My assignment is for the subject - Sport Organisation Behvaior
IT’S JUST NOT CRICKET 1 It’s just not cricket: A case of ethics, integrity and organizational culture within a national sport governing body Patrick Murphy knew he would be up for a challenge from the moment he accepted the position of Integrity Manager at Cricket Australia (CA). He was no stranger to the sport industry, holding an impressive resume including recent stints at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) and Tennis Australia (TA), helping these organizations re-package aspects of culture and rebuild their public profile. He relished the challenge of developing credibility and trustworthiness as part of a sport organization’s corporate culture. More specifically, he was able to demonstrate how an organization was able to project a renewed culture to external stakeholders. His reputation in this domain had been held in high regard, drawing global interest as an eminent integrity and culture renewal consultant. Growing up in Victoria, Australia, Patrick was well aware of the importance sport played in Australia’s national identity. Although he never truly adopted the passion for the athleticism and intrigue of some sports like his peers, he had always been captivated with the way sport organizations managed ethical situations and what part the sport’s culture played in being socially responsible. He was notorious for his expert handling the negative public opinion of the Australian Grand Prix within Melbourne’s Albert Park boundary. For much of his time at the AGPC, he ensured various stakeholder groups supporting, protesting and reporting the event were engaged equitably and honestly. In particular, the Save Albert Park group had been particularly vocal for over 20 years and their often obstructive protests for staging the Australian Grand Prix at the public open spaces of Albert Park in Victoria (see SaveAlbertPark.org.au) required a delicate balance of Murphy’s public relations skills and organizational socially responsible practices. He would watch and read news stories across the globe with a keen interest for developments in sport related to organizational culture and ethical behavior, as well as maintaining a general interest in social responsibility. At his last job with Tennis Australia, he managed to build an inclusive culture with the organization’s management, staff and playing personnel. This came about because Australian players were becoming known more for their on-court antics and mediocre results than for their sportsmanship and successes (Pettigrew, 2017). Added to this was the increasing pressure being put on the organization with regards to match fixing (Howard, 2017), and the controversial decision to maintain the naming of Margaret Court Arena, despite Margaret Court’s public disapproval of same-sex marriage laws (Puvanenthiran, 2017). Patrick’s plans included the creation of an Integrity Unit at TA and a selection of educational strategies which successfully put an end to the culture of entitlement. It made him the most likely candidate to take on Cricket Australia and its own set of drama. Despite his experiences and expertise, he knew CA was going to be an entirely new test. Sandpaper-gate In March 2018, a few months before Patrick’s appointment, the Australian men’s national cricket team was found to have cheated in an international test match with South Africa. Reports indicated that the captain, Steve Smith, the vice-captain, David Warner, and a young, up-and-coming batter, Cameron Bancroft, had carried out a plan to tamper with the match ball during a critical time in the four-game test series (Ferris, 2018). Part of the IT’S JUST NOT CRICKET 2 fielding ritual in cricket is for the player at first slip position (in this case, Bancroft) to assist the bowlers in keeping the ball in good condition throughout the match. They generally do this by polishing or rubbing the ball on their uniform before returning it to the bowler for the next delivery. In the crucial third game of the series however, Bancroft carried a small piece of sandpaper in his uniform pocket and, when the ball was in his possession, he scuffed the ball with the sandpaper in an attempt to alter its integrity and deceive the South African batsmen. Whether it be through ignorance or arrogance, the offending player was unaware that the broadcaster Supersports, had exposed this premeditated plan to tamper with the ball and focussed its cameras on Bancroft and Warner (Ferris, 2018), catching the incident in its entirety. As more information surfaced, team captain Smith and vice-captain Warner were implicated in the planning of the illegal action. This eventually culminated in a CA organized press conference where Smith and Bancroft both confessed and apologized for their part in the deviant action. The incident affixed with the label ‘Sandpaper-gate’ sparked outrage from the media, competitors, cricket fans and many Australians for some time. This was certainly seen as a blight on Australian sport. While the tampering of equipment is not a new development in sport generally, being blatantly caught tampering with the match ball on international television left the cricket world aghast. Cricket in most Commonwealth countries is held in such high regard, and Australian cricket has served as the benchmark nation for the “play hard and play fair” mantra. This refrain replicates much of the Australian sport ethos generally, so it was quite a surprise for Australians and cricket fans alike that cheating occurred at the hands of Australian athletes. According to its latest strategic plan, CA claim to be “Australia’s national sport, embedded in [the] country’s identity” (Cricket Australia, 2018a). But on that fateful day in March, Australia’s cricket and its overall sporting reputation was brought into disrepute. As one news article suggested, “we venerate our test cricketers and, as part of that deal, hold them to the highest possible standards of conduct” (Ferris, 2018). Indeed, there was little doubt that Australian cricket was in trouble with its reputation and its effects were starting to grow on Australia as a sporting nation more generally. Patrick had been looking for a new opportunity in sport after building a solid reputation at TA and AGPC. On hearing about the ball tampering fiasco, he undertook some background research on CA for his own interest. Unsurprising to Patrick, he found that CA described itself as not just the governing authority for all forms of cricket in Australia, but the “custodians” of the game. Cricket Australia purports three key values including “how we play, the spirit of cricket and integrity” (Cricket Australia 2018a). Further research found CA espoused a philosophy of “a sport for all with a purpose to inspire everyone to love cricket” (Cricket Australia, 2018a). It was clear to him that cricket embodies the national culture in Australia. When an Australian says, “It’s just not cricket” they mean something is unfair. Patrick deduced then that Sandpaper-gate was the most powerful example that Australians do not tolerate blatant cheating in sport. Patrick had also noted that a recent major staff restructuring had occurred at CA in February 2018. As he continued his research, it was discovered that CA had formed an executive management team to steer the sport onwards for the next five years. It included a wide variety of positions in key areas such as game and market development, team IT’S JUST NOT CRICKET 3 performance, events and leagues, broadcast, digital and commercial, public affairs, strategy, and finance. As he reviewed each of these portfolios, Patrick began to reminisce about his pleasure in working with multiple teams like these in the past; having worked for large sport organizations, he knew that despite operational complexities, there is always a need for collaboration across functioning units in order to succeed commercially. As a result of the ball tampering incident, CA’s management board and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) were in damage control. The organization had introduced an integrity team in 2013, charged with developing and managing culture and ethical behavior standards. However, the focus of the unit was primarily with the playing of cricket matches (e.g., liaising with other national teams). With the Sandpaper-gate incident, repercussions were being felt across all forms of the game. The once proud culture of the organization was challenged and CA board and CEO felt an urgent appointment of a new Integrity Manager was necessary to adequately respond to the incident and make wholesale recommendations for CA. This seemingly rash move was not supported by many naysayers who believed that cricket is the one institution in Australia whose culture was far too ingrained for any one person to be able to change unilaterally or overnight. Organizational culture takes time to build and maintain, and can be significantly disrupted when unethical practices are revealed. Traditionalists maintained their stance for the new Integrity Manager to have a strong working knowledge of the nation’s number one sport; a solution to a cricket problem should be provided by a cricket person. Thus, when the position was publicly posted, Patrick Murphy was not in the frame. He thought it was an interesting challenge but felt there was plenty of evidence to show that CA select from within its own cricket circle and so he did not immediately apply. Despite the great opportunity, he thought there would be too much vitriol because he was not a ‘cricket guy’. However, after some convincing discussions with former colleagues at TA and AGPC, Patrick realised he was more than capable of making a positive change to CA and submitted an application. With his track record, the CA CEO did not hesitate to interview Patrick. In their sit down, the CEO made it clear to Murphy what CA was all about: CEO: Our purpose is to “inspire everyone to love cricket”. It is something we strive for and are very proud to continue. Patrick: Well, while my passion for cricket may not be as high as other potential candidates, but I have been very successful in changing the culture of other major sport organizations like Tennis Australia and the Australian Grand Prix. CEO: Be that as it may, it is important for us that our vision is kept intact. That is, to ensure cricket is “Australia’s favourite sport” and “A sport for all Australians. Unfazed by the high expectations the CEO had for the role, Patrick knew he had the capabilities to lead the organization in the aftermath of Sandpaper-gate, redeem CA’s reputation,