SWOT Analysis of Major League Baseball: Research Paper

Internal/Strengths

MLB has received 82 points on the issue of racial hiring practices, which earned the organization a B grade. It received an A or A+ for the race in the categories of coaches, players and diversity initiatives (Lapchick, 2017, p. 10). This means that the team has maintained an open mind when working with talented individuals, irrespective of their skin color. This has encouraged many people to identify with the team as fans. This means that the organization has thoroughly encouraged black players' participation. In cases of exemplary performances, the club has publicized and awarded the African American athletes, motivating them frequently and raising their spirits and hope in the sport (Glier, 2014, para. 25). This has helped send a message to the sports fraternity on the safe environment for all players, irrespective of their skin color. In addition, it has helped maintain the customer base and helping talented people display their skills while playing for the team. The management also encourages the team members to relate with each other in a professional and personal manner, which will help reduce the cases of misunderstandings that affects the rating of the entire sports industry.

The MLB has a policy related to inappropriate actions for a play on the playground. That is, if a player "incites, or try to incite, by word or sign a demonstration by spectators" or "use language which will in any manner refer to or reflect upon opposing players, an umpire, or any spectator"; the organization will take actions to remove the player from the game, and the player shall leave the playing field, and, if a balk is made, it shall be nullified (Official, 2017, p. 82). This concept was introduced in the constitution guiding the players with an aim of protecting the welfare and interests of every individual. Every player has a responsibility of being disciplined while on the field by minding about their actions. Therefore, if anyone is found with indiscipline cases, they must be answerable and receive a punishment, the management deems appropriate, with an aim of ensuring that the interests of the entire team.

Weaknesses

Some of the weaknesses at MLB include the absence of people of color in MLB who have served in the position of a CEO or team president in 2016 and 2017 (Lapchick, 2017 p.11). MLB received a grade of F in its manager's team in 2017 for having only three people of colors out of a 30 in total numbers of its managers, and one person of color out of a 40 in total numbers of its majority owners (Lapchick, 2017 p. 22-23). This means that the management team has not fully embraced the skills and expertise of Black people and believe in success and ability of Whites to lead and manage the operations of the organization. On the other hand, the management of the organization will not be affected by the decision made towards people of color. This justifies its inconsistency in undertaking disciplinary actions against its policies (Official, 2017, p. 82). Their lack of commitment towards making fast decisions when one of the team players behaves in an unethical manner shows their disinterest in ensuring that the interests of every individual are respected.

The management of the organization has not taken the issue of racism with the seriousness it deserves. By taking racism cases lightly, MLB is affiliated with racism and risks losing its popularity among Asian American players, as well as their fans (Shankar, 2017, para. 6-12). Most players will have no confidence playing in the team since they do not have an assurance that any case in the future might get handled by the management in a professional manner. Although there is a policy that deals with player behavior, the police do not explicitly cite the behavior of discriminatory action (Official, 2017, p. 82). They are willing to hide the issue from the public eye with selfish reasons. This means that the issue does not receive enough public attention from the relevant authorities. MLB has had incidents of players behaving in a discriminatory manner in the past and suspended the specific individual immediately. MLB had not been consistent in the disciplinary actions (Zeigler, 2017). This means that it shows its preference in matters of discipline.

External/Opportunities

Some of the external opportunities that MLB has include factorizing on baseball being a popular game in America's sports industry. Therefore, the club has a chance to keep its fans and redeem their name from racism cases. This will happen if it changes its approach of dealing with all discipline cases equally. Therefore, potential players have an opportunity to pursue baseball professionally in colleges and other learning institutions making the club very relevant (Glier, 2017, para.20-25). This will make the club gain a large following as every college will have a good number of followers. Baseball unites people of different races which helps send a message to the public at large on the need to accommodate and accept each other despite the notable differences that exist among us. The team gives people with an opportunity to display their skills and talent. This means that in the future, players in the team can consider playing baseball as a long-term profession. It also encourages parents with children who have the talent to consider investing and capitalizing on skills their kids possess.

Threats

On the other hand, some of the threats that faces MLB include the fear of stakeholders to ignore the four reasons the commissioner of MLB gave as a satisfactory explanation to justify the disciplinary actions of delaying the suspension of Gurriel (McGough, 2017, para. 3-4). In addition, the competitors might use the remarks made by the management of the disciplinary actions taken against the player to attract the best individuals from MLB (Glier, 2017). Other baseball teams that compete for the attention of the best players may poach some of the team members from MLM and have them play in their league. For instance, colored players may consider defecting to other teams where they feel they will be accommodated despite their race. In the future, talented but colored players may shy away from seeking admission at the facilities due to the leniency of the management team to deal with issues to do with racism. This means that MLB might suffer from lack of development, which means there is a high probability of the league losing its impact on the society.

References

Glier, R. (2017, 26 March). "MLB Takes Notice as Percentage of Black Players in Baseball Remains

Lapchick, R. (2017, April 18). "MLB Race and Gender Report Card Show Progress Still Needed." Retrieved from PRI: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/28/mlb-takes-noticeaspercentageofblackplayersinbaseballremainslow.html
Lapchick, D. R. (2017). The 2017 Racial and Gender Report Card: Major League Baseball. Orlando,FL:UCF College of Business Administration. Retrieved from ESPN: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19185242/mlb-race-gender-report-card-shows-progress-neededLow." Retrieved from Aljazeera America:

Official Baseball Rules. (2017). United States of America. Retrieved from

http://mlb.mlb.com/documents/0/4/0/224919040/2017_Official_Baseball_Rules_dbt69t59.pdfThe World Series?" Retrieved from Out Sports: https://www.outsports.com/2017/10/31/16556234/yuli-gurriel-mlb-suspension-nhl-gay-playoffs
Shankar, A. (2017, October 31). "Baseball Player's Gesture Sparks Debate About Racism in Sports."

Zeigler, C. (2017, October 31). "How would MLB handle a player calling a gay opponent a gay slur in https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-10-31/baseball-players-gesture-sparks-debate-about-racism-sports