The Olympic Games are organized once per four years by the IOC, which is the International Olympic Committee. Essentially, the IOC was formulated in Switzerland in 1894 as an international non-governmental organization. Nonetheless, the IOC acts as a governmental body to ensure that the games are conducted according to the rules, laws, ethics, and environmental requirements. Moreover, it regulates the rules of commerce and deals with governments and local committees.
The IOC also monitors the games’ economic impacts on society and promotes sustainability. In addition, the IOC illustrates the elements of business and government because, despite regulating games, it attracts many sponsors to contribute to the Olympics organization. The two crucial governmental roles of the IOC are setting the framework conditions for sustainability and mediating between different stakeholders.
Consequently, one of the brightest examples of organizing the Olympic Games by the IOC is Sydney 2000, which introduced free public transportation, and London 2012, which emphasized ambitious goals of near-zero waste to landfill and unique design of buildings construction. The London 2012 Games were organized and monitored regarding construction, supply chains, labor standards, and local impact.
Therefore, the IOC is enormously responsible for sustainability planning, setting requirements for sponsors, adherence to values such as excellence, respect, and friendship, and following the principles of Olympism. To conclude, The IOC is responsible for the Games’ conduct and rules; it encourages the sports’ development in society, monitors the regular Olympic Games’ organization, and ensures sustainability.
International sports governing bodies’ social and environmental responsibilities
Without a doubt, international sports governing bodies, for instance, the IOC and FIFA, should have social and environmental responsibilities. For instance, the ecological responsibilities involve waste, food, local air quality, and supply chain management.
Moreover, the social factors include housing legacy’s social inclusiveness and the games’ economic influence on the host area and communities. It is crucial to promote sustainability while having a quasi-governmental role. The fundamental mission of the IOC is to ‘encourage and support a responsible concern for environmental issues, promote sustainable development in sport, and require the Olympic Games are help accordingly.’ Essentially, environmental and sustainability concerns were added to the Olympics recently; all candidate cities should provide information on the environmental conditions and the impact of the games.
The Olympic Games’ sponsorship motivations
The Olympic Games have a close relationship with business through sponsorship because it is the world’s greatest sporting event; thus, the IOC operates in a business-like fashion in order to run, market, and brand the Games. The sponsors help promote the event and distribute the information and support the Olympic Games financially. Nowadays, it is critical for sponsors to contribute to sustainability by having meaningful sustainability substance. The motivations of companies and organizations behind sponsoring the Olympic Games are obtaining business opportunities through promoting their brands, enhancing marketing activities, and increasing the target audience.
The IOC’s effectiveness in terms of the ISO 26000 standard’s expectations
Notably, the ISO 26000 standard concentrates on sustainability, ethical behavior, and respect for stakeholders’ interests and society as a whole. The IOC sets the framework conditions for sustainability rather than specific norms because the organization promotes sustainable development in the sport. In addition, the IOC follows the Olympic Committee’s Code of Ethics. The IOC deliberates rather than dictates because it provides guidance based on the fundamental principles of Olympism. The IOC focuses on process rather than outcome orientation because it encourages and supports governments and local organizing committees during the Olympic Games. The IOC could also replace governments in certain circumstances to make legal arrangements or restrict commerce.
Corruption conditions in the Olympic movement
There is endemic corruption in the Olympic movement, where low ethical standards have dogged the governance for many years. The reason is that the IOC demonstrates government-like characteristics. The governing buddies, such as IOC, often targeted lobbying themselves. Consequently, sovereign governments are subordinate to them; therefore, corruption scandals that have afflicted governments have also emerged in recent years concerning the IOC (Ingle, 2017). In addition, the issue of corruption is critical to address by maintaining high ethical standards. Thus, the IOC should ensure that the corruption issue is resolved during the Olympic Games by following the Ethics Code and maintaining Olympic values.
The corporate political activity in the arrangements around the Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, and Paris 2024 games
Essentially, the Olympic Games are held every four years under the direction of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is a supreme authority of the Olympic Movement. Hence, the IOC is responsible for the corporate political activity in the arrangements around the games, such as Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, and Paris 2024, among others. The IOC is a membership-based NGO, and its members are selected for eight-years terms by existing IOC members.
Thus, members should strictly follow the philosophy of the Charter and the IOC. The Charter regulates intellectual property’s legal protection, rules, and laws and anticipates the Olympic Congress meeting, which includes the representations of the Olympic Movement’s constituents. Essentially, the IOC has a significant influence on the Olympic Games’ organization and management. The core values include excellence, respect, friendship, environment, and sustainability. Moreover, the IOC also has a role in mediating between the various stakeholders of the Games.
Reference
Ingle. S. (2017). Familiar whiff of corruption continues to taint Olympic Games. Guardian. Web.