Corporate Social Responsability
Main language of instruction: English
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, Spanish,
Head instructor
Dra. Maria del Carmen LLOVET - mdcllovet-alumni@uic.es
Office hours
After class or we can find a time together. Beta Building 3rd floor Desk D6.
Course introduction
CSR is a crucial strategy for organizations that impact the reputation and sales, but most importantly influence the sustainable development of society. Consumers identify meaningful brands among those that provide personal and collective wellbeing plus functional benefits. Factors such as reports of scandals from the media, citizens’ consciousness, empowerment and activism have contributed to the more and more commitment of organizations and the urgency of Governments’ policies. Real cases of companies have been reported in documentaries and movies to claim for better working conditions and good governance. Due to the relationship of bad practices with the periods of crisis, the main values for companies and non-profit organizations to grow in trust and loyalty are transparency and participation.
There are no prerequirements to take this course
Course objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand CSR as a business management model and the relevance of communicating CSR for the management of organizations. In order to integrating CSR into organizations, communication-centered approach is needed as a duty that organizations have with society in order to build up values and commitments. The stakeholder management perspective personalizes relationships and facilitates analyzing and implementing strategies in an ethical or moral fashion.
Building on courses taken in their majors, students will learn that responsible companies are not only the ones that do social marketing, organize fundraising events and get better scores in reputation rankings. To the contrary, responsible organizations are mainly those whose core activity is responsible with human and natural resources. It is important to perform consistent with several responsibilities: maximizing earnings-operating in a competitive position and profitable (economic responsibilities), expectations of the government and law-federal, state and local regulations (legal responsibilities), societal and ethical norms- (ethical responsibilities) and expectations of society-voluntary and charitable activities, assistance to educational institutions and projects that enhance a community’s quality of life (philanthropic responsibilities). CSR implies action of a social role and higher performance of responsibilities. Philanthropy is expected and prized by society but less important than the other categories of CSR.
CSR is designed to make the student value the power of bidirectional communication. This course gives the student knowledge of typical forms of communication used by communication departments such as sustainable reports. Best practices have become business standards that sustainable leaders in the industry put into practice thorough tools and insights.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able:
To prepare a written report in APA style on a company’s CSR.
Contents
CSR FROM A COMMUNICATIONS POINT OF VIEW
Greenwashing and Perceptions
•Dove evolution campaign •Body image Documentary The illusionist •Activist Children vs. FashionCSR AND PR- the organizational stakeholder-management
February (4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27)
Tasks
Contents
CSR CONTEXT: crisis, the power of image, corresponsibility of civil society, get trust back, moral authority
CSR FOUNDATIONS: ethics, sustainability (intellectual capital, transparency, reputation&perception), corporate governance
March (3, 5, 10, 12, 24, 26)
Tasks
Exam, results and coaching Work in class and presentation assignment 2 Reading papers:April (2, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28, 30)
Tasks
Sánchez de la Nieta, M.A., Monfort, A. & Fuente Cobo, C. (2015). Editorial charters and newsroom councils in media corporations: a view from the perspective of corporate social responsibility. Communication & Society 28(2), 55-72.
TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION PRACTICES
May (5, 7, 12, 14)
Tasks:
Journals*
* See the list of CSR/Ethics/Sustainability Journals