Stakeholder Impact Analysis: Kimpton Hotels’ Earth Care Program Name Institution Date Stakeholder Impact Analysis: Kimpton Hotels’ Earth Care Program Introduction The Earth care Program was Kimpton Hotels’ plan for committed environmental responsibility. The primary purpose of this paper is to analyze the Kimpton Hotels’ Earth care Program through stakeholder analysis. The paper examines the commitment to social responsibility by the organization through introduction of several environmental sustainability systems such as non-toxic cleaning products, complimentary organic coffee, linen and towel reuse programs, and recycling of bottles, paper, cans, and cardboard (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). The stakeholder theory is a management theory that relates to ethics and morals of business managing through stating the stakeholder groups in an organization (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). Moreover, the theory emphasizes the relation that exists between a business organization and its stakeholders as it seeks to maximize value for all the stakeholders (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). This impact stakeholder analysis is presented through problem identification based on the case study considering the stakeholder interest, the primary of salient stakeholder identification, solutions to the identified problems, recommendations based on the solutions, and a conclusion that summarizes what the paper details. Key Problems One of the problems was the nationalization of the program, for example, the recycling initiatives that had been a success in other cities, for example, San Francisco where it was fieldtested and is among the most environmentally aware states in the USA (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). The recycling initiatives were expected to be resisted in some cities, for example, Denver, waste disposal to landfill is cheaper. The 39 Kimpton Hotels’ in Canada and North America are diverse in environmental concerns and awareness due to their different locations, and this is what was an issue regarding recycling initiatives in the Earth Care Program. In some states or areas, customers may prefer the organic cotton pillowcases or towels while in others, the customers may prefer the normal ones. This issue is what faces Michael Pace and his team in national implementation of the program. The main stakeholders that this problem affects include the company management and employees, customers or guests, and the shareholders in the company. The problem related to managers and employees is that they have to implement the recycling initiatives, and this makes their jobs more difficult thus, some resistance is expected. Not all consumers or guests as stated earlier would be satisfied with products recycled, and finally, the shareholders would suffer some loss before gaining from the cost-saving. Another problem associated with the cost of the program that would automatically lead to resistance from shareholders in the company, managers, and employees. A good example is the replacement of ordinary linens with those made of organic cotton as vendors had projected that the cost of the organic linens would be 50% more than the ordinary linens (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). The expected cost of switching all linen, including towels, pillowcases, and sheets in each of the hotel is an average of 100,000 USD to 150,000 USD (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). The problem is whether there was a way to negotiate the price and make this cheaper or change some of the linen by starting with others first as this would create problems regarding customer satisfaction. The program is thus faced with cost issues primarily related to environmentally friendly items used in the hotel industry. The increased cost of production does not guarantee returns, and this might affect the employees in terms of salaries as it might also lead to the hosting of guests being expensive, thus reduction in number. Other minor problems related to the program include the slow-pay returns and the benefits being intangible to the customers. The environment and the communities living around the hotels benefit from the program and are not affected by the cost. Stakeholder Analysis Map PRIMARY STAKEHOLDER S Managers Employees Owners/Shareholder s Customers KIMPTON HOTELS’ EARTH CARE PROGRAM NON-PRIMARY STAKEHOLDERS Vendors Government Environment/Communit y References Lawrence, A. T. & Weber, J. (2014). Business and society: stakeholders, ethics, public policy (14th edition). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin Lawrence, A. T. & Weber, J. (2014). “Kimpton Hotels’ Earth Care Program.” Business and society: stakeholders, ethics, public policy. 14th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
