Tag Archives: CSR

Being everything to everyone

Posted on August 13, 2014 | Leave a comment

Companies wishing to be socially responsible face a world of good and important causes. Over the last few months I have been looking at Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the tourism industry and I have been amazed at the wide number of issues that fall under the topic of CSR.  Clearly, no company can address every issue – we simply can’t be everything to everyone. Choosing “the fights’ that are important to the company and its stakeholders is critical in managing this process.

A recent article on adding discipline to sustainability from McKinsey and Company is worth a read. I have been a fan of McKinsey and Co since I first read “In Search of Excellence” by McKinsey Alum,  Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, and find McKinsey’s research and insights useful. Enjoy !

Leave a comment

Posted in Corporate Social Responsibility

Tagged , ,

Imagine a new way…

Posted on May 16, 2014 | 1 comment

So often, tourism is a “bit player” in the health of a community. In the traditional models of tourism,  tour operators come and – at best – the visitors they bring spend money that contributes to the local economy. While the tourism income helps, there is a lot of  what economists call “leakage”.

Imagine a new type of tourism company – a company founded for the purpose of enhancing the cultural and economic benefit of the host community. Imagine a social enterprise – like Tom’s Shoes or Ethos Water – that plows back profits from tourism operations into the community itself . This is the model that responsible tour operator Adventure Alternative and its sister charity, Moving Mountains  have brought to the villages of Bumburi and Bupsa, high in the Himalaya. Congratulations to Gavin Bate, Ang Chhongba Sherpa and Pasange Tendi Sherpa and their team, for finding a new path for tourism in this special part of theP1020391 world.

1 Comment

Posted in Corporate Social Responsibility, Green Tourism, Heritage tourism, Indigenous tourism, Regenerative Tourism, social enterprise, Sustainable Tourism

Tagged , , ,

Great Green Talent Machine ? But how do I get the job ?

Posted on September 14, 2013 | 2 comments

Bain and Company, one of the world’s leading consultancy companies, recently released their report – “Great Green Talent Machine” touting the importance of CSR in recruiting talent. This is the latest in a series of articles and papers highlighting the importance of corporate reputation and values, often best expressed through their CSR activities, as a factor in attracting talent.

So what if you are the “talent”? You are attracted to the company and now you want to work with them. How do you get the job ? What do recruiters from these companies look for ?

As a college professor I know this question is particularly important for recent grads trying to establish themselves in new careers. Fortunately, recent research gives some answers to this important question. In a recent study conducted with Aini Karani, we asked college recruiters from hospitality companies whether they felt CSR was an important factor in recruiting college students. Corporate Reputation was the top reason they listed. CSR ranked 10th in things that recruiters felt attracted students to want to join their company. Interestingly – salary was ranked 13th !

Then we asked what they looked for in new recruits. The results reinforced the importance of attitude, team orientation and communications skills. The study showed that recruiters pay little attention to specific activities but that they are influenced by what they perceive to be  the values of the potential recruit.

The full study is published in Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality and Tourism – “Corporate Social Responsibility and College Recruiting in the Hospitality Industry” 

2 Comments

Posted in Corporate Social Responsibility, Green Jobs, Uncategorized

Tagged , ,