dc.description.abstract | Over the past few years, environmental concerns have led organizations to wide-spread
interest in sustainable practices and their relationships to operational performance. This is
reflected in a growing number of recent papers which explore the relationship between
environmental operations and business performance.
Along with the rapid change in global
management scenario, environmental and social issue
s are becoming more important in
managing any business. Green operations relate to a
ll aspects related to product
manufacture/re-manufacture, usage, handling, logistics and waste management once the
design has been finalized. The study sought to determine the extent to which green
operations practices have been adopted by hotels in
the coastal region, Kenya and to establish
the relationship between green operations management practices and operational performance
of hotels. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional census survey design. A survey design
describes people responses to questions about a phenomenon or situation with aim of
understanding respondent’s perceptions from which truism is constructed. A cross-sectional
survey however collects data to make inferences about a population of interest at one point in
time. The population of the study comprised of hotels in the coastal region as at August,
2014. They were 47 in number. It was therefore a census study of all hotels in coastal region.
The study used primary data. Primary data was collected by the use of a structured
questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered using ‘drop-and-pick’ later method. The
respondents were the top managers of the hotels because they are deemed to be well versed
with the green practices in the respective departments. Descriptive statistics such as mean,
standard deviation and frequency were used in the analysis. The study used the regression
analysis to establish the relationship between the
independent variable (Green operation
practices) and the dependent variable (operational
performance). The study established that
the hotels adopt a variety of green practices in the areas of energy consumption, water
consumption, waste generation, reduction and recycling and employee training and awareness
creation. The study also established that there is
a strong positive correlation between green
operations practices and operational performance. Hotels view the green operations practices
as very important hence adoption of green operation
s practices by hotels have a positive
effect on operational performance. From the finding
s of the study, the researcher
recommended that the hotels should adopt green operation practices in energy consumption,
water consumption, waste management and awareness creation among employees. The hotels
should adopt energy and water conservation programs
which are cheaper to implement.
These practices include water harvesting during the
rainy season and encouraging switching
off electrical gadgets which will not be in use. It
also includes the use of solar energy for
heating and cooling systems. Policies and guided frameworks on using fewer resources are
also recommended to the hotels. The researcher also
recommends that green operation
practices and their implications on the costs should be frequently communicated to the
employee. Hotels on another note should do their be
st to facilitate employees’ participation in
green practices. Hotel managers should also embrace
regular environmental audits where
environmental performance is constantly monitored and recorded. This can be achieved by
developing organizational systems and control to facilitate environmental reporting. | en_US |