The Value of Standards and Ethical Procedures for Sport, Leisure & Tourism Organizations - Literature review Example

The value of s of practice, standards, sustainable approaches and ethical procedures for sport, leisure & tourism organisations Introduction The increase of technology in all industrial sectors led to the increase of complexity of activities related with the particular sectors; in fact, the development of a new framework of social relationships and professional commitments – as a result of the entrance of technology in human activities – has been quite rapid. In many cases, people could not understand the context of their responsibilities – within their new role in the society; the introduction of codes of ethical standards and procedures helped people to understand their responsibilities and the results of the potential violation of ethical rules by their side. Furthermore, these codes had to be evaluated in order to identify any potential mistake and suggest the necessary improvement; the ‘value’ of the codes of ethics and procedures is estimated using appropriate criteria – as set by theorists and researchers worldwide. Within each organization it is possible that these criteria are differentiated in accordance with the organizational culture and mission. Current paper examines the various aspects of the concept of value with reference to the codes of practice, standards, sustainable approaches and ethical procedures used in the organisations that operate in the sport, leisure and tourism industries. It is proved that the value of these codes are extremely high; in fact, these codes are found to be the most important tool for controlling the credibility of the various activities developed within the organisations that operate in the above mentioned industries. 2. Theoretical framework – the concept of value in its various dimensions Value is a term that can be given different interpretations in accordance with the conditions under which it used. When being used for characterizing an activity, value is related with the credibility or the effectiveness of the particular activity; if referring to the personal perceptions, value expresses the thoughts of a person regarding the quality or the legality of an object or an activity. On the other hand, when the specific term is used for characterizing an object – for example value of an object that has produced in the context of a specific manufacturing procedure - value means the quality of the object and its ability to serve its role – as defined by its producer. Value can influence the perceptions of individuals on ethics. The specific issue is highlighted in the study of Pollock (2008) where it is noted that ‘just as individual values influence one’s ethics, an organizational value system influences the ethics of the organisation’s members’ (Pollock, 2008, 189). Under the above terms, the personal perceptions of ethics can be influenced by the family and social life as well as by the personal experiences of a person – all these elements are likely to define his/ her view on values – content and hierarchy – and ethics. In the above context, value and ethics can be regarded as having the same theoretical basis – having the main role as criteria for estimating the credibility and legality of various social and scientific activities. The framework of ethics has been described in the study of Dolgoff et al. (2008); in the above study it is made clear that ‘ethics can be defined as that branch of philosophy that concerns itself with human conduct and moral decision making’ (Dolgoff et al., 2008, 21); in everyday life the above meaning of ethics has been interpreted differently in order to meet the requirements of its social and industrial sector. 3. Reasons for applying codes, standards, sustainable approaches and ethics – reference to the organizations operating in the sport, leisure and tourism organisations. In order to understand the importance for following the rules including in the codes of ethics – or codes of conducts – it would be necessary to refer primarily to the content and the characteristics of these codes as introduced and applied on modern organisations. In accordance with Manos (2006, 3) ‘an ethics code is a product that brings together our understanding of the common good’; through a different point of view Pollock (2008) notes that ethical rules are implemented using three different kinds of codes: ‘a) an aspiration or ideal describing the perfect professional, b) principles or guidelines that relate to the value system of the organization and c) mandatory rules of conduct that can serve as the basis of discipline’ (Pollock, 2008, 189). On the other hand, Chakraborty (2006) supports that the codes of ethics are commonly used in order ‘to set obligations and responsibilities among the member of a particular group’ (Chakraborty, 2006, 137) – when this view is applied on modern organizations it can be assumed that reference is made to the employees of these organizations – either of the private or the public sector. The application of ethical rules on various activities is enhanced through the development of Codes in which these rules are included; Codes of ethics or else the ‘Codes of conducts’ are a common tool for introducing and enhancing ethics in the workplace. These Codes need to be regularly updated in order to respond to the needs of a particular society – taking into consideration the continuous changes on ethics and social culture in countries worldwide. The importance of Codes of ethics for all organizational activities cannot be denied; for this reason, the number of organizations that introduce such Codes is continuously increased (Mullins, 2007, 551). In accordance with Alavudeen et al. (2008, 1) the ethical behaviour is based on the concept of avoiding harm other people; all ethical principles and procedures need to be based on the specific perception; it is assumed by that the code of ethics which do not ensure the protection of rights of other by the activities of each person does not respond to its primary mission – which is the protection of the rights of individuals; however, this view comes to the opposition with the common view that the codes of ethics need to protect primarily the interests of the public – in its general sense – and not the interests or the rights of individuals. On the other hand, Masteralexis et al. (2008) support that ‘not all ethical issues are dilemmas among equally compelling values’ (Masteralexis et al., 2008, 114). In accordance with this view, the dilemmas developed in the context of ethical rules can be differentiated – a fact that can lead to the further differentiation of the willingness of people to follow these rules. The organizations’ leaders should take the above fact into consideration when setting the punishment that is related with the violation of each rule included in each organization’s Codes of Ethics. In other words, punishments set for the violation of the rules included in the Codes of Ethics of a particular organization cannot be all the same – they should be developed in accordance with the importance of the rule violated but also the ability of the violator to follow the specific rule. No differentiation seems to exist in the evaluation of the importance or the necessity of application of the rules included in the Codes of Ethics of modern organizations; this means that the Codes of Ethics developed in organizations that operate in the sport, leisure and tourism industry should be considered as having the same binding power as in the Codes of Ethics of organizations in the other industrial sectors. The content of the relevant ethical rules and procedures can be differentiated – compared to the relevant texts of organizations that operate in different industrial sectors – but this difference can be considered as necessary in the context that the services and the activities developed in the above organizations are differentiated from their counterparts in different industrial sectors. Only in the case of sports, the issue of ‘internal morality of sports’ – related with the moral obligation for good behaviour when competing in sports – is a unique concept – which however leads to obligations similar with other ethical rules – as explained in section 4 below – see the study of Morgan (2007). Under the above terms, the reasons for following the codes of ethical rules and procedures can be summarized as follows: a) the existence of legal punishment in the case of non-applying these rules, b) the potential development of hostility by other persons that work in the same place and c) punishment of other type that could follow the violation of the ethical rules included in the organization’s Codes of Ethics – as an example the removal of an employee from its position for a specific period of time or permanently. 4. Conclusion - Consequences of failing to apply the codes, standards and sustainable measures Following the rules of ethics in various activities is an issue of significant importance; in fact following codes, standards and ethical procedures is usually considered as a criterion for characterizing an activity as legal or credible. It is for this reason that the application of ethics is strongly suggested not only by national but also by international organizations – often the punishment of the individual or the organization that violated ethical standards and procedures is provided. The specific issue is highlighted in the study of Menzel (2007); in the specific study emphasis is given on the need for the development of ‘ethics management worldwide’ (Menzel, 2007, 166). In order for people to follow the rules of codes of ethics and ethical procedures it is necessary that these codes are easy to understand, relevant with the activity to which they refer but also feasible – in terms of the principles and the obligations included. The effectiveness of these codes – as described above – is depended on the skills of their developer; in modern organizations the leader is considered to have the responsibility for the development of the organisation’s code of ethics. The study of Robinson et al. (2008) focuses on the ability of leaders to develop effective and feasible Codes in the context of their organization. In fact it is noted that ‘leadership engagement is the key to creating and implementing a successful ethics programme in any organization’ (Robinson et al., 2008, 67). In other words, the lack of Codes of ethics or the lack of effective Codes of ethics within modern organizations reflects the inability of their leader to respond to the needs of the particular task. In accordance with the issues developed above, the identification of the consequences for not applying the rules included in the codes of ethics developed in the organizations operating in the sport, leisure and tourism organisations is based on the identification of the potential relationship between the above organisations and the ethics – also the values. In the study of Morgan (2007) it is noted that ‘the values sport promotes or expresses simply mirror, reflect or reinforce the values found in the wider society’ (Morgan, 2007, 35); in other words, the obligation of individuals to follow the ethical rules and principles included in Codes of Ethics developed by sport organisations is similar with their obligation to obey to the rules and ethical principles developed in the context of the state. The above view gives to the Codes of Ethics developed in sport organisations an increased power; it also leads to the assumption that the violation of these rules could be punished in the same context with the violation of laws – as these are enforced within a specific state; however, Morgan (2007, 36) makes an important comment: in sports ethics can be extended above their common sense; in fact in sports the concept known as ‘the internal morality of sports’ exists; the above principle although not based on legal rules can be legally enforced – a point at which sports are differentiated by the social morality – or else the obligation for respecting the social ethics held in a particular society; more specifically, the violation of the ‘internal morality of sports’ – if proved can lead to the punishment of the individual – athlete involved. It is clear from the issues developed above that following the ethical rules and procedures included in organizational Codes of Ethics is obligatory; this obligation can have different dimensions; it may be interpreted as a moral obligation or a legal one. The nature of the obligation related with the violation of such a rule or procedure is depended primary on the context of specific Codes of Ethics; the latter should include all the punishments related with the violation of each one of its rules and procedures; however, there is also the case that the punishment for not following ethical rules and procedures is imposed directly by the state – if the specific action is also characterized as a criminal action by the state law – for example the use of prohibited medicines or drugs by athletes may lead to their punishment not only in accordance with the Sports Code of Ethics but also with the state’s Penal Code – or other similar Legislative text. Works Cited Alavudeen, A., Rahman, K. (2008) Professional Ethics and Human Values. Firewall Media Chakraborty, D. (2006) Human values and ethics: achieving holistic excellence. ICFAI Books Dolgoff, R., Loewenberg, F. (2008) Ethical Decisions for Social Work Practice. Cengage Learning Fennell, D. (2006) Tourism ethics. Channel View Publications Gardiner, S. (2006) Sports law. Routledge Cavendish Hall, D., Brown, F. (2006) Tourism and welfare: ethics, responsibility and sustained well-being. CABI Hoye, R., Cuskelly, G. (2007) Sport governance. Butterworth-Heinemann Manos, M. (2006) Knowing where to draw the line: ethical and legal standards for best classroom practice. Greenwood Publishing Group Masteralexis, L., Barr, C. (2008) Principles and Practice of Sport Management. Jones & Bartlett Publishers Menzel, D. (2007) Ethics Management for Public Administrators: Building Organizations of Integrity. M.E. Sharpe Morgan, W. (2007) Ethics in sport. Human Kinetics Mullins, L. (2007) Management and organisational behaviour. 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