102 SEM

Managing People in the Sport & Event

Industries
-Year 1
Coursework 2014

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Contents
1.

Introduction.......................................................................................................... 3

2.

Human Resource Management............................................................................ 3

2.1

Diversity and Equality.................................................................................... 3

3.

Diversity Management Approach.........................................................................4

4.

Diversity in the Sports Industry............................................................................5

5.

Conclusion............................................................................................................ 5

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1. Introduction
The purpose of this report is to analyze situations where employees are treated
differently because of their race, sex, age or any disability by their employers and other
colleagues. I will use my knowledge acquired from reading a range of different books and
articles related to this topic, to give solutions for certain situations where employees are
discriminated at the workplace.
The report will then present some concrete examples where it has been dealt with this kind
of situations, where diversity was a problem, and will examine how these issues have been
sorted out in these cases.
As this is still a huge problem all over the world, from the small businesses to huge
corporations, the Human Resource department has the duty to deal with these
circumstances by trying to resolve any conflict that could damage the integrity of a
business.

2. Human Resource Management

According to Tysons (1995) definition of the human resource management, says
that it should focus toward the management of its employees, expressed through
philosophies, policies and practices. However, this definition seems to be
incomplete when we get to analyze all the possible situations that are faced by the
employers each day in every company. Managing people is one of the most difficult
things for a company to do but it is also an essential one as employees represent
the base of the structure of a company. Therefore employees happiness should be
one of the main objectives for a company in order to attain the best performance
and quality of work.

2.1

Diversity and Equality

One of the most important things that an employee needs in order to achieve the
best personal development in a job and furthermore to show its best potential in
that role is the feeling of belonging to a group and accepted for his uniqueness.
Maslow places this need on the third level of his Hierarchy of Needs (Montana and
Charnov, 2008) and gives it a great significance by locating it right between the
dissatisfiers or basic needs and the motivators. Maslow realized the importance of
how the acceptance and respect for the employees could create a great benefit for
a company as it will lead to a better understanding and connection between the
individuals working there.

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The problems with equality and diversity at the workplace have considerably
improved since the half of the last century when people were being judged and
discriminated for being different. Luckily times have changed and managers started
realizing that each individual has its own virtues and flaws but by combining them
together, there is the possibility to create something better that will push the
company towards success. According to Bloisi (2007), diversity is about recognizing
the different values of each employee and eventually use them to enhance the
strength of the company.
A good manager should have the ability to create an environment in the company
that is based on organizational justice and so this can flourish further into a great
business culture where equality and diversity management result in good practice
(Cornelius, 2002). Although, many of them approach this attitude just as a legal
obligation and not as their concept for equal opportunities, and it will eventually
result in a bad practice as certain employees will understand this and will affect
their performance.
In the United Kingdom, the government has promulgated many different laws and
regulations against employment discrimination. By creating the Equal Pay Act and
following with Sex Discrimination Act and the Race Relations Act in the 1970s, UK
wanted to offer equal employment opportunities to all its citizens and hoped that
this will boost the internal economy as more people will be able to have a job.
Later on, during 1990s and 2000s the Disability Discrimination Act and the age
discrimination legislation were validated. In 2006 the Equality and Human Rights
Commission was established with the Equality Act, which covers the entire
discriminatory basis. (Leatherbarrow et al, 2013)
Even though these acts have changed the way many managers deal with these
situations, workplace discrimination is still a big problem across the UK. Some
employers still struggle to provide the same opportunities between the employees
and have difficulty to understand how managing diversity could be a benefit to the
company.

3. Diversity Management Approach

People tend to judge based on prejudices and assumptions more than on actual
facts. Appearances and first impressions usually give us the wrong idea about how
others are and we start judging the people around us without even knowing them.
We are raised in a culture that brings erroneous ideas in our minds of how groups of
people are, based on their race, religion, age or sexual orientation and we start
stereotyping them as a group and not as individuals (Banfield and Kay, 2010). These
ideas influence our subconscious and we start judging others without even realizing
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that everyone is different in their own way. When these concepts get to intersect
with our working lives, it starts to be a real problem as we will treat others in an
unreasonable way.
This is why managers should take an individual approach towards their employees
so they could understand better how each worker thinks and eventually try to
create a connection between them. This will ultimately lead to understanding what
their problems are and give the opportunity to find individual solutions that could
help an employees personal growth in the business.
The first thing to do in this case is to implement an open door policy that can give
the members of the staff the chance to discuss any problem they are facing, with
the manager. This strategy has been adopted by many business owners all over the
world because of its effectiveness to resolve complaints before they become a
major issue for the organization (Van Gramberg, 2006).
In addition, a manager has to recognize the diversity between its employees so he
could plan well how to use the highest potential that each one has. Either this be a
cultural, generational or physical difference, it could bring a great benefit to the
business when treated in the right way. By focusing on their own attitude towards
the employees that are different from the usual standards, they can change their
behavior and then include diversity management in the organizational structure as
one of the main roles (Burke and Cooper, 2005). When these changes start from the
top, it is much easier to integrate them in the culture of the company and
encourage employees to get past any cultural barriers.
Although, sometimes these diversity related issues can continue inside the
company between employees and as a manager your role is to discuss with them
individually and to promote interaction among the different groups of workers. By
doing this, an environment of fairness and trust will develop within the company,
that will lead to a better understanding between all the individuals related to the
organization.

4. Diversity in the Sports Industry

Discrimination issues have been reported in almost every industry lately, and in the
sports world it is still a huge problem. A sports player is not just judged by his own
colleagues but can be discriminated by millions of fans and eventually lose all the
support needed.
One of the most problematic things that affect sports players besides discrimination
of race or color is being judged for their sexual orientation. Jerry Smith was the first
professional american football player who died of the AIDS disease. He played for
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the Washington Redskins team in the period between 1965 and 1977 and is still
considered one of the best players in that sport. Even though rumors about him
being gay started during his career, he never publicly acknowledged it.
His head coach, Vince Lombardi knew about it and tried to promote a homophobiafree policy around the football club but without any success as it still was a
homophobic society during that era. Two months before his death, Smith finally
admitted his incurable disease to the large public, and became an example for other
professional athletes (Becker, 2014)
Lombardi, acted as a great manager by trying to promote an idea that at the time
was still considered taboo. Fortunately times have changed and many more
professional athletes and celebrities have no problem admitting their sexual
orientation.

5. Conclusion
Discrimination at the workplace is still a huge problem for organizations and it
should be completely eliminated from any type of management structure. Diversity
is something that can help a business grow to its highest potential if treated in the
right way and could help employers to get a better understanding of every worker.
Human resource management has the duty to resolve any issues related to this and
bring equality and fairness among the employees.

References
Becker J.M. (January 30, 2014) NFL Documentary Profiles Closeted Gay Player
[Online] Available at:
http://www.bilerico.com/2014/01/nfl_documentary_profiles_closeted_gay_player.php
?utm_source=front_page&utm_medium=top_story&utm_campaign=Top_Story
[Accesed: 19/3/2014]
Bloisi W. (2007) An Introduction to Human Resource Management. India: McGrawHill Education
Cornelius N. (2002) Building Workplace Equality: Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion.
Great Britain: TJ International
Leatherbarrow C, Fletcher J and Currie D (2010) Introduction to Human Resource
Management: A Guide to HR in Practice. 2nd ed. London: Chartered Institute of
Personal Development
Montana P.J. and Charnov B.H. (2008)Management 4 th ed. New York: Barrons
Eduational Series
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Tyson S. (1995) Human resource strategy: towards a general theory of human

resource management. London: Pitman Publications
Van Gramberg B. (2006) Managing Workplace Conflict: Alternative Dispute
Resolution in Australia. Sydney: The Federation Press
Banfield P. and Kay R. An Introduction to Human Resource Management 2 nd ed.
Oxford: Oxford University Press

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