University of Perpetual Help System Laguna

Graduate School

BUSINESS ETHICS

JOURNAL REVIEW 1

Disseminating Environmental
Ethics and Values: A Study of
Ecotourism Business Owners
SUBMITTED TO:

DR. CATHERINE DE JESUS

FACULTY GRADUATE SCHOOL

SUBMITTED BY:

JULIUS B. MESINA

Part I: Summary

Ecotourism being adjudge has an important role in environment and social change through
tourism activities and experiences. However, the extent to which an Ecotourism destination experience
can effect change is heavily dependent on the extent to which the ecotourism business itself
underpinned by environment ethics and values. Ecotourism business owners plays a vital role in
recognizing as having strong or high environmental ethics vis-à-vis other businesses in the tourism
supply chain. The write ups in tourism recognizes that the personal values, ethics and beliefs regarding
the environment and sustainable development of business owners, managers and leaders will ultimately
influence the extent to which such principles would play a role in the business activities and operations.

But as evidence would show less attention has been rendered to ethics and values of those on
business of ecotourism such as the owners, operators, managers or even employees. On an occasional
occurrence compared with other tourism operators, generally says that ecotourism operators had the
highest ethical orientation in their organizational decision-making and conduct. This brought about
because ecotourism operators utilize tourism to educate tourist about the environmental and socio-
cultural choices and behaviors in their daily lives. With these, employees are expected to also convey
and adopt the same ethical principles as the company they belong. For it is the employees direct contact
with the tourist that would effectively engender positive environmental change amongst the tourist. The
clear lines of the scope and nature of this connection between business owners and their employee has
yet to be further investigated in the tourism landscape.

With such, the aim of the study was to look into the strategies that ecotourism business owners
adopt to impart to their personal environmental ethics and values to their employees. Specially,
highlighting the importance of an ecotourism business owner’s personal environmental ethics and
values on the organization/company. And the strategies ecotourism business owners’ ways to inculcate
these environmental ethics and values to their employees.

Part II: Reflections

It is believed that the culture of a company is a reflection of the top managements, it wants to impart in
the company, meaning heavily influence by the business owners. That would transcend to its
employees. Thus, the said culture of the company in an Ecotourism destination would be evident on
how the guest in the Ecotourism destination are treated by the employees. Unlike manufacturing
companies, it would just be reflected on its product or after sales/customer service. In the tourism
industry the product is not just the site but the service itself. For owners in the Ecotourism destination,
for it to be called as such (Eco-tourism) the business owners, managers and leaders should have a clear
understanding that for it to thrive for long-term, they should practice sustainable work ethics in all
aspects of its operations (specially how it impacts the environment) and relationship of the company to
all its stakeholders (specially the community where it is operating). A great deal of knowledge and
conviction to protect and preserve the site should be a mantra of the business owners, managers and
leaders. And cascade this mantra to its employees, since most of the time it is the employees who would
showcase these practices of protecting and preserving the destination. And an over-all, important thing
that the employees share these protect and preserve know-how to their guest. For the Ecotourism
destination is the main reason why guest are drawn to the site. If the said Ecotourism sites will perish,
then the businesses on the area will likewise seize to exist as well. A good example of which, Boracay
though a top Island destination, it showcase also an Ecotourism site with an ecosystem of the marine life
which has a great impact of the people living and visiting the island, should be practice and balance of
economic activity for the people earning their livelihood thru the ecotourism, they themselves should
practice to protect and preserve the destination. Good thing with the political will of the Duterte
Administration, it strictly implemented a rehabilitation plan for about six months and force business
owners to be part of protecting and preserving the island destination. Hoping for it to be enforce and
embodied by the business owners in the island.

Part III: Relevance/implications to the profession/field of expertise/program

- This journal paper is very relevant nowadays, with the Sustainable Development Goals (SGD) being
initiated by United Nation. In the areas of Clean and Water Sanitation; Sustainable Cities and
Communities; Responsible Consumption and Production; Climate Action; Life below water; Life on
Land. Wherein the business owners would be the first to initiate and practice to address the concept
of sustainability specially Ecotourism sites. Though I’m in the academe, but our area of specialization
is on Tourism and Hospitality industry, it would be best to inculcate to our students the importance
of disseminating the environmental ethics and values to them. For in the future that they become
business owners, managers and leaders in an ecotourism destinations, they would be aware of the
moral ethics that a persons and company operating in an ecotourism sites should practice and
impart to its guest, to sustain the destination for the generations to come and experience it. Top to
bottom management of a responsible business owners, managers and leaders of the ecotourism
destination, should at all time not just focus on earnings but strict a balance to protect and preserve
should always be a norm to them down to its employees. And its stakeholders like the suppliers and
most importantly the community it is operating in, A good CSR of the company to inculcate the
concept of business owners, managers and leaders protecting and preserving should not just be the
role of the company but the whole community where it is found.

REFERENCE:
Leonie Bowles, Lisa Ruhanen, (2018) "Disseminating environmental ethics and values: a study of ecotourism business owners", Tourism
Review, https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-08-2017-0136