Business stakeholders - AQAConflict between stakeholder groups
Businesses need to be aware of their stakeholders. The activities of a business will affect many of their stakeholders. The stakeholders can also influence the decisions that a business makes.
Different stakeholderAny person, group of people or other organisation that has an interest in the activities of a business. may want different things from a business, which means that there could be conflictA disagreement over something. between them. Overcoming a conflict will often require negotiationNegotiation is a way for people to settle their differences by discussion, aimed at reaching an agreement. and willingness to compromiseSettling an argument by adjusting requirements or changing an opinion in order to come to an agreement..
An example of conflict
The owners of a retail business decide to grant permission to extend the business’ opening hours on weekdays. Instead of being open from 8am to 8pm, the business will now be open from 7am to 10pm. The owners believe this will increase profits, but the decision is likely to cause conflict with the other stakeholders.
The owners will need to monitor the potential conflicts that could occur:
managers might have to work longer hours
employees may need to work different shifts, including working later
some customers may want even longer opening hours, eg 24 hours a day
suppliers could impact their customers by changing delivery routes and times
the local community could be disturbed by increased traffic and noise
pressure group A pressure group is a group of people who try to influence business activity in the interests of their members and supporters. may be unhappy if longer opening hours are against their cause, eg groups promoting families spending more time together or improved work-life balance
the government may require additional resources to monitor the impact on the local area, eg additional policing to deal with any shoplifting that takes place later in the evening
