EGN 3615 UCF Breeding Practices Dairy Business Stakeholder Analysis Essay

Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is to:

1. identify a stakeholder audiences that will impact or be impacted by your project in some way
   • a stakeholder is any person or group who would be impacted by your project and the decisions made as part of the project planning and implementation, including private citizens, nonprofit organizations, small businesses, etc.
2. assess how you will communicate with this stakeholder
3. contribute specific information to your team project

Overview:

In addition to identifying and analyzing project costs and benefits, project planning also requires identifying potential stakeholders who may be positively or negatively impacted by or interested in your project. This identification step may take place repeatedly throughout a project as you find that new stakeholder groups become impacted or interested in some way, but the sooner you can identify stakeholders, the sooner you can consider their perspectives and begin planning communications with them. Stakeholders can often be identified through the assessment of project costs, which is why this step is positioned second in this assignment.

Required Content and Structure

1. Problem Statement and Solution

As part of this assignment, you will develop a problem statement and a solution statement. The problem statement and solution must be clearly and directly connected, with the proposed solution clearly and directly alleviating the stated problem in some way.

You will specifically direct your problem statement and solution statement to your stakeholder audience. Although the problem and solution will not change from audience to audience, the way you describe and relate the problem and your solution must be targeted to your stakeholder audience to achieve the best outcomes.

For Example

A proposal for a new community recreation park and nature preserve that includes a playground, splash pad, dog park, nature trails, exercise trails, sidewalks, an outdoor restaurant, pavilions, a campground, and water access has a wide range of stakeholders. The project managers will discuss their justifications for this project differently with different groups. Consider the different perspectives of the stakeholder audiences below, and think about how the project rationale and approach would be discussed differently depending on each stakeholder audience’s particular priorities and concerns. Nature and wildlife conservancy organizations will have a particular set of concerns and priorities related to new construction, runoff, foot traffic, etc., and will need to know why the project is important (e.g., what is this project solving/helping?), and how your approach positively impacts the natural areas and wildlife that the recreation park encroaches on. Local government officials will have some overlapping concerns and priorities, as well as some distinct priorities and concerns about some similar topics. This stakeholder audience will need to consider costs, leases, land use surveys, patron safety, potential local economic impacts, and public health and safety concerns and precautions (e.g., sanitation, restroom facilities, bears, etc.). Community members will have a variety of overlapping concerns with conservancy organizations and government officials, depending on their perspectives, backgrounds. This stakeholder group will also have a variety of interests, concerns, and priorities about the park, which may include topics such as increased traffic to the park through adjacent neighborhoods (and the related need for new sidewalks, stop signs, speed bumps, etc. to improve pedestrian and road safety), hours of operation, patron safety, accessibility, noise levels, and property value. Even though each of these stakeholders requires different kinds of information and assurances about the impacts (i.e., the costs and benefits) of the project, the project itself and the overarching rationale of and approach to the project (i.e., problem statement and solution) do not change.

At the top of your submission, include a problem statement (~1-2 paragraphs) followed by a description of your engineering solution (~1 paragraph). Students’ problem statements and solutions must be written individually — this is not a collaborative assignment.

**Remember, the problem statement and solution must be clearly and directly connected, with the proposed solution clearly and directly alleviating the stated problem in some way.**

2. Potential Stakeholder

Provide citations throughout.

1. Identify 1 specific potential stakeholder associated with your project
   • Your stakeholder must be specific.
     • “Farmers” is not specific enough
     • “Dairy farms” is acceptably narrow
     • but “independently owned dairy farms,” or a specific business like “M&B Products” is even better
   • Although “Tampa Bay Area citizens” sounds very broad, they are a specific subsection of Florida citizenry who may be similarly impacted by your project
     • However, the broader the stakeholder group, the more difficult the analysis.
     • Instead, you might focus on a particular subsection of Tampa Bay citizens, such as “Tampa Bay Area children.” A more narrow focus will allow you to focus your analysis in a specific way.
2. Research your stakeholder and identify the following (use full sentences):

1. Stakeholder background and cultural considerations (~2 paragraphs)

• • • Provide an overview of your stakeholder’s background. Offer clear, specific information that provides a holistic sketch of your stakeholder. For example:
      • • Example:
          • Founded in 1930 by George Jenkins, Publix is currently owned by X and has a net worth of y, with ___ of their ___ stores located in Florida. Publix is the x-ranked/sized food retailer in Tampa, with x-number of stores in the city serving approximately y-number of people. Publix’s values and philanthropy includes x, y, and z.Publix was recognized by the state of Florida for their outstanding commitment to ___ in 2008, and were nationally recognized in ____, _____, and _____ by the non-profit organization Feeding America for their local and statewide contributions and continued dedication to ending hunger in their communities.
          • Concerning culture, Publix’s corporate culture can be summed up by this sentence from the “About” page on their website: “Taking care of our customers, communities and each other is still what Publix is all about.” Publix’s community outreach, focus on sustainability, and belief in people and their potential strongly shapes Publix’s business practices and decision making. Publix believes that their employees make the business, and that the communities shape the people, so Publix not only trains, supports, and promotes from within, they also invest time and money in employees and their communities. As a result, Publix tackles global issues at a local level through civic engagement and sustainable practices.
      • Remember that “culture” includes multiculturalism and cocultures, and that you cannot simply assume that a person, group, company, region, etc. will think, act, or value the things that you believe are most important to the dominant culture. The perspectives of your stakeholders may be very different from yours.

2. Stakeholder interest

• • • Problem: Why does this stakeholder care about the problem as articulated in your problem statement? How are they impacted by the problem as articulated in your problem statement? (~2-4 sentences/~50-100 words)
    • Solution: Will the stakeholder find your solution clear, familiar, and easy to understand? Why? If the solution is outside of this stakeholder’s likely realm of understanding, what will you do to make your solution more concrete and easy to understand? (~2-4 sentences/~50-100 words)
    • Cultural Considerations: What cultural considerations discussed in A above might shape this stakeholder’s interest, or affect the way they understand the problem or perceive the proposed solution?

3. Probable stakeholder attitude toward the project (positive, negative, neutral, adversarial, competitive, etc.) and why (~2-5 sentences/~50-125 words)

4. Include one cost that you think may be particularly important to the stakeholder, and why (~1-3 sentences/~25-75 words)

• • • • • Draw from the bank of costs created by your team in the Costs & Benefits assignment (due last week). To answer “Why,” consider the descriptions provided and how your chosen stakeholder may relate to or interpret the provided facts/explanations/descriptions.

5. Include one benefit that you think may be particularly important to the stakeholder, and why (~1-3 sentences/~25-75 words)

• • • • • Draw from the bank of benefits created by your team in the Costs & Benefits assignment (due last week). To answer “Why,” consider the descriptions provided and how your chosen stakeholder may relate to or interpret the provided facts/explanations/descriptions.

6. Based on your own values and goals, what common-ground do you and the stakeholder share? Explain. (~3-6 sentences/~75-150 word)

• • • • consider shared goals, values, desired outcomes, etc.
      • you can find common ground with any stakeholder, even if you believe they will have a negative or competitive attitude toward your project

7. How might this common ground help you positively connect with the stakeholder? How can this common ground help you develop shared meaning with the stakeholder? (3-6 sentences/~75-150 words)