FBLT024 : Sports Management : General Overview of the Organization

It is very important to make a culture audit of the chosen organization Cricket Australia. Through this culture audit a brief idea could be spotted on how Cricket Australia works to solve the various cultural and ethical issues. Some theories will have to be discussed in this context. The impact of the power and politics is immense on the ways the higher management will deal with the various situations. There are several types of power. These are the legitimate power, expert power, coercive power and referent power (Ozeren, 2014). It is very important to manage the power for the best interest of the organizations. Cricket Australia is no exception indeed. The implication of the power largely depends on the person who holds it. This is why the higher management of Cricket Australia will look to find out the real issues and problems within their practices and find out the ways to resolve them by using their power (Foddy & Savulescu, 2017). The impact of the power and politics is huge when the managers of the sports organizations deal with their internal and external stakeholders. Both the parties want to acquire the most satisfactory outcome indeed. It might happen the sports organization managers would want the several changes within their organizations regarding the development of the health and safety standards (Skinner & Stewart, 2017). This is very much evident in the cultural implications of Cricket Australia.

The situational power will have to be applied in this context. It has to be remembered that the Cricket Australia has not been able to provide the cricket fans a fantastic experience that they can cherish. The ball tampering issue or the Sandpaper gate has been a haunting memory for the Australian cricket fans over the past few months. The negotiations will have to be made in this context for the better outcomes into improving the culture of the concerned organization. The impact of the group behavior is very much important in this scenario as well. The cultural web is one of the most important things for the betterment of the organization in the best ways. There are some effective components for the betterment of the organizational culture. These elements are stories, rituals and routines, symbols, organizational structure, control systems and power structures (Bratton, 2015).

The past events of the Cricket Australia signify that the sports organization has not been able to produce a good brand image. The incident of the ball tampering has ruined their reputation in front of the millions of cricket fans and Australian cricket team supporters. The players have not been able to stand up to the normal values and beliefs of the organization. The dress code issues have been evident in the organization as well. This is why their symbolic expressions have not been up to the mark (Shank & Lyberger, 2014).  The newly appointed Integrity Manager Patrick Murphy will look to improve the condition of the organizational environment. The organizational structure of the Cricket Australia has been questioned now and again since the dominance of the former cricket players has been evident within. This is why Patrick Murphy has decided to put the proper focus on this fact so the managers can treat the all the employees with the equal mentality (Bratton, 2015). The power structures are dominated by the ex players who have contributed to the game and for the country in huge ways. This is why Cricket Australia will look to put all the focus on reshaping the entire system altogether. One significant issue that has been rendered as important is that of the gender inequality within the workforce. Patrick Murphy will use his best skills to mitigate the policies in the best ways. He will have to be very much conscious about the cultural barriers that exist within the boundaries of the organization.  The approaches of the players are very important for the welfare of the cultural identity of the organization (Greenberg, 2014). The social media has captured the incident very minutely and that has been the major problem for the organization as per their cultural outlook is concerned. The ball tampering issue has been despised by the people of all the fields. The ethical codes of conduct in cricket were not maintained by David Warner and Steve Smith at all.

The leadership issues have been predominant in the organization. The leadership of Cricket Australia has not been that much impressive indeed. The leaders of the organization have not treated all the employees of the organization properly (Cotterill, 2012). This has been a negative point of the power structure of the organization. These are the issues that will have to be tackled properly for the benefit of the organization Cricket Australia only. At first it should be clarified that the organization must be able to provide the equal opportunities to all the employees (Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2014). The administrative posts should be provided to the management qualified employees. It is not the proper way of thinking that the people who once contributed to the success of the game cricket for Australia will be similarly fluent in providing the best resources for the success of the management as well. In this context, the organization will have to implement the various prospects regarding the training of the players on how to improve the ethos within the sports. The integrity of the employees at all levels is very important. This is important since the employees must collaborate with each other. It has been seen that the organizational culture of the concerned organization in this paper will be the most important thing in the culture audit of the paper (Wagstaff, Gilmore & Thelwell, 2016).

Patrick Murphy has been very much specific about bringing back the corporate culture of the Cricket Australia as he wants to bring back the faith and trust of the fans and supporters of the game indeed. The fact that the ratio of the male and female employees of the organization is around 4:1 is very much problematic for the female employees (Cotterill, 2012). It is a huge disadvantage for the female employees in particular. The working environment of the organization is not so good either. This is why it has become quite problematic for the female employees to progress properly. In this context it can be said that the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012) has been largely violated indeed. These evil practices in the context of the Cricket Australia’s culture can only prove fatal for the future success of the company.

Ethical considerations in Cricket Australia

One of the most important issues that can be regarded in this context is that of the four main issues related to the ethical considerations. These four main elements are production deviance, property deviance, political deviance and personal aggression (Turner, 2014). All these issues will have to be discussed in this scenario since the culture of the Cricket Australia has been the most important question indeed. The most serious issues in the Cricket Australia are that of the property deviance and personal aggression. The employees at the different levels of the sports organization Cricket Australia have been alleged of the gender inequality and sexual harassment as well. These issues have been highly highlighted (Wagstaff, Gilmore & Thelwell, 2016).

However, the political deviance has been seen in this context as well. Some of the hierarchy managers have shown the favoritism to the former crickets of Australia to gain the top stops in the management positions. The verbal abuse has been accused in some cases as well. These are the very reasons as to why the Cricket Australia’s organizational culture is suffering a negative impact as well (Masterman, 2014). The co-workers have been abused and they have been robbed of the various opportunities as well. As the former cricketers are definitely not present during all the working hours, this becomes much demoralizing for the other normal employees. The working speed of these employees is very slow and they are very much casual at their work whereas the management qualified employees are very much serious about their work. This is the reason the organization is suffering the several setbacks indeed (Taylor, Doherty & McGraw, 2015). They take the extra advantages from the organization just because of their past contributions to the game. The interns are not paid properly as well. This can be compared to the stealing from the co-workers that falls under the property deviance. Thus these issues have been highlighted mostly on the cultural issues of the Cricket Australia. The blaming of the co-workers has become a very serious issue in this discourse as well (Marcu & Buha?, 2014).

Patrick Murphy has faced several issues in the ethical considerations that have affected the overall organizational culture of the Cricket Australia. The workplace deviations can be considered as the most important issues as the barriers for the success of the organization. The non-playing staff members of the organization have been deprived of the several opportunities to go ahead in the future. He has been engaged in the culture renewal of the Cricket Australia that can be considered as one of the most prior issues within the organization. One of the major barriers between the staffs are the cultural barriers (Turner, 2014). The cultural barriers between the employees have been regarded as one of the biggest problems for the organizations to move forward. The culturally superior people are given the added advantages that cater to their progress within the organization (Marcu & Buha?, 2014). The other people are deprived of the opportunities of moving forward within the organization. The cricket guys always get the special advantages and this is very much unethical indeed. As per the files read by Mr. Patrick Murphy, the integrity among the employees at the different levels has been lacking very much (Choo, 2013). The extra benefits have been given to the cricket guys like they have been given the uniforms for free by Cricket Australia. On the other hand, the other players had to buy the uniforms on discount. This has enraged a section of the employees as this has been entirely an unethical thing to be done (Buhler & Nufer, 2012). 

Another unethical fact that has been pointed out by Patrick Murphy in this context is that of the workplace harassments of some of the employees. As per the workplace deviation diagram, this thing falls under the personal aggression. It has been reported by some of the female employees that some of the most famous former cricket players have made advancements towards the women (Buhler & Nufer, 2012). However, Cricket Australia has tried to diminish the issue by various ways. Cricket Australia should analyze these events critically and find out the real issues behind this. The hierarchical managers of Cricket Australia have been running the show in the patriarchal manner (Jones, 2012). This patriarchal dominance has been very much fatal for the good reputation and brand image of the company. They have always questioned in favor of the masculine dominance in the organization. This does not bear a good image for the organization at all. This unethical issue should be discussed fairly and it should be resolved properly as well (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2015). 

Another unethical issue that can be spotted in terms of the Cricket Australia is that regarding the employment inductions given to the employees of the Cricket Australia. It has been seen that the junior students who work as the apprentices are deprived of the several opportunities as well (Azanza, Moriano & Molero, 2013). Australia is considered as a sporting nation and cricket is believed to be the national identity of the country. In order to bring back its lost reputation, they will have to maintain the work ethics properly (Büschgens, Bausch & Balkin, 2013). The codes of conduct will have to be obeyed so the better responses could be gained by from the employees. Cricket Australia has always focused on to improve the reputation of the game in such a manner that the fans can respect the entire thing. The game of cricket is more than just a game for the fans and supporters. The unethical things are damaging the reputation of the game badly (Alvesson, 2012). 

Patrick Murphy has been able to change the entire cultural infrastructures of the previous sports organizations he had worked in. Patrick is of the opinion that the work arrangements should be much flexible and this should make the lives of the people within the organization a better one. The better work-life balance should be provided to the employees. The employee attitudes towards the productivity have been seen to be deviant enough. This has resulted in the overall productivity of the organization (Robbins & Judge, 2012).  In this scenario it can be said that some people are not getting some of the benefits because they are unable to bear the productivity because they work from the remote locations (Büschgens, Bausch & Balkin, 2013). The physical environment of the organization has lost its reputation since it has been noted as dominated by patriarchy. The former cricket players are seen as the heroes and role models for the organization. This is one of the cultural indicators indeed. The organization has to be responsive to the changes as prescribed by the Integrity Manager Patrick Murphy. The hierarchy managers should be able to lead the ways without making any discrimination with the employees as this is very much unethical as well (Shahzad et al., 2012).

Recommendations: 

In this last section of the paper, some important recommendations will have to be given on order to understand the ways the organization Cricket Australia would be able to improve their culture. As the Integrity Manager, Patrick Murphy has provided some solutions that might turn out to be very much effective indeed. Under the guidance of Patrick Murphy, Cricket Australia has been successful in finding out the most significant shortcomings. These shortcomings will have to be managed properly in order to provide the best solutions for the cultural renewal of the organization.

• The ratio between the female and male employees should be dropped own immediately to keep up the morale going for the female employees. The female employees have been deprived of the several opportunities because of the lack of their numbers. More female employees should be recruited and the patriarchal dominance should be got rid of very soon.
• The current cricket team players of all formats of the game should be trained properly and effectively on how they should behave both on the field and off the field as well. They should be made to understand that their way of lives has a direct impact on their fans and on the overall society (Tikka & Garg, 2018). The issue of the ball tampering by Steve Smith, David Warner and Bancroft has left a very bad and negative impact on the society and their fans. They will have to get rid of these things immediately so they can renew their culture and promote the good things within their organization.
• The added advantages that are given to the former cricket guys should be stopped immediately. This is due to the fact the non-cricket boys are not feeling much relieved about this practice. They feel that they have been deprived of the opportunities that they should have been given and they have earned the rights for it (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2014). The organizational culture of Cricket Australia should always provide the better opportunities to the staffs as per their performance level and their capacities. The hierarchical employees should start to behave in the proper ways and provide the opportunities of career development to the deserved candidates. This improvement in the performance will always lead the organization to be more effective and response to the needs of the employees at different levels (?erne, Jakli? & Škerlavaj, 2013).
• The issues of gender diversity at the workplace should be considered in a strict manner. It is the employees who must step up in this scenario to confront against the unethical decisions that are often being made (DesJardins, 2014). The proper guidelines should be made on how to improve the service quality of Cricket Australia and cater to the needs and desires of all the fans and supporters.
• It should be made sure that no one should get any added benefit that holds the same designations. If any such case is reported the authority should come up against the strict solutions to the problem (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). 
• The attitudes of the players should be checked as well. Some players are believed to be very much arrogant. This is why they bear the negative impact on the organizational effectiveness. The coach and the managers should sit with them and make them understand that they should behave properly and this will surely be for the sake of their fans indeed (Tuten & Solomon, 2017). 
• All the junior students doing the internship with Cricket Australia must be provided with the proper monetary benefits. Or else these people should lose the faith on the Cricket Australia in a large way. No discriminations should be allowed in this scenario since it affects the overall organizational culture of the organization (Kaur, 2016).  
• Two of the most important aspects for the improvement of the organizational culture are the innovation and creativity. The organization Cricket Australia should take up some strategies to improve the organization by creating new ways of employee satisfaction and innovating for the benefits regarding the company image (Martin & Schouten, 2012).
• Cricket Australia might also take up the digital marketing strategies to reach their new age customers. The new age customers are mostly the young people and they rely on the various social media platforms. The organization should look to reach their target customers by connecting through the social media through the messages of the favorite icons of the Australian cricket (Tiago & Veríssimo, 2014).

Conclusion:

The various shortcomings in the overall organizational culture of the Cricket Australia has been discussed in the above discussion. The Sandpaper gate issue has raised a hue and cry among all the sports lovers especially the cricket lovers all across Australia. The Australian cricket board is very much ashamed of this fact. The new Integrity Manager has been recruited within the organization in the form of Patrick Murphy. The organization will have to consider their flaws within the organizational structure. They must analyze the various issues regarding the cultural deviation issues. The organization will have to identify these loopholes and fill them up so they can be able to keep up their brand reputation indeed. The Cricket Australia must make sure that this type of incident like the sandpaper gate issue is never repeated again. The gender diversity within the workplace should be avoided for the best outcomes indeed.

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