Management for sustainability – A stakeholder theory

Abstract

This paper presents a conceptual model of stakeholder management and expands upon the relationship between organisational sustainability and global sustainability. The theoretical discussions have been inspired and deducted from theory on stakeholders, quality management and sustainability. A model is developed that takes account of practical and theoretical implications of stakeholder-oriented management in pursuit of organisational and global sustainability. The model might be used to explain actual behaviour of organisations and the distinction between organisational and global sustainability.

Keywords:

• sustainable development
• quality management
• stakeholder theory

Notes

We want to differ between the product, the output, and the outcome of a process. We look at product as consisting of the goods and/or services that the process is intended to produce, and outcome as the impact and receiver experience of the total output from the process.

It is the ability to meet essential needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, jobs and so forth that should not be compromised, see WCED (1987).

Interested parties might include, among others, nature and future generations.

The organisation is not acting by itself, it is the members of the organisation that perform the activities.