Introduction
A stakeholder is any individual interested in the operations of a business or who influences its operation. Large organizations have various stakeholder groups, whereby some are external, while others are internal such as the government and the employees, respectively (Brandt et al., 2018). An organization needs to consider and balance every stakeholder’s needs in these groups to maximize profits. Balancing stakeholder’s needs requires prioritizing the requirements of some stakeholders over that of others. An organization should identify various options to help if the stakeholders’ needs cannot be met and make adjustments. The alterations in the organization will be as a result of the competing demands for the resources, risks, time, cost, scope, and customer satisfaction.
Prioritization of Stakeholder Needs
Balancing the needs of the stakeholders is never limited to the collection requirement process. However, it goes above this since, at a later stage in some projects, it is evident that some stakeholder’s requirement is different from those of other stakeholders (Poveda, 2017). Hence, an organization should balance the stakeholder’s needs and make sure they resolve any prevailing conflicts. Clear project goals and objectives are a necessity in balancing the needs of the stakeholders. The needs of the different stakeholders are usually prioritized based on the general requirements of a given project.
Potential Problems
Every department in an organization has its objectives and interests in a particular project. For instance, if the production department notices an increase in demand for their product, they will speed up the production process. The risk team might slow the pace of that particular project due to the risks they have identified. It might be a little difficult for both of the departments to have a solution. This is because these problems are very complicated, and only an intervention from the management can help resolve the conflict.
Possible Solutions
A big part of finding the balance of the stakeholder’s needs is to improve their communication (Brandt et al., 2018). This might seem so obvious, but it is hardly practiced in some organizations. For instance, only a few organizations communicate with different stakeholders such as suppliers and employees on performance and sustainability strategies. An organization with more stakeholder involvement in its operations is likely to be sure of its supportiveness in its strategies and aware of the possible results. To gain stakeholders’ trust, they have integrated reports that combine explanations concerning their long-term value creations and traditional financial measures. Such an approach is essential since it helps show the strategies and the short- and long-term objectives that affect the organization’s vision.
There is a high possibility that the stakeholders’ needs will not be met if they are not adequately documented. Determining the stakeholders’ needs can sometimes lead to one need being refined more into more needs and requirements. This can be an issue since the project can find it challenging to trace the needs’ source. It cannot be easy to achieve the project’s goals if the reasons for a specific need are not met.
Conclusion
In conclusion, balancing the stakeholder’s needs can be done smoothly and more efficiently. However, if balancing their needs can sometimes make any stakeholder unhappy, this can be a risk to the project’s success. Unhappy stakeholders will not support the project and can sometimes underperform when they are needed the most. A project manager should ensure that they balance the stakeholders’ needs to avoid such cases from happening in the future.
References
Brandt, F., Josefsson, J., & Spierenburg, M. (2018). Power and politics in stakeholder engagement. Ecology and Society, 23(3). Web.
Poveda, C. A. (2017). The theory of dimensional balance of needs. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 24(2), 97-119. Web.