Skip to content

ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Stakeholder analysis and organisational social responsibility

Calder Bank's board is evaluating a high-margin lending product that regulators view as likely to harm vulnerable customers. Shareholders favour it, staff are neutral, and a consumer group with media influence opposes it. Which board response is most consistent with a stakeholder-inclusive, long-term view of corporate social responsibility?

The board should engage the consumer group and regulators, redesign the product with safeguards and report the trade-offs openly. This balances conflicting stakeholder interests, protects the bank's reputation and licence to operate, and reflects a long-term inclusive view rather than short-term shareholder primacy.

  1. ALaunch the product, since shareholders are owners and their interest overrides all others
  2. BLaunch it, and respond only if regulators later impose a penalty
  3. CEngage the consumer group and regulators, redesign the product with safeguards, and report the trade-offs transparentlyCorrect
  4. DCancel all consumer lending permanently to remove any conflict

Explanation

Inclusive CSR means balancing conflicting interests through engagement, mitigating harm, and transparent reporting, protecting long-term value and licence to operate. Pure shareholder primacy ignores reputational and regulatory risk, while abandoning all lending is disproportionate.

Did you get it right without looking?

One question tells you little. A timed set on Stakeholder analysis and organisational social responsibility shows your real accuracy, how long you take and where you lose marks.

Practise Stakeholder analysis and organisational social responsibilityFree diagnostic mock

More Stakeholder analysis and organisational social responsibility questions