Stakeholders - Essay Example

Stakeholders The 2008 recession had unearthed a strong number of questionable ethical practices of major Wall Street firms. Still, even within this ethically stressed financial environment there are a number of companies that have distinguished themselves through strong ethical and innovative practices. Fortune Magazine releases an annual list of the world’s most admired companies containing a list of fifty world companies with the best reputation. In terms of a number of the organizations on this list, this essay examines their management commitment to the welfare of stakeholders and the means by which they manage ethical controversies.

When examining the companies at the top of the list one notes that there are a strong number of technology companies. To an extent it seems this is attributable to the nature of this business relying on innovation and customer satisfaction rather than shady accounting or practices detrimental to the environment. The number one company on this list is Apple ("Worlds most admired," 2010). One of the notable elements about Apple’s stakeholder outreach is that it doesn’t seem to go as far other organizations in actively courting investment; there are is no direct stock programs and no dividend reinvestment.

Rather Apple emphasizes the social responsibility of their product design, provides financial information, and allows stakeholders to derive their own conclusions. While Apple is understood to have limited ethical mishaps, a recent version of the iPhone resulted in a number of customer complaints of which individuals indicate Apple was slow to address. Another prominent organization on the most admired list is Proctor and Gamble. While Apple had largely implemented an indirect method of stakeholder outreach this is directly contrasted with Procter and Gamble’s management approach to stakeholder interest.

Procter and Gamble notes that, “P&G is committed to keeping our investors well-informed on our achievements and strategies” ("Pg investor relations," 2011). This approach towards transparency is reflected in well-articulated strategic initiatives and frequent shareholder meeting and events. Proctor and Gamble has experienced ethical controversy. Recently, the organization was fined by the European Commission for a price fixing scandal. This controversy is completed ignored in shareholder information and extremely limited company acknowledgement of the incident is available.

Ultimately, it seems this is a management strategy wherein through simply paying the fine and giving it little public relations attention, the organization seeks to simply sidestep this blunder. In conclusion, this essay has examined how management deals with stakeholder interest in terms of companies on Fortune’s most admired list. Specifically, Apple and Procter and Gamble were considered for their divergent approach to shareholder interest. While Apple is a more self-directed organization that only indirectly appeals to stakeholders, Procter and Gamble actively courts stakeholder interest through a strategic policy of transparency.

Such an approach to stakeholder interest is also reflected in their management response to ethical mishaps, with Apple acting less swiftly than Procter and Gamble in addressing these stakeholder concerns. References Pg investor relations. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.pg.com/en_US/investors/index.shtml Worlds most admired companies. (2010). Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2011/index.html