Team Management

Consider the word value. Values are core beliefs that guide attitudes and actions (Lee & Hardin, 2014). DeSensi (2015) defines the term as a noun—“something we judge to be worthwhile.” However, it can be used as a verb—to actively perceive something as being important or desirable. In both cases, the term values is used positively, but its opposite, disvalues, is negative.

Consider two team owners who are interested in a pool of recruits. The league has strict rules about offering bribes to recruits to get them to sign. Team owner A values honesty and fairness and thus refuses to offer bribes even at the risk of losing the best recruits. Team owner B values winning over rule following, and thus has a more lax attitude toward providing bribes to potential recruits. In this scenario, what an individual values or disvalues affects that individual’s behavior, which drives ethical decision making.

Both of the team owners in this scenario may not be experiencing a dilemma because both are sure of their values. However, what if an individual values both honesty and winning? This individual has values that are in conflict with one another. Ethical dilemmas result when two or more important values are in conflict. What defines “important” to one individual might be very different to another. Values are not static, however, and it is also important for individuals to understand how they change over time and are affected by experiences.

Before you begin exploring ethical decision making, it is vital to be able to evaluate your own and others’ values as foundational to the rest of this course. This discussion will allow you to practice evaluating values and examining your own values in the context of this evaluation.

Desensi, J. T., & Rosenberg, D. (2010). Ethics and morality in sport management. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.

Mullane, S. (2015e). Ethics and ethical decision-making in sport. In J. W. Lee & R. Hardin (Eds.). Policy and governance in sport: Issues, organizations, and practical application. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.

Instructions For this Discussion, consider the following:

• What are the values being demonstrated by each character in the scenario described in the Values Clarification Exercise: Wagner High School Dilemma document?

• How do your own values align with the values being demonstrated by each character? How might this alignment affect your perceptions of the likability of each character?

Post the following:

Rank the following six characters in this story in order of who you liked the most (1) to the least (6). To do so, copy and paste this list into the Discussion area with your rankings listed in the lines to the left of each character