Developing Collaborative Relationships: Stakeholder Management, Cross-Functional Working, and Negotiating Difficult Conversations

This report from Desklib explores the importance of stakeholder management, cross-functional working, and negotiating difficult conversations in developing collaborative relationships. Using Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC as a case study, the report examines strategies for stakeholder management, the benefits of cross-functional working, and the impact of collaborative working with internal and external stakeholders. The report also includes a stakeholder matrix and recommendations for negotiating with stakeholders.

DEVELOPING
COLLABORATIVE
RELATIONSHIPS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
Significantly scrutinise the conceptualization of stakeholder management and engagement
with a view to distinguish the strategies for amendments. .........................................................3
Evaluate cross-functional working in delivery of positive results for the business. ...................6
Examine the impinging of collaborative working and negotiating the difficult conversations
with internal and external stakeholders of the company. ............................................................8
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
The collaborative relationships take place when two or more than two people work
together with an objective of the accomplishments and the attainment of the specified goals and
objectives. The workplace collaborations are mandatory for the assurance of effective
completion of the tasks that are specifically designed for the respective individuals. When the
situations become complex, the effectual utilization of the conception of collaboration becomes
significant. The report deals with the analysis of the stakeholder management in a deliberative
manner (Amiri, King and Duesing, 2022). The delivery of the positive results in respect to the
cross functional working and also a scrutiny of the impact through the collaborative working
with the difficult internal and the external stakeholders of an organsiation. The company that is
chosen for the analysis is Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, which is an influential British
Multinational Consumer goods company with its H.Q. in Slough, England.
Significantly scrutinise the conceptualization of stakeholder management and engagement with a
view to distinguish the strategies for amendments.
Before understanding the approaches to the stakeholder management, it is important to
understand the actual meaning of the word ‘stakeholders’ The types can be distinguished into
two varied categories, the internal and the external stakeholders. The internal stakeholders have a
direct influence over the functioning of the company and it comprise of the owners, employees,
managers and the shareholders of the company. The external stakeholders have an ancillary
connexion in the company and include the trade unions, customers, suppliers, creditors and the
government authorities. The stakeholders should not be misunderstood with the shareholders of
the company. the stakeholders are the ones who have an interest in the know-how of the
company and keeps a track over how well the company performs in the market, whereas the
shareholders of the company own significant parts or share of the respective company (Belyaeva,
Petrosyan and Shams, 2022).
The effective stakeholder management is crucial and imperative for the successful completion of
the projects. When the stakeholders are not managed appropriately, the project can face the
consequences which could result into the delay of the assignment, drainage of the resources or
any sough of intervention in respect to the political parties prevalent at the particular period of

time. The critical identification, comprehending towards the necessities of the stakeholders and
the ability to accomplish their expectation can help in the attainment of the targets. Reckitt
Benckiser Group PLC can make use of the significant steps involved in the stakeholder
management process and they can be elaborated furthermore:
Identification of the stakeholders – The projection of the stakeholders in the project is
mandatory which must be distinctly analyzed. The primary goal over here is to produce a large
list which will be selected and prioritize later in the mapping of the stakeholder’s process. The
failure in this step can lead to significant disruption that can harm the position of the project.
This can be done through the interviews with the key influencers or through the social network
analysis (Branch and et. al., 2022).
Figure 1Identification of the stakeholders
Classification of the stakeholders – The interests of the varied categories of stakeholders may
be different and not similar. The correct and the most appropriate classification of them must be
done in order to formulate an approach for the effective management of the expectations that are
determined by these stakeholders. This can be done through the utilisation of a power interest
grid which is useful for the tailoring of the expectations and the interests of the stakeholders.

Figure 2 Power interest’s grid.
The development of the stakeholder management strategy – The definition of the stakeholder
management strategy is mandatory after the effective identification and classification of the
stakeholders by the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC. The plan of action is significant for the
enumeration of the approaches that are mandatory for the outlining of the management
techniques opted by the company (Covello, 2022).
Planning of the stakeholder communication – The utilisation of the approaches, in order to
plan the various communication transferrals that each stakeholder group will be sent, and what
connexion requirements to be received by the project team is critical and important which must
be incorporated by Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC.
Execution of the communication plan – The effective distribution of the performances in the
reports by the management for the establishment of a viable communication plan is necessary for
the attainment of the specified communique goals set by the company. this can be done by the
appropriate management of the expectations and by defining the specific criteria according the
guidelines.
The strategies that can be utilised by the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC for the effectual
stakeholder management can thereby be elucidated in this segment of the study.
The stakeholder mapping – The conduction of the stakeholder analysis is mandatory at an early
stage for the identification of the key factors that are relevant for the needs and the requirements

of the project with in accordance to the interests nd the expectation of the project. The mapping
of theses stakeholders will help Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC in the investigation of the
appropriate resources for the operations (Fearnley and et. al., 2022).
The understanding of the levels of influences – This will help in the predication of the
individual stakeholders in respect to their interaction with the project team. The measurement of
the plausible interaction can be done through the identification of the high, medium and low
scale ranking of the stakeholders. High being the ones who have a significant power in the
influence over the outcomes and low being the minimum ability to impact the changes in the
project’s outcomes.
The identification of the major triggers – The complainants of the stakeholders can be
prevented with the correct and appropriate scrutiny of the relevant triggers that can impact the
behaviour and the reactions of the stakeholders. This could help Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC
for the estimation and the evaluation of these reactions while formulating a strategy for the
corporal venture.
Enumeration of the opportunities – The temptation to focus upon the disruptions that can be
caused by the stakeholders is imperative from the risk management perspective. The
opportunities that can be gathered by the explication of the positive influencers can benefit the
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC’s business in the marketplace.
The proactive mitigation – After the compact understating of the influences, triggers and a
thorough understanding of the stakeholders, the next and the final step that has to be taken by
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC is to develop a mitigation plan. The detailing of the risks
associated with the project must be comprehended in this plan with significant considerations
laid upon the measures, alignment and the inclusion of specific techniques in order to improve
the project for the effective implementation of the plan (Gaur and Tawalare, 2022).
Evaluate cross-functional working in delivery of positive results for the business.
The cross-team collaboration can be understood with the comprehension of brining
varied spheres of the society together for the inclusion of the distinguished and significant
expertise, knowledge and the personal experiences they have in regards to the field of operation
they are assigned to (Zhou and et. al., 2022). The teams are designed with a vison to work

together and attain the objectives of the firms. This particular scope has become the need of the
hour and with the constant emergence of novel advancements in the technological sectors, the
technical difficulties have risen, which has led to the increase in the demand of experts in the
operative fields and this accelerates the scope of cross functional collaboration. The Reckitt
Benckiser Group PLC can extract noteworthy benefits from the cross functional team
collaboration in their company.
Acquirement of better insights – The attainment of the useful insights will prove to be an aid in
the provision of creative and innovative solutions which will enhance the development of the
organization. The delivery of varied view points in regards o the situation can help in the
effective and fast completion of the work (Khanh and Nguyen, 2022). This would help in the
cross collaboration of the group process in the management of the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC.
The engagement of the employees – The shifting form the self-centered assignments towards
the cross collaborations can help in the better engagement of the employees in the projects. This
would help in the derivation of quicker solutions of the problems. The unique set of skills
acquired by the personnel of the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, can thereby prove to be aid in the
better functioning of the operation departments.
The stimulation of innovative ideas – The generation of exceptional ideas form the varied team
members present in the squad can help in the gaining of useful insights for the business. The
different mind sets present in the team can bring variety of option that can be influentially and
effectively utilized by the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC in the policy formulation for the
strategical planning.
The working out of communication skills – Imbibing a cross-functional team refers to the
delivery in a diverse group of people who can advance their attempts and capabilities of
communication by discussing formative responses and apprehension of the diverse contents. This
must be used by the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC for an enhanced version of communique in
the business environment (Liu and et. al., 2022).
The development and management of skills – This particular inclusion will also enable the
growth and ana effectual management of the skills and the expertise of the employees working in
the organsiation. The development of unique and exclusive methods of management styling can

be utilized by Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC in their administration for the conquering the
challenges that can be faced by the management of the company.
The breaking of the stereotype – The extraction of the maximum number of benefits from the
diversity present in the workforce can help in the identification of the strengths and the
weaknesses of the performers. Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, through this, will try to break to
existing stereotype of finding it challenging for the inclusion of cross collaboration in the
management and grab the opportunity of this advantage (Lu and et. al., 2022).
The benefits can only be reaped when the inclusion of certain determinable factors is prominent
in the management of the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC. They can be inclusion of certain aspects
in the operative departments of the organsiation which can be:
 Highly motivated workforce.
 The support of the team.
 The clarity in the priorities.
 The adequacy of communique.
 The elimination of personal conflicts.
Examine the impinging of collaborative working and negotiating the difficult conversations with
internal and external stakeholders of the company.
The management of the stakeholder can be defined as the process of the maintenance of the
relationships with the respective stakeholders of the company through the monitoring and the
organisation of certain essential criteria. The needs and the requirements of the stakeholders of
the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC should be contemplated through the successful identification,
assessment and the prioritization of their expectations. The relative issues that were identified by
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC in their sustainability report for the year 2021. were in terms of the
influence of the climatic changes, the quality and the safety of the products, the wastages in the
packaging, advancement in the global health and the sustainability on the product innovation.
These targets will be significantly analyzed and scrutinized by the collaborative association of
the departments of the company in the coming future (Mishra, Singh and Rana, 2022). The
impact of the stakeholder collaboration can result in the resolution of the pertaining issues of the

company. The considerations of the stakeholders by the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC should be
included in the policy formulation of the strategical approaches and the benefits in this regard are
as follows;
 The discovery of the potent risks.
 The valuable support from the stakeholders.
 The increase in the perception of the quality.
 The reduction in the costs of the project.
 The steadiness in the closure of the projects.
Also, the magisterial quality of the stakeholders can be furthermore elucidated in respect to the
Internal stakeholders – The governance of this peculiar segment is often times difficult. It is
quite challenging to determine the actualized client, as certain times they are the representative
of that organization. Within this organization, there are whole lot of subordinates who are
employed under the entity and they very well can influence the ongoing project.
Figure Internal Stakeholders
External stakeholders – They are not the straightforward influence of the client organization
but have an underlying involvement in the ongoing project (Owot and et. al., 2022). They can be
refereed to as the division of the administrative government, the grants providers, the affected
neighbourhoods or the media related persons. The relative level of their relational interest can
dissent thus, the management of them can be significantly and critically tangled for the
individual organization.

Investigation of the stakeholder administration:
This is carried out to comprehend the environment of the stakeholders and provide the suitable
priority to the resources of the administration . It is imperative to give due importance to the
respective interests of the participants and this must be significantly considered by the respective
organization. The identification of the backers by the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC is the crucial
step that has to be carried put and the next very step is to apportion the interests and the powers
of the individual stakeholder’s that can impact and influence the project. (Ren and et. al., 2022).
Figure Stakeholder Matrix
The indispensable requirements to create the project is to negotiate the positive stakeholders
which are in the right-hand corner on the bottom side and the antagonistic stakeholders will be
out of the corner (Zhang and et. al., 2022). The tactics that can be utilised for dealing with the
difficult stakeholders of the companies are as follows:
Keep a close check on them – The considerations in the respect of the stakeholders determined
by Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC must be critically examined a close check should be there over
the activities and the responses of these stakeholders.
Listen and consider their outlook – The perception of these stakeholders should be taken in to
account for the attainment of the standardised goals and the objectives of Reckitt Benckiser
Group PLC, this would help in the inclusion of the needs and the requirements of these holders
in the project (Washington and et. al., 2022).

Schedule a visit – The regular visits for the effective contemplation of the project must be done
by the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC management, in order to scrutinized the daily progress that
has been made for the successful completion of the projects on time.
Try to determine the scope of their motivation – The drivers of motivation of the customers in
the market must be comprehend by the department of Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC in order to
secure a place in the market place and sustain for a significant period of time.
CONCLUSION
An inference can thus be made that the scrutiny of the stakeholder’s engagement in the
operations and the functioning of the stakeholders is thereby imperative in order to understand
the significant influence it can have upon the positioning of the company in the marketplace. The
interests of the stakeholders must be taken into effective considerations and the loopholes present
in the structure of the administration, should be identified in a deliberative manner. The
functioning of the organisation depends upon the impinging effect of the relative stakeholders of
the company. The impact of both the internal and the external stakeholders of the company
should be significantly analysed in order to understand the influential aspects that are necessary
for the smooth functioning of the enterprise.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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