External stakeholders

Stakeholders Stakeholders are groups or individuals with an interest in a business. Stakeholders may affect or be affected by the decisions of an organisation. Examples of stakeholders include: Owners/shareholders Employees Customers Local community

External stakeholders External stakeholders are outside an organisation. The main external stakeholders are: Customers Government Suppliers The local community

Customer expectations Customers are likely to expect such things as: a product range that meets their needs value for money good quality products and customer service a ready supply of goods and services And possibly: Ecologically-sound products

Government interests The government has an interest in businesses because: it receives taxes from business profits, employee incomes and customer purchases businesses provide jobs and therefore affect employment levels and benefits payments the economy is dependent on the operations of business it has a range of legislation and regulations that businesses must comply with.

Supplier expectations Suppliers may provide a range of services to businesses, as well as raw materials and finished goods. Suppliers may expect: to be paid in a timely fashion to receive regular orders

Local community The local community may have expectations about a company regarding: the availability of jobs the level of pollution and congestion created the support provided by a business regarding community projects and concerns

Business expectations of stakeholders Different stakeholders have their own interests and expectations of an organisation. However, the business will also have expectations of the stakeholders, e.g. suppliers may be expected to comply with ethical and environmental guidelines set down by the business.

Stakeholder conflict Conflict between the needs of stakeholder groups may occur e.g. the government may want to increase VAT on the products sold by a business, which may lead to higher prices for customers.