Carlson, Chad R

English

Eastern Illinois University

Eastern Illinois UniversityThe KeepFaculty Research and Creative Activity Kinesiology & Sports StudiesJanuary 2011Joy T. DeSensi and Danny Rosenberg, Ethics andMorality in Sport Management, 3rd EditionChad R. CarlsonEastern Illinois University, ccarlson@eiu.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://thekeep.eiu.edu/kss_facPart of the Kinesiology CommonsThis is brought to you for free and open access by the Kinesiology & Sports Studies at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Researchand Creative Activity by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact tabruns@eiu.edu.Recommended CitationCarlson, Chad R., "Joy T. DeSensi and Danny Rosenberg, Ethics and Morality in Sport Management, 3rd Edition" (2011). FacultyResearch and Creative Activity. 8.http://thekeep.eiu.edu/kss_fac/8Joy	  T.	  DeSensi	  and	  Danny	  Rosenberg,	  Ethics	  and	  Morality	  in	  Sport	  Management,	  3rd	  Edition,	  Sport	  Management	  Library,	  Fitness	  Information	  Technology,	  Inc.,	  2010.	  ISBN:	  978-­‐1-­‐935412-­‐13-­‐7	  (paperback).	  $62.00.	  	  Many	  books	  on	  sport	  ethics	  are	  topically-­‐oriented,	  going	  into	  depth	  on	  popular	  dilemmas	  such	  as	  doping,	  discrimination,	  commercialization,	  and	  corruption.	  Yet	  Ethics	  and	  Morality	  in	  Sport	  Management	  by	  Joy	  T.	  DeSensi	  and	  Danny	  Rosenberg	  goes	  in	  a	  different	  direction.	  Their	  textbook	  progresses	  from	  principles	  of	  ethical	  theory	  to	  an	  exploration	  of	  how	  the	  application	  of	  theory	  might	  affect	  real-­‐world	  behavior.	  	  It	  offers	  a	  rich	  summary	  of	  ethical	  theories	  and	  an	  up-­‐to-­‐date	  catalog	  of	  issues	  in	  sport	  management,	  but	  it	  may	  be	  of	  limited	  interest	  to	  sport	  philosophy	  students	  and	  scholars.	  The	  authors	  clearly	  intend	  a	  specific	  audience	  of	  sport	  management	  students.	  These	  future	  sport	  managers	  need	  a	  foundation	  of	  ethical	  theory	  that	  will	  inform	  their	  decisions	  on	  issues	  anywhere	  from	  personnel	  dilemmas	  to	  gender	  equity.	  This	  book	  gives	  students	  that	  foundation	  by	  looking	  at	  many	  sport	  management	  issues.	  	  	  	  DeSensi	  and	  Rosenberg	  have	  enhanced	  Ethics	  and	  Morality	  in	  Sport	  Management	  in	  its	  third	  edition	  to	  try	  and	  keep	  up	  with	  the	  growing	  field	  of	  sport	  management.	  The	  layout	  and	  content	  of	  each	  edition	  remains	  largely	  the	  same:	  part	  one	  deals	  with	  ethical	  theories	  and	  moral	  discourse,	  part	  two	  illuminates	  the	  nature	  of	  personal	  and	  professional	  ethics,	  and	  part	  three	  examines	  behaviors	  in	  practical	  sport	  management	  settings.	  In	  the	  latest	  edition	  the	  authors	  have	  updated	  examples,	  scenarios,	  and	  references	  in	  these	  three	  sections	  that	  better	  speak	  to	  the	  growing	  complexity	  of	  the	  sport	  management	  industry	  around	  the	  world.	  The	  third	  edition	  is	  further	  updated	  with	  a	  fourth	  section	  that	  includes	  two	  new	  chapters	  addressing	  recent	  sport	  management	  issues	  and	  a	  “rewritten”	  final	  chapter	  on	  how	  recent	  trends	  in	  sport	  might	  affect	  the	  future	  of	  sport	  management	  (p.	  x).	  The	  authors	  have	  created	  a	  pedagogically	  sound	  textbook	  to	  help	  future	  sport	  managers	  engage	  in	  ethical	  thinking.	  Thus,	  each	  chapter	  begins	  with	  objectives	  and	  ends	  with	  a	  list	  of	  discussion	  questions.	  Many	  charts	  and	  graphs	  populate	  the	  pages	  in	  ways	  that	  are	  helpful	  because	  they	  show	  relationships	  between	  ideas	  or	  patterns	  of	  thinking.	  Certain	  design	  features,	  however,	  do	  little	  to	  support	  the	  book’s	  purpose.	  	  The	  block	  quotes	  used	  periodically	  throughout	  the	  text	  are	  insignificant	  because	  they	  simply	  repeat	  the	  written	  content.	  And	  keyword	  lists	  inserted	  among	  the	  content	  are	  distracting	  because	  they	  summarize	  the	  fluid	  material	  into	  choppy	  and	  often	  unconnected	  terms.	  The	  content	  remains	  clear	  throughout	  the	  text,	  even	  though	  it	  strays	  from	  ethical	  discourse	  at	  times.	  Part	  One	  of	  DeSensi	  and	  Rosenberg’s	  text	  begins	  with	  a	  robust	  presentation	  of	  the	  role	  of	  sport	  in	  the	  world	  and	  the	  value	  of	  studying	  ethical	  and	  moral	  issues.	  This	  interesting	  exposé	  provides	  momentum	  for	  readers	  heading	  into	  the	  density	  of	  teleology,	  deontology,	  virtue	  ethics,	  rights,	  and	  justice	  that	  follows.	  The	  authors	  appropriately	  incorporate	  the	  ideas	  of	  thinkers	  who	  are	  important	  and	  interesting	  to	  ethicists	  such	  as	  Bentham,	  Kant,	  Aristotle,	  Rawls,	  and	  Marx	  in	  ways	  that	  future	  sport	  managers	  with	  no	  philosophical	  background	  can	  understand.	  As	  such,	  DeSensi	  and	  Rosenberg	  succeed	  at	  chopping	  this	  rich	  philosophical	  theory	  and	  discourse	  into	  vignettes	  of	  palatable	  portions	  for	  undergraduate	  students.	  Those	  trained	  in	  ethical	  theory	  may	  find	  these	  sections	  to	  be	  refreshing	  reviews	  of	  the	  theoretical	  landscape.	  Yet	  the	  authors	  may	  cover	  too	  much	  ground	  at	  times,	  as	  it	  may	  be	  superfluous	  to	  explain	  language	  misuse	  in	  the	  form	  of	  amphibolies	  and	  the	  difference	  between	  ostensive	  and	  theoretical	  definitions	  in	  an	  ethics	  textbook	  for	  sport	  management	  students.	  These	  specific	  discussions	  may	  be	  interesting	  to	  motivated	  students	  and	  scholars,	  but	  they	  may	  also	  turn	  off	  less	  intrinsically	  engaged	  students.	  Meanwhile,	  examples	  of	  relevance	  to	  sport	  only	  sparsely	  populate	  these	  chapters	  on	  the	  core	  tenets	  of	  ethical	  theories.	  	  	  Part	  Two	  includes	  discussions	  of	  personal	  and	  professional	  ethics.	  The	  authors	  briefly	  describe	  rights	  and	  responsibilities	  from	  the	  viewpoint	  of	  selected	  sport	  management	  individuals	  and	  organizations.	  Subsections	  on	  athletic	  directors,	  athletes,	  and	  coaches,	  along	  with	  those	  on	  intercollegiate	  athletic	  programs	  and	  professional	  sports	  organizations,	  indicate	  pertinent	  issues	  regarding	  the	  ethical	  and	  moral	  content	  of	  behavior.	  This	  section	  ends	  with	  an	  uninspiring	  discussion	  of	  the	  purpose	  and	  need	  for	  corporate	  codes	  of	  ethics	  along	  with	  a	  listing	  of	  current	  ethical	  codes	  from	  various	  sport-­‐related	  groups.	  A	  reader	  may	  long	  for	  an	  explicit	  connection	  to	  Part	  One	  here	  in	  the	  form	  of	  the	  identification	  of	  ethical	  theories	  played	  out	  in	  personal	  and	  professional	  behavior.	  Unfortunately,	  this	  lack	  of	  continuity	  characterizes	  the	  remaining	  sections,	  too.	  	  In	  Part	  Three,	  DeSensi	  and	  Rosenberg	  apply	  ethical	  theory	  to	  practical	  sport	  management	  contexts.	  The	  crown	  jewel	  of	  this	  section	  is	  a	  chapter	  on	  ethical	  decision	  making	  in	  which	  the	  authors	  describe	  a	  variety	  of	  models	  that	  display	  the	  complexity	  of	  our	  behavior	  when	  faced	  with	  ethical	  dilemmas.	  No	  other	  chapter	  in	  this	  book	  more	  explicitly	  weaves	  the	  central	  content	  of	  the	  book	  with	  practical	  application	  to	  future	  sport	  managers.	  The	  other	  chapters	  in	  this	  section	  describe	  ethical	  decision	  making	  in	  the	  context	  of	  particular	  sport	  management	  roles	  such	  as	  marketing,	  human	  resources,	  and	  law.	  These	  peripheral	  chapters	  are	  a	  bit	  philosophically	  thin	  and	  seem	  better	  suited	  for	  an	  introduction	  to	  sport	  management	  text	  than	  an	  ethics	  textbook.	  Nevertheless,	  each	  chapter	  in	  this	  section	  concludes	  with	  a	  handful	  of	  thought-­‐provoking	  ethical	  scenarios	  for	  the	  readers	  to	  ponder.	  The	  authors	  choose	  one	  scenario	  to	  analyze	  at	  the	  conclusion	  of	  each	  chapter	  and	  they	  do	  so	  by	  presenting	  the	  best	  course	  of	  action	  and	  explaining	  why	  it	  is	  good.	  Unfortunately	  this	  analysis	  often	  omits	  discussion	  of	  how	  they	  sifted	  through	  the	  forest	  of	  ethical	  theories	  to	  determine	  the	  best	  course	  of	  action.	  DeSensi	  and	  Rosenberg	  add	  two	  new	  chapters	  to	  Part	  Four	  in	  the	  latest	  edition	  of	  this	  textbook.	  The	  first	  deals	  with	  ecological	  ethics	  and	  sport.	  Sport	  managers	  must	  acknowledge	  the	  increasingly	  loud	  calls	  for	  “green”	  initiatives,	  or	  environmental	  reforms.	  The	  authors	  describe	  existing	  ecological	  ethical	  theory	  and	  then	  describe	  the	  “green”	  initiatives	  of	  some	  major	  sporting	  organizations.	  The	  second	  new	  chapter	  addresses	  the	  challenges	  of	  globalization.	  Brief	  historical	  accounts,	  social	  theories	  of	  globalization,	  and	  current	  practices	  comprise	  this	  chapter.	  Following	  these	  two	  additions	  is	  a	  concluding	  exposé	  on	  the	  future	  of	  sport	  and	  sport	  management.	  The	  ideas	  in	  this	  final	  chapter	  spring	  forth	  from	  a	  host	  of	  academic	  scholarship	  lamenting	  the	  corrupt	  present	  state	  of	  sport	  and	  reads	  more	  like	  a	  description	  of	  what	  is	  happening	  in	  sport	  rather	  than	  predictions	  about	  the	  future.	  While	  this	  chapter	  gives	  little	  advice	  about	  how	  to	  deal	  with	  ecological	  ethics,	  globalization,	  or	  many	  other	  dilemmas	  that	  sport	  managers	  are	  certain	  to	  face,	  it	  presents	  possible	  changes	  in	  the	  world	  of	  sport	  for	  which	  sport	  managers	  should	  be	  prepared.	  In	  a	  sense,	  DeSensi	  and	  Rosenberg	  have	  hit	  their	  mark	  by	  writing	  a	  sport	  management	  ethics	  textbook	  that	  will	  challenge	  students	  to	  learn	  ethical	  theory	  that	  can	  inform	  the	  decision	  making	  of	  sport	  management	  professionals.	  This	  book	  will	  give	  students	  a	  large	  number	  of	  tools	  they	  will	  need	  to	  make	  healthy	  ethical	  decisions	  in	  sport	  management	  settings.	  Yet	  they	  could	  have	  spent	  more	  time	  translating	  ethical	  theory	  into	  the	  decision	  making	  processes	  with	  which	  sport	  managers	  will	  be	  faced	  in	  their	  careers.	  Despite	  the	  disconnection	  between	  theory	  and	  application	  that	  plagues	  the	  otherwise	  informative	  ethical	  and	  sport	  management	  content	  of	  this	  book,	  the	  book	  may	  be	  worthwhile	  for	  its	  rich	  review	  of	  ethical	  theories	  alone.	  Indeed,	  it	  provides	  an	  accessible	  shorthand	  guide	  to	  the	  major	  ethical	  theories	  and	  thinkers	  on	  whom	  most	  sport	  ethicists	  have	  based	  much	  of	  their	  scholarship.	  However,	  the	  philosophical	  richness	  tapers	  off	  after	  Part	  One.	  The	  last	  two	  sections,	  while	  certainly	  including	  philosophical	  content,	  seem	  to	  contain	  more	  descriptions	  of	  sport	  management	  practices	  and	  research	  without	  as	  much	  deep	  philosophical	  analysis.	  	  Chad	  Carlson	  Assistant	  Professor	  of	  Kinesiology	  Pennsylvania	  State	  University,	  Altoona	  

Joy T. DeSensi and Danny Rosenberg, Ethics and Morality in Sport Management, 3rd Edition

The Keep

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&amp;context=kss_fac

Joy T. DeSensi and Danny Rosenberg, Ethics and Morality in Sport Management, 3rd Edition

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Eastern Illinois University

The Keep