Introduction
Job creation remains one of the most important economic engagements for any business or organization. This process is normally coupled with economic development. Therefore, creating new employment and business opportunities is a contributor to economic development. Currently, world economies are struggling with a slow economy characterized by job cuts, layoffs and organizational restructuring.
Due to this, an organization’s management faces various challenges while trying to re-adjust in order to remain competitive and profitable. This is the reason why the private sector is currently awash with innovations and technologies that are being tried and tested to ensure corporate competitiveness and profitability.
While a balance within the private sector can be competitively achieved, there is always a challenge as far as the public sector is concerned.
Therefore, public sector organizations will cautiously and selectively apply practices that contribute to sustainable development. The reason for such a trend is most likely due to the public sector organizations’ resistance to restructuring. It can be noted also that the essence of such organizations is based on their defined structure.
Olympics development authority (ODA) is a public sector organization under the department of culture, media and sports of the UK government. This organization is responsible for the organization of Olympics and Paralympics in London in the year 2012.
ODA is working together with close to fifteen other stakeholders including Her Majesty’s government to ensure that the Olympic Games are a success and that the UK gets the long term benefits as the host. ODA has developed a number of related policies on various issues that are considered crucial to the success of the 2012 Olympic Games.
The intention of this study is to highlight and assess the challenges facing ODA in ensuring the delivery of its employment and business objective which is to create new employment (job creation) and business opportunities locally, regionally and nationally.
Literature Review
An evaluation of the ODA’s policy on the management of the upcoming games reveals an elaborate sustainability development policy framework. Indeed ODA has gone to great lengths to develop an employment creation and environment policy for the games. Presently, there are few facts on how an economy can be affected by a sustainable development approach.
Nonetheless, ODA has professionally postulated such a sustainable development plan to manage the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics games. Research indicates that numerous economic models have been developed lately alluding to the fact that various economies across the globe are seriously considering implementing environmentally driven policies.
However, it remains obvious that sustainability development planning and implementation remains a challenge basically because of social and political barriers. Towards a more positive note on this include research findings from recently held studies indicating positive employment and business impact as a result of sustainability development policy implementation.
However, these findings suggest that a societal saturation point is what will ultimately result into such phenomenon. It is on the basis of such findings that ODA has focused in order to derive its policy framework for the games. At this point a foreseeable challenge facing ODA would likely be the context of applying this policy framework.
It is likely to take enormous economic, political and social energy to ensure that this policy is seamlessly adopted among ODA’s fourteen partners working on the hosting of the games. Further still if these partners had a consensus on this policy, their approach and rates of implementation will vary greatly.
Sustainable development researchers have asserted that employee involvement is increasingly showing a noticeable effect on pollution prevention activities. These findings are likely to be the reason behind restructured employment policies across Europe and the world over being evident in current employment trends that now advocate green jobs (Casey 2004; Jacob 2011; Lefresne 1999).
This state is supported by the rapid growth in environmental technology sectors around Europe and beyond. Most importantly though is the fact that the focus in the near future is projected to be on pollution prevention and clean technologies (Hawken 2010; Hawken and Lovins 2008).
Basing on this trend, ODA has endeavored to ensure these facts are considered during the planning process for the games and evidently so, the committee is focused on setting up a clean energy generation plant to serve the games and the community thereafter (Olympic Development Authority (ODA), 2011).
While attempting to link the employment and environmental policies, this study is intended to identify the correlation between these two variables and highlight the likely challenges with a focus on the planners of the 2012 games in London.
According to Hewett and Foley 2000, “there appears to be plenty of evidence and research addressing the employment effects of environmental policies” (p.10). Therefore, ODA proposes an employment and business strategy that will focus on creating new employment and business opportunities locally, regionally and nationally during and after the 2012 games.
Accordingly, ODA proposes new employment opportunities at some stage in the infrastructure building phases of the games venues (ODA 2011). An important area of focus related to ODA’s preparation is the relocation of IBC/MPC close to Hackney Wick.
This facility has been offering employment opportunities and this is expected to continue during and after the upcoming games. IBC/MPC will later be converted to legacy use as an educational or commercial centre providing full time employment. The venue itself and the park around it will attract further human resource requirements.
This will be the source of employment at the Olympics Park and the neighbouring areas. The physical construction of the park itself is likely to be a labour intensive exercise leading to increase employment opportunities. ODA’s sustainability plan will cover a number of aims including the following:
- Ensuring that the recruitment and engagement process is fair and offers an opportunity to all.
- Ensuring that as much as possible and within the constraints of time and budget, communities have access to training and work placement that will eventually result into sustainable employment opportunities.
- Ensuring that procurement of work and goods as well as services is transparently and competitively carried out to attract maximum diverse categories of suppliers.
Therefore, a deliberate consideration by ODA for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) has been earmarked. These SMEs’ services as subcontractors will expand the employment opportunities bracket as new business opportunities are unveiled.
ODA’s reliance on social media and internet based methods to reach out with information is aimed at creating awareness about the opportunities for business and employment available due to the hosting of the games. ODA runs a website which has a facility to enable businesses to register their interests concerning tendering for contracts related to the games.
ODA will forecast the labour demands and skill requirements to assess the current requirements. This information can then be availed to key partners who will provide funds for training to meet ODA’s supply chain requirements.
On a regional scale, ODA will work with members of the five boroughs partnership board sharing all the information necessary to create employment and business opportunities. This will be achieved through the five borough employment brokerage service (ODA 2011).
Apparently partnerships here are vital to the success of ODA’s sustainability development plan on business and employment. Some of these partners include the London employment and skills taskforce (LEST) which is an initiative that looks beyond the games focusing on them just as a catalyst for comprehensive regeneration and improved productivity in London for the next two decades.
There is also the local employment and training framework (LETF), which focuses on tackling employment barriers and enterprise competitiveness during start up. This is intended to reduce disparities in labour market outcomes, improve skills and maximize the potential for productivity and innovation (ODA 2011).
Rationale and Justification of the Data Collection Methods
Generally research approaches are either qualitative or quantitative. The qualitative approach to research is an explorative method used to collect data, analyze it and report the data analysis findings based on a certain research question or case study. Under this approach, the research area is identified and a purpose for the research is specified before the data is collected and analyzed and thereafter the results reported and recorded.
Data organization and coding is a feature within the qualitative research approach. Quantitative research approach is the other option. This approach requires beginning with a theory. As the research progresses samples are selected based on a scientific theory. This approach also involves the use of mathematical models as a method of data validation.
For this study the qualitative approach will be used because this approach allows for the development of ideas and interpretations and case studying which is what has been used here to get data from various ODA publications on policy and planning.
The internet has also been used in this research to collect more data in relation to development and implementation of sustainable development strategy with a focus on creation of employment and business opportunities.
Findings Analysis and Discussion
At the moment a clear relationship between sustainable development agenda such as the one proposed by ODA and how this relates to the creation of employment opportunities may not be well defined.
However, conclusions can be drawn from the general trend based on government targets as well as scholarly evaluation reports on future options that involve technological change (Hitchcock and Willard 2009; Illinitch and Schaltegger 2000).
Technological change is a direct indicator of new opportunities that require job creation. Currently, the UK government’s climate change strategy intends to establish policies to cut UK CO2 emissions by 20% by 2010 (Harvard Business School Press 2007). It is also proposed to deliver 10% of electricity from renewable sources in the same period. Other government strategies like the landfill and waste have their targets as well.
The bottom line to achieving these targets will probably involve increased implementation of clean technology which requires new or combined job skills (Senge, Smith, Kruschwitz, Laur and Schley 2010). All of these targets affect economies in different ways.
The government will be preparing for employment consequences. Generally, the government policy in creating the right market framework to encourage sustainable development and planning is an important contributor towards the success of such policies as that laid down by ODA.
ODA which comprises the committee responsible for organizing the 2012 London Olympics is going to face a number of challenges based on the committee’s employment and business objective. It is definite that a slowing global economy is not an incentive to business growth let alone employment. With this in mind, ODA is likely to experience challenges in creating these new employment opportunities.
It is likely that the sustainability development plan proposed by ODA requires more funds to successfully implement. These funds must be used to try and reduce the disparities arising from diverse perceptions that may be held by ODA’s partners in planning of the games.
Lobbying has been known to be one of the ways this can be achieved considering that sustainability strategy development continues to attract social and political barriers to implement (Casey 2004; Nichols and Ball 2006). As such ensuring the creation of employment and business opportunities requires a consideration of the various factors that will cause increased implementation costs.
Typically, the UK government is focused on implementing a carbon free city by the turn of a few decades. However, with such a consideration is the need to reassess natural resource utilization that provides the sustainability indicators. Within this campaign and as a government affiliated organization, ODA relies on other partners to facilitate the planning of the London Olympics games 2012.
ODA is currently challenged at having a collaborative approach towards sustainable development planning which may not be totally achieved. Since ODA will rely on other partners for funding and logistical support, it remains unlikely that all of these partners can fully subscribe to the sustainability development framework proposed by ODA.
Therefore, at the local level ODA may easily implement sustainability policies related to employment opportunities which though remain short-lived probably lasting slightly beyond the games season unless a collaborated approach to the strategy implementation is adopted.
Though sustainable development planning is considered as a government policy, the real cost of its implementation remains a challenge not just in the culture, media and sports department but in many other sectors within the government and beyond.
Research has revealed that a general notion currently in the public domain proposes that the implementation of sustainability development policies will cause job losses.
It is expected that this is the public perspective and ODA is likely to face skepticism even in trying to realize their objective of creation of employment opportunities, locally, regionally and nationally as proposed. Convincing the general public otherwise is definitely a cost intensive undertaking which is an indirect challenge as well.
Therefore, it might be necessary for ODA to invest much more in public awareness campaign to amplify the employment opportunities that will be created locally, regionally and nationally by a successful implementation of the sustainability development plan for the games.
It has been known for some time now that environmental issues have no social or political boundaries. As such it may be necessary for ODA to consider bringing on board all the stakeholders within the five boroughs involved in the planning (Reeves 2005).
Conclusion
Strategy formulation remains one of the most vital managerial undertakings. Apart from drafting the strategy to run the organization, there is a need to anchor the strategy on a competitive and profitable framework. Currently sustainable development strategy is considered as the standard strategy formulation of the future.
Sustainable development is a major feature in the UK’s government’s which focuses at future scenarios and technologies in the UK. The initial stage is the development and improvement of current technologies, especially within heavy industries thereby creating some ‘breathing space’ during which time policies can be altered to transform the model of economic behaviour.
This is going to include the development of cleaner processing technologies which have improved energy efficiency. Most sectors in the UK are currently within this stage.
The second stage involves preparing for the change. The change includes increased uptake of renewable energy technologies, transport modes that are sustainable and construction techniques that are less energy intensive. Therefore, the government’s targets for renewables, the decade long transport plan and waste strategy are featured as an attempt by the government to move the UK into the preparation for change stage.
This stage will also promise increased employment and business opportunities. However, it will be noted that changes in behaviour and technology will not necessarily happen all at once as timing may depend on technological progress or events which change public attitudes.
Hewett and Foley, 2000 in their writing indicate that:
The University of Bath study also looked at a ‘bottom-up’ methodology developed by AEA Technology to examine the employment impact of energy taxation on manufacturing industry across Europe.
The ‘bottom up’ modelling relies on specific information on the costs and characteristics of individual technologies available across different manufacturing sectors. The study concludes that both top down and bottom up models show the potential for modest employment gains flowing from an environmental tax reform. (p.12)
ODA has drawn its sustainable development plan for the games based on such findings and the government strategy framework.
Therefore, though the implementation may still be a little far off especially for certain areas of the policy, the accomplishment of the creation of employment and business opportunities remains in line with the government’s target indicators for achieving sustainable development although this may only be realized on a local level for a start.
Recommendations
Sustainable development planning is gaining support from many economies and governments around the world especially the developed nations that are quickly drawing and aligning their policies to this framework. These policies propose a green jobs boom as economies finally adapt and implement this strategy framework.
However, the challenge lies with a determination of the exact cost of policy implementation based on such a strategy. It is basically true that most of the framework implementation is still in the infancy stages. Considering this fact, ODA will face various challenges when trying to measure the levels of success in creation of employment opportunities (Bach 2005).
However, studies are showing that at an appropriate time, organizations around the world will eventually resort to sustainable development planning with noticeable benefits in the human resource sector (Price 2011). The implementation phase of such a plan is going to be actualized in a longer time frame than what was anticipated.
As such, creation of employment opportunities as proposed by ODA in their sustainable policy on the games will be realized on local proportions. A more elaborate and sustainable result for such an objective will only be achievable after other related sectors have adopted similar strategy framework probably as formulated by the UK government. Therefore, at the moment challenges towards successful implementation are likely.
Reference List
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