ステークホルダStakeholder

Learn in the textbookProject Structure and Key Roles

DefinitionA stakeholder (ステークホルダ, also 利害関係者) is any person or organization that affects, or is affected by, how a project is run or how it turns out.

ExplanationPeople working inside the project are parties to it just as outside users and funders are, because their workload and evaluation shift with the outcome. Different positions bring different expectations of the project, and these sometimes clash. The project manager learns early who expects what and mediates between them.

AnalogyWith road works, the parties affected are not only the construction company but also neighbors forced to take detours and shops whose frontage is dug up.

Memory hookA stake is a wager or a share put in, and to have a stake in something means to have an interest in how it turns out. Read stakeholders as people with something riding on the result, and it is clear why insiders and outsiders both count.

Learn in the textbookCorporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Initiatives

DefinitionStakeholder (ステークホルダ) is a collective term for the interested parties who are affected by a company's activities or who affect the company.

ExplanationBesides shareholders, they include employees, customers, business partners, the local community, government bodies and others. Under CSR, a company is responsible to all of these stakeholders.

AnalogyWhen a neighborhood festival is held, everyone affected becomes a party to it: not just the organizers, but the stall holders, the residents who join in, and even the nearby homes that can hear the noise.

Memory hookRead it as someone who holds a stake (an interest, or a bet), that is, someone who has something riding on how the company fares.