Last week, Typhoon Hato swept through Macao with such ferocious power that, when it was all over, rooftops were blown away, windows shattered, cars laid in ruin, trees uprooted, and narrow streets flooded. Like the aftermath of many major natural disasters, the immediate emotional reactions from residents were shock, disbelief, sadness and anger; many were apparently shaken by the destructive power of nature.
The scale of it all quickly engulfed the local government and emergency services personnel, who were called into action and struggled. With power and water supply cut, the population of Macao (and tourists alike) suffered their first major crisis, for some, in their living memories. In some places, little help was offered.
Residents swiftly vented their anger on the lack of pre-typhoon preparation, slow reactions, and incompetency of their local government officials; they were seen to be unsympathetic and lacked empathy to the grass-root community who had to bear the full brunt of the deadly typhoon. Calls for volunteers to help the neighborhoods gathered steam as hours passed. But more were needed. Macao, a city that aspires to be a World Center for Tourism and Leisure and a superpower of global gaming industry, was greatly in need of aid during these trying times.
The six casino operators, with a combined force of more than 100,000 employees across numerous properties in Macao, would later answer Macao residents’ SOS call. Among the first to do so was Mr. Lawrence Ho, founder of Melco Resorts & Entertainment, who announced a disaster relief fund worth MOP30 million (US$3.75 million); furthermore, construction of its new hotel building was halted in order to free up volunteers (more than 2,000 of them) to help towards relief works.
Mr. Ho’s speedy responses won praises among the residents, who championed him as an honorable business leader who understood the sufferings of the community his business operates in. Local netizens and the company’s employees took to the company’s Facebook page to compliment its strong sense of (corporate) social responsibilities. MRE led the other operators to show to the local residents that it cared for the plight of the people and willing to help despite major business operational disruptions. For this, they were rewarded.
There are some businesses that are perceived to be worse than others in potentially disrupting social values—gaming companies are simply one of them. This makes corporate social responsibility more important than ever. While it is true that being socially responsible can be good business for casino operators, the point is that every single operator in Macao is already tightly integrated with the local community.
Having drawn their resources from the community (i.e., local manpower, utility and infrastructure), casino operators are often treated by the locals as their extended family—a critical part of Macao. This is particularly important and true in a collectivistic Chinese society. Such corporate social integration helps operators to survive and strive on ordinary occasion. As such, residents expect the operators to be tolerant and sympathetic as well as provide dear assistance to residents and their local employees in time of crisis.
When news leaked out that one operator had called for volunteers to clean its pool rather than diverting resources to help with the relief works, it was met with a typhoon of criticisms from the local community and among its employees. Online social media was used as a perfect medium to vent frustrations as local netizens bombarded the company’s Facebook page with negative reviews and comments. Within one to two days, more than 20,000 staggering adverse reviews (i.e., 1 out of 5 stars rating) were registered! For these individuals, the operator’s behavior was perceived to be simply “un-Macao.” A misfortune that might have its roots grown for some time as some corporate values could have deviated from societal values/demands.
Typhoon Hato brought much havoc to Macao. Amid the tremendous losses, there were beacons of light coming from the spirits and actions of its people as well as enterprises. Many companies operating integrated resorts in Macao have embraced the concept of corporate social responsibilities, not only because it is good business but also their operations are socially integrated with the community.
A key factor in corporate social responsibility concept is to find a delicate balance between corporate resources, profit objectives, and, more importantly, social expectations. It is more than just about social responsibility. It is about socially integrating the operator’s values with societal values—a delicate balance of values. The fate of Macao and its integrated resorts is now intertwined. In this time of crisis, operators must recognize that they are already socially integrated with the local community and are required to share its wealth as well as treat the community’s wounds. These values become essential for business sustainability in today’s integrated resorts.
