Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business - Essay Example The firm’s employees globally are estimated to 95,453 (BMW Group, 2011) – in about 150 countries worldwide (BMW Group, 2011). The firm’s success has been strongly related to its CSR policies, an issue evaluated in this paper. 2. Stakeholder demographics In order to understand the performance of the firm in regard to the interests and the needs of its stakeholders, it would be necessary to identify primarily the demographic characteristics of these stakeholders. In the most common view, the term stakeholder reflects the groups of individuals who are most likely to be affected by the company’s operations, meaning its employees, its customers, its suppliers and the community. In accordance with Freeman and Reed (1993) the key criterion for identifying the stakeholders of an organization is their relationship with the organizational objectives. In this context, it is noted that the term ‘stakeholders’ is used in order to describe ‘the groups of individuals who affect the organizational objectives but also those who are affected by the organizational objectives’ (Freeman and Reed 1993 in Gossy 2008, 6). ... In the case of BMW, it is explained in the organization’s website that the term ‘stakeholders’ is used for referring to the following groups of people: ‘Customers, business partners, employees, media, policy and scientific decision makers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and investors’ (BMW Stakeholders 2011). The response of the firm towards the interests of its stakeholders is explained below by referring to an indicative example: the Education programs developed by the firm in order to support the community. Reference is made, as an example, to the educational program that the firm developed in 2007 in cooperation with the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (BMW Group, Community 2009). 3. Impact of the firm’s CSR on stakeholders BMW highly values its stakeholders. In fact, in accordance with its statement on CSR, the firm has been trying to focus on the needs of its stakeholders, taking into consideration their views on its CSR performance. M oreover, the suggestions of stakeholders on potential failures or gaps in the firm’s CSR are taken into consideration when the firm’s CSR is to be designed and applied. The above view is based on the following fact: in the context of its efforts to be informed on the views of its stakeholders on its CSR, the firm developed a stakeholder survey in 2006/2007. The survey, in which about ‘200 stakeholders from 21 countries worldwide’ (BMW Stakeholders 2011) participated it was revealed that the dialogue developed between the firm and its stakeholders is proactive and it has been welcomed by the stakeholders; moreover, it has been revealed that the firm’s CSR strategy is