To identify a stakeholder’s specific interest, name the group, then state what that group gains or risks from this decision. “Employees want more money” could be written about any business. “The two evening staff want to know whether midnight hours are paid as overtime” could only be written about one.
This skill appears in almost every case question in objectives and stakeholders, and it is the base for the harder lessons that follow.
What counts as a stakeholder, and what counts as an interest?
A stakeholder is any person or group affected by what a business does. Common groups are owners, employees, customers, suppliers, lenders such as banks, the local community and the government.
An interest is what that group wants from a decision, or what it stands to lose. The same group can have different interests in different decisions. A supplier gains from a bigger order, but the same supplier risks late payment if the business is short of cash.
How do you write a specific interest?
- Find the decision in the case. Stakeholders only matter in relation to something the business is doing.
- List who is affected, starting with the people the case actually mentions.
- Ask what each group gains or risks from that decision.
- Write one sentence that includes a detail from the case and a direction (gain or risk).
Worked example
Kopi Seri Aman is a kopitiam in Seremban. The owner plans to stay open until midnight instead of 10 pm.
The case says two evening staff work there, families live in the flats above, and a supplier delivers coffee beans and milk twice a week. The owner estimates extra revenue of RM180 a night and extra wages of RM60 a night.
Step 1, the decision: extending opening hours by two hours.
Step 2, who is affected: the owner, the evening staff, the residents upstairs, the supplier.
Step 3 and 4, interest in one sentence each:
| Stakeholder | General (weak) | Specific (strong) |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Wants profit | Hopes RM180 extra revenue covers RM60 extra wages, leaving RM120 a night before other costs |
| Evening staff | Want job security | Want to know whether the two extra hours are paid, and how they get home at midnight |
| Residents | Want peace | Risk noise from customers below their homes late at night |
| Supplier | Wants sales | May gain larger orders of beans and milk if evenings become busier |
Check: 180 − 60 = 120, so the owner’s gain is RM120 a night before other costs such as electricity. The case gives no other costs, so the answer states that limit.
The mistake to watch for
The most common slip is giving every stakeholder the same interest.
Mistaken answer: “Staff, customers and the owner all want the kopitiam to be successful.”
This is true of almost any stakeholder in any case, so it earns no credit for application.
The correction is to ask three things: who exactly, what exactly, and what does this decision change for them? Replace “want it to be successful” with the pay, the noise or the delivery size that the case mentions.
Check yourself
1. Roti Canai Pak Din, a stall outside a school in Ipoh, raises the price of one roti canai from RM1.50 to RM1.80. State one specific interest of the regular student customers.
Show answer
The students risk paying RM0.30 more for each roti canai, since 1.80 − 1.50 = 0.30. That is a 20% rise (0.30 ÷ 1.50 = 0.2). A strong answer says students on a small allowance may buy fewer pieces or go elsewhere.
2. “The bank wants the business to succeed.” Is this a specific interest? If not, improve it for a bank that lent RM40,000 to a bakery.
Show answer
It is not specific. A better version: the bank wants the bakery to earn enough cash each month to repay the RM40,000 loan with interest on schedule, so it is interested in whether the new decision strains the bakery’s cash.
3. In the Kopi Seri Aman case, the local council is not mentioned. Why might it still be a stakeholder, and what should a student check before claiming this?
Show answer
The council may be affected if its licence conditions limit opening hours or noise. Because the case does not say so, a careful answer would present it as a possibility, not a fact, and base the claim only on information in the case.
Where this leads next
Once you can write one precise interest per group, you are ready to see how two interests, or two objectives, pull against each other in explaining a conflict between two objectives. The cash versus profit bridge shows why an owner’s interest in profit is not the same as an interest in cash.
If you know the content but your answers still read as general, that pattern is exactly what our teachers look for in online one-to-one Business tuition.