Progressing a Sustainable Business Agenda - Case Study Example

Progressing a Sustainable Business Agenda Name Institution Course Date Progressing a Sustainable Business Agenda Introduction The growing number of organizations that have shown interest in the concept of sustainable business practices shows how significant the subject is for organizational prosperity (De Clercq and Voronov, 2011). One company that has done a good job at this is Adelphi Hotel. Adelphi has shown substantial growth with regard to sustainability since its inception. The company is known for its environmental and social sustainability practices which have contributed to its success (Adelphi Hotel, 2013). However, the company has potential to rise beyond their comfort zone in ensuring sustainability operations. This Paper will identify where the Adelphi sits in the Dunphy phases model and its implications on performance. The report will also identify the strengths and weaknesses of the company and will recommend some strategies on how the company can improve its sustainability work. Position of Adelphi on the Dunphy Model The Dunphy scale has six stages including rejection, non-responsiveness, compliance, efficiency, strategic sustainability and the sustaining corporation (Dunphy, Griffiths and Benn, 2003). Companies in rejection stage believe that they are in operation only to maximize profit. Organisations in non-responsiveness stage rarely practice sustainability due to lack of awareness or ignorance. Compliance stage means that companies are focussed on reducing risk of sanctions as a result of not meeting minimum standards. Efficiency stage reflects companies that are aware of the advantages of implementing sustainable practices (Dunphy, Griffiths and Benn, 2003). Adelphi sits in the compliance stage in the Dunphy model. The company is focussed on reducing risks and costs associated with not meeting the minimum sustainability standards set in Australia. Financial and technological factors have dominated the company’s strategies in enhancing sustainability (Adelphi Hotel, 2013). The company has pursued a policy of benevolent but with the expectation of loyalty in response. In addition, Adelphi often addresses community concerns only when it faces the risk of prosecution or when it fears negative publicity. The company eliminate only the most obvious environmental abuses that could result to strong community action or legal lawsuits (Adelphi Hotel, 2013). It ignores the environmental issues that are unlikely to cause litigation or poor publicity. Implications of Adelphi hotel on the Dunphy Model The position of Adelphi in the compliance stage may have some positive implications. For instance, the company is able to eliminate financial risks due to their focus on the compliance of minimum community and environmental standards set in Australia (Pryce, 2001). In addition, the company tend to be faced by fewer lawsuits due to their strict compliance policy (Adelphi Hotel, 2013). Although the company ensures it addresses community concerns occasionally, it is at high risk of being faced with reputational risk. The company has implemented environmental and social sustainability in order to comply with the law and to create publicity. However, its ignorance on the unobvious issues can cause them negative publicity. Adelphi Strengths The major strength of Adelphi is its use of technology in enhancing sustainability. The hotel has focussed on the reduction of renewable natural resources to a sustainable level by focusing on technology (Adelphi Hotel, 2013). The hotel has progressed in reduction of pollution by investing in new and improved clean technology to make its operation environmentally friendly. The company has progressively implemented sustainable business practices such as technological improvements and environmentally friendly innovations to ensure that the natural resource limits are not stretched (Adelphi Hotel, 2013). In addition, Adelphi Hotel has made an effort to take care of the needs of the society in order to enhance their publicity (Adelphi Hotel, 2013). Social responsibility is the basis of the hotel’s success and recognition. Although the hotel makes sure that the needs of the community are addressed, there is room for improvement in their social responsibility work. Also the strength of the hotel is its ability to offer diverse, unique and high quality products and services. In Australia, Adelphi is ranked among the most value hotel due to its products and services that are appreciated by the consumers (Adelphi Hotel, 2013). Leveraging Strengths Adelphi can invest more on technology for sustainable work. The hotel has concentrated on adding technologies to its existing processes rather than adapting new ways of solving sustainability challenges. The company should implement initiatives of using technologies that are able to reduce the use of water, energy and raw materials and minimize waste discharge (Martin and Hall, 2002). The company should not focus on reducing pollution alone, but should look at other areas that require sustainable initiatives. The hotel should adapt new technology throughout its entire operations. In addition, in its initiative to take care of the needs of the community, the company should introduce charity activities (Martin and Hall, 2002). For instance, the hotel should incorporate goodwill projects such as education responsibility, health responsibility, research etc. Such initiatives will enable the hotel provide assistance to the community in terms of the specific needs of different people and will eventually enhance its positive publicity (Martin and Hall, 2002). Also, in addition, to offering unique and high quality products and services, the hotel should ensure that the products offer environmental, social and economic benefits. For instance, the raw materials the hotel uses should come from areas where the environment is protected from pollution and deforestation (Martin and Hall, 2002). The full commercial cycle of its products and services should be in a way that protects the public health and the environment. Benefits of Leveraging Strengths If Adelphi leverages its strength, it will be able to gain a lot of benefit. For instance, through incorporating sustainability using technology, the hotel is able to gain elevated reputation, cost effectiveness, risk mitigation and market expansion (Martin and Hall, 2002). When presented with a choice of environmentally sustainable products and those that are not, consumers will be persuaded by their conscious to buy the sustainable products. Therefore, the hotel will be able to increase its revenue and profits. Offering sustainable products has the potential to expand the market as it assist in the access of new markets (Hopkins, 2007). In addition, leveraging its strengths ensures the hotel sustains long-term profitability and saves on money although initial cost may be high. Adelphi Weaknesses Although Adelphi has gain reputation due to its strengths, there are so many weaknesses that it struggles with. For instance, the hotel is focussed too much on customers, which has made it forget about the needs of the employees. Although the hotel has tried to be socially responsible to the community, it has forgotten the responsibility it has on the employees (Adelphi Hotel, 2013). In order for any company to succeed it must satisfy the needs of the employee. Being sustainable means taking care of the needs of all the stakeholders from customers to employees, from the government to investors etc. In addition, the company is more focussed on maximizing profit and complying with the set standards (Adelphi Hotel, 2013). This sometimes makes the hotel forget about other sustainability roles it is expected to play. All social and environmental sustainability initiatives are done in order to comply with the law and to gain positive recognition. However, the hotel should be focussed more on ensuring that the needs of all stakeholders are satisfied unconditionally. Overcoming Weaknesses Sustainability in Adelphi should also involve the employees. The hotel should ensure that they are committed to offering the needs of the employees such as positive working environment, work-life balance, good remunerations, and motivation (Hopkins, 2007). The hotel should not overwork its employees and should implement strategies that motivate them. This will ensure that the hotel progresses with its sustainable agenda. Sustainability is a critical issue in today’s business world and can affect the suitability of a country. Therefore, nations will not develop or succeed without the involvement of organisations in societal issues and contribution to capacity building (De Clercq and Voronov, 2011). Adelphi should perceive sustainability initiatives as a way of changing the condition of a country and not as a show off in order to gain reputation. The hotel should only solve obvious sustainability challenges but should incorporate sustainability into its entire operation. It should set apart significant resources in carrying out Corporate Social Responsibility. Benefits of Overcoming Weaknesses Taking care of the needs of the employees will enhance the Adelphi’s performance. Employees are important in any organisation and when their needs are taken care of, they tend to be more engaged and committed to their work (De Clercq and Voronov, 2011). Being socially responsible to the employees will lead to high retention and low turnover rates of employees. Unconditional sustainability undertaking will be good for the hotel as it will raise its brand recognition and will minimize its effects on the environment and the society (De Clercq and Voronov, 2011). Implementation of sustainability strategy throughout the entire operations is a great way of ensuring that the hotel takes part in preventing climate change and pollution. Conclusion Adelphi Hotel has done a great job in sustainability work. However, it can be placed in the compliance stage in the Dunphy model since its sustainability work is based on the need to comply with the set regulations and to gain positive recognition. Some of the strengths of the hotel include use of technology, social sustainability and offering high quality and unique products and services. Its weaknesses include negligence of employees’ needs and partial sustainability work. There are several things Adelphi can do in order to progress with its sustainability agenda such as offering sustainable products and services, satisfying the needs of the employees and incorporating technology throughout its entire operations for sustainability purposes. References Adelphi hotel - Melbourne, Australia 2013, Available at: http://www.adelphi.com.au/hm_features.pl?id=3 (Accessed: 5 September 2016). De Clercq, D & Voronov, M 2011, Sustainability in entrepreneurship: a tale of two logics. International Small Business Journal, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 322-344. Dunphy, D., Griffiths, A & Benn, S 2003, Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability, London, Routledge. Hopkins, M 2007, Corporate social responsibility and international development is business the solution, London Sterling, VA: Earthscan. Martin, S and A. Hall 2002, “Sustainable Development and the Professions”, Planet, vol. 3, pp. 17-18 Pryce, A.H 2001, “Sustainability in the hotel industry”, Travel and Tourism Analyst, Vol. 6, pp. 95-114. Appendices 1. The Dunphy Model Read More