Response to Research from Peer (why or why not should a manager be a stakholder?) John Mureithi
BMAL 560 – Corporate Responsibility
Liberty University
March 26, 2017
Introduction
This post will be in response to the question of whether or not managers should be considered stakeholders in a firm and why. A manager in any firm should absolutely be considered a stakeholder in the business. Lawrence & Weber (2014) offer us a very simple definition for the term stakeholder that would absolutely include managers. The text explains “the term stakeholder refers to persons and groups that affect, or are affected by, an organization’s decisions, policies, and operations” (Lawrence & Weber, 2014, p.7). Quite simply, managers fall into both of those categories. They can affect the operations of a business as well as be affected by the decisions and policies of higher ups within that business making them definite stakeholders.
Analysis and Argument
As the text also tells us, this question has been an issue of contention for a long time. That contention has been perpetuated by poor examples of leadership in the past with managers who do not care about their companies but instead only care about making money. A truly good leader and manager is a stakeholder in his or her company. Dr. Fischer (n.d.) tells us that stakeholders are comprised of community members and the environment around a business and how that business affects those things (Fischer, n.d.). Fischer also tells us that through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), managers can prove themselves as stakeholders in the business. Fischer offers the idea that through CSR, managers care for the community around them and in turn end up caring for the business. As people of the community see managers caring, it gives them a good reputation and in turn makes people like the business more (Fischer, n.d.). This role of a manger shows that they care about the company and the environment around it and in turn that sense of caring can bring more customers and more business to the firm.
Another argument to be made is that managers simply work for stakeholders so they cannot be a stakeholder as well. In fact, Mishra & Suar (2010) tell us that a firm’s success relies on the ability of managers to create sufficient wealth and satisfaction for primary stakeholders (Mishra & Suar, 2010). This suggests that a manager’s sole job is just to take care of the firm’s stakeholders and not actually be one. But a good manager is so much more than that. A good manager doesn’t care only about making his stakeholders wealthy. A good manager genuinely cares about their firm and how it conducts business. They care about the community the firm serves and how it is affected. And again, this idea has been somewhat lost over the years as we have seen so many examples of managers and leaders only caring about money. Dr. Fischer gives us a verse of scripture that sums up well how managers should work. Proverbs 22:1 states “a good name is more than desirable than riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold” (Fischer, n.d.). A good manager cares about the name and the image of their firm, not just their bottom line.
Although there have been examples of poor management in the past and people that were only concerned about themselves and money. It still holds true that good managers are true stakeholders in their company. Sirgy (2002) tells us that members of a business’s board of directors are often times owners or part owner and in some cases can be managers as well. He goes on to tell us that they usually have a high stake in the business, financially and emotionally (Sirgy, 2002). It’s that emotional stake that really sets good managers apart. Managers that get out and engage in CSR and really care about their firm and make it a better place are true stakeholders in their business.
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