Investigation of Stakeholder Analysis Theory †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Investigation of Stakeholder Analysis Theory. Answer: Introduction: This chapter provides a brief introduction and outline of the research study. The research background and the problem statement shall also be provided in this chapter along with the aims, objectives and research questions. The study shall emphasize upon the management of the project stakeholders in context of municipality environment in South Africa. The stakeholders involved herein include the rate payers, the Government of the country and the private sector. The construction and maintenance of the roads is looked after by the municipalities and the finance is obtained in the form of taxes paid by the countrymen and the funds raised from the private sector while the entire process is governed by the Government of South Africa. Proper road facilities are necessary for facilitating the interaction between the countrymen and the exchange of goods and services. Well- connected roads are necessary for the economic growth of a nation as it helps in the easy transportation of goods. The capital projects of road infrastructure in South Africa are managed by National and Provincial Government through Department of Transport and SANRAL (South African National Road Agency Limited) however; the municipality mainl y handles the maintenance and road expansion projects. The project stakeholders are affected by the success or failure of a project and also have the capability to drive a project towards success or failure. In case of construction projects, the stakeholders are those individuals or group of individuals who have their interest or some form of ownership in the projects and contribute either their skills and knowledge or monetary support in the project. Effective stakeholder management helps in the formation of cordial relations with the stakeholders by understanding and managing the expectations of the stakeholders (Maylor, Blackmon and Huemann 2016). Engaging stakeholders is often a challenging task to manage the stakeholders on a regular basis. It is necessary to know the expectations of the stakeholders and fulfill their expectations by involving them in the important processes. It is important to know the manner in which the different stakeholders shall be involved in the organizational processes or projects. It is necessary to establish proper communication with the stakeholders and keep them informed about the important facts and decisions in order to keep them satisfied. To know what is importance of management of project stakeholders in public projects To understand the role of municipality of South Africa in the construction and maintenance of roads To identify the different stakeholders involved in the project To identify the ways in which the stakeholders involved in the project can be managed in order to ensure success of the project What is importance of management of project stakeholders in public projects? What is the role of municipality of South Africa in the expansion and maintenance of roads? Who are the stakeholders involved in the project? How can the stakeholders involved in the project managed in order to ensure success of the project? Problem statement: The municipality in South Africa is facing several challenges in terms of rehabilitation of the road networks. The issues faced by the Government are in terms of lack of human capital, outdated equipments, high rate of employee turnover and lack of finance (Marks and Trapido 2014). The report addresses the issues related to the management of project stakeholders while addressing the issues of good practices. A proper well- connected road system is necessary for the growth and development of South Africa, which would involve proper stakeholder management. The research paper comprises of five chapters. The first chapter comprises ofvthe introductory part, which includes the background of the study, research aims, objectives, questions and the problem statement. The second chapter comprises of the literature review wherein the theories, models and concepts pertaining to the research topic are explained in detail. The third chapter consists of the research methodology that provides a systematic outline to the researcher according to which he or she conducts the research. This chapter contains the research philosophy, data collection methods, sampling methods, ethical issues and limitations of the research study. The fourth chapter comprises of the findings and analysis. The findings can be obtained either from primary sources or secondary sources or both. The last or fifth chapter comprises of the conclusion part wherein the summary of the entire research process is mentioned. This section comprises of the relevant theories, concepts and models related to the research topic. This section contains the academic evidences related to management of project stakeholders in context of Municipality environment. Socio- economic conditions of South Africa: According to Marais (2013), the socio- economic conditions of South Africa have not been in the favor of the nation over the past few years. The country has witnessed low growth rate over the past few years, which has affected the development of the country. The country has been facing several issues such as weak consumer demand, fall in the business investments and unfavorable climatic conditions like drought over the past few years. The production of power has improved in the country but the development of the country has been adversely affected due to lack of proper infrastructural facilities and excessive costs of raw materials. The slow or rather stagnant economy of the country has raised the number of unemployment in the country. This has resulted in the widening of income inequality gaps among the countrymen. However, the regional integration has provided ample opportunities to the country but the sub- regions in the country have not been much advanced (Baker, Newell and Phill ips 2014). The country has huge growth potential but still the economic integration remains below the mark. The entrepreneurial activities in the nation remain low and it is necessary to boost entrepreneurship in the country in order to improve the socio- economic conditions of the country. According to Marks and Trapido (2014), the slow growth rate of the economy has created difficulties for the establishment of new businesses. In addition, the issue of red tape has been a major difficulty in setting up a new business in the area (Walker 2015). The improper quality of education in the country has resulted in lack of knowledgeable and experienced entrepreneurs. In order to encourage entrepreneurship within the country, the government is required to offer financial and non- financial help to the entrepreneurs. The macroeconomic policies of the nation are usually constrained along with the limited fiscal space. The shortage of skills in the country has hampered the growth rate. The intra- regional trade has been low as compared to the other communities and the non- tariff barriers have been pervasive. Another major reason behind the slow growth rate of the country has been the weak trade and improper infrastructure. Red tape has been adding difficulties for the entreprene urs in South Africa since ages. According to Kerzner (2013), project refers to a set of activities or tasks that are to be carried out to meet some objective or set of objectives. A project usually have two parts namely technical and functional aspects. Projects can be undertaken by both private sector and public sector for obtaining benefits from the project. Project management refers to the application of appropriate skills and knowledge in the execution of the projects. Project management helps in driving a project towards the desired goals (Walker 2015). For this purpose, every project has one or more project managers who are responsible for planning, controlling, managing and directing the activities involved in a project. The project management involves sequence of activities such as initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing. Project management enables the project managers and the members involved in the project to ensure that they share similar vision regarding the objectives and t he ultimate goals of the project (Golini, Kalchschmidt, and Landoni 2015). According to Kelly, Male and Graham (2014), the projects initiated and governed by the Government of a nation are known as municipality or public projects. These projects may comprise of launching of a new product or service by the Government of a nation such as construction of new roads or initiating a road safety campaigns. These projects usually involve infrastructure projects that are financed and built by the government. These may include construction of roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, parks, railroads, dams, and several others. The public projects are usually long- term projects that require huge finance and human resource. Similarly, there are several projects initiated by the Governments of the nations to improve the socio- economic conditions of their respective nations (Inam et al. 2015). The public projects are usually initiated with the objective of the welfare of the common masses. The Government does not derive any quick benefits of profits from such projects but re ceive long- term benefits from such projects (Mir and Pinnington 2014). Stakeholder management: According to Weiss (2016), stakeholder refers to the group of individuals without whose support, an organization would cease to exist. Stakeholders are mainly those individuals or group of individuals who have the capability of affecting the success or failure of an organization or project. Stakeholder management refers to the management of the stakeholders in such a manner that the organization derives the maximum benefits from them. Stakeholder management is an important part of any project or activity. However, project stakeholders are those individuals or group of individuals who are actively involved in a project and take active participation in the project activities (Mok, Shen and Yang 2015). According to Fassin et al. (2017), the project stakeholders are affected by the success or failure of a project and also have the capability to drive a project towards success or failure. In case of construction projects, the stakeholders are those individuals or group of individuals who have their interest or some form of ownership in the projects and contribute either their skills and knowledge or monetary support in the project. Effective stakeholder management helps in the formation of cordial relations with the stakeholders by understanding and managing the expectations of the stakeholders. Stakeholder management is a systematic procedure of managing the stakeholders that helps in achieving the objectives of the projects or activities in an efficient manner (De Brucker, Macharis and Verbeke 2013). According to Verbeke, and Tung (2013), stakeholders have a significant role in the success or failure of an organization or project. Stakeholders usually invest money or their skills and knowledge in an organization or project with the motive of obtaining benefits therein. The actions of the stakeholders help in determining the quality of decisions taken by the organizational managers or the project managers. Stakeholders may have the voting powers as well as certain decision- making powers. The stakeholders elect the management and the major business decisions are dependent upon the quality of decisions taken by the management. Therefore, the stakeholders indirectly influence the decision- making process within an organization or project (Fooks et al. 2013). Types of project stakeholders: According to Kazadi, Lievens and Mahr (2016), there are several stakeholders involved in a project. The top management includes the directors, president, division managers and the operating committees that are usually involved in the process of strategy formulation. The top management is usually responsible for developing in- depth plans and approving plan designs formulated by the other project members. The other team members are required to report the project status to the top management. It is necessary to keep the top management informed regarding the risks involved in the projects and their impacts on the project. Another major stakeholder in a project is the project team (Garca-Nieto et al. 2015). According to Abidin (2015), the project team comprises of the individuals who are involved in the activities of the project. They can be both full time and part time employees. The project team is usually headed by a project manager, who directs them towards the achievement of the objectives of the project. The project manager is responsible for guiding the project members and solving their issues. Other stakeholders are the peers, who work at the similar designations within an organization. Resource managers are the ones who borrow resources and manage them. These resources can be both in terms of financial resources and human resources. The internal customers are those people within an organization, who are the customers and their demands are met internally. External customers are those people who do not belong to the organization but derive benefits from using the products or services obtained from the projects. The government is also an important project stakeholder as the projec ts managers are required to deal with several government regulators and the government has the great powers to influence the projects. The contractors and suppliers provide raw materials and human resources to the project managers that help in improving the quality of work and reducing the wastages. The other stakeholders involve creditors, community and trade unions (Hammerschmid, Van de Walle and Stimac 2013). Stakeholder identification and analysis: According to Missonier and Loufrani-Fedida (2014), stakeholder identification and analysis involves identifying the stakeholders involved in a particular project and analyzing the data that indicates the level of involvement, influence and impact they might have on the success of a project. The results obtained from this process are documented in a Project Stakeholder register. This register is constantly updated throughout the life cycle of the project and contains complete information to identify and analyze the project stakeholders. It helps in formulating the stakeholder engagement strategies. The actions of the stakeholders help in determining the quality of decisions taken by the organizational managers or the project managers. Stakeholders may have the voting powers as well as certain decision- making powers. There are basically two types of stakeholders namely internal stakeholders and external stakeholders (Yang 2014). The internal stakeholders comprise of the project owners , management team, employees, creditors, suppliers and the client organizations. The external stakeholders comprises of the government, political organizations, social organizations, local communities, media, trade and industry, residents, interest groups and the general public. Both the internal and the external stakeholders have considerable impacts on the success or failure of an organization or project (Lawrence and Weber 2014). According to Ayuso et al. (2014), stakeholder engagement refers to the process wherein the organizations involve the individuals or group of individuals, who are influenced or can influence the decision- making process within an organization or project. Stakeholder engagement is related with the stakeholder identification and analysis process. Stakeholder engagement involves several approaches such as pull communication, push communication, partnership, participation and consultation. Engaging stakeholders is often a challenging task to manage the stakeholders on a regular basis. It is necessary to know the expectations of the stakeholders and fulfill their expectations by involving them in the important processes. It is important to know the manner in which the different stakeholders shall be involved in the organizational processes or projects. It is necessary to establish proper communication with the stakeholders and keep them informed about the important facts and decisions in o rder to keep them satisfied. Stakeholder engagement in South Africa: According to Kovacs et al. (2015), in South Africa there are two legislated systems namely IDP ((Integrated Developmental Plan) and SDBIP (Service Delivery Bid Implementation Plan). Stakeholder engagement is an important part of public projects in South Africa. The public projects usually involve construction of roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, parks, railroads, dams, and several others, which is not possible without engaging the stakeholders involved. These projects affect the common masses who are not even directly involved in the project. The support of the local communities and the other stakeholders are essential for the success of a public project. Therefore, the Government of South Africa ensures proper communication and involvement of the people who are directly or indirectly affected by the projects (Sierra?Garca, Zorio?Grima and Garca?Benau 2015). According to Mackey and Gass (2015), research methodology refers to the way of conducting the research study. This involves following a particular set of steps in order to obtain the desired results that satisfy the research aims and objectives. Research methodology provides a proper outline to the researcher that guides the researcher throughout the research process. Every step of the research methodology is important to follow in order to find correct answers of the research questions. The researcher shall choose an appropriate research philosophy in order to assess the issues related to the management of project stakeholders and the importance of stakeholder engagement in the success or failure of a project. There are basically three types of research philosophies namely positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism. Positivism refers to the philosophy that is dependent upon the quantifiable observations that helps in conducting appropriate statical analysis. Positivism restricts the researcher during the process of data collection and interpretation and focuses the researcher towards the research objectives. On the contrary, interpretivism enables the researchers to utilize the perspectives of others with respect to the research topic. Therefore, interpretivism helps the researcher in studying the human perspectives rather than mere scientific perspective. On the other hand pragmatism is a mixture of both positivism and interpretivism philosophies (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). Research approach: According to Glesne (2015), the most widely used research approaches are inductive approach and deductive approach. Deductive approach is the one that enables a researcher to develop a hypothesis on the basis of past theories and concepts. Therefore, this approach focuses upon available literatures and theories. On the contrary, in case of inductive approach, emphasizes more upon developing new approaches and concepts, which are based upon the observations of the researcher. As a consequence, many a times the focus of the researcher moves from the research questions to the observations. Therefore, the researcher shall emphasize upon deductive approach in order to maintain the focus upon the research objectives and questions (Brinkmann 2014). There are mainly three types of research designs. The following are the three types of research designs: Exploratory Explanatory Descriptive According to Flick (2015), exploratory design refers to the research design wherein the researcher is able to examine the hypothesis and the research objectives and questions. It enables the researcher to relate the topics and theories with the research topic. On the other hand, exploratory design enables the the researchers to explain the causes behind a particular phenomenon. It helps the researchers to predict future happenings in relation with the research topic. Lastly, descriptive research study is a mixture of both exploratory and explanatory research designs. It emphasizes upon the description of the entire population by collecting the appropriate data. It is the most popularly utilized design due to its dual characteristics. Data collection process: There are basically two types of data collection methods. The following are the two types of data collection methods: Primary data collection process Secondary data collection process. According to Silverman (2016), primary data collection process refers to the technique wherein the researcher obtains data from primary sources of information such as interviews and surveys. Collection of primary data involves establishing direct contact with the respondents. On the contrary, secondary data collection process refers to the technique wherein the researcher obtains data from secondary sources such as books, journals, internets, magazines and newspapers. In this process, the researcher is required to emphasize upon the authenticity of the secondary sources used by him or her. This process does not require the researcher to establish direct contacts with the respondents. It is based upon the primary data collected by some other researchers previously, which are easily available and accessible. In this particular research study, the researcher shall be using both primary and secondary data as the data shall be easily available. Sampling method: Sampling method refers to the selection of appropriate respondents from among a large population. There are mainly two types of sampling methods. The following are the two types of sampling methods: Probability sampling method Non- probability sampling method According to Panneerselvam (2014), probability sampling refers to the sampling wherein every member of the population has equal chances of being selected as a sample population. On the contrary, non- probability sampling refers to the sampling wherein the researcher selects the sample population on the basis of some criterion. There are unequal chances of selection of the participants in this process. There are mainly two types of data analysis plan. They are as follows: Quantitative Data Analysis Qualitative Data Analysis Quantitative data analysis refers to the analysis wherein the research is conducted through questionnaire survey and involves a large number of respondents. It aids in improving the quality of products and services. On the contrary, qualitative data analysis refers to the analysis wherein a small number of respondents are involved. It usually involves interviews through which the researcher gains in depth knowledge about the views of the respondents (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). Ethical consideration: A researcher is required to follow certain ethical considerations while conducting a research study. Ethical consideration are the consideration, which are compulsory to be followed by the researchers. The researchers are required to ensure that the data collected are safe and must also ensure that he or she shall not disclose any data obtained from any respondent without their consent. In addition, the researcher is also required to ensure that the identity of the respondents is kept confidential. The researcher is also prohibited to force any person to take part in the process of data collection. The respondents are required to participate in the survey willingly. Another major ethical consideration is that the researcher shall use the data obtained during the process only for academic purpose and not for any commercial purpose. Therefore, it is necessary for the researcher to follow the ethical considerations throughout the research study. There are several limitations, which a researcher comes across while conducting a research study. Usually the limitations faced by the researchers involve insufficiency of time and budget. The researcher might face limitations in terms of time and budget in this research process. Time scale or Gantt chart: Activity Months M Dec M Jan M Feb M Mar M Apr M May M June Finalizing the topic Collecting data from secondary sources Forming a layout of the research work Conducting Literature review Forming the research plan Selecting appropriate research methodologies Concluding the Study Designing a rough draft Submitting the Final Work Table 1: Time Line of Research (Source: Created by the author) References: Abidin, M., 2015. Higher Education Quality: Perception Differences among Internal and External Stakeholders.International Education Studies,8(12), pp.185-192. Ayuso, S., Rodrguez, M.A., Garca-Castro, R. and Ario, M.A., 2014. Maximizing stakeholders interests: An empirical analysis of the stakeholder approach to corporate governance.Business society,53(3), pp.414-439. Baker, L., Newell, P. and Phillips, J., 2014. The political economy of energy transitions: The case of South Africa.New Political Economy,19(6), pp.791-818. Brinkmann, S., 2014. Interview. InEncyclopedia of Critical Psychology(pp. 1008-1010). Springer New York. De Brucker, K., Macharis, C. and Verbeke, A., 2013. Multi-criteria analysis and the resolution of sustainable development dilemmas: A stakeholder management approach.European journal of operational research,224(1), pp.122-131. Fassin, Y., Deprez, J., Van den Abeele, A. and Heene, A., 2017. Complementarities Between Stakeholder Management and Participative Management: Evidence From the Youth Care Sector.Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly,46(3), pp.586-606. Flick, U., 2015.Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project. Sage. Fooks, G., Gilmore, A., Collin, J., Holden, C. and Lee, K., 2013. The limits of corporate social responsibility: techniques of neutralization, stakeholder management and political CSR.Journal of Business Ethics,112(2), pp.283-299. Garca-Nieto, A.P., Quintas-Soriano, C., Garca-Llorente, M., Palomo, I., Montes, C. and Martn-Lpez, B., 2015. Collaborative mapping of ecosystem services: The role of stakeholders? profiles.Ecosystem Services,13, pp.141-152. Glesne, C., 2015.Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Pearson. Golini, R., Kalchschmidt, M. and Landoni, P., 2015. Adoption of project management practices: the impact on international development projects of non-governmental organizations.International Journal of Project Management,33(3), pp.650-663. Hammerschmid, G., Van de Walle, S. and Stimac, V., 2013. Internal and external use of performance information in public organizations: results from an international survey.Public Money Management,33(4), pp.261-268. Inam, A., Adamowski, J., Halbe, J. and Prasher, S., 2015. Using causal loop diagrams for the initialization of stakeholder engagement in soil salinity management in agricultural watersheds in developing countries: A case study in the Rechna Doab watershed, Pakistan.Journal of environmental management,152, pp.251-267. Kazadi, K., Lievens, A. and Mahr, D., 2016. Stakeholder co-creation during the innovation process: Identifying capabilities for knowledge creation among multiple stakeholders.Journal of Business Research,69(2), pp.525-540. Kelly, J., Male, S. and Graham, D., 2014.Value management of construction projects. John Wiley Sons. Kerzner, H., 2013.Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Kovacs, M., Dragomir, M., Maslova, M., Petrasova, A. and Lekovic, D., 2015. Stakeholders engagement in developing and implementing effective local family literacy policies. Lawrence, A.T. and Weber, J., 2014.Business and society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015.Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge. Marais, H., 2013.South Africa pushed to the limit: The political economy of change. Zed Books Ltd.. Marks, S. and Trapido, S., 2014.The politics of race, class and nationalism in twentieth century South Africa. Routledge. Maylor, H., Blackmon, K. and Huemann, M., 2016.Researching business and management. Palgrave. Mir, F.A. and Pinnington, A.H., 2014. Exploring the value of project management: linking project management performance and project success.International journal of project management,32(2), pp.202-217. Missonier, S. and Loufrani-Fedida, S., 2014. Stakeholder analysis and engagement in projects: From stakeholder relational perspective to stakeholder relational ontology.International Journal of Project Management,32(7), pp.1108-1122. Mok, K.Y., Shen, G.Q. and Yang, J., 2015. Stakeholder management studies in mega construction projects: A review and future directions.International Journal of Project Management,33(2), pp.446-457. Panneerselvam, R., 2014.Research methodology. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.. Sierra?Garca, L., Zorio?Grima, A. and Garca?Benau, M.A., 2015. Stakeholder engagement, corporate social responsibility and integrated reporting: an exploratory study.Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management,22(5), pp.286-304. Silverman, D. ed., 2016.Qualitative research. Sage. Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015.Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley Sons. Verbeke, A. and Tung, V., 2013. The future of stakeholder management theory: A temporal perspective.Journal of Business Ethics,112(3), pp.529-543. Walker, A., 2015.Project management in construction. John Wiley Sons. Weiss, J.W., 2016. Business Ethics: A Stakeholder Issues Management Approach, 2014.Cyrus Chronicle Journal,1(1), pp.66-69. Yang, R.J., 2014. An investigation of stakeholder analysis in urban development projects: Empirical or rationalistic perspectives.International Journal of Project Management,32(5), pp.838-849.