Organizations and responsibility: A critical overview

Abstract

Abstract We start from the proposition that organizations' social and environmental policies and practices are influenced as much by stakeholders as by organizational management. Various types of organization–stakeholder relationship are outlined, from market‐based (e.g. ethical consumerism) to participative (e.g. consultation and coalition). This organization–stakeholder network constitutes the problematic system of concern. The concept of responsibility and its attribution is critically considered, as is the likelihood of value‐conflicts between members of this wider system. The tendency for ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR) to be managed hierarchically within organizations, characterized by an over‐reliance on enforced codes of conduct is critiqued on ethical and practical grounds. It is argued that individuals require a capacity for moral judgement in applying codes and, more generally, when resolving conflict and dilemmas within the wider system of organization–stakeholder relations. An appropriate approach from ethical theory is therefore offered. The paper concludes with a summary of aspects of CSR to which the systems discipline could usefully contribute. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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