Final answer:
True, categorizing stakeholders as internal and external helps managers identify and manage moral claims and interests effectively. Stakeholder theory emphasizes the consideration of all stakeholders in business decisions, evolving corporate responsibility beyond mere profit maximization.
Step-by-step explanation:
Categorizing stakeholders into various groups, such as internal and external, is indeed desirable because it helps managers understand and address the differing objectives, expectations, and potential moral claims of each group more effectively. These distinctions can guide managers in fostering stakeholder engagement, anticipating stakeholder actions, and making ethical business decisions that take into account the conflicting interests of different stakeholders. For instance, internal stakeholders like employees have different interests compared to external stakeholders like customers or the community.
Stakeholder theory suggests that businesses should consider the impacts of their decisions on all relevant stakeholders rather than focusing solely on shareholder interests. This theory shifts the emphasis from shareholder primacy to a broader consideration of corporate responsibility and values, which can lead to the exploration of competing values and actions as noted by Chan and Satterfield (2007). Additionally, societal changes, such as those seen in workplace safety regulations enforced by OSHA, exhibit the evolution of corporate responsibility and the recognition of stakeholder interests beyond merely profit maximization.