Internal and External Stakeholders

Answer

Internal and External Stakeholders

Business Scenario

The business scenario facing best game production can be simply described both as an ethical and a legal dilemma. The scenario poses an ethical dilemma for the organization where they have to weigh between launching a product with low quality or delaying its release at the detriment of the company profits. In case the company decides to launch the product as planned, they will be rolling out a compromised game whose performance is below the customer expectations. Since the company has prior knowledge of the presence of the bug, they will be violating ethical and moral standards of ensuring products meet the design specifications before they are released to the market. However, a late release is expected to cut the returns significantly, a phenomenon which are undesirable for the organization which is mainly profit based.

Similarly, rolling out the product as planned poses an illegal situation of negligence and knowingly duping the customers. Unless the company outrightly informs the customers of the bug presence at the release, then they can be sued by consumers who feel the purchased product does not meet the design specifications in terms of speed which can be damaging to the company image as well as financially constraining. Thus, the scenario poses a dilemma making a decision on whether to roll out the product release as planned or delay until when the bug is fixed.

Internal and External Stakeholders

Internal stakeholders refer to entities operating within the organization. For Best Game Productions, internal stakeholders include the employees in the game development, quality control, finance, public relations, and marketing department. Other internal stakeholders include the CEO of the company and the board of directors. The company’s external stakeholders include the customers who purchase its products, shareholders of the organization, and the government whose laws and regulations must be followed (Blackburn, Blackburn, & Williamson, 2017).

Effect on multiple internal and external stakeholders

According to Olszewska & Piwoni-Krzeszowska (2014), the business scenario affects both internal and external stakeholders in decision making. For internal stakeholders, the decision on whether to roll out the game as it is or delay its launch and correct the bug lies squarely on their table. Internal stakeholders will also be held responsible for whichever decision they take and its overall impact on the company business. For instance, while the finance department will be held responsible for overspending in the event the game is recalled, the quality department will be upheld for their ethical straightforwardness. The same action would reduce the game developers rating and const the marketing department extra time and resources to prepare for another release. The CEO who is responsible for the overall decision making is highly affected by the dilemma since depending on the choice made. Whichever decision is taken, the company risks running a loss and the CEO is expected to make the decision with the lowest risk. The company investors and board of directors are affected by the scenario which spells a loss for the organization either in the long run or short run. Therefore, the scenario could ruin the company image which the public relations officers must strive to rebuild and maintain going forth (Brem & Viardot, 2015).

External stakeholders are also affected by the scenario despite the decision which is arrived at. The customers are the most affected stakeholders because they are direct users of the product. If the game is rolled out as it is, the customers risk not enjoying its benefits because of its slowed performance. This implies that they do not get value for their money (Brem & Viardot, 2015). Similarly, lack of release as scheduled will be disappointing for customers who had prior plans to purchase the game for their holiday leisure. This implies that they must search for an alternative game which may not deliver similar satisfaction as the company’s product. Shareholders of an organization are its owners and their only aim is to gain as much profit as possible. Therefore, the scenario creates a negative effect on the shareholder’s wealth as it is expected to lead to a loss either immediately or in the future depending on the decision made. On the other hand, the government is affected by the scenario as it requires all companies to adhere to legal and ethical standards of practice. In case the company decides to roll out the game with full knowledge of the presence of the bug, it will be an unethical decision and may attract legal implications for the negligence of duty placing it at the wrong side of the law (Olszewska & Piwoni-Krzeszowska, 2014).

Needs, Motivations, and Perceptions of Stakeholders

Employees

The employee needs include expectations, mission, input, connection, consistency, and a future. Expectations on what the employee ought to accomplish should be clearly stated. Besides, employees should be aware of the mission of the organization to align their work to it and input their expertise is finding solutions to company organizations. Employees also need to have a connection to the company and each other and a consistent way of carrying out a business that guarantees their future (Brem & Viardot, 2015). Rewards, resource availability, loyalty, growth, purpose, vision, and teamwork are essential motivation instruments that prompt employees to perform their duties and responsibilities diligently. Employee perceptions, on the other hand, refers to the organizational readiness to change, trust in the management, and supervisory support given to facilitate optimal performance.

CEO

According to Brem & Viardot (2015), for the CEO to succeed, they need to be mission-driven, realistic, able to manage stress, able to customize benefits, flexible, a good communicator and able to create a good working culture. CEOs are motivated by the company and personal success, personal mission, and vision, employee empowerment, solving challenges and creating a good working environment that leaves a legacy. Perceptions required for the success of the CEO include a positive outlook, achievement orientation, learning and inclusivity, integrity sense, and humanistic approach to situations (Olszewska & Piwoni-Krzeszowska, 2014).

Board of Directors

Board needs include explicit authority to oversee company affairs. The board of directors is motivated by a clear strategy, good governance, a cooperative CEO and clarity. Required board perceptions include the ability to oversee compliance and risk, manage other stakeholders, and develop senior management (Blackburn, Blackburn, & Williamson, 2017).

Customers

Customer needs include the functionality of the product, appropriate pricing strategy, convenience, a good track record, and a quality design that meets reliability, performance and efficiency aspects. They can be motivated by promoting positivity, making the company business about them, encouraging royalty, consistency in communication and improving the brand image. Customer perception is used in marketing to represent the thoughts of consumers concerning a company, its brand, or the products it offers. Customer perceptions include experiences or expectations, predispositions, inhibitions, and negative or positive feelings (Blackburn, Blackburn, & Williamson, 2017).

Shareholders

The major need of the shareholders is to maximize wealth which implies that shareholders expect the business to yield maximum profits at all times. Therefore, shareholders perceive economic support as a means to achieve contentment in business. The implication is that shareholders perceive that their input into the organization should be able to yield high returns that will and exceed their business needs. Thus, anything that compromises the maximum profitability of a venture is perceived as bad business regardless of whether it is in the interest of the company image or not.  Shareholders are motivated by the financial performance versus market expectations of the company as well as its risk profile and strategic position as it works towards meeting its mission and purpose (Brem & Viardot, 2015).

Government

The government needs include compliance with the business legal and ethical standards. Best Game Productions company has over the years complied with all legal requirements and always produced ethically acceptable products. The government is therefore motivated by adherence to all specifications to ensure the company delivers the right product to the consumer. Therefore, the government perceives accountability as the guiding principle of ethical uprightness in business ventures (Olszewska & Piwoni-Krzeszowska, 2014).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the business scenario at Best Game Production is a delicate situation because whichever decision is made affects company performance. If the company decides to release the game as planned, they risk ruining the business image and reputation hence imposing a long-term negative effect on profitability as the customers will shift to competitor firms. On the other hand, if the release is delayed, the company risks losing all its holiday sales to the competitors. Therefore, a decision should be made on the alternative that presents minimal losses in consideration of the needs, motivations, and perceptions of major stakeholders.