Walking the Talk: Teaching Corporate Social Responsibility in UK Higher Education Institutions

Corporate entities of whatever shape or form (profit motive or not-for-profit) aspire to be successful in whatever they do. Success can come about through many means. In recent times, corporate entities around the world have come to realise that success can be achieved when they are perceived by their stakeholders as being socially responsible; these stakeholders tend to warm to what the entities do or stand for, which consequently makes a big difference in terms of achieving or not achieving their strategic objectives (Aras & Crowther, 2009). This has become even more apparent during the recent economic and financial crisis where the socially responsible organisation has prospered while others faltered and CSR has been adopted as a survival strategy (Crowther & Seifi, 2011). A socially responsible corporate entity takes cognisance of the impact of its actions on its communities, its stakeholders and the environment when formulating its corporate objectives and in its decision making process. It strives at all times to either minimise or totally remove the adverse effects of its activities on the environment, employees, business contacts group, suppliers of funds and credits, governments and other affected members of society. Corporate entities around the world now consider that being socially responsible is not just very ‘trendy’ but also good for business and so an essential part of their strategy, quite a dramatic change over the last decade.