Exploring a topic of growing importance that has scant coverage, Intergenerational Equity brings to the fore a comprehensive discussion of intergenerational predicaments. The book explores how corporate and financial social responsibility can leverage intergenerational harmony through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). A warming earth under climate change, overindebtedness crises and demographic aging of a Western world population are putting pressure on future generations. Transparency and accountability are key for monitoring corporate and financial social responsibility in the interplay of public and private actors to ensure a sustainable humankind and intergenerational harmony. The author discusses the human constituents of responsibility and the international emergence of CSR, paying special attention to global governance multi-stakeholder partnerships. The rise of SRI in the international arena in the wake of stakeholder activism and intrinsic socio-psychological motives of socially responsible investors are also outlined and the role of leadership, trust and managerial ethics accentuated. Scholars, executives and readers motivated by the desire to improve corporate and financial market activities will benefit from this insightful and valuable book.

The civic and moral responsibilities of public relations are hotly contested topics. While many researchers call for focusing on ethics in public relations, they concentrate on ethics in relation to how people do their jobs. In actuality, emphasis should move beyond professional codes of ethics to include general morality and citizenship. Currently, as the profession receives greater scrutiny, it is important to be aware of the value of public relations in the community. This book centers on four areas of public relations' conscience in order to examine its role in morality and citizenship: civic professionalism, corporate social responsibility, ethics, and public communication. This approach will help to answer the question of what is public relations' responsibility to the public good.

Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights and the Law examines the responsibilities of business enterprises for human rights from a legal perspective. It analyses the legal status of the 'corporate responsibility to respect human rights' as articulated by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). This concept currently reflects an international consensus and is promoted by the UN. The book contemplates the various founding perspectives of the UNGPs, and how the integration of notions such as 'principled pragmatism' and 'polycentric governance' within its framework provides insights into the future course of law and policy, compliance, and corporate respect for human rights. The book thus takes a global focus, examining the interaction of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), human rights, and the law in a broader global governance context. Setting out a possible future scenario for the legalization of the corporate responsibility to respect human rights that is informed by the UNGPs' founding perspectives and reflects current realities in the human rights landscape, this book will be of great interest to scholars of business ethics, international human rights law, and CSR more broadly.

Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award A Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year A Times Higher Education Book of the Week Best Business Book of the Year, 800-CEO-READ Gender equality is a moral and a business imperative. But unconscious bias holds us back, and de-biasing people's minds has proven to be difficult and expensive. By de-biasing organizations instead of individuals, we can make smart changes that have big impacts. Presenting research-based solutions, Iris Bohnet hands us the tools we need to move the needle in classrooms and boardrooms, in hiring and promotion, benefiting businesses, governments, and the lives of millions. "Bohnet assembles an impressive assortment of studies that demonstrate how organizations can achieve gender equity in practice... What Works is stuffed with good ideas, many equally simple to implement." -Carol Tavris, Wall Street Journal "A practical guide for any employer seeking to offset the unconscious bias holding back women in organizations, from orchestras to internet companies." -Andrew Hill, Financial Times

In the current crisis context, capitalism is questioned by its detractors or defended by its partisans. The concept of Socially Responsible Capitalism (SRC) is based on the entrepreneurial spirit. It encourages exemplary behaviors, such as effective, efficient and ethical behaviors, by stimulating social responsibility of companies and organizations. This is combined with the development of economic empowerment and legitimate efforts of each citizen-actor. Socially Responsible Capitalism and Management does not confuse financial capitalism and entrepreneurial capitalism. The first one improves the creation of artificial value which leads to financial bubbles that periodically burst and bankrupt the real economy. Quite the reverse, entrepreneurial capitalism creates both solid economic value and employment. This is justified by the production of goods and services that meet legitimate needs of consumer-citizens. This book shows that by putting Human Beings at the heart of action enables producing sustainable economic value, and anthropological values which are inseparable. The innovative aspect of this book lies in its analysis starting from the macro-economic level to the individual one, by presenting a detailed analysis of the micro-economic level of companies within its managerial issues. Socially Responsible Capitalism and Management is dedicated to present the different aspects of SRC for the Society, companies and organizations and also individual actors, as citizens, producers and consumers.

Crumbling social institutions, disintegrating structures, and a profound sense of uncertainty are the signs of our time, stemming from a situation in which traditional systems are dying but the new cannot yet be born. In this timely book, this contemporary crisis is explored and illuminated, providing narratives that suggest how the notion of hope can be leveraged to create powerful methods of organizing for the future, in communities, workplaces and businesses. In response to the increasing attention being paid to the shocking seriousness of the current state of the world, this innovative book offers a variety of ways of bringing hope into a situation otherwise defined by hopelessness, following a tradition of radical dissent by public intellectuals such as Zygmunt Bauman and Vaclav Havel. Chapters first consider theoretical and philosophical perspectives on hopeful organizing, followed by both empirical discussions about achieving change and more imaginative narratives of alternative and utopian futures, including an exploration of the differing roles of work, creativity, idealism, inclusivity and activism. Organizing Hope will be a critical and thought-provoking read for researchers and students of organization theory and sociology, as well as other social sciences. Politicians, policy makers and other decision makers in government will also find the book insightful and useful. Contributors include: G. Cairns, C. Ciupke, S. Clegg, M. Cwikla, D. Ericsson, A. Goral, M. Izak, M. Kallifatides, M. Kostera, W. Kupers, R. Longman, K. Matyjaszkowicz, J. G. McClellan, A. Milczarczyk, A. Morgan, T. Padan, M. Parker, R. Paulsen, M. Pina e Cunha, M. Polec, A. Rego, A.V. Simpson, A. Strauss, J. Vaughan, K.E. Weick

The theory and practice of corporate citizenship and CSR have many alternative perspectives to the business-as-usual gaze. The essays in this volume encapsulate the essence of these alternative ideas and embrace the idea that progressive ways and means of this century do not lie in mainstream capitalist thinking. These pieces ask critical questions about the way we see the relationship between capitalism, business models and society - a subject not often discussed in non-academic literature. Globalization and Corporate Citizenship: The Alternative Gaze features contributions and new analysis from Klaus M. Leisinger, Chris Laszlo, David Coopperrider, Simon Zadek, Sandra Waddock and others. This title is one of a two-volume set - a collection of seminal and thought-provoking essays, drawn from the Journal of Corporate Citizenship's archive, accompanied by new analysis and reflection from the original authors. Written by some of the most widely recognized academic and business pioneers and leaders of the corporate responsibility and global sustainability movement, the volumes make essential reference texts for anyone interested in the radically awakening new global political economy.

In recent years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting in China has been experiencing a rapid development and the number of social reports issued by Chinese enterprises shows a sharp increasing trend. This book investigates the evolution of such reporting practice in the country and the reasons behind it. In addition, it also examines the reporting quantity and quality of Chinese enterprises by applying the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) as an evaluation tool. In response to policy documents so as to obtain the government's recognition and to strive for more resources, state-owned enterprises, private enterprises and foreign-invested companies have made substantial efforts in social reporting in terms of quantity and coverage. However, it appears that there is still room for enhancing the quality of disclosure. The book also highlights the central government's economic, political and social roles in promoting, encouraging and controlling the development of CSR reporting.

This is a book in search of an alternative to the discredited investor-owned banks that have brought the rich countries into crisis and the world economy into a long period of austerity. It finds customer-owned banks - credit unions, co-operative banks, building societies - have hardly been affected by the crisis and continue to operate according to their organisational DNA: low-risk, close to the customer, underpinned by real savings, and still lending to SMEs to protect jobs and local economies. They are big business - in some countries with over 40% of the market - but networked in smaller, democratic societies whose origins go back to 1850s Germany. The book explores their history and current situation, measures the impact of the banking crisis, makes a systematic study of their advantages, compares them to alternatives (savings banks and micro-finance institutions), and investigates their supervision and governance structures. It provides hard evidence for the superiority of customer-owned banks. Finance in an Age of Austerity will appeal to public policy analysts and political commentators, academics and students interested in current issues concerning banking regulation, supervision and governance. Social commentators and campaigners concerned with providing an ethical alternative to casino capitalism and social economists wanting to develop a critique of the investor-owned banking system will also find this book invaluable. It will be essential reading for banking specialists interested in broadening their understanding of a hidden sector that, since the crisis, has become much more significant. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. The Evolution of Cooperative Banks 3. The Evolution of Credit Unions 4. The Evolution of Mutual Building Societies 5. The Evolution of Banks Owned by Other Types of Cooperative 6. The Performance of Customer-owned Banks During the Crisis 7. The Comparative Advantages of Customer-owned Banks 8. Some Alternatives: Savings Banks and Micro-finance Institutions 9. Regulation, Governance and the Need for Member Participation 10. What Motivates Members to Participate? 11. Customer-owned Businesses - the Wider Picture 12. Conclusion: A Cooperative Counter-narrative Appendix: A Note on Terminology Bibliography Index

Growing social and environmental concerns have exerted pressure on businesses to act responsibly. This timely book is the result of systematic, integrated and concerted efforts by prominent scholars to contribute new ideas and original research on social responsibility issues in international business. Offering an insightful collection of global investigations of critical and thought-provoking issues, the chapters investigate unique social responsibility issues across different countries and international business contexts. Bringing together renowned researchers in the field, this book provides state-of-the-art knowledge on a wide array of issues relating to social responsibility and highlights future trajectories for the development of socially-responsible international business strategies. Featuring innovative research and incisive conclusions, this book is critical for international business researchers seeking new avenues for investigation. Postgraduate students at all levels will also benefit from this book's strong inventory of contemporary knowledge, as well as its wide variety of research methods.

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This book is about promoting corporate responsibility in its original meaning: businesses should have a positive impact on society, and society should not only be a lever of making a profit. When we treat social responsibility as an external function of the core business, we are exposed to the worst. Business for Society seeks to redress the balance and promotes the original idea of corporate responsibility. This first book in the series of the same name sets the scene and presents the key theories across the various management disciplines to answer the following questions: 'How, why and under what conditions can business act for society?' The book narrows and discusses examples of businesses which are making impressive strides in delivering positive impacts for society as well as their bottom lines; but as the concept of corporate responsibility has become more mainstream in recent years, many organisations have adopted the term and reduced it to a marketing message. Areas covered include a historical perspective on the hijacking of business responsibility towards society, management knowledge and value, the Business for Society project against hijacking, accounting for society, finance for society and governance for society and democracy. The book will be of interest for scholars and students in the fields of corporate social responsibility, business ethics and governance.

It is a serious mistake to think that all we need for a just world is properly-structured organizations. But it is equally wrong to believe that all we need are virtuous people. Social structures alter people's decisions through the influence of the restrictions and opportunities they present. Does buying a shirt at the local department store create for you some responsibility for the workplace welfare of the women who sewed it half a planet away? Many people interested in justice have claimed so, but without identifying any causal link between consumer and producer, for the simple reason that no single consumer has any perceptible effect on any of those producers. Finn uses a critical realist understanding of social structures to view both the positive and negative effects of the market as a social structure comprising a long chain of causal relations from consumer/clerk to factory manager/seamstress. This causal connection creates a consequent moral responsibility for consumers and society for the destructive effects that markets help to create. Clearly written and engaging, this book is a must-read for scholars involved with these moral issues.

21st century Western neoliberalism has seen the transformation of self-interest from an economic imperative to a centrally constitutive part of dominant modes of subjective existence. Against this celebration of competitive individualism, Emmanuel Levinas' philosophy stands as a haunting reminder of an ethics that passively disturbs the self from its egoistic slumber, awakening it to the incessant demands of the other. Ethics stands as an anxious affective state of being where one is held to account by others, each one demanding care, attention and respect. Focussing on business activities and organizations, this book explores how this ethical demand of being for the other becomes translated, in a necessarily impure way, into political action, contestation and resistance. Such a response to ethics invokes a disturbance of organizational order, including an order that might itself be labelled 'ethical'. On these grounds, the book offers an explication of an ethics for organizations which disturbs the selfishness of neoliberal morality, and can inform a democratic politics rested on a genuine concern for the other and for justice. Disturbing Business Ethics: Emmanuel Levinas and the Politics of Organization offers an unconventional and enlightening approach to ethical thinking and practice in politics and organisations, and will be of interest to students of business, management, leadership, political science and organizational theory.

Islamic Business Finance is based on strong ethical regulations as suggested by Islamic Literature, such as the Quran and the Traditions of the Prophet of Islam, and could be considered as a subclass of the wider subject of ethical standards in business. This book highlights the basic principles of Islamic Business ethics and their implication in today's global business environment. It highlights the most important features of Islamic banking and finance in relation to the core principles of Shariah law. It is the most comprehensive book to date, in terms of the number of Quranic verses and traditions of the Prophet relating to this subject, which are interspersed throughout the text. It explains how ethics are defined both in general terms and within the context of an Islamic perspective. In addition, it provides a logical interpretation of Islamic principles of business ethics, while keeping in view thethrough the use of contemporary business practices. Topics such as digital currencies, money laundering, etc. are discussed at length. This book also discusses the new and emerging ethical issues faced by business and industry globally. This book will be a valuable reference guide for students, teachers and researchers of Islamic banking and finance.

An economy low in carbon and high in life satisfaction will require thousands, if not millions of exceptional leaders. This book is the first to bring together sustainability knowledge with the leadership skills and tools to help you become one of those leaders. In it you will find everything you need to get started straight away, and to grow your effectiveness, even in a world that remains perversely intent on the opposite. Whether you are new to the whole idea of sustainability, or reasonably well informed but not entirely confident about what to do for the best, this guide will help you 'do' sustainability. Free of checklists and policy recommendations, the focus is on you, and on developing your capacity to identify the right thing to do wherever you are and whatever your circumstances. This is essential reading for those in or aspiring to sustainability-literate leadership, and a must for all those teaching leadership and management.

Never before have the pressures of a comparative and competitive world impacted on our sense of wellbeing, particularly among young adults. Building on the principles of Giving Voice to Values, which honors the complexity and difficulty of leading with our values, this book addresses the unique challenges faced by young adults. It provides a clear process that details how to harness natural wisdom to flourish through the relentless pace and pressure of today's world. Moving beyond mere values clarification, Authentic Excellence helps the reader to develop a deeper relationship with their values and confidently express them, and builds effective coping skills to manage the relentless noise of our comparative and competitive world. Authentic Excellence answers five primary questions: How are young adults affected by this world of relentless change and pressure? Why are young adults vulnerable to a plateau that can negatively affect their resilience? What is the difference between fear-based excellence and authentic excellence and what role do values play in this distinction? What is necessary to move beyond fear-based excellence and why is it so hard? How do you train a deeper level of effectiveness that includes more consistent productivity, fulfillment and resilience?

While the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities of small firms have been analysed to some extent, their engagement in international networks relating to CSR is less understood. Most of these networks primarily address the needs of multinational corporations. Surprisingly, however, the number of small firms participating in such institutions has substantially increased over recent years. But what is the reason for this new interest of SME in institutional forms of CSR? Based on a qualitative empirical study of German small firms' participation in the most prominent CSR institution, the UN Global Compact, this book explores the drivers for small firm participation. The motivations are complex and do not follow the same hierarchical order associated with large business behaviour. Rather, reasons for institutional engagement suggest a heterarchical structure, where alignment is contingent upon factors such as individual CSR perception, self-conception or social environment. The book explains why small firms prefer to engage in sustainable development within institutionalised forms of CSR rather than act in isolation, and provides recommendations on how to support and thus increase SME participation in institutionalised forms of civic engagement.

In an age when most business plans extend only to the next quarterly reporting period, the authors of this book propose an audaciously longer view of future planning. Reaching beyond the modern five or ten-year strategic plan, the authors take a cue from Kongo Gumi, a Japanese construction company launched in 578 AD that managed to thrive as a family-owned business for nearly 1500 years. With the 2010 publication of an international standard on social responsibility (ISO 26000), and increased attention to sustainability and sustainability reporting, many organizations today are heeding the call to operate with this standard in mind. However, once the guidelines are understood and the gaps measured, these same organizations often struggle during implementation. Leveraging many decades of combined experience in Quality Management and Product Development, the authors of this seminal book provide a proven solution to help you turn information into action. Defining exactly what social responsibility means, A Six Sigma Approach to Sustainability introduces SOFAIR, a six-step methodology for achieving sustainability through social responsibility performance improvement. This rigorous methodology uses Six Sigma, and other process improvement methods, as a basis for maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of your organization's social responsibility performance improvement effort. The book explains and demonstrates the meaning of CISR (R) - continual improvement for social responsibility - and illustrates the six-step SOFAIR methodology with many examples. The authors explain how your existing organizational continual improvement efforts can be adapted to also focus on sustainability. Four case studies are provided that demonstrate the application of the methodology in manufacturing, healthcare, business processes, and everyday personal life. Finally, the authors provide 10 things you can do today as social responsibility action. Kongo Gumi represents the author's goal of sustainability, and prompts the question, "What will your organization look like, not in 5-10 years, but in fifteen centuries?" This book provides a way for you to take action to create a more sustainable environment where your customers, suppliers, employees, and communities are available for your organization for decades, and even centuries, to come. About the Book's Cover: The six hands of many colors encircling the globe represent the diversity of stakeholders engaged in the six-step SOFAIR Process, and the global impact of CISR (R). CISR (R) is a registered trademark and can be used with permission for non-commercial use. Contact: www.SherpaBCorp.com

Five Steps to Strengthen Ethics in Organizations and Individuals draws on research and history to present effective tools to strengthen organizational ethics. Focusing on key topics such as the planning fallacy, moral disengagement, moral courage, the illusion of ethical superiority, confirmation bias, groupthink, whistleblowers, mindfulness and mindlessness, making authentic apologies, and more, this book discusses specific positive actions that get results and avoid common pitfalls. Research findings and examples from organizations-including missteps by the Veterans Administration, Penn State University, the APA, General Motors, Enron, and Wells Fargo-inform the strategies this book presents and highlight lessons in organizational ethics. Scholars, researchers, professionals, administrators, students, and others interested in organizational studies and ethics will find this unique book essential in training and practice.

Women accomplish nearly two-thirds of total work around the world (including household duties), comprise one-third of the formal labor force, but women receive one-tenth of the world's income and own only one-hundredth of the world's property. Entrepreneurship is a vehicle for advancing the lives of women around the world. This book brings together 49 distinguished entrepreneurship scholars to provide a unique global vision of the wellbeing of women entrepreneurs necessary for fostering sustainable development and inclusive societies. Although gender inequality is an important issue, solutions leading to gender parity are far from reaching ideal levels in the formal workplace and globally. Meanwhile the number of women involved in entrepreneurship is growing exponentially because there are more opportunities for women to own a business and be their own boss. This offers women the most desirable and flexible working conditions that better align with women's lifestyles and multiple family responsibilities. However, entrepreneurial activities are demanding and complex; compared to men, women face special challenges that deserve close attention. This book presents research and programs to effectively support women entrepreneurs in reaching levels of wellbeing required to ensure business sustainability and personal prosperity. Offering a diversity perspectives from around the globe, The Wellbeing of Women in Entrepreneurship is of great interest to academics and practitioners working in teaching and research in disciplines including business management, entrepreneurship, oganizational change, human centered management, human resources, sustainable development, and women's studies.

Are you an investor who wants to make the world a better place while getting stronger returns? Are you an executive building a sustainable business and seeking increased revenue? Are you curious about ESG and what it means for your community or organization? Then this book is for you! In Gambling on Green: Uncovering the Balance between Revenues, Reputations, and ESG, veteran financial services executive Keesa Schreane delivers a straightforward and practical guide for business leaders and investors navigating the world of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. As ESG debates and scandals find their way to both newspapers and 10-Ks, many managers feel lost and unclear about how to drive a sustainable approach. Readers will learn to identify corporate sustainability, recognize good corporate governance and social responsibility, and understand what makes a company an exemplary steward of the environment. You'll also discover: Why ESG investing is increasingly important and how the most successful asset managers are building their sustainable portfolios How a business commitment to creating products with ESG in mind can benefit revenue efforts and increase customer loyalty How to cut business costs through sustainable operations Different sustainable bonds and how to leverage each to promote ESG while maintaining positive returns How some companies have incorporated ESG with spectacular success and others have ignored it completely--sometimes, to their peril With compelling case studies and thoughtful analysis, Gambling on Green is a must-read for anyone interested in how investors and corporations are shifting their focus toward environmental, social, and governance issues. This book will earn a place on the shelves of retail and institutional investors, executives, and board members looking for a roadmap to some of the defining corporate and social issues of our time.

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.

Ethical Branding and Marketing: Cases and Lessons provides current perspectives on fascinating global cases focusing on the specific combination of the two fields of "ethics" and "branding," on their relationship, and on how that joint perspective shapes brands, companies, business strategies, and the market itself. In a contemporary environment of "truthiness" and fake news, it is more important than ever to review core principles of ethics and to reassess how these principles apply to today's branding and marketing practices. This book addresses practices in ethical branding and corporate culture. It includes such topics as truth, integrity, value, vulnerability, and differentiation. Collectively, these cases provide a contemporary overview of intriguing scenarios and best practices in ethical branding. The book provides the reader with real, updated insight into ethical decision making; helps students integrate ethics, branding strategy, and real life, complex situations into an effective learning process; and provides the reader with up-to-date ethical branding cases from around the world.

Globalisation of the market, law and politics contributes to a diversity of transnational sustainability problems whose solutions exceed the territorial jurisdictional limits of nation states in which their effects are generated or occur. The rise of the business sector as a powerful global actor with a claim to participation and potential contributions as well as adverse impacts sustainability complicates the regulatory challenge. Recent decades' efforts to govern transitions towards sustainability through public or hybrid regulation display mixed records of support and results. In combination, these issues highlight the need for insights on what conditions multi-stakeholder regulation for a process that balances stakeholder power and delivers results perceived as legitimate by participants and broader society. This book responds to that need. Based on empirical experience on public-private regulation of global sustainability concerns and theoretical perspectives on transnational regulation, the book proposes a new theory on collaborative regulation. This theory sets out a procedural approach for multi-stakeholder regulation of global sustainability issues in a global legal and political order to provide for legitimacy of process and results. It takes account of the claims to participation of the private sector as well as civil society organisations and the need to balance power disparities.