Business ethics and social responsibility Books

Book SynopsisThe term sustainability has become one of the most significant in the current era. It seems to be ubiquitous amongst academics, politicians, business leaders, media personnel and even the general public. It is no exaggeration to state that it is considered all over the world to be the most pressing issue to be addressed for the long-term future of the planet and its inhabitants. The topic is of course complex, and the issue of sustainability is under much debate as to what it actually is and how it can be achieved, but it is completely certain that the resources of the planet are fixed in quantity and, once used, cannot be reused except through being reused in one form or another. At present, much of the discourse of sustainability has focused upon the environment and in particular upon climate change and the effects that this is having. Thus, the discourse has tended to be about mitigation.Sustainability of course requires all three pillars of the triple bottom line—economic, environmental and social—to be addressed. Indeed, it might be considered that the effects upon the social, and how we choose to live our lives, might well be the most profound effect of achieving sustainability. This book therefore focuses upon some of the many aspects of the social and how we can adapt our lives to accommodate the requirements of sustainability. it therefore takes a very different approach to addressing the issues of sustainability, while of course not ignoring the other pillars.This book therefore sets out to examine various aspects of the changes to personal, corporate and institutional behaviour which may have to come about in our search for sustainability. It is tended to address some of the issues and how they are being dealt with in various parts of the world. As always, our concept is to share best practice and thereby enrich both the discourse and our progress towards sustainability. Thus, we focus upon the current situation while also considering the extent to which the focus is changing so much that we need to think about new approaches to our understanding of behaviour and differing effects in practice. The international origins of the contributors to this book make this an original contribution taking some of the best ideas from around the world.This book therefore addresses these issues from a perspective not generally addressed by researchers, or even by politicians and the press. It therefore provides fresh perspectives upon the important issue of our common future. As always, this approach is based on the tradition of the Social Responsibility Research Network srrnet.org (a worldwide body of scholars with membership of several thousand), which in its 20-year history has sought to broaden the discourse and to treat all research as inter-related and relevant to business. This tradition has always been to explore the subject widely and to seek relevant solutions, while also sharing best practice. This book is based primarily upon some of the contributions from the network at our recent conference and shows both commonality and diversity in approaches and effects.Table of ContentsPart 1 Changing practice: 1. Fostering digital sustainability in higher education through e-learning concepts Khoyratty Bushra & Bheekharry Normada Devi.- 2. Intrapreneurship: a competent method toward organizations' sustainability Najwa Ashal, David Crowther & Fayez Albadri.- 3. Media Regulation in Mauritius: A Critical Analysis Ambareen Beebeejaun.- 4. Greenstraw: A social enterprise practicing and promoting sustainability Srushti Govilkar, Kritika Jaiswal, Ruchi Tewari & Aatman Shukla.- Part 2 Managing sustainability: 5. Sustainability Reforms and Corporate Disclosure: The Case of a Small Island Developing State Dineshwar Ramdhony.- 6. Contribution to the Implementation of SDG 4 – the case of Université des Mascareignes, the youngest public Higher Education Institution in Mauritius Vimi Neeroo Lockmun-Bissessur, Martin Samy & Swaleha Peero.- 7. The Impact of Leadership on Engagement at Work: A Comparison Between Temporary and Staff Workers Maria João Santos & Flávio Oliveira.- Part 3. Preparing for the future: 8. The Sustainability Reporting in the Municipalities: A Study in Portugal Cristina Gois.- 9. School Citizen Assemblies: Developing educational and civic engagement ecosystems of action and social change Chris McLean.- 10. Improving corporate governance practices in the Catholic Church's dioceses José Lázaro Oliveira Nunes, Marcia Juliana d’Angelo & Raysa Geaquinto Rocha.- 11. Relationships among the New Facet Leadership Style, quality of work life, satisfaction and performance in the secondary schools of Mauritius Subrun Veerunjaysingh.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a contemporary and thought-provoking exploration of the concept of practical wisdom--what it is and how it can be incorporated into evaluation practice. It defines what practical wisdom is, explores its roots, where it stands today, what constitutes the ""wise"" evaluator, and how we can develop sound judgment in an unpredictable and chaotic time. It brings together evaluation thought leaders and practitioners to examine the concept of practical wisdom. The authors' enlightening essays are interwoven with reflective strands comprised of commentaries, examples, and new ideas added by Hurteau and her colleagues that offer a recursive and intricate pattern of reflection on the topic of practical wisdom.This is a rare book because it moves beyond evaluation methodology to explore how practical wisdom can help us develop new and better solutions for difficult evaluation situations. It will become a standard reference for practitioners, trainers. and teachers of evaluation because it considers the history, ethics, and competencies that underpin practical wisdom, and examines the ways that this untaught skill can be applied, to do, as House says, "the right thing in the special circumstances of performing the job.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a contemporary and thought-provoking exploration of the concept of practical wisdom--what it is and how it can be incorporated into evaluation practice. It defines what practical wisdom is, explores its roots, where it stands today, what constitutes the ""wise"" evaluator, and how we can develop sound judgment in an unpredictable and chaotic time. It brings together evaluation thought leaders and practitioners to examine the concept of practical wisdom. The authors' enlightening essays are interwoven with reflective strands comprised of commentaries, examples, and new ideas added by Hurteau and her colleagues that offer a recursive and intricate pattern of reflection on the topic of practical wisdom.This is a rare book because it moves beyond evaluation methodology to explore how practical wisdom can help us develop new and better solutions for difficult evaluation situations. It will become a standard reference for practitioners, trainers. and teachers of evaluation because it considers the history, ethics, and competencies that underpin practical wisdom, and examines the ways that this untaught skill can be applied, to do, as House says, "the right thing in the special circumstances of performing the job.

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Book SynopsisToday's businesses have an obligation to conduct themselves in an ethical and responsible manner at all times. Fortunately, many businesses have historically embraced the idea that they can operate in an ethically & responsible manner. However, there are way too many companies that are willing to cut corners and do whatever it takes to make a profit, thus contributing to the vortex of mistrust, distrust, misinformation, disinformation and less than full disclosures as a result of their unethical misconduct. This book takes the position that 'enough is enough' and argues that all businesses can and must be ethically responsible no matter its size or whether it operates locally or globally. The book describes the features of an ethically responsible (e.g., ethical and socially responsible) organization that is committed to always "doing the right things" which means they are committed to building, institutionalizing and sustaining an ethically oriented organizational culture. Ethical responsibility means maintaining —even improving— your bottom line, while setting a high bar for high ethical standards AND making a positive contribution to society. The book argues that organizations must be attentive to ensuring that the culture has as its core accountability, responsibility, and learning which means it invests in developing and expecting all of its employees to be fully engaged in making ethical decisions and being ethical leaders. The book also discusses what it means to be an ethically responsible global business, leader, middle manager, and lower level employee.The Ethically Responsible Organization provides a detailed look at the importance of organizations doing preventive work to avoid ethical falls or scandals and takes the position that if such a fall or scandal occurs then the company should seize the moment and learn from the experience by becoming a learning organization. The book also takes the position that an ethically responsible organization is already a learning organization where continuous inquiry, diagnosis, reflection, learning and self-correction is the keystone of the way it operates. Finally, the book offers some ideas on how organizations can reinforce and sustain themselves as ethically responsible businesses today and in the future by taking a strategic approach to ethics that includes constant and consistent ethics training and education for all its employees and partners. In the end, the purpose of the book is to continue to increase our understanding of why organizations stray from "doing the right things" and how a focus on being ethically responsible can position companies to avoid or quickly respond to any potential ethical misconduct or find themselves in the list of the years' top ethical scandals. This book is written for all those who also take the stance that 'enough is enough' when it comes to the headlines of another failure because the organization's leaders would not commit to being ethically responsible and find themselves in the throes of an ethical scandal and unable to recover from it – and like "Humpty Dumpty, all the kings horses and all the kings men the company can't recover from what was a preventable ethical fall.

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Book SynopsisToday's businesses have an obligation to conduct themselves in an ethical and responsible manner at all times. Fortunately, many businesses have historically embraced the idea that they can operate in an ethically & responsible manner. However, there are way too many companies that are willing to cut corners and do whatever it takes to make a profit, thus contributing to the vortex of mistrust, distrust, misinformation, disinformation and less than full disclosures as a result of their unethical misconduct. This book takes the position that 'enough is enough' and argues that all businesses can and must be ethically responsible no matter its size or whether it operates locally or globally. The book describes the features of an ethically responsible (e.g., ethical and socially responsible) organization that is committed to always "doing the right things" which means they are committed to building, institutionalizing and sustaining an ethically oriented organizational culture. Ethical responsibility means maintaining —even improving— your bottom line, while setting a high bar for high ethical standards AND making a positive contribution to society. The book argues that organizations must be attentive to ensuring that the culture has as its core accountability, responsibility, and learning which means it invests in developing and expecting all of its employees to be fully engaged in making ethical decisions and being ethical leaders. The book also discusses what it means to be an ethically responsible global business, leader, middle manager, and lower level employee.The Ethically Responsible Organization provides a detailed look at the importance of organizations doing preventive work to avoid ethical falls or scandals and takes the position that if such a fall or scandal occurs then the company should seize the moment and learn from the experience by becoming a learning organization. The book also takes the position that an ethically responsible organization is already a learning organization where continuous inquiry, diagnosis, reflection, learning and self-correction is the keystone of the way it operates. Finally, the book offers some ideas on how organizations can reinforce and sustain themselves as ethically responsible businesses today and in the future by taking a strategic approach to ethics that includes constant and consistent ethics training and education for all its employees and partners. In the end, the purpose of the book is to continue to increase our understanding of why organizations stray from "doing the right things" and how a focus on being ethically responsible can position companies to avoid or quickly respond to any potential ethical misconduct or find themselves in the list of the years' top ethical scandals. This book is written for all those who also take the stance that 'enough is enough' when it comes to the headlines of another failure because the organization's leaders would not commit to being ethically responsible and find themselves in the throes of an ethical scandal and unable to recover from it – and like "Humpty Dumpty, all the kings horses and all the kings men the company can't recover from what was a preventable ethical fall.

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