'There is a difference between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Responsibility (CR). The former is based on social justice and the latter on making the free market more efficient.
This book argues that the compassion of social justice is being presented by right-wing politicians as left-wing socialism that would destroy the free market and reduce our standard of living. The dropping of “social” in CSR puts business above society. The social in CSR does not mean socialism but the common good. The society envisaged by neo-liberal ideology has no room for the “social” in CSR. People seeking to understand CSR also need to appreciate the ideologies of managerialism that support unethical management and of New Capitalism with its inhumanity.
The book suggests that a new form of business based on fairness between capital and labor, social business, could be built through pressure and active support from citizens and consumers. Citizens need to see through the political spin of the neo-liberals before an alternative to managerialism and New Capitalism can be found. The “social” in CSR accepts that business is responsible to society and that society should not be subservient to business.'
Type of Material:
Open (Access) Textbook
Recommended Uses:
In class,
individual,
team building
supplement to regular textbook
Technical Requirements:
HTML/Text, PDF. FireFox, Internet Explorer, Chrome
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Learn what is meant by corporate social responsibility
Learn that corporate responsibility is a viable means for linking business and consumerism with society in a meaningful and beneficial way.
Learn about a new form of business based on fairness between capital and labor, social business
Understand that business is responsible to society and that society should not be subservient to business
Target Student Population:
Undergraduate or graduate business students
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
General business knowledge would be hrlpful
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The text provides a clear outline of how the material will be presented in the textbook.
Its numerical system for categorizing the chapter material with the table of contents makes it easy to cross-reference material quickly and easily.
Each chapter has stated objectives that student should achieve upon reading each chapter of the text, along with self-test questions to assess one’s comprehension.
The pdf file of the textbook works really well with mobile reading devices that use Adobe Reader.
Each chapter is supported with a large bibliography to use to investigate further on the topics learned in each chapter.
Can be used for offline reading
Concerns:
There are no significant real-world illustrations or examples of how some of the theories in the text can be applied or are applied in practice.
The text appears to be too descriptive and should be a little more prescriptive, especially in the applications of its concepts.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Incorporates current phycology and sociology concepts into the fabric of corporate social responsibility and the concept of the social contract.
The textbook is well organized and follows a logical process as it takes you through each topic with each topic building upon the other.
The textbook does not have complicated jargon and is easy to read and digest quickly.
The book can be read in a few hours.
Provides examples and questions for clarity/comprehension.
The self-test questions cover the concepts taught in each chapter.
Concerns:
While the self-test assessments are good, they are too elementary and should include more personal reflection and thought about the concepts and how they are applied from a practical perspective.
Course number system does not have links to take you to other chapters or other sections of the textbook, which would make the textbook more interactive.
The textbook could have used more charts and figures to help better illustrate or explain the concepts. Not enough visuals.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The links within the textbook’s further reading sections take you directly to resources outside of the text that supplement the content already in the textbook.
The concepts and easy read of this textbook make it a perfect resource for training on CSR by HR departments.
The font in the textbook is easy to read and does not distract from the book’s learning material.
Concerns:
Could provide links to video resources that address the learning needs of auditory learners.
It already has links to outside resources, but none of it is video or audio context. This would make the content more accessible.
Not enough pictures or visual representations of espoused concepts.
Ads are through-out the book
Need to "join" BookBoon in order to read it (no charge, but submit email).
Creative Commons:
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