Example Of Sustainability Critical Thinking

4.1 What a stakeholder is, and examples related to hospitality
A stakeholder is basically anyone or any group of people who has a real and genuine interest in the outcomes that any particular organization may face such as significant increases or decreases in earnings or its popularity and reputation. Customers, investors, and business partners can be considered as stakeholders because they can be affected, either directly or indirectly, by the events and outcomes that the subject business is likely to face. An example of this in the field of a hospitality management would be the tourists who stay in the hotels in the United States. The tourists, in that case, can automatically be considered as a stakeholder because they practically serve as the customers of the hotels.
4.2 Describe how the business view on stakeholders has changed over time
Stakeholders are basically the people or population that have a stake or concern on the state of a business or often a for profit organization. Whenever a business’ profits drop, for example, the investors can be considered as one of the primary stakeholders because they have invested a certain amount of their wealth betting that the business they are invested in would make their borrowed capital profitable. In class number four, it has been explained that it is a business’ major responsibility to use its resources and engage in activities that are designed to increase its profits and make sure that it stays within the rules of the game, something that goes in line with the interests of most stakeholders.
4.3 Explain the concept of The Salience of Stakeholders and how this might shape stakeholder relations
The concept of stakeholder salience was first proposed by Ronald Mitchell and Donna Wood in their work published in the Academy of Management Review in 1997. The salience of stakeholders was rather a theory that was developed in response to the competing definitions of the term stakeholders, noting in the process that the then current definition of stakeholders lacked a sense of urgency. They then suggested that a normative theory of stakeholder identification which consists of power to influence the form, the legitimacy of the stakeholders’ relationships with the firm, and the urgency of the stakeholders, be used.
4.4 Describe some of the issues that are commonly raised by stakeholder groups that have the potential to fatally damage a firm’s reputation
Different issues may be raised by different stakeholders. The population of customers is one of the most important stakeholders that a for-profit organization has to properly engage. The attitude of the business towards its customers, the business’ approach to corruption, and how the business’ handles issues related to the environmental sustainability of its core business operations, is some of the biggest issues raised by the stakeholders. Failure of the organization to address these issues would most likely result to the stakeholders having a negative perception of the organization.
4.5 Describe the term green hushing
Green hushing is a term that has been described Tree hugger, a prominent business and environment website that describes the behavior of certain businesses that are authentically doing good, often in a martyr way, characterized by silence as opposed to being proactive and vocal about their authentically sound business practices for fears that their reputation as an organization would only be tarred with the same brush that business who proclaim that are guided by sound business practices but are in reality not.
4.6 Identify and describe the key elements of successful stakeholder engagement
Successful stakeholder engagement is an important element of managing a certain set of business standards and guidelines. After all, without the presence of the stakeholders, a business would most likely cease to exist. A key element of stakeholder engagement is identifying the mechanisms to engage in different stakeholder groups, to engage to the fierce criticisms about the organization, and address the key areas of discord, and also to build trust and transparency in all those process, instead of running away from the consequences of unsuccessful or even unethical business practices.
5.1 Define the term supply chain and provide a descriptive example of what a typical supply chain might look like
It has been explained in the past lectures that the largest sustainability opportunities lie in the supply chain. However, the fact that the type of supply chain being described in that statement is one that will be used for sustainable projects or operations, one that is stable and efficient. A supply chain is often a non-linear and complex network of suppliers and sellers that work together to develop products based on partnerships in order to meet a market’s product demand and or choices. A fast food chain business that sells hamburgers to its customers, for example, work with several businesses in order to come up with the raw materials required for its hamburgers.
5.2 Describe what the traditional supplier or operator relationship was and how this is being re-shaped by world events and other stakeholder pressures
A traditional supplier or operator relationship can be characterized by linearity and simplicity wherein one person buys from another person and so on. In that traditional scenario, the concept of supply chain management is almost nonexistent. World events and other factors such as stakeholder pressures, the rapidly growing population and demand for products and services have fueled the creation of a new model or relationship between suppliers and operators, one that would enable them to meet all the demands and expectations from them.
5.3 Recognize the complexity of the supply chains within the hospitality sector
Supply chain management is particularly important for hospitality businesses because they are expected to provide excellent products (e.g. food, souvenirs, etc.) and services to customers. Supply chains provide the blueprint that the hospitality businesses would follow such as where they will get cheap food, discounts for bulk orders, and basically anything that would enable them to deliver the products and services that are part of their core business operations.
5.4 Describe the five common steps used to engage suppliers in responsible business practices
Common steps that hospitality businesses must take to engage in a responsibly managed business practices with suppliers include safeguarding human rights through the supply chain, selecting the products using responsible credentials, using the supply chain to deliver economic efficiency within supplier units and other hospitality businesses and most important of all, treating suppliers as business partners.
5.5 Provide real world examples of best practices in supply chain management
Some real world examples of businesses that engage in best supply chain management practices are Unilever when it initiated a supply chain management program aimed at reducing the impacts of primary, secondary, and tertiary suppliers on their core business and driving higher levels of efficiency via improved logistics; Marks and Spencer when they decided to use a free range of goods that they can sell aside from their traditional products like whole fresh turkey, duck, and gees, introducing clothing line of products, and even wood products; and Wal-Mart when it initiated a supply chain management program aimed at reducing 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2015 by spearheading a collective effort with the help of its suppliers or business partners.