SPM680 Module 4 (Culture) Assignment

Part One

a. Recommended Decision
The recommended strategy for attracting, retaining, and engaging a diverse and
inclusive workplace is “issuing long-term (two or more years) performance-based
competitive payment contracts” to players, coaches, technicians, and support staff.
b. Decision Criteria/Proof of Recommendation
The concept of “performance-based payment” implies that players and other
employees are compensated based on their achievement of the agreed-upon “performance”
goals, targets, or goals. For example, an NFL player can be signed to a contract that gives
them a guaranteed salary of $5 million for two years plus a potential $4 million adds-on per
season based on the individual awards won (such as the league’s most valuable player or
MVP), team contribution (for instance, touchdowns made in the season), team success (like
winning the Superbowl), and matches played throughout the season. For the two years, the
player might collect over a $5 million bonus if they stayed healthy throughout the two
seasons and met specific performance goals set in the contract.
The benefit of giving players and employees “long-term performance-based
contracts” is that it can induce commitment to the team and organization and the desire to
improve individual and group results. Although the impact of long-term performance-based
contracts has not yet been fully explored in the NFL, the model has been well studied and
documented in other sports like soccer. Results show the potential of these contracts to
improve players’ overall commitment, participation, and achievement. For example, a 2011
study by Frick Bernd on German soccer found a direct correlation between contract length,
salaries, and performance. Players signed to long-term contracts were found to have a better
goal record, among other performance metrics. On the flip side, the player performance

3
variance was significantly lower in the final years (one and two) of their contracts (Frick,
2011).
c. Critique of Options
Other options that can help the NFL attract, retain, and engage diverse and inclusive
work is providing work-life balance, introducing mentorship programs, offering appealing
bonuses and health insurance to family members, and continuous development and training.
One setback of implementing these options is that they are expensive to implement and
maintain. For example, offering bonuses and other perks like health insurance to family
members requires a substantial financial investment, potentially affecting an organization’s
revenues and profits.
d. Primary Disadvantage of the Recommendation
In the face of future uncertainties, the one setback of tying players and employees to
long-term performance-based contracts in the NFL is the risk of dissolving profits, especially
if the organization fails to attract more revenues in the future. Sports leagues, including the
NFL, often tread on a tightrope with market failures, sponsor withdrawals, disease outbreaks,
failure to sell matchday tickets, and other market forces likely to reduce the revenues
collected in a particular calendar year. For example, estimates show that NFL teams lost a
combined $4 billion in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with losses attributed to failure
to sell matchday tickets. This translates to slightly above $100 million for the 32 NFL teams
(CBS News, 2021). Signing players to long-term performance-based contracts can mean
teams lose in such uncertain situations.
e. Unintended Consequences
Implementing this recommendation can send shockwaves to the NFL community. In a
country that has always advocated for “guaranteed money” rather than “performance-based
payment,” it is likely that introducing performance-based payment as the standard model

4
might not augur well with some NFL players and their sports agents. This is because NFL is a
dangerous sport that often exposes players to long-term or even career-ending injuries.
Nevertheless, performance-based pay has been part of the NFL since 2002, rewarding low-
salary sportsmen who exceed their expected participation in a season.

Part Two

Roger Goodell’s leadership style was described as transformative as he has been keen
to ensure the NFL transforms from an American hobby-based sports organization to a
properly managed and run professional outfit with an international appeal (Nite & Hagan,
2018). Consequently, such leadership styles will only accommodate two main conflict
management styles in the NFL environment. The first such style is intellectual stimulation,
where the leader creates reasonable freedom for the management teams to troubleshoot and
realize the sources of conflict among themselves and identify the best ways of resolving
them. Intellectual stimulation is a common conflict management approach when
organizations have large employee groups, diversity of ideology and culture in their ranks,
and fixed performance goals across the board. Therefore, the conflicted teams or individuals
would be summoned and requested to explain their grievances using managerial
representatives to avoid time wastage and efficiency.
The second approach to sorting conflict in the NFL employee environment as a
transformative leader is collaboration. Herein, the department manager in which the dispute
occurred must collaborate with the other side’s management team. If such focused arbitration
methods fail, individual employees involved in the conflict scenario could be summoned to
collaborate among themselves alongside management personnel for the conflict to be
resolved amicably. Ideally, the conflict resolution outcomes must be mutually satisfactory
and biased towards the organization’s progress and effective achievement of its mandate.

5
Although conflict avoidance is almost impossible in organizations as large and
diverse as the NFL, the departmental-level management must strive for such high ambitions.
This seemingly high objective of zero-conflict can be realized theoretically through
embracing diversity at all levels, enhancing teamwork and partnership, and using tried and
tested conflict communication methods to avoid escalation. It is common practice in many
sports organizations, such as the NFL, to have centralized yet discrete reporting mechanisms
which aggrieved parties could utilize to avoid escalation and lack of discretion (Nite &
Hagan, 2018). Additionally, proper communication and change management systems could
be employed at all levels of the NFL HRM structure to ensure teams operate efficiently and
effectively while differences are tolerated or managed.
Alternative leadership styles such as authoritarian and participative approaches would
require slight applications of the same theoretical framework. Organizations with
authoritarian leaders may benefit best from avoidance as a conflict management strategy
using proper communication techniques. Conversely, participative leaders are always hands-
on, meaning they would ideally want to be involved in the conflict resolution process and its
management. Such leaders would like to adopt collaborative methods and even accommodate
such conflict in the unlikely event it cannot be managed or avoided. However, if the NFL
chooses to handle conflict, the main focus points must be the overriding mandate to its
stakeholder communities, both internally and externally. Therefore, a timely management
process for such conflict is desirable.

6

References

CBS. (2021, Jan 29). NFL teams lost almost $ 4 billion in revenue due to the coronavirus
pandemic. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nfl-pandemic-billion-revenue-loss/
Frick, B. (2011). Performance, salaries, and contract length: Empirical evidence from
German soccer. International Journal of Sport Finance, 6(2), 87-118.
Lord, R. G., Devlin, S. H., Caldwell, C. O., & Kass, D. (2016). Leadership in the National
Football League: Do leaders make a difference? Monographs in Leadership and
Management, 29-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/s1479-357120160000008002
Nite, C., & Hagan, B. (2018). Institutional leadership that disrupts: A case of the National
Football League. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 10(4), 1-
11. https://doi.org/10.18666/jasm-2018-v10-i4-8922