Ethics and Social Responsibility in the 21st Century - Research Paper Example

 I. Introduction Marriott International, Inc. is a group of hotel chains that operate in different countries around the world. Being an international company and a major player in the hospitality industry, corporate social responsibility is a vital part of the company's strategy in response to recent trends in sustainability development and business ethics especially in the hospitality industry (Mullen 2006; Manson 2006). This paper aims to explore the company's CSR policies and practices by looking at its CSR initiatives as traced back to its core corporate values. By looking at the global hotel industry's widely commendable practices over the decades, and comparing them with Marriott's own CSR practices, recommendations would be provided in order for the company to craft more sustainable CSR policies in line with its business strategy. The better policies that are successfully implemented by other players within the industry will be looked at in order to craft better strategies for Marriott. For the development of recommendations, the framework used is the pyramid of corporate social responsibility (Caroll 2001) where they should encompass the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic aspects of the policies. II. Body A. CSR in the global hotel industry The hotel industry belongs to the global hospitality industry. The global hospitality industry is comprised of different restaurants and hotels across the world have come up with good practices of corporate social responsibility during the past decade. These practices have ranged from simple policies such as reducing energy consumption to care for the environment, to more philanthropic policies such as serving lunches to the homeless, etc. (Knowles et al 1999). Some of these policies range from sustainability initiatives, charity initiatives and charitable organisations hospitality players support, and equal opportunity and diversity policies (Bohdanowicz & Zientara 2008, 152). The following includes the best practices in the hospitality industry. As players in the hospitality industry have started to acknowledge the benefits of CSR, one player has long been commended for its practices. The catering giant Compass Group has included in its business strategy that aimed to cater to interests of the stakeholders consumers and the community: Compass Group's initiatives in this area include reducing the salt content of meals served in schools, and it is a key sponsor of the Hoxton Apprentice in London's inner city, which is staffed partly by apprentices who were previously long-term unemployed or homeless. It also hands out annual Compass in the Community awards to reward staff who support community programmes, through substantial donations to chosen charities (Redford 2005). Carlson Hospitality, another major player in the hospitality industry have programmes specifically for people with disabilities in the form of in-room assistance and convenience kits (Bohdanowicz & Zientara 2008, 152). As a major focus of CSR revolves around human resource policies, some practices also include employees development via internal universities such as those in Starwood and Carlson (Bohdanowicz & Zientara 2008, 152). While the Compass Group's CSR policies are aimed directly at consumers, employees and communities, some players aim their CSR policies to the environment. For example, Whitbread, another hospitality company crafted a CSR policy for reducing energy consumption and emissions across the business (Redford 2005). The international hotel group Scandic on the other hand, have policies that include: donating hotel linen and furniture to local charity organisations, serving lunches to the homeless, offering coffee and sandwiches to parents on youth night patrols, sponsoring local sport teams and events, and offering part-time jobs to people with disabilities to keep them within the society […] (Bohdanowicz & Zientara 2008, 153). As Scandic has aimed to contribute a lot to the well-being of the communities where its hotels operate, the company has made CSR part of its core business values and corporate DNA. The company has also sponsored the Pink Ribbon, or Breast Cancer Awareness campaign in Sweden (Bohdanowicz & Zientara 2008, 154). This emphasis on CSR is apparent in more commendable practices such as follows: […] blood donation, coaching youths with problems, visiting homes for the elderly with various entertainment activities and talking to school children about various social problems […] (Bohdanowicz & Zientara 2008, 153). Other practices include employee training in Accor in order “to help fight sexual exploitation of children (Bohdanowicz & Zientara 2008, 152).” B. Marriott's current CSR practices Marriott International, Inc's core values and culture focuses on three of the company's stakeholders: the associates, the consumers and the communities where they operate in (Marriott.com 2009). According to the company, its associates are its best assets; it believes that customers are always right, and helping the communities is part of doing it the “Marriott way” (Marriott.com 2009). The company has helped the communities through cash and in-kind contributions, volunteerism, and employee fund-raising. Further, as the company's core values include serving the communities, the company clearly iterates its policies for social responsibility and community engagement. These policies can be summed up in the acronym SERVE, which is short for Shelter and Food, Environment, Readiness for hotel careers, Vitality of children, and Embracing global diversity and inclusion (Marriott 2009). This acronym aims to provide a platform for all the company's CSR efforts. For Shelter and Food, the company has helped by engaging with charity foundations. For example, Marriott has sent employees in order to provide volunteers in building houses through the charitable foundation Habitat for Humanity (Marriott.com 2009). As the Habitat for Humanity has helped erecting houses in different parts of the world, Marriott has helped with its employee volunteers. Marriott has also teamed up with relief organisations such Feeding America where it has given cash donations in order to participate in the charitable organisation's projects (Marriott.com 2009). The company has provided cash donations to American Red Cross as well as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Marriott.com 2009). For Environment, the company has formed a executive level Green Council in order to come up with a global environmental strategy alongside its main business strategy (Marriott.com, 2009). By teaming up with Conservation International, Marriott International aims to measure its carbon emission and craft strategies to curb it (Marriott.com 2009). This strategy, also called ECHO, emphasises on the following: “protecting the rainforest—carbon offsets; water, waste and energy—reduce consumption; supply chain—engage Marriott's top 40 vendors; green buildings—expansion of LEED-certified hotels; employee and guest engagement (Travel Trade Gazette 2006; Marriott.com 2009).” For Readiness for hotel careers, the company has crafted a programme called YCI or Youth Career Initiatives where class-room and on-the-job trainings are provided to the younger generation (Marriott.com 2009). According to the company: We help at-risk high school students in the U.S. make the transition to meaningful careers by providing financial assistance for education, and job shadow and internship opportunities. Scholarships are offered through our community-based partners, and thousands of students discover hospitality as a career path by participating in activities on National Groundhog Job Shadow Day (Marriott.com 2009). For Vitality of Children, the company helps less fortunate children who are either sick or victim of poverty around the world by partnering with different charitable institutions. Among these foundations include Children's Miracle Network, where the company has helped in raising $66 million to help sick and poor children who need hospitalisation in the communities where the company operates in (Marriott.com 2009). The company has also partnered with Safe Kids China to help educate children about fire prevention (Marriott.com 2009). With SOS Children's Villages, the company has given around $750,000 in cash and in-kind donation (Marriott.com 2009). For Global diversity and Inclusion, the company's CSR efforts range from adopting workplace diversity as part of its human resource management, to advocating and training people with disabilities in order to be fit for employment. According to the company: For many years, our hotels have worked with community-based disability organizations and high schools to introduce and help train people with disabilities for employment. In 2005, we introduced “We Welcome Service Animals,” a training program which helps our hotels enhance the stay of guests with disabilities who are assisted by service animals (Marriott.com 2009). III. Conclusion (500) From the above findings, it can be concluded that Marriott International has been actively adopting corporate social responsibility in the company's strategy as one of the major players in the hospitality industry. Most of its efforts are commendable. However, corporate social responsibility requires that firms also need to take a look at their different stakeholders and include the emphasis in crafting their strategy through the pyramid of CSR. For Marriott, as it continues to make profit it serves the interests of its shareholders and investors, which is under the economic aspect. For the legal aspect, it abides by the pertinent laws in order to serve the interests of its employees, suppliers, environment, investors, etc. Abiding by the laws such for equal opportunity employment, environmental protection laws, fair trade acts, and credible financial reporting are included in this aspect. For the ethical aspect, Marriott practices diversity and inclusion for people with disabilities in its human resource policies. While this can seem enough, there is still ample room for improvement in terms of the company's CSR efforts. The best practices in the global hospitality industry show that Marriott can improve its CSR efforts and make them more creative and significant, to the communities where they operate in (Holcomb, Upchurch & Okumus 2007, 470). Those with the most commendable practices in the industry have not only embraced CSR and included the concept in crafting their strategy, but deeply embedded in their corporate DNAs. IV. Recommendation The major recommendation for Marriott International is to employ strategic management in order to implement CSR from the very top of the company, from its board of directors down to its front-line employees. This can be done by starting with a mission statement. Marriott International currently does not have an explicit statement. A company's mission statement tells its purpose for existence, as well as its relevance to most of its stakeholders. With a clear mission statement, the company is set to always remember the reason for its being—which includes serving the interests of its various stakeholders. By doing this, corporate social responsibility is not just an effort adopted to strategically place the company in an admirable position in the society; it becomes part of the company's corporate arsenal. CSR becomes a reason for its being. After the company has crafted its mission, the company can then set out strategies in order to fulfil its goals. Because CSR is included in every step of the company's decision-making, when it crafts strategies to meet its goals, all the stakeholders of the company would be considered. And with the help of the pyramid, the company can breakdown the concerns of its stakeholders. For example, it can include in its mission statement its relevance to investors and shareholders by providing higher than average returns to their investment. This concerns the economic aspect of CSR for such stakeholder group. For the legal and ethical aspect, it can further include in its mission statement its efforts to uphold integrity in financial reporting to protect the shareholders' interests. In the hospitality industry or any industry which main product is a service, its people are its internal customers—the ones to be pleased in order for these people to, in turn, please the consumers which bring profits to the company. In its mission statement, the company can also include its relevance to its employees—by providing a fair workplace that enables growth, provides adequate training and education to its employees, advocating equal opportunity for employment as well as global diversity. The company's position in the mind of its consumers should also be included. The other groups that the company should focus on by integrating its significance to these groups include the suppliers, communities or the society, and the environment. The emphasis on integrating CSR initiatives in the company's mission statement is to make it a socially-responsible citizen for every action that it takes rather than adopting a CSR programme to look good in front of the public. With this, CSR would be reflected in the company's business strategy. Further, CSR would be reflected in the company's functional strategies. This can be the new “Marriott's way” of doing things. For example, as CSR is widely practised in the company and has been part of its day-to-day operations, the finance function can employ rigorous audits and control measures in order ensure that the company does its best to encompass the economic, legal and ethical aspects of CSR for its investors. For production and supply chain, Marriott will practice fair trade in service to the interest of its suppliers. This also encompass the economic, legal and ethical aspects of CSR. It can extend its CSR efforts further, for example by helping and supporting small suppliers such as farmers in developing their trade, the way other companies in Europe do. For human resource management, the company will continue on its CSR initiatives, except that they will not remain as distinct programmes, rather, policies that are included in its functional strategies. Equal employment opportunity, global diversity and inclusion is not only a CSR effort but a concrete HR policy for the company. This encompasses the legal, ethical and philanthropic aspects of CSR of the company. Apart from it, the current Youth Career Initiative of the company, as well as the internal universities will not remain a programme but a policy for human resources, in its commitment both to employees, as well as to its communities. For marketing, with its mission statement, the company can emphasise its positioning statement by employing cause marketing in its practice. Cause marketing includes marketing efforts that are aimed to initiate philanthropic efforts. In giving back to the society and communities by involving in socially-relevant events, the company aligns its economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic aspects of CSR. As the company has done this in the past by sponsoring charitable foundations and by volunteerism, Marriott can align these initiatives to the economic aspects of CSR—which is to gain profit. This can be done through marketing. By creating a positioning statement that includes care for the environment, the society, the communities—thus being a trustworthy company to consumers, the company can use this in its marketing campaigns. Its marketing campaigns can range from sponsorships that are relevant to the company's hotel operations, like what has been done by Scandic in Europe. These sponsorships will not only generate goodwill, but create publicity for the company. These initiatives can also be included in the firm's public relations programmes such as press releases as well as official statements for sustainable development. The company can also create events which are by nature publicity stunts, but aim to help charitable institutions within their communities. Relevant events for publicity are aimed to strengthen the brand position of Marriott International, but they should be socially-relevant and for a cause in order to align the different aspects of CSR. With all these recommendations, it can be seen that CSR may not be expensive to implement, by making sure that all the aspects of CSR in the pyramid are aligned by incorporating CSR in its mission statement. In terms of communication, the company benefits by integrating CSR by using cause marketing in its strategies, which enables it to both promote the company while giving back to society. References Bohdanowicz, Paulina & Zientara, Piotr. 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Retrieved on June 30, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=5&sid=112d9832-2125-4643-ac88-2b8ebc4978dd%40sessionmgr8&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=23319007 Redford, Kirstie. (2005 September 22). “Business brains get a heart.” Caterer & Hotelkeeper. Volume 195. Issue 4392. Retrieved on June 30, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=5&sid=eed67a35-f39e-468f-83b8-e798ddd26425%40sessionmgr8&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=18641153 Travel Trade Gazette (2006). “Corporate social responsibility.” Travel Trade Gazette UK and Ireland. Pp. 20-21. Retrieved on June 30, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=1&hid=5&sid=3fda4eda-a0e2-4f0b-a526-735721201101%40sessionmgr9 Read More