Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility - Annotated Bibliography Example

Running Header: Business in Society Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Business in Society Article 1 The article Suzanne, Y. & Vijaya, T. (2009). Governance, employees and CSR: Integration is the key to unlocking value, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. La Trobe University, Melbourne: Australia, 47:167. The Abstract This article shows how corporate governance has gained increased importance as many firms have been involved in bankruptcies and fraud and also decrease in value and jobs. The article also explores the importance of human resource as a major component of the governance system. It also expands on two resource-based firms and two finance-sector firms. The introduction The article enables one to understand human capital is recognised as the most important asset of a firm. It also shows how employees may affect corporate governance and that the role of employees is treated as a labour issue rather than as a concern of corporate governance. The literature review The literature review in this article shows that by integrating employees into corporate decision-making, Japanese firms are viewed as a unified body of employees and are seen as a factor that controls the firm. This article also shows the importance of employees as major components of governance system. It is argued that when divergence occurs between rhetoric, systems and practice, there occurs a failure of governance. The methods and data sections To come up with the conclusion of this case study, the author used quantitative method of data collection. This is where the author analyses the responsibilities of corporate executives and how they contribute to the needs of the shareholders. This is an appropriate way of answering the research questions in this case as the data given is convincing given the time the article was written. Analysis and results The results of this article shows that industrial relations approaches and labour unions provide a critical environment for a potential governance role for employees as they affect the mode, agenda and the effectiveness of various practices of employee participation. It is also shown that major stakeholders and employees need to be given governance role and voice on certain issues such as job design, technology choices and compensation. Conclusion and discussion The article concludes by explaining that CSR is a significant new organizational dimension though organizations vary in their approach used in corporate governance. It is also stated that labour is seen as a significant component for advancing CSR for example through a review of organizational statements. Companies such as Shell Australia is said to operate from stakeholder integrated model though despite its ratings it lacks full employee democracy and voice to employees as key stakeholders. Critical evaluation/analysis The explanation in this article shows that there is a divergent between views and statements of CSR and how these are operationalised throughout the organisation. The emphasis is more on environmental and financial sustainability while less importance is placed on the dimensions of workplace management and accompanying employee relations approaches. It is also analysed that benchmarks such as good reputation index rate organizations lower on workplace management issues than on other issues such as corporate governance and codes of conduct and social impacts such as philanthropy. Article 2 The article Suzanne, Y & Vijaya, T. (2008). A holistic model of corporate governance: A new research framework. The Abstract The purpose of this article is to give a new model of corporate governance that is holistic in that one that incorporates internal and macro perspectives across legal, regulatory, sociological and corporate strategic frameworks. The introduction The paper shows that researchers have seen the need o introduce a new theoretical perspective and new model of governance. The research conducted in the study focuses on regulation and burgeoning control such as accounting, auditing and legal frameworks. It shows that corporate governance has been constrained to mean the regulatory and administrative framework defining composition and operation of the corporate boards of public companies. The paper also sets a background and importance of corporate governance by discussing various frameworks used to study governance. The literature review As a result of corporate failures in USA more focus has increased on governance therefore the use of various types of frameworks to analyse the system such as regulation, behavioural and decision making. The article shows that corporate governance is examined with the aim of addressing the needs of different groups of stakeholders for example shareholders. Theorists show that corporate governance has focused on mechanisms and rules designed to align the interests of the owners of capital and the managers of corporations. It is also argued in the study that the rise in economic rationalism and the related increase in materialism of the public have fed corporate excesses. The methods and data sections The approach used in collection of the above data consists of theory building by reviewing the literature and by examining the gaps and limitations. Data was also collected though the analysis of for example behavioural frameworks which included factors such as power, self interest, gender and decision making. Analysis and results The paper has reviewed the significance of governance research and discussed existing frameworks. This is in light of rampant governance failures that are presented in the multi-theoretic model incorporating internal and macro perspectives across legal, regulatory, sociological, and ethical and corporate strategic frameworks. Conclusion and discussion The article has increased the understanding of why behavioural events transpire and shows how to prevent further occurrences. The model shown in this paper has also highlighted the wide range of issues that researchers and practitioners need in order to address the loopholes leading to governance failures when a piecemeal approach is used. Critical evaluation/analysis The proposed model in this article is a distinctive contribution to theory and practice in three ways. One is where it integrates the firm-specific, micro factors with the country-specific, macro factors to illustrate the holistic nature of corporate governance. The other factor is that shareholders and stakeholders are shown to be one component and finally is that the model veers away from singular approaches therefore dealing with corporate governance using a multi-disciplinary perspective. The limitation of the study is the challenge to operationalise the model and to test it empirically. Article 3 The article Arash, S. & Mohamed, Z. (2007). Corporate governance as a critical element for driving excellence in corporate social responsibility. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. 24.7(753-770). The Abstract The purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of corporate governance in delivering excellence in corporate social responsibility. The introduction The paper introduces the topic by showing that today firms are not only expected to be virtuous but to also practice social responsibility. This is by responding to new rules of the game for example rules set by the changing industry and market structure as well as the basis of competition. The paper also shows that corporate conduct consists of legitimacy, governance, equity, environment, employment, public relationships and ethics. CSR has also been defined as the duty of the organisation to respect individuals’ rights and to promote human welfare in its operations. The literature review The paper introduces various approaches of CSR and their area of application for example the approach for efficient and ethical pursuit of core business activities can be applied in making environmentally and social responsible decisions. Other approaches include social investment and philanthropy and contribution to the public policy debate. The study shows that leadership influence socially responsible organisations and should be changed to make organizations more responsible to the society. The study also shows that managers work for and work with transformational leaders but when being task oriented, managers consolidates while transformational leaders redefines. The methods and data sections This study shows the models of corporate governance and the elements affecting corporate social responsibility. This is done through a framework as a process based management system and studies the role of leadership style for socially responsible organisations. The paper also develops a comprehensive questionnaire that enables various organizations to audit their commitment to environment and social responsibility. The article shows that CSR is a concept to run organisations in a socially responsible way and that it achieves business sustainability and stakeholder satisfaction. Analysis and results A complete study is provided by the paper to help in understanding the key elements of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. This study therefore proposes the questionnaire method of assessing how far organizations are able to move towards socially responsible organizations. Conclusion and discussion The case above shows that six items have meaningful differences from the test value and the three greater ones include employee involvement, employee education and training. The article also shows that currently most organisations are implementing quality improvement programs for example in Iran. The case also provides a new perspective of assessing capabilities which involve the need to evaluate the questionnaire and its application in organizations. Critical evaluation/analysis This article reflects that corporate governance contains both internal and external factors which influence the management of the organisations. The paper also shows that leadership style is found to play an important role in socially responsible organisations. This therefore shows that transformational leader is more effective as compared to the manager and transactional leader. The paper suggests that organisations should audit their corporate governance capabilities towards corporate social responsibility as the questionnaire shows that this drives excellence in CSR. Read More