Steroids in Sports

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Organizational culture can spearhead the creation of ethical policies in any organization as long as the top echelons of the said organization espouses higher standards of management and moral leadership skills. The same organization may as well find itself immersed in an unethical ocean of deceit and debauchery if those endowed with authority practice concepts that cause fragmentation, divide, and schisms. Organizations require optimism, courage, and fairness (Cooper, 2006) in all endeavors of strategic decision-making. A leader in an organization may find himself being controlled by culture instead of him or her controlling culture. There are various dimensions of culture, and because organizations have different cultures, no culture is better than another culture. To better understand culture and how best to transform it, strategic leaders will need to understand the dynamics of culture and comprehend what is to be discarded and what will need transformation in their spheres of influence.

Wide scale use of Steroids (synthetic drugs that mimic male testosterone) have become so common in American sports such that it is gaining momentum among many sportsmen who wish to boost their body metabolism and strengthen their hobby and sport integrity. As such, the rising use of steroids among sportsmen has resulted in increased consultations among sports leaders seeking social change for the afflicted sports industry. Identifying most important critical problems and finding remedies and viable solutions for those affected by steroid use has been some of the major challenges of the overall organizational culture of the sports industry that is known to advocate sobriety in all major sports leagues and challenges. With a zero tolerance policy for the use of performance enhancers among sportsmen, the sports industry has embarked on strategies that are meant to overcome such dismal conditions. The extensive use of steroids among America’s sports celebrities especially in baseball was documented by Dr. Sanjay Gupta in a past television series that attracted millions of viewers worldwide. Among sports celebrities to have appeared before congressional hearings include Pitcher Roger Clemens and former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who has been quoted as saying, “I want baseball to be clean” (CBS, 2009). The forces that made players to be attracted to the use of anabolic steroids include insatiability, acquisitiveness, and self-interest related to winning a game or accumulating fame and wealth.

The prohibition of steroids use by top management necessitated the strengthening of the laws and regulations of an organization that was in drastic decline. If everyone in the organization could be held accountable or responsible for his or her conduct, we could have seen a rise in individual attributes, organizational structure, organizational culture, and societal expectations (Cooper, p.188). By identifying the ethical problem that is tarnishing the image of the industry, leaders will be able to describe the situation and define the ethical issue. Thereafter, leaders should be able to identify several alternatives that project probable consequences. Finally, they will have to select an alternative before coming to a state of resolution (Cooper, p. 30).

References
Cooper, Terry L. (2006), The Responsible Administrator: An Approach to Ethics for the Administrative Role, John Wiley & Sons, San Francisco, CA.

The Truth about Steroids in Sports, Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/03/sunday/main3783478.shtml