Corporate Social Responsibility  

Corporate Social Responsibility

Hospitality Management CSR Paper

Introduction

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in hospitality management is becoming increasingly relevant to the hotels and restaurant stakeholders and the community at large. As the people continue becoming increasingly aware of the environmental health, concerns over organizational welfare to the community continue to rock the stakeholder’s responsibility towards their activities. CSR pertains to the concerns and duties that an organization has towards the community. Environmental concerns are often the most worrying and critical to the success of the organization and the welfare of the community members. Commercial activities often impact the economy and the environment, thereby prompting the concerned parties to undertake measures of ensuring environmental sanity for the people. This hospitality management paper discusses the corporate social responsibility concerns in the hospitality industry and the solutions that can be reached in sustaining the environment.

How

Minimization of waste products, environmental care, conservation of the environment, and the application of sustainable practices can significantly reduce the operational costs for hospitality organizations. Corporate Social Responsibility practices in the hospitality industry need to support sustainable development strategies that concern the environment. The practices entail the capability of a hotel or a restaurant to operate efficiently in the future. This regards to operation without compromise of the environmental illegalities and violation of the environmental laws (Kang, Lee & Huh, 2015). Most governments are concerned with embracing sustainable growth and development in the hospitality industry while ensuring environmental regulations. This ensures the government and other stakeholders do not conflict over the issue of environmental management in the future. The Hospitality industry, in general, is discovered to pose adverse impacts on the environment. Controlling negative effects the hospitality industry has on the environment requires the combination of hospitality organizations, government agencies, societies, tour operators, real estate, and other stakeholders to join hands and attain environmental sanity to the hospitality industry. Evaluation CSR practices in the hospitality industry consider the location and actual practices conducted by a respective company and the cultural inclinations within the said community (Holcomb, Upchurch & Okumus, 2017).

There is a general philosophy that business plays a live role in society, and the responsibility of a business entity extends beyond the act of just making profits. The concept of CSR operates on the understanding that an organization should, serve not only the interests of investors and employees but also the larger community and the environment. Hotels and restaurants should show attempts to reduce food wastage, increase energy efficiency, and minimize the usage of water. The resources used in the hotel industries are equally significant to the community to ensure that resources are properly managed for the benefit of the community (Holcomb, Upchurch & Okumus, 2017). The hospitality industry’s CSR issues are not only limited to environmental concerns but also embrace other social issues such as community development and diversity amongst employees. This also pertains to progressive recruitment practices that support and promote corporate social responsibility issues within the hospitality industry (De Grosbois, 2014).

Despite that CSR issues in any organization are a voluntary exercise, the benefit of implementing CSR overweight the costs of neglecting the community’s social affairs. This is because an organization that looks into the affairs of the community is likely to benefit from numerous financial gains. The returns are motivated by the community’s realization that a CSR-oriented organization is always perfect in its dealings and concerned with the welfare of the community. A hotel that involves itself in a CSR issue can significantly improve brand awareness and customer loyalty in business activities (Park & Levy, 2014). A CSR-oriented organization enjoys reputation benefits resulting from social initiatives spearheaded by the organization. Customers who learn of a hotel’s capability and efforts in implementing CSR are often willing to pay premium prices. A hotel that reaps from premium prices for its menu survives unfavourable economic cycles and also enjoy seasonal demands in the hospitality industry. Not only do CSR motivated companies attract customers but also employees. Employees often want to be associated with hotel organizations that have a good reputation (De Grosbois, 2014). Such employees experience higher job satisfaction leading to the reduction of employee turnover rates. Being environmental stewardship is something that hospitality industries put much focus on increasing their success rates in the industry. CSR initiatives constitute components of integrated high-risk performances leading to the predictable success of the business.

Why

The biggest concerns over CSR issues in the hospitality industry pertain to energy usage practices and waste management. Energy intensity in the hospitality industry has been discovered to rise above the average level required in the industry. Premises hosting hotels are said to be utilizing energy levels above the normal range. This energy is transmitted to the environment in a different form such as head and leads to unfriendly environmental effects. Energy management is part of environmental conservation and concerns for the communities over the amount of heat energy being emitted in the environment (De Grosbois, 2014).

With regards to waste production, the impacts on the environment are much worrying. Reports have established that hotels in the United Kingdom emit approximately 4 million tons of solid wastes every year (Park & Levy, 2014). This discovery raises questions over the health impacts of the waste materials on the environment. The relationship between a hotel and the community around ought to be a commitment of the hotel management and the local communities in ensuring proper management of waste products.

What is being done

The contemporary hospitality industry is devising and adopting environmental conservation strategies for attaining social, environmental, and financial sustainabilities. Sustainable CSR in the hospitality industry involves practices and decisions of all concerned stakeholders. The strategies are pro-active because they aim at resolving environmental issues before the result affect the environment. Hotel and restaurant administration have taken a different dimension in ensuring that communities do not get harmed by the waste products. Waste products disposals into the rivers have been a major concern for the communities living around the companies (Peloza & Papania, 2018). Hospitality organizations should engage communities in the quest for strategies of creating environmental sanity by considering their activities. Hotels are said to perform where the three significant facets of CSR are applicable. As a result, hotels have a role to train, educate and empower their employees on CSR roles. The hotels management understands that employees have the potential to contribute to their company’s CSR role and are properly trained to handle environmental issues.

Hotels are known to be people-intensive entities, and persons working within hotels can best serve as originators and beneficiaries of the CSR implementation in their company. It is important to note that employees are part of hospitality organizations and, if well treated and given stable wages and salaries. They can contribute to positive benefits within the community. A good cooperate social responsibility philosophy and strategy begins with the empowering the employees of a respective hotel or restaurant on how the company should respect the external environment because the employees are part of the community they value most (Kang, Lee & Huh, 2015).  Since the hotel and the tourism-related industries have high employee turnover, they are supposed to develop skills for helping them succeed in the future and bring numerous economic benefits to the people. Specific attention must be given to hotel employees for the entity to be considered a good cooperate citizen. Good employees are those that initiate and implement and establishing a socially responsible hotel. The benefits that employees gain from their hospitality organizations are often amplified to the local communities, which serve to conserve the environment (Peloza & Papania, 2018).

Hospitality organizations have a responsibility to focus on CSR issues with positive financial impact. The focus on CSR initiatives pertains to operations that balance between social and financial performance. For instance, reducing energy and water emission reduction also reduces utility bills, solid wastes, hauling fees, and reduces the overall operational costs of the respective company. Corporate social responsibility practices towards the environment require hospitality organizations to strike a good balance between the social needs and financial benefits to the company. Even though some CSR areas do not have a positive financial impact on the organization, their importance environment, and the community remain relevant to the goal of cooperate social responsibility of hospitality industry (Holcomb, Upchurch & Okumus, 2017).  Hotel management considers the important issues of corporate social responsibility with respect to the needs of the society to have every member of the community benefit from the company’s CSR practices.

When hospitality firms engage in CSR, the motivation should not only place their focus to the return on investment but create a genuine desire to achieve a return on investment for their activities. Some hospitality industry firms have attempted to use Corporate Social Responsibility as a marketing tool by participating in ‘greenwashing’ activities. This should, however, not be perceived as a priority or the motive of CSR but should be the benefit of getting concerned with societal needs (Peloza & Papania, 2018). Appropriate and cautious communication concerning the CSR issues of the hospitality industry is important because the CSR implementations cannot be known to the customers and stakeholders if not properly communicated. Some large firms inform their stakeholders of CSR activities through the publishing of sustainability reports as a way of clear communication to the public. This is also for the benefit of investors who often want to be sure of a company’s reputation. Referring to the CSR activities of a company may shed light to the investors of a company that is CSR sustainable because it adds to the stability and good performance of such organizations (Peloza & Papania, 2018).

Hospitality firm managers require leveraging the core competencies of a firm when taking actions requiring CSR and increase their opportunities for shared value. Through innovation introduced by hospitality firms, they contribute to society from a CSR perspective. For instance, improvements in technology because of the firm’s innovations become beneficial to the community. The society requires technology for efficiency. Hence, improvements in technology is part of CSR achievements in the society that a hospitality organization can offer. Hotels and restaurants, however, encounter challenges of managing customer demands without having to question the quality of services being offered because customers often relate sustainability with environmental comfort (Park & Levy, 2014). A sustainable CSR, therefore, requires customer participation in the form of input levels of a firm.

Where

Whenever CSR activities are properly aligned with a firm’s strategy and competency, the firm gets exposed to opportunities and key stakeholders to motivate groups that can embrace the actions of the firm in the future. This action can be properly helpful in the instance where bad events can negatively affect the performance of a firm. Hospitality organization requires having a systematic plan of CSR activities because the action can assist in preventing the risks associated with environmental or community problems (Park & Levy, 2014).  Corporate Social Responsibility entails customers and company management engaging in progressive activities towards social gains and ensuring the society received maximum benefits resulting from community concerns. Corporate Social Responsibility values the relationship between a hospitality organization and the community at large by considering numerous factors leading to mutual growth. This again implies that CSR activities have to be part of organization growth planning activities to assure any organization of immense success from valuing the efforts of a community (Holcomb, Upchurch & Okumus, 2017).

This discussion provides a solid ground for sustainable organizational initiatives in the hospitality industry. Hospitality industry organizations engage in relatively the same activities, thereby bringing into consideration the need to work together in protecting the environment and the community. CSR practices aim at ensuring the activities a firm benefits rather than harming the neighborhood. Organizations that care about the community require having properly established strategies of benefitting the community apart from the traditional purpose of making profits. Hospitality business organizations should exhibit dynamism in their operations to reach out to the community in a unique style. Further research on CSR should focus more on sustainable development programs that enrich the community from activities of the hospitality organization. The role of the hospitality industry should be to ensure healthy living both in the nutrition and environmental perspectives. As such, every hospitality industry, a major stakeholder, is supposed to examine all the factors related to environmental conservation and community needs for a proper address of every CSR issue.

References

De Grosbois, D. (2014). Corporate social responsibility reporting by the global hotel industry:

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Holcomb, J. L., Upchurch, R. S., & Okumus, F. (2017). Corporate social responsibility: what are

top hotel companies reporting?. International journal of contemporary hospitality management, 19(6), 461-475.

Kang, K. H., Lee, S., & Huh, C. (2015). Impacts of positive and negative corporate social

responsibility activities on company performance in the hospitality industry. International journal of hospitality management, 29(1), 72-82.

Peloza, J., & Papania, L. (2018). The missing link between corporate social responsibility and

financial performance: Stakeholder salience and identification. Corporate Reputation

Review, 11(2), 169-181.

Park, S. Y., & E. Levy, S. (2014). Corporate social responsibility: perspectives of hotel frontline

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