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Professional Sports: Rewarding And Punishing the Same Behavior?

Prepared By Rainbow

Group No: 12

Professional Sports: Rewarding And Punishing the Same Behavior?

Case Summary

In this fast era, almost in many sports most of players use performance enhancing drugs (i.e. steroid) to increase their energy level and fitness.

It is an unethical practice. Currently, there is a punishment system for using performance enhancing drugs that is a 10-day

suspension for first time offenders or fine $10000. But this punishment is a relatively minor setback. Rafael Palmeiro is an example. Palmeiro received a 10-day suspension and forfeited $167,000 of his $3 million salary, and a banner

celebrating his 3,000th hit was removed from Camden yards. Professional sports may be trying to have their cake and eat it too. Behavior that may lead an individual or a team to fame and fortune may also be behavior that demands

punishment.

Cont’dGeneral People and Congress were not satisfied with the

present punishment policy. To avoid the use of performance enhancing drugs( i.e. steroid )that is undesirable behavior, strict punishment is much more effective than reward. So, to refrain them from taking the steroids, Bud Selig, the commissioner of baseball, has announced “three strikes and you are out” policy. This policy includes:

a) A 50-game suspension for a first time offenders; b) A 100- game suspension for a second time; c) And a permanent ban for a third time.Same behavior can’t deserve both punishment and

reward. As taking performance enhancing drugs is an unethical practice, sopunishment is much more effective.

Case Related Topics

It is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding.

The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate.

A run is scored when a player advances around the base and returns to home plate.

Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team.

A game comprises nine innings.The team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game

wins.

Baseball

Countries where Baseball are Mostly PlayedBaseball is a popular game all over the world.

There are very few countries that don’t play baseball. Nowadays in many countries of six continents like to play baseball.

In Africa, South Africa is notable for playing baseball.

In Asia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are very famous for playing baseball.

Italy, Germany, Netherlands and UK are greatly participating in the international competition from Europe.

Canada, Cuba and Panama are also good at playing baseball for their outstanding athletes.

From the Oceania continent, Australia and New Zealand are joining too.

Brazil, Columbia and USA have the greatest teams in the world.

Why Do Athletes Take Performance Enhancing Drugs?

• Increase strength and endurance.• Aid injury recovery.• Alter intensity and aggression.• Combat exhaustion and fatigue.• Reduce weight.• Relieve aches and pains.• Increase muscle mass.• Sharpen focus and concentration.

Steroid

Steriod is one of the most used performance enhancing drugs to increase energy level and control fatigue.

A steroid is an organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific configuration.

Examples include the dietary lipid cholesterol, the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone. 

History of Steroids in Sports

Current use of Steroids

The Future of Steroids

Today performance enhancers are currently being used by athletes to become bigger, leaner, faster and to increase stamina. These performance enhancers enable athletes to compete more competitively in the games they love and to earn more money than ever before. Personal pressure to achieve record breaking success fuels competitiveness

Steroid use dates back to the early Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. These performance enhancers were not known as steroids then. But athletes did not play for prestige or love of the game, these athletes played for money. Athletes did not even compete for pride or for family. Money was the driving force behind a man desire to compete

Performance enhancing drugs will never go away. When the ban on anabolic steroids went in place for Olympic athletes, new drugs were found that could not be tested.

Short term benefit of using steroids

A relatively quick enhancement of muscle strength and size

Take steroids and don’t lift weights. Allow an athlete to train harder and have a

quicker recovery. An athlete trains on Monday, then he comes back

Tuesday and can have just as good a workout through the end of the week.

The workouts for most individuals get less intense as the week goes on because they haven’t recovered completely from their earlier workouts. 

Harmful Effects of Steroid Use Prolonged use of steroids can cause physical and

psychological side effects. Such as:Brain CancerDepressionViolent BehaviorYellowing of Eyes and SkinBad BreathSevere AcneHigh Blood PressureStrokeLiver TumorsLiver Cancer

Questions of the Case and Their Answers

Question :1What type of reinforcement schedule does random drug testing represent? Is this type of schedule typically effective or ineffective?

Answer:

Random drug testing represents an intermittent schedule, since not every instance of drug used is detected or punished.

This type of schedule is typically ineffective because it is a minor type of punishment which doesn’t resist the players to avoid from using steroids.

If all the players are randomly tested then the effectiveness of the drug testing is increased.

But if only random players are tested, then the drug testing schedule would not apply to all of the players, thus rendering it 100% ineffective towards the players not tested.

Question :2What are some examples of behaviors in typical organization that supervisors reward but that may actually be detrimental to others or to the organization as a whole? As a manager, what might you do to try to avoid this quandary?

Answer: An example of a behavior in a typical organization that supervisors reward but

may actually be detrimental to others or to the organization as a whole is athletes taking steroids.

When athletes take steroids to enhance their performance abilities, they are misleading their managers and their fans.

Initially, it may be rewarding because everyone involved gains from the profitability, sports merchandise, increased popularity and success.

But in the end, when it is discovered that the athlete achieved recognition with the aid of steroids he destroys his reputation and also his team’s and country’s reputation and the loyalty the fans had for him.

If I was made aware of someone using steroids, I would do a random drug testing as soon as possible instead of having the whole team suffer for that one insubordinate athlete

Question :3If you were the commissioner of baseball, what steps would you take to try to reduce the use of steroids in baseball? Is punishment likely to be the most effective deterrent? Why or why not?

Answer:

If I were the commissioner of baseball, then I also put a punishment policy like “three strikes and you are out”.

Because it is very effective and it has a lesson for others. Every player knows that if he use steroid, obviously he will be punished and if he

repeat it for third time he will be out. You can’t reward players that take steroids. Steroids are an illegal drug That is why it could be a positive point for players to avoid from steroids.

Question :4Is it ever “okay” to allow potentially unethical behaviors, which on the surface may benefit organizations, or persist? Why or why not?

Answer:

No, it is never okay to allow potentially unethically behaviors, which on the surface may benefit organization.

Because it is risky practice and it can be harm for an organization. A real example of Microsoft Company is in front of us in 1998. Microsoft use some unethical practices to precede its business in market but

other companies like Apple, Intel etc put a case on Microsoft. Microsoft face many problems, that’s why we should not use unethical practices

whether it is beneficial or harmful for organization.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, we are quite clear that there are very few short term benefits of using steroid. It has many side effects and great reaction that causes many fatal diseases of the user like high blood pressure, heart disease, liver damage, cancer, kidney damage.

The use of drugs by one athlete may coerce or force another athlete to use, simply to maintain equality; therefore heightening the competition.

So, to avoid the use of steroid by players, the concerned authorities have to make rules and regulations and should apply them properly because we know that any undesirable behavior can be avoid through negative reinforcement i.e. punishment not through reward.