Business and Society: A Critical Introduction

Description

Corporations dominate our societies. They employ us, sell to us and influence how we think and who we vote for, while their economic interests dictate local, national and global agendas. Written in clear and accessible terms, this much-needed textbook provides critical perspectives on all aspects of the relationship between business and society: from an historical analysis of the spread of capitalism as the foundation of the 'corporate' revolution in the late nineteenth century to the regulation, ethics and exclusionary implications of business in contemporary society. Furthermore, it examines how corporate power and capitalism might be resisted, outlining a range of alternatives, from the social economy through to new forms of open access or commons ownership. Front cover About the book Title page Copyright Contents Tables and figures Acknowledgements A note on authorship Introduction: a critical introduction to business and society Introduction Definition: Business Definition: Society The market triumphant? Key concept: The market Definition: Free trade Why business and society? Key organization: The (public) corporation Our approach in this book Key concept: ‘Property is theft’ Bibliography 1. The emergence of capitalism in Western Europe Introduction Key thinker: Adam Smith Key discussion questions Marxist approaches Key thinker: Karl Marx Definition: Feudalism Max Weber and the Protestant ethic Key thinker: Max Weber Conclusion: Marx, Weber and historical materialism Key methodological issue: Historical materialism Suggested readings Bibliography 2. The spread of capitalism Introduction Key discussion questions Mainstream perspectives Key concept: Age of ‘Discovery’ Key thinkers: Classical political economy Critical perspectives Key thinker: David Ricardo Case study Empirical example: the British Empire Key organization: Joint-stock company Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 3. The corporate revolution Introduction Key discussion questions Mainstream perspectives Definition: Legal personhood Key concept: Grant theory of the corporation Key concept: Invisible hand vs. visible hand? Critical perspectives Definition: General incorporation Definition: Limited liability Case study Key methodological issue: Organization vs. institution? Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 4. Corporate governance Introduction Key discussion questions The shareholder primacy model Stakeholder models of corporate governance Empirical example: executive pay in Japanese corporations Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 5. Corporate responsibility Introduction Key concept: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) Mainstream perspectives on corporate responsibility Key discussion questions Critical perspectives on corporate responsibility Empirical example: investment banks and the global financial crisis Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 6. Corporate power Introduction Key concept: Corporate power Key discussion questions Mainstream perspectives Key methodological issue: Measuring corporate power Critical perspectives Empirical example: Enron and other corporate scandals Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 7. Global economy and varieties of capitalism Introduction Key concept: Time-space compression Definition: International financial institutions Key organization: Multinational corporations and multinational enterprises Key discussion questions Mainstream perspectives Key methodological issue: Identifying world regions Key methodological issue: Gross domestic product Definition: Foreign investment Critical perspectives Key global institutions: Bretton Woods System Definition: The nation-state Definition: UN Global Compact Key concept: Neoliberalism Empirical example: the ‘BRICS’ countries Key methodological issue: Global value chains Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 8. Global governance Introduction Definition: Governance Key discussion questions Mainstream perspectives on global governance Key global institution: ‘Gold standard’ Critical perspectives on global governance Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 9. Global environmental change Introduction Definition: Anthropogenic climate change Key discussion questions Mainstream perspectives Key thinker: Barry Commoner and the ‘four laws of ecology’ Key methodological issue: Defining ‘sustainable development’ Definition: Externalities Definition: Market failure Case study Critical perspectives Definition: Techno-fix Definition: Jevon’s Paradox Empirical example: climate change as an intractable global challenge? Key methodological issue: Climate change denial – who to trust in climate debates? Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 10. Markets and economic order Introduction Key economic system: Centrally planned economy Key discussion questions Different economic orders Do markets create social order? Key thinker: Friedrich Hayek The internal division of labour Types of economic order: from society to the business organization Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 11. Economics, capitalism and business: the orthodoxy Introduction Key discussion questions The mainstream perspective Key critique: Going beyond ‘rational economic man’ Definition: Political economy and economics Key concept: The Marginalist Revolution Key thinker: Vilfredo Pareto Critical perspectives Key concepts: Freedom and coercion Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 12. Political economy and critiques of capitalism: heterodox perspectives Introduction Key discussion questions Dominant heterodox perspectives Key concept: ‘Conspicuous consumption’ Alternative heterodox perspectives Key concept: Social reproduction Case study Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 13. Business, regulation and policy Introduction Key discussion questions Mainstream theories of regulation Forms of regulation and their challenges Different approaches to regulation and policy-making Case study Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 14. Ethics and business Introduction Definition: Ethics and morality Key discussion questions What is business ethics? Key methodological issue: Changing forms of business Key ethical issue: How do we learn ethics? The role of the business school Understanding ethical theory outside business ethics Applying ethical theories to business Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 15. Business and social exclusion Introduction Definition: Informal economy Key concept: Social exclusion Key discussion questions Untangling mainstream and critical perspectives Case study Are global firms exclusionary or an opportunity? Key concept: Social capital as a contested concept Short video: Local women speak out! – Made in Bangladesh Can business be a form of resistance? A critical perspective Key thinker: Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887–1940) Short video: Organizing business by racially marginalized groups in the United States Empirical example: The Arctic Co-operatives Limited, Canada Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 16. Resistance and alternatives to corporate capitalism Introduction Key discussion questions Resistance and revolution Definition: Trade union Key thinker: Mikhail Bakunin Everyday alternatives to corporate capitalism Case study Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 17. Social economy Introduction Key concept: Social economy Key discussion questions Mainstream perspectives Alternative perspectives: the social economy Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography 18. Rethinking ownership: the market vs. the commons Introduction Key discussion questions Mainstream perspectives Key thinker: John Locke Key concept: Intellectual property rights (IPRs) Critical perspectives Case study Key concepts: Rentiership and economic rent-seeking Empirical example: intellectual property rights Conclusion Suggested readings Bibliography Index Back cover