WMBA 6627 Week 4 Stakeholder Grid Peer Replies Example

Course	WMBA 6627 Stakeholder Management and Organizational Behavior
Week	Week 4
Paper type	Peer replies
Length	About 410 words, 3 pages
Format	Discussion reply, APA 7 citations
School	Walden University
Program	Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for WMBA 6627 Week 4

Week 4 Discussion: Challenging Classmates' Stakeholder Grids

Two Misplaced Parties: A Surgical Scheduling Clerk in the Low-Influence Corner Who Controls the Only Calendar Surgeons Accept, and a Vendor Account Manager Placed as Low Interest Whose Contract Renewal Depends on the Rollout

Response to Nadia

Nadia, your grid places the operating room scheduling clerk in the low-influence, low-interest corner, with a note to monitor. I think she belongs much higher on influence, and the lever is in your own case description.

You wrote that the surgeons refused the new block-scheduling tool and "still send their requests to Marisol." If the surgeons accept only her calendar, she controls the one channel through which the new process can reach them. She can enter cases into the new tool or keep the old spreadsheet running alongside it, and either choice decides whether your rollout happens in practice. That is influence, even without formal authority. Her interest may also be higher than you assumed: a tool that lets surgeons book directly could make her role smaller.

I would move her to high influence and at least medium interest. Ackermann and Eden (2011) point out that stakeholders' power often comes from their position in networks rather than their title, and she sits between your project and its most important users. Has anyone on the project team asked her what the spreadsheet does that the new tool does not?

What this page is doingThe reply names the party and the quadrant it occupies, so the disagreement has a fixed subject.

Response to Kyle

Kyle, your grid places the software vendor's account manager in the high-influence, low-interest quadrant, keep satisfied. I agree on influence, but I think his interest is high, and the reason is a date.

You mentioned that the vendor's three-year contract with your company comes up for renewal next spring, and that the rollout is the first use of their newest module. If the rollout goes badly, his largest renewal of the year is at risk. If it goes well, he has a reference customer for the module. Either way, his commission and standing depend on your project, which places him squarely in high interest.

That changes how you should engage him: not a quarterly update but regular working contact, and a clear ask, such as dedicated support engineers through go-live, timed before the renewal negotiation. Mitchell et al. (1997) argued that urgency, the time-sensitivity of a stakeholder's claim, raises salience, and a renewal date creates exactly that urgency. Bryson (2004) recommends revisiting stakeholder analyses as conditions change, and a renewal cycle is such a change. Do you know when his company sets its renewal targets?

What this page is doingDescribing the missed lever concretely, here a contract date, gives the classmate something to verify.

References

Ackermann, F., & Eden, C. (2011). Strategic management of stakeholders: Theory and practice. Long Range Planning, 44(3), 179-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2010.08.001

Bryson, J. M. (2004). What to do when stakeholders matter: Stakeholder identification and analysis techniques. Public Management Review, 6(1), 21-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719030410001675722

Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., & Wood, D. J. (1997). Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 853-886. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1997.9711022105

WMBA 6627 Week 4 instructions, in plain terms

The week's discussion asks students to challenge placements in classmates' power interest grids. Two replies, each a short paragraph or two, are what most sections ask for. A good reply begins by naming the party in question and the quadrant the classmate put it in, which pins the disagreement down. The middle should present the lever the placement missed, described concretely, such as a person who controls an essential calendar or a contract whose renewal depends on the project. The reply should propose a new placement and explain what it would change about engagement, then end on something the classmate could check against their own grid. Evidence from the classmate's own post is usually the most persuasive, because it cannot be dismissed as outside opinion. Each reply should focus on a single party.

Inside the WMBA 6627 Week 4 example

The first reply names the scheduling clerk and her low-influence placement, points to the classmate's own observation that surgeons route requests through her and argues for high influence and at least medium interest, citing Ackermann and Eden on power from network position. It asks whether anyone has learned what her spreadsheet does that the tool does not. The second reply names the vendor account manager and his low-interest placement, explains that a renewal next spring makes his commission depend on the rollout and argues for high interest, citing Mitchell and colleagues on urgency and Bryson on revisiting analyses. It proposes a concrete ask and a question about renewal timing. Margin comments flag the opening and the concrete lever.

Where the marks sit in the WMBA 6627 Week 4 rubric

Graders reward replies that identify the party and its current placement precisely. Presenting a concrete lever the classmate missed, drawn from facts in the classmate's own case where possible, carries significant weight. Proposing a new placement and explaining its consequences for engagement demonstrates understanding. Questions should be answerable and should move the classmate's analysis forward. Suggesting one placement to move, and saying what it would change in the classmate's plan, is what lifts a reply above agreement. Replies that explain how a new placement would change the classmate's engagement plan show the strongest understanding.

Common WMBA 6627 Week 4 mistakes, and how to avoid them

Read your classmate's grid and case together, looking for a party whose placement seems at odds with what the case says it controls or stands to gain. Name the party and its quadrant in your first sentence. Then describe the specific lever: a calendar, a contract, a relationship, a deadline. Propose where the party belongs and what that means for how the classmate should engage it. Students often lose marks by disagreeing without evidence, by challenging several placements at once or by asking rhetorical questions. Another frequent gap is ignoring evidence already in the classmate's post. For a custom sample pair of grid replies, send us the grids you are responding to.

Get a WMBA 6627 Week 4 example written to your instructions

Copy in whichever two classmate posts your section assigned, along with the Week 4 prompt and rubric, and two replies come back, each moving a named party out of its quadrant and saying what that costs. Both arrive within 24-48 hours and the first request is free.

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WMBA 6627 Week 4 questions, answered

Where can I find a free WMBA 6627 Week 4 sample paper?

Both stakeholder grid peer replies are posted in full on this page.

What does the first reply challenge?

A scheduling clerk placed as low influence despite controlling the calendar surgeons accept.

What does the second reply challenge?

A vendor account manager placed as low interest despite a contract renewal tied to the rollout.

What new placements are proposed?

High influence for the clerk and high interest for the account manager.

Which sources support the replies?

Ackermann and Eden on network power, Mitchell and colleagues on urgency and Bryson on revisiting analyses.