Introduction
Many businesses are adopting the elements of corporate citizenship and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in their attempt to meet both organizational and local community needs. All over the world, companies have come to the realization that CSR has the potential of enhancing business competitiveness. Traditionally, the tourism and travel sector have tended to concentrate on short-term objectives by focusing on financial gains, leaving the local communities to bear the consequences of tourism and travel activities. As a result, the host communities have assumed responsibility for sustainable development instead of the business. However, this has changed since the 1980s with tourism and travel businesses acknowledging the importance of sustainable development. CSR and CSP in practice in the Tourism and Events sector and the stakeholders involved
Discussion
Corporate social responsibility and corporate performance are significant trends in the tourism and travel industry. Travel and tourism organizations have realized that people expect organizations to contribute positively in areas other than profitability. Different people and organizations have framed different definitions for CRS, although there is a commonality between them. CSR involves efforts of companies to manage the businesses processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. In order to achieve this, companies must ensure that they have quality management, both in terms of processes and people, in addition to the nature of, and intensity of their impact on environment and host communities around them. Corporate Social Performance (CSP) as a concept refers to organizational configuration of principles of social responsibility, policies, programs, processes of social responsibility, and observable outcome in relation to CSR.
CSR initiatives are related but different from CSP in several aspects. First, CSR refers to investments and programs in responsibility and sustainability while CSP represents stakeholders’ assessment of the overall effectiveness of these investments and programs. Second, CSR captures instantaneous, non-cumulative corporate involvement in pro-social behaviors, while CSP analyses an organization’s cumulative involvement in these behaviors.
The stakeholders involved with a corporation’s performance are not just those directly affected by activities of the organization. CSP includes consideration of a wide range of implications of corporate behavior on various stakeholders. The stakeholders involved in CSP and CSR include the employees, customers, owners, neighbors, society at large, public authorities, nongovernmental organizations and others including academicians. There is increasing interest among outside stakeholders in activities of tourism establishments. The major concern of the stakeholders in the industry revolves around assessing both positive and negative impacts, in terms of both products and services. Their major concerns include assessing the impact on the environment and the local community as well as how organizations treat and develop their employees.
Tourism and events sector stands out from other sectors in terms of the variety and number of CSR and CSR activities they implement. Some of CSR and CSR activities practiced in the industry include efforts aimed at waste reduction and recycling among hospitality and air transport providers. Examples of such initiatives include treatment of sewage, use of incinerator for waste disposal, and re-use of water for flush tanks and gardening. Many organizations in the industry engage in energy conservation initiatives by using energy efficient appliances and educating customers and host community on how to conserve energy. Moreover, it is a common occurrence to find many organizations engage environment protection initiatives through partnerships with both government and nongovernmental organizations such as World Tourism Organization (WTO). Such practices include tree planting programs, environmental assessment programs, and protection of endangered species. Most organizations have realized the importance of investing in employee welfare by devising training programs aimed at promoting sustainable development and encouraging employees to participate in helping the local communities. Lastly, some organizations have established partnerships with host communities and NGOs. For example, Marriot Hotels has an arrangement with surrounding communities where the hotel transports manages waste free of charge on condition that the local people do not through away waste into the sea.
Conclusion
Firms need to invest more time in integrating social responsibility into their formal strategic development processes. This involves identifying opportunities, strategic options, long-term benefits for their organizational growth and social focus. In order to achieve long-term focus, organizations should consider CSP as a key business indicator, not just for strategic partnership, but for their employees, customers, and other stakeholders as well. This is important because it will not be long until customers and investors start demanding proves from organizations for their achievements in a meaningful, sustained, and quantified manner. In addition, organizations should conduct intensive research to establish perception of stakeholders on a firm’s actions and map how CSP and organizational strategic levers interact and align before deciding on appropriate CSR initiatives.
