MANAGING STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS

Managing Stakeholder Relationships: What Can We Learn From Shell?

Managing Stakeholder Relationships: What Can We Learn From Shell?

Introduction

Shell (also known as Royal Dutch Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell, Shell NV and Shell Oil in North America) is an Anglo-Dutch oil company. Shell logo are closely linked to the origins of the Shell Transport and Trading Company, founded in 1833by Marcus Samuel. Shell is the global oil company which have diversified stakeholders across the globe. The turnover of the company was 278 billion U.S. dollars in 2009, making it the world leader in the sector in 2010, it posted a turnover of 378 16 billion U.S. dollars, ranking the 2nd among the world's largest companies ranked according to their turnover.

Shell Oil Company does not live in isolation. It depends on a multitude of relationships with customers, employees, suppliers, communities, investors and other stakeholders.

The involvement of stakeholders in Shell includes formal and informal ways to stay connected with those who, actually or potentially, feel an interest in a business or have an impact on it. It involves understanding and consideration of their views, accountability and timely use of information gathered from stakeholders to foster innovation (Shell Oil Company: the story of achievement, 1984).

The involvement of stakeholders is a great way to ensure that partners of the company are entirely consistent with its approach to CSR. The concept of stakeholders is one of the foundations of sustainable development and is therefore an essential aspect of corporate social responsibility. Stakeholders are called individuals or organizations that may impact or be impacted by the activity of an enterprise. There may be internal or external stakeholders, public or private, employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers and subcontractors, unions, NGOs, institutions, governments, local authorities, consumer associations, etc.. The impacts of business on its stakeholders can be positive or negative, direct or indirect.

Shell have diversified stakeholders such as shareholders, business associations, customers, competitors, communities where the company has operations: neighbourhood associations, owners, employees, government national, local governments, provincial governments, investors, media, NGOs, suppliers / vendors to the enterprise, employee unions etc. Examples of such Shell stakeholders are affected by the project managers, people working in the process under study, internal departments that support the process (such as the finance department), suppliers, project management office, clients, sponsors, neighbours, etc..

Discussion and Analysis

Shell perceives that in order to survive in global oil industry it is essential to maintain a long lasting relationship with the stakeholders. The involvement encompasses a continuum of interactions that reflects the influence of stakeholders on decision making. On the one hand, Shell simply informs stakeholders of their projects. Between the two extremes are varying degrees of participation and consultation (Fairbrass, 2008). For the purposes, the involvement requires at least a genuine effort to understand the views of stakeholders. In a world of instant communication, Shell business philosophy is that the involvement of stakeholders can be used to detect the other concerns of the customer on product offerings. Involving stakeholders can facilitate the flow of information, help the Shell to ...