How Can The Stakeholders Be Engaged Without Affecting The Organization`S Business Aspects?
What Are The Techniques That Could Be Practiced For Stakeholder’s Engagement?
What Are The Areas Which Require Stakeholder’s Engagement?
This report embarks on the stakeholder’s engagement. As the stakeholders are related to the business and organization. There are five important parts of the report. The first requirement of the report includes the description of some important terms used in the report. The second requirement of the project describes the concept of the stakeholder’s management and the different stakeholders of the firm. The third requirement of the report includes the different accounting theories in perspective to the stakeholder’s engagement. The requirement critically reflects the adequacy of different data i.e. primary and secondary to support the study. In the fifth requirement of the report is related to the research. A proposal for the research is being made which includes the research question, objective, importance, literature review, methodology and the steps for ethical approval to undertake the research project.
Stakeholder- The term stakeholder means a person or group of person or any organization has an interest in investing in an organization or have a stake in the company for earning a profit or we can say a person or an organization having an interest in a start-up of a new project in the organization (Manetti, 2013).
Internal stakeholder- Internal stakeholder is the owner’s managers and employees of the organization these are responsible for the organization growth, owners, managers, and employees perform the operation by helping them in making the strategy and plans and also make the decision for the success of the organization (Lorne & Dilling, 2012).
External stakeholder- External stakeholders are those such as customers, suppliers and creditors these are the outside persons who take the interest in company for investment (Lorne & Dilling, 2012). Customers are those which purchase the products of the company and the suppliers are those which purchase the product form the company for the society and the creditors are those such as banks, government from which company takes the money for the business these all are the external stakeholders.
Stakeholder Engagement- Stakeholder engagement is the process in which people are involved from the outside in the organization in the decision-making process, as the stakeholder’s activities can affect the decision of the organization or the decision taken by the organization can affect the stakeholder’s interests. Stakeholders are the most important part of the company which helps in the organization to find out the social and environmental issue of the company which is going on outside (Kaur, 2014). The responsibility of stakeholder engagement is to find out the solution for these issues and help the company for improving their performance and help in achieving the objectives of the company.
Accounting theory- Accounting theory can be described as a process, which examines the methodologies of the accounting, it is a set of accounting rules and the principle of the financial accounting. Accounting theory is set of principle by which company accounts can be properly managed by the company.
Sustainability reporting- The term sustainability reporting can be defined as a report that is used to be published by an organization or a company about social, environmental and economic impacts caused by their activities (Bal & Bryde, 2013).
Integrated reporting- A report created by an organization in order to communicate its prospects, performance, governance, and strategies that will result in creating value over the short, medium and long-term (Zakhem, 2017).
Corporate social reporting- It is a concept of corporate social responsibilities that consist of a process of communicating the environmental and social possessions of organizations profitable engagements to specific interest groups within the society (Belal, 2016)
Stakeholder Engagement plays an important role in an organization by the help of engagement of stakeholders in several business aspects, an organization can make provisions for its activities and it can also evade the social reaction (Kaur, 2014). In an organization, the involvement of the stakeholders enables the organization to ascertain and address the apprehensions, that decrease the threats and deadlocks which are used to arise from confusion or misunderstandings (Lemke, 2015). As through the involvement of stakeholders, potential problems could be identified and plan can be developed to mitigate those problems before they arise; it helps the organization to function in a more constant socio-political environment.
Stakeholder engagement can be elucidated as the initiation of collaborative activities instigated by the business with its stakeholders. There are lots of opportunities to embark on the engagement of stakeholders and a number of way for instigating a dialogue. An organization has to pay the attention while building the relationships and also make consideration in recognizing the stakeholder that can be affected by the different projects (Glover, 2015). In addition to this engagement of stakeholders helps in solving the issue not only related to the organization but also related to the stakeholders In both of the aspects, stakeholder engagement involves two essential points:- Identification of the Stakeholder and Dialogue with the stakeholders.
The term stakeholder can be defined as a group or individual which may be affected through or may affect the achievement of the organization`s goals. In this these traditionally has been such as:
It is crucial for the organization to ascertain all the important stakeholders including those who have been forgotten frequently, but then again they could make a major impression on reputation and activities or functions of the organization, such as aboriginal communities or activities group (Bal, et al., 2013). In addition to this, the responsible organization has to identify and work together with the stakeholders who are going to be influenced by its activities; on the whole, if the influence is expected to be negative. One of the other measures for recognizing and listing stakeholders consist of the attributes of urgency, legitimacy, power as well as the ability of the stakeholders that may affect or could be affected by the actions perceived by the organization (Manetti, 2013).
In this case study, the organization needs the support from stakeholders to find out issues related to environmental and social aspects professed by the stakeholders. Corporate social reporting is useful for the organizations in order to represent itself as socially responsible. In this by the help of accounting and integrated reporting, stakeholders relation can be maintained and move towards the operations (Manetti, 2013). Sustainability reporting and accounting can build a base for dealing with complex stakeholder’s relationships and moving towards other viable processes. According to the accountability theory, the success of the engagement is based on the understanding the following aspects-
This accounting theory determines that the involvement of stakeholders supports organizations to develop and improve strategy as well as to identify and address operational issues.
Normative stakeholder theory lays emphasis on the activities of the organization that what the organizations shall do in context to the stakeholders. This theory is based upon treatments of some aspects such as- corporate legitimacy principle, fiduciary principle, and corporate social responsibility (Kaur, 2014). These two aspects are different from each other, as the first aspects embark on the stakeholders that can retain the ability to influence the organization is legitimate; on the other hand, the second aspects state that such legitimacy is consequential from ethical responsibility outstanding to other stakeholders.
Instrumental theory, in contrast to this, the instrumental theory lays emphasis on the concept that whether the activities carried out by the organization is beneficial for the business or not, however, the interest of the stakeholders should be considered. This theory is regarded as a part of instrumental version and depicts shareholders as crucial factors which support the organization to accomplish its goals and objectives as well as empowers the leaders to come across their fiduciary responsibilities to the shareholders (Doherty, et al., 2009). As per this theory, organizations deal with its stakeholders on the basis of collaboration; in addition to this, the mutual trust facilitates competitive advantage to the organization (as in case the competitors are not considering the stakeholder`s engagement). The instrumental stakeholder’s theory is based upon the underlying principle that stakeholders can be grouped as shareholders, customers, and labors. These groups operate as structural units in which common ideas could be shared by the members.
Sustainability theory specifies the identification of the stakeholder states that, the important stakeholders for the business shall be identified. After identifying the stakeholders of the organization. They shall be engaged in various processes of the organization.
Descriptive stakeholder’s theory, general outline and elucidate the organization`s specific behaviors and characteristics, for instance, nature of the organization. This theory embraces that the firm is at the center of competition and cooperation, both of their inherent value. In addition to this, the descriptive theory in relation to stakeholder`s aspects describe such factors- organization`s nature, managers way of thinking in context to the management aspects, how the management of corporations can be done in reality, thinking of board members in regards to corporate constituencies` interests and identification of stakeholders (Bal, et al., 2013).
The accounting theories which also support the aspects of engagement of stakeholders is one of the essential parts of sustainability accounting process; for instance, it can provide various benefits to the organization such as-
Moral accounting theory outlines the responsibility of the managers for internal stakeholders such as employees. Managers are responsible to take account of employee`s legitimate rights (Glover, 2015)
According to Professor Shallow, the secondary data is adequate in context to the study purpose. As the secondary data is used to be gathered in an easy manner in comparison to the primary data. Both of the data sources i.e. primary data and secondary data sources have their own adequacies in relation to the study.
Primary data and its sources- Primary data are the first-hand data which is gathered by the researcher for the first time when he or she has pursued the research (C & C, 2012). There are a number of techniques through which the primary or first-hand data could be gathered. Some of the primary data sources are- surveys, interviews, observation technique etc.
Secondary Data and its sources- It is also known as second-hand data, as the data is gathered through some other researcher or individual for his or her own purpose (Olsen, 2011). This data can be easily used as the secondary data can be gathered from a number of resources such as- internet, official reports, business reports and magazines, books, journals, newspapers and many other sources.
Both of the sources to gather data for the research study are important in their own way. As the primary data source could be approached by the researcher when more valid data is required for the research as sometimes the secondary data could be less valid in comparison to the primary data (C & C, 2012). In contrast to this, the secondary data could be approached by the researcher for his or her study, when there is less time to complete the study, as to collect the primary data it consumes more time. Whereas secondary data could be gathered in less time as it is already available and could be approached through various sources and do not consume more cost (Olsen, 2011). Hence, the data for the study could be approached by considering following aspects- convenience, relevance, suitability, and requirement of the study
This research is important to be pursued, as through the study it could be concluded that what is the importance of the stakeholder’s engagement for an organization. As the stakeholders are considered as the integral and essential part of the organizations (Bates, 2014). Each and every organization have stakeholders and some of the important stakeholders of the organization are- management, owner, employee, shareholders and investors, government, customers etc. Through the research, the importance of the stakeholders and their engagement will be ascertained and this will facilitate in the accomplishment of the objectives in a better manner. Another importance of the research is that the importance of stakeholder’s engagement in developing the guidelines and policies of the organization will also be determined. As it is important to ascertain the importance of engaging with the stakeholders in order to run the business successful (Denscombe, 2012). Besides this, the techniques which could be used by the organization for motivating the stakeholder’s engagement could also be ascertained and such techniques may be used further.
Engagement of stakeholders cannot be done in deprived of any difficulties that may consist of- conflict with those outside the process, huge extent of staff time and extraordinary cost (Belal, 2016). Irrespective of such encounters, it proves that stakeholder’s engagement is beneficial in turning out useful and supported plans of the management and it also helps in building long-stand and solid relationships.
Normative stakeholder theory lays consideration on the doings or undertakings of the organization that what actions shall be undertaken by the organizations in regards to the stakeholders (Kaur, 2014). This theory determines the aspects related to the treatment of a number of aspects for instance- corporate legitimacy principle, corporate social responsibility and fiduciary principle (Oruc, 2011).
On the other hand, the instrumental theory lays concentration on the perception that, whether the actions were undertaken by the firm is constructive for the business or not; though the stakeholder’s interest should be considered. So that interest of the stakeholders shall not be influenced in a negative manner (Bal, et al., 2013). The instrumental stakeholder’s theory is grounded upon the fundamental principle that stakeholders can come together as labors, shareholders, and consumers. These groups work as essential units in which common ideas, suggestions, and feedbacks could be shared by any of the members (Manetti, 2013).
The descriptive theory, in context to stakeholder`s aspects, elucidate the factors related to the stakeholders and the organizations. How the manager thinks about the engagement of employees in the decision-making process, the way by which organization`s management can be done, deliberation of top management about stakeholder`s identification and other aspects.
Moral accounting theory, states that managers shall take account of legitimate rights of the employees (Williams & Adams, 2014). Moral stakeholder perspective shall be considered in context to disclosure of employees issues in order to expand accountability and transparency to society and employees.
Vilma Luoma-who in the year 2015, stated in his article that there are three different type of stakeholder relationships. The first one has certainly engaged faith holders, the destructively engaged holders and the last one is fake holders (Luoma-aho, 2015). For an effective public relations; it is important to support the faith holders, engage the hate holders and reveal the fake holders.
Menoka Bal and David Bryde in the year 2013, published their article in context to the engagement of the stakeholders for achieving sustainability in the construction business. This sustainability theory states that the important stakeholders for the business shall be identified. The engagement of stakeholder can be done through a process which includes six different steps i.e. identification of the stakeholders; relating stakeholders to different targets related to sustainability; prioritization; managing; evaluating performance; carrying out targets into action (Bal & Bryde, 2013).
Type of research- It is a descriptive research, therefore qualitative research methodology will be followed for the study.
Sample technique- Convenient sample technique is going to be approached for the research as through such technique, the sampling of the respondent could be done as per the researcher’s convenience (Becker, & Denicolo, 2012).
A number of the sample- The number of sample for the study will be four different managers if different organization.
Data collection- Primary data will be approached for the study, as the research requires fresh data to be studied to reach a conclusion ( Leavy, 2017). Data will be collected through a survey. As this technique will be suitable for the research.
The questions which will be asked to the respondent samples are given below:
|
Question No. |
Questions |
|
1 |
Do you consider stakeholders as an important part of your organization? A). Yes, B). No C). Sometimes |
|
2 |
Do you think stakeholder’s engagement is an important perspective for the business and stakeholders benefits? A). Yes, B). No C). Maybe |
|
3 |
Do you let your stakeholders participate in the decision-making process? A). Yes, B). No C). Sometimes |
|
4 |
How do you involve stakeholders in the decision-making process? A) Survey B). Advice of employees C). Customer`s suggestions D). Feedbacks |
|
5 |
When it comes to your accounting practices, do you consider stakeholder`s engagement? A). Yes, B). No |
|
6 |
Which of the area requires stakeholder’s engagement? A). CSR B). Sustainability accounting C). Financial decision aspects D). New project development E). |
|
7 |
How can the engagement of stakeholders be done without influencing the organization`s business aspects? A). Involving stakeholders in decision-making process irrespective of areas related to financial aspects B). Only taking suggestions of stakeholders C). Taking feedback from stakeholders and ignoring the feedback, in case, if it affects the business. |
|
8 |
Do you think the stakeholders of your organization are affected by the decision taken by the firm? A). Yes, B). No C). Maybe D). Can`t say |
|
9 |
Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied you are with the stakeholder’s engaged in the organization A). Very satisfied B). Somewhat satisfied C). Very dissatisfied D). Somewhat dissatisfied E). Neither dissatisfied nor satisfied |
|
10 |
Rate stakeholders engagement in the organization- A) Extremely engaging B). Very Engaging C). Slightly engaging D). Moderately engaging E). not at all engaging |
( Engel, et al., 2014)
Ethics Approval
The steps which are required to be taken in order to gain ethical approval to undertake this project are given below:
Conclusion
This could be concluded from the report that there are different thoughts about stakeholder’s engagement. As the stakeholders are the inseparable part of the organization, therefore it is must for the firm to consider about the stakeholders while initiating a plan, or change in the process. As the organization`s activities may influence the interests of the stakeholders in the positive or negative way. Beside this, it is also not wrong to say, that the activities of the stakeholders as well can influence the business of the firm. Therefore it is concluded from the study that stakeholders shall be considered in context to the sustainability reporting and accounting.
References
Creswell, J. W., 2014. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. s.l.:SAGE.
Engel, U., Jann, B. & Lynn, ., 2014. Improving Survey Methods: Lessons from Recent Research. s.l.:Routledge. .
Israel, D., 2009. Data Analysis in Business Research. s.l.: SAGE Publications.
Kuada, J., 2012. Research Methodology. s.l.:Samfundslitteratur.
Leavy, P., 2017. Research Design. s.l.:Guilford Publications.
Marsden, P. V. & Wright, . D., 2010. Handbook of Survey Research. s.l.:Emerald Group Publishing.
Saris, W. E. & Gallhofer, . N., 2014. Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research. s.l.: John Wiley & Sons..
Troidl, H., Spitzer, . & McPeek, . ., 2012. Principles and Practice of Research. s.l.:Springer Science & Business Media.
Wetcher, D., 2011. Analyzing Quantitative Data. s.l.: John Wiley & Sons.
Ali, A. & Abdelfettah, B., 2016. An overview on stakeholder theory perspective: towardsmanaging stakeholder expectation. International Academic Journal of Accounting and Financial, 3(3), pp. 40-53.
Andres, L., 2012. Designing and Doing Survey Research. s.l.:SAGE.
Bal, M. & Bryde, D., 2013. Stakeholder Engagement: Achieving Sustainability in the Construction Sector. [Online]
Available at: www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/2/695/pdf
[Accessed 20 10 2017].
Banfield, T., 2014. Why Customer Satisfaction is Important (and How to Focus on It). [Online]
Available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/blog/2015/02/06/customer-satisfaction-important-focus/
Bates, S., 2014. Understanding and Doing Successful Research. s.l.:Routledge.
Becker,, . L. & Denicolo, . P., 2012. Developing Research Proposals. s.l.:SAGE.
Belal, A. R., 2016. Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in Developing Countries. s.l.:Pages displayed by permission of Routledge.
Boeije, H. R., 2009. Analysis in Qualitative Research. s.l.:Sage.
Brown, M., 2012. Data mining techniques, s.l.: s.n.
Crowther, D. & Lancaster, G., 2012. Research Methods. s.l.: Routledge.
Denscombe, M., 2012. Research Proposals: A Practical Guide. s.l.:McGraw-Hill Education.
Doherty, B., Foster, G., Mason, C. & Meehan, J., 2009. Management for Social Enterprise. s.l.:SAGE.
. F., 2015. Ethics. s.l.:Pearson Education.
Fowler, F. J., 2013. Survey Research Methods. s.l.: SAGE Publications.
Glover, J., 2015. Why stakeholder management is an important part of project management. [Online]
Available at: https://cloud-collaboration.kahootz.com/why-stakeholder-management-is-an-important-part-of-project-management
Hammond, W., 2016. Informed Consent: Procedures, Ethics and Best Practices. s.l.:Nova Science Publishers.
Harrin, E., 2017. 4 UNUSUAL REASONS WHY STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT. [Online]
Available at: https://www.girlsguidetopm.com/4-unusual-reasons-why-stakeholder-management-is-important/
Kaur, A., 2014. Stakeholder engagement in sustainability accounting and reporting: A study of Australian local councils. [Online]
Available at: https://search.ror.unisa.edu.au/media/researcharchive/open/9915866601701831/53111868410001831
[Accessed 5 9 2017].
Khan, 2011. Research Methodology. s.l.:APH Publishing.
Lemke, A. A., 2015. Stakeholder engagement in policy development: challenges and opportunities for human genomics. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4567945/
[Accessed 10 9 2017].
Lorne, F. T. & Dilling, P., 2012. Creating Values for Sustainability: Stakeholders Engagement, Incentive Alignment, and Value Currency. [Online]
Available at: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecri/2012/142910/
[Accessed 8 9 2017].
Luoma-aho, V., 2015. Understanding Stakeholder Engagement: Faith-holders, Hateholders & Fakeholders. Research Journal of the Institute for Public Relations, 2(1), pp. 1-21.
Manetti, G., 2013. The Quality of Stakeholder Engagement in Sustainability Reporting: Empirical Evidence and Critical Points. [Online]
Available at: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.477.872&rep=rep1&type=pdf
[Accessed 6 9 2017].
Olsen, W., 2011. Data Collection. s.l.:SAGE..
Olsen, W., 2011. Data Collection: Key Debates and Methods in Social Research. s.l.:Sage.
Oruc, I., 2011. Normative stakeholder theory in relation to ethics of care. [Online]
Available at: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/17471111111154527
[Accessed 10 9 2017].
Rinaldi, L., 2013. Stakeholder Engagement. [Online]
Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-02168-3_6
[Accessed 4 9 2017].
Sawshilya, A., 2012. Ethics and Governance. s.l.:ICFAI.
Williams , S. & Adams, C. A., 2014. Moral accounting? Employee disclosures from a stakeholder accountability perspective. [Online]
Available at: https://drcaroladams.net/moral-accounting-employee-disclosures-from-a-stakeholder-accountability-perspective/
[Accessed 20 10 2017].
Zakhem, A., 2017. Normative Stakeholder Theory. [Online]
Available at: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/S2514-175920170000003
[Accessed 11 9 2017]
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download
