(a)The business scenario
Best Game productions being a highly rated gaming company, schemes to launch a game to the customers during the holiday season. The customers are so eager to see the game launch and purchase it and are thus waiting on the date of release as advertised. With the ongoing holiday and growing popularity of the game, Best Game Production would most likely secure huge profits and eliminate competition from other gaming companies. To keep the fans eager about the game, the company summons reviewers to test a pseudo version of the game and give the customers response. One of the reviewers, however, notices a bug in the game and immediately reports it. The bug poses a big problem putting the company in a very difficult position.
This is because, if the game is released, the customers will be disappointed with the quality of the game. If the company decides to work on removing the bug and postpones the release date, the customers will buy games from other companies, thus losing loyalty to Best Game Productions’ games. Another aftermath of delaying the release date is that the company will incur great losses, especially with more money being spent to pull down the advertisements. The CEO of the company owes the shareholders a solution to the problem and if not, the company will have to look for a way to compensate their money. All the departments in the company are affected by this bug in one way or the other. Various teams have to be allocated sudden emergency roles to help handle the problem, though it seems the problem is too large for the company to fathom.
(b)Internal and External stakeholders
The stakeholders in the company are so many. The internal stakeholders, however, have more roles to play as appertains to the growth of the business and dealing with the business risks. Each stakeholder, however, is accountable for the companies’ profits and losses. The following statement shows the internal stakeholders with a brief description of their roles in the company (Abidin, M. 2015). First is the board members who include the CEO, head of finance, overall manager, among many other different positions. The CEO oversees all operations in the company, and he does more of monitoring than actual working or coding. The finance officer is responsible for handling all the financial necessities of the business. He, more than anybody else, should be trustworthy and reliable. The overall manager oversees the responsibilities of the employees, both junior and seniors alike. Former board members also are included in the list of internal stakeholders. Former board members are people like the retired CEOs and managers, as well as those that have been demoted or maybe resigned or fired. Third, are the staff members who include all the employees (Brem, A., & Viardot, E. 2015). The employees in a gaming company include the following; producers, product managers, artists that give the game content, testers for the game, programmers that actualize the game code and managers that handle every business transaction, and lastly, the employees in lower positions such as the cleaners, etc. Other members of the internal stakeholders are the volunteers and the companies’ donors.
External stakeholders include the following; the members of the community who may be partners and others may also aid in marketing. The companies’ clients also play a significant role in the business since they give the company validity and a good name outside. The gaming company cannot operate alone. It needs aid from other companies and organizations. This makes the leaders of the other organizations external stakeholders, especially if the organizations are nonprofit or private. When other organizations receive service by the gaming company, the members of the served organization or group also deserved to be branded as External stakeholders.
3
The business scenario at Best Game Productions generally affects everybody who links with the business. It however, affects stakeholders the most, both external and internal. The internal stakeholders are affected the most. Depending on the decision made regarding the game release, the employees, mostly those that do not have a critical role, may be laid off or even lose part of their salaries (Abidin, M. 2015). If the company decides to postpone the release date, huge losses may occur since the holiday comes with a large number of customers meaning more money from sales. If the company decides to work twice or thrice as much to correct the bug before the release date, the workers, from the CEO to the lowest paid employee will have to work under so much pressure. Working under pressure may demotivate the employees, and some of them may even acquire health complications. Under such pressure, losing any of the employees may affect the companies’ progress immensely. The board members, under the current circumstances, experience a lot of tension since the decision they make affects not only them but also all customers and stakeholders, both internal and external. Any wrong or miscalculated decision may lead to huge losses and may even result in bankruptcy in the business. When the business runs bankrupt, then the rate of unemployment in the community increases.
The external stakeholders are affected just as much as the internal stakeholders only that it is indirect. The community may suffer from fear of unemployment. Clients and organizational heads may also suffer losses in their investments (Pinheiro, R. 2015). The scenario in the business generally affects the external stakeholders, especially those who closely tied to the company.
4
The stakeholders are driven by different motivations needs and perceptions. Their many needs include the following; first, like stakeholders in any company, they need a raise in salary. If the game does not sell during the holiday, the chances of that happening are very low. They also need better health insurance that is catered for by the company (Korschun, D. 2015). The stakeholders also need to be involved in the major business operations since their feedback may be very important especially when their ideas are combines and implemented. Lastly, the stakeholders need hope when the company is undergoing a crisis, such as those that the bug is causing.
The stakeholders also need motivation. Motivations may include being rewarded for any good progress. Second, the stakeholders, mostly employees, may be motivated if they get random time offs. This helps them think and get new energy to work. Promotions and employment may also motivate both the external and internal stakeholders.
Stakeholders perceive a lot of ideas. These ideas include; they think that working together may result in better results. Generally, the perception of stakeholders is that the company will honor their needs and find better ways of motivation. It is a combined effort of all these stakeholders’ needs motivations and perceptions that help stabilize the companies and make them suitable for all conditions, including readiness to handle emergencies such as the bug issue in Best Game Productions.