Engaging Corporate Stakeholders
- Discuss different ways companies can engage with corporate stakeholders. What are some innovative ideas that could be used to engage all different types of stakeholders? Does it depend on the industry or company type? Would this be different for global companies?
A stakeholder is any party in which a company’s operations has its effects on be it a shareholder, the government or the community. Cooperating with stakeholders helps address the social needs and at the same time, helps to uphold the business principles stated by the company. A company cannot isolate itself from its stakeholders but is governed by various aspects which ensure there is an open access with them. It is essential in retaining the competitiveness and success of the company. For instance, a company can ensure that it increases its performance in delivery of goods and services, participates in community development and at the same time accomplish the goal of making profit. A company engages stakeholders by enhancing communication and building mutual respect with them by having them air their views. In addition, the community is very crucial in a company and therefore, a company should be guided by legal and ethical aspects such as the code of ethics in dealing with employees since they assist the company to grow. The company should hold regular meetings and workshops with them to debate on issues affecting the company and address their grievances. It is the role of the company to enquire about the issues that face their employees. Also, a company could develop a website and supply newsletters, internal memos so that the employees could be up to date with its operations.
In addition a company could see to the needs of the consumers through an open communication for it to properly address their needs. This could be done through market research, products surveillance and enquiries in finding out the dynamism in their needs. This not only helps the company expand the market share but also in assisting in conducting product research to adjust any problem. Shareholders and other investors are the financial foundation of the company and therefore, a company should engage them for it to enhance its sustainability. For instance, by supplying them with annual reports and press releases manually or in the corporate website, it updates them on its operations. It could also hold annual general meetings and conferences where the shareholders could point out the necessary recommendations address the issues that pertains the company and also assess its performance. The customers such as retailers or wholesalers should not be left out since they connect the company and the consumers. They ensure that the market of a company’s products is diversified; hence the company should ensure that their products are valuable, meets the right standards, and makes sure that they have enough supplies. Moreover, the suppliers should be engaged by the company in setting the required standards to improve the quality of goods and services they supply. In collaborating with local and international organizations, a company is able to meet the society’s needs such as the environmental, health and labor laws. These ideas are also applicable for global companies (Brenkert, 2004).
- Discuss the benefits of making sustainability work within an organization. How can innovation, reporting, and auditing help to improve sustainability? What will that mean for a company’s bottom line? What happens if companies do not work to improve sustainability? Can companies afford not to work toward these sustainability efforts?
Sustainability in a company is crucial to ensure business longevity in relation to the consumers, the employees, investors and management of resources. Social, economic and environmental aspects significantly influence a company’s performance and laws protecting such aspects should be observed or else litigation may occur leading to financial losses. Sustainability could be accomplished through transparency such as financial reviews to minimize commercial risks. It is the role of the company to address the issues facing the company through innovation, reporting, and auditing to sustain the business operations. Innovation, reporting, and auditing express the company’s transparency which is crucial for investors and other funders. A sound relationship is essential for them to determine if a company is economically sustainable. Failure to express these aspects may cost the business to loose its financial backup hence, its closure. Failure to build sustainability may fail to express the company’s weaknesses which is helpful to draft solutions and enforce them. This is crucial in creating an indicator to monitor the real processes so as to make a report of the real state of the company, its accomplishments and the future adjustments needed. Building sustainability could at times be expensive for example, it may involve designing new operations such as production machinery and the products to be marketed although companies should achieve it or otherwise, they would have to close down (Schaltegger et al, 2006).
References
Brenkert. G. (2004). Corporate Integrity & Accountability. California: Sage Publications, Inc.
Schaltegger S., Bennett M. and Burrit R. (2006). Sustainability Accounting and Reporting. The Netherlands: Springer.
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