Stakeholder management

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Stakeholder management (also project stakeholder management) is a critical component in the successful delivery of any project, programme or activity. A stakeholder is any individual, group or organization that can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a programme. [1]

Contents

The process

Project stakeholder management is considered as a continuous process, [2] specifically a four-step process of identifying stakeholders, determining their influence, developing a communication management plan and influencing stakeholders through engagement. [3] Within the field of marketing, it is believed that customers are one of the most important stakeholders for managing a business's long-term value, with a firm's major objective being the management of customer satisfaction. [4]

History

The origin of stakeholder engagement can be traced back to the 1930s. [5] In 1963, the Stanford Research Institute first defined the concept of stakeholder. [5] In 1984, Edward Freeman’s book Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach was published. It brought to existence a complete body of knowledge surrounding the ethical management of stakeholders. [6] Soon thereafter, computers were used to facilitate the organizations' engagement with communities and stakeholder analysis. Seven "principles of stakeholder management" are linked with the work of the Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, developed at four conferences held between 1993 and 1998. [7]

The concept of stakeholder management has also been criticised, for example by John Argenti in 1996, who described the concept as "utterly discredited". [8] The Strategic Planning Society's magazine, Strategy, subsequently hosted a debate on Argenti's views. [9] Pete Thomas argues that the established discourse regarding stakeholder management, although it is presented as supportive of stakeholders' interests, is "at best ambiguous, and at worst dishonest and manipulative". [9]

Berman, Wicks, Kotha and Jones distinguish between two primary models of stakeholder management in business, an "instrumental" approach, according to which business managers engage with their stakeholders in order to maximise long term financial outcomes, and a "normative" approach, which identifies a stakeholder commitment as a moral obligation adopted by businesses, [10] also referred to as an "intrinsic stakeholder commitment". [11] Donaldson and Preston's academic work [12] developed the normative approach, but while Berman et al. find empirical support for the financial benefits of effective stakeholder management, they have not identified any empirical basis for the normative model. [10]

Organizational stakeholders

It is well acknowledged that any given organization will have multiple stakeholders including, but not limited to, customers, shareholders, employees, suppliers, and so forth. One of the Clarkson Centre's seven principles notes that managers "should acknowledge the potential conflicts between their own role as a corporate stakeholders, and the legal and moral responsibilities they hold to act for the interests of all stakeholders". [7]

Stakeholder prioritization

Stakeholders may be mapped out on a power-interest map or grid, and classified by their power and interest. Other stakeholder mapping tools are available. For example, an employer is likely to have high power and influence over an employee's projects and high interest, whereas family members may have high interest, but are unlikely to have power over them.

Position on the grid may show actions:

Stakeholder engagement

Stakeholder management creates positive relationships with stakeholders through the appropriate management of their expectations and agreed objectives. Stakeholder management is a process and control that must be planned and guided by underlying principles. Stakeholder management within businesses, organizations, or projects prepares a strategy using information (or intelligence) gathered during the following common processes. Stakeholder engagement emphasizes that corporations should take into account the effects of their actions and decision-making on their diverse stakeholders. In addition, in the stakeholder engagement, corporations should take into consideration the rights and expectations of their different supporters. [13]

Some organizations use stakeholder engagement software to analyze their stakeholders, to create communication and engagement plans, to log information about the interactions they have with communities and to ensure compliance with regulations.[ example needed ]

Aims of stakeholder engagement include: [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

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In a corporation, a stakeholder is a member of "groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist", as defined in the first usage of the word in a 1963 internal memorandum at the Stanford Research Institute. The theory was later developed and championed by R. Edward Freeman in the 1980s. Since then it has gained wide acceptance in business practice and in theorizing relating to strategic management, corporate governance, business purpose and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The definition of corporate responsibilities through a classification of stakeholders to consider has been criticized as creating a false dichotomy between the "shareholder model" and the "stakeholder model", or a false analogy of the obligations towards shareholders and other interested parties.

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Stakeholder analysis in conflict resolution, business administration, environmental health sciences decision making, industrial ecology, public administration, and project management is the process of assessing a system and potential changes to it as they relate to relevant and interested parties known as stakeholders. This information is used to assess how the interests of those stakeholders should be addressed in a project plan, policy, program, or other action. Stakeholder analysis is a key part of stakeholder management. A stakeholder analysis of an issue consists of weighing and balancing all of the competing demands on a firm by each of those who have a claim on it, in order to arrive at the firm's obligation in a particular case. A stakeholder analysis does not preclude the interests of the stakeholders overriding the interests of the other stakeholders affected, but it ensures that all affected will be considered.

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Stakeholder engagement is the process by which an organization involves people who may be affected by the decisions it makes or can influence the implementation of its decisions. They may support or oppose the decisions, be influential in the organization or within the community in which it operates, hold relevant official positions or be affected in the long term.

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References

  1. Sowden, Rod (August 30, 2011). Managing successful programmes. Cabinet Office (Stationery Office). p. 59. ISBN   9780113313273.
  2. Emanuela Giangregorio, Practical Project Stakeholder Management: Methods, Tools and Templates for Comprehensive Stakeholder Management, 2020, pag 3
  3. Association for Project Management (APM). "APM Knowledge Stakeholder management".
  4. Gordon E. Greenley and Gordon R. Foxall (2003), "Multiple Stakeholder Orientation in UK Companies and the Implications for Company Performance", Journal of Management Studies, 34, 259–284.
  5. 1 2 Marchand, Roland (1998). Creating the Corporate Soul: The Rise of Public Relations and Corporate Imagery in American Big Business. California University Press.
  6. Freeman, Edward (1984). Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Harpercollins. ISBN   9780273019138.
  7. 1 2 Stakeholdermap.com, 7 Principles of Stakeholder Management, accessed 2 January 2023
  8. Argenti, J., Are you a stakeholder?, in Strategy, October 1996, quoted in Thomas, P., "Stakeholders and Strategic Management: The Misappropriation of Discourse", Critical Management Studies Conference, 14-16 July 1999
  9. 1 2 Thomas, P., "Stakeholders and Strategic Management: The Misappropriation of Discourse", Critical Management Studies Conference, 14-16 July 1999, p. 2
  10. 1 2 Berman, S. L; Wicks, A. C; Kotha, S; Jones, T. M (1999). "Does Stakeholder Orientation Matter? The Relationship Between Stakeholder Management Models and Firm Financial Performance". Academy of Management Journal. 42 (5): 488. JSTOR   256972., accessed 28 May 2023
  11. Value Based Management.net, The Normative Approach to Stakeholder Management, updated 25 March 2008, accessed 28 May 2023
  12. Donaldson, T., and Preston, L. (1995), "The stakeholder theory of the corporation: concepts, evidence, and implications", Academy of Management Review, 20: 65–91
  13. Fassin, Yves (August 2012). "Stakeholder Management, Reciprocity and Stakeholder Responsibility". Journal of Business Ethics. 109 (1): 83–96. doi:10.1007/s10551-012-1381-8. ISSN   0167-4544. S2CID   254385220.
  14. Association for Project Management (APM). "Stakeholder engagement".

Further reading