As you will read this week, stakeholders, internal or external, to an organization may include those directly or indirectly affected by sustainability issues. Stakeholders can be divided into two groups: internal and external. Internal stakeholders are those in an organization, such as employees, staff, and directors. External stakeholders are people or groups who do not directly work in a company but are impacted by the actions and outcomes of the business such as creditors, customers, government, or society. Stakeholders are increasingly involved in determining the sustainability and CSR focus of an organization and in assessing how well an organization is managing them.
This assignment allows you to examine a company excelling at corporate social responsibility to assess what they are doing, who their internal and external stakeholders are, and, ultimately, how the company’s CSR reputation impacts the stakeholders. Stakeholder analysis is a critical skill for those leading sustainability and CSR efforts.
- Read chapters 1, 2, and 3 of the textbook (attached).
- Select one company from 20 U.S. Companies that Excel at Corporate Social Responsibility: https://better.net/philanthropy/get-inspired/20-u-s-companies-that-excel-at-corporate-social-responsibility/ – Lego
- Describe the problem(s) that the company is addressing and how they are addressing it.
- Identify at least one internal and one external stakeholder for the company with respect to the problem identified.
- Assess the effects of the company’s CSR initiatives on each of the stakeholders you identified.
- Determine whether the company is successfully communicating its mission to the stakeholders.
- Provide two to three recommendations for how the company can improve its CSR presence or program.