Stakeholders

In reading The Public Relations Handbook by Alison Theaker, she defines company’s stakeholders as employees, suppliers, members of community and customers. She elaborates the importance of stakeholders when she states: “these stakeholders should be recognized by those who actions may impinge upon them” (pg.61). I realize how important and powerful stakeholders can be to a company. For example, in my city San Diego in 2006, Wal-Mart was trying to build a superstore. However, due to public pressure Wal-Mart was denied a building permit by San Diego's Government due to the community’s protest. Wal-Mart’s superstores include a grocery store inside their normal Wal-Mart which small businesses and local San Diego grocery stores were against. In an article I was reading about this incident it stated that “the California Supreme Court backed the San Diego community…saying that cities and counties can place restrictions on what sort of stores can open in their communities.” (http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0619/p02s01-ussc.html)

Although Wal-Mart is well known in America for having the lowest prices, they have a bad reputation for denying work unions, having poor health benefits and paying low wages to their employees. San Diego denied Wal-Mart’s superstores after growing community petitions to our local government. This goes to show that stakeholders are very important for a company. Just because of Wal-Mart’s bad reputation and poor employment standards they were blocked from building their superstore in San Diego.

In viewing Theaker’s book she states that it's always important to “map stakeholders and understand their relationships to the specific project”. In order for Wal-Mart to have been successful in opening a superstore in San Diego, they should have ensured that they would have the support of the community and government. If Wal-Mart had a better reputation and treatment towards their employees they probably would have had the support of the San Diego community. Therefore, it is important that companies ensure that they have the support of their main stakeholders because it can greatly affect their company.