WACE Business — Unit 3
Stakeholders — Flashcards & Quiz
Stakeholders are any individuals or groups with an interest in a business's decisions. WACE Business Unit 3 expects you to classify stakeholders, identify their interests and potential conflicts, and evaluate strategies for managing competing demands. Strong answers apply stakeholder analysis to a case study, quantify impact where possible, and link decisions to corporate social responsibility and ethics.
Key Points
- Internal stakeholders: owners/shareholders, managers, employees.
- External stakeholders: customers, suppliers, government, community, competitors, creditors.
- Conflicting interests: shareholders want profit, employees want wages, community wants sustainability.
- Stakeholder mapping (power-interest grid) prioritises attention — manage closely, keep satisfied, keep informed, monitor.
- Management strategies: communication, consultation, negotiation, transparency, CSR reporting.
- CSR frames stakeholder obligations as strategic rather than optional.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Confusing internal and external stakeholders — employees are internal, customers external.
- Treating stakeholders as a list without analysing power and interest.
- Ignoring trade-offs — satisfying one group often costs another.
- Forgetting to link stakeholder management to business objectives.
- Assuming transparency resolves all conflicts — some conflicts need negotiation or compromise.
Exam Strategy
WACE Unit 3 stakeholder questions typically give a case and ask you to analyse interests and recommend management. Method: (1) identify stakeholders and classify internal vs external, (2) analyse their interests and power, (3) identify conflicts, (4) recommend specific strategies with case evidence, (5) evaluate ethical and CSR considerations.
Sample Flashcards
Q1: Identify the key stakeholders of a business and explain how their interests may conflict.
Key stakeholders: owners/shareholders (profit, growth), employees (fair wages, job security), customers (quality, value), suppliers (reliable payment), government (tax compliance, regulation), community (employment, environmental protection), creditors (loan repayment). Conflicts arise because satisfying one group may disadvantage another.
Sample Quiz Questions
Q1: Stakeholders are only the people who own shares in a business.
Answer: FALSE
Stakeholders include ALL groups affected by the business — employees, customers, suppliers, government, community, creditors and shareholders.
Revision Tip
Stakeholder classification, mapping and management strategies are core recall — drill them on Revizi and rehearse applying them to case studies for exam-speed analysis.
Related Concepts
Last updated: March 2026 · 1 flashcards · 1 quiz questions