CSR Implementation in a Hotel Organisation - Essay Example

? An evaluation of how CSR is implemented in Hotel Organisation X BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE An evaluation of how CSR is implemented in Hotel Organisation X Context and research question The contemporary hospitality industry, especially in the hotel environment, requires a new focus in order to satisfy customers and build trust so as to sustain a positive brand reputation. Generic business practices geared toward building customer loyalty and support over that of competition include a renewed focus on human resources capacity, building a sound marketing strategy, and fully understanding the cultural dimensions of guests and employees alike in order to provide a top quality service encounter. As more countries around the world become globalized, offering tourism packages to multitudes of diverse foreign visitors, competition continues to become intense requiring a new focus in order to sustain competitive edge and build growth strategically. However, outside of these generic business principles is a new type of focus as a method of building a more solid brand: corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR involves the activities of senior managers and the entire organisational staff to improve relationships with the domestic community and even international customers and citizens by promoting concepts of trustworthiness, ethical programming and diversity (as several examples). Corporate social responsibility includes multiple dimensions of moral principles that must be promoted so that diverse customers recognise that the hospitality business is accountable for their actions and makes sensible business decisions. The impact of CSR includes higher stakeholder and shareholder support if they are coordinated and implemented according to social needs. CSR has become more of a strategic function in order to bring the hospitality business better publicity and improve the quality of life of customers and general society. Literature review “A firm’s corporate image and reputation is an important strategic asset and marketing tool that can lead to a competitive advantage” (Gray & Balmer, 1998, p.695). This is one of the main elements that drive new focus on CSR, so that the business maintains a quality brand identity among customer groups, shareholder groups, and the general public population. Even though the end result of most CSR efforts lead to sustainable improvements in society, the impact on business can be maintaining an edge over competition that does not necessarily focus on corporate social responsibility as a strategic foundation. “Business operations are undeniably linked with trust-building in the local community population where the operation is based” (wcdr.gfdr.org, 2007, p.4). This is highly important in hotel organisations as they cater to the local community with their service offerings as well as international clients hailing from diverse cultural backgrounds. Therefore, the literature proposes that there must be a localized effort in CSR in order to build this needed trust for brand reputation purposes and to sustain a competitive edge. There are many avenues of building this trust such as through marketing, sustainability programmes, or even volunteerism in a variety of community-based programmes. According to Kline & Dai (2005) businesses that include CSR initiatives in their strategic objectives have been known to witness improved share prices, build better national image and increase employee productivity. Why is this? “Human beings are essential to service production. They are sensitive and reflect upon their experiences, responding to inner feelings and individual interpretations” (Sandoff, 2005, p.530). In the hotel environment, employees are the initial and ongoing point of contact for diverse customers, sometimes hailing from around the world, and therefore become a resource for information and support throughout the service experience. The hotel relies on their professionalism, loyalty and strong focus toward meeting customer needs in order to sustain a better marketing image and gain higher profitability through word-of-mouth and reputation. CSR initiatives do not necessarily, then, have to be focused toward the external environment, but can be sustainable by promoting the well-being, training and psychological needs of employees as well. Since human beings are integral to success in the hotel business, it would seem that corporate social responsibility must be internalized and have a human resources methodology attached. As one example of internalized CSR, Nelson & Bowen (2000) identify that employee uniforms are not only beneficial for establishing a hotel’s identity, but can impact employee satisfaction at the aesthetic level. “Uniform design considerations must be weighed against the potential negative effects on employee attitude of a poor uniform choice” (Nelson & Bowen, p.87). One might not consider hotel uniform aesthetics to be an important motivational tool to gain employee support, however the authors insist that in order for employees to remain satisfied and motivated for reaching organisational goals, there must be a focus on satisfying the psychological needs of employees related to their appearance. It would seem that even if the cost of a more appropriate uniform designed to satisfy employees leads to higher short-term costs, the long-term benefit is improved guest satisfaction from motivated employees and improves the marketing symbolism attached to the hotel logo and brand identity. Many hospitality industries develop CSR programmes only after a crisis has occurred, such as lost profitability due to negative public relations. “However, CSR is not about crisis management” (Kirby, 2010, p.40). Corporate social responsibility suggests having a proactive approach and linking objectives for CSR directly to strategy. Many hotels, in order to gain more employee loyalty, have become decentralized organisations whereby information and decision-making is no longer top-down and trickled downward throughout the hierarchy. Instead, employees are given more autonomy and control over their job role functions to promote cooperation, motivation and teamwork. In a decentralized hospitality firm, employees are given opportunities to express their opinions and innovations regarding business improvements that should be taken seriously by senior-level managers. This is also part of corporate social responsibility in that it shows that the organisation trusts their employees and is willing to devote considerable HR resources toward this goal. This is yet another example of how CSR can be internalized in order to create long-term sustainable competitive advantage by satisfying their most precious resource: human capital. Businesses are also turning toward public relations as a means of improving their image and building a better CSR philosophy. One marketing expert identifies that PR has long-term value and “has become a respected source of good thinking against minimal budgets” (Goodkind, 2010, p.11). During difficult economic periods, businesses look for low-cost efforts to improve their brand reputation and gain more customer loyalty. Public relations include multi-media outlets such as social networking sites, the establishment of ongoing press releases identifying new business strategies, or working with partnered advertising firms to develop changes to marketing strategy. Though PR, itself, is not a corporate social responsibility effort, the lingering after-effects of using PR tools creates, as an outcome, better trust in the organisation and knowledge about its ethical business principles and therefore gives the business more exposure in local and international marketplaces. During a period of globalization when differentiating the hotel establishment from other competition becomes more difficult, public relations tools represent not only budget-conscious efforts toward CSR but also improve the marketing image of the firm. “The brands that will win are the ones that can resist grandstanding their own achievements and put the power for change in the hands of groups like their customers or employees” (Bayley, 2010, p.15). The press release, as one example, can highlight these internalized efforts at building better human capital in order to express the commitment to sustaining employee needs to the general public and targeted customer segments at the same time. Some hotels have also turned toward green methodology in terms of environmental sustainability to show their focus on corporate social responsibility. Heney (2009) identifies that one effort in this CSR initiative is to create a green laundry system by which customers can become interactively involved. This might include information literature about how the company has changed their habits to reduce water and electricity consumption or simply invite customers to reject daily laundry services (reusing towels) in an effort to commit to the new green CSR programme. Customer segments that are conscious about the environment become an integral part of the green initiative and it brings considerable value to the hotel if it is perceived as trustworthy, honest and committed. All of the literature provided offers only a foundation to understand how CSR is developed in the hospitality industry and does not necessarily reflect all contemporary efforts at building more integrity and trust with local and international market segments. However, the knowledge provided gives a glimpse of the impact of corporate social responsibility and how it might be developed in a hotel establishment in terms of human resources, customer satisfaction and marketing reputation. When cost is a factor or when competition is fierce in the local market, establishing some form of corporate social responsibility effort seems almost inevitable to sustain competitive advantage and build a better public image. Research aims and objectives The aim of the research is to identify how corporate social responsibility is implemented in the hospitality industry and clarify the truth regarding what CSR is all about in relation to hotels specifically. The general research question is: Is CSR something tangible or is it just a facade designed for image purposes only related to marketing reputation? Research objectives The following represents the proposed research objectives in an effort to identify what constitutes the most effective and/or ineffective CSR strategies in a real-time hotel environment: 1. Which is most effective when considering CSR strategies, localized efforts or those aimed at international market segments or communities? 2. Do internalized strategies aimed at employee satisfaction actually improve the profitability and marketing reputation of the hotel business? 3. What public relations tools are available to hotel firms and what impact might/does this have on long-term profit expectations and reputation? 4. What environmentally-focused strategies are available to hotel firms and what outcome does this have on business profitability, reputation and customer loyalty? Research design The proposed research study will occur over a four week period, based on literature achieved from secondary consultation with professional journals and texts associated with the hospitality industry, corporate social responsibility, and employee motivation. This will act as the foundation for the primary portion of the study when designing the research instruments used. A sample group of approximately 20 hotel employees and managers will be recruited in a specific hotel organisation, Hotel X. The researcher will gain approval for the primary study due to a personal connection (internship) at Hotel X, thus guaranteeing a much higher response rate and accessibility for the project because of this familiarity. The sample group chosen will consist of approximately 15 employees and five management representatives in order to gain a cross-section understanding of values, attitudes and motivations related to corporate social responsibility and general business practices associated with human resources. The research study will be limited to qualitative interviews, using open-ended questions that are structured to identify habits and processes related to motivational theory, local and international CSR objectives, marketing reputation, public relations, and environmental sustainability. Open-ended format has been selected for the research effort as it will provide free expression from the interview population regarding any exclusive or innovative efforts in CSR that are currently underway at Hotel X or any proposed methodologies currently being developed. The goal of the interviews is to identify attitudes or gain statistical knowledge related to profitability and competitive advantage gained through ongoing CSR objectives. The interviews will be conducted over the four week period and will consist of approximately twenty well-defined questions related to CSR. They are expected to last between 30 and 45 minutes for each selected manager and employee recruited. Data gained from the interviews will then be transcribed to text format and compared with secondary literature on CSR and the hospitality industry gained through consultation with academic and professional texts; including psychological and sociological knowledge resources to assist in the analysis. Quantitative methodology was rejected as a potential research design since much of the data deals with attitudes, psychology and motivation as it pertains to management principles and employee sentiment regarding their role in CSR objectives. What needs to be uncovered in relation to the objectives cannot easily be defined using scientific methodology. Instead, because much is emotionally driven, qualitative methodology allows for deductive analysis that must be translated through perceptive analysis and inferred. Interviews will also allow the researcher to make notations in areas of body language and emotional expression witnessed during the delivery of the research instruments when it is apparent that emotions might run high regarding CSR and its impact on business function and reputation. Validity will be improved through consultation with professional journals that have used similar interview methodology in the hospitality industry and used as a point of comparison when constructing the interview templates. This will give the construct instruments more credibility. The data achieved through the primary study will be presented in graphic format, such as pie charts, depending on the outcomes of the interviews and the level of emotional response offered by the management and employee sample populations. Any notable correlations or dissimilar attitudes that refute the literature (when applicable) will be presented in tabular format based on current CSR objectives. Any statistical information achieved through the interview sessions will be presented accordingly in charted format to assist the reader in understanding profit margins if such information is returned by the sample groups. There are virtually no ethical considerations worth mentioning as the researcher already has access to Hotel X. The only notable ethical concern is ensuring anonymity for the sample groups recruited to ensure the reputation of Hotel X is not damaged and to guarantee more willingness from the recruited sample to participate and offer free expression of their opinions and thoughts without fear of negative consequences from hotel leadership. This guarantee of anonymity will be constructed and distributed to each interview participant prior to beginning the interview sessions. Expected findings It is anticipated that the research study will provide valuable information regarding CSR initiatives in a real-life hotel organisation so as to assist, potentially, struggling hotel organisations that are looking toward more CSR-focused objectives to gain competitive advantage and build higher customer and employee loyalty. It is important to this study to identify what drives internal strategic focus in the hotel environment and gain knowledge of how this impacts attitudes and motivation to achieve strategic goals and objectives. The primary study is further expected to identify what methodologies have met with failure (if any) in previous CSR efforts that did not achieve their intended profit, marketing or human resources outcomes. This will help other hotel organisations to examine these potential failures and assess whether certain corporate social responsibility efforts should be excluded from current organisational policy and focus. The overall goal of the study is to improve knowledge regarding CSR and its short- and long-term impacts in improving hotel standing among competition. References Bayley, Neil. (2010). Power to the people, Marketing, London. October 13, p.15. Goodkind, Graham. (2010). PR creates good buzz, Marketing, London. October 13, p.11. Gray, E. & Balmer, J. (1998). Managing Corporate Image and Corporate Reputation, Long Range Planning. 31(5), pp.695-702. Heney, P.J. (2009). When green works and when it doesn’t, Hotel and Motel Management. 224(13), p.6. Kirby, Jason. (2010). Crisis management: when things get messy can corporate social responsibility help clean up a PR disaster like the one caused by BPs oil spill?, Macleans. 123(23), p.40. Kline, D. & Dai, Y. (2005). Corporate social responsibility practices, corporate identity and purchase intention: a dual process model, Journal of Public Relations Research, 17(3), pp.291-313. Nelson, K. & Bowen, J. (2000). The effect of employee uniforms on employee satisfaction, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 41(2), pp.86-96. Sandoff, Mette. (2005). Customization and standardization in hotels – a paradox or not?, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 17(6/7), pp.529-536. Wcdr.gfdr.org. (2007). The corporate sector role in disaster and environmental management: beyond corporate social responsibility. Global forum for disaster reduction and grade school of global environment studies, Kyoto University. Retrieved March 8, 2011 from http://www.wcdr.gfdr.org/imgs/pdfs/White_Paper_on_the_Corporate_Community_Interface__CCI_.pdf Read More

 

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