CSR as a Management Idea: Ethics in Action

CSR (corporate social responsibility) has become a widely diffused concept in the business world. This book explores CSR as a management idea, that is, as a tool for organizational reform. It shows that CSR has much in common with other popular management ideas such as lean production, total-quality-management, just-in-time, business-process-reengineering and six sigma, but there are also significant differences.The book demonstrates how CSR standards are set and spread in the business community, but also what happens when CSR reaches management and is implemented and used in daily operations. The results represent a significant contribution to the literature on CSR by generalizing the concept and its operationalization. Moreover, the book contributes to organizational literature by highlighting important differences between popular management ideas and how they affect organizations. CSR as a Management Idea will prove invaluable to researchers and practitioners with an insight in the subject of CSR and business management. Students of more advanced courses in management and business ethics will also find plenty of innovative information from this important study. Contributors: M. Ardenfors, T. Borglund, N. Egels-Zandén, M. Frostenson, S. Furusten, M. Jutterström, M. Kallifatides, P. Norberg, S. Walter, A. Werr

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface 1. CSR as a Management Idea Mats Jutterström and Peter Norberg 2. Similarities and Differences between Management Ideas Mats Jutterström 3. Talking and Taking Responsibility from a Historical Perspective Peter Norberg 4. Organizations that Set CSR Standards Mats Jutterström 5. CSR and the Consultancy Sector – what is Offered, and by Whom? Staffan Furusten, Andreas Werr, Matilda Ardenfors and Sabine Walter 6. CSR Consultants in Interaction with Industry Tommy Borglund 7. Conflicts Surrounding the CSR Manager Tommy Borglund and Peter Norberg 8. CSR Travels into the Organization Magnus Frostenson 9. CSR as a Practice: Conflicting Principles – a Practical Dilemma Markus Kallifatides and Niklas Egels-Zandén 10. Results on Similarities and Differences Mats Jutterström and Peter Norberg 11. CSR as a Management Idea – Discussing the Contribution Mats Jutterström and Peter Norberg Appendix: CSR Standard-setters Index

About the Author :
Edited by Mats Jutterström and Peter Norberg, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden

Review :
‘There is much written about management fashion and about corporate social responsibility (CSR), but nothing which combines the two. This volume provides unique insight into both CSR and the travels of management ideas. It gets to the detail of CSR in practice, its institutions and actors in different contexts, and shows how it can be better understood with the broader lens of “CSR as a management idea”. Both those with interests in CSR and in management ideas will benefit from this collection.’