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  • © 2014

Responsible Management

Corporate Responsibility and Working Life

Authors:

  • Critique of superficial approaches, offering practical initiatives integral to corporate strategy
  • Draws on experience of the Workplace Innovation movement, with active engagement of the workforce
  • Links with Quality for Empowerment, with bottom up processes of continuous improvement and top down implementation of strategy, mediated by well developed dialogue
  • Emphasises the vital importance of skill and tacit knowledge
  • Presents managers as engaged action Researchers
  • Considers Responsible Management in government
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance (CSEG)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Introduction

    • Richard Ennals
    Pages 1-9
  3. Management: A Social Dimension

    • Richard Ennals
    Pages 11-35
  4. Lipstick

    • Richard Ennals
    Pages 37-73
  5. Working Life

    • Richard Ennals
    Pages 75-89
  6. Cultural Situatedness

    • Richard Ennals
    Pages 91-98
  7. Denial

    • Richard Ennals
    Pages 99-104
  8. Quality as Empowerment

    • Richard Ennals
    Pages 105-110
  9. Workplace Innovation

    • Richard Ennals
    Pages 111-129
  10. Responsible Management in Government

    • Richard Ennals
    Pages 131-140
  11. Conclusion

    • Richard Ennals
    Pages 141-149
  12. Back Matter

    Pages 151-161

About this book

This book takes a critical view on corporate practice, governmental action and the general approach to Corporate Social Responsibility. It draws on experience from the Workplace Innovation movement and argues that, as with motherhood and apple pie, it is hard to oppose CSR, with a community of well-meaning people. It is however necessary to challenge the foundations on which it is based.

Many accounts of CSR assume a consistent model of capitalism around the world. It is suggested that capitalism can be given a human face, as companies adopt programmes which go beyond the minimum legal requirements. This builds on traditions of optional corporate philanthropy. However, without changing the underlying working of the company, only cosmetic changes are made. In the author's words: “lipstick is applied to the capitalist pig”.

It can be a mistake to read too much into “Responsible Management”, when the culture of management is designed around irresponsibility. Companies have developed elaborate schemes of outsourcing, in an environment of limited liability. This cannot easily be overcome through gestures. This book seeks to engage readers and to provoke thoughts. It can be angry and polemical, but it points a finger directly at ongoing superficial developments.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Workplace Innovation Ltd., Hampton, United Kingdom

    Richard Ennals

About the author

Richard Ennals is a Director of Workplace Innovation Ltd. He is Emeritus Professor of Corporate Responsibility and Working Life at Kingston Business School, Kingston University and Professor at the Department of Working Life and Innovation, University of Agder in Norway, with visiting professorial posts in Sweden and Lithuania. He is review editor of AI & Society: Knowledge, Culture Communication, co-editor of the International Journal of Action Research and the European Journal of Workplace Innovation. He is author of and contributor to, many previous books, including Theory and Practice of CSR, Encyclopaedia of CSR and Dictionary of CSR.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access