Can good-will be good business? Firms are increasingly called upon to address matters such as poverty and human rights violations. The demand for corporate social responsibility (CSR) is directed mainly at top management in multinational corporations who are reminded that, in addition to helping to make the world a better place, their commitment to social action will be rewarded by lasting customer loyalty and profits. But is it true that firms that engage in social action will be rewarded...

From the New York Times–bestselling author of Business Adventures comes the chronicle of the stock market crash of 1929 and its aftermathLegend had it that anyone who passed through Golconda, a city in southern India, attained tremendous wealth. But Golconda, now in ruins, ran out of riches, and its glory vanished forever. Some have painted a similar picture of Wall Street between the two world wars. But there is more to the story of the bull marke...

Why, in the world's most affluent nation, are so many corporations squeezing their employees dry? In this fresh, carefully researched book, New York Times reporter Steven Greenhouse explores the economic, political, and social trends that are transforming America's workplaces, including the decline of the social contract that created the world's largest middle class and guaranteed job security and good pensions. We meet all kinds of workers—white-collar and blue-collar, high-tech ...

Businesses around the world are facing rapidly changing economic and social situations. Business leaders and managers must be ready to respond and adapt in new, innovative ways. The authors of this groundbreaking book argue that business people must adopt a 'holonomic' way of thinking, a dynamic and authentic understanding of the relationships within a business system, and an appreciation of the whole. Complexity and chaos are not to be feared, but rather are the foundation of successful b...

Drawing on his experience as a leader in some of the nation's largest corporations, Baum issues a convincing call for honest, ethical, "transparent" dealing throughout the business world. Baum outlines the management techniques he uses within and without the company to get outstanding results without skirting the rules or bending the truth. Baum maintains that by fostering trust, integrity and accountability at all levels within the corporation, managers can stop the erosion of employee lo...

Building the Responsible Enterprise provides students and practitioners with a practical, yet academically rooted, introduction to the state-of-the-art in sustainability and corporate social responsibility.The book consists of four parts, highlighting different aspects of corporate responsibility. Part I discusses the context in which corporate responsibility occurs. Part II looks at three critical issues: the development of vision at the individual and organizational leve...

We rely on NGOs to monitor the ethical practices of governments and for-profit firms and to undertake many humanitarian tasks that public and private actors will not do. While we are critical of public and private sector failures, we do not reflect enough on the credibility of the NGOs which take their place. Can we be sure that products NGOs label as child-labor free are in fact so, that the coffee labeled as 'fair trade' is farmed in sustainable ways, or that the working conditions monit...

The role of HRM in developing sustainable business organizations is increasingly attracting attention. Sustainability can be used as a principle for HRM itself and the tasks of Sustainable HRM are twofold. On the one hand it fosters the conditions for individual employee sustainability and develops the ability of HRM systems to continuously attract, regenerate and develop motivated and engaged employees by making the HRM system itself sustainable. On the other hand Sustainable HRM contribu...

The Right to Know is a timely and compelling consideration of a vital question: What information should governments and other powerful organizations disclose? Excessive secrecy corrodes democracy, facilitates corruption, and undermines good public policymaking, but keeping a lid on military strategies, personal data, and trade secrets is crucial to the protection of the public interest.Over the past several years, transparency has swept the world. India and South Africa ha...

Developing a corporate ethics program is a hot issue that will be the next big thing for large organizations. A drive toward standardized reporting of corporate ethics practices was coming anyway; the recent public corporate disasters will only encourage corporate executive teams to scramble to demonstrate to customers and shareholders that their organization takes these issues seriously. This book is an executive briefing for business people explaining how a corporation can combine leadin...

This book introduces the Map of Meaning which provides a clear, simple and profound framework of the dimensions and process of living and working meaningfully. The Map of Meaning is based on over 20 years' research into the insights and practice of ordinary people as they search for, lose and find meaning. Incorporating the ideas of philosophers, psychologists and sociologists, this book describes how human beings wrestle with, and answer, questions such as, "What gives my life and work me...

The UN Global Compact complements other corporate citizenship initiatives by promoting dialogue on the relationship between business and society. At the same time it is the only truly global corporate citizenship initiative. It is not an auditable standard; indeed, it is not a standard or a code in the way that these are normally viewed. It is a set of principles through which business and the United Nations can work in partnership for global social development. For some businesses it is a...