Recent years saw a surge of interest in the social responsibilities of corporations in general and of multi-national corporations in particular. Largely premised on the view that corporate power exceeds or nearly exceeds that of national governments in this global era, various social forces are currently at play with the attempt to redraw the redistributive obligations and capacities of market, state and civil society. This class offers an in depth introduction to the topic, drawing on theoretical and empirical materials from sociology, political science, management theory and law. The purpose is to familiarize students with the contested meaning of the concept of 'social responsibility,' and to introduce them to the vibrant field of activity that emerges around it. In particular, the aim is to familiarize students with concepts and models such as corporate citizenship, triple bottom line reporting, social performance management systems, social accountability standards (e.g. SA8000), and compliance and monitoring instruments and to situate those in the context of evolving contemporary theories of governance and regulation.
