The management department at the university decides to add a new program in restaurant, hotel, and institutional management. As part of the development process they hold focus groups, consisting of area business leaders, current and former students, and restaurant and hotel owners. These groups can be described as:A) project leaders.
B) project workers.
C) stakeholders.
D) clients.

C) stakeholders.

Explanation:

The project's stakeholders are everyone that can be affected or perceive to be affected by the outcome of the new project. This can include individual people, other businesses, or even different types of organizations that will be either positively or negatively affected by the activities or the outcome of the project.  

The correct answer is C) stakeholders.

Explanation:

A stakeholder is the public of interest for a company that allows its full operation. By public, I mean all the people or organizations that are related to the activities and decisions of a company such as: employees, suppliers, customers, government, among others.

Concept created in the 1980s by the American philosopher Robert Edward Freeman, stakeholder is any individual or organization that, in some way, is impacted by the actions of a certain company. In a free translation for Spanish, it means “interested parties” .

Freeman argued that interest groups are indispensable and should always be taken into account for the strategic planning of any business.

In this way, to understand that the triumph or failure of any company, will always affect not only its owners but also affect all those around it, that is, its workers, its partners, suppliers, competitors, families of all those involved and of course their customers.