Prof Sarah Ashwin NAB 4.19

This course is available on the MSc in Accounting, Organisations and Institutions, MSc in Global Politics, MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (Human Resource Management/CIPD), MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management), MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (Organisational Behaviour) and MSc in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Any social science background.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming an expected element of corporate strategy. This course critically evaluates CSR, focusing on firms’ attempts to prevent labour standards violations in their supply chains. We begin by analysing the rise of CSR, setting it in the context of global value chains, international labour standards, and emerging private forms of regulation. We then analyse topics such as: the impact of CSR on corporate financial performance; whether CSR is an effective means of raising labour standards; theories of CSR; how to embed CSR within the firm and comparative CSR. The course includes plenty of examples of how large firms are dealing with the ethical challenges posed by global supply chains. The course is interdisciplinary, and students are encouraged to bring insights from their “home” discipline so that seminars become a mutual learning experience. The course will include one lecture from a CSR professional.

10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT. 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the ST.

One 2,000 word essay in LT.

Vogel, D. (2005) The Market For Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility, Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.

Crane, A. et al. (2008) The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility, Oxford: OUP.

Locke, R. (2013) The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in a Global Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Exam (60%, duration: 2 hours) in the summer exam period.
Essay (35%, 2000 words) and class participation (5%).