Stakeholder Analysis - Business Society & Ethics

Stakeholder Analysis

It is involved in numerous areas of society and business, resulting in many stakeholders. Below is a prioritized list of each, with an associated analysis of how to respond to claims that business schools are to blame for the financial crisis.

1. Board of Trustees (BOT)

Stakes: This stakeholder has an interest and a right in the operations of the Fox School of Business. As the unit with the “final authority and responsibility for the policies and governance of the University” (temple.edu), it must implement any necessary changes and actions to improve the school. It has an interest in how the school is currently running and the quality of education provided. They also have a right because the authority lies with them to make all decisions for the Fox School.

Attributes: The BOT has legitimacy, power, and urgency with their stake. It has a legitimate stake because it is essentially in charge of the Fox School and its operations. It has power because any decision/action by the BOT will have an affect on the Fox School since the school has no choice but to implement those decisions. Lastly, it has urgency because most changes decided by the BOT must be immediately put into practice.

Responsibilities: The Fox School has an ethical and legal obligation to the BOT. It has an ethical responsibility because the BOT would be obligated to step in and take action if it were to act unethically. Unethical behavior would also reflect badly on the BOT. There is a legal responsibility for similar reasons. The BOT could be liable if illegal activity within the Fox School was found.

Actions: The BOT is a mixed blessing to the Fox School. It aids in the operations and success of the school, which makes it highly cooperative. But is also a high threat because it has the power to change/disband any part of the school that it feels is not up to its standards. The Fox School therefore needs to collaborate with the BOT to ensure it is meeting and following all of the BOT’s guidelines and expectations, while the BOT helps implement changes/technology/ curriculum that will help Fox remain an acclaimed business school. The BOT has the power to make CSR or more ethics courses mandatory, add seminars on the current economic crisis, require more real-world experiences for students, etc. (Retrain). All these possible additions would help better prepare business students for a business career and create fewer accusations about business schools being the cause of the current economic crisis.

2. Accrediting Organizations (AACSB, ACBSP)

Stake: The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs (ACBSP) have an interest in the Fox School of Business. As two accrediting organizations, they have the power to declare the Fox School as an “accredited” business school. Therefore, the organizations have an interest in the programs Fox offers, the quality of its education, its work outside of the school, and more. The AACSB accredited the Fox School in 1973, but Fox has yet to be accredited by the ACBSP.

Attribute: The organizations have legitimacy in their stakes. For the AACSB, it wants to make sure Fox is continually improving and seeking better educational opportunities to maintain its accreditation. For the ACBSP, it is interested in whether Fox now qualifies and deserves to be accredited by its council.

Responsibilities: The Fox School has ethical, legal, economic, and philanthropic obligations to the organizations. The school’s ethical and legal actions, along with its profitability and ability to be a good citizen are all values the organizations will take into consideration when considering the school’s accreditation.

Actions: Accrediting organizations are nonsupportive stakeholders to the Fox School. They are a high threat to the school because they have the ability to give Fox a really good reputation by accrediting it, but can also put its good name at risk if they feel the school is not deserving of accreditation. They are also low cooperating stakeholders because they do not have any type of investment in the success of Fox; the school’s success has no direct affect on them so they have no obligation to support. Therefore, the Fox School needs to defend itself by proving it deserves to remain/become accredited. It can do so by demonstrating its esteem curriculum, community service, strong goals, etc.

3. Government

Stakes: This stakeholder has a right, interest, and ownership in the Fox School. Temple University is a public, state-funded university. Because the government provides the funds necessary to operate, it has an ownership stake in Temple, and therefore the Fox School. Since it has an ownership stake, it also has a right to know, and an interest in, the type of education being providing, how profitable to school is, etc.

Attributes: The government has legitimacy, power, and urgency in its stake. As the source of almost all financial means, it has a legitimate stake in the university’s success. It also has the power to cut off its funds to the school if it feels necessary. This would have an immediate affect on the university and the Fox School of Business, which is why its stake is also urgent.

Responsibilities: The Fox School has legal, ethical, and economic responsibilities to the government. It must obey all laws, as well as make enough money to continue to earn the state’s funds. It must also act ethically in how it operates as a business, and in the curriculum it teaches its students.

Actions: Because the government provides so much of the funding for Temple, it is highly cooperative. Additionally, it poses a high threat because it holds the school’s fate in their hands; it can take away all funding at any time. Therefore, the government is a mixed blessing, and the Fox School needs to collaborate with the government. The school can do so by demonstrating what a quality business school it is, and how its curriculum properly prepares its students for the business world after graduation. The Fox School must prepare its students for the business world by providing real-world experience/analysis/discussions, educate on CSR, and follow all governmental requirements. In return, the government needs to maintain the necessary funds.

4. Staff/Employees

Stakes: This stakeholder has an interest and right in the Fox School of Business. Temple’s staff provides a service, whether it be as a professor, maintenance worker, security, tutor, etc. Because of their large role in the school’s success, they have a right to a stake. They also have an interest in the perceived quality of the Fox School. Its reputation is a reflection of the staffs’ work, and is a factor in them keeping their jobs.

Attributes: The Fox School’s staff has legitimacy, power, and urgency. It has a legit stake in the Fox School because of the work it puts into the school’s success. Also, if the school is not meeting expectations, the staff is at risk of being laid off. It has power because if the staff becomes unsatisfied with their positions or compensation within the Fox School, they can leave and also publically give the school a bad name. There is a sense of urgency to its stake as well, because if a group of staff members chose to quit at once, this would have an immediate effect as the school would have to quickly find replacements. The Fox School needs a quality, experienced staff to be an acclaimed business school.

Responsibilities: The Fox School has legal, ethical, and economic responsibilities to its staff. It must obey all laws in employing them, must properly compensate them with the agreed upon price, and treat them well as employees. It is the university’s economic responsibility to be profitable enough to properly compensate its staff.

Actions: The staff is a mixed blessing to the Fox School. It is highly cooperative with the school and contributes a great deal to its success, but also has the capability of affecting the quality of education the school is providing its students. Therefore the school needs to collaborate with the staff, particularly its professors. It needs to provide competitive salaries, additional benefits when necessary, and treat them well. In return, the staff has an obligation to contribute to school’s reputation in a positive way by teaching the fundamentals of business, as well as broadening the curriculum to include CSR and ethics. They have the power to create “leaders not managers” (Retrain).

5. Employers/Business Corporations

Stake: This stakeholder has an interest in the level of curriculum taught through the Fox School of Business, and the quality of students coming out of its program.

Attributes: Employers have a legitimacy and power in their claim to a stake. They have a legitimate interest in what types of employees will be available for hire out of college. They also have the power to not hire any graduates they feel they are inadequately prepared for the business world, resulting in a low placement rate for Fox. A low placement rate would have a negative effect on the quality of future applicants to the Fox School.

Responsibility: The Fox School has an ethical obligation to properly teach students all the necessary skills needed to succeed in the business world. Along with the science behind business, they must teach the ethics and CSR involved in business.

Actions: Employers and recruiters hiring interns and graduates of the Fox School are a mixed blessing. They hold a high threat to the school because of their power to not hire from Temple’s pool of students. But they also highly cooperate helping to recruit employees. Employers and the Fox School should collaborate to ensure that the school is meeting all of the employers’ expectations of students, and that the employers are taking an interest in students from the Fox School.

6. Competing Business Schools

Stake: This stakeholder has an interest in the success of the Fox School and the desire of mutual prospective students to want to go to Temple, as well as Fox’s job placement rate and how many jobs are being take away from their students.

Attribute: Competing business schools have legitimacy in their stake because if the Fox School is a large attraction for future business students, competing schools lose those students. Alternatively, if the Fox School is not meeting expectations and falls in the ranks, competing schools have the opportunity to recruit more students. Students from fellow business schools are also competing against students from the Fox School for jobs and internships, resulting in further interest.

Responsibility: The Fox School has an ethical obligation to competing schools to only use ethical means in recruiting prospective student. They must also be ethical in creating relationships with business firms/corporations to place their job-seeking students. For example, it would be immoral to bribe prospective students or hiring business firms.

Actions: Competing schools are marginal to the Fox School. They are a low threat because they cannot do too much to affect the operations of Fox; Fox’s success is in its own hands when it comes to competitors. They only need to monitor the other schools to see the level of curriculum and advantageous career opportunities/experiences those schools provide to create the best pool of employees for firms. As “Are B-Schools to Blame?” explains, rankings put too much emphasis on published works of professors. The real indication of the quality of a school is its level of education and the success of students post-graduation. In order to be competitive amongst business schools, Fox needs to focus on those aspects.

7. Media

Stake: This stakeholder has an interest in the operations of the Fox School. If any news occurs with the university, they want to be the first to report the story.

Attributes: The media has power and urgency in their stake to the school. It has the power to give the school a bad reputation with the release of a negative story, or a good reputation with the release of a positive story. It also has urgency because news released to the pubic would draw immediate attention and have an immediate affect on people’s perception of the school.

Responsibilities: The Fox School has an ethical and legal obligation to the media, meaning they must act ethically and legally in order to avoid negative press. If any situation occurs in which the school does not act ethically or legally, the media will find it necessary to report the instance.

Actions: The media a nonsupportive stakeholder to the Fox School. They have no allegiance to the school; they are simply looking for a good story and to make their own profits. This makes them a high threat to the school, with little cooperation. The Fox School needs to defend themselves by acting morally/legally and only giving the media positive press to report on the school.

8. Students/Students’ Parents

Stakes: This stakeholder has an interest and right in a quality education. They have an interest in their education because a quality education increases the chances of a successful career and employment following graduation. They also have a right to a quality education because the student and/or parent is paying a substantial amount of money for them to attend the university.

Attribute: Students/parents have legitimacy because they have a valid claim to a stake in the university due to of the price they pay to be a student. They also have power because any student/parent not satisfied with Fox’s provided education has every right to leave the university. They have the power to give the Fox School of Business a bad reputation, therefore hindering the students who apply in the future.

Responsibilities: The Fox School has ethical and legal responsibilities to its students to provide an education that will ready them for the business world post-college. It has a legal responsibility because the university is collecting tuition to provide a service, and therefore is obligated to supply that service. It has an ethical responsibility to teach them the proper morals of working in the business world, such as CSR and sustainability.

Actions: Because students/parents highly cooperate with the university by providing tuition, but are also a fairly high threat due to their ability to leave, they are a mixed blessing. Therefore, the Fox School’s strategy should be to collaborate. For a higher tuition, the Fox School must provide a higher quality education that will set the student up for success out of college. If they are unable to do so, then the tuition should be lowered. A higher tuition could provide for additions to the curriculum such as economic crisis seminars and real-world experience (Academies). This would benefit both the Fox School and its students.

9. Temple University Alumni Association (TUAA)/Other Funders

Stakes: This stakeholder has an interest and right in the performance and provided education of the Fox School of Business because of their financial donations, as well as other contributions. Because of the financial donations made to the school, the TUAA has a right to a stake in the school. Additionally, they have an interest because the Fox School is obviously of great importance to them given it is their alma mater, and a product of their hard work and aid.

Attributes: TUAA has a legitimate claim to a stake in the school because of they put a lot of work and effort into events, volunteer work, support, etc. which goes towards making the Fox School a well-recognized business school.

Responsibilities: The Fox School has ethical and legal responsibilities to the TUAA. They must use all donations given for the purposes in which the TUAA intended.

Actions: The TUAA is a low threat to the university because they only work to help the school, not harm. It is also highly cooperative and can be seen as supportive. Temple should work to involve them in the school’s success. The TUAA is a means for which the Fox School to recruit the necessary resources to ensure the school is following all guidelines and curriculum of an ethical, recognized business school. Asking alumni to use connections they have in the business world is one way to help gain real-world experience in CSR and ethics for students.

10. North Philadelphia Residents/Community

Stake: This stakeholder has an interest in the operations of Temple University. For one, prospective students living in the city have an interest in the level of education provided by the Fox School, because it would be a convenient university for them to attend. But for the most part, they do not so much have an interest in the type of education that Temple provides, but more so in the success of the school. As the school becomes more successful and popular, there is a good chance the campus will continue to expand.

Attribute: The community has a legitimate claim to a stake. The school has already taken over a large area of the North Philadelphia community with its campus, off-campus housing, traffic, etc. Some residence may be concerned with the how much more the university could possibly “take over” the community. Others may believe that having a well-acclaimed university helps raise the quality of the community. Whether they are for expansion or against, they have an interest in Temple and the Fox School’s future.

Responsibility: The Fox School has a philanthropic obligation to the community. Because the school is so engrossed within the North Philly residences, it has an obligation to be a good citizen to those around. This includes keeping the campus clean, controlling student activities near homes, giving back to the community, etc.

Actions: The community is marginal to the Fox School. They are a low threat because they do not have the power to greatly affect the school, but most residences are also not very cooperative if opposed to the location of campus within their community. Therefore, the school simply needs to monitor the community and be aware of its implications, while also giving back. They can do so through community service and volunteer work in the area. This aids the community, while also creating self-awareness for its students and demonstrating ethical behavior (B-Schools to Blame). This can be helpful in becoming ethical business people and employees in the future.

11. Suppliers

Stakes: This stakeholder has an interest and possibly a right in the Fox School’s need for new supplies and/or technology. They have an interest because if the Fox School continues to grow and succeed, it will look into more advanced technology to create new opportunities in learning. The need for other supplies like textbooks also increases as more students come to the school. A right would exist if there were a contract between the supplier and the school.

Attribute: Suppliers have legitimacy to a valid claim to a stake. A buyer like the Fox School produces a lot of revenue for suppliers. Any increase of decrease in the need for goods or technology would be of great interest to them.

Responsibilities: The Fox School has an economic and ethical obligation to its suppliers. They have an economic obligation to be successful enough to need new goods/technology, and profitable enough to be able to pay for those goods. They have an ethical obligation to do business with those suppliers who deserve it and whom expect their business, while also acting ethically in the transactions.

Actions: Suppliers are supporters of the Fox School because they are a low threat and are highly cooperative. They are a low threat because almost any supplier is replaceable if not holding up their end of the deal, and are cooperative because most suppliers are eager to get business from Fox. Their provided goods are what help make the school and its curriculum a success. Therefore, the school needs to involve its suppliers in its success by purchasing new technology/goods that can help the school better teach business and ethics, while their purchases lead to other business’ profits.

References

Holland, Kelley. "Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools?" The New York Times. N.p., 15 Mar. 2009. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15school.html? pagewanted=3>.

James, Adam. "Academies of the Apocalypse." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 06 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/07/mba-business-schools-credit-crunch>.

"OFFICE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY Board of Trustees." Temple University. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. <http://www.temple.edu/secretary/>.

Serchuk, David. "Are B-Schools To Blame?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 4 May 2009. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/04/business-School-wellington-intelligent-investing-rankings.html>.