The results of complex business decisions

Due to my recent graduation from college, I have not acquired many real-world work experiences. Rather, I will apply an experience I had within a college organization. As an involved student-athlete on campus, I was the president of our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). SAAC is a national organization within the NCAA with representatives from each university. 

As a representative, I reported information from my university to an advisor who considers our opinions and presents them to NCAA’s top management. This advisor was a leader within our conference. He worked to ensure each university had a voice and that we knew we were heard. With many universities each giving their individual input, he was required to make tough decisions that possibly could offend others. He was required to weed through each suggestion and decide what should be presented to the board. Many of these decisions were passed and implemented into the rules of the NCAA, so his say had an exceptional impact. There are many decisions our advisor made that have positively impacted the student-athletes at MSU as well as all other NCAA organizations around the country. Using a specific example, we recently had a rule change within NCAA football departments. Football players are required to report to campus on a certain day prior to the beginning of classes to practice for a few weeks straight. With only a little time before their first game of the season, the players must participate in multiple practices and strength/conditioning sessions throughout each day. There is recent data and research that shows this method of practice increases health risks, including injury and dehydration.

 Chu (2004) comments on the importance of “blissful” data when making decisions. Meaning, finding appropriate, credible data to support your decision will enhance your individual, as well as your organizations, credibility. The more knowledge one has on the situation, the more effective the decision will be. In pursuit of a solution, our NCAA advisor suggested top management should increase the number of days in which these athletes can practice ensuring they do not get overworked. This has recently passed, and the football programs have been granted additional days. This was a difficult decision for our advisor as not everyone was in favor of this idea. Many student-athletes who participate in football wish to have the opportunity to work a few more days in the summer to receive as much money as they can for the school year. In addition, some students would rather spend that time with family and friends before reporting back for school. There are many instances that have been impacted, but at the end of the day top management were required to do what is best for the whole. Top management was required to develop a list of priorities and decipher which are most important. This relates directly to the analytical hierarchy process (Saaty, 2009). This process requires leaders to use these priorities to make decisions that are best for the whole. In my opinion, this was the right decision and it was more than necessary to ensure the safety of student-athletes. 

 References:

Chu, M. Y. (2004). Blissful Data : Wisdom and Strategies for Providing Meaningful,

Useful, and Accessible Data for All Employees. New York: AMACOM.

Saaty, T. J. (2008). Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process. Int. J. Services

Sciences,1(1), 83-98. Retrieved July 15, 2018.