Write about Ashland university experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Write about Ashland university experience - Essay Example Because of all of these warnings and advices I had put together a set of goals and long-term plans that did not include much social interaction or personal joy. Ashland University, however, maintained none of these circumstances and these misconceptions are not supported by real university experience. Since attending Ashland, I have found a great deal of time to explore my personal interests. This is due largely to the method by which instructors teach courses. It is due also to flexible scheduling for class attendance available to the students. Much to my surprise, I was able to explore rewarding social experiences and even gala due to the give that educators provide related to homework and other projects. This is not at all to imply that Ashland provides inferior education, only that the university seems to understand that extra-curricular fun and growth is very important for student satisfaction and stress reduction. There is also a common belief among many individuals that have studied English as a second language that English is very easy to master. ESL students often show off their learning in the English language to tell others in society how well they have succeeded. When others in Saudi Arabia who have just begun English lessons ask about the difficulty or content, they are often dismissed and told not to be concerned about problems. These students believe that tutor instruction is not very important to the learning process and that it can be achieved alone through very light study. English, however, is recognized by many researchers as being one of the most difficult languages in the entire world. Without the assistance of educators at Ashland in teaching style and patience, I would still be struggling with the English language today. I found that many instructors see my difficulties with comprehension and are willing to point out errors in grammar. They also give better tips on how to use the language properly. Even while writing this essay, I am

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Assignment - Essay Example In a massive scale business operation as Tesco, the management of human resource becomes a very challenging task. The leadership and management of the company plays a key role in its success and Tesco is known for its strong organisational culture, which has lent to its high performance. Managing workforce moral in service organisations of the scale of Tesco is a huge challenge, which needs innovative management and reward practices. This report assesses the leadership and management role within Tesco; the company culture which impacts upon its operations and the workforce motivation issues within the company. Leadership is defined as â€Å"the ability to influence individuals and groups to work toward attaining organizational objectives† (Weiss 2001). Leadership defined by Mescrn, Albert and Khedourn as â€Å"the ability to influence individuals and groups to work toward attaining organizational objectives† directly addresses the role of leadership in the context of organisational management. Leadership and management bears critical impact on the performance of an organisation as it is the leadership that can provide direction and vision to the rest of the organisation. In assessing the role of leadership and management at Tesco, the leadership style and contributions by Sir Terry Leahy should be addressed. Sir Terry Leahy, the dynamic 50-year old CEO of Tesco joined Tesco as a marketing executive in 1979 and progressed in career to be appointed to the board in 1992. Becoming the CEO in 1997, he has dramatically reshaped and driven the supermarket chain to be the leader in UK supermarket industry with impressive growth in not only local but also international markets. Being chosen as Britain’s â€Å"Business Leader of the Year 2003†; Fortune magazines’ â€Å" European Businessman of the Year 2003† as well Britain’s â€Å"Most Admired Business Leader 2005† are few accolades in recognitions of his leadership role at Tesco

Understand the approaches to human resources practices in Essay

Understand the approaches to human resources practices in organisations - Essay Example A few of the most common methods for assessing the performances of the employees and the organisations are as follows: Cortical incident method is concerned with recognising and defining specific events which are related to an employees’ performance. This method helps to recognise any drawbacks or decent activities of the employees that generated certain positive or negative instances in organisations and accordingly tries to develop methods for betterment (Waldt, 2004). Paired comparison method is the other well-liked method for performance management. This method comprises a list of relevant options which are intended for comparing one employee with certain other employee. This method is used for recognising the most effective employees in an organisation (Waldt, 2004). Management by Objectives (MBO) is another performance management method where supervisors and employers develop a list of objectives and make evaluations on the basis of the performances of the employees regularly. This method is mostly concerned with the goals accomplished by the employees without considering the ways of such accomplishments (Waldt, 2004). 360 degree feedback method a renowned method used in several organisations for assessing and managing the performances of the employees. In this method, employees provide confidential and anonymous assessments about the performances of their co-workers. Therefore, this method is useful for understanding the opinions of each employee about the activities and functions of other associates (Waldt, 2004). Performance management is a systematic procedure which involves various steps. The objective of these steps is to improve the efficiency of the organisation for achievement of mission and objectives. The process of performance management is described below: At the first phase, every organisation needs to plan the performance prospects and targets for

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Assignment - Essay Example In a massive scale business operation as Tesco, the management of human resource becomes a very challenging task. The leadership and management of the company plays a key role in its success and Tesco is known for its strong organisational culture, which has lent to its high performance. Managing workforce moral in service organisations of the scale of Tesco is a huge challenge, which needs innovative management and reward practices. This report assesses the leadership and management role within Tesco; the company culture which impacts upon its operations and the workforce motivation issues within the company. Leadership is defined as â€Å"the ability to influence individuals and groups to work toward attaining organizational objectives† (Weiss 2001). Leadership defined by Mescrn, Albert and Khedourn as â€Å"the ability to influence individuals and groups to work toward attaining organizational objectives† directly addresses the role of leadership in the context of organisational management. Leadership and management bears critical impact on the performance of an organisation as it is the leadership that can provide direction and vision to the rest of the organisation. In assessing the role of leadership and management at Tesco, the leadership style and contributions by Sir Terry Leahy should be addressed. Sir Terry Leahy, the dynamic 50-year old CEO of Tesco joined Tesco as a marketing executive in 1979 and progressed in career to be appointed to the board in 1992. Becoming the CEO in 1997, he has dramatically reshaped and driven the supermarket chain to be the leader in UK supermarket industry with impressive growth in not only local but also international markets. Being chosen as Britain’s â€Å"Business Leader of the Year 2003†; Fortune magazines’ â€Å" European Businessman of the Year 2003† as well Britain’s â€Å"Most Admired Business Leader 2005† are few accolades in recognitions of his leadership role at Tesco

The Emergence Of Jazz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Emergence Of Jazz - Essay Example It is at this age that the jazz music took over the country, and one would imagine that the Englishmen appreciated the culture of the Blacks. With 1919-1930 regarded as the Harlem Renaissance thanks to the spread of the culture of the Blacks, Jazz music spread exceptionally4. However, the Europeans would grab a section of the Jazz music lovers as they moved their music from New Orleans to Chicago so as they could accrue economic gain from their music5. It is evident that these whites enjoyed a huge deal from the Jazz market as it was crowded by African Americans in the times. For the Europeans, jazz music was a continuation of their Blues music. As seen in the work of Scaruffi, jazz musicians were simply singing like the Blue singing groups only that they played instruments as opposed to using their vocals6. The creativity in jazz music was then similar to that of the blues music. The voices of the musicians were simply fashioned to sound like that of the instruments. The instruments used explain what jazz music was for the Europeans and how the sounds played the role of the voices in the music7. The events that shaped the 1919 war played a huge role in the making of jazz music. The Europeans were motivated by their zeal to rise to power, and also they needed to define their style. Fitzgerald says that the generation of the time included teenagers in the course of the war and the events of the war motivated the youth and the jazz artists8. The war is still clear in the brains of numerous Englishmen. With this in mind, the jazz musicians then had the need to stimulate the nerves of its listeners. Fitzgerald says that the youth of the time were wild, while new types of audiences rose from the war9. Barker and  Barbara add that there involved the wealthy middle class’ kids, servicemen, bureaucrats, and women escalating to public service10. A close check of these audiences entails gender and class.

Household Behavior and Consumer Choice Essay Example for Free

Household Behavior and Consumer Choice Essay Issues of household behavior and consumer choices, lie in the field of microeconomics. Microeconomics, sometimes called the price theory is a branch of economics that concerns itself with the study of how households, individuals, and firms make their own private decisions on how to allocate scarce resources. In this research paper, I will seek to apply economic theories and mostly the consumer theory to analyze these decisions and their effects on consumption, interests and wages. ANALYSIS: DEFINITIONS: HOUSEHOLD BEHAVIOR: Household behavior is principally viewed and analyzed as the theory of consumer demand of various commodities or generally household consumption. In addition to this household behavior also concerns itself with production of commodities or services and the supply of labor by households. Consumer demand on the other hand concerns itself with how demand functions for various commodities are derived. This derivation is done considering the rational choice model based on utility maximization. In this analysis, economic constraints like budgets, income and commodity prices are considered for specific households. The consumer theory studies the issue of household likes and preferences applying indifference curves as well as budget constraints and relates these preferences to consumes demand curves. There are many economic variables that are used in the analysis of these preferences. Among the major variables, include the price per unit of a certain good and the money incomes of the specific consumers. A change in the price of a good usually has two major effects. Firstly, there is the substitution effect and secondly there is the income effect. The substitution effect usually arises from the relative change in prices of consumer goods. On the other hand, the income effect arises from changes in the purchasing power of the available money wage or income. The diagram below depicts the relationship between consumer demand and prices through indifference curves given budget constraints. When the price of good Y increases, the budget line will shift from BC2 to BC1. This is because when the price of good y increases households will buy less of the good but they will still buy the same quantity of good X as long as they wish. In order to maximize his or her utility the consumer will have to move from indifference curve I2 to I1. By doing this the consumer will be able to enjoy his/her preferences as normal. Incase the price of commodity Y decreases the budget line or the budget constraint will move from BC1 to BC2. This is because the consumer will now be able to purchase more of commodity y while at the same time enjoying the same amount of good X. in the same case, the consumer in order to maximize his/her utility will move from indifference curve I1 to I2. The same scenario will be applicable for price changes of good X. The income effect: The income effect is depicted in the diagram below. An increase or decrease of the consumer’s disposable income will cause a parallel shift of the consumer’s budget constraint. An increase in the disposable income will cause the budget constraint to shift to the right while a decrease in the income will cause the budget constraint to shift to the left. This applies for normal goods since the indifference curves will react differently for inferior goods and Giffen goods (goods with a snob appeal). For inferior goods as the income increases, less of the commodity will be consumed. This is because the increased income will cause the consumers to seek higher or better goods. For Giffen goods as the income, increases the amount of goods purchased may either increase or remain the same. Generally, the effects can be summed up to the substitution effect and the income effect. The substitution effect usually is a price change that affects the slope of the budget line (constraint), but leaves the consumer on the same equilibrium indifference curve. In cases where the good in question is a normal good then the price effect will outweigh the substitution effect, but in cases where the good is an inferior good then the substitution effect will outweigh the price effect. Leisure-labor tradeoff: The time that any consumer has to allocate for different purposes is called time endowment. The price of leisure is analyzed using the consumer theory, with some slight adjustments. In this case, leisure is assumed to be a good and consumption is considered to be another good. Since consumers have scarce and finite time then they will have to choose between leisure, which earns no money, and consumption of labor that earns an income. Regardless of this trade off the change in the unit price of leisure will have a huge effect on the working time since a reduction or an increase in the price of labor will lead to less work and more work respectively. Wage and interest rates: Wages can be analyzed both as a cause and as effect of consumer behavior. They are a cause in the sense that as wages increase so does the consumption of households increase. On the other hand, wages can be viewed as an effect of consumption behavior since they are indirectly determined by the consumer price index. Both real and nominal interest rates are affected by consumer behaviors. Depending on the liquidity within the economy, the consumption behavior of households can cause an increase or decrease in the level of interest rates. Conclusion: Many variables that are dealt with in microeconomics usually have an indirect effect in the field of macroeconomics. The determination of the national income do consider the value that households contribute either in the form of consumption or services that they render. In addition to this, the level of inflation is also slightly affected by the consumption and expenditure behaviors of the households. Consumer theory plays a very important role in explaining household behaviors. However, the field of macroeconomics also needs to be keenly looked at since it deals with economic aggregates. References: Mankiw, N. G. (2004), Principles of economics (3rd Ed. ), Chicago, ILLIOIS: Thomson South-Western McWilliams Gary. Analyzing Customers the wall street journal,Monday, November 8, 2004. Available at:http://online. wsj. com/article/SB109986994931767086. html Philip Hardwick (1982), an Introduction to Modern Economics, Longman, U. K

Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius

Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius 2.1 Definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) CSR has been defined as the duty of the organization to respect individuals rights and promote human welfare in its operations (Manakkalathil and Rudolf, 1995; Oppewal et al., 2006). Businesses not only have the economic responsibility of being profitable and the legal responsibility to follow the laws or ground rules that guide their ability to achieve their economic requirements, but they also have ethical responsibilities that include a range of societal norms, or standards (Carroll, 2000). CSR has been around for more than two decades. During the later half of twentieth century there arose the idea of the corporate social contract, which today underlies the CSR concept. Given the sometimes adverse effects of business decision making on society as well as corporate reliance on society, the notion of an implied corporate social contract was conceived by social and economic theorists. This contract spells out societys expectations of business as well as (although much less discussed) businesss expectations of society (Bowie, 1983). There is no single authoritative definition of CSR (ISO COPOLCO, 2002). The CSR agenda seems to be a loosely defined umbrella embracing a vast number of concepts traditionally framed as environmental concerns, public relations, corporate philanthropy, human resource management and community relations. One of the most referred definitions is by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (1999) that defines CSR as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at largeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. CSR means being a good steward of societys economic and human resources ( Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2001). In summary, CSR entails the obligation stemming from the implicit à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“social contractà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? between business and society for firms to be responsive to societys long-run needs and want s, optimizing the positive effects and minimizing the negative effects of its actions on society. To synchronize that organizational social responsibility concerns are treated in the same routine manner in which legal, financial, and marketing concerns are addressed, four theories of corporate social responsibility have been advanced in the literature. The four positions are the classical, stakeholder, social demandingness, and social activist theories. The classical theory is the oldest of the four, and is grounded in classical economic theory. Firstly business executives are said to be primarily responsible to the shareholders of the corporation and their primary goal is to promote efficiency and secure effective economic performance. Secondly managers are said to be responsible to respond to the shareholders demands. These views are often thought to coincide with each other, because it is usually assumed that the main demand of shareholders is to maximize economic performance. In addition, both versions agree that managers are to perform their corporate function according to the laws and, thus, to avoid such things as fraud and deception. Friedman (1970), points out à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Here the businessman self-selected or appointed directly or indirectly by stockholders is to be simultaneously legislator, executive, or juristà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦He becomes in effect a public employee, a civil servant, even though he remains in name an e mployee of a private enterprise.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? This theory, albeit the oldest of the four theories, is still well and alive; it has many supporters and proponents among academicians and practitioners. The second theory is the stakeholder theory which integrates the main idea of classical theory, that is, corporate executives are responsible to stockholders. Nevertheless, what differs it from classical theory is that other groups are directly affected by the conduct and decision of the firm. These groups can employees, consumers, creditors, suppliers, and legal sub-systems who have a stake in the organisation and who might affect, in one way or another, the corporate decision making process. Furthermore, corporate executives have a direct responsibility to promote the interests of these groups. The main disagreement among stakeholder theorists, however, over whether stakeholder interests of these groups take precedence over the financial interests of stockholders or the stakeholder interests are the overriding ones. Social demandingness theorists argue that corporations have a responsibility to protect and promote certain interests of the general public. They agree with the stakeholder theorists that the interests of stakeholder groups are important, but they believe that these interests do not override non-stakeholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ interests or demands for such things as safety, health, freedom, and prosperity. As with the stakeholder theory, this theory repudiates the notion that there is some balanced or sensible list of tangible responsibilities that corporate executives always have toward society. The list varies as the nature and ranking of the interests or demands of the public change. The fourth and final theory is the social activist theory which is distinctively the most socially and morally demanding of the four theories. While agreeing with the stakeholders and social demandingness theories that executives have responsibilities toward stakeholders groups and the general public, social activistsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ theorists argue that corporate managers should sometimes strive to undertake projects that advance the interests of the public even when these undertakings are neither expected nor demanded by them. Social activists theorists contend that such projects should, for the most part, be in the area of corporate know-how, but they sometimes urge that executives deliberately take on social projects for which they have no special training or expertise 2.1 Types of CSR and Corporate Governance The notion that business has duties to society is firmly entrenched, although in the past several decades there has been a revolution in the way people view the relationship between business and society. Carroll (1979) and other researchers believe that we should judge corporations not just on their economic success, but also on non-economic criteria. Carroll (1979) proposed a popular four-part definition of CSR, suggesting that corporations have four responsibilities or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“four facesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Carroll, 2000b, p. 187) to fulfill to be good corporate citizens: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic: Economic responsibility. Economic responsibility is to be profitable for principals, by delivering a good quality product, at a fair price, is due to customers. Legal responsibilities. Legal duties entail complying with the law and playing by the rules of the game Ethical responsibilities. Ethical duties overcome the limitations of legal duties. They entail being moral, doing what is right, just, and fair; respecting peoples moral rights; and avoiding harm or social injury as well as preventing harm caused by others (Smith and Quelch, 1993). Philanthropic responsibility. Interest in doing good for society, regardless of its impact on the bottom line is what is called altruistic, humanitarian or philanthropic CSR. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“giving backà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? time and money in the forms of voluntary service, voluntary association and voluntary giving à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" is where most of the controversy over the legitimacy of CSR lies. CORPORATE GOUVERNANCE (CG) Moreover, CSR is closely linked with the Corporate Governance of the organization, be it hotel organization. Any of those types of CSR should start in the hotel organizations first and then move to external environment. The key people should be taken into consideration so the CSR practices should be geared towards the internal customers who will in turn become CSR delegates to reach the external customers and environment. Companies must improve their business models by bringing CSR and sustainability into their strategy. Shleifer and Vishny (1997) define CG as the ways in which suppliers of finance to organisations assure themselves of getting a return on investment. Over the years, CG has evolved from the traditional à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“profit-centered modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. By incorporating the community in which firms operate, the political environment, laws and regulations, and more generally the markets in which firms are involved. See Figure 1: The Business in Society which reflects a stakeholder perspective on the firm (Jensen, 2001) 2.1The Hospitality Industry à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Definitions Definitions of the hospitality have been approached from a number of different perspectives. Most of them combine physiological and psychological elements with security and levels of service. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hospitality is concerned with the provision of physiological and psychological comfort with defined levels of service. The satisfactions may be physiological (thirst, bed, warmth), economic (value for money), social (company, service) and psychological (self-esteem, status, security).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Source: C.Cooper, R.Shepherd, J. Westlake (1994) Even if the approach to defining hospitality may shift according to the authors, there are a number of integral elements that are common to all. These are: Hospitality is a complex combination of tangible and intangible features and benefits Hospitality involves a satisfying interaction between the service provider and the customer Hospitality provides guests with security, psychological and physiological comfort by offering food, beverage and accommodation. Therefore, bearing in mind the above characteristics, a simpler definition of the hospitality industry may be: The Hospitality Industry is involved with providing accommodations, food, beverage, entertainment, comfort and recreation for travelers away from their usual residences and normal surroundings. The industry also naturally look forward to meet the customer`s needs for safety and support of their persons, property, modes of transportation, and even the varying purpose of their travel. Speaking generally, those who make use of hospitality services demand attainment of a professional level of quality consistent with world standards, although perhaps adjusted for local conditions. They anticipate the facilities will be clean, comfortable, safe and secure. They expect good food and beverage at a reasonable rate. Furthermore, they look for courtesy, friendliness, respect and identification from the host. Perhaps more importantly they demand honesty, truth and equity in their dealings with the operator and his employees. Hospitality Industry In Mauritius HISTORICAL BACKGROUND In Mauritius, the first hotel was the Park Hotel in 1952 so as to accommodate the crew members coming at that time. Then came the Mauritius Hotel, the first beach hotel, built in 1954 at Le Morne followed by Le Chaland, another beach hotel in 1961. But the real development of tourism took place soon after Mauritius got its independence from the British. In early 1970`s the creation of Trou aux Biches Hotel by the Mauritius Hotels, the setting up of the Club MeditÃÆ' ©ranÃÆ' ©e and the Saint GÃÆ' ©ran Hotel by the Southern Sun Hotels as well as the Merville Beach Hotel by the ex-British Colons who wanted to come back here during the winter months of England. The Mauritius Hotel is now the Beachcomber group and the Southern Sun Hotels is the Sun International Resorts Limited. At present there are 95 hotels in Mauritius and there are not less than 5 more under construction as per the registered list set by the Ministry of Tourism. The numbers of hotels, rooms and bed places have increased constantly from 1991. Moreover the Prime Minister has announced his vision to reach 2 million tourists in 2015. Consequently an average annual growth of 10% in tourist arrival is expected. In order to reach this target, an approximate nu mber of 18500 rooms should be made available. This will bring about the creation of around 37000 direct jobs and double the amount in terms of indirect jobs. Due to the rapid growth of tourism and hospitality industry, government has introduced incentives for the private sector to bring in a sustainable development, namely by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. This is achievable through proper public-private sector partnership. Overview of the Hotel industry IN MAURITIUS The hospitality industry in Mauritius has developed rapidly during the past 25 years. The coastal regions as well as the interior part of the island are constantly changing with the construction of the hotels and the increasing number of vehicles being used for the tourism industry. In 2007, the tourism industry was considered the third pillar of the economy after Sugar and Textile, and currently it plays a vital role in the economic growth of the country. The undoubted fall of 35% in the price of sugar and the removal of preference agreement with the EU market, has earmarked the tourism industry as the main industry capable of boosting the Mauritian economy. In July 2008, according to the last bulletin published by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), Mauritius welcomed 81,169 tourists as compared to 77,225 in 2007, registering a 5.1% growth over the same period a year ago. Table 1: Monthly tourist arrivals, July 2007 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" July 2008 Source:Tourism sector performance for the month of July, AHRIM Report, August 2008, pg 2 But after two decades of impressive growth, the need for responsible corporate governance has been felt in the country as the attitudes; mentality and knowledge of those working in that industry have not evolved at the same pace in terms of social responsibility and environmental awareness. Impacts of this rapid and somehow unplanned development are being experienced in the environment at large. Still, a lot has to be done to meet the competitive edge through proper campaign and involvement of all stakeholders so as to contribute towards sustainable development of the hospitality sector. In order to support its continuous growth, the Mauritian Tourism and Hospitality industry needs well-trained staff with full knowledge of their product while respecting the socio-economic and cultural environment in which the Mauritian tourism product is evolving. It is really important to maintain a high standard of efficiency and service so as to meet the requirements of an increasingly competitive and sophisticated global market. 2.7 CSR in the hotel industry In Mauritius Within the hospitality industry it has been agreed that there are increasing environmental and societal concerns. The big question is how to manage our environmental impact as demand grows against a backdrop of increasing vulnerability. As a result of demand for more sustainable destinations and travel preferences, management policies are being felt. Hotels practicing CSR look at the following areas: Workplace (where employees are treated equally and fairly) Marketplace (stakeholders) Environment (which has to be sustained for the future generation) Community Ethics Human rights Many hotels are now aware of CSR practices and have begun to use environmental-friendly products. Hotels in Mauritius are reducing the use of hazardous or non-degradable chemicals. Big hotel chains like Oberoi Mauritius recycle oil, water and plastic bottles while all hotels with more than 50 rooms are compel to recycle water as per the legislation. Hotels tend to purchase products that have a reduced environmental impact during their life cycle, from suppliers that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility to their customers and the society. Furthermore, Association des Hoteliers et Restaurateurs de L`Ile Maurice (AHRIM), is fully supporting the CSR initiatives initiated by the Mauritian Government. Through its members, they are actively putting forward the CSR activities on a regional basis all over the island. (See Appendix 1: Recommended CSR activities by AHRIM to its Members in June 2008). Stakeholders (employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, business partners, government) are getting more and more involved the hotelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ CSR activities. Hotel employees are educated to make a conscious decision in favour of environment and social issues in their private and business lives. Hotel guests are informed about CSR activities and are asked to participate in responsible business activities within the hotels and to work together to find innovative solutions that satisfy the hotelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic, environmental and social objectives. Managers are asked to abide by local and EU legislation especially on labour laws, health and safety, human rights and the environment. A great deal can be done when developing a hotel property in order to make both the development process and the eventual operation more environmentally sustainable. One of the aims of CSR is to make the community benefit from the hotel industry. 2.8 Benefits of CSR in the hotel industry Hotels who adopt CSR into their operations and public image depend on the following factors: Size Level of diversification Research and Development Advertising Government Intervention Consumer Income Labour market conditions Stage of the industry life cycle However this differs for different hotel organization, for example, larger hotels like international hotel chains may operate a CSR program at a lower cost than a small hotel because of economies of scale. It is a method for organization to distinguish themselves from their competitors Firstly, hotels benefit from CSR as it helps to reduce operating cost such as implementing of recycling and energy saving programs. Secondly, their brand image and reputation are enhanced as consumers prefer companies with CSR programs. Another benefit derived by hotels is in terms of productivity and quality since productivity goes up whenever working conditions improve. Other beneficiaries of the CSR programs are immediate environment in which the company is evolving. It comprises of the local community, neighboring villages, employees who usually live in those areas, the hotel guests and the host country at large. Hotels are expected to have ethical and social commitments, valued connections with partners and consistency over time to build trust with the stakeholders. In doing so, the hotel organizations are also developing societal marketing concept, therefore beneficiate from it. Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius 2.1 Definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) CSR has been defined as the duty of the organization to respect individuals rights and promote human welfare in its operations (Manakkalathil and Rudolf, 1995; Oppewal et al., 2006). Businesses not only have the economic responsibility of being profitable and the legal responsibility to follow the laws or ground rules that guide their ability to achieve their economic requirements, but they also have ethical responsibilities that include a range of societal norms, or standards (Carroll, 2000). CSR has been around for more than two decades. During the later half of twentieth century there arose the idea of the corporate social contract, which today underlies the CSR concept. Given the sometimes adverse effects of business decision making on society as well as corporate reliance on society, the notion of an implied corporate social contract was conceived by social and economic theorists. This contract spells out societys expectations of business as well as (although much less discussed) businesss expectations of society (Bowie, 1983). There is no single authoritative definition of CSR (ISO COPOLCO, 2002). The CSR agenda seems to be a loosely defined umbrella embracing a vast number of concepts traditionally framed as environmental concerns, public relations, corporate philanthropy, human resource management and community relations. One of the most referred definitions is by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (1999) that defines CSR as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at largeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. CSR means being a good steward of societys economic and human resources ( Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2001). In summary, CSR entails the obligation stemming from the implicit à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“social contractà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? between business and society for firms to be responsive to societys long-run needs and want s, optimizing the positive effects and minimizing the negative effects of its actions on society. To synchronize that organizational social responsibility concerns are treated in the same routine manner in which legal, financial, and marketing concerns are addressed, four theories of corporate social responsibility have been advanced in the literature. The four positions are the classical, stakeholder, social demandingness, and social activist theories. The classical theory is the oldest of the four, and is grounded in classical economic theory. Firstly business executives are said to be primarily responsible to the shareholders of the corporation and their primary goal is to promote efficiency and secure effective economic performance. Secondly managers are said to be responsible to respond to the shareholders demands. These views are often thought to coincide with each other, because it is usually assumed that the main demand of shareholders is to maximize economic performance. In addition, both versions agree that managers are to perform their corporate function according to the laws and, thus, to avoid such things as fraud and deception. Friedman (1970), points out à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Here the businessman self-selected or appointed directly or indirectly by stockholders is to be simultaneously legislator, executive, or juristà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦He becomes in effect a public employee, a civil servant, even though he remains in name an e mployee of a private enterprise.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? This theory, albeit the oldest of the four theories, is still well and alive; it has many supporters and proponents among academicians and practitioners. The second theory is the stakeholder theory which integrates the main idea of classical theory, that is, corporate executives are responsible to stockholders. Nevertheless, what differs it from classical theory is that other groups are directly affected by the conduct and decision of the firm. These groups can employees, consumers, creditors, suppliers, and legal sub-systems who have a stake in the organisation and who might affect, in one way or another, the corporate decision making process. Furthermore, corporate executives have a direct responsibility to promote the interests of these groups. The main disagreement among stakeholder theorists, however, over whether stakeholder interests of these groups take precedence over the financial interests of stockholders or the stakeholder interests are the overriding ones. Social demandingness theorists argue that corporations have a responsibility to protect and promote certain interests of the general public. They agree with the stakeholder theorists that the interests of stakeholder groups are important, but they believe that these interests do not override non-stakeholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ interests or demands for such things as safety, health, freedom, and prosperity. As with the stakeholder theory, this theory repudiates the notion that there is some balanced or sensible list of tangible responsibilities that corporate executives always have toward society. The list varies as the nature and ranking of the interests or demands of the public change. The fourth and final theory is the social activist theory which is distinctively the most socially and morally demanding of the four theories. While agreeing with the stakeholders and social demandingness theories that executives have responsibilities toward stakeholders groups and the general public, social activistsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ theorists argue that corporate managers should sometimes strive to undertake projects that advance the interests of the public even when these undertakings are neither expected nor demanded by them. Social activists theorists contend that such projects should, for the most part, be in the area of corporate know-how, but they sometimes urge that executives deliberately take on social projects for which they have no special training or expertise 2.1 Types of CSR and Corporate Governance The notion that business has duties to society is firmly entrenched, although in the past several decades there has been a revolution in the way people view the relationship between business and society. Carroll (1979) and other researchers believe that we should judge corporations not just on their economic success, but also on non-economic criteria. Carroll (1979) proposed a popular four-part definition of CSR, suggesting that corporations have four responsibilities or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“four facesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Carroll, 2000b, p. 187) to fulfill to be good corporate citizens: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic: Economic responsibility. Economic responsibility is to be profitable for principals, by delivering a good quality product, at a fair price, is due to customers. Legal responsibilities. Legal duties entail complying with the law and playing by the rules of the game Ethical responsibilities. Ethical duties overcome the limitations of legal duties. They entail being moral, doing what is right, just, and fair; respecting peoples moral rights; and avoiding harm or social injury as well as preventing harm caused by others (Smith and Quelch, 1993). Philanthropic responsibility. Interest in doing good for society, regardless of its impact on the bottom line is what is called altruistic, humanitarian or philanthropic CSR. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“giving backà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? time and money in the forms of voluntary service, voluntary association and voluntary giving à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" is where most of the controversy over the legitimacy of CSR lies. CORPORATE GOUVERNANCE (CG) Moreover, CSR is closely linked with the Corporate Governance of the organization, be it hotel organization. Any of those types of CSR should start in the hotel organizations first and then move to external environment. The key people should be taken into consideration so the CSR practices should be geared towards the internal customers who will in turn become CSR delegates to reach the external customers and environment. Companies must improve their business models by bringing CSR and sustainability into their strategy. Shleifer and Vishny (1997) define CG as the ways in which suppliers of finance to organisations assure themselves of getting a return on investment. Over the years, CG has evolved from the traditional à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“profit-centered modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. By incorporating the community in which firms operate, the political environment, laws and regulations, and more generally the markets in which firms are involved. See Figure 1: The Business in Society which reflects a stakeholder perspective on the firm (Jensen, 2001) 2.1The Hospitality Industry à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Definitions Definitions of the hospitality have been approached from a number of different perspectives. Most of them combine physiological and psychological elements with security and levels of service. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hospitality is concerned with the provision of physiological and psychological comfort with defined levels of service. The satisfactions may be physiological (thirst, bed, warmth), economic (value for money), social (company, service) and psychological (self-esteem, status, security).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Source: C.Cooper, R.Shepherd, J. Westlake (1994) Even if the approach to defining hospitality may shift according to the authors, there are a number of integral elements that are common to all. These are: Hospitality is a complex combination of tangible and intangible features and benefits Hospitality involves a satisfying interaction between the service provider and the customer Hospitality provides guests with security, psychological and physiological comfort by offering food, beverage and accommodation. Therefore, bearing in mind the above characteristics, a simpler definition of the hospitality industry may be: The Hospitality Industry is involved with providing accommodations, food, beverage, entertainment, comfort and recreation for travelers away from their usual residences and normal surroundings. The industry also naturally look forward to meet the customer`s needs for safety and support of their persons, property, modes of transportation, and even the varying purpose of their travel. Speaking generally, those who make use of hospitality services demand attainment of a professional level of quality consistent with world standards, although perhaps adjusted for local conditions. They anticipate the facilities will be clean, comfortable, safe and secure. They expect good food and beverage at a reasonable rate. Furthermore, they look for courtesy, friendliness, respect and identification from the host. Perhaps more importantly they demand honesty, truth and equity in their dealings with the operator and his employees. Hospitality Industry In Mauritius HISTORICAL BACKGROUND In Mauritius, the first hotel was the Park Hotel in 1952 so as to accommodate the crew members coming at that time. Then came the Mauritius Hotel, the first beach hotel, built in 1954 at Le Morne followed by Le Chaland, another beach hotel in 1961. But the real development of tourism took place soon after Mauritius got its independence from the British. In early 1970`s the creation of Trou aux Biches Hotel by the Mauritius Hotels, the setting up of the Club MeditÃÆ' ©ranÃÆ' ©e and the Saint GÃÆ' ©ran Hotel by the Southern Sun Hotels as well as the Merville Beach Hotel by the ex-British Colons who wanted to come back here during the winter months of England. The Mauritius Hotel is now the Beachcomber group and the Southern Sun Hotels is the Sun International Resorts Limited. At present there are 95 hotels in Mauritius and there are not less than 5 more under construction as per the registered list set by the Ministry of Tourism. The numbers of hotels, rooms and bed places have increased constantly from 1991. Moreover the Prime Minister has announced his vision to reach 2 million tourists in 2015. Consequently an average annual growth of 10% in tourist arrival is expected. In order to reach this target, an approximate nu mber of 18500 rooms should be made available. This will bring about the creation of around 37000 direct jobs and double the amount in terms of indirect jobs. Due to the rapid growth of tourism and hospitality industry, government has introduced incentives for the private sector to bring in a sustainable development, namely by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. This is achievable through proper public-private sector partnership. Overview of the Hotel industry IN MAURITIUS The hospitality industry in Mauritius has developed rapidly during the past 25 years. The coastal regions as well as the interior part of the island are constantly changing with the construction of the hotels and the increasing number of vehicles being used for the tourism industry. In 2007, the tourism industry was considered the third pillar of the economy after Sugar and Textile, and currently it plays a vital role in the economic growth of the country. The undoubted fall of 35% in the price of sugar and the removal of preference agreement with the EU market, has earmarked the tourism industry as the main industry capable of boosting the Mauritian economy. In July 2008, according to the last bulletin published by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), Mauritius welcomed 81,169 tourists as compared to 77,225 in 2007, registering a 5.1% growth over the same period a year ago. Table 1: Monthly tourist arrivals, July 2007 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" July 2008 Source:Tourism sector performance for the month of July, AHRIM Report, August 2008, pg 2 But after two decades of impressive growth, the need for responsible corporate governance has been felt in the country as the attitudes; mentality and knowledge of those working in that industry have not evolved at the same pace in terms of social responsibility and environmental awareness. Impacts of this rapid and somehow unplanned development are being experienced in the environment at large. Still, a lot has to be done to meet the competitive edge through proper campaign and involvement of all stakeholders so as to contribute towards sustainable development of the hospitality sector. In order to support its continuous growth, the Mauritian Tourism and Hospitality industry needs well-trained staff with full knowledge of their product while respecting the socio-economic and cultural environment in which the Mauritian tourism product is evolving. It is really important to maintain a high standard of efficiency and service so as to meet the requirements of an increasingly competitive and sophisticated global market. 2.7 CSR in the hotel industry In Mauritius Within the hospitality industry it has been agreed that there are increasing environmental and societal concerns. The big question is how to manage our environmental impact as demand grows against a backdrop of increasing vulnerability. As a result of demand for more sustainable destinations and travel preferences, management policies are being felt. Hotels practicing CSR look at the following areas: Workplace (where employees are treated equally and fairly) Marketplace (stakeholders) Environment (which has to be sustained for the future generation) Community Ethics Human rights Many hotels are now aware of CSR practices and have begun to use environmental-friendly products. Hotels in Mauritius are reducing the use of hazardous or non-degradable chemicals. Big hotel chains like Oberoi Mauritius recycle oil, water and plastic bottles while all hotels with more than 50 rooms are compel to recycle water as per the legislation. Hotels tend to purchase products that have a reduced environmental impact during their life cycle, from suppliers that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility to their customers and the society. Furthermore, Association des Hoteliers et Restaurateurs de L`Ile Maurice (AHRIM), is fully supporting the CSR initiatives initiated by the Mauritian Government. Through its members, they are actively putting forward the CSR activities on a regional basis all over the island. (See Appendix 1: Recommended CSR activities by AHRIM to its Members in June 2008). Stakeholders (employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, business partners, government) are getting more and more involved the hotelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ CSR activities. Hotel employees are educated to make a conscious decision in favour of environment and social issues in their private and business lives. Hotel guests are informed about CSR activities and are asked to participate in responsible business activities within the hotels and to work together to find innovative solutions that satisfy the hotelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic, environmental and social objectives. Managers are asked to abide by local and EU legislation especially on labour laws, health and safety, human rights and the environment. A great deal can be done when developing a hotel property in order to make both the development process and the eventual operation more environmentally sustainable. One of the aims of CSR is to make the community benefit from the hotel industry. 2.8 Benefits of CSR in the hotel industry Hotels who adopt CSR into their operations and public image depend on the following factors: Size Level of diversification Research and Development Advertising Government Intervention Consumer Income Labour market conditions Stage of the industry life cycle However this differs for different hotel organization, for example, larger hotels like international hotel chains may operate a CSR program at a lower cost than a small hotel because of economies of scale. It is a method for organization to distinguish themselves from their competitors Firstly, hotels benefit from CSR as it helps to reduce operating cost such as implementing of recycling and energy saving programs. Secondly, their brand image and reputation are enhanced as consumers prefer companies with CSR programs. Another benefit derived by hotels is in terms of productivity and quality since productivity goes up whenever working conditions improve. Other beneficiaries of the CSR programs are immediate environment in which the company is evolving. It comprises of the local community, neighboring villages, employees who usually live in those areas, the hotel guests and the host country at large. Hotels are expected to have ethical and social commitments, valued connections with partners and consistency over time to build trust with the stakeholders. In doing so, the hotel organizations are also developing societal marketing concept, therefore beneficiate from it.