By McGregor McCance
Is the approach of the stakeholders of the company still important in a climate dominated by the gross decision-making and the electricity game?
Supporters of stakeholders like the Darden School of Business, Professor Ed Freeman, say that the answer is yes, even if business leaders go back to commitments to workers and political leaders, today adopt massive changes which will deeply affect employees and other stakeholders.
Darden professor, Ed Freeman, articulated the original principles of stakeholders in a commercial context in his 1984 book “Strategic Management: has stakeholders”.
“The opportunity for companies to intensify is enormous,” said Freeman.
New research suggests that this is exactly what people want.
A recent survey to assess what people expect from American companies have classified ethical leadership as well as waiting No. 2 that people have for business. This result increased in place n ° 7 last year.
Likewise, the respondents listed the expectation that companies “communicate transparent” to rank No. 4 this year, from the first previous survey.
The result n ° 1: people expect and want a recent and fair salary.
The annual Visits of Americans on the commercial surveyLed by Just Capital is intended to identify what the public expects from business, what important problems and where there are corporate leadership possibilities.
Just Capital was co -founded in 2014 by a group of business, finance and civil society which “thought that business and markets can and must be greater force for good”. Founding members include investor Paul Tudor Jones II, who graduated in economics from the University of Virginia.
Freeman, who regularly collaborates with Just Capital, said that this year’s survey are not surprising, because they correspond to a model of public feeling for ethical and equitable behavior towards employees and other stakeholders such as suppliers, communities and investors.
“If you ask Americans what they want from their business, they want them to create value for their stakeholders. This is the short form of what this investigation says, “said Freeman. “They place fair wages, dealing with customers in the right way and ethics, at the top of the list. It is not a strange idea. This is what people expect.
The capitalism of stakeholders is largely defined as an approach to companies in which a company or an organization examines how its actions will affect all groups of stakeholders, rather than fulfilling a responsibility only towards shareholders. The approach invites the consideration of employees, customers, suppliers, community and environment – as well as shareholders.
“The possibility for companies to intensify is enormous.”
Ed Freeman, Professor Darden
The capitalism of stakeholders or the theory of stakeholders have long been at the heart of the Darden program and school values. Freeman, who has taught the theory and ethics of stakeholders in Darden since 1987, is recognized for having articulated the original principles of stakeholders in a commercial context in his 1984 book “Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach”.
Just Capital said that the latest investigation results reflect the feelings expressed by voters in the electoral cycle of November 2024: “Americans are concerned about their economic well-being, on the way they are treated as consumers, to be able to support their families. And they seem suspicious of institutions because they repeatedly call for increased transparency, business responsibility and leadership. »»
For Freeman, the results strengthen Darden’s commitment to teaching responsible leadership, while giving business leaders and government leaders more reasons to reflect on how their decisions affect others.
“When the effects are not good, you are partially responsible for it,” he said. “The stakeholders are also responsible, but you are partly responsible for the effects of your actions. It’s just ethics 101. “
The 10 main investigation problems that public members identify for business:
- Pay a decent salary
- Acts ethically in terms of leadership
- Supports workers’ well-being
- Transparently communicate
- Offers advantages and work-life balance
- Supports the progress and training of the workforce
- Treat customers fairly
- Fair price offer
- Creates jobs in the United States
- Protects customer confidentiality
About the business school at the University of Virginie Darden
The Affairs School of the University of Virginia Darden is preparing the world leaders responsible for unrivaled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s higher education programs (MBA, MSBA and PH.D.) and the executive and lifelong learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation have prepared the field for a life of progress and career impact. Darden’s best classified teachers, renowned for educational excellence, inspire and shape modern commercial leadership around the world by research, enlightened leadership and commercial publishing. Darden has land in Charlottesville, Virginia and the Washington region, DC, and a world community which includes 18,000 former students in 90 countries. Darden was created in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a better public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Press the contact
Molly Mitchell
Main, editorial and media associate director
Darden business school
University of Virginia
Mitchellm@darden.virginia.edu