ABSTRACT
Organizations, and especially large corporations, are affected by the environment in which they operate, and by forces over which they may have little or no control. Because they touch so many segments of society, such companies are particularly vulnerable to the impact of external turbulence, be it from government regulations or investigations, activist groups, rivals bent on a hostile takeover, angry consumers or media that portray the organization in a poor light. The ability to manage the potential negative consequences of external pressures is predicated on understanding the beliefs of those external stakeholders upon whom a firm depends.
