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Books > Business & Economics > Business & management > Business ethics
Corporate social responsibility was one of the most consequential business trends of the twentieth century. Having spent decades burnishing reputations as both great places to work and generous philanthropists, large corporations suddenly abandoned their commitment to their communities and employees during the 1980s and 1990s, indicated by declining job security, health insurance, and corporate giving. Douglas M. Eichar argues that for most of the twentieth century, the benevolence of large corporations functioned to stave off government regulations and unions, as corporations voluntarily adopted more progressive workplace practices or made philanthropic contributions. Eichar contends that as governmental and union threats to managerial prerogatives withered toward the century's end, so did corporate social responsibility. Today, with shareholder value as their beacon, large corporations have shred their social contract with their employees, decimated unions, avoided taxes, and engaged in all manner of risky practices and corrupt politics. This book is the first to cover the entire history of twentieth-century corporate social responsibility. It provides a valuable perspective from which to revisit the debate concerning the public purpose of large corporations. It also offers new ideas that may transform the public debate about regulating larger corporations.
This book examines the role that the traditional understanding of science plays in how we understand the capitalistic system and how it informs business and business school education. Science serves many purposes in business organizations; it is much more than just a method to gain knowledge about business problems. It acculturates students to a certain way of thinking about the world and provides a rationale for the things business does and a justification for its purposes in society. It then utilizes the philosophy of Classical American Pragmatism to view science in a different manner, reconceptualizing the multiple environments in which business functions. Author Rogene Buchholz traces the implications of this view for our understanding of the corporation, how science is used in business organizations, the recent financial crisis, and finally what it means for management and management education. No other book examines capitalism and the business system from this unique and timely perspective.
The main theme of this book is that, within contemporary capitalist societies a materialist outlook informed by science has triumphed creating the lack of a spiritual dimension to give meaning and purpose to the activities that are necessary for a capitalist society to function effectively. Capitalist societies are in trouble and need to be restructured to provide for the material needs of all the people who work within the system, not just the one percent, but because of the lack of a spiritual connection with each other and with nature this is not likely to happen. It has been said that society and the organizations within treat one another as objects to be manipulated in the interests of promoting economic growth and treat nature as an object to be exploited for the same purpose. This way of treating each other, and nature, is consistent with the way a capitalist system has worked in the past and was supposed to enable it to function efficiently to provide a fulfilling and enriched life for all its adherents through growth of the economy. However, as capitalist societies have become dysfunctional they will need a different kind of orientation to continue in existence. Restructuring Capitalism: Materialism and Spiritualism in Business argues that what is needed is a new sense of a spiritualization of the self and its relation to others and to the establishment of a spiritual connection with nature in order for capitalism to be restructured to work for everyone and for the society as a whole.
With an emphasis on psychoanalytic theory, Business, Ethics and Society: Key Concepts, Current Debates and Contemporary Innovations provides a clear, concise introduction to the field of business ethics, while addressing contemporary issues and debates around the impacts of artificial intelligence, social media, the gig economy and populist politics on business and society. The book features mini-case studies from a variety of contexts and companies, including Gillette, Nike, Dove, British Airways and Microsoft, as well as thought-provoking questions throughout. Also included are: - Learning objectives - Chapter summaries - Recommended reading Business, Ethics and Society: Key Concepts, Current Debates and Contemporary Innovations serves as an ideal introductory text for students of undergraduate business ethics-related courses. Lecturers can access a range of online resources for use in their teaching, including an instructor's manual, PowerPoint slides and SAGE Business Cases.
The Daily Grind: How Workers Navigate the Employment Relationship introduces students to the tensions between labor and management within the U.S. employment relationship and explores how workers, operating in a socially and culturally structured system of capitalism, are influenced and manipulated by economic institutions and polity which exploit, devalue, and dehumanize workers in the name of corporate profit. The text covers how the American work ethic of the early nineteenth century helped shape the current perspective on the labor-management relationship, and how, over time, the Protestant and patriarchal influences of that period have countered the collective actions of workers in profound ways. The text further explores the effect of societal, cultural, and economic structures, both global and local, which limit workers' ability to achieve the "American Dream" and result in depressed economic conditions and discouraged workers. The text's focus on the current economic inequality and lack of social mobility challenges the current neoliberal ideology that capitalism is the best economic system. The overarching framework for The Daily Grind: How Workers Navigate the Employment Relationship is situated in Labor Process Theory (LPT) which explores the control and resistance dichotomy between labor and management, the systematic deskilling of the workforce in order to increase production and increase owners' profits, and examines conflict over control of the labor process. An extension of Marxist theory about the organization of work, LPT explores the employment relationship, the control of work, the payment of work, the skills necessary for work, and the facilitation of work.
This book probes if it is possible for PR practitioners to ethically navigate organizations toward CSR even when outcomes may be inconsistent with organizational self-interest. Importantly, how might PR practitioners recommend against doing something that may be consistent with organizational goals but bad for the environment or people? This book invokes postmodern and critical theories of PR to inspire and empower public relations practitioners to transform organizations into ethical, authentic and transparent public sphere members.
This set of essays brings together scholars and practitioners from different part of the world engaged in how ethical interpretations of globalization, citizenship, and information might provide insights into global relations and issues. This effort expands information ethics work into a wider circle, as the subject is examined by a purposefully diverse range of perspectives, from philosophers, to social justice educators, to working librarians. The book builds its arguments on both traditional scholarly and professional sources as well as new ones, by necessity, for example data leaked from software used by the Communications Security Establishment, Canada's national cryptologic agency, to spy on the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy that were part of the leaked Snowden data. The result is a work entwines cautionary tales with possibilities for resistance and that expands our understanding of citizenship and of the reshaping of public and private spheres. On one level the book brings to light the expansion of globalization, digital citizenship, and how the borders and boundaries of citizenship as a national concern have been challenged by globalized information systems and practices. On another level, the book reveals ways public and private spheres have been reshaped through colonialism, capitalism, and globalization.
Big data are changing the way we work as companies face an increasing amount of data. Rather than replacing a human workforce or making decisions obsolete, big data are going to pose an immense innovating force to those employees capable of utilizing them. This book intends to first convey a theoretical understanding of big data. It then tackles the phenomenon of big data from the perspectives of varied organizational theories in order to highlight socio-technological interaction. Big data are bound to transform organizations which calls for a transformation of the human resource department. The HR department's new role then enables organizations to utilize big data for their purpose. Employees, while remaining an organization's major competitive advantage, have found a powerful ally in big data.
While technology advances at a high pace in the age of machine learning, there is a lack of clear intent and framing of acceptable ethical standards. This book brings together the complex topic of "good" technology in a cross-functional way, alternating between theory and practice.The authors address the ever-expanding discussion on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ethics by providing an orientation. Pragmatic and recent issues are especially taken into account such as the collateral effects of the COVID19 pandemic. An up-to-date overview of digitization - already a very broad field in itself - is presented along with an analysis of the approaches of AI from an ethical perspective. Furthermore, concrete approaches to consider appropriate ethical principles in AI-based solutions are offered. The book will be appealing to academics, from humanities or business or technical disciplines, as well as practitioners who are looking for an introduction to the topic and an orientation with concrete questions and assistance.
Executives' morality and ethics became major research topics following recent business scandals, but the research missed a major explanation of executives' immorality: career advancement by "jumping" between firms that causes ignorance of job-pertinent tacit local knowledge, tempting "jumpers" to covertly conceal this ignorance. Generating distrust and ignorance cycles and mismanagement, this choice bars performance-based career advancement and encourages immoral careerism, advancing by immoral subterfuges. Such careerism is a known managerial malady, but explaining its emergence proved challenging as managerial ignorance is covertly concealed as a dark secret on organizations' dark side by conspiracies of silence. Managerially educated and experienced, Dr. Shapira achieved a breakthrough by a 5-year semi-native anthropological study of five "jumper"-managed automatic processing plants and their parent firms. This book untangles common ignorance and immoral careerism, concealed as dark secrets by executives who "rode" on the successes of mid-level "jumpers" who high-morally risked their authority and power by admitting ignorance and trustfully learned local tacit knowledge. The opposite choice tendencies accorded power, authority, and status rankings, which made practicing immorality easier the higher one's position, suggesting that the common "jumping" between managerial careers nurtures immoral executives similar to those exposed in the recent business scandals.
With the acceptance of CSR and Sustainability as important business performance indicators, it is timely now to assess the impact that leadership has on the development of these processes. CSR, Sustainability, and Leadership seeks to explore the integration of these three elements through an examination of concerns and trends in contemporary organisations. The authors discuss empirical and theoretical studies which focus on processes and practices which inform the field. Organisations wish not only to participate in responsible behaviour, but also actively lead within their local environments. However, businesses are failing in their execution of CSR because of ineffective leadership. Business leaders are central to an organisation's purpose in the world and this book will inform a robust discussion about social issues which are pressing to scholars, policymakers, not-for-profit organisations and students.
Intended as an essential introduction to philanthropy, this book provides a balanced, analytical, interdisciplinary overview of a complex, and often controversial, topic. Using case studies to illustrate the narrative, it covers everything from the history of individual, sometimes eccentric, philanthropists, to the controversies and challenges of 'philanthrocapitalism'. This book explores philanthropists and their motivations: who are they and why do they give their money away? It explains what philanthropy does: its history and scope, and the impacts it has in areas such as science and the arts. The governance of philanthropy is explored: how decisions are reached about donations and their accountability. The book addresses the major controversies surrounding philanthropy, and discusses the difficulties involved in giving and receiving, e.g. the importance of ensuring that these processes are transparent and accountable. Lastly, the book considers the future of philanthropy, especially its changing role in society and the disruptive impact of digital technologies. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for researchers interested in philanthropy, innovation and entrepreneurship, the motivations for individual and corporate donations, and the business of giving in general.
Showcases outstanding leaders and how they make decisions, build teams, use creativity and respond to fear of failureReal-life examples from the world of practiceComapny profiles include BCorp, Fairmont Santrol and Herman Miller
Showcases outstanding leaders and how they make decisions, build teams, use creativity and respond to fear of failureReal-life examples from the world of practiceComapny profiles include BCorp, Fairmont Santrol and Herman Miller
This book critically examines the practice and meanings of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and how the movement has facilitated a positive and somewhat unquestioned image of the global corporation. Drawing on extensive fieldwork material collected in Ghanaian communities located around the project sites of Newmont Mining Corporation and Kinross Gold Corporation, the monograph employs critical discourse analysis to accentuate how mining corporations use CSR as a discursive alibi to gain legitimacy and dominance over the social order, while determining their own spheres of responsibility and accountability. Hiding behind such notions as 'social licence to operate' and 'best practice,' corporations are enacted as entities that are morally conscious and socially responsible. Yet, this enactment is contested in host communities, as explored in chapters that examine corporate citizenship, gendered perspectives, and how global CSR norms institutionalize unaccountability.
What is the primary purpose of business? The standard answer is `making profits,' but some visionary entrepreneurs and leaders fundamentally disagree. Instead of just making money, they choose instead to "dig deeper" and make a difference through creating real value - improving the lives of others even as they find deeper meaning in their own. These leaders build enterprises that provide identity and a sense of purpose, create positive relationships and a place to learn and thrive, embed sustainability in all that they do, and strive to improve the quality of life of all of their stakeholders. Although not their primary focus, they also make healthy profits, as their unique approach to value creation provides them with a sustainable competitive edge. Digging Deeper is a book full of inspiring stories that illustrate that there is an alternative to a myopic and narrow capitalism that trades in inequalities, exploitation, collective burnout and negative consequences for our shared natural environment. Remarkable examples from all over the world vividly demonstrate how enterprises can create real value through focusing on what the authors call the 6 Ls: long-term orientation, lasting relationships, local roots, limits recognition, developing a learning community and taking leadership responsibility seriously in its very best sense. Digging Deeper liberates the term "value" from the tight chains in which the global financial community has bound it and demonstrates that businesses can contribute to a better life for all - if their leaders can go beyond viewing enterprises as single-purpose money-making machines and develop purpose-driven enterprises that create real value for all.
What is the primary purpose of business? The standard answer is `making profits,' but some visionary entrepreneurs and leaders fundamentally disagree. Instead of just making money, they choose instead to "dig deeper" and make a difference through creating real value - improving the lives of others even as they find deeper meaning in their own. These leaders build enterprises that provide identity and a sense of purpose, create positive relationships and a place to learn and thrive, embed sustainability in all that they do, and strive to improve the quality of life of all of their stakeholders. Although not their primary focus, they also make healthy profits, as their unique approach to value creation provides them with a sustainable competitive edge. Digging Deeper is a book full of inspiring stories that illustrate that there is an alternative to a myopic and narrow capitalism that trades in inequalities, exploitation, collective burnout and negative consequences for our shared natural environment. Remarkable examples from all over the world vividly demonstrate how enterprises can create real value through focusing on what the authors call the 6 Ls: long-term orientation, lasting relationships, local roots, limits recognition, developing a learning community and taking leadership responsibility seriously in its very best sense. Digging Deeper liberates the term "value" from the tight chains in which the global financial community has bound it and demonstrates that businesses can contribute to a better life for all - if their leaders can go beyond viewing enterprises as single-purpose money-making machines and develop purpose-driven enterprises that create real value for all.
Arising from a disenchantment with mainstream economics - a dissatisfaction that is widespread today - A Short History of Economics and Ethics sketches the emergence and decline of the ethical tradition of economics and the crisis of modern economics. In doing so, James Alvey focuses on four of the leading ancient Greek thinkers: Socrates, Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle. The author uses insights from Amartya Sen's Capabilities approach as well as other sources to retrieve the ethical tradition of economics. Five aspects of this tradition which seem to lie outside of mainstream economics are identified: an ethical methodology; some notion of a just price; an understanding that ethical motivations are relevant to human action; a rich understanding of human well-being; and some notion of distributive justice related to human well-being. Creating a forum for further debate and research opportunity, this book will appeal to students, scholars and historians of economic thought, as well as to all those interested in the intersection of ethics with economics. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. An Introduction to Ancient Greek Political Economy 3. An Introduction to the Socratics: Socrates and Xenophon 4. Plato Part I: The Early and Middle Dialogues 5. Plato Part II: The Late Dialogues 6. Aristotle Part I: Ethics 7. Aristotle Part II: Politics (High and Low) 8. Aristotle Part III: Economics 9. Conclusion References Index
Carbon Accounting is a vital tool in enabling organisations to measure and report on their greenhouse gas emissions. As the need to respond to the causes and impacts of climate change becomes increasingly urgent, emissions calculations and inventories are a vital first step towards mastering climatic risk. The Handbook of Carbon Accounting offers an accessible and comprehensive presentation of the discipline. The book examines the different methods or instruments implemented by countries and companies - such as carbon taxation, carbon markets and voluntary offsetting - while revealing how these stem not simply from the aim of reducing emissions for the lowest cost, but more as a compromise between divergent interests and individual world views. It also explores the historical context of the emergence of carbon accounting, assessing its evolution since the Rio Conference in 1992 and the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, to the latest Conference of Parties in 2015 in Paris. The book concludes with a very practical guide to calculate, reduce, offset and disclose your carbon footprint. Like other management tools, carbon accounting may not be an exact science, but its contribution has never been more important. The Handbook of Carbon Accounting is a vital educational resource that will help readers - including those with no prior knowledge of the field - to understand carbon flows and stocks and to take action. It forms part of a movement that heralds the start of a new economic era in which the search for prosperity can live in harmony with the environment.
Explores the impact of consumerism from a design perspectiveEssential reading for practitioners, researchers and students in the design industryWill be of interest to sustainability professionals, as well as conscious consumers
'Urgent and compelling' Richard Branson 'The gold standard on how to use business as a platform for change' Ray Dalio For too long, many have felt that business focuses too much on profit and not enough on its responsibilities, but now in Trailblazer, Innovator of the Decade Marc Benioff shows how all of that can change - for the better. When Salesforce chairman and CEO Benioff called for more regulation on the tech industry during the Davos World Economic Forum, and followed it up by saying Facebook should be regulated in 'the same way you regulated the cigarette industry', he found himself at the centre of a storm. This was not what people expected to hear from a hugely successful tech entrepreneur, and some industry leaders began calling him to say how he had betrayed them. But Benioff shows how he created a company committed to shared values in everything they do, creating a model for others to follow if they want to thrive in today's business environment, where criticism of corporate greed is bringing new pressures on industry. At Salesforce, the aim was to take decisions that were not only good for business, but also for society as a whole, and this book will show you how to make these positive steps. Benioff believes that, in future, the only businesses that will thrive are those that take an active role in making the world a better place. Trailblazer is a guidebook to help leaders, employees and customers to prepare for the next phase of global capitalism: the arrival of business for good.
The Nonprofit Almanac, Ninth Edition, completely updated to include the most recent data available, assembles into one compact and well-organized volume an accessible and reader-friendly bible of data on America's extraordinary and rapidly growing civic sector. In many cases, the data cover spans of ten years or more, allowing for a detailed retrospective look at trends in the sector. This edition, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Urban Institute's Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, traces the growth of nonprofits in the post-recession period, providing insights into which subsectors have not fully recovered from the recession and which flourished throughout the period. Other key results include the shifting of revenue streams for nonprofits, as well as post-recession trends in giving and volunteering. New to this edition is a series of analyses on nonprofit growth and finances at the metropolitan level. Building on the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy's two decades of experience in analyzing the size, scope, and performance of the nonprofit field, The Nonprofit Almanac, Ninth Edition, is an invaluable reference for managers of nonprofit organizations, foundations, and corporate social responsibility programs, as well as scholars, teachers, students, and journalists.
What matters to us? One way of answering that question is through the lens of values, which have a powerful influence on our attitudes and behaviours. Yet it can be difficult for businesses to realize the true potential of values, which is to engage staff, customers and suppliers in an emotional way that touches on their own core motivations. Drawing on a range of case studies worldwide, including "profit with purpose" businesses such as co-operatives, this short guide reveals how to make a success of values. By unpacking what we mean by values and ethics, and setting out a series of practical approaches, Ed Mayo presents how values can become a natural part of commercial life. This book identifies both the pitfalls and the potential of bringing values into the heart of an organization, from a bank that responds to an ethical crisis to a fast-growing worker co-operative founded on the values of equality. The values that guide your business are not necessarily the ones that are written down, or that you would expect. There is no one right or wrong set of values, but there is power and potential in making the most of the values that are right for the business you are in. By reading Values: How to Bring Values to Life in Your Business, you will find out more about the business that you are, and the business that you could be.
What matters to us? One way of answering that question is through the lens of values, which have a powerful influence on our attitudes and behaviours. Yet it can be difficult for businesses to realize the true potential of values, which is to engage staff, customers and suppliers in an emotional way that touches on their own core motivations. Drawing on a range of case studies worldwide, including "profit with purpose" businesses such as co-operatives, this short guide reveals how to make a success of values. By unpacking what we mean by values and ethics, and setting out a series of practical approaches, Ed Mayo presents how values can become a natural part of commercial life. This book identifies both the pitfalls and the potential of bringing values into the heart of an organization, from a bank that responds to an ethical crisis to a fast-growing worker co-operative founded on the values of equality. The values that guide your business are not necessarily the ones that are written down, or that you would expect. There is no one right or wrong set of values, but there is power and potential in making the most of the values that are right for the business you are in. By reading Values: How to Bring Values to Life in Your Business, you will find out more about the business that you are, and the business that you could be.
More people are extending their working lives through necessity or choice in the context of increasingly precarious labour markets and neoliberalism. This book goes beyond the aggregated statistics to explore the lived experiences of older people attempting to make job transitions. Drawing on the voices of older workers in a diverse range of European countries, leading scholars explore job redeployment and job mobility, temporary employment, unemployment, employment beyond pension age and transitions into retirement. This book makes a major contribution and will be essential reading within a range of disciplines, including social gerontology, management, sociology and social policy. |
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