Business Essay Example: Internal vs. External Stakeholders

Businesses have always strived to maintain and grow everyday within our society. How businesses do this is by having a series of networks that are called internal and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders, normally called primary stakeholders, are simply people that are either investors, employees, volunteers, donators, managers, partners, or owners. Each internal stakeholder are people that engage in transactions for the business which is how the business survives. The external stakeholders, normally called secondary stakeholders, are people like customers, suppliers, creditors, the government, and society. The external stakeholders are not engaged directly with economic exchanges within a business nor are they affected by the performance of the business. Every business has a different way of running their business however, they still remain under the general guidelines on operation of a business. What I would like to discuss is if internal or external stakeholders are more important and discuss two companies which do a great job treating internal and external stakeholders.  

“Both internal and external aspects should be featured on an equal footing” (Lings, 1999, p. 4) but in my opinion, I believe that both internal and external stakeholders share responsibility within a business in order for that business to remain efficient and competitive however, only one of this is more important in helping a business stay successful. I fully believe that the internal stakeholder holds the most important role within a business. Without the internal stakeholders it would be impossible for a business to survive. What the internal stakeholder provides to a company is the most important thing to a company. Its vast role of networks within an organization helping it look towards a bigger and better future is exactly what a company needs. The internal stakeholders are the ones that directly affect the company’s performance and without them a company would fail. The internal stakeholders are the ones that have an invested interest within a company and therefore must ensure that everything they do is for the greater good of that company. 

Clorox’ Experience

The Clorox Company is the company that I chose for discussing the great job and treatment of internal stakeholders. What the Clorox Company has done on a regular basis is having their employees conduct engagement surveys. What this survey does is helps give feedback to the employers so that they can see what it is that the employees may need. This survey also lets the company know how well each person is doing and ensures that each employee has the tools necessary to do their job efficiently. Another thing that the Clorox Company does is that they hold quarterly global town halls so that employees from everywhere can share thoughts and ask questions. The Clorox Company also rewards their employees for meeting goals and accomplishing tasks with bonuses and paid vacation time. 

The Nestle Global Company is the company that I chose for discussing the great job and treatment of external stakeholders. What this company does for its external stakeholders is building the relationship so they can face a wide range of complex challenges. This company is more focused on combating child labor, obesity, and climate change. What they do is collaborate with its external stakeholders and hold conferences at a global, regional, and local level. They discuss how to develop economic opportunities for young people along with creating shared value across water, food security, and childhood nutrition. Each year they look at the rise and fall of these problems and attempt to combat the issues in which society faces. This company continues to lead from the front in regards to the treatment of its external stakeholders. They are always treating everyone with respect and dignity. This is exactly what a company needs in order to stay successful. The external stakeholders are what continue to help this company do bigger and better things for everyone. Nestle Global continues to lead from the front simply by taking care of their external stakeholders. 

Each business has an obligation to the internal and external stakeholders to ensure that they are meeting their needs and being taken care of. A company cannot operate simply on will power, it must have a series of networks that work together to ensure the company is thriving. Each stakeholder shares in the responsibility of a company and without one or the other a company would not be able to operate. With the combined effort of the internal and external stakeholders a company can continue to grow and take care of one another.