Global Corporate Responsibility Report

You are required to write a report which answers the following questions: What is CSR, and how does it benefit companies?

There is no one universally accepted definition of CSR so in your report you need to show that you have understood that CSR is complex and multifaceted, and to present your own conceptualization of what CSR is, and how you came to this. You then need to show an understanding of how CSR benefits companies, and provide examples of this in practice. You would benefit from showing how CSR has become part of business strategy.

You must use at least five academic peer-reviewed references. Lecture slides are NOT a valid reference in your assignments –you need to do some reading yourself.

Each of your main points must be supported by evidence from the literature, with appropriate citations.

As this assessment is a report, there should be a short executive summary to begin (this will not be include in your word count) and limited headings / sub-headings are encouraged. Standard academic referencing conventions should be used. Formal language should also be used.

There is a lot to cover so drafting to ensure that you are being clear and succinct in your written expression is very important. This is a vital and highly transferrable skill.

Suggested structure for Assessment 1

Table of Contents

1. Short executive summary (not included in word count): This summary gives an overview of what you are going to do/argue in your report, and would normally be placed at the beginning of the report. People often write the Executive Summary when they have finished writing their report.

2. What is CSR? For this part of the report you need to explain in your own words what CSR is.

In this report you need to show that you understand something about the range of different views of what CSR is, as found in the academic literature, and then come to your own conclusion, or definition, as to what you think it is. You need to provide academic references to back up your chosen conceptualization of CSR.

You MUST reference some course readings and cite them correctly to show where you got your understanding of CSR from. It is not acceptable to simply cite websites, as this is an academic assignment so you need to show you have read some research. Good marks come from referencing core course texts as well as some further academic research which you have done yourself. You can also reference industry material and websites once you have done your academic research.

3. How does CSR benefit companies?

There are two tasks to do here:

a) You need to review the academic literature on how CSR benefits companies. Make sure you give examples to illustrate your main points. You must reference course readings, but you will do better if you also reference other academic resources. You would benefit from showing how CSR has become part of business strategy.

b) Choose one global company. Look at its websites and reports and explain how the company appears to benefit from CSR, giving examples.

4. Conclusion: Briefly summarize your answer to the assignment questions: What is CSR, and how does it benefit companies?

5. Reference list (not included in the word count) – list all the references you have used I alphabetic order using Harvard referencing style. Do NOT list anything here if you have not used it, and cited it, in your report.