Assignment on Olympic Sport Governance Structures, The Case of Two National Governing Bodies in Gymnastics

OLYMPIC SPORT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES:
THE CASE OF TWO NATIONAL GOVERNING BODIES IN GYMNASTICS

Chelladurai’s model of sport leadership is a well-known model in sports leadership. It follows stages of leadership behaviours and how they change.

Similarities and Differences Between USA Gymnastics and Gymnastics Australia

            We are going to discuss similarities and differences in USA gymnastics and Gymnastics Australia. Similarities are as follows:

·         Both organizations work as the NGB for gymnastic which is granted by Federation Internationale de Gymnastique(FGI).

·         Both organizations work for the training of gymnastics team to prepare them for Olympics and international games.

·         Both have undergone substantial growth and showed formalization and professionalism as the time has passed.

·         Both organizations are working on non-profit basis.

Following are the differences:

·         USA Gymnastics focuses on excellence in all aspects of gymnastics while Gymnastics Australia philosophy is that gymnastics is a lifestyle not just a sport.

·         USA Gymnastics programs have their own unique organizational structure while Gymnastics Australia’s structure is throughout similar in all programs.

Level of Complexity, Formalization and Centralization

USA Gymnastics structure is complex in nature as compare to Gymnastics Australia. In USA Gymnastics all six disciplines are governed by national office. Each of the six programs have their own unique structures comprised of many layers. This complex nature of structure makes decision making difficult. Due to complexity of the structure Chelladurai’s model is difficult to implement. The desired outcome of the individual and team performance will only be realized if the three states of leadership behaviour align with each other. If there is mismanagement between organization, it will affect the performance of the athletes. On the other hand, Gymnastics Australia is governed by National Gymsport Technical Commissions (NGTC) which controls and governs all technical matters of NGB. This makes the structure formalized and less complex in nature. It helps in dispersing strategies throughout the organization. Chelladurai’s model of sports leadership can also be implemented successfully due to centralized nature of the structure.

SWOT Analysis of the NGB’s

Strengths: US Gymnastics Is rapidly growing and number have athletes are reached over 90000. Gymnastics Australia has also shown substantial growth in recent years. This growth will positively impact the Olympics and sports in general. 

Weaknesses: The NGB’s are lacking in their governance system and US Gymnastics has been found guilty of doping. It needs to address these issues because this creates a negative impact on overall Olympics and sports federation.

Opportunities: The NGB’s show potential in training more athletes and producing champions. If they make their governance system better and implement policies that take into account, all aspects of training and difficulties faced by athletes they will surely make difference in the world of sports.

Threats: There is risk of legal issues and battles with the federation due to doping cases. Also the risk of being injury to the athletes which should be kept in mind while making strategies for NGB’s.

SLEEPE Principle:   This model helps NGB’s Managers in understanding how their decisions will be viewed in different ways by various constituencies.

Social: This aspect looks at social ramifications of the decision taken in NGB’s. What impact it will have on the Athletes and organization.

Legal: Legal considerations are kept in mind while decision making to avoid legal battles in the long run. It ensures smooth organization of events and athletes wellbeing.

Economic: We look at the economic impact the NGB’s have on the country and how they are contributing towards the economy of the country. The NGB’s are severely lacking in the areas of management. A good management structure will give NGB’s edge economically and financially.

Ethical: The strength of NGB’s lies in their democratic processes within their framework. If they are following ethical standards, then the NGB’s will perform efficiently and smoothly. There is lot of diversity in NGB’s and athletes come from all around the world. There must be proper ethical behavioural norms that must be followed to avoid any mishap.

Political: The NGB’s prime strength is its leadership. It comes from the democratic processes into the NGB’s system. Preference and needs of all departments should be given equal consideration. The leadership must be run according to the principles of set by the FIG.

Educational: The educational and training programs designed for the NGB’s should be properly evaluated to avoid training difficulties. International Olympic Committee has designed several programs to train the administrative staff of NGB’s which should be followed accordingly.

Mintzberg’s 5 P’s Strategy

Plan: Strategies should be formed by considering the frauds happened in past years.

Ploy: A system should be implemented that detect frauds even before it happens.

Pattern: Fool proof strategies should be implemented, and they should be designed in a way that there is no risk of fraud.

Position: NGB’s should position themselves as athlete’s caretaker and listen to their problems to avoid and discrepancies.

Perspective: The plan for detecting fraud should be designed from the perspective of the fraudster to better implement the fraud detection system.