Abstract
This chapter starts by analyzing the pros and cons of a stakeholder approach. It looks at different communication tools, principally non-financial reporting, used to manage the dialogue companies maintain with different stakeholder groups. It explains the limits of this type of tool and why they fail to improve overall responsible behavior. It then identifies why any organization serious about their approach to social responsibility must change current stakeholder dialogue practices and outlines how they can do so in a more coherent way.
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Notes
- 1.
They interestingly note that this definition highlights the confusion that sometimes exist between stakeholder management and business ethics, as with the former, the success of one company will invariably impact negatively on a competitor, whereas with the latter, positive performance should have a positive effect on other competitors in the same sector.
- 2.
As indicated by the use of the descriptive adjective framework.
- 3.
GRI reports have now been published by organization representing 37 different sectors of the economy, ranging from Universities and Non-profit organizations to Waste management and Financial Services (GRI Database, n.d.).
- 4.
The same applies to most stakeholder communication and dialogue. It is rare to find a corporate responsibility initiative without continual nods to the idea of sustainability and sustainable development.
- 5.
Due to the importance of stakeholder theory within the world of responsible management, any organization claiming a heightened sense of responsibility to multiple stakeholders, yet not carrying on a regular dialogue with such groups, would be questioned. Scholars and practitioners alike would find it hard to accept such a declaration and would likely insist upon additional information to enable them to understand such an organization. It would not have meaning for thought or be clearly perceivable.
- 6.
Not just suppliers of materials, but also capital, energy, logistics etc.
- 7.
This is not a one-way relationship, where the organization looks for stakeholders who share its philosophy and way of doing business, and if that is not the case, seeks to impose their responsible policies upon them. Each organization is at the center of its own network, but must be aware that their stakeholders have their own network view of the world. This is important both due to the need for relationships of genuine respect, but also due to the important knowledge each one can provide to the organization.
- 8.
There are exceptions, of course, such as the American clothing and outdoor equipment firm, Patagonia, who genuinely try to balance their different stakeholder concerns, while being honest enough to admit that they often fail to do so effectively. The fact that they are an exception speaks for itself.
- 9.
Yet the mechanisms and knowledge exist both internally and through working with knowledge brokers such as NGOs, civil groups, and international agencies.
- 10.
Do plastics that the organization uses to package its products end up in the sea? Yes. Does it require dialogue with future generations to understand this? No. Is the organization taking responsibility for this and genuinely trying to eliminate it?
- 11.
A friend you never see or talk to because they are always too busy working, in the normal sense of friendship, stops providing any of the value usually associated with friendship—companionship, opportunities to talk over problems, someone to share hobbies and interests with, etc.
- 12.
Human existence would long have since petered out if most people were only capable of being a good parent or a good defender of their community or a good provider.
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Hilliard, I. (2019). Stakeholder Politics: Why Knowing More Can Also Mean Doing Less. In: Coherency Management. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13523-2_5
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