It's that time of year again. The NCAA college basketball season is winding down and the big event, coined "March Madness" is right around the corner. Each year, the top 65 mens and womens college basketball teams compete in a highly publicized tournament that take place during the month of March and into the beginning of April. Cities bid big money on the opportunity to host mini tournaments based on tournament seedings all leading up to the "Final Four" teams that play over three days in selected city.
The tournaments have become part of our culture with many people of all ages following the game results during the daytime at school and work and at night on television. There is a lot money that is wagered between friends and at the office as everyone and anyone is filling out their tournament "brackets".
An aspect of the tournament impact that goes unnoticed is the loss of worker productivity on the job while employees are updating their brackets and following the games live on television.
Read the article link below:
http://www.ibj.com/ncaa-tournament-may-cost-employers-18b-in-lost-work/PARAMS/article/18557
In 2 paragraphs (at least 5 sentences for each paragraph), respond the following questions. In paragraph # 1 (a minimum of 5 sentences) give your thoughts on the article? In paragraph # 2 (a minimumm of 5 sentences) consider this situation. You are the owner of a small business employing 25 people. You have computers set up with internet access and you are not at the business location all the time. What policies regarding the NCAA tournament would you employ to discourage the loss of worker productivity during the NCAA tournaments? Be specific.
Please sign your name to the bottom of your blog entry.
I find the article very interesting and I can see how it is true. Sports events frequently dictate our behavior for that day, meaning that we revolve our lives around them. The bigger the sporting event, the more buzz surronds it. March Madness, the Olympics, the World Cup, the Super Bowl, and the NHL, NBA, and MLB finals are some of the largest events. People are compelled to watch these events because they either like the sport or they buy into the hype surronding the games and want to see if it is true.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a business owner my first priority would be the task at hand to be successful. Another thing I would have to take into account is employee moral. If your employees are not happy then it makes it harder for your business to function. I would let them watch the tournament but they would then have to finish the work on their own time. To be honest, I would probably be watching it too.
I think it’s a valid argument on how employers are forced to give away unearned wages to workers during the NCAA tournament. We are already in a recession and we can’t simply afford to have money go to waste or hence even pay for workers who aren’t even doing what their supposed to for a quick handful of cash. The fact is that is workers are willing to give up precious work time to gamble for their losses. This shows lack of enthusiasm in the workplace as well has almost no motivation at all.
ReplyDeleteIf I were the owner then I would probably want my employers to like me and appreciate me for my fair guidelines. No boss ever wants to have his employers dislike him because it leads to corruption in the workplace production wise. I would probably permit a specific amount dedicated to the NCAA and only allow workers to play off in that time frame. I wouldn’t want work to cease being done, but I don’t want anarchy either so I think it’s a legitimate idea. They get an incentive and I’m not forced to give up workers or stricken policies in regards to a simple sport.
Wajiha
I think the article is very interesting. I didn't know the NCAA basketball games were that popular. I also it is funny how there is a low work drive during these games. 1.8 billion dollars worth of work is lost during this event. I learned a lot from the article.
ReplyDeleteIf i were a business owner my first priority would be to get work done. I would also understand that my employees like watching the game and need a break every now and then. I would probably give some sort of reward for finishing their work early. After that, they could watch the game or do whatever they please. Everyone deserves a break every now and then.
Harris Ahmadzai
This article is very interesting to me because the work force is getting less money. I think this is very bad for out society too because the offices to supply the people with their needs and wants. I also think sometimes it isn't bad to watch the games, because in a cubicle i bet it gets a little boring after a while sitting their doing paper work and what and what not. Ultimately, this needs to decrease our the couple weeks or companies will lose some money and the economy is bad already.
ReplyDeleteWell if i had a company to boss around and stuff, i would have a give and take method during this month so people can do work and less time watching the games. If you finish more paper work or more work in general you get a bonus pay in your weekly pay check. Since the economy is down that extra bonus could make the worker want to work instead of watching the games. So i would want to make it fair for each employee, but eventhough i will have this rule people still will not have follow it but it will hopefully will make it more money for the company.
- Kamran Syed
This article was very surprising to me because I was unaware of how much money is lost for companies during March Madness. I knew the popularity for this tournament was high, but I had no clue the tournament would cost employers $362.2 million. On the other hand, I do agree with a statement that was made in the article. When it stated that the statistics didn’t account for many employees who participate in office pools devote extra time to finishing their responsibilities. I guess they can’t really account for it, but in my opinion I’m pretty sure that most of the employees are making up their work in an efficient time frame. Even though that 45 percent of Americans planned to join at least one college basketball pool, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of these employees are going to put aside twenty minutes just to catch up on what team won a certain game. I think that although this tournament can cost a company great casualties, it will be pretty hard to try and slim down these figures because you can’t watch over everyone.
ReplyDeleteIf I were an owner of a small business employing 25 people, that has access to computers, I think my policies would somewhat alter during the tournament in order to find a common ground between keeping updated with the games, while also not decreasing work productivity. I would do this by allocating one specific worker who I trust very must, to keep the rest of the workers “updated” on what’s going on in the tournament. That specific individual would be someone who is a hard worker and won’t abuse the right of checking up on the statuses on the game. That way instead of having 25 people checking up on the games, I will only have one person spending possibly 20 minutes a day. By doing this, it would decrease the amount of time my workers would waste on the NCAA and would still be productively working. All in all, it’s a win-win situation, because in a business there is sometimes give and take. This way both parties are satisfied.
-Courtney Chesley
Reading this article was exciting. I did not know that college basketball was that much of a big deal. I knew that there was a "March Madness," but i did not know what it was until now. So i definitlly know what it is now. On the other hand, i think it was a little confusing on why people would spend their time actually watching the games and why not just check up on the game scores at the end. But then again, i probably would watch it too if i was in the pool and getting caught up in the moment.
ReplyDeleteIf i was a small business owner, and had computers for my workers to use and i wasn't there when the pool was being started, i honestly wouldn't care all that much unless they got there work done in a decent amount of time. If they slack off because and the reason is because of the pool thats being held, then suspension or deduction of pay might accure. But other than that, i honestly, wouldn't mind them watching it. Now if my workers did nothing at all but watch the games for days at a time when they're supposed to be working, then the chances of me firing them, are big. Who knows, if i was in the pool, i just might take a day off with my co-workers and watch some gaems.
March Madness is a really big event. People make bets on like brackets a pick there teams and see who has the best bracket and they get the money. Or people will just bet on games and see who wins. This event is also making companies lose money because people are so focused on the tournament that people get distracted from their job. The tournament is also makes a lot of jobs for people.
ReplyDeleteI would say you can watch the tournament during your lunch break. And if that’s not good enough you can watch it when you’re working, but if your work does not get done you’re FIRED!!! If I’m feeling happy I will give short tem minute breaks that allow them to see what is going on in the tournament. Or if their just bad workers the will just get FIRED!!!! It all goes to if the do go at work they will get incentives.
JAKE CARWAY'"s BLOG!!!!!
The NCAA Tournament may cost employers $1.8 billion in lost work which is true, so maybe we should have spring break during the tournament. 45% of Americans played in a pool with a prize for the winner, which is almost half of the country. Bosses have used the games as a team-building excise while others have tried to block the tournament from the workplace all together. 58.3 million People participate and they devote 20 minutes a day, which is reasonable. The only thing businesses need to do is make a longer lunch break for everything to work out
ReplyDeleteIf I worked in a business and employed employees with internet access all day when I wasn’t there all the time, I would take precautions. I won’t want time to be wasted or used up, so I would let them watch or look up games at certain times. During a lunch break they could all watch whatever they want and I’ll make lunch longer to give my employees time to watch. If I see people watching or looking up the games at inappropriate times then I’ll have that person make up the hours another time, maybe weekends or stay late. When I set these rules up everyone should be happy or they will have to deal with the rules because bottom line I need production out of my workers.
The article is really cool and it is believeable. People focus all their attention on the sport event. People get hyped over big sport events. They get hyped for the Super Bowl, NBA Championship, the World Cup, and the Olympics. People go for these events because they like the sport or they believe the hype.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I would do if I was a business man would be to think of a way to become successful. I would also have to try and get employees. I also would have to keep my business booming by keeping my employees happy. I would be a nice boss and watch the big events with them. I may let them take the day off or something unless business is not going strong.
Tarikh "Brothaman" Cooper
if i was a small buisness owner, i dont think i would care to much about it, 25 employees slacking off work for twenty minutes for a week, is not a big deal. if they are normally good hard working employees than they deserve a little break from work. if the pools become too much, and the work on the pools are constant, meaning hours a day. than rules would have to be enforced.
ReplyDeleteif the employees are constantly working on the pools, than the employee would be giving a warning and than later punished if this continues.
Kevin Jenkins
I agree with this article. Because of the hype from previous March Madness tournaments people become interested in being a part of a bracket or even watching some of the games. It's crazy to see how much people are taken away from their work just for a sporting event, but this obviously shows what interests people more. It has come into the business life so much that bosses have used March Madness as a team building oppurtunity.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a small business owner not on site all of the time I would not prohibit the use of the internet for March Madness. If people complete the work they had to get done and have extra time to do what they want I think they should be allowed to be involved with March Madness. March Madness isn't necessarily a bad thing to be involved with. If multiple workers overused the internet for the use of March Madness I would then take precautions.
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ReplyDeleteThis article is very surprising to me because of the amount of money that is wasted. I didn't think a basketball tournament would have a $1.8 Billion dollar effect on the business industry. Employees spend their time filling out brackets instead of working. Many companies lose valuable amounts of money due to the tournament. I personally think that work and basketball shouldn't mix. There is always time for filling out a bracket after work.
ReplyDeleteIf i was an owner of a small company with computers i would be very strict when it comes to work. Knowing that i would not be able to attend the workplace everyday i would monitor the workplace with cameras. Also i would monitor the computer history and let my employees know what i demand. Spots can always be replaced.