Key Stakeholders of Sara Lee Company

Stakeholders are often considered the lifeline of a company. They share a common interest in the health and well being of a company and often support a company financially and morally. Within any organization key stakeholders include individuals and groups within the organization that have a ‘stake' in the well-being or overall success of the organization. Stakeholder's aim is to make sure a company deliver positive results and remain viable through its product and service offerings. Stakeholders often have much say in an organizations daily functioning. They may influence the products or services that a company offers and may influence programs or organizational systems. Key stakeholders at Sara Lee come primarily from within the company. They key players at Sara Lee include members of management and employees but also some external clients including suppliers. Other stakeholders that may share a vested interest in the company include community members, investors, internal and external customers and even board members. Each of these groups has a different ‘stake' in the company. For example a supplier group interested in the well being of the company include a group of roughly 5,000 farmers that provide coffee, banana, beans and vanilla to the company from Uganda (Sara Lee, 2005). These stakeholders will continue to profit as long as Sara Lee continues to do well and continues to utilize their services. Since Sara Lee's product market is so diverse and includes food, apparel and household brands (Singh, 2003) the company's stakeholder base is quite large. The multinational corporation has key stakeholders in many other countries across the globe including employees and managers in Europe possibly India in the near future. Joint ventures and acquisitions over time have also increased Sara Lee's stakeholder base to include representatives from companies partnering with Sara Lee such as Consolidated Grocers Corporation, Oxford Chemical Corporation, Adams-Mills Corporation, Nutri-Metics, and Hills Bros. and more (Singh, 2003). As Sara Lee continues to grow and acquire other companies its key stakeholder base will continue to grow. Other important members include board members and investors in the company, as well as the corporation's top managers including the CEO and COO of the company (Singh, 2003). As long as net sales continue to reach new heights, which they do, the company can rest assured that the majority of their stakeholder's interests will be met time and time again. Shareholders are also important stakeholders at Sara Lee (Singh, 2003). The company's shareholder base continues to grow as the company continues to expand into global markets. While internal stakeholders may help provide balance and insight into ongoing operations, external stakeholders including suppliers are equally important because they can information management of emerging challenges or trends within the industry that may have to be overcome. Organizations partnering with Sara Lee may also be considered stakeholders in the organization. The founder of the company Nathan Cummings is also a key stakeholder in the company that continually invests toward the companies continuing success and future (Singh, 2003). Even HP Corporation may be considered a key stakeholder in Sara Lee's success. HP Corporation currently supplies Sara Lee with services and support for more than 300 computer based systems and telecom networks (HP, 2005).