As you see yourself, see others as well; only then will you become a partner in heaven
Bhagat Kabir
When you are performing an economic transaction they are usually two players involved, the seller and you, the buyer. These two players are, though, not the only ones involved. You have the producer of the good or service you are buying, the organization it comes from, the bank that may be involved in the economic transfer, et cetera. A stakeholder analysis is a tool that uncovers all the entities involved in that transaction, and it is very useful to understand the chain value that is necessary for making the product or service available to you.
In my last post, I mentioned that Wal-Mart is dumb-folding at least three stakeholders in order to offer a lower price: The store employee that is being paid minimum wage and has no a full time position; the producer that is forced to serve Wal-Mart with lower-than-usual prices, to deliver directly to the racks and to keep inventory. It is also profiting in the low wages of the people who manufacture or produce the good; remember the Buy American campaign? Now Wal-Mart is the larger commercial partner of China. Competitors are other stakeholders hurt by Wal-Mart trawling tactics, often put to sleep after several months of mammoth operation by the super retailer.
A common stakeholder analysis includes, at least:
- Producers
- Retailers/transnationals/brokers
- Consumers
- Competitors
- Government
- Workers
- Environment
A more deep analysis will also reveal:
- NGOs and other community organizations
- Schools
- Community
These are the actors involved in every transaction you made. Think of them when buying the next product that may be gentle with your wallet but hurt the trees on the park where you children play.
