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9781906093150

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Stakeholder Politics can make a real difference to your business. R. Edward Freeman When corporate management tries to engage with stakeholders, they often encounter a world of hardball politics full of hostile activists, self-interested elites and unpredictable attacks. This 'how to' guide teaches managers how to both play stakeholder politics and collaborate with stakeholders towards sustainability goals - and identify and improve the social capital patterns in their own networks.

Laying out an easy-to-follow guide on how to achieve and maintain political legitimacy on environmental matters, this title champions sustainable development and attaining good relationships in the process. Devised and written by a highly experienced researcher and environmental consultant, readers are presented with Robert Boutilier's approach as he outlines ways in which to benefit from stakeholder networking and targeting sustainability. Case studies of companies that have followed the approach highlight the successes to be gained. This title is useful for environmental academics and managers alike. The Environmentalist 77 (5 May 2009)

Laying out an easy-to-follow guide on how to achieve and maintain political legitimacy on environmental matters, this title champions sustainable development and attaining good relationships in the process. Devised and written by a highly experienced researcher and environmental consultant, readers are presented with Robert Boutilier's approach as he outlines ways in which to benefit from stakeholder networking and targeting sustainability. Case studies of companies that have followed the approach highlight the successes to be gained. This title is useful for environmental academics and managers alike. The Environmentalist 77 (5 May 2009) Many companies struggle with the many different, often conflicting, components of stakeholder politics and often suffer at the hands of cross plays within groupings and power structures. This book explains the hows and whys of those politics, with case studies, and empowers the reader to understand the dynamics and therefore be better placed to manage the dissent, disagreement and disillusionment. I recall a particularly tough stakeholder meeting at mine where I was involved and an exasperated manager came out of the meeting and barked, I'm a miner, not a b*!%^y social worker! . His frustration came from a confusion and lack of understanding of the perspectives of his stakeholders. Bouilier starts by asking why corporations should care about sustainable development and then gradually moves through sustainability performance measurements, stakeholder relationships, social capital explanation, through to the mapping of values, priorities and issues and finally arrives at inter-sectoral complementarity ... (or, in plain English, stakeholders appreciating each others' role, function and needs.) He uses physical networks to explain and understand conflict and cooperation between different stakeholder groups and uses some excellent case studies to illustrate his logic. He summarises each chapter carefully and poses some focussed and searching questions at the end of each chapter to enable the reader to take his own situation and experience and put it into perspective. Recommended for Social responsibility, Community Affairs or Sustainable Managers. This may not be every sustainability or environmental practitioner's cup of tea but for those who deal with community groups and political stakeholders, there will be many points that ring true and a few others which may cause the little light bulb in the head to go on with a distinct ping! -- Arend Hoogervorst Eagle Bulletin Vol 19 No. 1 (July 2009)

Author Information

ROBERT BOUTILIER PhD, Centre for Sustainable Community Development, Canada, is a leading expert in how companies can promote community development. Robert developed 'Stakeholder360' for measuring social capital in a company's relationships with its stakeholders.

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