CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main opportunities and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey was defined with the aim to involve the highest possible number of relevant CSR topics and give the issue a more wholesome perspective. It provides a basis for further comprehension and deeper analyses of specific CSR areas. The conditions determining the success of CSR in Romania have been defined in the paper on the basis of the previously cumulative knowledge as well as the results of various researches. This paper provides knowledge which may be useful in the programs promoting CSR.Corporate social responsibility, Supportive policies, Romania

Institutional Strengthening of the Water Sector in Kerala, India

This thesis explains how concerns over water problems in development contexts led me to explore human activity systems, using Kerala Water Authority as a basis for empirical study of water management and governance issues. This research aimed to find out how water institutions can be strengthened and the role of participatory systemic approaches in organisational development and change initiatives. The main focus relates to the role that management capacity plays in institutional strengthening. Qualitative systems methods are used to frame and interpret the research. The study draws on a range of organisational and systems theories and is informed by analysis of discourses of the processes of organisational learning and the use of systems methods in practice. A project-based inquiry is used to research a synthesis of three interrelated areas: institutional strengthening and capacity building in development situations, water management and governance, and systemic organisational learning methods. This inquiry explores methods suited to tackling ‘complex’ or ‘messy’ organisational problems involving multiple stakeholders. A systemic approach to capacity-building and institutional strengthening is developed from a sustainability perspective that has elements of novelty both in its synthesis of ideas and in its application in the Kerala context. This approach emerged from purposeful participation of stakeholders and was used to trigger enthusiasm for further activity. This work has led to a new appreciation by the Kerala Water Authority of the issues at stake, and has encouraged this organisation to operationalise systemic approaches for future change interventions. The research reveals the importance of actively involving stakeholders who either seek or would benefit from change initiatives and of appreciating local situated knowledge and value systems within the organisation undergoing development. The study also reveals the importance of understanding problems from different stakeholder perspectives and of accommodating viewpoints through a process of engagement and debate. The thesis concludes that the approach developed can offer a potential vehicle for sustainable change in organisational development and behaviour. On the basis of this study a model of the approach is provided and characteristics for a capacity-building initiative that might help strengthen institutions in the water sector are proposed

Corporate Social Responsibility

This Edited Volume Corporate Social Responsibility is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters, offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in corporate behavior. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert in the field. All chapters are complete in themselves but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors and opening new possible research paths for further novel developments

Fairness and Justice in Natural Resource Politics

As demand for natural resources increases due to the rise in world population and living standards, conflicts over their access and control are becoming more prevalent. This book critically assesses different approaches to and conceptualizations of resource fairness and justice and applies them to the analysis of resource conflicts. Approaches addressed include cosmopolitan liberalism, political economy and political ecology. These are applied at various scales (local, national, international) and to initiatives and instruments in public and private resource governance, such as corporate social responsibility instruments, certification schemes, international law and commodity markets. In doing so, the contributions contrast existing approaches to fairness and justice and extend them by taking into account the interplay between political scales, regions, resources, and power structures in "glocalized" resource politics. Various case studies are included concerning agriculture, agrofuels, land grabbing, water resources, mining and biodiversity. The volume adds to the academic and policy debate by bringing together a variety of disciplines and perspectives in order to advance both a research and policy agenda that puts notions of resource fairness and justice center-stage