Stakeholder Theory in Organisational Management

Stakeholder Theory in Organisational Management Matt Miller Questions for discussion: Is it unethical for a city employee to make recommendations based on his or her experience? There is a danger that this may be interpreted as bribery-inability to provide evidence of quid pro quo payments still leaves the question open and therefore there is no transparency-additionally, the experience of the individual may only be from an advisory and not consumer position-what qualifies the employee to make the recommendation? This could influence the consumer decision and is therefore inappropriate and unethical and possibly illegal. Would Garys actions have been acceptable if he had not engaged in a quid pro quo? It still brings the employees motives into question as outlined above-there is no transparency as to why Gary is making the recommendations and additionally, what qualifies Gary to make the recommendation? It is therefore still unacceptable. What action should Wendy take with Gary? With other department employees? In the absence of written documentation outlining the issue, Wendy would have to make the decision as to whether he should have been aware that his actions are unethical and possible illegal and act accordingly. That Gary actively solicited the firms, it is reasonable to assume he was aware that his actions were illicit and therefore despite specific written rules, it would be reasonable to subject Gary to a disciplinary hearing as per the departments policies and procedures. Is there anything the city manager might do to prohibit this type of behaviour? Update the Standard Operational Procedured and rules of business and ensure sign-off within the training and competency assessments of relevant personnel to ensure that they are aware of the rules and implications of failing to follow them. Ensure that the employees are aware that all document changes regarding policy have to be acknowledged to remove plausible deniability. Finally, it would be prudent to audit activities of all staff responsible for imparting this information to consumers, in order to ascertain if this is a single case or endemic among the culture of the office. What do you think? Stark (1997) outlines the issue quite well stating that contracting or procurement are prime examples where ethical codes are paramount. Public sector processes Government processes are lengthy in that they have to encourage transparency and impartiality. If efficiency was the sole rationale for judging, then it could become subjective and easy for the employee to act inappropriately. If however the key is impartiality, then it is easier to monitor and control as patterns of contract awarding would be evident. Stakeholder theory Stakeholder theory is a theory of organisational management in business ethics concerning ethics morals and values, coined by R Edward Freeman. A stakeholder approach identifies the stakeholders in the organisation and describes methods by which management can address all issues from the stakeholders. Traditionally, the shareholders are important and the companys primary goal is to put their needs first (shareholder theory). Stakeholder theory reworks this by including employees, customers suppliers competition, governmental bodies, unions etc. into the mix and stating that the company should be run not only for the benefit of shareholders but of stakeholders too The nature of what is a stakeholder is debatable with many reclassifications. The stakeholder theory incorporates both recourse and market based view. This is used to define the relevant stakeholders to each company and the conditions in which each group should be treated. According to Key (1999), the traditional model to describe companies is the economic model which employs both contract and agency theory to describe and predict the behaviour of the company. Stakeholder theory extends the relationship to encompass the company and its external environment have produced a stream of literature in the area of corporate social responsibility. According to Gomez (2006), Freeman described a stakeholder as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of an organizations objectives. Kaler (2003) describes three different aspects to stakeholder theory; the descriptive aspect which serves to describe the nature and operation of organisations, the instrumental aspect which describes the instigation of stakeholder theory within the organisation, and the normative aspect wich provides definition of function and the ethical code that should be adopted concerning operations. Studies have shown that companies that embrace stakeholder theory, are more successful than their shareholder counterparts. Hack (2011) described protests in 2000 where activists pointed out that the Coca Cola company provided AIDS prevention, protection, testing and treatment of its employees in Africa, this was not extended to employees of its bolting affiliates. The Coca Cola Company encompassing stakeholder theory, visualised the effect on the supply chain if the affiliates employees were affected and rescinded the decision. Ultimately, Coca-Cola supplied AIDS services for the affiliates employees across Africa with each stakeholder group contributing to the payment. There are criticisms of the theory-Key (1999) stated that Stakeholder theory provided no adequate explanation of the firms behaviour within its environment. This was mirrored by Gomez (2006) who stated that there is a lack of clarity regarding stakeholder theory, as it does not sufficiently explain the intricacy of the relationships between a company and individuals, groups and other organizations from the same environment. References: Gomez, R. (2006). Stakeholder management in the local government decision-making area: evidences from a triangulation study with the English local government. Brazilian Administration Review. Retrieved February 19, 2017, from http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bar/v3n1/v3n1a05.pdf Hack, N. (2011). How deeply engaging stakeholders changes everything. Retrieved February 19, 2017, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2011/05/03/how-deeply-engaging-stakeholders-changes-everything/#4e0b35801808 Kaler, J., (2003). Differentiating stakeholder theories. Journal of Business Ethics: JBE; Dordrecht 46.1 (Aug 2003): 71-83. Key, S., (1999). Toward a new theory of the firm: a critique of stakeholder theory Management Decision; London37.4 (1999): 317-328. Stark, A., (1997) Beyond quid pro quo: whats wrong with private gain from public office? The American Political Science Review. Vol. 91, No. 1 (Mar., 1997), pp. 108-120

Scale Effects Development and the Flattening of the Globe

Economic growth can be viewed from two angles. For many decades, economists had put primary importance on factor endowments, good economic policies, and democratic institutions, as the main determinants of economic development. Some economists though refused to accept the hypothesis which states that â€Å"economic development is the only measure of institutional efficiency and real potential growth. They argued that some variables, like climate and geography, can have significant bearing on the developmental course of a country (hence, the term â€Å"scale effects development† is used to describe the degree or extent of regional variables used as a measure of economic growth). Hence, it is possible that these variables actually dictate the general framework of the economic policies of a country. Alternative Hypotheses Masters and McMillan (2001) tested this hypothesis by looking at a sample of 90 rich and poor countries. The authors concluded that one factor differentiating developed countries from poor ones is the frequency of winter frosts. Winter frosts reduce borne diseases and kill plant parasites. Frosts also allow agricultural lands to experience a seasonal buildup of organic matter, leading to rich, fertile topsoil. In short, frosts boost economic development Acemoglu et al (2001) argued that countries with low mortality rates experienced economic development. Investigating a variety of 17th to 19th century European colonial strategies, the author found that where settler mortality was low, because geography and climate were conducive to health, Europeans moved in and established good institutions. Places where settler mortality was high, because of bad geography and diseases, Europeans stayed away and created bad institutions. Whether the institutions are good and bad, it was noted that geography and climate has a significant bearing on the pattern of world distribution of income. Countries with good institutions (as a result of good geography) have high levels of income; those with bad institutions (as a result of bad geography) have low levels of income. International Trade, Resource Availability and Land Use International trade has resulted to the smoothing of economic transactions among countries with different socio-politico-economic systems. This ‘smoothing’ process can be seen as the overall end of the modernization process. Modernization requires the removal of trade barriers, privatization of government corporations, and most importantly, the establishment of an efficient resource base. Modernization can be an effective mode for economic development if all countries adopt its basic principles. In addition, the platform of modernization only works if the factor endowments of a particular country (land an, capital, and labor) are utilized efficiently and exchanged to other countries (comparative advantage). In short, modernization as a process makes the economic world smaller and vulnerable to market fluctuations. The World is Flat Friedman (2005) recounts a journey to Bangalore, India, after he realized globalization has changed core economic concepts. He suggests the world is â€Å"flat† in the sense that globalization has leveled the competitive playing fields between industrial and emerging market countries (in terms of income and comparative advantage). In his opinion, this flattening is a product of a convergence of world economic integration and scale effects development. He termed this period as Globalization 3. 0, differentiating this period from the previous Globalization 1. 0 (which countries and governments were the main mechanisms for growth and development) and the Globalization 2. 0 (which multinational companies led the way in driving global integration).

Recently a small Young Enterprise Essay

Recently a small â€Å"Young Enterprise† group has set up a Sweet Stand, which sells a variety of sweets and soft drinks. The staff working at this Sweet Stand are Dave Currall (The Manager), Natalia Gelder (Assistant Manager). At the moment, the records which hold the information, are all paper based. This problem requires for Dave Currall to keep records in order, and also wastes time in writing the information down for the records. A stock check takes a lot of time to do although Nature of the problem User’s requirements 1. Stock checking forms. 2. Stock not re-ordered. 3. Wrong Minimum re-order quantities. 4. Don’t know who supplies which item. 5. Takes time and is difficult to prepare orders. 1. Form to use for stock checking. 2. Automatically identify when stock is low. 3. Items have a re-order quantity. 4. Each item has its known supplier. 5. System creates printed orders. Details of the problem Details of the user’s requirements 1. Stock checking form – its paper based. This means that too much time is taken filling in the stock check form. Paper can be easily lost; also after a period of time it begins to look all messed up. Repeating the tasks again and again wastes time. 2. Stock is not re-ordered which leads to that the items are running out, and customers will go elsewhere. 3. Wrong Minimum re-order quantities – re-order levels are being guessed, therefore at times too much, stock is being re-ordered. As a result, there are problems with the storage space; items go passed their sell-by-date and have to be thrown away. 4. We don’t know whom supplies which item, it also takes time to find the items, and the items could go to a wrong supplier leading to a loss of money. 5. Takes time, and is difficult to prepare orders – we need to know which items are low on stock, what items are needed, and who the order is coming from (the supplier). 1. Stock checking form – computer generated list of items that can be used to record the number of each item in stock. 2. Automatic low stock warning – the system needs to identify when a current item is below a certain mark of stock and will need to be highlighted for re-ordering. 3. Item re-order quantity – each item has a number, which is used as a re-order quantity. 4. Each item has its own supplier – the system needs to know if the supplier for each item, this could be coded, used to order items from the correct supplier. 5. System creates printed orders – the items that need re-ordering, are put on an order form which is then reading to be ordered with its certain No. in Stock. There will be a different order form for each supplier. This order form will require all of the important information. Method of collecting data Information collected   Items sold   No. in Stock of stock * Supplier   What the supplier suppliers/ what item(s)   Sell-by-date. Re-order level of items Method Used Items sold – The staff count the items and write all the stock items onto a list. So when an item is sold, the staff will write down what has been sold.   No. in Stock of stock – The staff will count how much stock of each item they have, and write it down on paper.   Supplier – The staff would contact the supplier and retrieve the information they need to know on what the supplier supplies.   What the supplier supplies/ what item(s) – The staff would contact the supplier and find out what stock the supplier has via telephone, letter, etc. Sell-by-date – each box of items shall have the same sell-by-date so the staff can write down the sell-by-date for that box and keep up to date with the items.   Re-order level of items – levels of items need to be monitored manually to see what items run out of stock quickly, and some items which don’t sell very much. This way different levels are aquired for each item. Suggested Alternatives Alternative solutions shall improve the Sweet Stand; these should be improving the capture of the records by inserting them into a database so that they are kept safe. It should be able to identify when an item should need to be recorded. Also, it will control the No. in Stock of each item. Also it will be able to identify which item has come from which supplier. Also, these orders will be prepared when an item needs to be reordered. Inputs, Processing and Outputs required Inputs Processing Outputs   Stock items   No. in Stock of stock   Supplier details   Re-order level   Formulae Stock check form   Order form   Stock listing report Detail of inputs, processing and outputs Name of input Detail of input Stock items. The items of stock that need to be ordered need to be input into the system No. in Stock of stock The number of items in stock will need to be an input into the system Suppliers details The information on the supplier will need to be input. This information is the address, name, and contact numbers. Re-order level The re-order level will need to be input for each item of stock. This is so that the calculation can alert the user that the item needs to be re-ordered. Name of Processing Detail of processing Formulae IF(‘RE-ORDER'

Younger Sibling Always Has More Advantages Admission Essay Examples

My sister had always been the pride and joy of our family; someone who offered a good pair of ears whenever I needed them. We had the same hobbies; music, art, swimming, and tennis. When I was young, I felt it was the coolest thing to have a near replica of myself shrunk in a washer machine, figuratively speaking of course. One day it hit me that I did not want to be a nice and open-minded sister anymore. I started to feel like the world was out to get me. As I grew older, I realized my sister had gotten everything much earlier than I did. She had everything, even something as simple as trendy clothes.   My sister’s wardrobe was filled with Abercrombie garments at the age of eight. Her involvement with music affected me the most. Going to Juilliard Pre-college was my dream since I was a little girl.   No one ever pushed me to audition though. Nobody either told me to go to the city and find a Juilliard professor until I was twelve years old. I began my studies and auditioned a year later. The task of getting into Juilliard Pre-College would be a lot less daunting for my sister because she started when she was six. I felt cheated. Why should my sister get so many more opportunities when I worked just as hard, if not harder, as she did when I was young? By the time I learned of opportunities, it was already too late to change my whole life and fully commit to my goals. I felt like my sister got these advantages simply because she was born after me. Many times I wanted to pull my hair out! But as school got busier, I did not have the time or energy to feel spiteful of my adorable sister. Expecting good marks in a significant number of AP courses, my mild overbearing nature was dimmed.   My ultimate focus became the destination, not the looming obstacles. I am not the victim. We are all victims of our own lives if we choose to live so calculatingly. I took what I got from my one year of training as a grain of salt and brought my musical abilities to a new level.   Essentially I practiced three hours daily. The day I got the call from Juilliard was by far the happiest day of my life. This feeling of fulfilling my dream effaced traces of envy. Had I let my moments of envy blind me with darkness, many obstacles would have tripped me. Musical accomplishments, academic excellence, and development of character would have been my obstacles. I very easily could have grown into an angered adolescent as opposed to a compassionate lady. With everything I did in life, I gave more than a hundred percent commitment. Most of the time, it paid off. Now I realize it’s good to have such a versatile sister because she understands what I went through. There is definitely room for two shining gems in my family. I’m really glad I learned to have an open mind to my sister’s successes early in life, because the pettiness would have greatly hindered my potential. It would be more traumatic if I were to learn one day that it was my over-calculating nature that inhibited my performance level in everything that I excel in now. I’ve learned for the future to never feel jealous and small for any length of time. I have to be competitive, perceptive, and ambitious but never angry and deprived. Yes! This is what drives success. My sister is the greatest friend I’ll ever have. As I go through this rigorous rat race of college applications, I feel more connected and grateful to my sister than I ever have.