Organization of the Olympic Games in London - Essay Example

Organization of the Olympic Games in London Executive Summary London Olympics 2012 is expected to be the most attractive event of the year. At the state-level, this particular event is quite likely to bring about various opportunities and challenges for the organizations operating within the city. Hence, Business Continuity Plan will be playing a vital role in developing strategies in order to sustain the organizational competitiveness for the future. Furthermore, employers should ensure that staff management is done effectively in order to handle day offs and absenteeism caused due to transport difficulties. The paper discusses the overall business plan that needs to be developed during the Olympics period. Different industries are likely to get affected in various ways; therefore, priorities should be given to those business entities which have the utmost importance in regards to the Olympics. Moreover, problems that have the probabilities to arise during the Olympics has been evaluated and assessed in the discussion. The reasons behind the problems have also been critically analyzed along with justifiable recommendations. However, the financial and reputational damage that the business entities expect can be avoided if appropriate continuity plan is in effect. The economy of London is likely to be substantially benefited due to the flow of foreign capital through the millions of visitors expected to witness the games. Thus, security is also a major concern that needs to be taken care of in this respect. From a similar perspective, government officials are deploying numerous security measures to avoid any kinds of attacks on the country as it shall be the pride of the country to successfully host the Olympics without any discrepancies. Last but not the least; the infrastructures should be developed in order to provide convenience to the commuters and visitors from the various nations. Introduction Operations are the processes by which an organization puts in effort regarding the inputs i.e. the strategies to generate the required output namely, the services, with increased quality. Management is the process that unites and renovates various resources implemented in the operations to derive value-added services in a controlled manner based on the policies of the organization. Furthermore, the interrelated managerial activities, those are required for service management, is also referred as the operations manager. The Operations Management literature states that the activities related to the organizational operations must focus on the strategies that are consistent with the organizational aims and with other functionalities related to marketing and human resource (Kumar & Suresh, 2009). Olympics have been one of the largest events in the sports segment that involves almost all the countries of the world. Since its commencement, the event is being organized every 4 years in different countries inviting players from various nationalities and categories. For instance, in the current year, i.e. 2012, the Olympics are planned to be held in London. During the Olympics, it has often been observed that citizens from various parts of the world attempt to visit the hosting country for experiencing the greatest sport of events. Furthermore, it has been noticed that there is a wide range of facilities required to be developed before the sporting event is being commenced. Certainly, the development of these facilities requires huge capital funds which eventually will boost up the success of the upcoming event. The objective of the paper is to evaluate the strategic processes involved in the execution of operations when conducting Olympics 2012. Furthermore, the problems that could arise in operating the event will also be identified along with the evaluation of reasons behind such problems. The paper will further aim to provide solutions for overcoming the identified problems with proper justifications. Overview of the Operational Process Effective planning of operations is essentially required to efficiently conduct the event of Olympics in order to make the event successful. It is also evident that the event will offer many opportunities to UK organizations, provided they have an effectual business continuity plan in existence. It is in this context that the business continuity plan will ensure organizations from different sectors to achieve maximum benefits regarding the reputational, commercial and legacy factors that are associated with the Olympics. However, it is obvious that the mega event is quite likely to bring about various challenges in terms of meeting the demands of the worldwide visitors in order to provide effective services. The foremost service that will be under tremendous constraints is the transport industry. With innumerable visitors across the world and over 10.8 million ticket holders, it becomes apparent that the transport facilities need to be developed for accommodating the huge rush. Moreover, the hotel industry will also be affected largely due to the event and therefore, measures should be taken for alternative arrangements. Last but not the least, security concerns will also be an imperative factor as a huge inflow of tourists is expected for the event. Thus, the management of an organization needs to ensure that effective measures are in place for avoiding any security threats (Olympic Delivery Authority, 2008). With a similar concern, the transport department, namely Stratford Regional Station has invested more than £100 million to improve its accessibility. The transport authority has incorporated 9 new lifts that will provide help to the disabled people to access the platforms. Tactile paving and highlighted edges of the steps will further facilitate the visual impairments. Furthermore, the underground transport systems will be refurbished with audiovisuals that will provide information to the commuters. In order to further assist the passengers, the bus transport has also implemented ‘on board next stop’ visual displays and announcements that will be an effective element in the overcrowded buses (Olympic Delivery Authority, 2008). In addition, the hotel industry is expecting around 350,000 foreign visitors’ every day during the Olympics games. Therefore, hoteliers are making alternative arrangements that will allow them to accommodate visitors. They are also spending huge capital to refurbish the rooms in order to attract foreign delegates. The management of the hotels is looking forward in appointing new staffs to ensure effective services being provided to the guests mitigating the lacuna of employee shortages. In addition, relationships with the supply chains should be maintained effectively for avoiding delays and shortages of food products (Lollis, 2012). During the biggest event of Athletics, the country is expecting around 1 million extra people in the streets of London. Therefore, the Westminster council has employed huge capital in order to survey the major parts of London with technology support. They have implemented 120 cameras around central London that will closely record all the activities around the town. Moreover, the 47 screens will be monitored by private Security firms that will be stationed for 12 hours shift. It is worth mentioning in this context that recent reports suggested that a terror group was planning a similar kind of attack as it had planned in Mumbai. Therefore, the security agencies have generated and advised hoteliers to take precautionary measures for avoiding any kind of terror attacks. Furthermore, it is important that the staffs be encouraged towards generating an awareness of any kind of suspicious activities. Moreover, the staffs are also being provided with training facilities by the City Council of Washington DC based on combating terror attacks in the hotel premises (Taylor, 2012). Problem Identification The Olympics event is quite likely to attract a huge number of spectators thereby, creating a rush in the public transports. Thus, it can be stated that staffs’ absenteeism shall increase as many of them might not be able to avail the transport facilities due to overcrowdedness. Moreover, based on previous experiences, the government has also stated that 30% of Londoners tend to take leaves during the games which can also be a major cause of employee absenteeism and shortages (Citrix, 2012). In addition, professionals are expected to cancel or postpone meetings due to the unavailability of transport and overcrowded streets. Furthermore, the suppliers and distributors are more likely to be unavailable that can disrupt the business proceedings (Citrix, 2012). The productivity levels of the staffs are expected to decrease as they can cause disruptions to the work process by providing more excuses regarding the Olympics rather than making up the lost time. Certain high-profile events are expected to distract employees during the office hours that can also result in deficiencies in terms of their productivity level (Aviva, 2012). In addition, the roads covering 170 miles are planned to be kept closed for performing certain athletic sports. Therefore, it is eminent that the people living in these areas will face difficulties accessing these routes. Furthermore, set up business units are definite to face problems while negotiating with the suppliers in regards to delivery of goods on time. Moreover, these business units are also expecting to face shortages of customers as their routes will be void due to the gaming event (Citrix, 2012). Critical Analysis of the Reason behind the Problems From the experiences of hosting Olympic Games in a country, it is very much apparent that the London Olympics will pose a threat to business continuity at the state level. The most affected components are expected to be the deliverables being caught up in the long awaiting transport disruptions. Moreover, organizations operating in and around the remote areas which have not upgraded its technological systems (i.e. Wi-Fi) are more likely to experience staff absenteeism and late arrivals which can inevitably affect the productivity of the small-sized organizations within the region. If the organizations prefer to rapidly upgrade their systems it may result in low productivity as staff will be unfamiliar to the new conditions or technologies that may be deployed by the organizations notifying the requirement for proper staff training and development. Therefore, to avoid such disruptions, organizations should ensure that effective communication, operational continuity, and collaboration as their utmost priorities owing to the fact that breakdown in these operations may lead to financial losses and even reputational damages. Security within the community will also be a major concern for organizations as numerous people across the world are expected to visit the country to witness the games. In this regards, identification measures for each and every visitor are quite impossible as the process requires certain time which can result in arising difficulties to the travelers. Therefore, organizations should employ personal security measures in order to avoid any security threat to their businesses. It should focus on training its staffs regarding any kind of emergencies and communicate the immediate course of action that will be required (Citrix, 2012). Solution of the Problems with Justification The UK organizations must be prepared for the upcoming disruptions that are to be caused due to the Olympics. Consequentially, getting staff on board becomes one of the major concerns for the management of the organizations. Therefore, the management can arrange private transports that will provide ‘pick-up and drop’ facilities to the employees. The arrangement will ensure minimisation of staff absenteeism or uninformed delay in reaching the workplace. The facilities are also intended to motivate the employees enhancing their perceived value towards the organization and likewise foster productivity along with quality services. Furthermore, organizations planning to deploy new technologies for enabling employees to work from home should make sure that the employees are being provided with training facilities effectively. They should also consider giving significant time to their staffs in order to adjust to the new working conditions. Moreover, the employees should be communicated regarding the benefits of adapting to a new working condition which will enable them to save time engaged in traveling along with the cost incurred improving the balance between their work and life (The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd., 2012). The tech-savvy workforce is more enthusiastic while working with their devices such as smartphones as well as laptops. A survey conducted by Citrix depicted that staffs using their owned devices had a positive effect on their productivity level thereby resulting in cost savings for the organization. The research also noted that the staffs feel more comfortable in using their personal devices which they feel, provides flexible ways of working. Thus, the organizations should ensure that the staffs’ smartphones or tablets collaborate with enhanced IT software and reliable network connections which will enable avoiding any disruptions in regards to the productivity level caused by the organization of Olympic (Citrix, 2012). Providing reliable networks will be another major concern for the organizations as excessive usage of telecom and internet networks is predicted during the Olympics. Thus, organizations should prepare a strategy that will engage the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to support their systems during the heavy usages. The engagement of the ISPs will further ensure a better understanding of the demands thereby, rendering solutions to tackle the network rushes at a time-efficient and cost-effective manner (Citrix, 2012). Furthermore, the logistics and the supply chains are likely to get affected in providing on-time deliveries to the scheduled business organizations. In order to help the organizations, London 2012, organizers of Olympics 2012, has published a toolkit that provides information regarding the routes that are planned to be void due to the events. Thus, it becomes quite important to evaluate the timetables of the events in order to plan for the effective supply of deliverables. Furthermore, the toolkit will ensure deciding upon alternate routes for avoiding the disruptions. Piling of stocks and convincing for late night deliveries can be considered as a few noteworthy alternative options to avoid the overcrowded streets of London during the daytime. However, to avoid uncertainties, it is quite important to keep the suppliers and customers informed about the deadlines as failing to meet the commitments could hamper the reputation of the organization (Aviva, 2012). From a similar point of view, the organizations should procure risk assessment measures in advance to develop evacuation plans in this contingent environment. Although the government of UK has taken numerous security measures to avoid any terrorist attack, it might not be sufficient to cover the entire region. Therefore, the organizations should deploy their personal security measures and train their staffs accordingly. They should communicate the evacuation plans effectively and in a well comprehensive way in order to avoid any panic situations that can arise in case of terror attacks. Thus, employees should remain alert and report any changes or suspicious behavior in and around the organization (Aviva, 2012). In order to avoid absenteeism of staffs due to participation in the Olympic Games, the management can create a temporary Olympic working group that will keep the staffs updated with the games news and provides information about any changes made by the Olympic authorities. Furthermore, the management can decide to install television sets in their recreational rooms which will help the employees to remain updated with the ongoing events and plan out schedules in advance that will not disrupt the operations of the organization. The management of the organizations can further decide upon changing their office schedules during the off-peak hours for few months of the Olympics event in this respect. This strategy would enable them to avoid staffs’ absenteeism, especially those who are interested in volunteering the gaming event. Furthermore, flexible working conditions can be an effective measure that will mitigate the chances of minimisation in the productivity levels (Citrix Online, 2012). In addition, stockpiling and change in operating processes from the usual schedules will require informing the insurer about the changed processes. The organization may provide different facilities to ensure increased productivity, such as allowing the employees to work from remote areas with the help of their personal devices, which may not fall under the protection clause of the insurer. Therefore, advice from the insurer is essential to avoid any kind of discrepancies that could arise due to the non-covering of the insurance policies (Citrix Online, 2012). A test run of applications is an essential part of the organizations that have opted to upgrade technologies to enable working from remote areas. From a realistic point of view, it has often been observed that technology up-gradation and change in business processes are not always perfectly implemented. Thus, testing the applications will ensure evaluating the technical difficulties faced by the employees thereby, providing solutions to the problems before the Olympics. Furthermore, deficiencies in training employees will be assessed while engaging them in the process of developing as well as implementing new technologies or applications (CBRE Ltd., 2012). It is in this context that hotel industries are expected to remain the most demanding and overcrowded place in the city of London during the Olympics. The huge tickets sale before the commencement of the games is an indication of the rush the game is destined to attract. As a result, the country is expecting millions of visitors across the world which will require sufficient accommodation for an overnight stay. The authorities of the hotels should ensure that supply of food and other requirements are provided on time to avoid any chances of reputational damages. Furthermore, alternate arrangements should be in place that will enable them to accommodate visitors in times of overcrowdedness. Moreover, the management can hire temporary staffs that will preserve the efficiency of rendering customised services; thus, creating a brand image in the minds of the guests. Security check-ins and metal detectors should be deployed in every entrance channels that will prevent the presence of any kind of firearms within the premises (The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd., 2012). Conclusion Although the disruptions that may be caused due to the organization of London Olympics 2012, there are innumerable opportunities that the mega event is offering to the enterprises in the state-level as well as in the national level. The economic versatility and prosperity of London are bound to get boosted with the inflow of foreign capital from the international visitors. Therefore, it is very crucial for business units to plan the continuity of the business in order to avoid any kind of financial or reputational losses to the organization. Experiences from the past hosts of the Olympics in other countries have suggested how the business entities have suffered in regards to delivery shortages which continued for a few months during the period of after Olympics. In this respect, it was identified that the transportation department is the most affected amongst all. Thus, the authorities require taking special care regarding the development of infrastructures of roads and providing support through a sufficient number of vehicles to accommodate the computers regularly (Citrix Online, 2012). On the other hand, security agencies should tighten up all the streets of London so as to minimise the terrorism risks within the city during the event. Moreover, the venue where the gaming event is going to be held should be under strict surveillance to avoid any kind of attacks that could damage the reputation of the country’s security system as well as cause immense disruptions. Besides, organizations should also install security measures and provide essential training to their employees to avoid any losses to their infrastructure. Furthermore, retaining human capital is the fundamental concept for sustaining in this highly competitive world. Therefore, organizations should motivate their employees in order to avoid attrition of employees owing to high chances of staffs’ absenteeism rates during the event. Conclusively, it is worth mentioning that Business Continuity Plan by organizations is not only essential while a country is hosting such mega-events, but it also helps the companies to identify its competencies and develop strategies that will enable them to sustain in the market for the long-run. Consequentially, deficiencies in services are quite likely to be witnessed by the business entities due to the influence of Olympics, therefore, organizations must keep in touch with the consumers and suppliers to avoid reputational damages and grow inter-personal relationships between the management and the organizations. References Aviva, 2012. London 2012: Business Continuity Planning. News. [Online] Available at: http://www.aviva.co.uk/risksolutions/news/feature/2012/04/04/london-2012-business-continuity-planning/ [Accessed June 25, 2012]. Citrix, 2012. The Citrix Guide for Surviving the Olympics. Olympic Disruption: The Facts. [Online] Available at: https://news.citrixonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/2012-Olympics-Survival-Guide.pdf [Accessed June 25, 2012]. Citrix Online, 2012. UK Board-Level Directors Expect Olympics Business Chaos but Have No Plans To Ensure Gold Medal Performance. News Release. [Online] Available at: http://news.citrixonline.com/news_release/UK-Board-Level-Directors-Expect-Olympics-Business-Chaos-But-Have-No-Plans-To-Ensure-Gold-Medal-Performance/?p=3445 [Accessed June 25, 2012]. CBRE Ltd., 2012. The Olympics: Are You Prepared? Introduction. [Online] Available at: http://www.cbre.eu/portal/pls/portal/res_rep.show_report?report_id=1359 [Accessed June 25, 2012]. Kumar, S. A. & Suresh, N., 2009. Operations Management. New Age International Publishers. Lollis, B. D., 2012. London Hotels Prepare Olympics 2012 Terrorism Training. USA Today. [Online] Available at: http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/08/london-hotels-prepare-olympics-2012-terrorism-training/179441/1 [Accessed June 25, 2012]. Olympic Delivery Authority, 2008. London 2012 Accessible Transport Strategy for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Accessible Transport Strategy. 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