Utilizing Sports to Address SGD #8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth

Management Considerations while Utilizing Sport to Address Sustainable Development Goal # 8
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Management Considerations while Utilizing Sport to Address Sustainable Development Goal # 8
Introduction
Sports have the potential to substantially contribute to the UN's vision for sustainable development. To tap into this potential, sports management needs to align its strategic approach to the needs of a specific SDG goal in focus (Lindsey & Chapman, 2017). This essay sets out to assess the extent to and how well-directed sports management can contribute to Eighth SDG in the framework titled "Decent Work and Economic Growth." This particular goal deals with the prospects of promoting equal employment opportunities irrespective of ethnic background, nationality, color, or caste (United Nations, 2022). This component of the US vision involves how businesses and other entities can take initiatives that promote inclusive job opportunities. By positioning themselves to create employment opportunities and provide a level-playing field (United Nations, 2022). A thorough understanding of the nature of sports management reveals that it can use its ability to partner with a range of influential stakeholders to contribute to this goal on multiple fronts, including infrastructure development, employment opportunities, and talent hunt in unprivileged areas.
Partnering with Local Government for Infrastructure
One of the most direct and dominant sources of economic growth in a region to be considered by sports management is infrastructure development. The management can create potential employment opportunities by introducing the construction projects, such as constructing a racecourse or stadium (Lindsey & Chapman, 2017). Aside from this direct benefit, the management can also consider the prospect of entering into a partnership with local or municipal bodies to multiply its potential.
For example, when a stadium is built for an international sport, such as football, it creates potential opportunities for further development in the city. It is vital for the city to have basic infrastructure, such as a network of roads, to provide an easy and hassle-free commute to the stadium. The sport management can draw the government's attention to this aspect if the standard infrastructure is not already in place. The construction resulting from these efforts will create employment opportunities and give the city a new facelift, which is also crucial from the investors' perspective.
Furthermore, sports management can draw the government's attention to incentivize the construction of touristic destinations in the city. The incentives can be provided in any form, such as tax concessions or subsidies. The demand for such facilities is rooted in the fact that mega sports events are likely to draw foreign tourists to the city (Sant et al., 2019). The city can capitalize on this inflow of tourists by providing places of tourist importance that simultaneously generate employment and potential business opportunities.
Inclusive Recruitment Policy
An essential aspect of the chosen sustainable development goal is inclusive employment opportunities. It implies that the management should seek ways to avoid discrimination while serving the targeted communities (United Nations, 2022). For this purpose, an inclusive recruitment policy is essential. Such a type of policy will require the sports management to make sure that from preparing the job description to the selection, the management avoids bias or prejudice. Adopting this approach is challenging, especially in the communities under the severe influence of racism. When facing cultural barriers, the management should embed a vision that gives precedence to justice and equality over conventional norms in its system.
The management needs sport from the organizational culture. Therefore, the change needs to flow from top to bottom. The leaders within the sports organization should set a vision around equality, which should also reflect in the organization's core values. Furthermore, the management should work to make these values reflected in the routine practices. Disseminating an equity-oriented vision at all levels will provide the momentum needed to incorporate equality in HRM processes, including recruitment and selection.
Another option for the management, especially in the regions where barriers rooted in racism or segregation at any level disadvantage specific communities, is to introduce a quota for such unprivileged communities in the recruitment plan (Wolsey et al., 2011). This quota is specifically for the community groups whose members are structurally restricted from participating in labor practices. The quota will ensure a decent mix of culture, gender, or ethnicity in the workforce, indicative of inclusive employment and growth opportunities.
Creating a Comprehensive CSR Plan
Aside from the positive externalities of the main activities, sports organizations also have the prospect of integrating a CSR plan into their operational model. The CSR should be aligned to the social needs that, once fulfilled, may yield significant economic outcomes. An essential part of the CSR plan is to introduce specific projects in underprivileged areas (Plumley & Wilson, 2018). Sponsoring or introducing such initiatives will create employment opportunities for the residents of targeted areas.
For example, the sports organization may consider building educational institutes in disadvantaged areas. The organization can hold charity sports events to raise funds for these activities. Similarly, the organization can branch out into a trust devoted to these programs. The immediate impact of the construction of schools will be the employment opportunities for the labor required for the construction. Secondly, the staff required to run these schools, including teachers, peons, and others, will be another potential contribution to the region's prosperity. Thirdly, after getting qualified from those institutions, the students will be exposed to greater opportunities to secure respectable means of income. In this way, spending for a decent cause will instigate a perpetual virtuous cycle.
While these initiatives are beneficial at the social and economic level, the management may feel concerned about the trade-offs between spending for this purpose and profitability (Walzel et al., 2018). As an organization takes the funds aside from the public cause, it reflects in the margins. Even though the management can engage in fund-raising activities, it will have to allocate a certain amount from its revenue (Peachey et al., 2019). Even though the trade-off is inescapable, the organization can secure intangible reputational gains. These gains can further be translated into intangible benefits as they strengthen the marketing campaigns by creating emotional appeals and maximizing the target audience's interest (Walzel et al., 2018). From a marketing and reputation point of view, these advantages considerably offset how the margins are compromised.
Partnering with Economic Policymakers to Solicit Wage Subsidy
When a sports organization organizes in a region, it creates vacant positions within its multiple functional departments. However, the ability of the organization to compensate the workforce decently depends on its financial structure and revenue. If the organization is within its early growth phases or faced with financial constraints, it may have to cut the corner on employee benefits.
However, an organization can solicit subsidy by creating the case based on the social benefit of this consideration. The management should draw the government's attention to the potential benefit of the physical or sports activity that the organization aims to promote at a greater level. A strong case will prompt the government to collaborate and grant the wage subsidy equal to the gap that the organization cannot bridge due to its limited financial capacity (Hoye et al., 2018). This initiative will position the organization to generate a positive externality with overarching social and economic implications.
The direct economic impact of wage subsidy is realized by employees receiving such subsidy. Besides, such intervention enables a sports organization to set aside the funds to spend on core activities to perpetuate growth and expansion. In this way, the organization's economic impact scope is likely to grow with time (Papps, 2020). These benefits are centrally linked to the essence of the SGD under consideration.
Conducting Talent Hunt Camps in Underrepresented Regions
Another potential economic dimension of sports activities is the career opportunities for talented sportsmen and athletes in their coverage area. The management can engage in the talent hunt activities to find the talented prospects to join the organization's talent pool (Baker et al., 2019). For example, a football federation may conduct camps in remote and unprivileged areas to find talented pools of candidates.
In remote and underrepresented areas, talented individuals usually live with little to no hope of gaining wider exposure due to structural barriers and poor socioeconomic status. However, if sports organizations take the responsibility to explore talent in these areas, it will directly serve the hidden talent in those regions and create inspiration for others to join the competition. In this way, unprivileged regions may become fertile in talent (Baker et al., 2019). An example is Usain Bolt, the fastest man on earth, who belonged to a low-income family (Bolt, 2012). Similarly, Cristiano Ronaldo hailed from a resource-starved family whose mother had to juggle multiple jobs to meet both ends meet (Balague, 2019). These great sportsmen owe a great deal to the organizations that served as the platform to showcase their talent.
However, the management may face challenges while conducting camps in remote area...