SOCI 281 - Can Corporations Do Good? On the Perils and Promises of Ideals in For- and Non-Profit Organizations

FC SSCI

4 credits
Can corporations do good? Or are they the sources of social problems? This course aims to answer a dilemma that lies at the heart of organizational attempts to do good. Because of the rationalized nature of firms, non-profits and governmental agencies, their staff encounter competing imperatives: on the one hand, they are to maintain fidelity to their organizations ideals; on the other, they are compelled to protect the interests of the organization as well as those of its incumbents. This course investigates this tension between idealism and realism through the phenomena of corporate social responsibility, white-collar crime and religious activism.