Implementing CSR Initiatives –The Contribution of SystemicThinking

Abstract

The adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an issue of
interest world-wide. Through the history of CSR, a number of areas have been
explored to support the idea that organizations should serve the needs of society.
However, the implementation of initiatives to put in practice what CSR means
has been difficult and contentious. In this paper, we explore some of the areas into
which CSR has delved. In particular, we explore 1) The incorporation of CSR
into organizational purposes; 2) stakeholder management and 3) assessment of
CSR impacts in society. We show how systems-thinking ideas and methodologies
have helped us to facilitate discussion about these elements in the classroom.