National Football League refers to professional football league based in the U.S. And forms the major professional football sport leagues in the U.S. The league comprises of the 32 teams that are divided equally between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference. Formed in the 1920, the league has expanded to become one of the largest and most renowned football leagues across the world. The organization rewards its champions using three trophies and rewards that include the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup (1920), Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy (1934-1969), and Vince Lombardi Trophy that is currently used. Organizational success is attributed to the excellent leadership structure that aims at ensuring the adoption of activities that contribute to the realization of the desired organizational objectives (Layden, 2006).

Structure of the essay

This research paper analyzes various issues related to the National Football League. In specific, it describes the nature, structure, products, and services provided by the organization alongside its salient stakeholders basing on its roles and relationships with the company. The paper also explains the various ways in which the stakeholders influence the performance of the organization, controversial social responsibility concerns of the organization alongside a plan of a coalition force for addressing organizational controversial issue. In addition, it describes the potential challenges I might face as a leader trying to face while encouraging stakeholders to form a coalition for solving the identified issue.

Nature, structure, products, services, and external factors that influence the performance of the National Football League (NFL)

The National Football League is an American football league that operates as a football league in both the United States and international arenas. The National Football Team comprises of 32 teams that have structures that vary from one team to another. The evidence that the general managers, head coaches, and the owners operate the teams attest the significant variation witnessed across the components of the National Football League. Organizational analysis shows that it contains three officers (defined) that include its commissioner, the secretary, and the treasurer of the organization. A president heads each of the organizational conference. The commissioner plays the responsibility of appointing the treasurer and secretary who handles organizational issues such as disputes between employees, coaches, players, and clubs. In addition, the NFL has seasons comprising of a pre-season (4 weeks), regular season (17 weeks), and single-elimination playoff (Hancock, 2005).

Significant analysis of the company shows it focuses on giving news, participating teams, videos, scores, players, standings, and statistics of the games played during a particular season. In addition, the organization focuses on providing other online services and products such as the game rewind, game pass, field pass, tools, and widgets. Other products provided by the National Football League include sportswear such as new era hats, clothing, football merchandise, T-shirts, and football jerseys among other organizational products. A number of external factors influence the performance of the National Football League organization. Among them are external competition and economic instability that is likely to affect its performance both locally and internationally.

The National Football league faces significant competition from other leagues such as the MLS, NBA, and MLB. The competition is likely to affect the performance of the organization by lowering its visibility in a competitive marketplace. The competitors also provide similar products and services as the National Football League at a reduced price, thereby, reducing the organizational sales volume. The above effects, reduce the consumers utilizing the products provided by the organization, hence, affecting its performance. Similarly, the economic instability present in the U.S. And the global markets acts as a significant external factor that influences the performance of the NFL. The instability of the U.S. Dollar against the foreign currency alongside the effects of the recently witnessed financial crisis affects the performance abilities of the organization (Layden, 2006).

Salient stakeholders of the National Football League (NFL)

Salient stakeholders of the National Football League (NFL) are varied. Among them are football fans, owners of the clubs, and the fantasy football companies in the U.S. And other regions across the world. Football fans play a significant role in influencing the performance of the National Football League. They influence the performance of the organization by utilizing the products and services provided by the organization, thereby, financing the funds required for financing its performance. Significant analysis shows that the football fans in the U.S. And other regions across the world account for approximately 80% of the revenues realized by the organization. Fantasy football companies within the U.S. And other regions across the world also act as salient stakeholders of the National Football League.

Empirical evidence shows that fantasy football earns fantasy football organizations an approximate value of $800 million annually with above 25 million players. As such, the absence of the football season often costs the companies significant costs, thereby, the significant relationship with the National Football League. Similarly, the football leagues such as the National Football League benefits from the fantasy football companies through their marketing of the services and products it provides to its consumers. As identified in the above analysis, some of the constituent leagues of the National Football Leagues are privately owned, implying that the owners of such clubs act as significant salient stakeholders. Therefore, the collaboration of the actions of the above stakeholders influences the performance and the realization of the desired objectives of the National Football League (McDonough, 1994).

Five ways in which primary stakeholders influence the financial performance of the National Football League

The primary stakeholders of the National Football League include the media, owners of the club, the public, bars and restaurants, the government, suppliers, employees, and fans of the football leagues. These primary stakeholders influence the financial performance of the National Football League in many ways. The influence become evident by the stakeholder theory that states that the success of the sports league highly depend on the realization of equity in the provision of opportunities for all the organization stakeholders. The media provide the National Football league with services such as advertising of its events, services offered alongside its products, affecting its performance. Advertising the products and services provided by the company create awareness among the consumers towards the organizational products. As such, consumer awareness increases the ability of the consumers to utilize the products and services offered, thereby, its financial performance. The fans of the National Football League also influence the financial performance of the NFL. The fans utilize the services and products provided by the organization, thereby, organizational performance. Similarly, the public influences the performance of the organization by consuming the products and services provided by the company alongside their reputation, hence, its financial performance (Matthews, 2011).

Similarly, the government also influences the financial performance of the National Football League significantly. The government often sets regulations governing the running of the operations related to those provided by the organization. The government also levies taxes on the activities, services, and products provided by the organization to consumers. In addition, the government plays a role in determining the organizational efforts to expand its activities in the external markets by providing the required regulations on foreign direct investment. Therefore, these regulations from the government affect the organization’s ability to achieve its desired financial abilities. The employees also influence the financial performance of the National Football League significantly. The employees influence the quality of services provided to the consumers alongside researching into issues affecting the organizational performance. Therefore, employees’ decisions to provide the desired services to the consumers affect the financial abilities of the organization (McDonough, 1994).

Controversial corporate social responsibility of the National Football League

Despite the fact that the National Football League is among the global lucrative sports league in the world, it faces significant controversial issues related to its corporate social responsibility. It is beyond doubt that despite the nature of the game, the players have the right to raise concerns related to their workplace and adoption of the required strategies. For instance, the recent past has witnessed significant heated debate on the legality of the homosocial culture where the players have been expected to withstand emotional and physical punishment as a symbol of self-mastery. As such, this raises significant controversial corporate responsibility related to the applicability of the culture as evidenced by significant resistance from the employees (John, 2005).

Plan to form a stakeholder coalition

Prior to building a coalition, various factors should be considered to ensure the success of the process and the realization of the desired strategic objectives. Among the factors that should be considered include the short- and long-term objectives of the desired plan alongside the resources. The resources range from labor to services that ensure professional and personal development of the stakeholders, thereby, adoption of equitable strategies for them. In addition, the success of the process will highly depend on the adoption of the required steps that allow for the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the issues related to the controversial social responsibility area of concern. The initial steps of coalition formation focus on the realization of compatible interests of the members involved in the solving of the controversial issue. Identifying shared interests of the participants facilitate the adoption of common strategies that will ensure the success of the process and minimization of controversies surrounding the stated issue (Hancock, 2005).

Incentives also act as an important step that will allow the realization of the desired goals of the strategy. Incentives ensure success of the process by stimulating the participants to act in support of the reached decision and maintain behaviors that will contribute to the elimination of the controversial issue. Similarly, incentives promote the extinction of the undesired behaviors that inhibit the success of the process. Collaborative decision-making is also an important step during the process. Collaboration allows for the realization of the varied views of the participants on the issue in focus. Finally, the members of the coalition can use strategies such as precedence as a means of achieving the desired social influence. Successful use of precedence ensures the success of the process by making the public understand the benefits of the chosen organizational decision. Collaboration will be achieved using strategies such as the creation of an environment that allows open communication, involving different stakeholders, recognizing the varied views of the stakeholders, and developing organizational culture that allows for collaboration (Matthews, 2011).

Challenges and solutions to coalition formation

Ideally, the formation of the coalition is likely to be affected by significant challenges. Among them are differences in personalities that might affect the realization of the goals of the coalition. Individuals in the coalition have different personalities with some being optimistic while others being pessimistic. The variance often results in the difference in their views on the decisions adopted by the coalition team. Difference in personalities can be eliminated by involving the stakeholders in making organizational decisions and coming up with shared goals that meet their varied interests (John, 2005). Secondly, the coalition might face the setback of resistance from the organizational stakeholders. Resistance to adoption of the desired change results from their lack of awareness of the expected effects of the adoption of the change agent alongside lack of provision of facilitative services.

Resistance to change can be managed by adopting strategies such as involving them, facilitate their change adoption through provision of training opportunities, and providing them with incentives, thereby, the success of the process. Finally, undesired organizational culture can also affect the formation of the coalition. Use of autocratic leadership styles and the creation of the environment that does not recognize free and open communication are some of the facts that attest to the undesired organizational culture. Undesired organizational culture can be managed by introducing democratic leadership and environment that promotes free and open communication between the stakeholders, thereby, the success of the coalition. Democratic leadership also recognizes the need for the inclusion of all the stakeholders in decision-making and execution of organizational activities (Bass, 2007).

References

Bass, T. (2007). National Football League: between the lines reader. New York: Scholastic.

Hancock, J. (2005). Investing in corporate social responsibility: a guide to best practice, business planning & the UK’s leading companies. London: Kogan Page.

John, H. (2005). Corporate Social Responsibility CSR Case Studies.. (2005). Ottawa: Conference Board of Canada.

Layden, J. (2006). 2006 National Football League megastars. New York: Scholastic.

Matthews, M. (2011). Official 2011 National Football League record & fact book. New York: Time Inc. Home Entertainment

McDonough, W. (1994). 75 seasons: the complete story of the National Football League, 1920- 1995. Atlanta, Ga.: Turner Pub