Role of Operations Management in Environmental Sustainability - Royal Garden Hotel - Case Study Example

Hospitality Service and Facility Table of Contents Introduction 4 Emerging Trends of Environmental Sustainability 5 Current Strategic Position of RGHin Environmental Sustainability 6 Business Role for the Derived Perspective 8 Role of Operations Management in Environmental Sustainability 8 Role of Human Resource Management in Environmental Sustainability 9 Role of Marketing Management in Environmental Sustainability 12 Critical Discourse of the Actions Concerning Environmental Sustainability 13 Policy Development 14 Promoting Green Marketing and Branding 15 Developing the Functions of HRM 15 Stakeholder Involvement 17 Conclusion 18 References 20 Bibliography 24 Introduction The Royal Garden Hotel (RGH), a five-star ranked London-based hotel is one of the prominent organisations in the hospitality industry. RGH is well-known for its luxury hospitality services that represent royal feeling for the customers across different regions of the world. The hotel is located at Kensington in central London and it was founded in the year of 1965. According to the present day context, it can be observed that the RGH has been focusing on extensive efforts to offer lucrative and superior quality of its range of hospitality products and services. Moreover, the organisation has also found to be an effective hospitality institution in terms of conducting its range of business activities with regard to the social and environmental efficiency [1] (Royal Garden Hotel, 2012). In the context of identifying the environmental initiatives that are taken by RGH, it can be observed that the organisation involves in various roles and responsibilities within the community where it operates. The organisation proactively implements adequate measures which ensure to protect the environment in all aspects including both local and global contexts. The company further involves accomplishing various objectives concerning the efficiency of environment in terms of practicing its range of hospitality services to the global consumers [2] (Royal Garden Hotel, 2012). The main purpose of this report is to prepare a briefing paper for Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RGH concerning its ‘Green’ or environment sustainability measures in the hospitality service industry. The discussion will be focused on representing the current strategic position of RGH in terms of practicing environmental initiatives within the present hospitality service industry in London. Moreover, the paper will further critically demonstrate the role of operations, human resource management as well as marketing management executed by the organisation in the business environment. The discussion will take into account the divergent role of stakeholders in terms of discussing the environmental issues of the organisation. Emerging Trends of Environmental Sustainability Environmental sustainability can be considered as one of the key issues for the organisations in the present business world. According to the present developing scenario of the various industries across the world, it has been observed that environmental degradation is a major area of concern which causes different challenges for the modern organisations to ensure their sustainable position in their respective field. Moreover, the environmental issues can also impact on the communities which further caused to affect on the organisational efficiencies to the environment where it operates (Morelli, 2011). According to the present emerging growth of the global industries, it has been observed that the organisations seek to take adequate measures in order to prevent various environmental hazards through rendering and performing different business operations. Moreover, the organisations in the present business world are also focused on improving their range of business practices including manufacturing, supplying as well as operational practices to promote environmental consciousness within the globalised markets (Vlek & Steg, 2007). As per the present growth of the business competitiveness, the development of environmental policy is an imperative decision for the global marketers in order to build long-term sustainability in the global market. The major advantage of environmental protection related initiatives significantly includes the safeguarding of the natural assets that are essential to prevent various hazardous natural calamities (Morelli, 2011). It can be identified that a range of global and national organisations are highly focused on promoting environmental sustainability which is merely a different practice as compared to the organisational functions. However, the concern is being mandated by the organisations to its various internal and external operations. The internal factors of the organisations include resource competence, business opportunities as well as social conscientiousness and the external factors that are highly essential for an organisation to promote environmental sustainability encompass policies, regulations, competition and compliance requirement along with the expectation level of the potential stakeholder groups (Subramanian & et.al, 2011). Current Strategic Position of RGH in Environmental Sustainability The current environmental policy of RGH is highly focused in implementing of significant and proactive initiatives in order to defend as well as sustain in the both national and global business environments. The organisation has recognised its impact on the environment and highly conscious upon the effective measures which could prevent to occur different detrimental consequences. Therefore, the business operations of RGH are considerably focused on its major practice towards maintaining environmental sustainability within its business environment [2] (Royal Garden Hotel, 2012). With regards to the environmental initiatives of RGH, it has been observed that the organisation possesses an effective environmental policy and law which incorporates various obligations and legal considerations to promote the efficiency of environmental awareness. The environmental policy of the organisation further ensures to encourage its employees to perform their activities as environmental responsible way. Moreover, an effective environmental committee of the organisation plays a major role in formalising and practicing innovative ideas and techniques to maintain biodiversity within the environment where it operates. The organisation also tends to maintain appropriate balance between the natural resources and the expectation of its potential customers. In this context the business strategy of the organisation tends to comply with conserving natural resources through ensuring appropriate use of water, energy as well as materials while providing its valuable hospitality services. Contextually, the business operations of RGH are also focused on recycling of its various products and resources which further ensures to minimise the impact of business operations within the environment [2] (Royal Garden Hotel, 2012). Therefore, it can be stated that, the environmental policy of RGH considerably plays major role for the organisation in terms of maintaining environmental awareness within the society. The environmental policy of the organisation encompasses various factors which ensure to protect the environment from the adverse affects of its range of hospitality services. In addition, the policy also enables to provide the environmental awareness related practices and information to its workforce through conducting training and instruction processing activities for them. Furthermore, the policy further guarantees adequate information to its suppliers and other important stakeholders concerning to the obligations and guidelines of environmental initiatives of the company. Business Role for the Derived Perspective As per the above discussion, it has been recognised that the business strategy of RGH concerning environmental sustainability significantly possesses certain policies and legal obligations. However, RGH should also need to focus on various roles that are performed by the operations, human resource as well as marketing departments of the organisation. In relation to the rapid growth witnessed in the global hospitality industry, the human resource, marketing as well as operations management divisions constitute major roles and responsibilities to strengthen the organisations environmental sustainability related practices. Therefore, the major functions of these management divisions for RGH in order to enhance its environmental sustainability functions have been described hereunder: Role of Operations Management in Environmental Sustainability The operations management of an organisation plays a major role which may severely affect on the environment. The division incorporates operational functions through which the organisation produces its products and services for the potential customers. The operational divisions of a particular organisation can severely impact the environment by consuming natural resources and affect the overall environment through air emission, water discharges as well as waste disposal processes. Therefore, the operations management of a particular organisation can directly hinder the existing environmental position where the organisation performs its operations (Subramanian & et.al, 2011). From the perspective of RGH, the organisation should highly focus on its operational functions by reducing the use of depleting natural resources. It is in this context, it can be stated that the hospitality service facilitators tend to utilise the natural resources at a lower level as compared to other industrial segments. However, the industry can also significantly impact on the environment through its operations relating to providing services as per the expectation level of the customers. The operational functions in the hospitality service industry incorporate various functions such as food processing operations, infrastructure development operations along with different supply chain activities (Kleindorfer & et. al, 2005). With this concern, the operations management of RGH should also need to focus on reducing the usage of natural resources for infrastructure development and other related activities. Moreover, the organisation should also need to involve the strategy of recycling process of its range of inventories which can be effective for the organisation to enhance its efficiency of environmental sustainability. In addition, the food processing operations in the RGH should also need to reduce the usage of energy which can also be a major contribution for the organisation to build its environmental sustainability (Deakin University Australia, n.d.). Role of Human Resource Management in Environmental Sustainability The human resource management (HRM) in the hospitality service and facility industry can also be recognised as one of the crucial divisions for the organisation in terms of influencing the strategy of environmental sustainability. The HR division plays the major role of motivating employees and keep them remain with the organisational rules and policies. Moreover, the division can also provide ample support to an organisation to increase the efficiency of the workers regarding their assigned roles and responsibilities (Wilson & et. al., 2007). According to the present trend of environmental sustainability, it can be observed that the HRM strategy of the global organisations tends to comply with ‘green business’ practice which ensures to protect environmental hazards caused by the organisational operations. The green initiatives of the global organisation incorporate effective business practices focusing on different functional areas of the organisation. In this context, the HRM division of RGH should need to communicate and provide adequate training and learning activities for all the employees to ensure minimum usage of natural resources and enable them to appropriately minimise the operational impact upon the environment. With this concern, the practice of green business is highly essential for RGH to enhance the efficiency of the organisational environmental sustainability (Deakin University Australia, n.d.). Moreover, effective and well-build human resource policies of the organisation can also provide adequate support to the employees to maintain the policy guidelines of the organisation concerning its environmental sustainability. The practice of adequate training and development activities relating to the environmental sustainability also enable the workforce to properly deal with the operational processes which ensures reduction in the organisational impact upon the environment. In addition, the review of the environmental guidelines to the employees could also be beneficial for RGH in order to strengthen its environmental sustainability initiatives. The review process of the environmental policy of the organisation can also enable the employees to make appropriate use of natural resources in a regular manner which can significantly reduce the possible impact of business operations in the existing environment where the organisation operates (Swarbrooke, 1999). Role of Marketing Management in Environmental Sustainability Marketing plays a pivotal role for an organisation in terms of practicing environmental sustainability. The marketing management of an organisation considerably tends to promote the organisational information to the market. An effective marketing process of environmental sustainability can promote the efficiency of the organisational activities. Moreover, innovative marketing campaigning process of environmental sustainability can enable the society to be more conscious regarding the environmental hazards and its impact on the society. Furthermore, an efficient practice of marketing activities of promoting environmental sustainability can also increase the corporate value of the organisation in the global market. In the context of modern business world, it can be observed that a number of organisations market and promote their potential initiatives towards the environmental sustainability to increase the value of their organisation globally (University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, n.d.). From the perspective of RGH, the organisation needs to focus on its marketing strategies with regard to practice of environmental sustainability within the business operations. The marketing activities of the organisation should ideally communicate the environmental initiatives that are executed by the organisation. Moreover, the marketing functions of RGH should further include promotional activities which can reflect its environmental sustainability. These types of marketing activities can significantly increase the value of the organisation in the global hospitality industry. Moreover, the effective practice of marketing activities of the organisation’s environmental sustainability functions also ensures to obtain a strong support from the community where the organisation performs its business operations (Charter & et. al, 2002). Therefore, it can be stated that the divisions such as operations, human resource as well as marketing play essential role for an organisation while it strives for environmental sustainability within the respective business industry. With this concern, RGH should highly focus on practicing the aforementioned major divisions of the organisation in order to successfully accomplish its environmental sustainability within the global hospitality industry. The strategy can enable the organisation to increase its global position in its respective industry. According to the unabated and striving performance of the hospitality service and facility organisation, the implementation of marketing, human resource as well as developing operational process can be considered as the major functional areas for the RGH to build long-term sustainability in the respective business industry (Charter & et. al, 2002). Critical Discourse of the Actions Concerning Environmental Sustainability It has been stated that the operational functions of the organisation are the major concerning divisions which can severely impact on the immediate environment through consuming natural resources. Therefore, to assess the potential impact of organisational operations on the environment, the business organisations must need to measure their consumptions of depleting natural assets. Moreover, the organisations should also need to measure the direct and indirect impact to the environment which has been caused due to the organisation’s various business functions. The major impact on environment which can be caused by an organisation is the emission of Green House Gas which can vulnerably cause various types of environmental hazards. Therefore, the organisations of the present business environment seek to practice various functions and it has also been found that the organisations develop their operational activities through minimising their impact on the environment (Jackson & et. al, 2012). With regard to the current environmental policy of RGH, it can be noted that the organisation has been performing effective role which ensures to significantly reduce environmental impact caused by its business operations. In this context, the organisation should highly consider the environmental sustainability as the major strategic priority which can further improve its business operations and build a long-term sustainability within the global hospitality industry [2] (Royal Garden Hotel, 2012). Therefore, the following discussion is expected to reveal the major actions that are to be implemented by RGH in order to strengthen its current environmental sustainability in its respective industry. Policy Development Developing policy concerning the environmental sustainability can be regarded as one of the major decisions for any organisation to effectively perform its environmental performances. The environmental policy of RGH, therefore, needs to incorporate its range of business functions and their consequences to the environment. In this context, measuring organisational performances is an imperative factor which ensures to determine the potential impact of business functions to the environment. Hence, the environmental policy of RGH should encompass all the operational activities performed under various divisions of the organisation (Creech & et. al, 2008). Moreover, measuring and evaluating the organisation’s environmental performances through the use of metrics can also be regarded as a major supportive element for RGH. The use of metrics in the organisational environmental policy can enable RGH to indicate its various operations which are likely to hinder on its environmental sustainability performances. The metrics method can also enable RGH to recognise different information such as quantity of waste generated, water and energy used, amount of recycling processes and amount of pollution generated by the organisations operations. Therefore, the integration of metrics technique can significantly play a major supportive role for the organisation to enhance its overall environmental sustainability performances (Global Environmental Management Initiative, 1998). Promoting Green Marketing and Branding The concept of green marketing as well as branding can be considered as a most essential tool for the hospitality service and facility providers. The concept of green marketing and branding not only focuses on providing environmental awareness campaign to the society but it also emphasises to promote the environmental sustainability performances which can enable the society to optimise the use of environmental resources. With this concern, the environmental sustainability strategy of RGH should also incorporate green marketing and branding initiatives to achieve effective cooperation from its society. This process can enable the organisation to improve its environmental sustainability performances through communicating with its potential customers and other stakeholder groups within the global market. Moreover, the integration of green marketing and branding concept can further assist RGH to achieve sustainable and competitive advantage within the global hospitality industry (Sloan & et. al, 2013). Developing the Functions of HRM HRM constitutes major role for an organisation to strengthen its sustainability within the market. A well-built HRM structure is an important element for the organisations for performing environmental sustainability initiatives. From the perspective of RGH, the organisation should also further remain focused on improving various functions of its HRM strategy. It is in this context that the HRM strategy of the organisation needs to focus on few major elements such as employee engagement, training and development along with managing support and communication processes (Bentivegna & et. al, 2004). Engaging Employee and the Stakeholder Groups The engagement of employees and other stakeholder groups can be effective for RGH to recognise the manner through which the organisation can effectively contribute in its environmental sustainability performances. Moreover, the engaging of stakeholder groups may also ensure to build a strong partnership which can further facilitate the organisation to develop its environmental sustainability activities. From the perspective of stakeholder engagement and partnership program, Unilever can be considered as a major example which performs its range of environmental sustainability performance through the alliance of non-profit institutions across the world (Society for Human Resource Management, 2012). Conducting Adequate Training and Development Activities In addition, conducting training and development activities can also be regarded as a major tool for the HRM in terms of practicing environmental sustainability performances. Providing adequate training and learning programmes on various environmental initiatives such as waste management along with appropriate use of water, energy and raw materials can also contribute to be major support for RGH to perform its environmental sustainability activities. In the similar context, managing support as well as adequate communication process can also be considered as a significant element for human resource department of RGH to efficiently perform its environmental sustainability related practices (Wirtenberg & et. al, 2006). Stakeholder Involvement Stakeholder involvement is an effective decision which is frequently implemented by the global organisations to investigate and identify the various individuals or groups which are being affected by organisational performances. The involvement of potential stakeholders also provides the facilities to identify the ways through which they are influenced by the organisational operations (Burritt, 2011). With this concern, RGH should remain highly focused on its range of stakeholder groups including community, government, suppliers, investors as well as customers while practicing environmental sustainability performances. The integration of various stakeholder groups can facilitate RGH to obtain better understanding of its environmental sustainability performances and the practice can also help the organisation to articulate its overall strategy, value, position as well as it also enable the organisation to achieve competitive advantage in the global hospitality industry. Moreover, the stakeholder engagement within the organisational processes can also enable RGH to address different challenges concerning environmental sustainability within its market. In addition, a well-built relationship with the potential stakeholder groups may also help RGH to accomplish its respective goals concerning environmental sustainability (Government of Canada, 2012). Conclusion The trend of environmental sustainability is one of the major initiatives, which is practiced by the global hospitality industry. The hospitality service and facility providers seek to perform various attentive operations to promote their sustainability which further facilitate them to achieve competitive position in their respective industry. According to the recent development of the hospitality industry, it has been witnessed that an increasing attention towards the environmental responsiveness facilitates the organisations to prevent numerous challenges in the global market. The environmental sustainability performances of an organisation can offer various advantages that merely protect the firm from various risks of depleting natural resources. Therefore, the business strategy of RGH should prioritise to ensure that environmental factors are considered in its hospitality operations. Observing the environmental policy of RGH, it can be recommended that the organisation should highly focus on its environmental policies and related obligations. The integration of adequate obligations concerning operational activities can essentially support the organisation to enhance its existing environmental policies. Moreover, the human resource strategy of the organisation should also need to incorporate effective measures of training and development, employee engagement as well as effective support and communication which may also facilitate RGH to enhance its environmental sustainability performances. Contextually, promoting green marketing as well as branding initiatives can also facilitate the organisation to successfully achieve the objectives of its environmental sustainability performance. Therefore, it can be stated that the environmental sustainability should be considered as a major strategic priority which can facilitate RGH to build a long-term sustainability within the growing hospitality service and facility industry. References [1] Royal Garden Hotel, 2012. About Royal Garden Hotel. About. [Online] Available at: http://www.royalgardenhotel.co.uk/about [Accessed March 06, 2013]. [2] Royal Garden Hotel, 2012. Environmental Policy. Guest Information. [Online] Available at: http://www.royalgardenhotel.co.uk/Guest-Information/Environmental-Policy [Accessed March 06, 2013]. Bentivegna, V. & et. al., 2004. Evaluation of the Built Environment for Sustainability. Taylor & Francis. Burritt, R., 2011. Environmental Management Accounting and Supply Chain Management. Springer. Charter, M. & et. al., 2002. Marketing Sustainability. Strategic Implication. 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