English Heritage Stakeholders Essay Example

Introduction

The existence of any organisation must be interpreted in the context of the larger society. Several parties take part in orgnisation's affairs to enable it to achieve its core mandate. These groups of people that have a stake in the operation and running of organisations are known as stakeholders. A stakeholder may be defined in many ways, but the classical definition of the term considers a stakeholder as an individual or a group that has the potential to affect or be affected by an organisation's attainment of its objectives (Fassin, 2009). Thus, a stakeholder is that group or individual without their support could lead to the collapse of an organisation or render its activities unviable (Baumfield, 2016). For instance, a significant loss of customers may result in the inability of business organisations to conduct their core activities, resulting in the collapse of the businesses.

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English Heritage Stakeholders

Irrespective of its core mandate, every organisation has stakeholders. English Heritage (EH) has several stakeholders. The many stakeholders of EH include the British Government, the visitors/tourists, donors/partners, top leadership, staff/ volunteers, local communities and future generations. Each of the enlisted stakeholders plays a crucial role in the sustainability of the operations of EH as a charitable organisation. This is manifested in how they pursue their interests in the organisation as well their influence based the level power that they hold regarding the daily running of the affairs of EH as a charitable organisation.

Stakeholder Interests and how they May be Pursued by Various Stakeholders

Government

An organisation has been described as a point where various interests meet to achieve a given objective (Fassin, 2009). The government has an interest in organisations including charitable institutions such as EH. In the case of the EH, the government has played an influential role its formation and development over the years. Although the EH has been in existence since the 19th century, the government of Thatcher was responsible for its establishment as known today after the enactment of the National Heritage Act 1983. It later offered a loan to the organisation to kick-start its activities in the '80s (English Heritage, 2018). The government is not a significant interested party, but EH must operate within the code of conduct as set out by government regulations.

Tourists/Visitors

Tourists visit prehistoric sites run and maintained by EH. They are the most important stakeholders since they act as the customers thereby generating revenue for the organisation. In the business context, customers are the reason as to why an organisation exists (Philips, 2012). Their interest is to tourists visit EH to derive pleasure and meaning from landmark historical areas through memorable experiences. Without them, EH cannot continue to exist viably.

Employees

Employees and volunteers are the ones who create the products that visitors come to see at the sites as well as offer services as may be necessary. Employees work to increase tourist experience through conservation projects such as the maintenance of historical sites (English, 2018). Their interest is to earn income while pursuing personal and professional goals.

Top Leadership

Individuals who occupy the top leadership of any organisation have more responsibilities over the organisation than employees. They give the overall direction of the organisation and act on behalf of the shareholders. In context, the top leadership of EH ensures that the organisation balances between its revenue generation and satisfaction of visitors (English Heritage, 2018).

Donors/Members

Members hold a stake in the ownership of EH, and as of 2017, there were a total of 918, 000 members who have significantly contributed to the success of the organisation (Laurence & Mevor, 2017). For shareholders, their interest is to ensure that employees and top leadership run the organisation in their best interest. For instance, they provide financial resources necessary to not only run the organisation but also ensure that such resources are prudently utilized (Ozbas & Matsisuka, 2017). Similarly, donors provide resources to EH. Their interest is to ensure that resources are used prudently and for the intended purposes.

Local Communities

Local communities act as volunteers to help the organisation. Currently, 2700 local people work with EH (Laurence & Mevor, 2017). The local people host the sites that EH seek to preserve. They have an interest in how these sites should be maintained.

Future Generations

Future generations are not significant stakeholders but determine much of the actions of today.

Stakeholder Power and its Consequences

Government

Government ensures that the activities of charitable organisations operate under the law. If an organisation does not follow the law, the government has the power to revoke laws or institute thought measures on an organisation that does not comply. This is likely to lead to the closure of EH if it does not follow the regulations.

Visitors/ Tourists

These are the customers of EH. If a product does not satisfy a customer's needs, the customers have the power to switch to a different brand (Ayantunji, 2016). Similarly, if the services of the organisation do not satisfy visitors, they have the liberty (power) to avoid sites of EH.

Employees

Employees are the drivers of the organisation. If not satisfied with the employer, they may engage in mass action, strikes, and other forms of disobedience (Baumfield, 2016). In case of such occurrence at EH, service delivery at the organisation would be negatively affected.

Top leadership

The top leaders significantly influence the success of an organisation. The top leadership oversees overall policy implementation. They may exert pressure on the employees or managers to push them to deliver on their mandate (Eustace & Martins, 2014). The power results from their executive authority.

Donors/Members

Resource providers are a powerful group in any organisation. For members, they have the power of making decisions through general meetings. When important organisational decisions are made, they participate in voting to endorse or reject the proposition of directors or executives depending on whether decisions of the executives and the board meet the threshold of their interests (Ozbas & Matsisuka, 2017). However, Graham (2017) notes studies internal stakeholders such as employees; executives have more influence on the organisation's affairs as compared to members. On the donors, they may decide to withdrawal if they consider that there is being misused.

Local Communities

Local communities have the power because they host to the sites being preserved. They understand the local landscape, and their dedication to EH enhance the capacity of the organisation to create more attraction at the tourist sites (English Heritage, 2018). A loss of community support may lead to loss of the prehistoric assets.

Current Issues

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become more prominent today than before. Adopting eco-friendly practices at the sites and during maintenance activities is an emerging issue with EH. This is, in part, aims at reducing carbon emissions on the charity's sites (English Heritage, 2018). Climate has a dramatic rise in extreme events such as floods, drought, and melting of glaciers and sea ice (Prudent, Houghton, & Luber, 2016). This is likely to destroy some of the sites cared by EH if measures of reducing carbon emissions are not taken seriously. This explains why the leadership of the organisation has increased its emphasis on clean energy and the reduction of carob emission in recent years. As expected, anti-global warming efforts would be a core activity of EH's future events.

Evaluation and Conclusion

English Heritage plays a critical role in preserving English history. However, the organisation largely depends on the stakeholders to actualize its activities. The government, employees, top leadership, members and donors, tourists and local communities make its mandate possible. These stakeholders have the power to facilitate as well as oversight EH's activities. Over recent years, EH has ventured in projects that limit carbon emission to operate sustainably. This is a right move in the right direction, and it can be expected to continue in the future as many organisations continue to embrace the fight against climate change.

References

Ayantunji, A. (2016). Handbook of research on consumerism and buying behavior in developing nations. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

English Heritage. (2018). Our history. Retrieved from https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/

Eustace, A., & Martins, N. (2014). The role of leadership in shaping organisational climate: An example from the fast moving consumer goods industry. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 40(1). doi:10.4102/sajip.v40i1.1112

Graham, S. (2017). The influence of external and internal stakeholder pressures on the implementation of ppstream environmental supply chain practices. Business & Society, 000765031774563. doi:10.1177/0007650317745636

Laurence, T., & Mavor, K. (2017). English Heritage annual report 2016/2017. English Heritage.

Ozbas, A., & Matsisuka, J. G. (2017). A theory of shareholder approval and proposal rights. The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 33(2), 377-411.

Phillips, R. (2012). Stakeholder theory: Impact and prospects. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Prudent, N., Houghton, A., & Luber, G. (2016). Assessing climate change and health vulnerability at the local level: Travis County, Texas. Disasters, 40(4), 740-752. doi:10.1111/disa.12177

Fassin, Y. (2009). The stakeholder model refined. Journal of business ethics, 84(1), 113-135.

V. S. Baumfield. (2016). Stakeholder theory from a management perspective: Bridging the shareholder/stakeholder divide. Australian Journal of Corporate Law, 31 (1), 187-207: ISSN1037-4124.

Phillips, R. (2012). Stakeholder theory: Impact and prospects. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.