Defining social responsibility

Corporate responsibility to society takes many forms and has an infinite number of dimensions. Many of the dimensions are international while others are more relevant to a particular society. This article reviews the development of the social responsibility movement in business and considers those elements most deserving of socially responsible behaviour for examples. In defining corporate responsibility to society, examples have been drawn from the South African environment.     

Corporate social responsibility and governance

Journal of Management and Governance -     

Corporate planning in local government

The author suggests that corporate planning in local government is concerned with giving purposive choice to our local communities through the political process. It is not concerned with making the choice, but it is concerned with ensuring that there is awareness that a choice is being made and that attempts are made to understand the impact of that choice.     

Assessing performance in local government

The author outlines the complexity of trying to measure performance in local government and poses the questions: performance review by whom?—elected members, professional officers, outside bodies and management consultants: for whom?—ratepayers, recipients of services, central government: and for what purpose?—to cut costs, to cut services, to improve efficiency. He then outlines the various techniques used to measure and assess performance in local government.     

British local government documentation

Outlines trends leading to a greater awareness of the importance of information and documentation within local government in Great Britain and pays special attention to the changing information needs of elected members and the general public. Some of the major categories of documentation produced by local authorities themselves are identified and evaluated in terms of their effectiveness as methods of communication. Suggestions for new ways of improving the accessibility of such documents and making them available to a wider audience are also made.     

Corporate management and planning in local government

Following the U.K. Local Government Act (1972) the shire countries in England and Wales incurred increased responsibilities in regard to transport planning. From 1974, they were required to produce annual transport plans (TPPs) conveying all aspects of transport within each county, the level of the resulting planning effort being far higher than previously undertaken. As a consequence of examining the application of the TPP arrangements, a number of general issues about corporate management and planning emerged. This article considers these issues and examines the extent to which they have been and will be overcome.     

Corporate planning for social responsibility

From his position as Senior Chaplain of a team of Industrial Chaplains, working in industry yet not part of it, the author probes the necessity for a global perspective as a setting for all decisions. The multi-national family of man with limited resources provides the context for multi-national planning and for corporate strategies. We need an ethic for society so that ethical considerations are seen to be pertinent to relationships between nations as well as relations between individuals. This paper suggests a simple model of the ethical dimensions of a global village, which will enable us to see the world perspective while operating at the corporate level and with immediate responsibilities that seem limited but are extensive.     

Correction to: Corporate social responsibility and governance

Journal of Management and Governance - The original version of this article contained a mistake. The list of the authors was incorrect. The authors of this article are: Jean-Michel Sahut, Marta...     

Making strategic planning work in local government.

Since decisions are made through the political process in local government, planners are being advised to modify their style of planning. Planners acknowledge the need to modify the practice of planning, but reforms are introduced within the framework of the comprehensive plan which continues to serve as the principal planning instrument. This results in internal conflicts within the planning process. In this paper a proposal is made for a planning system which is composed of a series of interacting building blocks. The planning process is molded to fit the management function and capability of those involved in the decision process. Plans are developed as management tools and the planning process accommodates the multiple centres which interact to produce a community's policies and strategies.     

Corporate social responsibility: the organizational view

Designing strategies for corporate social responsibility (CSR)-practice nowadays has become essential for organizations. Notwithstanding, how organizations appear internally in a socially responsible context toward their employees has been insufficiently investigated. This study aims at ascertaining how Internal CSR can be conceptualized as well as how it affects employees’ commitment. To do so, the manifestations of Internal CSR are discussed based on social identity theory and further literature, while the developed research model is checked for suitability through a survey generating 2081 employee responses from an international pharmaceutical company. As one result, it can be stated that the factors proposed to constitute Internal CSR are confirmed. Further, the findings entail the following conclusions: Internal CSR has a notable influence on employees’ Affective Organizational Commitment whilst relatively moderate impacting Normative Organizational Commitment. Additionally, Affective Organizational Commitment adopts a mediating function regarding Normative Organizational Commitment.     

Setting operational goals for corporate social responsibility

In this article the author argues that more formality in social responsibility planning efforts is a concept which is extremely pertinent in today's conditions. Rewards will accrue to the organization that can move beyond aesthetic objectives and achieve operationality in social responsibility goal setting. This requires, basically, the application of techniques that have proved to be successful in MBO programs. By translating broadly stated social objectives into goals that are clear, concise, time related and cost related, management will inject an increased measure of integrity into its planning process, improve social responsibility programs, assure future successes in the social performance arena, facilitate the appraisal of management personnel, and enhance the organization's credibility with its multiple publics. Positive benefits will flow to the organization, its immediate publics, and to the society at large as a consequence of operational planning methods as described herein.     

Examining the link between social responsibility and decision styles

The paper examines the factors that influence socially responsible decision making by individuals. The study found four social responsibility styles: Playing it Safe, Weather The Storm, Problem to Solve, and Hope it Goes Away. These styles describe individuals on the basis of decision style, propensity for risk, and coping style. The styles explain why people with different values might come to the same decision in the same circumstances.     

Revisiting the determinants of local government performance

Managing financial resources efficiently is a requirement for all levels of government. However, measuring the performance of governments or other public authorities is usually highly complex. The results of this type of assessment are likely to be biased or perverse. This study attempts to identify non-discretionary or exogenous variables that are associated with better/worse economic performance of local governments (the determinants of efficiency). Based on past research, the paper starts by providing a classification for the different types of determinants of local government performance. Afterwards, using data from all Portuguese municipalities, the relationship between a large number of factors and the efficiency scores is assessed. To accomplish this, several Tobit, OLS and double-bootstrap models were implemented. The efficiency scores are computed through non-parametric frontier methodologies. The results indicate that analysts must be prudent while interpreting the economic results achieved by each municipality. To be impartial and robust any performance evaluation model should (at least) consider the effects of the determinants of cost efficiency identified in this paper.     

Corporate planning in local government: Some measurement problems

A corporate planning system makes measurement demands on an organisation which it may not have met before. This paper describes these in the context of corporate planning in local government, and discusses some typical examples, especially as far as needs for services and the effects of providing them are concerned. It also deals with the extent to which choices can be measured, and with the constraints that a real-time decision system puts on the planner.     

Corporate planning in local government—a case study

The authors set out their view of the peculiar problems facing corporate planners in local government as compared with the private sector and their view of the nature of corporate planning in this special environment. By way of illustration as to how one local authority has attempted to introduce corporate planning, the article includes a case study of the City of Bradford Metropolitan Council.     

A neuroscience-based model of why and when CEO social values affect investments in corporate social responsibility

Why and when do CEOs invest in corporate social responsibility (CSR)? We theorize how CEOs' intrinsic motivations – their social values – and the incentivizing context interact to determine the utility they attach to generating collectively beneficial outcomes in decision-making, subsequently manifested in organizations' CSR investments. Based on a review of neuroscience evidence, indicating that social values are associated with distinct patterns of neural activation, we propose that these values are the compass by which CEOs navigate in complex decision environments. For CEOs with other-regarding values, generating collectively beneficial outcomes is part and parcel of their utility function. They are intrinsically motivated to invest in CSR, regardless of context. In contrast, CEOs with self-regarding values derive utility from generating collective benefits only when it is monetarily or socially incentivized. They are extrinsically motivated to invest in CSR when they stand to gain from it personally.     

Improving supply chain social responsibility through supplier development

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) emphasises that the entire supply chain of a company should protect natural environment and contribute to social well-being in a tangible way. This study aims to clarify the effects of supplier development practices on supply chain social responsibility. The investigation uses a qualitative case study approach and empirically explores how to develop supplier’s CSR capabilities in a pharmaceutical supply chain. The results indicate that manufacturers can apply supplier development practices, including standard operating procedures (SOPs), audits, collaboration and training, to develop supply chain social responsibility. SOPs and audits are indirect supplier development practices that are designed in response to institutional pressures, and collaboration and training are direct supplier development practices that provide resources for bridging supplier’s CSR capability gaps. In addition, the indirect and direct supplier development practices positively influence each other and they are complementary in enhancing supply chain social responsibility.     

Utilitarian,managerial and relational theories of corporate social responsibility

Concepts and theories of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been examined and classified by scholars since the mid‐1970s. However, owing to the evolving meaning of CSR and the huge number of scholars who have begun to analyze the issue in recent years fresh efforts are needed to understand new developments. Since there is a great heterogeneity of theories and approaches, the task remains a very hard one, mainly because heterogeneity derives from multi‐disciplinary diversity. The criterion for selection is to consider the role that theorists confer to the firm. Following this idea, three groups of theories have been discerned: (1) the utilitarian group, in which the corporation is intended as a maximizing ‘black box’ where problems of externalities and social costs emerge; (2) the managerial category, where problems of responsibility are approached from inside the firm (internal perspective); (3) relational theories, or those in which the type of relations between the firm and the environment are at the center of the analysis. The three perspectives allow the reader to understand the most significant differences between the various theories of CSR. The objective is to classify the theories and to draw a map in which group specificities can be made available. This allows scholars to reach a better understanding of corporate–society relations, and enhances developments both in theoretical and empirical terms.     

A modelling system for local government resource planning

A major problem in local government is how to maximise the effectiveness of resource allocation. Senior officers and members concerned with corporate and strategic issues must take account of contemporary information of considerable variety and combine this with estimates of the future in their attempts to achieve rational resource allocation. This article describes the development of an experimental computer based corporate modelling system at Clwyd County Council which was designed to support allocation decisions pertaining to a 5 year planning period. It is concluded that a firm basis was achieved for progress towards a comprehensive operational system.