• Formulate a research problem which based on a concrete case addresses the relationship between responsible management and intercultural communication.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the topics and literature from the course regarding responsible management.
• Select and explain relevant theories, concepts and models from the course and their relevance to the chosen research problem.
• Make a stringent analysis of the case based on the research problem and the chosen theories, concepts and models.
• At the oral exam: Make a convincing presentation and reflection of written product. Engage in discussion of theories, concepts and models addressed in the course and their relationship.
• Meet basic academic requirements regarding citation of sources, reference lists etc.

Companies increasingly need to demonstrate their efforts to be responsible and sustainable, both directly through communication pieces like CSR reports and press releases, but also indirectly through marketing choices and partnership engagements.  First, this course provides an introduction to key concepts and theories related to corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and business ethics, particularly as they relate to marketing and communications.  Second, it examines concrete cases based upon the relevant concepts and models.  Lastly, students will create and critique their own communications products based upon both theory and case learning.  Overall, the course aims to provide both an overview of the key concepts and issues related to responsible management, as well as practical insight and hands-on experience on the topic. 

Topics covered on the course include:

• Introduction to corporate social responsibility
• Measurement and reporting
• Stakeholder engagement and management
• Partnerships
• Cross-cultural contexts and the marketplace
• Consumers and marketing ethics

The structure of the course is divided into lectures and exercises, and tasks students with working in groups.  Lectures will emphasize key concepts by focusing on the major theories and frameworks for each given topic.  Exercises will begin with a different, concrete case example and discussion designed to highlight and operationalize the key issue(s) within the weekly topics.  Students will then work in the same groups to create, revise and critique a communications product based upon a case that builds throughout the course. 

A unique feature of this course is the progression of a single case that builds week-by-week in response to weekly updates or “twists” that relate to CSR.  This ongoing case approach is designed to foster students’ ability grapple with vague or unclear mandates, sometimes contradictory requests, and staying true to brand image throughout a variety of circumstances and scenarios. 

Students are to work in the same group of approximately 5 students in their exercise class throughout the course.  Class activities will also include sharing communications products with other students and providing feedback.  Within 48 hours of the exercise class ending, students will submit the week’s assignment to their exercise instructor for feedback.  The average length of this product will be 5 pages, but please note that this may be longer or shorter depending on the week.  

This is a preliminary reading list.  The final list and readings not included in the textbook will be made available on LEARN.  Students will be responsible for accessing textbook readings themselves.  

Course Textbook:

Crane, A., Matten, D., & Spence, L. J. (eds) (2013). Corporate Social Responsibility: Readings and Cases in a Global Context.  ISBN: 978-0-415-68325-8

Textbook Readings:

• Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11. 
• Crane (2012).  Ethical consumer and the CSR Marketplace.  Textbook pp. 235-252. 
• Garriga, E., & Melé, D. (2004). Corporate Social Responsibility Theories: Mapping the Territory. Journal of Business Ethics, 53(1/2), 51–71. http://doi.org/10.1787/9789264122352-de. Textbook pp. 74-104.
• Gond, J.-P., Kang, N., & Moon, J. (2011). The government of self-regulation: on the comparative dynamics of corporate social responsibility. Economy and Society, 40(4), 640–671.  Textbook pp. 516-544.
• Husted & Allen (2011). How do we build a corporate social strategy?.  Textbook pp. 451-472. 
• Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., Wood, D. J., Mitchell, R. K., & Wood, D. J. (1997). Toward a Theory of Stakeholder Identification and Salience: Defining the Principle of Who and What Really Counts. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 853–886.  Textbook pp. 168-202
• Zadek, Pruzan & Evans (2003). Social and ethical accounting, auditing and reporting: How to do it.  Textbook pp. 409-424

Additional Readings:

• Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating Shared Value. Harvard Business Review, (February), 63–77. http://doi.org/10.1108/09600039410055963
• Moon, J. (2014). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press., chapter 1
• Crane, A., Palazzo, G., Spence, L., & Matten, D. (2014). Contesting the Value of “Creating Shared Value,” 56(2), 130–153. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01463-0
• Christensen, L. T., Morsing, M., & Thyssen, O. (2013). CSR as aspirational talk. Organization, 20(3), 372–393. http://doi.org/10.1177/1350508413478310
• Pedersen, E. R. G., Neergaard, P., Pedersen, J. T., & Gwozdz, W. (2013). Conformance and deviance: Company responses to institutional pressures for corporate social responsibility reporting. Business Strategy and the Environment, 22(6), 357–373. http://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1743
• Freeman, R. E., Velamuri, S. R., & Moriarty, B. (2006). Company Stakeholder Responsibility: A New Approach to CSR. Business Roundtable: Institute for Corporate Ethics. Retrieved from www.corporate-ethics.org
• Austin, J. E. (2000). Strategic collaboration between nonprofits and businesses. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29(SUPPL.), 69–97.
• Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2008). “Implicit” and “Explicit” CSR: a Conceptual Framework for a Comparative Understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 404–424. http://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2008.31193458
• Strand, R., & Freeman, R. E. (2013). Scandinavian Cooperative Advantage: The Theory and Practice of Stakeholder Engagement in Scandinavia. Journal of Business Ethics, 1–21. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1792-1
• Borgerson, J. L., & Schroeder, J. E. (2002). Ethical issues of global marketing: avoiding bad faith in visual representation. European Journal of Marketing, 36(5/6), 570–594. http://doi.org/10.1108/03090560210422399
• Optional: Carrington, M. J., Neville, B. A., & Whitwell, G. J. (2010). Why ethical consumers don’t walk their talk: Towards a framework for understanding the gap between the ethical purchase intentions and actual buying behaviour of ethically minded consumers. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(1), 139–158. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0501-6