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Unit 4 Business Environment - Identify the mission, objectives and responsibilities of an organisation within its environment -

Stakeholders

Identification of stakeholders

You are probably familiar with the term stakeholder (any person or group that has a legitimate interest in an organisation and what it does, and the capacity to affect it. For example, staff, funders, volunteers, supporters and beneficiaries are all stakeholders) and may already think in terms of the different audiences this implies for your message. But have you thought about the implications of the differing stakeholder maps for different sectors?

Consider these three diagrams.

Three mapping diagrams are shown here. Each diagram shows the relationship of a specific sector to its stakeholders. At the side of the image, there is a definition of the word ‘stakeholder’. It reads “A stakeholder is any person or group that has a legitimate interest in an organisation and what it does, and the capacity to affect it. For example, staff, funders, volunteers, supporters and beneficiaries are all stakeholders”. First diagram. This represents the relationships between Business and its stakeholders, who are Shareholders, Customers, Employees and Suppliers. Each is represented by a box and the connection between them is shown using arrows in the following way: Business is represented as a central box. An arrow points both ways between Business and Suppliers, which is represented as a box on the left. An arrow points both ways between Business and Customers, which is represented as a box on the right. An arrow points both ways between Business and Shareholders, which is represented as a box above. An arrow points both ways between Business and Employees, which is represented as a box below. Second diagram. This represents the relationships between Public organisation and its stakeholders, who are Government, Clients, Employees , Taxpayers and Suppliers. Public organisation is represented as a central box. An arrow points one way from Public organisation to Taxpayers, which is represented by a box on the left. An arrow points both ways between Public organisation and Suppliers, which is represented by a box on the left. An arrow points one way from Public organisation to Clients, which is represented by a box on the right. An arrow points both ways between Public organisation and Government, which is represented by a box above. An arrow points both ways between Public organisation and Employees, which is represented by a box below. Third diagram. This represents the relationship between Voluntary organisation and its stakeholders, who are Trustees / management committees, Clients, Government and public opinion, Employees, and a group that includes Grantors, Supporters / donors, volunteers and members. Voluntary organisation is represented as a central box. An arrow points one way from Grantors, Supporters / donors, Volunteers, Members, represented by a box on the left, to Voluntary organisation. An arrow labelled Services points one way from Voluntary organisation to Clients, which is represented by a box on the right. There is a note attached to the Clients box. It reads “Where voluntary organisations make a charge for services, clients will also be contributing income to the organisation and may increasingly see themselves as customers”. An arrow labelled Influence points one way from Voluntary organisation to Government, public opinion, which is represented by a box on the right. An arrow points one way from Trustees / management committees, which is represented by a box above, to Voluntary organisation. An arrow points both ways between Voluntary organisation and Employees, which is represented by a box below.

Did you notice the different flows of inputs and outputs as illustrated by the direction of the arrows? In private sector organisations there is a ‘bottom line’ of profitability. Organisations will only produce what can be sold profitably and generate returns for investors, whether individual owners or shareholders. Such organisations have a close relationship with their customers.

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Book Recommendation

HNC/HND Business Core Unit 4: Organizations, Competition and Environment: Study Text (2000) - Buy it
Part of the HNC/HND business series, this text on organizations, competition and environment features a blend of topic coverage and practice opportunities with BTEC guidelines, key definitions, timed activities and assignments, and topics for class discussion. It is suitable for both classroom and individual study. Buy it from amazon.co.uk.

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