Introduction

An individual or  Group   which has direct or indirect stake in a  project  that can affect or  affected by the  actions, objectives  and decisions  of the Project can be  identified as   Stakeholders.  Accordingly Creditors, Customers, Directors, Employees, Owners or Shareholders, Suppliers, Trade unions, Government  and its Agencies  are all included under  the expression  of Stakeholders. Stakeholder  can be  anyone who has  interest in the  project   or will be affected by its  dealings. Project Managers have to   realize the values and issues that stakeholders have in order to  involve everyone in the project. The sooner these issues are addressed positively  the better it is for the smooth functioning  and progress of the Project.

Different Stakeholders

Stakeholders are not  equal  and  various stakeholders are  entitled to   different  considerations. As an example  company’s customers who comprise part of the stakeholders  are entitled to  fair  trading deals but  they are not entitled to  the same consideration as the Project  employees.

Stakeholder management

To put it into its context, stakeholder management is vital in order to  achieve  objectives of any Project.   Creating  positive relationships with  stakeholders and  proper  management  is a most unique feature  which has pivotal importance   in   contemporary business environment.

Stakeholder Map

A stakeholder map is a supportive  document  in order to identify  each and every  stakeholder. This   will ease the stakeholder management process. Recognizing   stakeholders  according to the influence or  impact they can make on the project  will also be helpful in the  management of stakeholders.

Stakeholder Agreement

 It is primarily focused at getting to know  each other  and engagement is the opportunity to  discuss and  agree  to a set of values and principles. It is necessary that  all stakeholders  to   abide by them. Stakeholder agreement is a document of consensus  between and among  stakeholders. 

Managing Expectations

Stakeholder management is the process of managing  expectation of stakeholders who have interest in the Project. Stakeholders commitments is a  vital fact  and it is the value that galvanize diverse entities so that each and everyone  can work together like a family for mutual benefit.  Again commitment is the force that drives the relationships forward  to the desired  goal  which lead to growth and profitability and  to  get  the project  off on the right foot.

Skills

The most obvious  example is sales skills which  can be  sustained  to  continue to build   the relationships  and trust with the stakeholders. Building relationships is an   important  as the   outstanding success and dismal failure of the project depends on stakeholders  to  trust  so that  they will deliver the goods   at the right  time in the right way.

Managing  Expectations

Managing stakeholders  means managing their  needs and expectations.  This is  easier  in the event   good relationships are developed with  stakeholders. Running a  successful   project requires a high degree of stakeholder management.

Stakeholder Influence  

Stakeholder  influence is an important factor  and in this context   what is significant is the power and influence that a stakeholder has over the project objectives.
Stakeholders desire to exert influence  should be combined with their ability to exert influence on the  project. The stakeholders  can disturb  the project  plans and  cause uncertainty .

Different Stakeholders

The reality is that stakeholders are no  equal  in terms of their influence. As  an example Senior manager  has more influence than  ordinary employee. In the same manner,   a person  with more company shares  has  a greater influence than a small shareholder. Banks have a considerable impact on project facing cash flow problems, yet this is not important to a large Project. A  big customer exerts more influence  than  small customer. Employees are able to   increase their power and influence  as stakeholders by  uniting under  trade unions.

Communication

Project Manager    should communicate with all stakeholders to discover and manage their expectations  prior to implementation and  during the execution of  the project  in order to  steer clear a project to take it on the right track.  One of the key elements of stakeholder management  is the  influencing  ability to  affect actions,  beliefs and attitudes of others to ensure that  people  support project goals.

Pictures and Symbols

Advertisements are an obvious example of how people can be influenced. Pictures. symbols  and images are extremely influential,  as some  people  ignore words, so that Project Manager should use more pictures, images and symbols  when communicating with  stakeholders of the Project. Project Manager to outline a plan in order to  increase support and minimize disturbances.

Participation of Stakeholders

Stakeholder  group could include individuals from a certain geographic location  or individuals with a specific interests. Level of participation by the key stakeholders  should also be monitored by the Project Manager. Unless a  project  truly engages its stakeholders, it will be paying some of its employees to  success and the rest to resist it. Good stakeholder managerment is    fundamental to the ability of a project  to  change. It is necessary to manage  stakeholders in a sensitive and positive way from  the moment the project starts throughout the  closure of the project.

Stakeholder Analysis

When a project is  being implemented   more and more people are affected. Some of these people have the  authority to  undermine the project. Stakeholder management is a process by which to  identify  key stakeholders and  get their support.  First stage of this is  stakeholder analysis. In this analysis it can be  realized that who are the most important stakeholders.  Subsequent step is to prioritize  and categorize  them by  their power and interest.  Final step is to  understand and  motivate  stakeholders and   to get their support. Stakeholder analysis is the technique to be  utilized to recognize  the key people who have to be  won.

Success of the Project

Management of stakeholders   is  crucial to the success of  every project.  By engaging the right  people in right place in the project, it is possible to  make a big difference.  Stakeholders  could be strong  supporters of the project or they could block or obstruct the smooth functioning. That is why Stakeholder management is a vital  and  successful people utilize it to  gain support from  each and everyone. It  helps to ensure that with proper stakeholder management,  project  succeeds while  others fail.   

Conclusion

Project stakeholder management is not going to be easy task.  Having some knowledge of human behaviours can help Project Manager  to use the most appropriate communication strategy, tools and techniques. One of the key elements of project stakeholder management is the use of influence and  the ability to affect the actions, beliefs and attitudes of other people  to ensure that  stakeholders  support   the  project.  Underlying the fact and it is necessary to  use stakeholder planning to  facilitate and   pave the for ultimate  success of the Project. It takes  determination and clear thinking for this unique achievement.