Corporate Social Responsibility ─ The Role of Business in Sustainable Development

Over the last 30 years, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a household term, reflecting a combination of factors that we have come to associate with that most catch-all of terms "globalization," including the widespread popular concern with such social issues as the environment and international human rights.

Corporate Social Responsibility examines the history of the idea of business ethics (which goes back at least to ancient Mesopotamia) before exploring the state of CSR today. This book argues that a wide-ranging understanding of the purpose of business is necessary to create value for a community of stakeholders which in turn can generate a sustainable future. The book suggests that corporations still have a long way to go, but remains optimistic. The book’s sanguine interpretation of the current state of corporate affairs and a recommended way forward, results not only from the authors analysis, but also his direct experience. This book presents the case that we are in the midst of a major paradigm shift in our understanding of the purpose of business and that this new understanding holds much promise for business being a significant force for a more just and peaceful world.

This work provides a concise overview of CSR and an important examination of the present and future work of the UN Global Compact and will be of interest to students of international organizations, international business and corporate social responsibility.

Oliver Williams is a member of the faculty of the Mendoza School of Business at the University of Notre Dame and is the director of the Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business.

Williams is the editor or author of 15 books as well as numerous articles on business ethics in journals such as the Harvard Business Review, California Management Review, Business Ethics Quarterly, the Journal of Business Ethics, Business Horizons and Theology Today. Recent books include Economic Imperatives and Ethical Values in Global Business: The South African Experience and Global Codes Today (co-authored with S. Prakash Sethi) and Peace Through Commerce: Responsible Corporate Citizenship and the UN Global Compact.

He served as associate provost of the University of Notre Dame from 1987-94 and is a past chair of the Social Issues Division of the Academy of Management. In 2006, he was appointed a member of the three-person Board of Directors at the United Nations Global Compact Foundation. The United Nations Global Compact is the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative with over 7,000 businesses around the world as members.