Newable (United Kingdom)

Abstract This paper aims to provide a working definition of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It begins by describing how the lack of a widely agreed definition contributed to misunderstandings and cynicism towards the concept itself and argued that hence the need for a working definition. The paper then goes on to divide current literature on CSR, and current business practices, into two main categories depending on the way CSR is perceived—as an ethical position or as a business strategy. A brief overview on how CSR is practised in the real business world is also presented. The paper describes how practitioners seem to be practising CSR despite the lack of a universally agreed definition. Subsequently, based on the ongoing academic debates on CSR and on examples of what is happening in the real business world, the paper concludes with a proposed definition that reconciles ongoing academic debates with practice. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Lawless, P., Martin, R. and Hardy, S. 1998: UNEMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION: LANDSCAPES OF LABOUR INEQUALITY London: Regional Studies Association with Jessica Kingsley Press, £17.95 paper Madanipour, A., Cars, G. and Allen, J. 1998: SOCIAL EXCLUSION IN EUROPEAN CITIES: PROCESSES, EXPERIENCES AND RESPONSES London: Regional Studies Association with Jessica Kingsley Press, £17.95 paper

Systems, machines and organisation of forms developed in the Engineering and Manufacturing sectors frequently lay the basis for systems design philosophy at a general level. An analysis of technological change in these sectors reveals that the resultant deskilling is not limited to the shop floor and is now spreading to intellectual work. The impact of ‘machine based systems’ on designers is explored in some detail and suggests the need for alternatives which are based on ‘human centred systems’. Some attempts to design sub-systems are described.

The poor performance of British industry in international markets is partly due to a lack of sector strategic planning. Whereas the Thatcher government looks to an unfettering of the market mechanism as the key to industrial recovery, in fact this is contrary to the experience of several other capitalist countries. The role of banks and government agencies in Japan, of inter-firm co-operation in Italy, and of various corporatist instruments in France and Germany, suggest ways in which local enterprise boards could assist the re-structuring of manufacturing industry in Britain.