England: There are questions to be raised! And Business Studies students have the answers!

After their commiserable, deplorable, inadequate, lamentable, miserable, pitiful, useless, woeful, grotty, wretched (delete as appropriate!) performance on Friday, questions about England’s ability to progress to the next stage are already being raised. These questions might not help Fabio Capello, but they should certainly help in kicking off some HR related discussions in the classroom!

11 questions ... one per pathetic player!

1. You are the Chief Executive of the English Football Association. As Fabio Capello’s boss, you are due to undertake his mid-year performance appraisal. Summarise the issues (both positive and negative) that you plan to raise in the appraisal meeting.

2. Produce a job description and person specification for the job of England football manager

3. Devise a suitable recruitment and selection process for (a) the successor to Fabio Capello and (b) his Personal Assistant. What are the differences between the two processes, and are they justified?

4. Is the ability to speak English fluently an essential criterion in the person specification for the English football manager?

5. Graham Taylor (former England Manager) commented today: “The manager is responsible for results; the players are responsible for the performance” Discuss.

6. Wayne Rooney’s post-match comment of “Nice to see your own fans booing you, that’s what loyal support is” has drawn massive criticism from England fans. Many organisations would discipline employees for such outspoken comments. Consider a suitable disciplinary penalty for Rooney.

7. Fabio Capello is reportedly due to receive a bonus of £2m if the England team win the World Cup. BT Chief executive Ian Livingston was entitled to a bonus of up to £1.6 million - two times his £800,000 salary - if all the group’s financial targets were met. Compare and contrast the two bonuses and discuss how (or if) either can be justified.

8. By referring to the various theories of leadership, discuss the differences between the roles of the England Manager and the Team Captain.

9. Research the history and current activities of the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association). Why do many players choose to join a Trade Union, and are their reasons for doing so any different to other employees?

10. Sebastian Deisler played successfully for Bayern Munich and the German National Team, but gave up both because of depression; Robert Enke, goalkeeper in the German National Team threw himself in front of a train in November 2009 battling with depression since 2003. Marcus Trescothick, the highly successful Somerset and England cricketer was forced to abandon his international career by clinical depression. Are there particular pressures of work that are faced by international sporting celebrities, and what could be done to help those players who struggle to cope with such pressure?

11. Many organisations are expecting an outbreak of absenteeism on Wednesday when England are due to play their final group match. Some organisations have made arrangements for employees to watch the match in work time. You are the manager of a call-centre manned by 60 employees (40 females and 20 males). A (male) representative has approached you and asked permission for a TV to be made available (and visible!) during the match. What factors would you take into consideration in accepting or rejecting his request?