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Corporate Responsibility
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Corporate Responsibility

July 2015 | 408 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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“This is the cutting-edge textbook on a managerial approach to corporate responsibility. Students and executives will benefit a great deal by studying the cases and best practices that are here. It’s a terrific book.”

—Ed Freeman, Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration,

Darden School of Business, University of Virginia

 

Corporate Responsibility offers a concise and comprehensive introduction to the functional area of corporate responsibility. Readers will learn how corporate responsibility is good for business and how leaders balance their organization’s needs with responsibilities to key constituencies in society. Author Paul A. Argenti engages students with new and compelling cases by focusing on the social, reputational, or environmental consequences of corporate activities. Students will learn how to make difficult choices, promote responsible behavior within their organizations, and understand the role personal values play in developing effective leadership skills.

 
Preface
Why Corporate Responsibility?

 
What Is This Book About?

 
Why Is Corporate Responsibility So Important Today?

 
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Part I: What and Why
 
1. An Introduction to Corporate Responsibility
What Is Corporate Responsibility?

 
The 21st Century's CR Surge

 
The Upside of CR

 
Responsibility Inside and Out: Employee Involvement In CR

 
Building a Values-Based Culture

 
The Evolution of CR

 
How to Think About CR: Frameworks and Implementation

 
Conclusion

 
Notes

 
Starbucks Coffee Company

 
 
2. The Business Case for CR
What Is the "Business Case" for Corporate Responsibility?

 
Perceived Barriers to Corporate Responsibility

 
Models Created to Categorize the Benefits of CR Initiatives

 
Creating Value Through Corporate Responsibility

 
The Business Case for Sustainability

 
Structure of CR Function

 
Conclusion

 
Notes

 
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan: Revolutionizing Sustainability on a Global Scale

 
 
Part II: Three Components of CR: Environmental, Social, and Governance
 
3. Environmental Responsibility
The Evolution of Corporate Environmental Responsibility

 
Greenwashing and Sustainability Rankings

 
Measuring Environmental Friendliness

 
The Current State/Heading Toward a Triple Win

 
Growing Investor Interest

 
Human Capital and Sustainability

 
Conclusion

 
Notes

 
Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Strategy

 
 
4. The Corporation’s Responsibility to Society: Human Rights and Labor Issues
Introduction to Socially Responsible Business Practices

 
Socially Responsible Labor Practices

 
Workplace Discrimination

 
Labor Issues in the Supply Chain

 
The Scope of Human Rights Responsibility

 
Conclusion

 
Notes

 
Royal Dutch/Shell Group: Brent Spar and Nigeria

 
 
5. The Corporation’s Responsibility to Consumers
The Food Industry

 
The Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Industries

 
Conclusion

 
Notes

 
Creating Shared Value at McDonald’s

 
 
6. Responsible Corporate Governance
The Board of Directors

 
Corporate Governance in Crisis

 
The 2007 Financial Crisis

 
Government Response to Corporate Scandals

 
The Evolution of Corporate Governance to Include Corporate Social Responsibility

 
Conclusion

 
Notes

 
The New York Stock Exchange and Richard Grasso: Excessive Compensation as a Failure of Corporate Governance

 
 
Part III: Corporate Responsibility in Action
 
7. Corporate Ethics
Definition of Corporate Ethics

 
The Evolution of Corporate Ethics

 
Corporate Ethics in the Modern Era

 
Relationship Between Ethics and Other Areas of CR

 
How Ethics Informs Business Decision-Making

 
Role of Ethics in MBA Curricula

 
Ethics as a Creator of Shared Value

 
Conclusion

 
Notes

 
Il Mare’s Oculare

 
 
8. Corporate Philanthropy
Motivations Behind and Critiques Against CP

 
The Strategic Approach to CP

 
The Business Case and Value Creation

 
Measuring Progress and Improving Outcomes

 
Conclusion

 
Notes

 
Corporate Philanthropy at Goldman Sachs: 10,000 Small Businesses

 
 
9. Communicating Corporate Responsibility
The Strategic Importance of Communicating CR

 
The Current Environment for Promoting Responsible Business Practices

 
How to Effectively Communicate Your Company's CR Strategy

 
The Connection Between Communicating CR and Corporate Reputation

 
CR Reporting

 
Communicating CR in a Digital World

 
Conclusion

 
Notes

 
FIJI Water: Going Green or Greenwashing?

 
 
10. Implementing a CR Strategy
Current Approaches to CR Implementation

 
Our Approach

 
How CR Strategy Relates to Implementation

 
Where Do CSR Strategies Usually Come From?

 
How Do You Select and Refine Your CSR Focus?

 
How Should a Corporation Evaluate CR Strategies/Opportunities?

 
Driving Internal Change

 
Establishing a Change Movement Organization

 
Gaining Support of the Top Management Team

 
Establishing Organizational Momentum

 
Reinforcing Through Incentives

 
Partnering with External Parties

 
Measuring and Reacting

 
Social Sustainability

 
Conclusion

 
Notes

 
The Timberland Company: Managing a Socially Responsible Supply Chain

 
 
Index

Supplements

Instructor Resource Site
Calling all instructors!
It’s easy to log on to SAGE’s password-protected Instructor Teaching Site at study.sagepub.com/argenti for complete and protected access to all text-specific Instructor Resources for Corporate Responsibility. Simply provide your institutional information for verification and within 72 hours you’ll be able to use your login information for any SAGE title! 

Password-protected Instructor Resources include the following:

  • A Microsoft® Word® test bank, is available containing multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions for each chapter. The test bank provides you with a diverse range of pre-written options as well as the opportunity for editing any question and/or inserting your own personalized questions to effectively assess students’ progress and understanding.
  • A Respondus electronic test bank, is available and can be used on PCs. The test bank contains multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions for each chapter and provides you with a diverse range of pre-written options as well as the opportunity for editing any question and/or inserting your own personalized questions to effectively assess students’ progress and understanding. Respondus is also compatible with many popular learning management systems so you can easily get your test questions into your online course.
  • Editable, chapter-specific Microsoft® PowerPoint® slides offer you complete flexibility in easily creating a multimedia presentation for your course. 
  • The Instructor Teaching Site includes an instructor manual with case notes and answers to case questions.
Key features

KEY FEATURES:    

  • Comprehensive real-world case studies in each chapter challenge students to think critically and apply the concepts they learned to cases based on realistic business situations.
  • A practical approach fosters critical thinking and encourages students to communicate and implement corporate responsibility strategically and effectively.
  • A focus on the business case for corporate responsibility demonstrates how corporate responsibility is both financially beneficial and necessary in today’s business environment.
  • An emphasis on communicating corporate responsibility illustrates the need for companies to find ways for constituencies to see them as responsible players.
  • An all-in-one resource for students describes the current landscape of corporate responsibility and guides them to what companies can and should do to cultivate responsible behavior.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

For instructors

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