Harvard Business Review on Corporate Responsibility (Harvard...

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 208 pages
• Published by: Harvard Business School Press July 10, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1591392748
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1591392743
• Book Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 10.4 ounces

Book Description


Harvard Business Review on Corporate Responsibility




What and whom is a business for? This collection of articles gathers the latest thinking on the strategic significance of corporate social responsibility. Readers will develop an understanding of why businesses should continue to give money away even while laying off workers, how companies play a leadership role in today's social problems by incorporating the best thinking of governments and nonprofit institutions, and how community requirements are actually opportunities to develop ideas and demonstrate business technologies. Readers will see how corporate responsibility can lead to new markets and solutions to long-standing business problems.




The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series




The series is designed to bring today's managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. From the preeminent thinkers whose work has defined an entire field to the rising stars who will redefine the way we think about business, here are the leading minds and landmark ideas that have established the Harvard Business Review as required reading for ambitious businesspeople in organizations around the globe.




About The Author
Since 1984, Harvard Business School Press has been dedicated to publishing the most contemporary management thinking, written by authors and practitioners who are leading the way. Whether readers are seeking big-picture strategic thinking or tactical problem solving, advice in managing global corporations or for developing personal careers, HBS Press helps fuel the fire of innovative thought. HBS Press has earned a reputation as the springboard of thought for both established and emerging business leaders.

Reader Reviews
Traditional corporate executives may shudder when they hear the term "corporate responsibility". In their view, the corporation's responsibility is to maximize shareholder value within the bounds of the law. That's a tall order as it is, so resistance to the thought of additional sources of responsibility and additional relevant "stakeholders" isn't surprising. The writers gathered in this collection of papers from HBR see corporate responsibility less as a burden and more as an opportunity. The opportunity lies in creating new markets, resolving age-old business problems, improving public perception, strengthening brands, and melding the best ideas for governments and nonprofit institutions for doing well while doing good. This collection of eight essays provides a firm foundation in both critical and creative thinking on issues of corporate responsibility and active philanthropy. If the terrain is unfamiliar, the collection's fifth essay - "The Path of Kyosei should be a comfortable entry point. Canon's honorary chairman, Ryuzaburo Kaku, sets out five steps along a path toward a "spirit of cooperation". Practical but still intellectually not so challenging is Rosabeth Moss Kanter's "From Spare Change to Real Change: The Social Sector as Beta Site for Business Innovation". Craig Smith in "The New Corporate Philanthropy" sees philanthropic strategies as giving a competitive edge. A similar perspective, worked out in some detail, comes from Michael Porter and Mark Kramer in their contribution, "The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy". Charles Handy takes his turn at defining the extent of corporate responsibility in "What's A Business For?". A more impressive piece with far more potential payback for the executive reader comes from C.K. Prahalad and Allen Hammond in their recent essay, "Serving the World's Poor, Profitably". Also of high quality is Roger Martin's "The Virtue Matrix: Calculating the Return on Corporate Responsibility". For the more philosophical, a challenging and well-presented argument for strong corporate responsibility appears in "Can a Corporation Have a Conscience?" by the fittingly-named Kenneth Goodpaster and John Matthews. With a couple of weaker spots, this collection succeeds in bringing together some of the best recent thinking on the issue in recent years. To fill in the gaps, be sure to look at the best pieces from other publications. Comment | | (Report this)