Simply put, a stakeholder is any group or individual who can affect, or is affected by, the achievement of a corporation’s purpose." - Dr. Edward Freeman, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, 1984. Back in the gold rush of the late 1800s, prospectors talked about raising a "grubstake", which meant getting someone to advance supplies and/or funds in exchange for a share of the profits produced. Today, we have broadened our thinking to recognize that the people who provide financing to a business-shareholders and creditors-have only one type of "stake" in the business: a financial claim. There are other kinds of stakes, and therefore other kinds of stakeholders. Employees, for example,also have a stake because they invest their time and energy in helping the company be successful. Customers have another kind of stake—​they pay money in exchange for receiving products and services that they expect will meet their requirements and needs.^[1]