Hospitality

Chris Sheppardson

Description

This book is an introduction to one of the fast-developing core pillars in business, sustainability, as well as how it is closely tied into the concept of service.

Much has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic; we are seeing companies redefine their value propositions with leaders, once again, returning to core basics and beginning to lead through strong pillars.

The new emerging generations are demanding and expecting more. The bar has been raised and the challenge for all leaders is to meet this. There are new leaders emerging with strong visions of the future. As difficult as 2020 has been, we could well be sitting on the brink of a new age in both sustainability and in service. Out of the dark times could come a lot of good but it will require new styles of leadership to what has be seen over the last 20 years.

Sujets

• Industries
• Employabilité, métiers et formations
• Hospitality
• Travel
• Tourism
• Economics
• Business

Informations

• Publié par: Business Expert Press
• Date de parution: 20 janvier 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• EAN13: 9781953349736
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Hospitality
Hospitality
A New Dawn in Sustainability & Service
Chris Sheppardson
Hospitality: A New Dawn in Sustainability & Service
Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2021.
Cover design by Charlene Kronstedt
Interior design by Exeter Premedia Services Private Ltd., Chennai, India
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations, not to exceed 400 words, without the prior permission of the publisher.
First published in 2021 by
Business Expert Press, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.businessexpertpress.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-95334-972-9 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-95334-973-6 (e-book)
Business Expert Press Tourism and Hospitality Management Collection
Collection ISSN: 2375-9623 (print)
Collection ISSN: 2375-9631 (electronic)
First edition: 2021
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Mimi and Chessie.
I am so proud of you
There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded. ( 2 )
Mark Twain
Description
This book is an introduction to one of the fast developing core pillars in all business, sustainability, as well as how it is tied into the concept of service. Much has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic and we are seeing companies redefine their value propositions with leaders, once again, returning to core basics and beginning to lead through strong pillars.
The new emerging generations are demanding and expecting more. The bar has been raised and the challenge for all leaders is to meet this. There are new leaders emerging with strong visions of the future. As difficult as 2020 has been, we could well be sitting on the brink of a new age in both sustainability and in service. Out of the dark times could come a lot of good but it will require new styles of leadership to what has be seen over the last 20 years.
Keywords
sustainability; service; chief executive officer (CEO); managing director (MD); human resources director (HRD); millennials; Gen Z; BAME, diversity, C-suite; food; culture; economic; environmental; social; society; Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A); hotels; food service; restaurants; chefs; cuisine
Contents
Prologue
Introduction
Chapter 1 How Economic Sustainability Lost Its Way
Chapter 2 Sustainable Business
Chapter 3 Social Renewal
Chapter 4 Cultural Sustainability
Chapter 5 Change to the Work Place
Chapter 6 Sustainability Through Food
Chapter 7 The Cousins—Sustainability and Service
Chapter 8 Nothing Is More Important Than Trust and Relationships
Chapter 9 An Industry of Hope and Optimism, One Which Can Break Barriers
Chapter 10 Service Is purpose
References
About the Author
Index
Prologue

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.
Martin Luther King, Jr. ( 1 )
The last 20 years has seen many challenges from the Great Crash of 2008/09 to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis as well as a new generation struggle to break through and another reluctant to leave the stage. These challenges have had their consequences, good and bad. The Great Crash arguably set back many progressive agendas and the pandemic crisis may just mark a moment of reset. Time will tell whether this becomes a truth. The following book though is an explanation of the journey that many companies have travelled during the last few decades, the ups and downs, the setbacks and the progress, until we have reached a point where we can see a more progressive era lie within touching distance. This is the story of that journey.
Most moments of real change require a catalyst, a moment in time which makes change inevitable. It is often argued that change cannot be created without the natural “comfort zone” in which people live being removed. Genuine hardship creates a momentum for change; war, poverty, abuse, and fear. The interesting question to ask about the last decade is that as the world has never been safer, so has that safety hindered the change that has been desired and needed? Have all not strived hard enough to create the need for change that so many want and talk about? Have we all not walked the words we talk?
Many believe that the Covid-19 pandemic could mark such a moment in time. Many certainly believe that we are sitting on the brink of a new era which will have a strong central pillar built around the principle of sustainability.
The concept of “sustainability” is too often linked to issues of environmental impact when the truth is that it is also about a business’s impact on society, on culture, and on economics. Environment is naturally of major importance but so are our cultures, society, and economies. There has been a drive toward globalization which has also made many yearn for localism. Can both live alongside one another effectively?
During the pandemic, many companies have found their structures to be wanting, vulnerable, and less effective than was expected. There is a genuine need for stronger roots to be grown. Many blame the increased activity in M&A and by venture capitalists, both resulting in more narrow thinking and less investment in the roots of a culture, in values, and in leadership. Is this true and fair?
There is a growing belief that out of the dark times in 2020 could come a renewed, stronger approach toward service, people, community, and culture and in building stronger businesses.
There are many who have felt frustrated and disappointed by the slow progress made in sustainability over the last 10 years. The feeling is that economics and business plans have often been short-term focused in approach, which has hindered any real progress. It has also been felt, rightly or wrongly, that too many companies have verbally supported sustainability agendas but not in real action or investment. It has resulted in feeling frustration in the lack of progress across all four pillars of sustainability—economic, environmental, social, and cultural. There are hundreds of articles making a case for stronger actions.
It has taken time but there are signs of a genuine change not just in action but in mindset. An interesting comment was recently made during an informal conversation:

You should no longer not just think about how you serve your guest, but on how you impact on the lives of the community around.
It would be easy to assume that the comment was said by a leading hospitality executive but in fact it was said by a senior player from a leading financial institution. It reflects the sea change in mindset which is taking place where companies now understand that they cannot just operate as a silo but have a role to play in something which is bigger and can be more influential. The aforementioned senior player was describing his belief that a company does need today to possess high aspirations in how it behaves, both to their clients and to the community in which it sits. The younger, emerging generations are asking for better behaviors and higher aspirations. As they quietly move into positions of influence, a momentum of change is gradually building.
In conversation, the aforementioned financier went on to say

One of the biggest shifts has been an understanding that we were consistently losing respect because we were seen to be untrustworthy. Of course, this meant that we would lose clients and not be able to attract the best talent that we wanted. It was a hard realisation. It did remind me of the Conservative Party (in the UK) back in about 2002 when they openly accepted that they were seen as “The Nasty Party”. It took The Conservatives five years to accept this reality and then another seven or eight years to become electable. It has probably taken us more than a single decade to accept and it may take another decade to win back real trust but that is the journey we have to begin. Expectations are rightly higher today than they have been before.
He does not sit alone. Many C-Suite executives are working hard to lead real cultural change within their businesses. There is a widespread acceptance that a lot of the problems which have evolved over the past 10 years have been as a result of poor leadership and poor behaviors. Too many companies did give up on investing in their cultures, in their missions and core purpose, and in their people in order to create models which registered the best results that they could. There are many CEOs and MDs who are now working hard to ensure that their business teams do start reinvesting back, not just in people, but the purpose of the company, the meaning of the company, its values, culture, and messaging. Profit is the result of a strong mission and purpose which brings all the stakeholders together rather than just being the sole purpose at all costs.
It marks a shift in mindset, an aspiration back to believing in something bigger, where leadership teams understand that they need to connect once again with their customers and with their employees through having a purpose which does embrace the sustainability agenda. Many harbor great hopes that we will see an emergence of greater care, compassion, and commitment toward communities, society, in business, and in the environment.
It could well be that we do sit at the start of an exciting new era, the brink of a new age where a strong balance between all four pillars (economic, social, cultural, and environmental) will stand far closer together and onc