Abstracts Category : Other

Exploring the culture of a sporting organisation

by Alexander Field

Of all the things an organisation can control, the way in which it operates is the most influential factor contributing to its success (Smith, Stewart & Haimes, 2012). The way an organisation operates is considered its culture, yet there is contention about how it is best assessed. Previous research to determine organisational culture has also focused on businesses, and less so on organisations involved in sport that are more often run by volunteers and comprised of members that participate and contribute for reasons other than remuneration. Identifying the culture of a volunteer run sporting organisation furthers the understanding about the unique aspects of volunteer run and sporting organisations. Therefore a sports club run by volunteers was chosen to have its culture assessed. To identify an organisations culture, Schein (2010) proposes an organisations culture possesses three levels: a superficial layer of artefacts of how the organisation is observed to operate; a layer of values the organisations members espouse as what they think is important; and the deeper layer of things members assume are correct because they have shared experiences of their success with other members. The learning that members experience together generates these assumptions, hence focus groups and interviews with club members were performed to uncover how they operate most effectively to solve the problems that limit access to their goals. From an analysis of these discussions, assumptions were identified that define the culture of the whole club. Assumptions of interest include the method and extent that the club and its coaches influence each others operation; the influence of the clubs history on its culture; and the rationale behind members contributions to the club. Additionally, this investigations methodology to assess organisational culture using Scheins framework was shown to be effective, but recommendations to improve on its weaknesses were identified. Opportunities for future research using this investigations methodology, and for study of sporting organisations and their coaches were also identified.