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Prof Sarah Ashwin NAB 4.19

This course is available on the BSc in Management, International Exchange (1 Term) and International Exchange (Full Year). This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

Any social science background

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming an expected element of corporate strategy. This course critically evaluates CSR, focusing on firms’ attempts to prevent labour standards violations in their supply chains. We begin by analysing the rise of CSR, setting it in the context of global value chains, international labour standards, and emerging private forms of regulation. We then analyse topics such as: the impact of CSR on corporate financial performance; whether CSR is an effective means of raising labour standards; theories of CSR; how to embed CSR within the firm and comparative CSR. The course includes plenty of examples of how large firms are dealing with the ethical challenges posed by global supply chains. The course is interdisciplinary, and students are encouraged to bring insights from their “home” discipline so that seminars become a mutual learning experience. The course will include one lecture from a CSR professional.

10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of classes in the LT. 1 hour of classes in the ST.

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the LT.

Locke, R. (2013) The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in a Global Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  Vogel, D. (2005) The Market For Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility, Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. Crane, A. et al. (2008) The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility, Oxford: OUP. Elliot, K.A. and Freeman, R. (2003) Can Labor Standards Improve Under Globalization?, Washington D.C.: Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Exam (60%, duration: 2 hours) in the summer exam period.
Essay (40%, 2000 words) in the ST.