The concept
of CSR reflects the discretionary
responsibility of businesses (Surroca et al., 2010, p. 464) and therefore represents
both aspirational and substantive obligations that address the triple
bottom-line philosphy of economic, societal and environmental organizational responsibilities. Unlike most other
textbooks focused on exploring ethics and CSR from a theoretical perspecitve,
this chapter takes a departure from a purely theoretical discussion and
illuminates the critical role HRD practitioners play in developing organizational
strucutres that support ethical behaviour and socially responsible business
practices. We illustrate the links between HRD functions and the delivery of
organizational policies aimed at achieving an ethical and socially responsible
business practices and in doing so, will equip students with the necessary
skills to make informed decisions about doing the right thing rather than
merely doing things right. In the next section we will explore the key drivers
for ethical behaviour and the adoption of CSR in today’s organization. We draw
on examples of organizational successes and failures over the last two decades
to illuminate the importance of organizational ethics and CSR.