School of Management, Unit Catalogue 2010/11 |
MN50480: Principles of corporate social responsibility |
 Credits:
| 6 |
| Level:
| Masters |
| Period: | This unit is available in... |
| Semester 2 |
| Assessment:
| CW40EX60 |
| Supplementary Assessment: | Supplementary assessment information not currently available (this will be added shortly) |
| Requisites:
| |
| Description:
| Aims: Corporate social responsibility is an increasingly important aspect of the contemporary business world. This unit examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) and focuses on exploring the responsibilities of private, public and voluntary organisations in respect of a range of contemporary environmental and social issues and in the context of differing ethical frameworks. The unit analyses CR from a range of different theoretical and empirical perspectives including stakeholder theory, institutional theory and ethical theories. The unit will enable students to engage with and appreciate different perspectives and approaches for dealing with the complex ethical, social and environmental issues that arise within today's global business environment. The unit aims to equip them with tools and approaches necessary for the development of rounded perspectives on them. Learning Outcomes: Upon completing the unit, students will be able to: * Demonstrate a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the different ethical principles which constitute CSR, and how these perspectives inform various codes of conduct and self-regulatory standards for CSR that are advocated by stakeholder groups and companies. * Understand the current and future challenges being faced by businesses as they negotiate their relationship with their physical and social environments in fast changing conditions, and the key questions these pose for corporate action, strategies and purposes. * Identify the tensions between conflicting business and social responsibilities and critique different managerial approaches to working with stakeholders to address issues of corporate social responsibility. * Apply the theoretical and practical aspects of corporate responsibility to a range of contemporary social and environmental problems. * Critically and creatively assess different approaches to the management of CSR issues and evaluate the prospects and limits of different policy approaches related to these issues. Skills: Studying the unit will help students to develop the skills to: * Coherently discuss, defend, and communicate perspectives relating to CSR in writing (T, F, A) * Identify and evaluate salient CSR challenges facing business organisations from multiple perspectives (T, F, A) * Evaluate and critically assess strategies for responding to social and environmental issues (T, F, A) * Interpret data and evidence concerned with companies and their social responsibilities (T, A) * Apply theories from strategy, economics, law and political science to real world cases relating to social responsibility (T, A). Content: Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interactions with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. The unit introduces the fundamental tools and perspectives of corporate responsibility and explores their application to various contexts and in respect of a range of issues. A variety of conceptual perspectives on CSR will be introduced and explored on the unit, including perspectives from business ethics, law, political science, economics, strategy and management. The unit emphasises stakeholder thinking and investigates its application to understanding of CSR and the development of corporate responses to social and environmental issues. Topics addressed include, but will not be restricted to: principles of business ethics, stakeholder theory, the historical origins of the CSR movement, different models and conceptions of CSR, the business case for CSR, CSR in the settings of markets, work and community, and the role of codes and self-regulatory standards for promoting CSR as an effective tool of governance. |