The Natural Environment is a Stakeholder of Business Actors:  Based on what you see in the first 4:40 of the Pittsburgh video, how is the natural environment a stakeholder of business actors?  Remember – stakeholders affect and are affected by a business actor’s activities.

The environment affects business actor’s activities because they choose to create, place, or buy a business based off of the environment in the surrounding area.  For example, the video showed Pittsburgh becoming an economic powerhouse because of the natural resources they cultivated that are apart of the environment.  Furthermore, the video shows the environment being clouded by pollution.  This is a direct result of the business actor’s activities by mining and using the resources in the environment, which, in turn, also harms the environment. 

Challenges to the Idea of the Natural Environment as a Stakeholder :  Based on the two sections in the Mother of Slow Food video, what are the limitations to the argument that the natural environment is a stakeholder of business actors?

The natural environment can only play so large of a role after humans have started to advance technologically.  As portrayed in the video, you can go to a farmers market a buy freshly picked fruits and vegetables, in which case, the environment is a stakeholder because you do not know what could happen to your food during the growing process.  However, now foods can be mass produced and created in factories.  Even though they are not as healthy or taste as good, it limits the role that the environment can have on a business actor.

Other Examples Like This?:  As a future manager facing complex environments, where do you see this debate over the degree to which the natural environment is a stakeholder coming up in the future? 

I could see this debate arising among car companies.  People will argue that the switch from fuel powered cars to electric powered cars needs to happen immediately nationwide.  The environment will act as a stakeholder because electric car companies advertise the pollution burning fuel creates.  Therefore, consumers who are conscientious about the environment will change their buying habits.