Use a scenario to describe how to predict individual stakeholders’ behaviour and propose contingency measures that can be put in place to manage the risks associated with unaware and opposed stakeholders whose attitudes can be changed

Every business project within the retail sector, regardless of its size, has a management structure put in place to ensure a set deliverables are met. As much as we have come to realise, retailers are looking for game-changing solutions to enhance the effectiveness of their retail operations and achieve competitive differentiation. Hence, they use outsourcing to gain access to industry-leading methodologies and skills, and also embed innovation into their organizations. This therefore means that the stakeholders for these projects would cut across the retail and IT sectors. As a stakeholder management consultant, you have been asked by a leading retailer to produce a report detailing: • The possible list of stakeholders that have the ability to impact the project (low to high) against their view of the project (negative to positive). Use a stakeholder matrix of your choice to explain your arguments. • Use a scenario to describe how to predict individual stakeholders’ behaviour and propose contingency measures that can be put in place to manage the risks associated with unaware and opposed stakeholders whose attitudes can be changed, as well as those opposed and aware stakeholders who may never be supportive. • Describe how important community engagement is to the project and propose appropriate communication strategies that will maximise the purpose of the identified stakeholder groups. • Evaluate stakeholder management theories and explain why the retailer should always review its stakeholder list as well as its method of communication with stakeholder groups. Structure of report Executive Summary This provides a quick overview or synopsis of the report, summarising the essential parts. It outlines the following information: • the purpose of the report • the methods used to conduct the research • the result of the research • the conclusions drawn from the research • Recommendations for future actions. Contents page List of numbered sections in report and their page numbers. Introduction This should introduce the topic or problem and any key information required to ‘set the scene’ for your reader, including explaining the scope of the report. Literature review You should aim to review a variety of sources on the topics of who a stakeholder(s) is/are and explanations of how to identify them as well as why they are important to a project that is being carried out. What has been written on the subject? How do sources compare? How are the concepts defined and explained? Sources include material available in the library and online, such as books, journals, websites, archives, newspapers and other written and non-written sources, including previous reports etc. This should include definition and explanation of the key concepts of the stakeholder theory. Critical Analysis, evaluation and examination Attempt to make a connection to the concept of ‘stakeholder’ and community engagement. Look in depth at each part using supporting arguments and evidence for and against as well as how these interrelate to one another. Give your verdict as to what extent a statement or findings within a piece of research are true, or to what extent you agree with them. Provide evidence taken from a wide range of sources which both agree with and contradict an argument. Come to a final conclusion, basing your decision on what you judge to be the most important factors and justify how you have made your choice. Ensure all the deliverables are treated in your literature review with relevant headings. Be as detailed as possible (provide references, evidence and research). Conclusion This section sums up the implications of the findings, identifying the main issues brought to light by your research and how these relate to the original coursework brief.