ABSTRACT
Stakeholder theory has been around for four decades. It has entered the armoury, and the language, of most public sector managers over the past fifteen years or so along with other artefacts of the New Public Management. It is one among many business management tools co-opted to lift the effectiveness of public sector programs.2 The stakeholder vocabulary is common currency in developed and developing countries (often disseminated by the activities of management consultants and international institutions). A stakeholder approach to managing the economy is reflected in the writing of Hutton (1996) and British Prime Minister Blair has spoken of the 'stakeholder society'.
