Recognize the main functional areas within a business
Identify the people and activities within each functional area of a business
Understand the difference between an internal and external stakeholder
Describe stakeholders’ relationship with business organizations
In this video, see if you can recognize workers from different functional areas and stakeholders with different interests. Then answer the questions that follow.
Many service workers experience stressful working conditions. Labor shortages add to the stress because fewer workers are available to handle the same amount of work. Large corporate businesses such as Starbucks and Amazon have experienced efforts by workers to unionize, or organize themselves into a united group. If workers successfully unionize, the labor union then negotiates with the employer through a process called collective bargaining. The goal of the union is to negotiate better pay, benefits, and other working conditions than each worker would be able to achieve by negotiating individually. Management often opposes efforts to unionize because it adds to the cost of doing business. What are some reasons that management should NOT automatically oppose unionizing?
Answers to this question will vary. Some might argue that a union’s ability to negotiate higher wages and better working conditions will lead to better employee morale and lower turnover because workers are more likely to stay at their jobs. This reduces the cost of finding, hiring, and training new employees.