This question has two parts; be sure to answer both. First, what are external stakeholders? Next, imagine you are the manager of an art gallery, Diaspora, whose mission is to show (and sell) art by marginalized populations, such as the homeless or undocumented immigrants. Describe at least three of Diaspora's external stakeholders in the task environment.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

External stakeholders are people or groups in the organization's external environment that are affected by it. This environment consists of the task environment and the general environment. The external task environment consists of 11 groups that present a manager with daily tasks to handle customers, competitors, suppliers, distributors, strategic allies, employee organizations, local communities, financial institutions, government regulators, special-interest groups, and mass media.

Here are examples of how Diaspora might interact with its external stakeholders in the task environment.

Diaspora's customers are individuals who wish to purchase art; customers may also be corporations or nonprofits that want to display art in their offices.

Diaspora's competitors are other art galleries, and in general any other place where people or corporations can purchase art.

Diaspora's suppliers are the artists themselves, who supply the paintings, sketches, sculptures, and crafts that Diaspora sells.

Diaspora is a single gallery, so it likely does not have any distributors; however, it may use smaller galleries (for example, those in tourist areas) to display and sell some of its art.

Diaspora's strategic allies may include artists' organizations, the local chamber of commerce, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, all of which seek to further the interests of artists and to make art a part of everyday life.

As a single gallery, Diaspora likely is not unionized, so it probably does not have to deal with employee organizations.
Diaspora's local community is the city or neighborhood in which it is located; but the gallery's reach may extend beyond the immediate community by offering to display and sell work by artists who were (for example) born in the state or who live their now.

Diaspora's financial institutions include a commercial bank in which it deposits cash and holds its money, and from which it writes and cashes checks.

As an art gallery, Diaspora is likely not subject to government regulation. It may work with special-interest groups of artists to ensure that their work is represented at the gallery, and it will certainly have (or seek to develop relationships with) the mass media in order to market and publicize upcoming shows and artists. The gallery will also likely have a presence on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and will actively seek friends and followers—all with the goal of getting the word out and selling more art.