The Key Issues and Current Industry Thinking on Event Volunteering - Term Paper Example

A Report Detailing the Key Issues and Current Industry Thinking on Event Volunteering By + Class Institution Date Introduction The term ‘events’ previously described extraordinary occurrences. Today, the term includes a wider range of social gatherings, serious meetings, major sports events and performances. The term now refers to any happening. It brings the targeted people together at times organized by big event organizers to bring about a unique experience and a gathering that does not happen in the day-to-day life (Damm, 2010). The purpose of any event is to bring the best out of a group of different people with the same interest and the outcome is an unforgettable experience. The Events industry has grown over the last 30 years to bring about a new dynamic in event management. The event industry is a large lucrative industry with enormous growth potential and is a great employer worldwide (Kose et al., 2011). The potential that the industry has was not there until the global recession that occurred in 2008 made investors gain the interest of maximizing their resources and embracing cost-saving measures and finding new ways of attracting new customers (Damm, 2010). In order for an event to take place, there has to be an organization that is behind it. Event management is the manner in which organizations handle events. The term event management is widely used in the tourism industry. The reason as to why the industry is growing rapidly is that events are on the rise and are becoming more popular and hence the need for event management. Events are a taxing business venture since there are many aspects involved and one has to have the necessary resources to run a profitable operation (Kose et al., 2011). Human resource is one of the most important resources that any business can have. The human resource includes the staff and the volunteers. The volunteers are an important asset in any sector in the society. Volunteers play a major role in helping event organizers achieve their goals. The volunteers are important to organizations since they do not work out of obligation but out of passion or purpose. They are totally committed to the cause, have a positive attitude and their work rate is even better than the employees are (Bang & Ross, 2005). They also provide constructive criticism since they have no affiliations to the organization. The volunteers represent the community and bring different sets of skills and ideas to the preparation of the events. They come from all ages, different backgrounds and gender. Volunteers normally get into volunteering for fun, acquire new skills, socialize, helping other people and to look for job opportunities in some cases. To work with volunteers one has to have enthusiasm because they work for fun and for charity. They also need supervision and management just like any other employee. In order for an organization to attain maximum profitability, the work that the volunteers do has to gain the respect and recognition it deserves from the organization (Bang & Ross, 2005). Key contemporary issues in the events industry The events industry is an industry that exhibits great potential for growth, marked by competitiveness and constant change. Any player in this industry understands how vital it is to always stay ahead of the current trends and have the ability to anticipate customers’ expectations. This industry is customer focused and relies mainly on how they respond to the services relayed. The only way this industry will be able to realize its potential is if the numerous challenges that plague it are resolved and the players within this industry given room to venture into new ways of improving this industry. One of the most adamant issues facing this industry is worth estimation. The overall worth of the events industry is highly undermined by both the government and the public. Individuals tend to assume the value of events organized by gauging the overall expenditure covered during this event however; this line of thinking is costing this industry. There is need to develop a more standardized model to measure the actual value of individual events. A model based on the economic, social, financial and strategic contribution this industry donates to the government on an annual basis (The Australian Centre for Event Management, 2012). The event industry has massive potential in terms of economic input to the government however another issue drastically affecting the growth of this industry is a reactive government involvement. Most governments have not yet comprehended the need to involve their resources in the development of the event industry. Dormant government participation is currently restraining the industry. Government participation is mandatory for the improvement of this industry. The government needs to get proactive in terms of setting up proper channels that will enable players within the industry to access vital services required during events such as safety services and license admissions. The government should also play a regulatory role to ensure uniformity within this delivery industry (The Australian Centre for Event Management, 2012). The event industry is a competitive field both locally and internationally. It is paramount that the players within this industry strive to deliver innovative products that promote customer satisfaction and confidence. Currently however, players within this industry are cutting back on risk taking and creative thinking and are thus delivering substandard services. These substandard services are greatly damaging customer confidence within the industry. Players are cutting down on investing proper resources into delivering proper services. This is because at the end of the day, there is a reduction in the value of the industry thus shortchanging the players who have to reconcile figures on expenditure and earnings. The government needs to step in and set up governing and regulatory bodies to ensure that both the customers and players within this industry are satisfied at the end of the business venture. These bodies will act as intermediates between both parties and ensure equality in terms of value and services delivered a concept that is currently lacking within this industry and negatively affecting its growth (Murphy, 2012). Rapid and constant changes are attributes that mark the events industry. Technology shifts lead to these rapid changes. Any player who intends to stay relevant within this industry has to strive to stay ahead of the current trends and keep a breast with changing technological trends; this will empower them to be able to anticipate customer expectations. The main challenge is that the players within this industry fail to stay ahead of changing times and therefore fail to match up to customer expectations. This challenge hinges on how rapidly the technological trends change and how expensive and difficult it is for investors within the industry to keep up with these changes. Investors need to keep up with the emerging technological advances in order to be able to deliver prompt and efficient services anticipated by clientele and thus growing this industry to the next level (The Australian Centre for Event Management, 2012). The event industry caters for innovative and creative minds that are capable of delivering top of the art services to an ever-demanding surge of clients. With this in mind, there has to be a constant supply of new minds and individuals who offer fresh ideas to keep customers intrigued and engaged. This industry is currently lacking institutions to facilitate the training of this brainpower. Before talented individuals get into the industry, they need to have training and education on how to handle themselves professionally and on how to capitalize on their creative and innovative minds in order to achieve maximum productivity. These institutions need to be set up to ensure that these creative minds that are paramount to the growth of this industry, are given an avenue to grow and master techniques that are needed to stay relevant within this industry (Murphy, 2012). The event industry also faces the challenge of being rigid to improvement. Players’ within this industry tend to resist change. Change is vital for growth. Investors do not welcome improvements to this sector and this is an error in judgment on their part because change is unavoidable and mandatory within this industry if the players are to be able to match customer demands. Another challenge within this sector is poor coordination between the various parts that make this sector. This sector is comprised of several parts such as venue coordination, entertainment sector, and technology unit. For it to thrive, these sectors have to work together as one unit instead of independent bodies. For this, these bodies need to coordinate to ensure customer satisfaction (The Australian Centre for Event Management, 2012). There is need to resolve these issues to ensure the growth of tis industry and to enable it to reach its maximum economical potential. These issues weigh down this industry and for it to realize its full capacity; execution to resolve them is paramount (The Australian Centre for Event Management, 2012). Key Issues and Current Industry Thinking on Event Volunteering The involvement of volunteers in events has its mark in history and until now organizations use them as an integral part of the event planning process. Volunteers are so important in these events and some cannot work or grow without the help of the volunteers. In the sporting events, the volunteers participate in the roles of support and physical activity. They take on the bulk of the work. In Australia, the volunteering service was roughly $ 33 billion of their economy and 26% came from sports. Many of the volunteers do not specialize on one role but they take on different roles. About 25% of the volunteers take on two roles, 10% take on three roles and 5% take on four or more volunteer roles. These events take place over a short duration of time and have long time consequences or effects to the economy, society or culture. In order for the events of big magnitudes, the organizers collaborate with international bodies and governments to make the events possible (Ringuet et al., 2008). These events have high economic value and so they are of great importance to the economy since it helps create jobs because they cut across different fields of expertise. The jobs are either long term or short time depending on the nature of the event. Big events that build structures of high infrastructural value create long-term jobs because these structures need maintenance. The events that change the economy no matter how small the change is they need the volunteers (Baum & Lockstone, 2007). The events industry understands the importance of the volunteers. In Australia, the volunteers who participated in these events reduced in number and a study carried out tried to understand what happened and found out that 97 % of event organizers relied on volunteers to get their events running (Volunteering Australia, 2006). Organizations view volunteers as number boosters and reduce the need to go out and look for recruitment agencies to employ laborers. The number of volunteers is directly proportional to the size of the event. In the case of major events like performances and sporting events like Olympics and the world cup the number of volunteers are far beyond the number of volunteers in a local event like a company retreat or a shareholder meeting. The volunteers bring a different feel to the event planning process in terms of cultural diversity. The event organizers generally think that the input of the volunteers can serve to steer the event to a higher level in terms of experience and depth. In art events and performances, the diversity of the volunteers helps in captivating the target group since the volunteers represent a fraction of the community. Event organizers use the volunteers as a way to complete their tasks and achieve their goals without using many resources in the process. They depend on the resources that the volunteers come with in terms of labor and skills and hence reducing the costs. The event organizers look at the use of the volunteers in an economical way in the sense that if they do not hire volunteers then there is the need to hire more employees. In the case of international events, there are volunteers who do not come from the community. These volunteers also come as tourists. They might come with friends and family and help boost the local economy and help in advertising the local places and sights. This tourism will help boost tourism in the local areas. Volunteering in events at times comes with wide media coverage and this helps publicize the use of volunteers in different sectors. This helps to bring out the patriotism in the citizens. This takes volunteering to a higher level of understanding patriotism and the need of helping fellow citizens to support a cause or an organization achieve a goal that will help the country. The volunteering process is not as simple as the benefits that it comes with. Volunteers face different challenges so do the organizations that are responsible for the events. There are rigid programs that do not give them room for opening up places that are relevant and enough for the volunteers present. These organizations also do not have websites that are capable of showing alternative times where the volunteers can work to help get the job done fast irrespective of a limited number of slots available in the program (GHK, 2008). Young people and the current way of life are different and the older generation finds the young generation intolerable. The use of internet and other social media services things that the older generation does not normally use. The young generation is also active and full of life and at times that much vigor is mistaken for rowdiness (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005). Organizations face challenges in volunteering where the volunteers who come enroll are inexperienced and lack the necessary skills needed to get the job done. They also lack the necessary knowledge that the volunteering process entails. This becomes a huge problem for organizations when they have little time left or short time frame (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005). Conclusions The events industry has vast potential and can help boost the economy of any country. It can create jobs, improve the infrastructure and bring change to the current way of life. There are enormous benefits of using volunteers in the event industry. The use of volunteers does not come with its problems and challenges. The public needs sensitization on the issue to help people know the relevance of volunteering not just culturally and economically but also help fellow citizens without using money as incentive. Bibliography Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005. Special Volunteers and Other Volunteers. Research. Belconnen: Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Bureau of Statistics. Bang, H. & Ross, S.D., 2005. Volunteer Motivation and Satisfaction. Research. Miami: Florida International University Florida International University. Baum, T. & Lockstone, L., 2007. Volunteers and Mega Sporting Events: Developing A Research Framework. International Journal of Event Management Research, 3(1), pp.29-41. Damm, S., 2010. Best Practices in Event Management. PhD Thesis. Auckland: Unitec New Zealand Unitec New Zealand. GHK, 2008. Study on Volunteering in the EU Volunteering in Sport-Lithuania. Research. Vilnius: GHK GHK. Kose, H., Argan, M.T. & Argan, M., 2011. Special Event Management and Event Marketing: A Case Study of TKBL All Star in Turkey. Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 1, pp.1-11. Murphy, L., 2012. The Benefits and Challenges of Incorporating Work Integrated Learning into Event Education. Research. Townsville: James Cook Universiity James Cook University. Ringuet, , Cuskelly, G., Zakus , D. & Auld, C., 2008. Volunteers inSport: Issues and Innovation. Research. Nathan: Griffith University Griffith University. The Australian Centre for Event Management, 2012. Significant Issues for the Australian Event Industry. Research. Sydney: The Australian Centre for Event Management The Australian Centre for Event Management. Volunteering Australia, 2006. National Survey of Volunteering Issues 2006. Research. Melbourne: Volunteering Australia Volunteering Australia. Read More