(Template Date: 7/11/2012)
George Herbert Walker
School of Business & Technology
Fall, 2013 Term
Shanghai, PRC Campus
MNGT 5990
Corporate Responsibility and Society
Course Syllabus
Instructor
Dr. Robert Serben
Cell Phone: 314-324-6880
Email: bob@robertserben.com; robertserben97@webster.edu
Office Hours: Thirty minutes before class, after class, or by appointment
Catalog
Description
In this course, students evaluate the role of business in society and the
demands managers face in maintaining moral integrity while fulfilling their
obligations as agents of organizations and firms. Emphasis is placed on
ethical issues confronted by middle managers.
Prerequisites
None
Course Level
Learning
Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the students will be able to:
1. Identify conflicting interests and values between organizations and
their members, stakeholders, and publics.
2. Identify and evaluate the ethical and social claims and appeals
organizations and individuals employ to justify their values and actions.
3. Apply major ethical theories including utilitarianism, ethics of duty,
and virtue ethics to concrete organizational and personal situations.
4. Critically evaluate case studies and their own careers applying
appropriately the concepts of the corporation and of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR).
5. Recognize ethical issues confronting managers, including
organizational challenges to their integrity.
Materials
REQUIRED TEXTS: Werther, W.B., & David Chandler; Strategic
Corporate Responsibility, (2nd Ed.), Sage Publications, 2011, ISBN: 978-14129-7453-0
SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS: Identified in the weekly
schedule.
Grading
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
a. Class Attendance
Points Possible
300
b. Team course project
300
c. Participation in class discussions
300
d. The Final Examination
300
Page 1
Take the numerical score from the formula above and use the chart below to
determine the letter grade.
Activities
Letter
Grade
A
1200-1100 (4.00)
A-
1099-1000 (3.67)
B+
999-900 (3.33)
B
899-800 (3.00)
B-
799-700 (2.67)
C
699-600 (2.00)
F
599-000 (0.00)
Numerical Score
I
Incomplete (0)
W
Withdrew
WF
Withdrew/Failed
Corporate Social Responsibility and Society is a highly-interactive class
that will involve a combination of traditional lecture, group discussions,
case studies, and formal group activities that have considerable bearing on
the students’ success in the course. This approach is designed to facilitate
and encourage students’ learning in ways that are most conducive to adult
education. The classroom methodology will not only provide students with
experience in “speaking the language” of CSR, but will also present
measurable opportunities to put that language into practice.
Students will also discover that the course features a global perspective on
the issue of CSR, which includes a focus on the Chinese approach to both
global and domestic business practices. The course methodology will
proved students with opportunities to exercise formal and informal Group
Leadership techniques, to enhance their writing, speaking, and presentation
skills, and most certainly their workable knowledge of corporate ethics,
Corporate Social Responsibility, and their individual roles in these areas of
study and practice.
Students will be evaluated on their preparation for, contributions to, and
facilitation of class and group discussions on course subject matter. The
students are greatly encouraged to read and analyze current events in China
and in the global environment that appear in newspapers, magazines, and in
the news media.
Policy Statements University policies are provided in the current course catalog and course
schedules. They are also available on the university website. This class is
governed by the university’s published policies. The following policies are
of particular interest:
Page 2
University
Policies
Academic Honesty
The university is committed to high standards of academic honesty.
Students will be held responsible for violations of these standards.
Please refer to the university’s academic honesty policies for a
definition of academic dishonesty and potential disciplinary actions
associated with it.
Drops and Withdrawals
Please be aware that, should you choose to drop or withdraw from this
course, the date on which you notify the University of your decision
will determine the amount of tuition refund you receive. Please refer to
the university policies on drops and withdrawals (published elsewhere)
to find out what the deadlines are for dropping a course with a full
refund and for withdrawing from a course with a partial refund.
Special Services
If you have registered as a student with a documented disability and are
entitled to classroom or testing accommodations, please inform the
instructor at the beginning of the course of the accommodations you
will require in this class so that these can be provided.
Disturbances
Since every student is entitled to full participation in class without
interruption, disruption of class by inconsiderate behavior is not
acceptable. Students are expected to treat the instructor and other
students with dignity and respect, especially in cases where a diversity
of opinion arises. Students who engage in disruptive behavior are
subject to disciplinary action, including removal from the course.
Student Assignments Retained
From time to time, student assignments or projects will be retained by
the academic department for the purpose of academic assessment. In
every case, should the assignment or project be shared outside the
department, the student’s name and all identifying information about
that student will be redacted from the assignment or project.
Contact Hours for this Course
It is essential that all classes meet for the full instructional time as
scheduled. A class cannot be shortened in length. If a class session is
cancelled for any reason, it must be rescheduled.
Course Policies
Attendance and timeliness at all class sessions is absolutely necessary. If
students anticipate being late to or absent from a class, the professor must
be notified in advance via e-mail or phone, if at all possible.
Absence from group assignments may result in a lowered grade. Late
assignments will be accepted only if prior arrangements have been made
with the professor, but may be given reduced points, based upon individual
students’ mitigating circumstances, such as unavoidable business travel and
commitments, or personal or family illness.
Page 3
Week 1 Schedule Preparation for Class:
Focus:
Read:
 Chapter 1 in the class text
Foundations
 “Just Good Business.” The Economist. Web location:
http://www.economist.com/node/10491077
 “Going global: CSR is spreading around the world, but in different
guises.” The Economist. Web location: Going global | The
Economist (http://www.economist.com/node/10491136)
Classroom Discussion Topics: 1) Introduction and course logistics, 2)
CSR foundational concepts, 3) CSR value 3) CSR vs Strategic CSR, 4)
Begin - stakeholders’ expectations.
Team activity:
 Compare and contrast CSR sites: Lenovo, Changan, Wison.
 Begin to prepare for end-of-course team presentation: “The Value of
CSR to your firm.” Presented from the perspective of a CSR
consultancy to top management of a selected firm.
Week 2 Schedule Preparation for Class:
Focus:
Read:
 Chapter 2 in the class text
Stakeholders
 CSR Trends 2010: Stacking Up the Results. A joint report by Craib
Design & Communications and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLC.
Web location:
http://www.pwc.com/ca/en/sustainability/publications/csr-trends2010-09.pdf
o Pages: 4-5,, 20, 22-31, 36-39
Classroom Discussion Topics: 1) CSR relevancy (from previous week),
2) Stakeholders, 3) Business reporting/communication about CSR,4)
Benefits of CSR
Team activity:
 Expectations/alignment/non-alignment profiles of stakeholders.
 Examination of the Huagnzhou Wahaha website.
Week 3 Schedule Preparation for Class:
Focus:
Read:
 Chapter 3 in the class text – emphasis on pages 65 -76 “The
Classic viewpoints
Walmart Conundrum” in the class text
 Milton Friedman’s The Social Responsibility of Business is to
Extended Walmart
Increase its Profits. Web location:
case study
www.umich.edu/~thecore/doc/Friedman.pdf
 Charles Handy’s What’s a Business For? Web location:
Page 4
http://freepdfdb.com/pdf/onpoint-from-the-harvard-business-review22092936.html
Classroom Discussion Topics:
1) Friedman and Handy positions on CSR, 2) Stakeholders as change
agents, 3) Walmart case study, 4) Re-visiting the “Prioritizing Stakeholder
Demands” model (page 37 in the class text) as it relates to the Walmart case
study
Team activity:
 Identify Walmart’s placement on “The Business-Level CSR
Threshold” model on page 121 in the class text.
 Based on that placement, what advice would you offer the CEO of
Walmart on the firm’s current CSR objectives?
For next week – “Change and Your Company:”
As individuals, be prepared to share with your team the forces of change at
work in your company. How has your company reacted? Are there CSR
implications? If so, how might your company react? What challenges will
middle management face in implementing your company’s reactions to
change?
Week 4 Schedule Preparation for Class:
Focus:
Read:
 Chapter 4 in the class text (emphasis on pages 94-106)
Strategic context
 From Chapter 5 in the class text pages 119 – 137 and page 140, “A
of CSR
Firm’s CSR Plan of Implementation”
Classroom discussion topics:
1) Growing complexity - implications for strategy and CSR, 2) The CSR
filter, 3) Five driving forces of CSR, 4) Shareholder activism
Team activity:
 Choose one of the “Change and Your Company” situations to report
to the class.
Week 5 Schedule Preparation for Class:
Focus:
Read:
 Chapter 8 in the class text, pages 319 – 331, “Environmental
CSR
Sustainability”
measurements and Review:
benefits
“Analyzing and Rating a CSR Program” tool
Classroom discussion topics:
Page 5
Definition and practical importance of sustainability
Team activities - most of the class:
 “Connecting the Dots:” in-depth examinations of CSR
measurements used at various business with the “Analyzing and
Rating a CSR Program” tool
 Calculating a smaller carbon footprint exercise
 A look at InnoCSR , a Shanghai based CSR consultancy that
produces Fortune China CSR Ranking Reports. (Please review: CSR
Trends 2010: Stacking Up the Results. A joint report by Craib
Design & Communications and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLC
from Week 2)
 Teams will report on the specific business benefits identified on the
examined sites.
Week 6 Schedule Preparation for Class:
Read
Focus:
 Chapter 6: pages 167-172, “Employee Relations” in the class text
Middle
 Internal CSR communication and employee engagement. PDF.
management and
 “Measures of Ethics Related Actions and Expected Program
dilemmas
Outcomes” (pages 8-15) in Critical Elements of an Organizational
Culture. PDF. Web location:
www.workingvalues.com/Dec06WorkingValuesWhtPpr.pdf
 Business Ethics: A View from the Trenches. PDF.
Classroom Discussion Topics:
1) CSR and employee engagement, 2) Stresses on middle management, 3)
Reasons for unethical behavior, 4) “From the trenches…”
Team activity:
Middle management support is key to any strategic plan implementation.As
a CSR consultant, how would you advice executive leadership to determine
the stresses on middle management in implementing CSR objectives – and
what actions can be taken.
Week 7 Schedule Preparation for Class:
Focus:
Read:
 A Manager’s Primer: 14 propositions. PDF
Classic views
 Unilever: Responding to Stakeholder Concerns. Kodaikanal, India
Web location: http://www.unilever.com/sustainableReal situations
living/Respondingtostakeholderconcerns/
 Unilever: Responding to Stakeholder Concerns. Micro-Plastics
Web location: http://www.unilever.com/sustainableliving/Respondingtostakeholderconcerns/microplastics/
 Chapter 8 in the class text – Case study. Accountability: ISO 26000,
Page 6
pages 305-308
Classroom Discussion Topics: 1) The ways we see things (schools of
ethical thought: utilitarianism, ethics of duty, and virtue), 2) 14
propositions, 3) Your reactions to Unilever’s handing of the situation in
Kodaikanal, India, and its position on micro-plastics, 4) accountability ISO
26000
Team activity:
What to do when a problem arises: Development of internal/stakeholder
communication processes.
Week 8 Schedule Preparation for Class:
Read:
Focus:
Chapter 7 in the class text: pages 262
Team
presentations.
Classroom Discussion Topics:
Product safety: Monsanto, and genetically modified foods – all sides of the
issue.
Team PowerPoint presentations. “The Value of CSR to your firm.”
Presented from the perspective of a CSR consultancy to top management of
a selected firm. Teams not presenting will act as the “client.”
Week 9 Schedule Preparation for Class: Review all textbook chapters, notes, and handouts.
Focus:
Course review
Classroom Discussion Topics: Final Examination
PURCHASING TEXTBOOKS - The textbook for this course will be available through the
Shanghai Campus administrative offices. The textbook should be purchased well before the
beginning of the first class, if possible, to permit the reading of the first week’s course topics.
Original approved by:
Richard Foristel, JD, Director of China Campuses
Approval Date: November 3, 2012
Page 7