HR 301

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The course hopes to encourage students to appreciate the nuances of public economics in relation to managerial economics, and mass communication in relation to business communication; and with that context, students could work to understand different stakeholder perspectives on corporate social responsibility. Towards the end of this course, students should be able to explain the firm behaviour, discern the definitional issues that surround CSR, constructively critique the measurement methods of various CSR initiatives, present the challenges in responsibility reporting, and be aware of the roles of regulators and non-profit organizations. This course shall facilitate discussions to sensitize students to the intricacies in defining policies organization-wide and state-wide. Unit 1: Transaction cost perspective and ethics behind profit motive Theories of the FirmClassical, Managerial, Transaction Costs, Contract, Evolutionary, and Cooperative Games; Externalization; Tragedy of Commons Unit 2: Business case for CSR Evolution of the idea called CSRFrom Philanthropy to Social Enterprise and somewhere in between; Analysis of the definitions of CSR; Arguments surrounding the business case for involving in CSR; Trends in delivering CSR Unit 3: CSR Focal Points; Communicating CSR CSR Investments within the business, in the market, and in the community and for environment; CSR Communication decision and the paradox; Managing expectations at the boundaries and within the organization Unit 4: Measuring CSRManaging for metrics/outcomes Basics of non-financial reporting; Different approaches to measuring CSR; Triple Bottom Line; Benchmarking CSR Outcomes; Relation between Corporate Social Performance and Corporate Financial Performance; Social Performance Index Unit 5: CSR Reporting UN Guiding Principles; ISO 26000; OECD Guidelines; GRI Standard; SAI Standard; BRR, Clause 55 of the Listing Agreement; New Companies Act 2013, Clause 135; National Voluntary Guidelines by IICA, MCA; Trends in CSR Reporting Unit 6: CSR in India: Different Stakeholders and what they do Regulators and AdvisorsMinistry of Company Affairs, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Securities Exchange Board of India, CSR Consultants; Non-profit firms and their role in delivering CSR; Political Economy of CSR in India Prescribed Reading: Material for this course is compiled from various sources by the instructor, and shall be shared with the students on their group email as pre-reads prior to every session. References: 1. Andrew Crane, Dirk Matten, and Laura Spence. (2013). Corporate Social Responsibility: Readings and cases in a global context. Routledge. 2. Peter Fleming and Mark Jones. (2013). The End of Corporate Social Responsibility: Crisis and Critique. Sage Publishers.