Sports Governance of the United States Olympic Committee - Essay Example

Sports Governance Total Number of Words 885 Introduction As a non-profit company, the United s OlympicCommittee (USOC) was created back in 1894 in order to serve the training and funding needs of both the U.S. National Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOC, 2015a). Aside from supporting the tuition grants, health insurance, and marketing needs of both the U.S. National Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the USOC is also extending their support to the U.S. Youth Olympic as well as the Parapan American and the Pan American Games (USOC, 2015a). To improve the sports performance, USOC is providing biomechanics, nutritional, medicinal, psychological, physiological support to all U.S. athletes (USOC, 2015b). For instance, the USOC purposely created its “Sports Medicine Division” in order to support the physiological needs of the athletes in case of any serious physical injury (i.e. chiropractors and physical therapists) (USOC, 2015c). To support the learning and training needs of the athletes, the USOC purposely created its “Coaching Education Department” (USOC, 2015d). Today, USOC managed to establish a total of 17 training sites throughout 15 states in the United States on top of its 3 major training centers located in Chula Vista in California, Colorado Springs in Colorado, and Lake Placid in New York (USOC, 2015e; USOC, 2015g). To ensure that the efforts of USOC would pay off, this particular organization has decided to shift its focus from rewarding the active participation of athletes to those who can win medal (Smolianov, Zakus, & Gallo, 2014, p. 37). Mission Statement To improve and maintain the sports competency of the U.S. athletes, the mission of USOC aims to extend all necessary support to all Olympic and Paralympic players in the United States (USOC, 2015a). Management Objective The main objective of USOC is to support the learning, physical, psychological, health, and financial needs of the athletes. Core Values People at USOC are strongly encouraged to behave with integrity and practice creative thinking as they seek to inspire all athletes to give out their best performance in international sports games and competition (USOC, 2015f). Organizational Structure Organizational structure clearly shows how certain tasks or activities are allocated, coordinated, and supervised within a given organization (Pugh, 1990). Often times, the process of examining the organizational structure of USOC is considered important since it can provide us a better understanding about the organizational leadership and behavior (Chance, 2009, p. 11). As of 2015, below is the official organizational structure of USOC: Source: USOC, 2015h In terms of hierarchy, organizational structure can be classified as either “tall” or “flat” (Gupta, Gollakota, & Srinivasan, 2007, p. 250). Based on the chart presented on page 3, the organizational structure of USOC seems to be “flat”. It means that only the leader of the 14 major departments report directly to the CEO. Basically, the main reason why USOC has decided to expand its organizational structure is to effectively support the idea of being able to develop and improve the athletes’ performance in sports (Smolianov, Zakus, & Gallo, 2014, p. 37). For a flat organizational structure to work perfectly, the 14 appointed leaders in each different department should at all times practice good communication and leadership skills in order for them to win the support and effectively motivate their subordinates (Gupta, Gollakota, & Srinivasan, 2007, p. 250). USOC’s organizational structure is clearly “functional” (Gupta, Gollakota, & Srinivasan, 2007, p. 252). Instead of having a “tall” organizational structure; USOC seems to have divided the members of the organization based on “specialization” (Gupta, Gollakota, & Srinivasan, 2007, pp. 250–251). It means that all HR staff should work under the leadership of Pam Sawyer who is currently the Managing Director of its HR Department. The same concept applies to all other major departments in USOC. Using a “flat” organizational structure, decision-making in USOC seems to be more centralized than decentralized. It means that majority of the decision-making process are made only by the top management officials of USOC. Unfortunately, given the fact that there are as much as 14 major departments in this particular organization, there is a strong possibility wherein the process of making important decisions could be very slow (Gupta, Gollakota, & Srinivasan, 2007, p. 251). Likewise, disregarding the lower rank employees can be de-motivating for some of them (Gupta, Gollakota, & Srinivasan, 2007, p. 251). Responsibilities and Duties Clearly defining the role, responsibilities, and duties of the top officials is necessary behind successful sports governance (Hoye & Cuskelly, 2007, p. 10). By clearly specifying the responsibilities and duties of each personnel, it is possible for USOC to make them accountable for not being able to fulfill their role and responsibilities. As such, the following are the duties and responsibilities of USOC leaders: 1. Scott A. Blackmun – He is responsible for the restructuring of Olympic sponsorship when he tried to negotiate “revenue-sharing agreement” with IOC (USOC, 2015i). 2. Rick Adams – He manages the planning of high performance in Paralympic sports. To ensure high performance in sports, he actively collaborate with 45+ NGBs as their partners. Aside from working closely with the marketing team, audit, legal, and sports performance division, his other responsibilities include: governance, raising funds, and creating strategic planning (USOC, 2015j). 3. Alan Ashley – He manages the USOC divisions. Aside from coaching, he extends support to the athletes and the National Governing Bodies such as the “sports medicine”, “coaching and sports science”, and the “international games and sports partnership” (USOC, 2015k). 4. Lisa Baird – She manages the USOC’s marketing and sales division. She manages the media, marketing events, direct marketing, consumer products, and corporate sponsorship (USOC, 2015l). 5. Larry Buendorf – He manages the security needs of the entire USOC (USOC, 2015m). 6. Jon Denney – He manages the fundraising initiatives of private donors (USOC, 2015n). 7. Christopher McCleary – Aside from managing the legal issues faced by the USOC, he also works as the corporate secretary of the 16 board of directors (USOC, 2015x). 8. Benita Mosley – She manages not only the program for the career of the athletes but also strategic planning, HR, facilities, inclusion and diversity, and the 3 major training centers (USOC, 2015o). 9. Walter Grover – He manages USOC’s financial department (i.e. accounting, budgeting, financial reporting, internal controls, cash and risk management among many others (USOC, 2015p). 10. Charlie Huebner – He manages the process of generating financial support for the Paralympic athletes (USOC, 2015q). 11. Morane Kerek – She oversees the daily operations of auditors and see to it that the organization observes the best control for its accounting practices (USOC, 2015r). 12. Trevor Miller – Aside from software development and solutions for data warehousing, he is responsible for the architecture and design of its website (USOC, 2015s). 13. Pam Sawyer – She is responsible in managing the HR department. Part of her duty is to ensure that the HR system of USOC works effectively (i.e. benefits and compensation, employee relations, promote diversity, create and implement effective retention strategies, and improvements in the athletes’ talent among many others) (USOC, 2015t). 14. Patrick Sandusky – Aside from being the spokesperson of USOC, he manages the organization’s communication division (USOC, 2015u). 15. Chris Sullivan – He manages USOC’s “international relations division” and the bidding efforts of the United States Olympic team (USOC, 2015v). Stakeholders of USOC Stakeholders refers to individuals who can be directly or indirectly affected by the existing policies, objectives, and actions made by the top management of USOC. As such, the stakeholders of USOC include the following: 1. 16 Board of Directors including the Chairman and CEO; 2. All Employees; 3. Athletes; 4. Partners/Sponsors; and 5. Local Communities. About Sports Governance Sports governance is all about being able to promote not only accountability and transparency but also the practice of corporate fairness (Haberfeld & Sheehan, 2013, p. 211). By being able to establish a clear direction or strategy, sports governance which could serve as a guide to all members of the organization is possible (Hoye & Cuskelly, 2007, p. 10). In response to the best interest of all members or stakeholders, sports governance often times seek to control sensitive activities within the organization. As of the 31st of December 2013, USOC managed to collect total revenue and support totaling to US$168,902 (USOC, 2013). Considering the large sum of money USOC can gather from its marketing and selling activities as well as directly from its sponsors or donors, there will always be a risk wherein the absence of strong sports governance could tempt some of the top management officials to misuse the collected funds. To safeguard the interest of the athletes, USOC has been using policies in controlling the distribution of funds (Hoye & Cuskelly, 2007, p. 10). Doing so, it is possible for this organization to effectively control and regulate the behavior of top management especially when it comes to the management and disbursement of the collected funds. As such, Hoye and Cuskelly (2007, p. 10) pointed out that a weak organizational structure or one that is not created systematically can lead to failed sports governance. Assuming that the governance structure is confusing or weak, it would be close to impossible for the organization to make guilty personnel be legally accountable for their unethical actions. Proposed Workable Governance Structure for the Company Applicable to the case of USOC, the organization is prone to experience misuse of the collected funds. For this reason, it is necessary to take a closer look at the person who is responsible in the management and disbursement of the collected fund. For instance, Walter Grover was appointed to manage USOC’s accounting practices, budgeting, financial reporting, internal controls, cash and risk management among many others (USOC, 2015p). Since Mr. Grover is directly responsible in USOC’s financial department, the use of both internal and external auditors is necessary. Considering the case of USOC, the proposed workable governance structure is presented below: Mr. Grover can easily be manipulated by the Board of Directors, the Chairman, and the CEO. To ensure that Mr. Grover will do his job properly, his work will be subjected to both internal and external auditors. Eventually, it is Morane Kerek who should oversee the daily operations of the auditors and see to it that the organization observes the best control for its accounting practices (USOC, 2015r). To reduce the risk of error, Ms. Kerek was assigned to work together with Rick Adams. USOC Policy Analysis Several policies were created by USOC to ensure that all people involved in the organization would carefully observe ethical behavior and work-related practices (USOC, 2015w). For instance, one of the policies of USOC was designed to ensure that “conflicts of interests” can be avoided (USOC, n.d.). Under this particular policy, all members of the board together with the rest of employees and volunteers are strictly required to avoid getting involved in investments or activities that can result to the risk of conflict of interest. As such, all members of the board together with the rest of employees and volunteers are mandated to sign the “disclosure certification” at the time they decide to join USOC. Analyzing this particular policy, requiring all members of USOC to disclose all potential conflicts is good since it could help the organization avoid the risk wherein one of their staff could be engaged in unethical work or business practice. Conclusion Sports governance is necessary to ensure that the interests of all stakeholders will be protected from the self-interests of few individuals within the organization. References Chance, P. (2009). Introduction to Educational Leadership & Organizational Behavior. 2nd Edition. Oxon, OX: Routledge. Gupta, V., Gollakota, K., & Srinivasan, R. (2007). Business Policy and Strategic Management: Concepts and Applications. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall. Haberfeld, M., & Sheehan, D. (2013). Match-Fixing in International Sports: Existing Processes, Law Enforcement . London: Springer. Hoye, R., & Cuskelly, G. (2007). Sport Governance. Burlington, MA: Elsevier. Pugh, D. (1990). Organization Theory: Selected Readings. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Smolianov, P., Zakus, D., & Gallo, J. (2014). Sport Development in the United States: High Performance and Mass Participation. Routledge. USOC. (2013). 2013 USOC Annual Report. Retrieved June 19, 2015, from http://www.teamusa.org/footer/finance USOC. 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Retrieved June 19, 2015, from http://www.teamusa.org/Footer/Legal/Governance-Documents USOC. (2015x). Christopher McCleary - General Counsel. Retrieved June 19, 2015, from http://www.teamusa.org/About-the-USOC/Inside-the-USOC/Leadership/Executive-Team/Christopher-McCleary USOC. (n.d.). Conflict of Interest Policy. Retrieved June 19, 2015, from http://www.teamusa.org/Footer/Legal/Governance-Documents Read More