U24 HANDOUT E4BS Lecturer: Ng Thao Trang

UNIT 24: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

AIMS
o Consider the responsibilities of business.
o Discuss the ethics of various business practices.

LEAD-IN
‘Business is business’ (idiom)
Caveat emptor (Latin expression: Let the buyer beware)
adhere to sth (phr. verb): to continue to obey, believe in, or support sth, esp. a
custom or belief.
conventional (a): relating to accepted or traditional ways of doing something.
morality (n): a personal or social set of standards for good or bad behavior and character,
or the quality of being right and honest.
obligation (n): something that you must do.

READING: PROFITS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

discrimination

undermine

conduct

conform

embody

insofar as

elect
U24 HANDOUT E4BS Lecturer: Ng Thao Trang

reveal

suicidal

impulse

exemplify

have a stake in
sth
proponent

LISTENING 1: SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT

Listen to Anna-Kim and answer the questions
Q1. Which expression about business does Anna-Kim attribute to Milton
Friedman? What does it mean?
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................
Q2. What assumption is Friedman’s argument based on?
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................
Q3. According to what Anna-Kim says, what do you think ‘socially responsible
investment’ means?
U24 HANDOUT E4BS Lecturer: Ng Thao Trang

................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................
Q4. How significant does Anna-Kim say socially responsible investment is?
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................
TAPESCRIPT
I see socially responsible investment as a very (1) ......................... ........................ to
Milton Friedman’s famous argument, because when Milton Friedman says ‘The business
of business is business’, it (2) ......................... that most shareholders want to maximize
their (3) ........................., maximize their (4) .................................................., and that is
the goal of the shareholders. But what we can (5) ......................... now is the rise of
socially responsible investment, so it shows that at least some investors do care about
(6) ......................... and ......................... ......................... as well as their right to a return
on investment. So, if that’s the case, if shareholders actually do care about these
(7) ........................., then Milton Friedman’s argument is ... is facing the
(8) ......................... ......................... of his assumptions because it assumes that
shareholders only care about the profit, and therefore corporations have to maximize the
profit for their shareholders. But what if shareholders want something (9) .........................
for their corporations? It is true that socially responsible investment is still a
(10) ......................... of the total investment at the moment but is very very
(11) ......................... ........................., and it will be very interesting to see how the
(12) ......................... develops.

New vocabulary
verb to take or accept as true.
noun
U24 HANDOUT E4BS Lecturer: Ng Thao Trang

ROI: the profit from an activity for a particular period

compared with the amount invested in it.
plural a standard by which you judge, decide about, or deal with
singular something.
a small part of something, or a small amount.

LISTENING 2: DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDER GROUPS

Q1. Fill in the gaps
I think it is very important to respond to different stakeholder groups, because obviously
companies tend to be more (1) ....................... to the (2) ....................... rather than other
stakeholders, but I think when a company really considers different stakeholder groups
seriously, including their (3) ......................., including their own (4) ......................., then
they are likely to have more genuine corporate social responsibility (5) .......................
and (6) ........................ For example, there are companies which are probably doing very
good things for the community, for the external society so that they can really improve
their (7) ....................... with their external stakeholders, but for example, if they are not
very nice to their own employees, if there is something going wrong within their
(8) ....................... ....................... management, with regard to
(9) ....................... ......................., low-cost (10) ....................... ......................, working
hours, then probably they don’t really have a good response from their own employees,
who are their own internal stakeholders, so I think it is very important to listen to all
different stakeholders, internal and external, to develop a holistic approach to corporate
social responsibility.

Q2. What does Anna-Kim say genuine corporate social responsibility involves?
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................
Q3. Why is it not sufficient for a company to do things for the community?
U24 HANDOUT E4BS Lecturer: Ng Thao Trang

................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................
New vocabulary
saying or doing something as a reaction to something or
someone, especially in a quick or positive way.
being what something or someone appears or claims to be;
real, not false.
the basic rights that it is generally considered all people
should have, such as justice and the freedom to say what
you think.
dealing with or treating the whole of something or someone
and not just a part.

DISCUSSION (p.123)
1. bribe (v): to try to make someone do something for you by giving them money,
presents, or something else that they want.
corrupt (a): dishonestly using your position or power to get an advantage,
especially for money.
2. industrial espionage /ˈes.pi.ə.nɑːʒ/ (n): an occasion when one company steals
secrets from another company with which it is competing.
concealed (a): kept hidden or where it cannot easily be seen.
3. built-in / planned obsolescence /ˌɑːb.səˈles.əns/ (n): the fact that a product is
intentionally designed and made so that it will not last for a long time.
4. lobbying (n): the activity of trying to persuade someone in authority, usually an
elected member of a government, to support laws or rules that give your
organization or industry an advantage.
5. exaggerate /ɪɡˈzædʒ.ə.reɪt/ (v): to make something seem larger, more important,
better, or worse than it really is.
U24 HANDOUT E4BS Lecturer: Ng Thao Trang

6. whistle-blower: a person who tells someone in authority about something illegal

that is happening, especially in a government department or a company.