Social Performance of Organizations - Assignment Example

Social Performance of Organizations Tony Webb Jeremy Smithson BUS 475- Business and Society July Social Performance of Organizations: Company Analysis Sport leagues are special in that clubs enjoy mutual interdependence in their collaborative production of games. One of the most remarkable football leagues in the US is referred to as the National Football League that is abbreviated as the NFL is among the most successful leagues of all time. The company operates in the US and at the global level (Carr, 2010). The company offers a wide range of services and products that can be attributed to the immense success and increased profitability that NFL has been receiving since its inception. The entity mainly works towards proving team players, news, videos, statistics, scores and schedules on various games that take place in the US (Quinn, 2012). The NFL provides online services through services such as widgets, tools and game pass. The entity sells branded merchandise as well. The NFL was previously referred to as the American Professional Football Association in 1922 (Carr, 2010). The company was started in 1920 in New York and operates in various parts of the world including Mexico, Japan, France, China and Canada (Carr, 2010). The NFL is a unified and non-profit making entity and this means that it cannot be taxed as it is a commonly accepted fact that the entity does not make any profits (Quinn, 2012). Conversely, the teams are subject to taxes as they make profits. The NFL views itself to be a trade entity that is composed and financed by thirty two members. The entity is made up of three important officers including the treasurer, secretary and commissioner. These officers were chosen through an elective process. There are two aspects in the external environment that can result into its success (Quinn, 2012). To start with, is the popularity of the teams that take part in the league. Secondly, it can be influenced by the global economic status that in turn affects individuals’ disposable income and how much they are willing to spend on tickets and other branded items. Salient Stakeholders in the NFL NFL’s stakeholders influence its success as well that of the teams that take part in the league. This section discusses the salient stakeholders and their key duties and links with the entity. NFL employs stakeholder evaluation as a way of laying down communication initiatives that are focused towards making these relationships better. To start with, the participants are the most important stakeholders within the NFL. Both amateurs and experienced players seek to benefit their clubs by offering exemplary performance in the league to attract a high number of spectators. This translates into more money for the specific teams that take part in the league and the NFL benefits through the profit-sharing arrangement (Quinn, 2012). In general, it can be observed that the participants search for safe and lucrative opportunities that are offered by teams in the league. Football is a contact game and players are concerned about their safety while playing the game. In other words, they are concerned about the medical services that can be offered in the league in cases of injuries. It has been observed that the NFL aims at attracting a high number of players (participants) to the game which translates into more buzz and business. The second most important stakeholder within the NFL comprises of the stakeholders. This is the major reason behind the players’ participation. In other terms, they do it for the fans. The NFL and the teams that take part in it raise money through the sale of programs and tickets, membership subscriptions as well as concessions (Quinn, 2012). It has been observed teams within the NFL establish connections with spectators by publicizing their results, promoting communication by using their websites and setting up events in which the participants can be actively involved. The final group of stakeholders is made up of the governing bodies. These control the stakeholders, operations within the sport teams and stakeholders including administrators and coaches (Quinn, 2012). These regulatory bodies establish the rules of the game. A key role played by the governing bodies is that they lobby governments to give financial support to the NFL. Additionally, they negotiate for the teams’ sponsorship programs as well as broadcasting rights. Ways in which the Stakeholders can Influence the Company’s Financial Performance It has been observed that companies align themselves with teams within the NFL and this has a positive impact on their financial performance. This results to a win-win situation for the teams as well as the companies (Omalu et al., 2005). Teams that are sponsored by major companies in the US have been observed to be more financially stable. This is owing to the fact that football is one of the best ways of marketing products. It can therefore be concluded that financial sponsorships in companies result to improved financial stability within companies. Participants also play an imperative role within companies. As earlier stated the audience watches the game owing to the performance that is exhibited by the players. Excellent players attract more fans that results into a rise in the sale of tickets and merchandise. This in turn impacts has a positive impact on NFL’s financial performance (Omalu et al., 2005). Stakeholders by tickets to the NFL games and this increased revenues for the teams and the league. The spectators subscribe for membership in the teams within the NFL and this boosts the teams’ financial performance. The members of the public have an opinion on various issues within the NFL. If the public develops a negative attitude, people will not support the teams within the NFL and which results into reduced profits. A Controversial Corporate Social Responsibility Concern This section discusses one of the most controversial issues that have been facing the NFL with regards to corporate social responsibility. There has been a heated debate over the years concerning the concussions on NFL players. This is owing to the detrimental health impacts of such concussions including brain damage, depression, memory loss and suicidal tendencies that are experienced by players mainly after retirement. Most postmortem results, done on former players, reveal that a significant number of them had suffered from CTE and other related conditions (Omalu et al., 2005). What is worse is that the list continues to grow as the game get increasingly exciting and highly competitive. This problem has been in the limelight for the past twenty years and this shows that the NFL should take immediate action to control this issue. The NFL has been charged with the responsibility of ensuring the health and well-being of the participants that are the major stakeholders in the game. There have been incidences in the past where players have reported incidences that can be termed as a breach of corporate social responsibility. Strong pain killers were administered to the outstanding league players to make them play. This would cause further damage to the injured body parts and the negative side effects would manifest themselves later in life (Omalu et al., 2005). Concussions have been observed to be the leading cause of death among the ex-NFL players. The NFL has been sued on countless occasions on cases relating to injuries that are sustained during the games (Quinn, 2012). The participants claimed that the league failed to disclose information about the dangers and risks that are involved in playing the game. This shows that concussions and their related effects is one of the most notable CSR issues facing the NFL. A Plan to Form a Stakeholder Coalition to Force the Organization to Address the Concussion Controversy within the NFL The controversy involving concussions that are sustained within the NFL can be addressed by working together with the regulatory bodies that govern the league. This is owing to the fact that this body comes up with all the rules that govern the game. The regulatory bodies can come up with disclosure of the risks that are involved in playing the game. This will ensure that the new participants do not get into the game blindly (Omalu et al., 2005). Secondly, the regulatory bodies can come up with clear guidelines concerning the standards in which the helmets and other protective gear that is used in the game should meet. Thirdly, the regulatory bodies should come with rules on how painkillers and other medications should be administered. To start with, the group was identified as the only stakeholder that can influence the safety rules and regulations with regards to the safety of the players. The NFL then should have gone ahead to inform the regulatory bodies on the negative impacts of this issue (Omalu et al., 2005). The league should then make suggestions to the regulatory body on how they plan to solve the issues on the increased negative impacts of concussions on the major stakeholders who are the participants and its negative impact on the image of the league. It can be seen that the NFL cannot deal with this problem on its own but this does not change the fact the league should be more cautious in the way it handles its patients. Other stakeholders can be involved in controlling this problem as well. For instance, companies should fund research that is aimed at improving the safety of the players (Carr, 2010). I would call of the stakeholders to work in close collaboration with the league and show them the overall benefits of their contribution in terms of increased positive publicity as well. Three potential challenges that you may face in encouraging stakeholders to form a coalition to help you achieve your goals There are various setbacks that may be encountered in calling on the stakeholders to work with the NFL to attain their goals and objectives in handling the issue of concussions. To start with, the regulatory bodies may not be keen on coming with the regulations that the safety of players. Secondly, the other parties may be wary of the costs that are involved in taking part in such ventures (Conrad, 2011). This is because companies mainly concentrate of profit making and ventures that do not directly profit them fail to attract them. The players themselves fail to take responsibility for their actions and view the pitch as the space they can settle their personal fights and which results into increased rates of concussions. These challenges can be overcome through various steps. The first step is informing the involved parties on all the details relating to the problem. The second step is by giving a suggestion of how they can be involved in solving the problem. The third step entails helping them realize the benefits on getting involved in the NFL (Carr, 2010). These steps are aimed at improving the overall CSR of the NFL with regards to one of the most controversial issues facing the league and improve the welfare of the players. References Carr, J. F., & Willis, C. (2010). The man who built the National Football League. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. Conrad, M. (2011). The business of sports: A primer for journalists. New York: Routledge. Omalu, B. I., DeKosky, S. T., Minster, R. L., Kamboh, M. I., Hamilton, R. L., & Wecht, C. H. (2005). Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a National Football League player. Neurosurgery, 57(1), 128-134. Quinn, K. G. (2012). Introduction. In The economics of the National Football League. Springer New York. Read More