Corporate Social Responsibility - Business Events Cairns - Case Study Example

Corporate Social Responsibility By Student’s Name Code+ course name Instructor’s Name University Name City, State Date Corporate Social Responsibility A primary aim of any new organization is to maximize profit and realize expansion. As organizations enhance profit and expand their areas of operations, they tend to achieve economies of scale. When organizations reach this point, they often have extra money to spend on non-profit yielding activities. Firms that have attained such heights often come back to show gratitude to the society in some ways. The gratitude is referred to as corporate social responsibility, which may involve a wide range of activities. However, it must not be assumed that only companies with large economies of scale are in a position to offer corporate social responsibility. Crowther and Aras (2008) explain that types of corporate social responsibility may vary depending on the intention of the responsibility. Some firms may directly support community events such as sports and education while other enterprises may opt to conserve nature for the sake of sustainability. Business Events Cairns is one of the major event organizers in Australia (Cairns, 2016). The event organizing company has managed to organize some major events that include business events. Business Events Cairns has developed and maintained a unique approach of organizing event with an aim of conserving the environment. Cairns and Great Barrier Reef offers many ingredients that would not be found in most parts of the world. The natural environment where the firm has specialized forms one of the unique packages that the firm offers to its esteemed visitors. The tourism has ventured into eco-tourism as a way of conserving the environment by encouraging people to visit their conservancies. One of the nature events that the travel and tourism agency have initiated is the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. The cable tour allows a tourist to have a view of a natural rainforest that is unique among the world’s heritage forests. The events enable tourist not only to have a view of the scenic environment but also to learn some ways to conserve the environment. The event is later accompanied by tree planting sessions and seminars that concentrate on sustainability issues. Presentation based on nature and conservation is made during the seminar. At the end of the day, the people who came to visit as tourists leave the event as conservatives for the benefit of the present and future environment. Another eco-adventure is the Hartley Crocodile adventure that also aims to conserve the natural environment (Cairns, 2016). The scene is well preserved for individuals who love the natural setting of wildlife and the natural habitat. Several activities such as spotting crocodiles in the natural environment are done later accompanied by presentations about wildlife. As the firm seeks to remain relevant in business, conservation of nature tops its priorities. Conservation of nature is a corporate social responsibility that ensures nature maintains its original characteristics for the benefit of the present and the future environment. The society may not benefit directly, but the valuation of the environment tends to be high for the natural environment that in areas where anthropogenic activities are robust. Another major CSR event that the firm has managed to organize is the international coral reef symposium that attracted people from various parts of the world (Cairns, 2016). Top scholars and numerous sponsors emerged in support for researches aimed at conservation of various coral reefs around the world. Such major events enable the firm to continue with the enormous efforts of protecting the natural environment. Corporate social responsibility is an activity that any firm must make an effort to engage in. Whether the event directly or indirectly benefits the society, it is a necessary move to pay back to the society for supporting the growth of the business. It is also a significant opportunity for educating and sensitizing the public on important issues such as sustainable development, environmental conservation, and natural resource management. Corporate social responsibility has ensured that Cairns maintain an excellent reputation not only in Australia but in most parts of the world. Part 2 Many firms that have established a reputation within a society are always quick to take up any opportunity to maintain a good public image. For instance, the in lessons from the Spanish experience have proven that social corporate responsibility is efficient in creation of value among large firms (Husted and Allen, 2007). The kind of reputation may vary depending on the attention such firms intend to attract. Firms that tend to win a local market will always concentrate their CSR on the local community. On the other hand, firms that intend to attract international attention may concentrate on factors that affect most parts of the world. The study in Spanish companies mostly involved manufacturing companies, which are different from tourism companies. Whatever the areas a firm may decide to concentrate, the principles of CSR are constant and applicable at all times. Whenever a firm fails to recognize the principles, an activity may not be considered as a CSR. According to Crowther and Aras (2008), the three principles of CSR are sustainability, accountability, and transparency. With reference to the Spanish case, corporate social responsibility is capable of enhancing the brand image of the Australian tourism company (Husted and Allen, 2007). Sustainability The concept of sustainability and sustainable development has gained a lot prominence in recent years. As population around the globe is increased, so did consumption and demand for raw materials (Crowther and Aras, 2008). When companies in Spain continue to exploit the natural resources, the concept of sustainable use must be addressed through CSR (Husted and Allen, 2007).Every person on earth will find one way, or another strives to meet his or her needs from the environment. However, the available natural stock cannot last long enough amid unsustainable exploitation. There is need to establish the concept of sustainability in every activity. Cairn has put in unique efforts to conserve the environment by venturing in eco-tourism and through this; the aspect of sustainability is achieved. Some events such as tree planting indicate that the firm has a sense of responsibility towards the environment. In ensuring sustainability, Cairns ensure that the natural environment maintains its scenic value with the hope that the future generation will enjoy the same natural scene. The firm hosts some events that aim to promote education and sensitization of the public on some issues including environmental protection and conservation. Through awareness, the public is encouraged to practice sustainable development and efficient use of resources. Accountability Any organization out to conduct a CSR must ensure that the aspect of accountability is maintained during the entire process. An organization should be able to proof that an event has a certain effect on the environment. Organizations should be able to come up with facts, which proof that their efforts are bearing fruits in both the short run and the long run (Crowther and Aras, 2008). For instance, Cairn has enough proof that all its efforts in conserving the natural environment are evident on the ground. The travel agency has taken on a responsibility to conserve the natural environment and can account for all its efforts since the environment has maintained its scenic beauty. Firms that fail to provide evidence for their actions tend to appear as if they are out to please the public. Tourists can still be able to view the crocodiles in their natural environment while the coral reefs still maintain its natural form. Transparency According to Crowther and Aras (2008), transparency is the last principle that firms should consider when carrying out CSR in a community or any given environment. Transparency implies that an organization should not have any hidden agenda that the public is not aware. Reliable information should be communicated to all stakeholders before any CSR event is conducted. Failure to include transparency in such events may lead to the destruction of reputation or raising of eyebrows. The public should be aware of the real intentions of a certain event and event take part in such activities without discrimination. CSR cannot be achieved without transparency as well as the participation of the public. Corporate social responsibility has to consider public participation as an important component for success. Public participation is important since the public is largely considered as the agent of change within the society. Public participation can be viewed under various categories like communities, federal organizations, non-governmental organizations and lobby groups. The whole concept about public leads to a critical issue of stakeholders who represent a group of people with vested interest in a specific area. No organization can conduct a CSR event without involving stakeholders at a certain point. Considering the double edges of the word stakeholders, the referred individuals either can affect a project or get affected by a project. Stakeholders may include managers, employees, clients, shareholders, and suppliers. Special groups that must also be considered in stakeholders’ engagement are the entire society, government, and the local community. Stakeholders will always have a final say whenever the use of natural resources arise. The same applies to any activity aimed at creating or maintaining change within the environment. Despite the fact that Cairns engages some stakeholders in its CSR, the levels of engagement still leaves a lot of gaps to be filled (Crowther and Aras, 2008). For instance, when the local community finds it hard to visit a natural site due to expenses, only rich people from far areas will tend to visit the site. On the other hand, the local environment plays an important role when it comes to management of localized resources. In addition, the travel agency uses a top-down approach that has often proven to be unsustainable in the long run. The community should learn to initiate and implement change as far as conservation of natural resources is concerned. The firm must increase the rate of participation of the local community in some ways. Cairns should aim to empower the local community by offering them employment opportunities and promoting social infrastructure in the local area. Free visits to the natural environment should be offered to the local community to make them fell the benefits o conservation. The community should be able to feel a sense of owning the natural environment or rather benefit from the revenue gained from the scenic sites. According to the stakeholder theory, the most important component that stakeholders may need is information (Crowther and Aras, 2008). The travel agency and event planner should increase its capacity to disseminate information to the public. Information enables the public and the firm to read from the same script of environmental conservation. When the public suffers from information deficiency, the efforts of conservation and preservation may prove to be futile. In this case, CSR might never achieve its intended goals of conserving the environment Part 3: Technology and natural resources One powerful tool that has managed to increase human capacity across various fields is technology. Technology may not have come to make life better but also provide solutions for effects that developed in the past. Technology can ensure that scare resources are prevented from over-exploitation by providing substitutes, enhancing efficiency and providing options (Meena & Singh, 2013). The available resources may not satisfy the total population, and therefore, technology can establish a means through which the few resources can be magnified to meet the human demand. Technology can enhance distribution, access, and allocation of resources. Technology can also be used as a primary tool for management of natural resources. If not well handled, technology may also be the worst enemy to natural resource management. Bibliography Cairns., 2016, Business Events Cairns& Great Barrier Reef: The Natural Place to Meet. Retrieved from Tourism and Events Quesnsland: http://www.businesseventscairns.org.au/ Crowther, D., & Aras, G., 2008, Corporate Social Responsibil. Retrieved from nsparency: http://mdos.si/Files/defining-corporate-social-responsibility.pdf Husted, B. W., & Allen, D. B. 2007. Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility and Value Creation among Large Firms: Lessons from the Spanish Experience. Long Range Planning 40, 594-610. Meena, M. S., & Singh, K. M., 2013, Information and Communication Technologies for Sustainable Natural Resource Management. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2244751 Read More