforts
being made to keep the game honest, attempts such as ball tempering had tarnished the game
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
Thus, the investigation into the integrity strategy of Cricket Australia provided an
understanding of the values and beliefs that exists in the game and the manner in which
Cricket Australia can take measures to counter the impact made by allegations related to
breach of trust (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Apart from this, other submerged issues also
remained in Cricket Australia that required the consistent analysis of the reports of Patrick
Murphy.
File Two: Staffing
The large unit that Cricket Australia has requires adequate number of employees so
that management of both the units in Melbourne and Brisbane can be made
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The issue that developed due to this was the fact that despite the
large number of staffs that are qualified in various academic levels, the senior level
management undertakes the ultimate decisions (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Therefore, issue
that can be associated with this is undertaking the leadership and applying the leadership
power in an authoritative manner. The opportunities provided to the staff is less and this
creates a sense of frustration among the employees to provide the best efforts while managing
opportunities (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
The file provided by Patrick had highlighted the failure to grab the opportunity of
growth in Cricket Australia (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The interview conducted by Patrick
on an employee of Cricket Australia highlighted the fact that despite vacancy and a good
level of experience, employees are compelled to leave Cricket Australia due to lack of
opportunities for growth and promotion (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Thus, the allegations
made against the senior managers about the lack of support provided to the employees. This

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could cause chaos in Cricket Australia and may even lead to the breaking away of the
organisations (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
File Three: Sex, Diversity and the workplace
This particular file had highlighted the allegations that were imposed on some of the
staff members working at Cricket Australia (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). One of the issues that
were noticed in this case was the fact that the ratio between the men and women people
working in the organisation had been uneven (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The management
responsibilities were not all provided to the women and thus, the issue in this case can be
considered as discrimination at the workplace (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Therefore, the
reason for this being a typical issue for Cricket Australia is the fact that it is a breach in the
employability of the people and the discrimination often makes the people less valuable
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
At the same time, despite the diversity at the workplace, Cricket Australia had been
failing to utilise the talents in trying to gain the best alternatives from the people
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The morale of the members working for over 50 hour’s weeks
had openly criticised about the excessive pressure given to the employees for working
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Therefore, the overall scenario in Cricket Australia in this
particular aspect can be considered as breach of ethical standards as well as lack of diversity
among the people.
File Four: Player Issues
The issue with the players that the Cricket Australia needed to undertake is the
behaviour of the players both on and off the field of cricket (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The
player issue start with the analysis of every player’s on-field offence and a link with the past
and present behaviour of each of the players need to be undertaken. The file that Patrick had
developed displayed complaints that were issued against the past players as well as that of the
present players (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The social interaction between the players and the
CEO also came into limelight due to the past working conditions between the players.
Therefore, it can be said that despite retiring from the professional game, the players remain
part of the Cricket Australia due to a deal formed between the organisation and the players
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019).

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Along with this, harassment issues associated with the players were also taken into
consideration mainly due to the lack of female members at the workplace
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019). However, disregarding the harassment and bullying, the
dysfunctional cultural situation at Cricket Australia would worsen gradually
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Therefore, the on-field banter that players have with the
opposition as well as any off-field banters with any people needs to be controlled by the
Cricket Australia to reduce any issues related with the players (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
File Five: Interns
One of the biggest concerns that were undertaken by Cricket Australia was the
manner in which they had been involving interns in their business. As understood by Barry,
Skinner and Engelberg (2016) from the files that the recruitment of the interns had consisted
of the locals as well as the international students from India and Sri Lanka. The major issue
as analysed by Patrick was the fact that international students serving as interns were not to
be allowed paid employment for more than 40 hours per fortnight (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
However, it had been seen that Cricket Australia had managed to get the students work for
more than a fortnight and thus there remained a high number of disenchantment among the
interns (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Therefore, this particular issue can be considered as
moderate threat and priority. Thus, the internship programme were seemed to be rebuked by
the Cricket Australia due to the over exposure of the students as interns (Auscricket.com.au,
2019).
Hence, from the files presented by Patrick it can be seen that the most of the issues
with Cricket Australia are critical in nature and are caused due to the ethical consideration in
terms of breach of trust or employability laws (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). A tabular summary
of the issues, its classification based on ethical, leadership or organisational behaviour is
made. Priority of resolving the issues and its impact on Cricket Australia are highlighted.
Issues Classification Priority
Issues related to doping Ethical Critical
Decisions taken without consultation Leadership Moderate
Discrimination at workplace Ethical Critical
Behaviour of the cricketers Organisational behaviour Critical
Long length of working Ethical Moderate
Table: Analysis of the issues at Cricket Australia

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(Source: Created by author)
2. Undertaking a culture audit at Cricket Australia
In order to understand the culture that exists in Cricket Australia, it is necessary to
understand the corporate culture that exists within the organisation (Auscricket.com.au,
2019). One of the clarity that Patrick had received was the fact that the cricket culture in
Australia resembled the national culture that exists in the country (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
The recent ball-tampering incident had resulted, the CEO of Cricket Australia to undertake
damage control measurements (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Thus, a cultural audit can be
undertaken to understand the ethics, power structure and practises that can help in
establishing culture renewal strategies for Cricket Australia (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The
use of the cultural web can be made to understand the situation in the country and in Cricket
Australia.
Figure: Cultural web
(Source: Johnson, Whittington & Scholes, 2012)
As seen from the figure, the cultural web identifies six interrelated elements that help
to understand the work environment of an organisation. The six elements can be utilised to
understand the bigger picture that exists at Cricket Australia so that an evaluation of the
TheparadigmStoriesSymbolsPowerstructuresOrganisationalstructuresControlsystemsRitualsandroutines

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condition that exists in the organisation can be undertaken. The analysis of the six elements is
undertaken one at a time to understand its cultural implication in the business.
Stories: The stories reflect the past and present experiences that are managed both
inside and outside of an organisation (Sims et al., 2017). In the case of Cricket Australia, the
story that is required to be said signifies the ethical issues that exist in company
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The analysis of the stories related to Cricket Australia includes
doping, breach of trust, unethical conduct within the playing arena as well as discrimination
against the employees (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). These stories have been highlighted via the
research made by Patrick and thus, the attempt to salvage the cultural entity associated with
the Cricket Australia need to be based on the stories that have been analysed
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
Rituals and routines: The rituals include the daily behaviour that is undertaken by the
people. The determinant factor is that of the expectation that is required to be maintained
from the people. According to Kountouris, Sims and Kelly (2015), the value that is provided
by the management is undertaken via the rituals and routines. In this regard, it can be said
that the behaviour undertaken by the senior managers of Cricket Australia are to be analysed
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019). It had been seen from the analysis undertaken by Patrick that the
rituals as well as the routines of the Cricket Australia members can be analysed based on the
dominance that is shown by the senior managers (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). As stated by
Walle (2017) such dominant leadership style can have a negative impact on the culture of an
organisation.
Symbols: According to De Santoli (2015), the symbols display the visual
representation of an organisation, which also includes the logo along with the formal and
informal styles of communication. The analysis of Cricket Australia shows that the symbol it
represents helps in the identification of dress code that is undertaken. At the same time, it
ensures that disciplinary issues associated with the Cricket Australia members and players are
represented via the symbols (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Thus, this sub-factor of the cultural
web represents the hope that is provided by the members in the pursuit of maintaining a
stable work force in the organisation (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Therefore, the symbol can
be considered as a strong representative of the meaning of Cricket Australia and its impact in
the sport (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).

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Organisational structure: Perera et al. (2019) is of the opinion that the organisational
structure includes the hierarchy that is defined based on the policies of the organisation as
well as the unwritten lines of power, which helps in influencing activities within an
organisation. In the case of Cricket Australia, the organisational structure is showed to be
dominant mainly due to the fact that decisions undertaken by the senior managers usually
consists of taking sole responsibility of the decisions undertaken (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
Therefore, it can be said that the hierarchical organisational structure that exists at Cricket
Australia is maintained but the unethical use of the power and authority of the senior
managers usually cause hindrance in the company (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
Control system: The control systems define the manner in which organisations are
controlled. According to Orchard et al. (2015), the control that exists in an organisation
usually denotes the financial as well as quality systems and rewards. In the case of Cricket
Australia, the control system rests on the shoulders of the senior managers and thus, the
control need to be made with respect to the organisational culture as well as the measurement
of distribution that is undertaken in the company (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The definitive
analysis can bring about focus to understand the control system that exists in the organisation
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
Power structure: The power structure defines the pocket of real power that exists in
an organisation. According to Brukner and Gara (2017), the power structure involves the
senior managers, executives and even the head of departments. In the case of Cricket
Australia, these key members are destined to provide the greatest source of power to the
company (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). However, with the discrimination as well as unequal
distribution of power, the senior managers of Cricket Australia dominate the power structure
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Therefore, it can be said that in Cricket Australia, the power
structure need to be different so that supporting organisational culture can be made prevalent
in the organisation (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
Thus, based on the analysis of the analysis of the cultural web, it can be said that for
the Cricket Australia to dominate its existence and disregard the scandal set about in motion
due to the sandpaper gate incident, the application of each of the factors at the cultural web is
required to be implemented (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Each of the elements associated with
the cultural web can provide Cricket Australia with unique strategies to help in the growth of

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the decisions to be taken based on employment of players, officials as well as formulate rules
for both on-the field and off-the field activities (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
3. Ethical considerations confronting Patrick and its way to address
Based on the analysis of the situation that exists in Cricket Australia, it can be said
that certain ethical considerations are needed to be comprehended so that the organisation can
continue with its development in the sporting arena (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). The ethical
considerations that confront Patrick can be analysed from the files that have been put together
as it clearly defines the need for improvement among the culture at Cricket Australia
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Therefore, based on the comprehensive analysis of the files
certain ethical considerations of Patrick along with the manner in which, it can be addressed
are provided (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). At the same time, examples of good ethical practise
in other sports have also been addressed.
During the analysis of the integrity within the Cricket Australia, it had been seen that
Patrick managed to discover the units that were responsible for overseeing any form of
corruption that existed in Cricket Australia (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). However, as observed
by Weerakkody and Allen (2017) despite this, former players have been accused of doping as
well as illicit substance programme that have led to them being banned from the sports. The
ethical consideration in this case is the lack of duty undertaken by the people in charge and
for Patrick the confrontation can be associated with the power and authority that are central
for the success of Cricket Australia (Eulerich & Ratzinger-Sakel, 2017).
Thus, the situation at hand can be addressed by identifying the head of the Governing
bides that take into consideration the safeguarding of the players. Brukner, Gara and
Fortington (2018) are of the opinion that Patrick can seek the help from the International
Cricket Council (ICC) for safeguarding and restricting the players from the use of such
foreign agents. This can help Cricket Australia to be more disciplined as well as ensure that
each of the players possess the ability to comprehend with the cultural trends that exist in the
sporting arena in Australia (Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
The second ethical consideration that had confronted Patrick is the staffing at Cricket
Australia. The analysis from the files of Patrick had shown that the staffs associated with
Cricket Australia are highly qualified as well as possess knowledge related to various
backgrounds (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). However, the members in the senior position in the

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organisation undertake the ultimate decisions. Hence, the ethical confrontation that Patrick
had to consider was the delegation of the decision making process so that every staff
employed by Cricket Australia can be accounted for taking decisions related to the sport, its
perceived ethical behaviour as well as for maintaining policies and procedures in the sports
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
Patrick can address such an ethical confrontation by considering the manner in which
each of the staffs can be encouraged to identify the talents that they possess. This can help in
ensuring that Cricket Australia does not have to undergo the challenges like the sandpaper
gate incident in the near future (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). Every staff member need to feel
appreciated and the senior positions that exist can be asked to provide a stagnant opinion after
establishing itself as a senior member (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). In this case, it can be said
that an example of ethical consideration in other sports can be taken into consideration.
One of the examples that can be given is that of the Australian Grand Prix as well as
Tennis Australia. In both these sports, it has been seen that the senior members associated
with the Governing bodies of the sports take stern actions against the players that indulge in
unethical activities (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). However, as stated by Orchard, Kountouris
and Sims (2017) prevention in terms of illegal activities being undertaken is prevented by the
proper analysis of the activities undertaken by the members as well as the management.
Therefore, it can be said that Cricket Australia need to learn from such association so that a
comprehensive analysis is made based on the ethical considerations in the sports
(Auscricket.com.au, 2019).
Thus, based on this analysis it can be said that for Patrick to commence with its
reporting, a comparative analysis need to be made between the approaches undertaken by
Cricket Australia as well as Governing bodies of other sports (Auscricket.com.au, 2019). As
pointed out by Ng (2017) this can help the sports as well as the players and members to
remain honest with one another in terms of undertaking proper organisational culture within
the sporting departments. Therefore, from the words of Talpey et al. (2017) it can be said that
general interest in terms of social responsibility need to be maintained which in turn can
continue with the development of proper sporting activities in a country.
Another ethical consideration that is required to be confronted by Patrick is that of the
situation at the workplace, which is related to be prejudiced at the workplace. It has been seen
from the analysis that Cricket Australia had more male members than the female members