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| Picture by: berrytea
It is understood among all businesses that a good collaboration among stakeholders in a firm is essential to the success and growth of the
business. To define briefly they are a group of individuals who can affect or
are affected by the objectives of the organization. Every organization has a
unique set of stakeholders but there are common stakeholders such as investors,
employees, customers and communities
It is vital for the survival of the organization for it to find
balance among its stakeholders. For example due to the pressure from the
investors of a company they might have to increase the prices of the products
or services that are provided in order to meet the demands of the investors.
However this would make it difficult for them to meet the demands of the
consumers since they demands better quality with a good price. These conflicts
of interest will arise between different groups of stakeholders and companies
have to overcome them amicably.
Types of Stakeholders
Stakeholders are distinguished
mainly to three categories. They are:
Internal Stakeholders
Internal stakeholders consist of those stakeholders who have an
intimate connection with the organization. Briefly they are the employees and
the management of an organization. Both the employees and the management play
an integral role in the growth of the business. This is why employees are
considered as the biggest asset in a company.
The decisions taken by the employee fashions the organization to
meet its objectives. Through their ideas and skills they introduce or improve
services and products in a company. For example in a business firm that strives
on the quality of the products they produce, it is important that all the staff
involved in the production process maintains this quality of the products. And
in order to maintain the quality the employees must be motivated. And with this
motivation it ensures the organization that the objectives will be met.
Some interests of the employees include:
External Stakeholders
External stakeholders mainly consist of the community, government and
pressure groups. Each of these stake
holders have a huge impact on the decisions taken by the organization. For
example due to the increasing awareness of global climate change and importance
of preserving the environment, organizations must operate their activities
keeping in mind the ways to make it environmentally friendly. By increasing the
reputation of the company in the community it adds to the life span of the
organization.
The government and its regulatory bodies also impact the operations
of the organization. Government tends to pass laws that restrict the
organization from carrying out certain activities while also such laws might
enable them to go forward. This is one of the
reasons many of the big businessman are affiliated with politics. They will be
able to anticipate the changes in the laws and in some cases influence in the
decisions made.
Another group of stakeholders among external stakeholders are
pressure groups. Pressure
groups are defined as “A group seeking to influence government policy or business activity
to secure the interests of their members and supporters”. Through their
influence and criticism on the activities carried out by organization they are
able to change their course of action. This is achieved by the huge public
support they have.
Connected Stakeholders
There are several groups of connected stakeholders. Some of they
are:
1.
Shareholders: Shareholder
is the one who owns shares in a cooperation. Shareholders have a great
influence on the decisions made by the company such as vote on who sits on the
board of directors. The prime interest of a shareholder is a return on their
investment. So they are looking for high profits and a long term growth of the
organization.
2.
Customers: Controls a major part of the
prices and procedures done by organizations. They determine whether an
organization will survive or not. They are often referred to as the king
because ultimately they determine what is produced, what quality is needed and
the price
·
Low
prices
·
High
Quality Products
·
Good
service
·
Variety
of Products
·
Regular
supply of products
3.
Suppliers: Having a good
supplier relationship is one of key areas in which organizations take a huge
importance. Organizations are looking at suppliers as partners rather than
vendors. One of the key things a supplier searches for is a long term
relationship with a firm. If an organization is able to show this commitment to
a supplier this will in return prove profitable to the organization. Through a
good relationship with the supplier the organization is able to suggest new
ideas or improvements to the products. The organization can gain a competitive
advantage by getting better prices and delivery times
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Stakeholders
Posted on Tuesday, December 08, 2015
