Global Corporate
Responsibility
WEEK 1
Introduction/Course
Outline
Dr Kate Grosser
Overview
Have you checked out the Canvas site?
Week Topic
Week 1 Introduction/ Course Outline
Week 2 Globalization, Regulation and CSR
Week 3 CSR and business strategy
Syllabus
Week 4 Stakeholders and Multidisciplinary Perspectives
Week 5 Multi-stakeholder CSR Governance
Week 6 Business and human rights
Week 7 Global business stakeholders: Workers/labour rights
Week 8 Global business stakeholders: Marketplace drivers
Week 9 Global business stakeholders: Ecological environment
Week 10 Essay Writing workshop
Week 11 Global business stakeholders: Communities
Week 12 Course review and the future of CSR
Listen to the lectures
The lectures provide you with an overview: broad context
and an introduction to relevant concepts, debates and ideas
Complete the readings
The readings provide you with more in-depth academic
research and are directly linked to your assessments. The
readings also form the basis of your tutorial discussions
Participate in your tutorials
In tutorials you get to extend your learning, engage in
debate and discussion, build your skills and get hands on
assessment support. The more you participate, the more
you will get out of these sessions
Assessment in this course
Assessment 1 Individual 1500 words Building your understanding
Report (30%) of core course concepts and
how they are applied in
global business.
Assessment 2 Group Case 10 minutes Applying key concepts and
study and presentation theories to identify real-
Presentation (6 slides) world impacts and propose
(30%) solutions
Assessment 3 Individual 2000 words Addressing current debates
Essay and demonstrating in-depth
(40%) knowledge of course content
Assessment and academic integrity
Why Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
The changing relationship between business and society
Globalization, privatization deregulation associated with
the growing economic and political power of corporations
and their changing role in society.
Leading to calls for increased corporate responsibility.
Why CSR?
A new definition of the “purpose of a
corporation.”
The Business Roundtable, a group of chief executive officers of nearly 200
major U.S. corporations, 2019 (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/19/the-ceos-of-nearly-two-hundred-companies-say-
shareholder-value-is-no-longer-their-main-objective.html)
‘drops the age-old notion that corporations function first and foremost to serve
their shareholders and maximize profits. Rather, investing in employees,
delivering value to customers, dealing ethically with suppliers and supporting
outside communities are now at the forefront of American business goals’
‘Each of our stakeholders is essential. We commit to deliver value to all of
them, for the future success of our companies, our communities and our
country.’
(Signatories include Apple's Tim Cook, JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, IBM's
Ginni Rometty, GM's Mary Barra, BlackRock’s Larry Fink.)
What’s new? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIRUaLcvPe8
Defining CSR
‘CSR refers to the integration of an enterprise's social,
environmental, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities
towards society into its operations, processes and core
business strategy in cooperation with relevant
stakeholders.’
(Rasche et al., 2017, p.6)
Defining CSR
‘Whatever definition one might adopt, CSR needs to be distinguished from
corporate social irresponsibility (CSIR). CSIR is more than the failure of a
firm to perform CSR. Corporations can deliberately decide to become
engaged in CSIR (e.g. when paying bribes), but firms can also 'stumble into'
acts of irresponsible behaviour without any direct intention (e.g. when
underestimating business risks). We refer to CSIR as corporate activity that
'negatively affects an identifiable social stakeholder's legitimate claims (in
the long run) (Strike, Gao and Bansal, 2006: 852)’. (Rasche et al., 2017,
p.10.)
Some would argue that CSR and CSIR are extreme ends on a continuum
and thus mutually exclusive. This, however, neglects that CSR and CSIR
can exist simultaneously in a corporation. Kotchen and Moon find in a study
of 3,000 publicly traded companies that firms that do more 'harm' (CSIR)
also do more 'good' (CSR) (Kotchen and Moon, 2012). In other words, firms
often invest in CSR to compensate for past, present or anticipated
irresponsible acts..’ (Rasche et al., 2017, p.10.)
Defining CSR
CSR concerns social and environmental impacts throughout your value chain
(e.g. Crane et al., 2014)
CSR is primarily about how you make your profits, not how you spend them
(e.g. Crane et al. 2014)
CSR includes both the negative social and environmental impact of
corporations (‘negative externalities’) as well as their positive impacts
–‘Do no harm’ as well as (and before) ‘Do good’ (Rasche et al. 2017)
Please note – lecture slides are not an appropriate reference in your
assignments. You need to do your own reading and reference that.
Reminder: For an overview and introduction to CSR - READ the first
required reading for Week 1, by Rasche et al., 2017)
Different kinds of CSR
Traditional CSR Contemporary CSR
Focus Risk Reward
Drivers Image, Brand, Public Acceptance Performance, Markets, Products
Actors Corporation, unilateral Corporation + Multi-stakeholder networks,
philanthropy collaborative value creation
Relationship to bottom- No direct contribution: Integral goal:
line/business strategy CSR is value distribution CSR is value creation
Orientation Reactive Proactive
Short popular name ‘CSR is bolt-on’ ‘CSR is built-in
(From Crane, Matten and Spence, 2014, p.67.)
RMIT University©yyyy School/Department/Area 14
More critical perspectives on CSR
‘In one sense, we have come a long way from the old mantra that the
true purpose of business is to pursue profits within the confines of the
law. But that does not mean any fundamental change has taken place
to the economic system. The corporate espousal of progressive
causes is not a reversal of the self-interest that underpins capitalism,
but a marked extension of it.’
‘Making a gesture towards progressive causes has become a
substitute for action.’
From Rhodes (2021) The Guardian
(https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/28/progressive-gestures-big-
business-useless-dangerous - see Week 1 readings)
More critical perspectives on CSR
‘Current formulations of CSR do not pay sufficient attention to
issues of power, discourse and subjectivities and a critical
perspective will enhance our understanding of both the limits
of CSR and the institutional and political arrangements
required to overcome these limits (Banerjee, 2014, p.93)
Key questions
1. How does CSR relate to regulation and the governance of
corporations?
2. Is there a conflict between shareholders and
stakeholders? Who benefits most from CSR?
3. Is CSR practice focused mostly on ‘doing no harm’
(addressing negative externalities) or on ‘doing good’?
4. Can CSR help resolve the big social and environmental
challenges of our time? Or does it hinder efforts to address
these problems?
Global Corporate
Responsibility
Thank you!
Do yourself a favour:
• Read this week’s readings
• Attend your tutorial
See you next week!
