 |  Business and Society: Corporate Strategy, Public Policy, Ethics, 10/e James Post,
Boston University
Anne T Lawrence,
San Jose State University
James Weber,
Duquesne University
The Corporation and Its Stakeholders
Chapter Summary- Business, government, and society form an interactive system because each affects and influences the others and because none can exist without the others. Economic, political, and cultural life are entwined with one another in every nation. Together, they define the uniqueness of a society.
- Every business firm has economic and social involvements and relationships with others in society. Some are intended, some unintended; some are positive, others negative. Those related to the basic mission of the company are its primary involvements; those that flow from those activities but are more indirect are secondary involvements.
- The people, groups, and organizations that interact with the corporation and have an interest in its performance are its stakeholders. Those most closely and directly involved with a business are its primary stakeholders; those who are indirectly connected are its secondary stakeholders.
- Stakeholders can exercise their economic, political, and other powers in ways that benefit or challenge the organization. Stakeholders may also act independently or create coalitions to influence the company.
- A number of broad forces are affecting the business-society relationship as companies move into the twenty-first century. These include economic competition and strategic refocusing of businesses; changing ethical expectations and public values; redefinition of the role of government; ecological and natural resource concerns; and the transformational role of technology.
|
|
2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education