Australia Zoo Business - Case Study Example

Case Study: Australia Zoo Name Institution Australia Zoo Introduction Australia Zoo, one of the leading zoos in the world is located in Queensland, near the Beerwah Mountains. It is affiliated to the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA), and it is under the ownership of Terri Irwin. She is the widow to Steve Irwin who died in a freak marine accident while firming a stingray, in 2006. The legacy of Steve Irwin has propelled the zoo to its current heights as a conservation and environmental oriented organization. Apart from their vast 100 acres of conservation land turned into a zoo, their activities extend to aquatic life conservation within their territorial waters and as far as Japan and the rest of the world. They have bought more tracts of land, in “Australia in a bid to carry o with wildlife conservation activities. The zoo’s exemplary work has led to its worldwide recognition for its conservation efforts, and this has won is several accolades. In total, it has hundreds staff members. The organization can be deemed to be in two sectors: the tourism sector and the environment conservation sector. However, being in both sectors is the genesis of its internal conflicts and skewed perceptions by some members of the public. However, the zoo is known for its CSR activities that reach out beyond the continent of Australia Organization Structure The Zoo, which is owned by Terri Irwin is registered as Australia Zoo Pty Limited. The zoo’s director is Wes Mannion. It is pertinent to note that the land on which it sits on coupled with that of its environs is under the registered ownership of Silverback Properties Pty Limited. The business hosts several other businesses operating within it as exemplified by food courts. In terms of the management ad operation of these businesses as well as sale of merchandise, Muscillo Holdings Pty Limited holds the mandate. All these different management and ownership companies work synergistically to achieve a seamless operation of the business. It is important to note that the organization has 38 departments for administrative and management purposes. There are the rudimentary departments such as accounts, human resources, marketing and technical. There are also specialized ones, which include Native animals, Education, Rescue team, Zoo vets and Vet nurses, The wildlife hospital among others. Organizational Culture The zoo draws its hundreds of staff from different parts of Australia and some from outside the continent. This diversity in skill set and professionalism is coalesced with the family business principles on which the organization is anchored on to bring about a tightly woven working relationship among workers. It is in from this perspective that the employees are encouraged to embrace it as more of a lifestyle than a vocation. This creates an intrinsic drive to work since the love for animals and conservation is instilled in them. This effectively imparts an exceptional level of self-drive and a positive attitude to their work environment and job description. Therefore, they are proud to do their khaki uniform as part of their culture as members of the Australia zoo family. They are made aware of their importance and that their work makes them legendary. However, this is taken a notch higher by awarding exemplary employees and the organization has its own Hall of Fame. 2. Corporate Social Responsibility Australian zoo has already engaged itself in several CSR activities that have a significant fiscal impact on the organization. In conducting CSR activities, the orgaizatio employs the strategic model. This is because, the CSR activities intertwine with its core businesses: environmental conservation and tourism. These activities do not digress from benefiting the stakeholders as the owners tend to benefit from the publicity the organization receives. These activities imperceptibly market and give Australia Zoo credibility as a recommended place to visit. Accolades such as winning of the Queensland Tourism Major Tourist Attraction in 2012 and Silver Award Winner in the Australian Tourism Awards in 2013 have brought it on the map. One of the outstanding CSR programs is in collaboration with the Sea Shepherd Society that has been on the forefront against Japanese Whaling. It is also involved in the rescue of endangered animal species exemplified by operation of rescuing the Siamese Crocodile that took place in Cambodia, in 2011. The Australia Zoo Rescue Team travels across the world to execute such operations as well as relocation to such endangered species. Since 2003, they have managed to raise more than $1.5 million from Sumatran tigers in the zoo. This cash is channelled to support the conservation of both the home of these tigers and their rest of the species residing in South East Asia. The same has been done to conserve the fast plummeting population of cheetahs in Africa. The zoo runs other programs for endangered species, which includes programs for the Southern Cassowary, Koalas, turtles, Tortoises, Iguanas, the Komodo Dragon, and Falcons. In addition, they have invested in several anti-poaching programs that are bent on conserving endangers animal and bird species across the world. They also have other sustainability programs such as breeding programs for specific species of rodents, reptiles, birds, and kangaroos. Lastly, the zoo take part i the local conservation efforts of the Great Barrier Reef, the wetlands and other environmental conservation activities set to benefit the Australian eco system. Since the employees are also environmental enthusiasts as well as animal lovers, in equal measure, these process are conducted with the help of their staff, who really understand the cause. 1. Internal Environment Analysis Strengths Australia Zoo strategically sits on a 100-acre parcel of land, which allows for expansion by increasing the number of animals, facilities and amenities. In addition, it has a rich historical background since it is renowned for being home of The Crocodile Hunter. This famous wildlife documentary series makes many people identify with the zoo. The legendary Steve Irwin’s actions, before his demise made it popular, especially after they changed the name from Beerwah Reptile Park to Australia Zoo: Home of the Crocodile Hunter. Secondly, the zoo boasts of a cornucopia of wildlife with flora and fauna drawn from Asia and Africa such as Sumatran tigers and Asian elephants. This wide variety of animals, reptiles as well as birds, some that are found only on other continents, draws a large number of visitors. This raises the bar for other zoos, in Australia and the rest of the world. The Zoo has received positive publicity in several other ways. One of this is by winning accolades, which exceed 30 in number. Since it is a multi-discipline business, its awards span from corporate, tourism awards, multicultural excellence, environmental and fashion design. Due to these accolades spanning from 1999, the zoo has become a household name to Australians, hence, this is a competitive edge against its competitors. Furthermore, the zoo is on the forefront to conserve endangered species across the world. The zoo has funded both national as well as international projects that are geared towards wildlife conservation. These projects have been mentioned above in the corporate responsibility section. It is important to note that, these activities not only attract the attention of visitors, but also environmentalists as well as investors unlike other zoos. Australia Zoo is also renowned for its environmental conservation efforts. The zoo has collaborated with Fauna and Flora International situated in Cambodia in an effort to protect the habitat of Asian Elephants, which are also in danger of extinction. This publicity has put the zoo in the limelight for its noble acts that draws visitors to the zoo. The zoo is highly active on social media and its website is highly interactive. This is The company has also diversified their sources of income, ad it holds special events such as Steve Irwin’s day where they sell merchandise to their visitors such as crocodile hunter merchandise, khaki shorts and shirts, and their series on DVD. On the website, it is able to get people to make donations that cut down o their expenditure on conservation projects. Their activity on social media gives them visibility on the Internet platform when followers like their Facebook Page, follow on twitter and Instagram, GooglePlus, Pinterest, Flickr, and YouTube. The zoo has a set of unique products that are unequalled and unparalleled by ay other zoo. A replica of the Serengeti system labelled Africa recreated the ecosystem of the Tanzanian national park with baobab trees, savannah landscapes and even African wildlife such as giraffes, zebras and rhinos. There is o such zoo in the world, which makes it exemplary. Lastly, another unique feature that would draw researchers, student veterinarians and eve visitors to the zoo it is $5 million animal hospital. This is the largest animal hospital in the world giving it special recognition that sets it apart from other zoos. Its 24-hour operation makes it a distinguished zoo hospital unrivalled by its competitors. Weakness Australia Zoo is shrouded in controversies regarding its operation and continued existence. This includes the poor management practices of the zoo by Bob Irwin such that the zoo had sunk into a half a million debt, in 2008. This led to wrangles within the management as Terri Irwin and her father in-law laid out intimate organizational details to the public eye in a bid to exonerate themselves. This was negative publicity, and it accelerated the resentment Australians had for Terri Irwin. This is because the wrangles portrayed her as an individual who had digressed from the core business, which was environmental conservation as well as education. She appeared to be more inclined towards the commercial aspect that focused on tourism; hence, attracting more tourists. This is in bad taste since Australia’s climate is the hardest hit, in the twenty first century, and slight changes in climatic patterns are amplified on the continent. This means that the organization should be the flagship of conservation and not commercialization Secondly, unlike Steve Irwin, who was born and raised in Australia, she had grown up in the United States. This means she had acquired an American accent, which was resented by most Australians. This invoked feelings of an institution they identify with and take pride in being managed by a “foreigner,” in their own country. This created a picture of an unstable management at the helm of a zoo that is dear to the heart of Australians. This fuelled rumours of Terri Irwin leaving for the United States, which were quelled by her acquiring Australian citizenship. Secondly, there is scrutiny on the employee working conditions and their safety give the incidences of tiger attacks on zookeepers between 2009 and 2014. This has majorly involved both Bengal and Sumatran tigers. Thirdly, the zoo has been accused of animal cruelty especially koalas. Other incidences of breach of Australia law, in 2008, occurred 13 times and it involved retaining rehabilitated koalas in lieu of reintroducing them to the wild. The zoo is limited to expanding the variety of wildlife by its climate such that it cannot have penguins and animals like polar bears in their eco system. The community social responsibility and conservation efforts are extremely costly; hence, they have a fiscal impact o the company. Threats From the beginning of the twenty first century, the changing climatic patterns are affecting the organization’s ability to sustain itself as well as expand. This is because of the larger portions of the inland Australia are increasingly containing less moisture in the soil. Furthermore, there is a increased intensity and frequency of floods, storms as well as drought, which are harsh for the animals in the Australian zoo. This is because these animals have been rescued from all over the world, and would require at least moderate temperatures i order for them to survive in such conditions. In addition to this, such harsh climate is increasingly becoming an impediment to the environmental conservation efforts by Australia zoo. With a reduced frequency of snow and frost, animals from polar areas cannot be kept in the zoo. Furthermore, the conservation efforts by the Australia Zoo along the Great Barrier Reef and Queensland are facing challenges from coastal development. This has threatened the biodiversity in the Australian sea life to the levels of watering down the zoo’s efforts (IPCC Report, 2007). 3. Recommendations The Zoo should engage in public relations (PR) campaign to remove any doubts regarding its agenda as well as intentions of its activities. This should entail activities that will enlighten the masses on the details of its operations at the zoo. They should also encourage more people to take part in the adopt animal campaign that will allow member of the public to take care of their animals for a day while at the zoo so that they understand and stop criticising them. The zoo management should put more efforts in sourcing for funds that would be used on its CSR activities, which includes soliciting for funds from sponsors. This will curtail the expenses incurred in its conservation efforts. It should also collaborate and receive funding from organizations such as UNHabitat, World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), and United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). The Australian government can also provide fiscal assistance. This coupled with government machinery can be effective in conserving the fast deteriorating Australian environment. 4. Conclusion With the assistance from sponsors as well as collaborations, Australian Zoo, as an organization will manage to employ the Strategic theory to conduct effectively its CSR activities. This will stand to benefit its owners, stakeholders, increase its brand visibility as well as market the organization. This way, the strategic theory will be effective in making the organization’s operations smooth and profitable, at the same time. Read More