...The scandal at Penn State that was the cause of Jerry Sandusky performing questionable acts of sexual child abuse has devastated the environment at the university. As a crisis management consultant, I would analyze the preconditions that took place before the crimes began. The scandal that consisted of Jerry Sandusky performing sexual child abuse has put Penn State in a position where the word difficult would be an understatement. The amount of backlash the university is receiving from every portion of the stakeholders is overwhelming. The media, students, parents, and faculty are all concerned with the university. As a crisis management consultant I require Penn State to be as proactive as possible. The university must understand the position...
Words: 259 - Pages: 2
...Organizational Behavior in the Case of the Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal Kelley Griffin OL-500 Human Behavior in Organization Southern New Hampshire University Lisa Wright March 23, 2013 Organizational Behavior in the Case of the Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal In 2012, “former Penn State defensive coordinator Gerald “Jerry" Sandusky was found guilty of sexual abuse. . . . He was accused of sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period in a scandal that has rocked the university's community” (Chappell, 2012, para. 1). When the story of Jerry Sandusky broke to the press, the University board believed the investigation currently underway at their university was solely concerning Jerry Sandusky, but unbeknownst to them, the organizational breakdown of Penn State was involved in the investigation as well. The investigation analyzed documents and conversations from Penn State’s leaders that spanned from 1998 to 2011. What came to light was that Sandusky, a renowned alumni of 32 years, ex-Penn State football coach, and an active member in youth charity programs, had been sexually harassing minors on and off university property. In addition, at various points during this time frame, leaders in various positions within Penn State’s organization knew of these accounts and did nothing about it. This report aims to focus on how the organizational culture as well as the breakdown in leadership responsibilities, aided in the allowance of such acts to continue...
Words: 4497 - Pages: 18
...Penn State is an isolated, respected institution that often has done what it wanted. It has the power to ignore ethical issues, at least at times. This is not unique to Penn State but would be true of many institutions and people with great power. Both conscious desires to make money and maintain prestige, and unconscious denial served to maintain a child abuser, Jerry Sandusky, as a football coach for many years, with many victims. (Eisenman, 2013) Everything was looking good for Joe Paterno and Penn State football in 2011. The team was 8-1 and riding an emotional high. Then it all came crashing down. Back in 2001 a graduate assistant coach of Penn State wasn’t exactly sure what he saw but a former Assistant Coach named Jerry Sandusky was showering with a boy from his local charity. It sounded to him like horseplay but wasn’t sure so he went and reported it to the head coach Joe Paterno. The ensuing scandal brought down longtime coach Joe Paterno, who was fired by university trustees amid growing criticism that he should have done more to stop the alleged abuse.” (Marklein, 2011) McQueary changed his story saying he e-mailed his friends and colleagues, saying that he had stopped Sandusky from abusing the boy when he saw it and that he had also reported the abuse to police. The local and campus police denied his statements that brought him into deeper trouble. When he reported it to the coach he was so flustered he couldn’t even report correctly what he saw, so Coach Paterno...
Words: 2160 - Pages: 9
...1.Who owed a duty of responsibility? Explain who is owed a duty and why? 2. Who was owed the duty? Explain. President Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley owed a duty of responsibility, since Jerry Sandusky's tenure within the institution was their responsibility, which shortly after they were charged with perjury, obstruction of justice, failure to report suspected child abuse, and related charges. 3. Are coaches responsible for the actions of other coaches? Why or why not? According to the lawsuit, some members of the technical committee knew of the crimes committed by Jerry Sandusky, as soon as those members omitted from justice a crime that endangers the safety of children, they are guilty, accused of: charged with perjury,...
Words: 312 - Pages: 2
...Coordinator at Penn State Jerry Sandusky was accused and convicted of sexual abuse of multiple minors. This tragedy, better known as the Jerry Sandusky scandal, showcased a number of mistakes made by high ranking officials within Penn State University along with the former Head Football coach and former leader in wins at the NCAA level. Not only was there a lack of institutional control on behalf of the Head Coach, Athletic Director, and president, there were also a number of signs that were ignored. There are a number of theories as to why this scandal became what it was. Did it become this way due to employees fear repercussion for uncovering the truth? Or perhaps the culture was so controlled by a 85 year old Head Football Coach? The goal of this paper is to look at the facts presented in the case discover what truly led to the downfall of one of the most well-known NCAA Football programs in history. In 2011, news began to break of a disturbing incident that had taken place at one of the most well-known universities in the nation. Former Penn State University Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Gerald “Jerry” Sandusky was accused of sexually abusing a number of young boys while employed by the university as well as after his retirement. In an even more disturbing and puzzling series of events, it was discovered that a majority of the eight boys that Jerry Sandusky had been accused of abusing had been molested on the campus of Penn State University. The...
Words: 1140 - Pages: 5
...How can we ourselves overcome our natural tendency to evade and self-deceive? In regards to the Penn State child-raping scandal, we continue to see these actions. People are really good at self-deception. We attend to the facts we like and suppress the ones we don’t. Most of the people who had the authority at Penn State to stop the raping of children by Jerry Sandusky proved themselves to be worthless. Despite the status of many individuals, we as a society should eliminate the camouflaging of crimes. In order to seek justice and moral responsibility; motivated blindness, normalcy bias, and bystander effect must all be eliminated. First off, the world today has negative pre-determined imagery of change. This case in relation to other readings previously discussed in class, shows how many deceive change as horrifying. Mike McQueary, for example, an eye witness of the alleged attacks, was so blinded by the negative consequences he couldn’t bring himself to make known. When people find themselves in unsettling circumstances, they shut down and pretend everything is normal. McQueary’s failure to fulfill his moral responsibilities abruptly could have had an effect in why Joe Paterno, or the Penn State athletic director failed as well. Change in the Penn State program created a sense of normalcy bias, weighing more important to McQueary and Paterno than the little boys. In other words, “Nobody wants to damage the brand.” Today our major institutions lie because of a culture in...
Words: 594 - Pages: 3
...Penn State Scandal Everything was looking good for Joe Paterno and Penn State football as his football managing career rose with an overall record of 298-136-3 but in 2011, all that changed. Back in 2000 a janitor of Penn State witnessed Sandusky receiving oral sex from a young boy, the janitor reported what he saw to co-workers and his supervisor but none of these men reported these actions to authorities. It wasn’t until November 5, 2011 that Sandusky was arrested on a $100,000 bail and up to 40 criminal counts. ESPN were quickly in the scene to investigate and report the allegations on Sandusky. They quickly reported saying Sandusky was charged with more than 50 counts of child sex-abuse involving 10 boys he met through The Second Mile, a children's charity he founded. New York Times went on to report Sandusky has been accused of these charges before hand and action was never taken until now. 2 days after Sandusky’s arrest, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz stepped down from their positions, also being facing charges for not notifying the police for Sandusky’s actions. On December 16, 2011, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz were held for trial. "I don't remember any reports to me that it was sexual in nature," Mr. Curley told the grand jury, a statement prosecutors contend was a lie (Schmitz) Tim Curley allegedly said he did not report anything to the authorities because he felt a crime never occurred. This controversy led...
Words: 2286 - Pages: 10
...that not for-profit organizations have to be cautious as well. I plan to show how two large well known institutions failed to live up to these. Penn State is one of the more widely recognized leaders in higher education. It first came into existence in 1855, when the Commonwealth chartered it as one of the nation’s first colleges of agricultural science. And it’s goal was to apply scientific principles to farming. Penn State’s main campus is located in the small city of State College; State College is a quintessential college town with small eateries and quirky little shops that line the streets. There are a total of 24 locations of the campus throughout the Pennsylvania area. Penn State’s tax exempt status is the same as most not for profit state schools and the company is 501c3. Through my research I was unable to find out the date that it was granted or if there was an umbrella organization. According to Penn State’s Alumni Insider from their December 2009 Issue, there are 44,000 full-time and part-time employees at all of the locations. One of the biggest obstacles that any and all institutions of higher learning faces is from the myriad of other choices that people have to choose from, from other state schools, private schools and maybe the newest and biggest threat, online schools. Some of the things that make Penn State standout are that they too now offer online classes and maybe even more important than that is how they are ranked amongst other universities. According...
Words: 1742 - Pages: 7
...Penn State has done something truly remarkable the past few years. Not only have they resurrected their football program, they’ve restored it as a powerhouse in college football. With continued effort and divine help in the coming years, the Nittany Lions could soon compete for a national championship with head coach James Franklin deserving the credit. Franklin, who the university hired in January 2014, filled the void left by Bill O’Brien, who fled the college to coach the NFL’s Houston Texans. Penn State hired O’Brien in January 2012 to take over for interim head coach Tom Bradley, who had spent more than 30 years at Penn State. That brings us to who Bradley filled in for. It has been six years since Penn State unceremoniously axed Joe Paterno, as well as several other big wigs at the school. It’s well known that Paterno was fired because of the child sex abuse scandal involving longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky, but it’s still amazing how much the scandal lingers in the American psyche....
Words: 1063 - Pages: 5
...The Penn State Scandal: Destructive Leadership Perspective The Penn State Scandal: Destructive Leadership Perspective Abstract The Penn State scandal stressed the involvement of key players in a web of deception, cover-up and sexual accusations of children. Those key players stressed in the case were Jerry Sandusky and Joe Paterno. Jerry Sandusky was accused of sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15 year period. Sandusky was ultimately found guilty of these charges. Other well-known names, such as Joe Paterno, were arrested and charged with conspiracy because of their failure to report the child abuse. This scandal rocked the Penn State community. Mainly because their culture was driven by a strong college sports influence. Many people wondered how such a strong community of leaders could allow something so awful to happen for so long. Observers of the scandal tended to frame the events in terms of individuals behaving badly or irresponsibly (Alderfer, 2013). So many focus on the leaders involved and neglect to identify an organization as a whole when discussing issues. Many people will participate in the destruction of an organization whether knowingly or not. Why do so many fail to identify all the elements in leadership? What other factors besides leadership contribute to destruction of an organization? Many areas were researched in regards to the organizational leadership of this paper. This paper will evaluate the destructive leadership of Penn State as a whole...
Words: 1741 - Pages: 7
...Jerry Sandusky was hired by Penn State University as a coach. Sandusky abused young boys for decades before he was punished. Notice I said punish and not caught. Meaning high-ranking individuals of this college were aware of this catastrophe and did nothing to help or protect the victims. However, school officials did meet amongst each other and also with law enforcement where the issues were discussed but swept under the rug. However, the disturbing news about Sandusky was kept quiet until a mother reported that he had showered with her 11-year-old son. Although it was reported to law enforcement no crime was found, Sandusky was ordered not to shower with children. Penn State Officials were aware of this crisis situation instead of them helping they tried to handle it amongst each other. Penn State Officials allowed Sandusky to continue on with this scandal. They were aware that he was always around children, he was still allowed full access to Penn State where he worked with young men, and also helped and worked with underprivileged kids through a charity he founded....
Words: 414 - Pages: 2
...The Penn State University scandal was about an authority figure committing child sex abuse. Jerry Sandusky was a former assistant football coach for Penn State and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse against children. He was convicted of 45 counts of sexual predator against children. Sandusky used his charity, The Second Mile, to select his victims. These illegal actions were committed between 1994 and 2009. There were other Penn State University officials implicated in legal, moral and ethical responsibilities for not reporting the crimes to the University’s Board of Trustees. Those included in the scandal for covering up the actions of Sandusky were university president Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley, vice president...
Words: 373 - Pages: 2
...In 1969 Jerry Sandusky was hired as an assistant coach with Penn State University and worked under Head Coach Joe Paterno. Sandusky coached at Penn State for 30 years and retired in 1999. After he retired, Sandusky’s status as emeritus professor allowed him access to the athletic facilities. Sandusky was also the founder of a charitable organization called The Second Mile. In May 1998, a police report was made alleging Sandusky had showered with an 11 year old boy in the Lasch Building on Penn State Campus. An investigation was done by campus police. The case was closed finding there was no evidence that a crime was committed. Sandusky was told not to shower with anymore children by the campus police. Penn State University President Graham Spanier, Senior Vice President Gary Schultz, Athletic Director Timothy Curley and Head Coach Joe Paterno were notified of the police report. After they were notified all four acted as if the event was behind them....
Words: 498 - Pages: 2
... ……………………………………………………… 6 The First Signs ……………………………………………………… 8 Hasty Decisions ……………………………………………………… 9 Instances ……………………………………………………… 11 References ……………………………………………………… 12 Abstract In 2011 the world of college football was rocked with the news that Penn State’s former defensive coordinator, Gerald Sandusky, was being charged with numerous counts of deviant child molestation and sexual child abuse. With that news, Penn State administrators took it upon themselves to hastily convict the football team’s head coach, Joseph V. Paterno, and terminated him without benefit of judge or jury of his peers. Judged, Juried, and Executed A Brief History State College. Happy Valley. Mount Nittany. Penn State. Joe Paterno. JoePa. All names that bring to mind, the Penn State Nittany Lions. Joseph V. Paterno came from a working-class, Catholic, Italian-immigrant family in New York State. Joe and his brother would spend hours playing football in Flatbush with the neighborhood kids. His father worked two and three jobs so that Joe and his brother, George, could attend an elite Brooklyn preparatory school. Joe also played baseball but his love was football. “During one (neighborhood) game he was so focused on catching a pass that he ran face-first into a tree and split open his lip” (Moushey & Dvorchak...
Words: 1836 - Pages: 8
...COMM 3130: Case Studies in Sport Communication Lauren Nardelli February 5, 2015 Chapter Title: Coachtalk: Good Reasons for Winning and Losing Llewellyn, John T. (2003). Coachtalk: Good reasons for winning and losing. In R.S. Brown & D.J. O’Rourke (eds.). Case studies in sport communication (pp.141-1 57). Westport, CT: St. Martin’s Press. Content of section and relevance today: According to the author on page 141, winning is a big concern in the life of sports and life in general. The saying is “winning isn’t everything”, but in sports and to some people it is everything. Any sports contest or in life, there will always be a winner and a loser. Fans need to realize their team cannot win every single game. If that was the case, the team would be perfect and no one is perfect. Being a sports fan and an athlete, winning is bittersweet, but sometimes, everyone needs to lose in order to learn from their mistakes and to become a better athlete. I think sports fans who never played a sport, do not understand the true meaning of winning and losing. They need to realize no athlete or team is perfect. They never experienced the feelings that come with winning and losing. If they did, then they could better relate with their sports teams and favorite athletes. In the section, Professional Context, pages 143 and 144, discusses the coach’s role in winning and losing. Sociologist Harry Edwards quoted, “In American society, it is commonly accepted that the success or failure...
Words: 948 - Pages: 4
