- Title
- Cross-cultural relationship management of Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian (MMP) rugby league players in the Newcastle Knights National Rugby League Club: a relational approach to recruitment, induction and support mechanisms
- Creator
- Sandner, Judith; Stobbs, Ngaio
- Relation
- Football and Communities Across Codes p. 53-68
- Relation
- Research Nexus
- Publisher
- Inter-Disciplinary Press
- Resource Type
- book chapter
- Date
- 2013
- Description
- This internal communication study explored the operational function of the of the Organisation-Public Relationships Assessment (OPRA) scale through the lens of relationship management public relations theory.1 The scale provided a platform for understanding common dominant cultural values and the recruitment of Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian (MMP) national rugby league players at the Newcastle Knights. Investigation of the five relational dimensions that comprise the scale including trust, control mutuality, relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and cultural networks – an adaptation of Huang’s ‘Face / Favor’ dimension to reflect MMP cultural values – demonstrated that two-way symmetrical communication was key to developing positive, mutually beneficial relationships. Internal communication was shown to be successful when these relational attributes were present in organisational relationships. It was determined that application of This study of internal communication practices explored the operational function of Huang’s 2001 Organization-Public Relationships Assessment (OPRA) scale through the lens of relationship management public relations theory. The scale provided a platform for exploring common dominant cultural values relative to players’ ethnicities, and the recruitment of Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian (MMP) national rugby league players at the Newcastle (New South Wales) Knights. In recent years, the Newcastle Knights management has employed a targeted recruitment drive toward players of Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian heritage. Despite their large presence in both the National Rugby League (NRL) and National Youth Competition (NYC) squads at the Newcastle-based Football Club, it has not been apparent from a relationship management perspective, if cultural understanding and awareness have contributed to the recruitment, induction and support mechanisms these players experience. Investigation of the five relational dimensions that comprise the OPRA scale: trust; control mutuality; relationship satisfaction; relationship commitment; and cultural networks (an adaptation of Huang's ‘Face/Favor’ dimension to reflect MMP cultural values) demonstrates that two-way symmetrical communication is key to developing positive, mutually beneficial relationships. Application of the scale to focus group and in-depth interview data indicates that new MMP players at the Newcastle Knights have been affected by feelings of isolation from being away from their families. It was further revealed that dialogue between MMP players and Knights management was not an easy process and that MMP players often felt intimidated when approached by authority figures at the club. Internal communication is thought to be successful when relational attributes are present in organizational relationships. The authors propose that OPRA scale criteria applied throughout recruitment, induction and support processes, will enable MMP cultural values to be considered and potentially improve internal communication and relationship qualities at the club. Key Words: Relationship management, OPRA scale, internal communication, cross-cultural understanding, recruitment processes, rugby league football.
- Subject
- rugby league players; Newcastle Knights NRL club; recruitment
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1327186
- Identifier
- uon:25596
- Identifier
- ISBN:9781848882416
- Language
- eng
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