Importance of Contingency planning

There are many things which could go wrong at an event, some of these can be small incidents such as a band not turning up and others can damage property and potentially be life threatening. Tutor2u.net (2012) identifies contingency planning as the strategic approach of identifying what could go wrong during an event and how it can be dealt with to minimise it affects. Leoisaac.com (n.d.) builds upon this by indicating that contingency plans are just important for minimising damage but also retain the events reputation as well as the organisers.

So, putting all this into consideration, when you attend an event you should feel that if anything does go wrong there are adequate measure to stop you from getting hurt. However this is not the case! Just take The Indiana State Fair in 2011 when the stage collapsed due to strong winds. When this stage came crashing down it didn’t just end the festival but sadly ended the lives of five fans eagerly waiting the start of the show. Even though the state police said there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it, Rocknewsdesk.com (2011) suggests that there was a lack of understanding of who had the authority to cancel the event. There were even suggestions that the weather reports were badly communicated which resulted in the organiser’s poor decision to carry on the event. Overall it can be said that this event didn’t have proper contingency plans in place for bad weather as the organisers were indecisive in their decisions.

However an example of when a contingency planning was successfully implemented was when I attended Benicassim 2009. On the night when Oasis was playing the winds picked up and various temporary demountable structures started compromising their safety. The management team at Benicassim acted quickly and it was clear they had an evacuation plan implemented as we were all moved to the local sports hall to ensure nobody was hurt. Americanprinter.com (1997) would indicate that this was a very professional event operation supported by a well thought out contingency plan.

Americanprinter.com (1997) proposes that there are five steps which should be undertaken when planning contingency plans. Firstly a dedicated group should be implemented to consider all the various scenarios which could go wrong with the event. Thirdly, once the list has been created, it should be examined to see if there are any internal plans which could be put in place to prevent disasters. After identifying the internal plans it is important to set up external strategies whilst gaining insurance. Finally, Americanprinter.com (1997) empathises that keeping plans up to date is crucial as new obstacles arise all the time, hence the importance of setting up a dedicated group to take control of contingency planning.

This blog has highlighted examples of good and poor contingency planning. As was shown at the Indiana State Fair it is crucial to abide by Americanprinter.com (1997) to ensure that when something does go wrong you can act quickly in prevention of customers getting hurt.

Americanprinter.com (1997) Forming a contingency plan.. [online] Available at: http://americanprinter.com/alt/mag/printing_forming_contingency_plan/ [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Leoisaac.com (n.d.) Event Management: Contingencies in Event Management. [online] Available at: http://www.leoisaac.com/evt/top091.htm [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Rocknewsdesk.com (2011) Five die in stage collapse | Rock News Desk. [online] Available at: http://rocknewsdesk.com/world-news/four-die-in-stage-collapse/2992/ [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Tutor2u.net (2012) Managing Risk – Contingency Planning. [online] Available at: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/strategy/risk_contingency_planning.html [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

How the lighting at concerts has changed!

Many of you may think,(and this includes me) lighting at a concert is just a fun attraction with no real design element attached to it. I often had weird ideas that it was a group of “special” people acting out the final scenes of return of the Jedi, how wrong I was! Mokry (2005) identifies that the main aim of a lighting director is to enhance the performance of the artist. He tactfully stated it as “light the money”. Moody and Dextor (2009) would expand on this by insinuating that it is important to know the needs and wants of the audience to be able to apply the right type of lighting. I recently attended SBTRKT’s night at Warehouse Project and was instantly thrown back to the days of running around playing laser quest with my mates. The lighting was so impressive I even found myself unable to stop taking a video of said light show.

As you can see (besides the random guy who is in love with whoever is  touching him)the lighting director has gone all out here and produced a truly blinding show, this is primarily because the artist is a DJ remixing songs by performers such as Radiohead, Modeselektor, Basement Jaxx and Mark Ronson. This means there is less interaction from SBTRKT, so according to Mokry (2005) the lighting director will be enhancing the performance in another way i.e. the laser show. Moody and Dextor (2009) would identify that the crowd going to such an event are more interested in the music and the vibe of the concert rather than the interaction from the performing artist on the stage, unlike in traditional “rock and roll” concert where this is a crucial component.

It is important to acknowledge that the lights used at Warehouse Project are controlled by intelligent lighting.  Miki (2004) defines intelligent lighting as a system where multiple lighting fixtures are connected to a network which allows the lighting director to control various complicated lighting patterns. Intelligent lighting has been present at concerts since the 1980’s and allows lights to move, change colour, scan, wash and are applicable to laser applications. This has dramatically improved the lighting sequences, making them far more complicated and mesmerising for the audience.

Overall, lighting at concerts has changed dramatically over the last few decades, turning into an intelligently complex pattern of lights . This could have coincided with the increase in music which Moody and Dextor (2009) would identify as less of a performance on stage In order to enhance the show for the audience.

Mokry, Robert. “Video Projection and Concert Lighting — Making the Marriage Work.” Rental & Staging Systems 1 Apr. 2005: 32

Moody, J. and Dexter, P. (2010) Concert Lighting: Techniques, Art and Business. 3rd ed. Oxford: Local Press.

Miki, M., Hiroyasu, T., & Imazato, K. (2004). Proposal for an intelligent lighting system, and verification of control method effectiveness. In Cybernetics and Intelligent Systems, 2004 IEEE Conference on (Vol. 1, pp. 520-525). IEEE.

Is social media right for the events industry?

How often do you get innovations to events via various social medias, be it Facebook, Twitter or even blogs. I am assuming quite a lot, this is because the day’s traditional media for the use of marketing events has gone, and the technological revolution that social mediums is upon us.  Xiang and Gretzel (2010) identify social mediums as a form of consumer-generated content; these can include blogs, social networks and other consumer sharing websites. However is this form of marketing beneficial to the events industry?

Zarrella (2009) would suggest that using social medias for marketing enables event companies to produce whatever they want at a fraction of the cost of traditional mediums such as newspapers and television. Stelzner (2011) expands on this work, suggesting that social medias increase the chance of developing relationships with other businesses which would result in improved communications and contacts. Stelzner’s research also acknowledges the main contributors of social mediums, detecting social networking and blogs are the most influential forms available.  For these reasons it is clear that social medias are integral for event companies to promote their upcoming occasions. It is proven to be a cheap resource which has the potential to be accessed by a large consumer market. Hodge (2010) develops this theory insinuating that social medias allow some consumers who would not normally have access to information about certain events to gain a greater awareness of what is happening. Hodge suggests that this is due to the unity of social medias which can result in increased brand awareness for an event. This all sounds very positive, surely there are no drawbacks?

Zarrella (2009) highlights how social medias are integral for small businesses to develop brand awareness, however he also acknowledges the flip side of this argument detecting that bigger brands can be damaged via social networking sights. Zarrella (2009) mentions how two Dominoes employees defiled food within the company and uploaded it onto Youtube, which obviously had a negative impact on the brand. Das (2009) also indicates that social medias have the potential to be very time-consuming as they have to be regularly updated in order to keep the consumer’s interest. The work found by PsPrint.com (n.d.) would support Das and build upon it, suggesting that in order to obtain a successful social media campaign it takes time and the results will be delayed due to the expected time it takes to construct brand loyalty and relationships.

Overall it is clear that to be innovative in a very interchangeable industry that you have to keep up with modern developments, at the moment this applies to social medias especially in relation to marketing. It provides event companies a chance to expand their brand awareness and broadcast information about upcoming events in a cheap versatile manner. However while social media might be ideal for smaller companies it can have potential downfalls for larger ones as Xiang and Gretzel (2010) highlight that it is a consumer generated, which enables anything to be written about a company be it positive or negative. So my advice would be yes social medias can be instrumental for events companies however do not expect results overnight and be prepared to keep your content fresh which might end up being rather time-consuming.

Das, N. (2009, February 26). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking. Retrieved January 8, 2010, from http://www.mytripledub.com/blog/romance-relationships/ advantages-and-disadvantages-social-networking

Hodge, N. (2010). Care and Share. Financial Management, 20(4). Pg. 21–23.

PsPrint.com (n.d.) Social Media Marketing Pros and Cons – Resources. [online] Available at: http://www.psprint.com/resources/small-business-marketing/general-small-marketing/social-media.php [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Stelzner, M. A. (2011). Social media marketing industry report. How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow Their Businesses. Online-Dokument. URL: http://www. socialmediaexaminer. com/SocialMediaMarketingReport2011. pdf.

Xiang, Z., & Gretzel, U. (2010). Role of social media in online travel information search. Tourism Management, 31(2), 179-188.

Zarrella, D. (2009). The social media marketing book. O’Reilly Media.

The Use of Temporary Demountable Structures at Events

Eventsindustryforum.co.uk (2011) describes temporary demountable structures (TDS) as a design which is rapidly erected and dismantled many times for a short term basis. Temporary Structures – For Business, Leisure & Emergency Use (2011) highlights that TDS are crucial to event organisers as they are proven to be versatile, cheap and quicker to build than regular structures which make them ideal for festivals. However they fail to mention another reason which makes TDS useful for events is that they do not require a premise licence. Though they do need to obtain a TEN (temporary event notice) but this is only relevant with events dealing with less than 500 people.

Sounds good doesn’t it? However there are implications when using TDS’s as de Brito & Pimentel (2009) acknowledge the main contributor for stage collapsing is overloading. The Health and Safety Executives (HSE) agree with this but also identify that poor construction can be a determining factor.  However the HSE respond to this by advising that all event managers should get the contractors to sign off on a structure. This will ensure that the construction is double checked and if anything was to go wrong that liability would fall into the laps of the organisation constructing the project.

When I visited Benicassim festival a few years ago, we were troubled by strong winds which resulted in TDS’s throughout the festival becoming potential risks. Thankfully there was a strong evacuation plan in place to ensure nobody was injured.

Indiana State Fair 2011 being bombarded by strong winds

 

However, as can be seen in the picture taken in 2011 at the Indiana State Fair, things do go wrong! This was a result from strong winds, lack of assertiveness from the event organiser and an ill constructed evacuation plan. As a result the state introduced a new piece of legislation mainly illustrating the importance of an evacuation plan which is supported by In.gov (2011).

Istructe (2007) highlights other issues which concern TDS. It mentions potential hazards which should be considered, such as crowd control, construction and dismantling. These issues can be combatted via respected contractors and comprehensive security team.

Overall, TDS’s are instrumental for event organisers mainly due to their versatility and cheap nature. However, as has been established there are a lot of potential risks concerning these structures and at the end of the day the buck falls at the feet of the event organiser. For this reason it is important to get reliable contractors who can sign off on the structure. Also being prepared against adverse weather conditions is vital as is shown at the Indiana State Fair.

de Brito, V. L., & Pimentel, R. L. (2009). Cases of Collapse of Demountable Grandstands. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 23(3), 151-159.

Eventsindustryforum.co.uk (2011) The Event Industry Forum. [online] Available at: http://www.eventsindustryforum.co.uk/ [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

In.gov (2011) IDHS: Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission Code Review Committees Information. [online] Available at: http://www.in.gov/dhs/2494.htm [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Istructe (2007) Temporary demountable structures Guidance on procurement, design and use. [e-book] London: The Institution of Structural Engineers. Available through: http://www.bigtopmania.co.uk http://www.bigtopmania.co.uk/pdf_downloads/Marquee_industry_guidance/Temporary_Structures_3rd_ed_2007_Guidance_ISE.pdf [Accessed: 14/12/2012].

Temporary Structures – For Business, Leisure & Emergency Use (2011) Temporary Structures – Features & Benefits. [online] Available at: http://temporarystructures.weebly.com/temporary-structures—features–benefits.html [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Understanding what motivates your volunteer’s to get the best out of them

According to Solberg (2003), volunteers are crucial for any events manager as they provide a source of cheap labour or potentially free labour. However Grossman and Furano (1999) identify the issue that some volunteers see the experience more as a social activity rather than part of the labour market. Brudney (1999) steps further into this subject, empathising that it is difficult to fire volunteers which ultimately can lead to them becoming unmanageable. However later work from Brudney and Kellough (2000) acknowledge the potential societal benefits from introducing the youth into volunteer programs as it can educate them and development them as individuals. As is shown there are advantages and limitations from using volunteers, it all depends on how they are managed.

 

Liao-Troth (2005) recognises the work of Brudney and Kellough (2000) and notes that volunteers have to be treated differently from paid workers as they have different contracts. This leads us nicely onto the theory of the psychological contract. Conway & Briner (2005) highlight that the psychological contract is the relationship between the employee and organisation and is an unwritten set of mutually agreed expectations and obligations. Rousseau (1995) acknowledges that there are two sectors; transactional, which is based on short-term economic values whereas relational is reliant on loyalty and constructed over a longer period of time. In this respect Liao-Troth (2005) would recognise that a volunteer portrays aspects of both contracts. She would indicate that a volunteer has no economic desire however the fact that they are often short-term and rely on loyalty from the organisation means they cross both boundaries. Understanding which aspects of the psychological contract apply to volunteers, now allows us to understand the expectations and motives perceived by them. Farmer and Feder (1999) would highlight that because they span across both contracts they are eligible to incorporate both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. 

Leavitt (1978) acknowledges Farmer and Feder’s (1999) theory and states that volunteers depend on recognition and achievement from the work they have embarked on. Gaber’s (1991) study follows on from this, indicating that people have busy lives and do not want to feel like they are wasting it by carrying out meaningless volunteer work. Gaber (1991) suggests that volunteers enjoy structure, as this provides them with the feeling of achievement. Deci and Ryan (1992) relate to this notion and empathise that enjoyment will create a better psychological contract and result all round more efficient work from the volunteers.  Later research from Merrill (2000) supports this impression and states that the volunteers crave self-identify or even a boost in their self-esteem. However he also accepts that in the modern day extrinsic factors also plays a part. Bussell and Forbes (2001) agree with this, highlighting that the egotistical reasons could involve career development, learning new skills or even it can just be about what free stuff can be obtained.  

Lynch (2000) recognises the importance of knowing how to manage the volunteer’s expectations. He believes that if managed correctly this can lead to retainment of volunteers for future events. Conye and Coyne (2001) acknowledge the importance of continuous improvement in order to maintain high level of volunteers and predominately keep salary costs down.

Ultimately it is important to understand why your volunteers are interested in working within your event. This will give you an insight into what motivates them to perform at the best of their ability and make your event a success. Correspondingly, it can provide your event company with a pool of volunteers based on the loyalty achieved relating to the psychological contract.

Brudney, J. L. (1999). The effective use of volunteers: Best practices for the public sector. Law and Contemporary Problems, 219-255.

Brudney, J. L., & Kellough, J. E. (2000). Volunteers in state government: Involvement, management, and benefits. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29(1), 111-130.

Coyne, B. S., & Coyne Sr, E. J. (2001). Getting, keeping and caring for unpaid volunteers for professional golf tournament events. Human Resource Development International, 4(2), 199-216.

Geber, B. (1991). Managing Volunteers. Training, 28(6), 21-26.

Grossman, J. B., & Furano, K. (1999). Making the most of volunteers. Law and Contemp. Probs., 62, 199.

Liao-Troth, M. A. (2005). Are they here for the long haul? The effects of functional motives and personality factors on the psychological contracts of volunteers. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 34(4), 510-530.

Lynch, R. (2000). Volunteer retention and feelings of connection. E-volunteerism: The Electronic Journal of the Volunteer Community, 1(1), 1-10.

Rousseau, D. M. (1995).  Psychological Contract in Organizations: Understanding Written and Unwritten Agreements.  London: Sage.

Solberg, H. A. (2003). Major sporting events: assessing the value of volunteers’ work. Managing leisure, 8(1), 17-27.

 

Sustainability within Catering

As Jones (2010) empathises, there is a growing demand for sustainable products in all sectors of life. Sustainability.mit.edu (n.d.) guide for sustainable catering indicates that sustainable catering is the use of locally resourced foods and the proper use of food disposal and renewable products. Jones (2010) agrees with this and highlights that many people are becoming more concerned about the environment and the world we live in, which has resulted in a growing demand to find “greener” alternatives. She also states that a lot of new companies are producing these new alternatives, so it is important to keep up with these innovative methods especially in this volatile industry. Wahlen et al.(2011) further develops this notion by stating that the government are becoming increasingly interested in methods to become sustainable and as catering contributes to a large proportion of public spending then they are trying to influence this by new licences such as ISO 20121.

As an event organiser it is crucial to keep your ideas up to date with modern trends, and at the moment it’s all about sustainable catering! But how can we do this? The lovely people at Sustainability.mit.edu (n.d.) have helped us employ their principles. Firstly, consider the amount of food that gets put to waste at an event, I remember I use to work for a wedding company and at the end of night I was always scrapping food into the bin thinking surely there are better things we can do with this? Well Sustainability.mit.edu (n.d.) suggest that food which hasn’t been touched can be contributed to homeless shelters or can be disposed into compost piles and in turn sold or reused. Another method is the use of seasonal menus, these are foods which are ripe to pick and use and not only does it create a memorable talking point but also often proves to be cheaper and the products are often locally resourced. Finally, the use of reusable dinnerware is integral, as Sustainability.mit.edu (n.d.) state that the amount on non-reusable ones that are being destroyed is becoming farcical. Not only are you helping Mother Earth but your clients will greatly appreciate not having to use plastic cutlery!

In the next section I wanted to provide a counter argument towards sustainable catering. However I could not find any material supporting this. Nevertheless the factor which I could think of preventing you from using sustainable methods is lack of planning time, so it becomes more convenient to use unsustainable products and methods.

Overall, sustainability is becoming a bit part of society. New innovative ideas combined with the moral implications and the long term financial benefits should convince any event organiser to get on board and put there “green” thinking caps on. So get out there and give Mother Nature a helping hand!

Jones , M. (2010), Sustainable event management – A practical guide. London, Earthscan

Sustainability.mit.edu (n.d.) MIT Sustainability | MIT Sustainability. [online] Available at: http://sustainability.mit.edu/ [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Wahlen, S., Heiskanen, E., & Aalto, K. (2012). Endorsing sustainable food consumption: Prospects from public catering. Journal of Consumer Policy. doi:10.1007/s10603-011-9183-4.

 

How does service quality affect your event?

Acknowledging the importance of the customer at any event is crucial. Yoon and Uysal (2005) agree with this statement and highlight that if a customer is satisfied then they are more likely to return to another one of your events or even purchase related products. Berry et al. (1988) identified that service can be the differencing factor between similar events within a competitive industry and an important factor is determining the customer satisfaction.

 What is service quality?   

Berry et al. (1988) define quality as the conformance to the customer’s expectations and not of the supervisor’s.  Earlier research from Parasuraman et al. (1985) would even suggest that the definition of “quality” has got lost nevertheless like Berry et al. (1988) they still recognise that service is a defining character when understanding customer satisfaction. Getz (2009) identifies that all worker’s, be it volunteers, managers or even people working at the ticket office are instrumental in affecting the perceptions of the customer. This awareness supports Yoon and Uysal (2005) and they would both agree that customer satisfaction influences what they think about an event.

How service quality relates to the real world?

A few months ago I attended a wedding. I was dressed up in my finest attire, obviously looking the part and looking forward to the delicious main course. Then the scrumptious beef dinner was laid out in front of me, “gravy?” the waiter inquired, “of course” I replied. The waiter decided to miss the plate and soak me instead, Smith et al. (1999) would highlight this as a service failure as my perceptions had not meet my expectations and ultimately affected my experience. However, after this incident I was given exceptional service mainly due to the number of free drinks provided by the waiting staff and by the end of the night I had little, to no interest about said gravy palaver. Fritzsimmons and Fritzsimmons (2008) empathise that this was the manager’s method of regaining my loyalty and would identify this tactic as service recovery.

How can we measure service quality in order to improve it?

So, how is service quality measured to ensure that events are maintaining the upmost quality of service enabling the customer to react in a positive manner and reinforce their loyalty?  Chingang Nde and Lukong (2010) recognises the fact that it is difficult to measure service as it is subjective variable. Magi and Julander (1996) respond to this by indicating that evaluating the customer’s perception of quality can be achieved via the interaction between the customer and manager. Johnson and Clark (2008) suggest that a questionnaire is a reliable method to achieve this as it provides a written document displaying the customer’s feelings about the service.

There are two theories assigned for measuring service, Chingang Nde and Lukong (2010) indicate the most recent one as SERVPERF which was developed by the work of Cronin and Taylor (1992). This method is based on performance and measures the service quality based on customer’s overall feeling towards service. Chingang Nde and Lukong (2010) suggest that this does not provide information on how customers will prefer service to be in order for service providers to make improvements.

Whereas Parasuraman et al. (1985) theory is constructed via perceptions and expectations of the customer. It is entitled SERVQUAL and was initially determined by ten dimensions but was criticised by Buttle (1996), proposing that it was too complex and not universal. Leading it to be revised to five factors; tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Nevertheless  Buttle (1996)  did acknowledge the importance of service quality and how it relates to customer satisfaction but also suggests that service quality is entangled with finance via the efficiency of service provided.

Concluding thoughts

Overall, when planning an event, a determining factor is how satisfied the customer is, as this induces loyalty for the business. Getz (2009) notes that satisfaction is based on what kind of service the customer experiences from anyone involved with the running of the event. Parasuraman et al. (1985) theory of SERVQUAL is the most reliable method of analysing customer service as it provides information about both the perceptions and expectations of the customer. Whereas SERVPERF only recognises the performance and does not acknowledge what the customer’s needs and wants are, affecting progression.

 

Berry, L. L., Parasuraman, A., & Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). The service-quality puzzle. Business Horizons, 31(5), 35-43.

Buttle, F. (1996). SERVQUAL: review, critique, research agenda. European Journal of marketing, 30(1), 8-32.

Chingang Nde, D., & Lukong, P. (2010). Using the SERVQUAL Model to assess Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction.: An Empirical Study of Grocery Stores in Umeå (Doctoral dissertation, Umeå University).

Cronin Jr, J. J., & Taylor, S. A. (1992). Measuring service quality: a reexamination and extension. The Journal of Marketing, 55-68.

Fitzsimmons, J., and Fitzsimmons, M., (2008) Service Management: Operations, Strategy, Information Technology, McGrawHill, USA.

Getz, D., (2009) Event Studies: Theory, research and policy for planned events, Butterworth-Heinmann, Oxford, UK.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. The Journal of Marketing, 41-50.

Smith, A. K., Bolton, R. N., & Wagner, J. (1999). A model of customer satisfaction with service encounters involving failure and recovery. Journal of marketing research, 356-372.

Yoon, Y., & Uysal, M. (2005). An examination of the effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty: a structural model. Tourism management, 26(1), 45-56.

Sustainability in Events

Let’s be honest, who really cares about how waste is being distributed and what energy is being used when you are at an event? However with the development of technology being able to show us how we are affecting our planet, I personally have started thinking in a more “green” manner.  It’s not just me, a lot of businesses have started developing sustainable schemes in order to become more efficient and cost cutting.  Scheirer (1994) identifies sustainability as a set of durable activities and resources aimed for the continuation of programs. In relation to tourism, Hall (2011) acknowledges that sustainability has flourished in recent years and identifies that this is now expanded into the events industry as it is an important part of tourism.

Hall (2012) recognises that in 2005 the British Standards (BS) produced a policy known as BS 8901 with its main aim to guide the events industry on how to operate in a sustainable manner. However he also identifies that Britain were not the only country developing these standards, each country had their own variation. This lead to the International Standards Organisation (ISO) emerging with a new concept linking everyone’s policies together in order to have a common standard, known as ISO 20121 and was heavily influenced by BS 8901 and showcased by the London Olympics. Bsigroup.com (2012) identify that this policy brings together a variety of different countries ideas in order to have a common standard which will be made more efficient and in the long term by cutting costs via better energy and waste management. Iso20121.org (2012) detects that the standards aim is to tackle environmental, economic and social sustainability by producing a management system that an organisation has to have in place in order to achieve the decorated status of ISO 20121.

So the main question to be answered is, will this catch on? Tinnish (n.d.) produced a research report identifying the barriers which may be encountered by ISO 20121. She indicates that the complexity of the standard may be enough to put off some businesses. Iso20121.org (2012) also acknowledges this issue however they plan on counter acting this by providing support to any business which demonstrates willingness to employ these standards. Tinnish (n.d.) also highlights that sustainability may just turn out to be a “fad”, especially in the events industry as Tinnish suggests that this industry is prone to change. She also indicates that the expense of training and education on how to implement the standard could be enough to put off businesses who do not wish to spend their time and money on something which might not take off. On the contrary, Iso20121.org (2012) indicates that this standard has the potential to radicalise the industry by making business more efficient. They also acknowledge that it can assist socially and environmentally which in turn can improve motivation in the workforce, create better standings in the community and enhance relationships with other companies employing the standard.

In my humble opinion, any business would be mad not to jump on this bandwagon. Not only does it have the potential to improve your business internally, but it will also help you sleep at night knowing you are benefitting the world we all live in!!!

Bsigroup.com (2012) ISO 20121 Sustainable Events Management | BSI Group. [online] Available at: http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/iso-20121-sustainable-events-management/ [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Hall, C. M. (2011). Policy learning and policy failure in sustainable tourism governance: From first and second to third order change?  Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19(4–5), 649–671

Hall, C. M. (2012). SuStainable Mega-eventS: beyond the Myth of balanced approacheS to Mega-event SuStainability. Event Management, 16(2), 119-131

Iso20121.org (2012) ISO 20121 – Welcome to the ISO 20121 Web Site. [online] Available at: http://www.iso20121.org/ [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Scheirer, M.A. (1994). Designing and using process evaluation. In Wholey et al. (Eds), Handbook of practical program evaluation

Tinnish, S.(n.d.) Barriers and Enablers to the Adoption of the ISO 20121 Standard for Event Sustainability Management.

 

Crowd Control – Hillsborough

In 1989, 96 people were killed and over 700 injured when a serious of catastrophic events plagued Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium in the F.A Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. This story has come to life recently, with the emergence of new information being published indicating that the police were responsible for contributing to England’s biggest stadium tragedy that had previously been covered up.

So, how did this happen?

BBC News (2012) identifies the steps which transpired that frightful day resulting in the death of over 90 people. Firstly, the condition of the turnstiles in Leppings lane where thousands of Liverpool fans were slowly piling through was old and decrepit. Accompanied with the fact that the combined capacity of pens 3 and 4 was regarded as 2200, however with the crush barriers not meeting regulations the capacity should have been reduced to 1600, this was not done. Outside the turnstiles the build-up of fans was getting increasingly dangerous. The police acted accordingly by opening an exit gate which moved the restless crowd into a tunnel which feed out into the bursting pens. This made the actual capacity over double of what it should have been resulting in the fans climbing over fences to escape mayhem. However when one of these fences clasped it brought about the inflicting damage we all know about today.

What could have been done?

There have been many investigations into the events at Hillsborough and how they could have been prevented. Lord Taylor of Gosforth produced the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report within this he recognises that it was clearly the fault of the police not being able to control the situation via lack of communication. Walsh (1989) also criticises the police by indicating that speed and flexibility is crucial to responding to any disaster and they did neither!  However he does highlight that there was a serve lack of planning which he suggests was caused by the complacency of the success of previous games. Walsh (2007) expands on this suggesting that every event should be continuously worked upon and revised to the individual needs. The report also acknowledges that the F.A. did not properly highlight potential risks of the venue; Richardson (1993) proposes that Hillsborough should not have even been considered to host this match and it was a poor decision from the F.A.

Did the travesty impact events in the future?

The findings from the Taylor report resulted in a nationwide change to football stadiums. It required all stadiums to become all-seaters, Taylor believed that this would prevent any situations like Hillsborough happening again. It enabled capacities to be contained via fans being allocated an individual seat so overcrowding does not become an issue anymore. However a lot of fans have condemned the report stating that it has resulted in a serve lack of atmosphere at games. Taylor would rebuttal this comment though, suggesting that would the slight improvement in atmosphere be worth the potential of loss of life???

BBC News (2012) Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19545126 [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Richardson, W. (1993). Identifying the cultural causes of disasters: An analysis of the Hillsborough Football stadium disaster. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 1(1), 27-35.

Walsh, M. (1989). Taylor on Hillsborough: what can we learn?. Disasters, 13(3), 274-277.

Walsh, M. (2007). Disasters, Current Planning and Recent Experience. London, Edward Arnold.

Noise Pollution

An example of speakers at a concert !

Noise Pollution

Goines and Hagler (2007) identify noise as unwanted sound.  In relation to events this can cause undesirable attention from local residents who have the right via the licencing act to inform the council. Legislation.gov.uk (2003) indicates that the control of noise is a part of the four main objectives that a licenced premise have to obeyed by, as it falls under the category of the prevention of public nuisance. If this was to happen, the event organiser could potentially get served with a notice of warning from the city council which could lead to the loss of license if the persistence continues.

So who else is affected by noise?

As a bartender at nightclub in Manchester, I can personally understand the nuisance which noise/music can provide. Gunderson et al. (1997) acknowledge the potential risks for employees who are exposed to loud noises. The government accepted research done of this subject and were forced to implement the control of noise at work regulations (2005) act. This act provides the employees the right to have access to hearing protection if the noise exceeds over 85db, which is always the case within nightclubs. My current work supply us with foam ear plugs; however these do cancel out the music but at the same time they also cancel out the customers. This can prove to make a seemingly easy job rather demanding and often ends up with the ear plugs getting thrown away! A potential resolution for this problem is the use of sound cancelling ear plugs; these reduce all the sounds around you by the same measurement and would allow you to be able to hear the customers. However these are expensive and most events would prefer to supply what is needed via regulations rather than to splash out on ear plugs which will protect your ears and improve efficiency of employees. Buss (2011) highlights that if the employee does feel like they are being neglected against the provision of noise, than they are entitled to launch a legal enquiry, this can prove to be economically costly for both parties.

Methods to manage sounds

Numerous books about event management fail to propose methods which should be in placed to prevent excessive noise at work, Shone and Parry (2001) is just one example of this. However Spelthorne.gov.uk (2003), does supply event managers with various methods which can be enforced. Within this document it recognises the threat of noise escaping through windows and doors. It suggests making sure all windows are shut and supplied with double glazing, as well as the use of a lobby area which will dramatically reduce the noise which the local residents will have to endure. Another method they recommend is the use of noise limiters, these enable the PA system to cut off if it suppresses past the regulated sound requirements. Astralsound.com (2003) note that a lot of venues are now using these gadgets to help prevent against excessive noise, nevertheless this website also highlights the possible drawbacks from using these devices. It indicates that they can be prone to be triggered via high frequencies such as singing and even snare drums. Finally, it acknowledges that the layout of the venue should be considered. For instance having speakers by doors or windows is possibly threatening to the prevention against public nuisance listed in the licencing objectives.

Overall, when instigating an event it is important to consider probable elements which could leave you,(the event organiser) in risk at violating the licencing act. It is also important to acknowledge who can be affected via noise pollution, and implement methods which can thwart these dangers, resulting in no long legal battles.

Astralsound.com (2003) Noise Limiters in Venues. [online] Available at: http://www.astralsound.com/noise-limiters.htm [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].

Buss, J. (2011). Alcohol and Entertainment.

Goines, L., & Hagler, L. (2007). Noise pollution: A modern plague. Southern medical journal, 100(3), 287-294.

Gunderson, E., Moline, J., & Catalano, P. (1997). Risks of developing noise‐induced hearing loss in employees of urban music clubs. American journal of industrial medicine, 31(1), 75-79.

Legislation.gov.uk (2003) Licensing Act 2003. [online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/17/contents [Accessed: 13 Dec 2012].

Shone, A., & Parry, B. (2001). Successful event management. A practical handbook. London: Continuum Books.

Spelthorne.gov.uk (2003) Noise and the Licensing Act 2003 – Spelthorne Borough Council. [online] Available at: http://www.spelthorne.gov.uk/article/1886/Noise-and-the-Licensing-Act-2003 [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].