Business Society

Corporations dominate our societies. They employ us, sell to us and influence how we think and who we vote for, while their economic interests dictate local, national and global agendas. Written in clear and accessible terms, this much-needed textbook provides critical perspectives on all aspects of the relationship between business and society: from an historical analysis of the spread of capitalism as the foundation of the 'corporate' revolution in the late nineteenth century to the regulation, ethics and exclusionary implications of business in contemporary society. Furthermore, it examines how corporate power and capitalism might be resisted, outlining a range of alternatives, from the social economy through to new forms of open access or commons ownership.

The Best of Peter F. Drucker on Non-Profits and the Public Sector Peter F. Drucker's classic and timeless insights on improving effectiveness in the public sector--including government agencies, hospitals, universities, and other nonprofits--are as relevant now as when they were written. In these prescient essays, Drucker explores the merits of proper governance for nonprofits and the public sector by offering advice and guidance on effective business management strategies to help leaders of these organizations better understand, and manage, the complex challenges they face in our volatile world. Public sector leaders will learn how to apply many of Drucker's trusted management practices to nonprofits. In this practical guide, Drucker offers insights on a range of perennial issues: the global economy board governance environmental challenges succession planning and other essential management topics Packed with evergreen advice from the world's most trusted management thinker, Peter F. Drucker on Nonprofits and the Public Sector is regarded as essential reading for all leaders in this sector of the economy.

Business and Society: Stakeholder Relations, Ethics and Public Policy by Lawrence/Weber/Post, has continued through several successive author teams to be the market-leader in its field. For over thirty years, Business and Society has been updated and reinvented in response to society’s relationship to business. Business and Society, 11e highlights why government regulation is sometimes required as well as new models of business-community collaboration. Business and Society, 11e is a book with a point of view. Lawrence, Weber and Post believe that businesses have social (as well as economic) responsibilities to society; that business and government both have important roles to play in the modern economy; and that ethics and integrity are essential to personal fulfillment and to business success. The book is designed to be easily modularized; an instructor who wishes to focus on a particular portion of the material may select individual chapters or cases to be packaged in a Primis custom product.

Business has a bad name for many people. It is easy to point to unethical and damaging behavior by companies. And it may seem straightforward to blame either indivuduals or, more generally, ruthless markets and amoral commercial society. In Honorable Business, James R. Otteson argues that business activity can be valuable in itself. The primary purpose of honorable businesses is to create value-for all parties. They look for mutually voluntary and mutually beneficial transactions, so that all sides of any exchange benefit, leading to increasing prosperity not just for one person or for one group at the expense of others but simultaneously for everyone involved. Done correctly, honorable business is a positive-sum activity that can enable flourishing for individuals and prosperity for society. Otteson connects honorable business with the political, economic, and cultural institutions that contribute to a just and humane society. He builds on Aristotle's conception of human beings as purposive creatures who are capable of constructing a plan for their lives that gives them a chance of achieving the highest good for humanity, focusing on autonomy and accountability, as well as good moral judgment. This good judgment can enable us to answer the why of what we do, not just the how. He also draws on Adam Smith's moral philosophy and political economy, and argues that Smithian institutions have played a significant role in the remarkable increase in worldwide prosperity we have seen over the last two hundred years. Otteson offers a pragmatic Code of Business Ethics, linked to a specific conception of professionalism, and defends this Code on the basis of a moral mandate to use one's limited resources of time, talent, and treasure to provide value for oneself only by simultaneously providing value to others. The result is well-articulated parameters within which business can be an acceptable-perhaps even praiseworthy-activity.

A roadmap to improve corporate social responsibility The 2016 U.S. Presidential Campaign focused a good deal of attention on the role of corporations in society, from both sides of the aisle. In the lead up to the election, big companies were accused of profiteering, plundering the environment, and ignoring (even exacerbating) societal ills ranging from illiteracy and discrimination to obesity and opioid addiction. Income inequality was laid squarely at the feet of us companies. The Trump administration then moved swiftly to scrap fiscal, social, and environmental rules that purportedly hobble business, to redirect or shut down cabinet offices historically protecting the public good, and to roll back clean power, consumer protection, living wage, healthy eating initiatives and even basic public funding for public schools. To many eyes, and the lens of history, this may usher in a new era of cowboy capitalism with big companies, unfettered by regulation and encouraged by the presidential bully pulpit, free to go about the business of making money—no matter the consequences to consumers and the commonwealth. While this may please some companies in the short term, the long term consequences might result in just the opposite. And while the new administration promises to reduce "foreign aid" and the social safety net, Stanley S. Litow believes big companies will be motivated to step up their efforts to create jobs, reduce poverty, improve education and health, and address climate change issues — both domestically and around the world. For some leaders in the private sector this is not a matter of public relations or charity. It is integral to their corporate strategy—resulting in creating new markets, reducing risks, attracting and retaining top talent, and generating growth and realizing opportunities. Through case studies (many of which the author spearheaded at IBM), The Challenge for Business and Society provides clear guidance for companies to build their own corporate sustainability and social responsibility plans positively effecting their bottom lines producing real return on their investments. This book will help: • Create an effective corporate social responsibility and sustainability plan • Provide long-term bottom line benefit • Protect and enrich brand value • Recruit and retain top talent Perfect for CEOs, CFOs, Human Resource/Corporate Affairs executives, but also for government and not-for-profit leaders, this book helps you come up with a solid plan for giving back to society, producing real sustainable value.

With an emphasis on psychoanalytic theory, Business, Ethics and Society: Key Concepts, Current Debates and Contemporary Innovations provides a clear, concise introduction to the field of business ethics, while addressing contemporary issues and debates around the impacts of artificial intelligence, social media, the gig economy and populist politics on business and society. The book features mini-case studies from a variety of contexts and companies, including Gillette, Nike, Dove, British Airways and Microsoft, as well as thought-provoking questions throughout. Also included are: - Learning objectives - Chapter summaries - Recommended reading Business, Ethics and Society: Key Concepts, Current Debates and Contemporary Innovations serves as an ideal introductory text for students of undergraduate business ethics-related courses. Lecturers can access a range of online resources for use in their teaching, including an instructor’s manual, PowerPoint slides and SAGE Business Cases.

As consumers, our access to—and appetite for—information about what and how we buy continues to grow. Powered by social media, increasingly we look at the companies behind the products and are disappointed when their actions do not meet our expectations. With engaged citizens acting as 24/7 auditors of corporate behavior, one formerly trusted company after another has had their business disrupted with astonishing velocity in the wake of what, in the past, might have been written off as a bad media cycle. Gone are the days when a company could hide behind “socially responsible” branding or when marketing controlled the corporate narrative. That control has shifted to engaged stakeholders in the new social landscape, requiring a more radical change to company practices. James Rubin and Barie Carmichael provide a strategic roadmap for businesses to navigate the new era, rebuild trust, and find their voice. Reset traces the global decline of trust in business at the same time that the public’s expectations for business’s role in society is increasing. Today, businesses must bridge this widening gap at a time when online stakeholders are committed to holding business accountable for its behavior, with unprecedented internal and external scrutiny. This requires strategic solutions anchored in a critical outside-in understanding of the stakeholder footprint of the business model. Reset offers case studies of reputations lost and found, suggesting fundamental strategies to mitigate risk and build the corporate brand. In this new era of instant transparency, corporate behavior has become the proof of corporate character for recruiting and retaining both customers and the next generation of talent. Offering essential advice for managing brand, reputation, and risk, this book is a guide to navigating the pitfalls and taking advantage of the opportunities of the reset.

The heightening impact of ecological and societal crises makes sustainability an increasingly urgent imperative, requiring a fundamental shift in how we understand and practice management and business. In this book, the authors set out the key characteristics of sustainability such as its temporal and multilevel effects and highlight the complex array of sustainability risks and opportunities for business and management. Setting business within a systems perspective, the authors outline different sustainability discourses that frame how business responds to the sustainability imperative. They call for the normative and scientific approaches to sustainability to be merged so that a new transdisciplinary approach that brings together the material and relational traditions in sustainability management is developed. Sustainability work is understood as the reframing of tools, technologies, practices and business strategies to respond to the imperative. The book concludes by highlighting dynamic features of the imperative as it is shaped by the urgent need to restore and regenerate social and ecological systems. Sustainability transitions such as the Circular Economy and Net Zero are suggested as inspiration for profound business transformation. By facing the intractable complexity associated with sustainability, this book challenges students and scholars to draw from across the sciences and social sciences to understand, reflect upon and deliver responsible business outcomes in contemporary society.

This comprehensive volume introduces the nature and the impact of the new information and communication technologies on business and society. Emphasizing the global impact, it draws upon examples from the USA, Europe, and Japan as well as the newly industrialized countries of the Pacific Rim. Applying a systems thinking approach, author Stephen D. Tansey covers: the environment of computing the IT industry, government and the information economy - and the recent development of e-government initiatives the need to regulate computing the role of IT in the workplace: its effect on organizations and jobs the impact of IT on society at large. Written for students studying business or IT, this book is an invaluable resource offering topical insights into the ways in which information technology is shaping our work and our lives. Without assuming any prior knowledge of either business or IT, this key text provides a unique, essential guide.

This book brings together leading scholars in the field of stakeholder management to bring to light new and cutting edge perspectives on this important field. It is intended as a resource for both emerging and established scholars to create innovative advances in stakeholder management.