EXPLORING BUSINESS ACTIVITY - P2
The Influence of Stakeholders
Stakeholders can be anyone who has an interest in a business. There are a number of different types of stakeholders. In the following table below, I will be discussing each of the stakeholders and their influences. Stakeholder | Tesco | Cancer Research UK | Customers | Customers of Tesco are people who shop in the business, whether it is in stores or online. They are the ones putting money in the business which emphasises their status as key stakeholders. The customers want high quality products for reasonable prices and they like to see offers and deals which helps create better value for money. | The customers of Cancer Research UK are either those affected by Cancer or those who donate money to the charity. Those who donate expect their money to be put to good use. These are known as stakeholders because they contain a big proportion of the charity’s donations. This means they expect the charity to provide the best treatment and care possible for those suffering from the disease. | Employees | These are the people who work for Tesco. They are known as stakeholders because they rely on the business doing well in order to secure their employment. These employees often look to gain promotions by taking the best opportunities available. Also, these employees may feel privileged that they represent Tesco. | Many of the people working for Cancer Research UK are volunteers. They are offering their free time to the business to do whatever they can in order to help them. These are stakeholders to Cancer Research UK because they are relying on the businesses to make use of their free time they are offering. The employees of the business that are paid wages are the doctors and nurses that provide health care and treatment to the patients. These are also stakeholders because without them, the patients would not be provided with the best treatment available. | Suppliers | These are businesses that want Tesco to keep buying their products. For example, Tesco put in high orders to Tayto for them to make Tesco’s crisps. This shows that companies like Tayto are stakeholders because they are relying on Tesco’s payments and to be valued by them. | The suppliers for Cancer Research UK are Health Organisations. These supply the best medical equipment and research labs for Cancer Research UK in order for them to carry out the best research possible. | Owners | Businesses can be owned in a number of different ways, e.g. sole trader or partnerships. In companies like Tesco, the owners are known as the main stakeholders. This is because they are putting a lot of their own time and money into setting up the business. This shows that they are taking a big risk by relying on the business to do well which explains why they are stakeholders. These owners want to see the business make lots of money so that their share of the profits increases. | N/A | Trustees | N/A | As Cancer Research UK are a charity, they are governed by a group of trustees rather than owners. These owners act as Cancer Research's board of directors. These trustees are stakeholders because they are relying on funds and donations from people in order to research to find a cure and to provide cancer patients with the best treatment available. | Trade Unions | Trade Unions are very supportive for employees as they make sure they are being treated fairly. This shows they are stakeholders because their interest in the business involves the employees and how they are being treated. Trade Unions such as USDAW look to secure higher wages and better working conditions for the employees. | Trade Unions for Cancer Research UK are there to ensure that all employees that get paid wages such as doctors and nurses are being paid fairly. They also make sure that volunteered workers are treated fairly and are not discriminated against. Trade Unions in this charity are stakeholders as they are representing the interests of the workers. A Trade Union for this charity is the Civil Society. | Employer Associations | Employer associations are the employers equivalent of the trade unions. The employer associations in Tesco are there to ensure that the rights of employers are not being breached or abused. This shows that they are stakeholders because they have an interest in the business which revolves around the employers. | N/A | Local and National Communities | The impact that businesses have on local and national communities can be massive. This includes businesses like Tesco. As Tesco set out to expand their business, they need to open more stores but to do this, they must create or buy land. However, this land may be located in areas where local people live and they do not want their homes being affected. These people want benefits to their areas rather than negatives. Also, when Tesco set up businesses, they need to provide a wide range of products for their customers. To do this, Tesco pay for local products from local farmers which can help the farmers hugely. Another impact that Tesco have on local and national communities is that they are providing jobs for the people. This means that they are being paid wages which are then spent into a range of businesses which helps the local and national economy. This explains why they are key stakeholders because if they do not benefit from the business then this can impact the business in a negative way. | The local community are regarded as key stakeholders for Cancer Research UK because they have a huge interest in the charity. These are the people who are putting their money into the charity to help those in need. Also, the local community involve the people who are being treated for. These people rely on the charity to raise money through funding, donations and charity events etc. | Governments | Governments want all businesses to be successful, especially huge businesses like Tesco. Governments are stakeholders because they have an interest in the business. They rely on Tesco to expand in order to provide more jobs for unemployed workers so that they can pay taxes. This means more money is going towards things like education and healthcare and also benefits for the economy. | The government want to charities in any way they can. However, the main charity that they focus on is Cancer Research UK as they are the biggest charity throughout the UK. The government have an interest in this charity as they want to help find a cure for cancer in order to reduce the amount of people dying. They help contribute to this by raising awareness of the charity and holding events to gain funds which explains how they are key stakeholders. |

EXPLORING BUSINESS ACTIVITY - M1
The Influence of Stakeholders
In this task, I will be explaining the points of view of different stakeholder seeking to influence the aims and objectives of two contrasting organisations. These two organisations are Tesco and Cancer Research UK. There are a number of different types of stakeholders and each of them influence the aims and objectives of a business in different way and I will discuss this in the information below:
Tesco:
Customers:
In most businesses, customers are the most important stakeholders, especially in businesses like Tesco. The customers of Tesco are the people who shop in the business, both in stores and online. These people are the ones providing the money that is being put in the business.
One of Tesco's main aims and objectives is to make a profit and this links to their core purpose of creating value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty. This shows that the customers are influencing the business' aims and objectives as they are the main stakeholders within the business. This means that Tesco must ensure that their customers are satisfied with their visits to stores and the accessibility to online shopping. Tesco then act upon this by creating a number of deals regarding their products for the customers and this is exactly what the customers want.
By offering high quality products at reasonable prices and providing offers and deals, Tesco are helping to create better value for money. Tesco also try to find the best products and services to sell at competitive prices as well as offering discount brands and club cards for their customers. This again emphasises the importance of customers as Tesco need to do everything they can to ensure that their customers are satisfied because without their customers, the business will not grow or even survive.
Employees:
Employees are very important for all businesses because they help the business function properly. Employees are the people who work for Tesco. These people are known as stakeholders because they rely on the business to do well and make lots of money in order to secure their employment.
Employees demand that they are given fair pay and fair working conditions. Employees also influence the aims and objectives of Tesco as they include the rights of the employees. This is all based on the terms and conditions and if these are breached then Tesco could gain a bad reputation from a number of people which can affect their total sales which explains how employees are key stakeholders of the business. However, if the employee's rights are being looked after and they treated fairly then they may feel privileged to work for and represent Tesco. These employees may then want to stay working for the business and this can lead to them feeling the need to look to gain promotions by taking the best opportunities possible. If these employees stay working for Tesco, they will gain more experience on how to do their job correctly, e.g. how to treat customers in the right manner and this can then lead to the business becoming more successful. Also, by employees staying for a number of years, the business will save money in their recruitment processes of searching for new workers.
Suppliers:
Suppliers are businesses that provide goods for Tesco to buy. For example, Tesco put in high order to Tayto for them to make Tesco's own crisps. By doing this, Tesco must treat Tayto fairly and pay them fairly. This is very important as it helps maintain good relationships between the two businesses for future payments. Businesses like Tayto want Tesco to keep buying their products and putting high orders in but in return, they only ask for fair payments. This explains that the suppliers are key stakeholders because if Tesco do not pay them fairly then the suppliers such as Tayto will complain about the business and this can result in a bad reputation, meaning less profits for the business. Also, if the suppliers are not satisfied with the payments then they may stop providing the goods for Tesco meaning they are left with a limited number of products to offer their customers which does not benefit them one bit. However, if the suppliers are happy with the payments then they can continue to do business. This again explains how much of an influence the suppliers have as stakeholders because they are relying on Tesco's payments and to be valued by them.
Owners:
There are a number of ways in which a business can be owned. This includes sole traders and partnerships etc. In businesses such as Tesco, the main stakeholders are the owners. The reasons for this is that they are putting a lot of their own money into the business and for the benefits of the business. This explains why they are the main stakeholders and that they influence the aims and objectives because they are taking a big risk by relying on the business to do well. These owners want to see the business make lots of money so that their share of the profits increases and this explains how they influence the aims and objectives as their main aim is to make a profit.
Trade Unions:
Trade Unions are also stakeholders because their interest in the business involves the employees. The trade unions are very supportive for the employees. They act upon this by ensuring that the employees are being treated fairly and are not being abused. This explains how the trade unions influence the aims and objectives of the business because it is vital that the employees are not discriminated against. This includes a number of things such as fair wages, good working conditions and being treated fairly. This is then implemented into the businesses aims and objectives which again shows how they are influenced by trade unions.
Employer Associations:
Employer Associations are similar to trade unions. They are the employers equivalent of the trade unions. These are stakeholders because they have an interest in the business by supporting the employers. This influences the aims and objectives because the employer's rights must be took into consideration and the terms and conditions of their contracts as well. This means that the rights of the employers will not be breached and they will be secure from any discrimination.
Local and National Communities:
The local community is very important for Tesco and they specifically make aims and objectives about how to satisfy the community. For example, they may build a store in an area where there are not much access to supermarkets and build new infrastructure such as new roadways and parks for the area. This shows that the local community are stakeholders and that they influence the business' aims and objectives as it is a vital thing to take into consideration and look at for Tesco. Providing things like this for communities can benefit significantly as it can provide lots of income for the business and provide more jobs for the community. This can also benefit the economy.
Governments:
Governments are also stakeholders and they can seek to influence the aims and objectives of Tesco. Tesco want to grow and expand the business and the government also want Tesco to be successful as this results in more jobs for people. Tesco look at this and they set an aim for the business to grow. This means that more stores will be opening in different areas and this results in more jobs for people. This then means that these people are being paid wages and therefore paying taxes to the government. The government rely on businesses like Tesco to be successful to provide more money to put towards things like education and healthcare.
Cancer Research UK:
Customers:
Customers of Cancer Research UK are very important stakeholders. As customers of Cancer Research are either those affected by cancer or those who donate money, the aims and objectives are influenced a lot. For example, Cancer Research set aims such as expanding their customer base. This means that they want to get more donators. This becomes a successful aim as many people are either affected by cancer or know someone who is and they want to help. Although those who donate expect their money to be put to good use. These customers rely on the charity to use the donations and research information on finding a cure and finding better treatment for patients.
Employees:
Employees of Cancer Research UK are either volunteers or people such as doctors and nurses. The volunteers expect the charity to put their free time to good use. Whereas doctors and nurses want good working conditions for the patients to stay in and be safe. This can influence the charity's aims and objectives. For example, they set out to improve the care for the patients. This means that they must meet the doctors and nurses demands and provide better working conditions to use on the patients.
Suppliers:
Suppliers are key stakeholders and they can influence the aims and objectives of Cancer Research a lot. For example, Cancer Research set an aim to gain better medical equipment. This explains how the suppliers are influencing the charity as they provide them with the best medical care and equipment and research labs. The suppliers expect the researchers to use the supplied equipment etc. properly and carry out the best research possible.
Trustees:
Cancer Research are governed by a group of trustees and these are key stakeholders of the charity. These trustees influence the aims and objectives of Cancer Research as they are relying on funds and donations which need to be used to help research the best possible information and find a cure and provide the best treatment possible for patients. This is all took into consideration and are put into an aim, e.g. expanding their customer base.
Trade Unions:
Trade Unions in Cancer Research are set up to make sure that all of the workers are safe and treated fairly. This can influence an aim of the charity because the charity needs as much workers as possible. This means that they must set an aim to make sure that the workers are treated fairly and are not discriminated against.
Local and National Communities:
The local community are very important stakeholders and they expect the charity to hold fundraisers and charity events. This means that the community get the chance to donate money knowing that it will be put to a good cause. This is then put into an aim which is to increase the amount of income the charity receives. This means that many more people who suffer from cancer, especially in the local community are getting the best possible treatment.

Governments: As Cancer Research are a charity and many of their workers are volunteers and don't get paid, the government do not receive taxes from them. However, they do receive taxes from doctors and nurses of the charity as they are the ones being paid wages. The government can also help influence the charity regarding their aims and objectives as they both set out to increase donations so they help raise awareness of the charity and hold events in order to gain these funds and donations. This results in the charity gaining as much money as possible with the government's help and using it to provide the best help and research possible.