You should complete a 3,000-word essay on ONE of the following three topics:

You should complete a 3,000-word essay on ONE of the following three topics:

Human Resources Management (HRM) may be key to supporting CSR initiatives, leading to sustainable human capabilities. Specific HR practices may develop employee capabilities supportive of CSR initiatives. How can CSR, with its theories, models and matrices, be used to promote the creation of green jobs and green skills via HRM?

- For this question, you must focus on a single case study company or take a broader comparative approach inasmuch as it refers to a specific organisational sector, e.g., energy, housing, transport, pharmaceutical, etc.

- A good essay will discuss aspects of interconnectivity among economic goals, societal goals, and environmental goals, exploring the challenges and opportunities inherent to each of the three approaches: adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Triple Bottom Line framework, and the ESG model.

OR

Analyse the corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach of an organisation of your choice.

Your analysis of the organisations approach should include five main aspects:

What are the key ethical issues faced by the organisation?

What main actors/drivers encourage the companys engagement with CSR (three maximum)?

Identify which of these CSR-related initiatives the company promotes are reactive or proactive and discuss why.

How effectively does the organisation identify and respond to these issues?

How does their approach compare with others in the same industry?

- For this question, you must focus on a single case study company or organisation.

- A good essay will explore the various theories and academic debates (three maximum) around how CSR may be defined and implemented, and evaluate the extent to which these theories manage or fail to exert a pull on the analysed actors/drivers.

OR

Drawing on Fleming and Joness analysis of CSR, they discuss their critical view of CSR as fundamentally an operation subordinated to economic rationality. It would be best if you expanded this critique through their polemic dissection of Corporate Citizenship Theory and Stakeholder Theory. It would also be essential to produce a constructive critique of how CSR can promote a new value beyond the profit logic.

- This essay requires a broad critical focus on CSR. However, you can and should draw on specific organisations and/or organisational sectors as examples.

- A good essay will critically unpack the main theories of CSR (beyond Fleming and Jones analysis) and the more recent development in the academic debate, and explore how this informs businesses and organisations in extending their activities beyond the sole pursuit of financial value.

Ref: Jones, M. & Fleming, P. (2012). The end of corporate social responsibility: Crisis & Critique, London, Sage.

Transferable Skills

Transferable skills are skills that are developed in one scenario and can be transferred to another, such as communication, teamwork or analytical skills.

The main transferable skill covered in this assessment is Researching and AnalysingThe following skills are also covered in this assignment

Communicating Team working Leadership & Supervising Researching & Analysing Problem solving & Decision making Planning & Organising Learning, Improving & Achieving Resilience, Adaptability & Drive Enterprising SkillsFurther Guidance

(a) Concrete examples of businesses and relevant organisations should be central to your essays. There is some advantage in selecting an organisation that you have some familiarity and/or interest in. In determining your choice, undertake an online search for materials concerning possible organisations and/or CSR initiatives. There is plenty of information online concerning examples of responsible (and irresponsible) behaviours and practices, which you can draw upon in your analysis.

(b) Your selection may, but does not have to, concern a multi-national organisation located within the private sector. You could focus on a non-profit organisation or social entrepreneurship, for example.

(c) Be careful not to spend too much of your assignment simply describing selected organisations or their CSR practices. Also, when examining CSR practices, do not merely rely on the company website. Make sure you draw on a broader range of information, and independent and/or critical material when discussing your selected examples. Make sure you leave enough room for detailed critical analysis. Remember that the bulk of your bibliographic references must be academic.

Getting Started!

We expect you to refer to a range of literature in your essays. We have provided you with the following list to get you started, but it is also essential to identify relevant sources on the Electronic Reading list and do your own independent research to find other sources. These introductory literary sources are designed to stimulate your thinking and to give you an overview of the breadth of the debate you are engaging with:

Carroll, A. B. (1999). Corporate social responsibility: Evolution of a definitional construct, Business & society, 38(3), 268-295.

Crane, A., Matten, D., & Spence, L. (Eds.). (2014). Corporate social responsibility: Readings and cases in a

global context, London, Routledge.

Crane, A., McWilliams, A., Matten, D., Moon, J., & Siegel, D. S. (Eds.). (2008). The Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Fatima, T., Elbanna, S. (2023). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Implementation: A Review and a Research Agenda Towards an Integrative Framework.J Bus Ethics183, 105121 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05047-8

Jones, M. & Fleming, P. (2012). The end of corporate social responsibility: Crisis & Critique, London, Sage.

Kharabsheh, B., Al-Shammari, H., and Bataineh, K. (2023). "Research on Corporate Social Responsibility: Insights and Future Directions"Administrative Sciences13, no. 2: 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13020064Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., & 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.

Rhodes, C. and Fleming, P. (2020). Forget political corporate social responsibility.Organization,27(6), pp.943-951.

Scherer, A.G., Rasche, A., Palazzo, G. and Spicer, A. (2016). Managing for political corporate social responsibility: New challenges and directions for PCSR 2.0. Journal of management studies, 53(3), pp.273-298

Schneider, A. (2020). Bound to fail? Exploring the systemic pathologies of CSR and their implications for CSR research.Business & Society,59(7), pp.1303-1338.

Wood, D. (1991). Corporate Social Performance Revisited, Academy of Management Review, 16(4): 695.

Use of appendices (Optional)

You are advised to be cautious when including appendices in this assignment. There are no specific criteria for marking or mark allocation available for appendices, so the assessment process focuses on the appropriate use of appendices. When deciding whether or not to include other appendices, consider the following points:

Appendices should add value or detail to the discussion and analysis undertaken in the main body of the assignment.

They offer students the opportunity to give greater relevant and appropriate detail to support the main analysis and discussion.

Models, theory and discussion that demonstrate critical evaluation and analysis of issues related to the module being assessed should always be presented within the main body of the text. This discussion should make sense without referring to the appendices.

Using bullet points in the text (which does not constitute analysis) and putting the detailed analysis in the appendices is not acceptable practice and could result in failure.

The inclusion of appendices should not be viewed as an opportunity to include anything that cannot fit in the word count.

Assignments that make excessive use of appendices suggest inappropriate use. As a guide, we would not normally expect appendices to exceed one third of the length of the assignment.

Appendices should always be referenced at the appropriate point within the discussion in the main body of the text.

Marking criteria (Mandatory)

This assignment will be assessed based on the following criteria:

Undergraduate Grade Descriptor (please edit to reflect the marking criteria for this assessment)

Grade Mark Theory & Literature Analysis Critical Evaluation

First Class 100 -Synthesises disparate literatures with confidence to offer a new way of seeing an issue or context. -A perceptive and intellectually nuanced integration of theory and practice that demonstrates independent thought.

-Demonstrates a creative and engaged command of the literature and the issue in context such that new contributions to knowledge are considered possible.

95 85 78 -Draws on a wide range of relevant literature

-Arguments are nuanced and well supported by a variety of literatures.

-Demonstrates excellent knowledge of relevant theories and concepts -An insightful and perceptive analysis that demonstrates both the depth and breadth of the issue.

-Excellent integration of theory into practice such that new contributions to knowledge are emergent.

-Excellent examples provided to illustrate nuanced issues -Excellent evidence of sound judgement based on supported arguments.

-Logical, nuanced and complex argument presented.

-Sense is made of the issues identified with consistent support of relevant literatures.

75 72 2:1 68 -Draws on a very good range of relevant literature.

-Arguments are nuanced and supported by a variety of literatures.

-Demonstrates a very good knowledge of relevant theories and concepts -Very good level of analysis demonstrated leading to a nuanced and perceptive analysis of the issues.

-Very good integration of theory into practice.

-Well chosen, well justified and insightful examples provided. -Very good evidence of sound judgement based on supported arguments.

-Addresses assignment brief in full

-Logical and nuanced argument presented.

-Sense is made of the issues identified with the support of relevant literatures.

65 62 2:2 58 -Draws on a good range of relevant literature.

-Arguments are nuanced and supported by a variety of literatures.

-Demonstrates a good knowledge of relevant theories and concepts -Good levels of analysis demonstrated which lead to a perceptive analysis of the issues.

-Good integration of theory into practice.

-Good number of relevant examples provided. -Good evidence of sound judgement based on supported arguments.

-Addresses assignment brief

-Logical argument presented.

-Consistent attempts to make sense of the issues identified with the support of relevant literatures.

55 52 3rd Class 48 -Draws on an adequate range of relevant literature

-Arguments are supported by a variety of literatures.

-Demonstrates an adequate knowledge of relevant theories and concepts -Adequate levels of analysis demonstrated but with some lapses into descriptions or practice.

-Adequate use of theory to makes sense of practice.

-Adequate number and/or depth of examples provided -Adequate evidence of sound judgement based on supported arguments.

-Addresses assignment brief

-Adequate logic but argument can sometimes be difficult to follow

-Adequate attempt to make sense of the issues identified with the support of relevant literatures.

45 42 Fail 35 -Demonstrates a weak knowledge and understanding of key theories and concepts.

-Evidence of reading restricted to core course materials

-Minimal references to relevant literatures leading to unsupported assertions. -Some analysis but is predominantly descriptive of practice.

-Weak links between theory and practice

-Weak or undeveloped examples provided. -Minimum acceptable level of engagement with the assignment brief.

-Weak logic and weakly structured argument

-Many unsupported assertions and judgements made

Serious Fail 15 -Demonstrates an inadequate knowledge of key theories and concepts

-Meagre or inadequate use of supporting materials and literatures

-Limited evidence of reading -No analysis but descriptive of practice.

-Minimal to no links between theory and practice

-Irrelevant or obscure examples provided. Fails to address the assignment brief in full

-No obvious structure or argument presented

-Unsupported assertions and value judgements made throughout

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is to take the work of another person and use it as if it were ones own in such a way as to mislead the reader. Whole pieces of work can be plagiarised (for example, if a student put his or her name on another students essay), or part pieces, where chapters or extracts may be lifted from other sources, including the Internet, without acknowledgement. Sometimes plagiarism happens inadvertently, where students fail to read instructions about or do not understand the rules governing the presentation of work which require sources to be acknowledged. In such cases, the problem is usually identified very early in the course and can be put right through discussion with tutors. Deliberate attempts to mislead the examiners, however, are regarded as cheating and are treated very severely by boards of examiners. Any plagiarism in assessments which contribute to the final degree class are likely to lead, at the very least, to the downgrading of the degree class by one division. In the worst cases, expulsion from the University is a possibility.

Referencing

You are required to use the Harvard Referencing style for your work. Please ensure that you have read the advice on referencing which is available at:

https://uniofleicester.sharepoint.com/sites/academic-skills-online/SitePages/Reference.aspx