Event Management: Integration, Impact and Stakeholders - Essay Example

Event Management: Integration, Impact and Stakeholders Introduction Events have been staged by humanity long before recorded history. These events came in forms such as cultural, sporting, political, religious, and festivals setup for purposes of entertainment and recreational roles. The events would either be exclusive to locals or accommodate outsiders. Similarly, the modern world has embraced events in the corporate context for various goals such as entertainment, business promotion and marketing (Tsioutsou, 2011). Other goals include brand publicity and income generation as well as encouraging investments in their various localities. Consequently, event management has grown to be a lucrative industry, as well as a professional discipline. Governments, corporate, individuals and societies utilize events to fundraise, promote their business and investor/stakeholder agenda, and foster community development. Events Events can refer to notable occurrences that bear considerable impact on a particular entity such as a society, business or interested stakeholder. In the modern era, events have acquired a multidimensional approach in the way they are organized and managed. Events are also examined based on their impact on stakeholders who include the society, a firm’s employees, clients and the general public (Bodwin et.al, 2012). For instance, businesses and authorities recognize the importance of events such as festivals, corporate social responsibility drives, and marketing campaigns on share prices, sales volumes and public opinion (Tsioutsou, 2011). The field of events has developed to include organized conventions, trade expositions and fairs, festivals and international sporting events set up in pursuit of set stakeholder goals and objectives. In many instances, organized events are established on social platforms after which the social performance of the events is tied to economic outcomes. Businesses and governments often attempt to draw this linkage as a method of attaining their objectives that necessitated setting up of such events in the first instance. For example, the corporate social performance of events is related to the stakeholders’ management of events. This connection is aimed at creating better relationships between the corporate/business or government entity with the main stakeholders who include employees, clients, the general public and interested communities (Gupta, 2013). Businesses and governments, therefore, aim to leverage their financial performance on these relationships in the hope that the returns will accord them a competitive advantage (Shone & Bryn, 2004). Events then serve to promote clients, supplier, employee, public or community loyalty to the products, services and programmes, promote the organization’s reputation and reduce staff turnover as well as client desertion. In all events setup, the organizers target to attain positive results such as favourable attention from the media, public prominence, and visibility of the efforts, plans, products, services, and agenda. On the other hand, one of the primary goals or event organizers is minimizing negative impacts such as conflict with local communities, stakeholders and clients. According to Shone & Bryn (2004), lack of quorum and losses on the investments ploughed into the process of setting up an event pose another challenge to events organizing which planners must foresee. Impacts In general, parlance, impacts directly refer to the results or the aftermath of staging the event. Organizers of the event who might be individual, corporate or government entities always have the intended result they look forward to after the event. In short, there is always a goal, agenda or motivating factor behind staging an event (Gupta, 2013). Some of these impacts include solidifying their market shares, promoting their public image, introducing their new products or services, creating public awareness of societal concern, and rolling out their agenda to the public. Event planners also realize that since events do not occur in a vacuum, they are bound to affect communities, clients, and stakeholders. They affect them in social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental terms (Davies, Coleman, & Ramchandani, 2013). Therefore, event planners value the benefits that accrue from staging events as some of the impacts they look forward to attaining. For instance, the government looks forward to a better public image if it successfully hosts an international trade fair, a major sporting event or launches revolutionary development programmes. Similarly, corporate look forward to launching new products that will elevate their markets share, increase profits and endear them to stakeholders and clients. In many cases, events such as festivals and cultural fairs enable the participants to share entertainment experience that may also be of business and commercial benefits. A shared entertainment experience might form one of the impacts resulting from an event (Raj & Musgrave, 2009). However, events do not always yield positive intended impacts. Unintended results might emanate from events which include negative publicity, demeaning lawsuits and political embarrassment that might occur as a result of hosting events. For example, a trade fair or international event might be scandalized if local communities stage demonstrations against the events. In the light of these anticipated impacts, event managers and planners identify the impact and seek to strike a balance and put into place mitigation measures. The attainment success from the events in terms of positive impacts depends on the planner’s ability to attain a balance and effectively communicate with the stakeholders (Shone & Bryn, 2004). Organizations can adopt various approaches to enable them balance the impacts of hosting events. One of the approaches is the assessment of social, environmental and economic impact of holding the events. This approach can be enhanced by the adoption of collaboration such as public-private partnerships. Impacts Events May Create on Stakeholders The range of stakeholders bound to be affected by the impacts surrounding events is diverse. Their diversity depends on the nature of events, the context and the overall intention or motivating factor behind the hosting of the events. Stakeholders in an event include major entities behind the event planning such as cities and governments planning for a trade fair, a cultural event or international sports meet. Stakeholders may also include tourists, corporate sponsors such as sportswear manufacturers, the local host community, spectators who will be in attendance and workers who will provide labour expertise and logistical support. Other stakeholders include event financiers and sponsors as well as media organizations that will facilitate publicity and advertisements for the events’ sponsors and partners (Getz, Andersson, & Larson, 2007). Corporate stakeholders such as businesses and sponsors can be impacted positively by the events given the publicity and success that might lead to increased sales and exposure. They may successfully connect with more clientele, attract more consumers to their goods or services and become more recognizable on a wider scale through mass media. In the case of cultural events, communities playing host stand to amass prestige and recognition. It fosters a sense of pride for their culture, nation, city or country (Davies, Coleman, & Ramchandani, 2013). Communities will also benefit from the feeling of being recognized and valued as important cultural entities. Similarly, their respective authorities such as governments will also attain the beneficial impact of national pride, for instance, if they host events such as Commonwealth games, the Olympics or the Football World Cup. In other events, local communities can witness the impacts in the form of collective effort aimed at responding to the common problems facing them and appropriate aid being availed. For instance, Live 8 and G 8 Summits in Gleneagles in 2005 served to highlight the plight of poverty-stricken African nations (Bodwin et.al, 2012). However, in some cases the impact of events might turn out negative on the local communities who are stakeholders. For instance, the 38th G 8 Summit held in Hokkaido, Japan in 2008 that resulted in the destruction of some farmlands (Sacha, 2011). Another negative impact of the events is that of the FIFA Football World Cup that was hosted in Brazil whereby the local communities in Rio de Janeiro protested against the event. The protests generated negative publicity for the host nation that was a key stakeholder (Getz, Andersson, & Larson, 2007). The Event Management Process (EMP) For an event to be deemed successful, all stakeholders must be fully engaged in the planning and execution process. The procedure calls for an exhaustive event management process. According to Mondok (2013), the first role in event management process constitutes conceptualization of the event idea formulation of the proposal in stage one. Figure 1: The event management process (Mondok 2013). After the proposal’s design, it should be clear what kind of event it is in detail. The second phase involves the feasibility study in which the dynamics that affect the proposed event are analyzed. The feasibility study will explore the organization’s internal and external environmental factors such as the financial resources available and the resources required. The effect of the event on the environment that it is staged is also explored in the study. Aims and objectives of the event are guided by an approach that puts in mind a client-based focus and the stakeholders’ interests (Raj & Musgrave, 2009). The fourth stage involving implementation also concerns logistical support, distribution of event materials, infrastructural set up and partner liaison. The implementation plan that is stage five identifies and designates the specific roles each stakeholder will play and at what given stage. During the monitoring and evaluation process in stage six, factors that might pose a challenge to the event’s success are evaluated, and mitigation measures setup. The clients, communities and stakeholder views will be explored during this stage to ensure their participation. Finally, all information gathered is reviewed in stage seven for purposes of future reference and application in potential events of a similar nature (Mondok, 2013). Event, Impact, Stakeholders and the Event Management Process The nature of the event, stakeholder interests, and the event management process are often tied up in one unit. For example, events that are political in nature such as the G 8 Summits have governments and the local communities as stakeholders. The event management process in this case will factor in the interests of the host community in the planning process. At the same, events will have the political impact as governments defend their efforts to alleviate poverty while lobby groups and communities can stage protests to voice their concerns (Seaton, 2008). Sporting events like the FIFA World Cup, Grand Prix or the Olympics, stakeholders include the local communities, corporate sponsors, local authorities and governments. Expected impacts include elevating the profile of the country if the event is a success. Similarly, local communities benefit from improved infrastructure and business opportunities. Similarly, corporate sponsors expect rising sales of the products or services and recognition of their brands (Tsioutsou, 2011). The event management process has to be consultative in order to attract the maximum support from stakeholders in financial, logistical, and legal frameworks; this ensures the attainment of positive impacts. The event management process itself depends on the nature and scale of the event, the parties involved, and the purpose of the event. The significance of the impact of the event to stakeholders also goes into determining how the management process will be conducted. For instance, large-scale events such as multinational product launches and global events such as the Olympics require a multiagency approach and a vast number of stakeholders and staff. Given the impact of the risk caused by failure of such events, it becomes important for the involvement of skilled event planners, management as well as training the available. Stakeholders also need to consult exhaustively and share responsibilities to stage an event successfully. Event stakeholders need to plan aspects such as the dates, timing, and the number of expected attendance. Stakeholders also need to assess the risk-benefit analysis of the events and the impact on their commercial, political, environmental and public interests (Raj & Musgrave, 2009). Conclusion Events are some of the most notable human activities that bear significant impact on the socio-economic and cultural frameworks of communities, organizations and governments. Events accord governments the opportunity to display their development agenda and market their tourist and investment opportunities. They also enable governments to create awareness of their cultural, linguistic, and geographical diversity with the aim of attracting investors and tourists. Governments also use the events to restore and clear their reputation from allegations of intolerance or repression. For example, in the 38th G 8 Summit in Japan in 2008, the country sought to clear its imperialist outlook as it portrays a global approach in geopolitical, world affairs and technological spheres. After the G 8 Summit, opinion polls reported that the local Governor had spoken for most people of Hokkaido and Japan as a whole. It illustrates the impact of the event on the government perception and stakeholders’ expectations. The impact of events on the sponsors and their interests is another phenomenon of vital importance. As stakeholders, sponsors liaise with the media who provide advertisement and publicity to their products and services hence increasing sales. At the same time, the local or global population attending the event are potential consumers who must be won over. The amount of investment that sponsors put in is usually commensurate with the expected returns that are breaking into new markets, beating business competitors and increasing profit margins. These goals account for the massive investments stakeholders plough into the events. Professional event managers are contracted to research and develop the best plan of action to follow in order to ensure the events do not yield negative results. The plans factor in the cost of the events; anticipated challenges and how to avoid them; security issues, and the size of the audience. Local businesses also view events as economic opportunities. Events present chances for increased sales and profits starting from small scale vendors of commodities and the hotel and accommodation industry. Local communities also benefit from events since some benefits such as new events venues and stadia to improved transport systems will be left for their use for many years to come. For instance, stadia set up and renovated for the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup that was held in Brazil will be of great benefit to the football-fanatic nation for many years in the near future (Tsioutsou, 2011). Events also serve to raise awareness on pertinent environmental and communal challenges such as waste management, economic sustainability and global warming. For instance, the London 2012 Olympic Games highlighted the global warming issue with the theme, Zero Carbon. While the event was a cultural, social and economic milestone, stakeholders such as airlines highlighted the need to reduce wastes arising from travel such as carbon dioxide. Other concerns include the use of local material in venue preparation as well as ensuring environmental sustainability and health. Events come in many forms such as seminars, open days, product launches, conferences, cultural and trade expositions as well as congresses and charity events. Nevertheless, these events will always have stakeholders who need their interests supported. Moreover, the events will have impacts that follow depending on whether the events are well executed or not. In the light of these eventualities, all stakeholders much plan and manage event as well as evaluate their interest to ascertain the impact and record successful public or commercial results. References Read More