- Local community:-
The people who live and work in the area around a business have an interest in noise, smells coming form the business e.g. fish shops, factories and people coming and going around the company. They might be disturbed themselves or might think their house will worth less because of the business. Usually, planning laws prevent businesses affecting the community by having industrial and residential areas separate, but this isn’t always the case e.g. new motorways have to be build near houses sometimes. The community can complain by speaking to the owner of the business, by contacting local press or by complaining to the local council.
- Employees and Managers:-
The main interests that employees have in their businesses are:-
- The way staffs are treated.
- The rate of pay.
Whether the business can carry on trading, managers are interested in all of those things, but they also like to be able to make decisions and to be given responsibility. Businesses vary in how much they listen to the views of their employees. If there is a recognized Trade union there is likely to be more formal discussion between employers and employees, but this is not always the case. Some firms do not recognize Trade unions, but still listen to the views of their employees. Employees can influence a business by how hard they work. Really annoyed employees sometimes intentionally interrupt a business.
John Lewis:
Q. Who are the key stakeholders?
There are different types of stakeholders in each organization, but I will be concentrating on the key stakeholders in John Lewis. I will be also figuring out the external and internal stakeholders.
The firm might also benefit from taking account of its stakeholders:
- It may attract more Investors. Investors are increasingly looking at how a firm behaves, as well as what it actually produces.
- It may find that the government is more co-operative because of a good track record. This may make it easier to get permission for certain activities. Or in preventing poor legislation from being introduced.
- The Stakeholder approach takes the view that it is much better to work with different groups rather to take a more selfish approach, focusing purely on the firm’s needs.
Q. What are their interests/expectations in the company?
The different stakeholder groups have different interests some in common with other stakeholders. The common interest include:-
- Employees have a common interest in the success of the organisation as they are also the owner of John Lewis.
- High profits which not only lead to high dividends but also job security.
- Suppliers have an interest in the growth and wealth of the firm.
Expectations:-
- A customer would expect that the organisation provides good quality of customer service, fair prices and the conditions of the organisation is suitable.
- An Employee/owner would expect organisation to make valuable profits for the company, Employees should get proper bonuses when working extra for the company in order to build the success e.g. good working conditions, fair prices etc.
- A Manager would also expect company to make better profits, he would expect the company to increase the market share, laws and regulations are important part of the company managers should also take care and respond to these regulations.
- A government would expect from the company to comply with Laws and regulations e.g. Health & Safety Act and Tax.
- The Local community would expect from the company to take care of the environmental factors e.g. Wastage disposal, noise pollution etc.
Q. Do they have any influence over the company?
Different Stakeholders have a different influence over the company they are:-
- Customers do have an influence over the company as customers want good quality products and services. Customers have an influence over the pricing levels i.e. John Lewis has to make the prices fair e.g. TVs. If John Lewis doesn’t meet customer needs customers can go to another supplier and they can argue with them about John Lewis products. They can spread through word of mouth which means John Lewis could have a bad reputation. Customers can go to press/media i.e. watchdog. John Lewis has introduced price matching due to cost. As a customer quote states “we are never knowingly undersold”.
- Suppliers do have some influence as they can stop supplying goods in John Lewis. This could lead John Lewis losing customers. This could affect suppliers as they wouldn’t deliver goods on time or they could not accept orders.
- Local community do have influence over the company as they can be their customers as well as employees so they can influence their ability to maintain/ increase sales level. If John Lewis doesn’t meet their demands then they could complain to the council/Brent cross shopping centre. This would affect as John Lewis would lose customers and customers would not be able in buying renting premises. Local community would also go to the media and would create a bad reputation or they can protest outside John Lewis if they don’t meet their demands.
- Employees/owners would have a big influence over the company because without them business can’t run and they are also involved in decision making. If demands aren’t met the employees could go on strike, they can quit or they can complain to trade unions and they vote on major decisions.
- Government do have an influence as they control the way your businesses is run through laws and regulations, if these demands are not met by the company then John Lewis could shut down, they could be fined or some owners of businesses may even go to prison which can give a bad reputation for the business which could lead to decrease in sales.
Q. How does the business talk to them?
There are many ways in which businesses talk to their stakeholders. John Lewis talks to both internal and external stakeholders in the business. There are different forms of communication in which John Lewis could talk to their stakeholders they are:-
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Customers, John Lewis aims to deal with their customers and secure their loyalty and trust by providing outstanding offers, value and service. Only by gathering feedback on performance that John Lewis can maintain and raise standards of customer service and keep customers satisfied. John Lewis do the best to encourage customers to give feedback, both positive and negative, by being open to comments and making it clear how customers can contact them e.g. Advertising in stores or through newspapers.
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Local community, Every John Lewis shop has its own Community Committee which ensures that the shop is playing its part as a responsible member of the local community. The shop’s management works with the Committee to develop and promote Partner awareness, interest and involvement in local communities. This also involves working with external partners like Business in the Community to help the shop build stronger relationships with local community organizations, and develop and promote reputation. John Lewis are actively involved with their local communities, not just through donating money and providing support and assistance, but by talking with local communities, understanding their needs and issues. This could be done by advertising in stores or outside e.g. on TV.
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Suppliers, John Lewis relationships with suppliers are based on honesty, fairness, courtesy and prompt attention. John Lewis invests in supplier partnerships by building on commitment and trust, which allow suppliers to be genuinely rewarded for the quality and integrity of the products they supply. John Lewis expects our suppliers not only to obey the law, but also to respect the rights, interests and well-being of their employees, their communities and the environment. John Lewis communicates with their suppliers through email or stock ordering.
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Employees, John Lewis has 68,000 permanent employees who are known as Partners, because they are all owners of the business and share in its success. The Partnership has its own extensive intranet, JL Pnet, which has information on all aspects of the business, from breaking news to the latest leisure offers, administrative procedures and democratic bodies. Employees could communicate with the customers online through their website where customers can order online the products from John Lewis. They can communicate through newsletters as well.
HR Owen:-
Q. Who are the key Stakeholders?
HR Owen have different types of Stakeholders in the organisation some are internal and some are external Stakeholders. These both types of Stakeholders have different types of interests and expectation from the company.
HR Owen main aims for the Stakeholders are:-
- If employees are treated well, they are likely to be more motivated and work more effectively for the business.
- If suppliers are paid on time and kept well informed, they will provide good quality products for the firm and make sure they supply their products on time.
- If the firm tries to help the community for example by providing jobs this could provide a better environment for employees to work and it could recruit and retain employees.
Q. What are their interests/expects in the company?
Expectations:
Shareholders:-
- They expect rise in share price so that they can feel the company is performing well.
- Expectation of regular dividends.
- Special treatments for customers e.g. lower prices.
Employees:-
- Steady and regular income.
- Healthy and safe conditions.
- Job security.
- Promotion and higher incomes.
Customers:-
- Certain and reliable supply of cars.
- Stable prices.
- Safe cars
- After sales service and technical support.
Suppliers:-
- Frequent and regular orders
- A sole supplier agreement.
- Fair prices.
- HR Owen keep brands values in place.
Creditors:-
- Repayment of money owed at agreed date.
- High returns of investment.
- Minimal risk of failure to repay money owed.
The local community:-
- Steady employment.
- Minimal noise and pollution.
Q. Do they have any influence over the company?
- The Shareholders of the company has more influence than the Stakeholders as the company could have a conflict which often arises because while shareholders want short-term profits, the other stakeholder’s desires tend to cost money and reduce profits and they have influence on making decisions because if they don’t feel satisfied by the company they can take their investment away resulting a decrease in a share price which means less money for the business. Shareholders also vote on decisions which are done throughout the company.
- Customers would have an influence over the company as they want good cars to be sold by HR Owen. The cost play a vital part on the company because the cost of the car should be decent for customer attractions. If HR Owen doesn’t meet the demands of their customers they could go to the media which could lead to bad reputation on the business.
- Employees/owners have got an influence over the business as they are the most important people because they make all the dealings with the customers; they also negotiate the right price with their customers. If they don’t meet the customer’s expectations the company could have a bad reputation and they could have a bad loyalty towards their customers. As customers can have an indirect impact on the business e.g. employees could go on strike.
- Government does have an influence over the company as its job is to take care of all the legislations which comply with the company. If the company fails to meet these demands then they could get sued and could lose customers due to failing the legislations.
- Suppliers have a big influence as they have to deliver the cars to the organization but if they feel the company is not making appropriate effort to their customers. They have an influence on the promotions done by the company and the no. of cars allocated by the company as they want to know how the company is proceeding because if it is working hard suppliers will not be much valued to the organization that means they could delay their stock to the company.
Q. How does the business talk to them:-
There are different types of communication throughout the business. HR Owen communicates with its stakeholders with different types of communication they are:-
