GRADUATE STUDENT SEMINAREDST -UBC

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBLITY (CSR) AS ADULT LEARNING & EDUCATION : AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Presenter: George SarkodieMEd Adult Learning & Education

INTRODUCTION Background and Positionality

Booster ! Why this CSR in Adult Ed. Studies?

CSR as a contested field.

Definition ? Understanding?Mode of operation? ‘‘Corporate social responsibility means something,

but not always the same thing to everyone …’’ (Votaw, 1972)

DEFINITIONS

World Business Council for Sustainable Development: ‘‘The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large’’ (WBCSD, 1999, cited in Werna et al. 2009, p. ).

The European Commission: ‘‘concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interactions with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis’’ (cited in Newell & Frynas, 2007, p. 673)

Def. Cont.

Industry Canada : ‘‘the way firms integrate social, economic, and environmental concerns into their values, culture, decision-making, strategy, and operations in a transparent and accountable manner and thereby establish better practices within the firm, create wealth, and improve society’’. (Industry Canada, 2005.)

Main Perspectives - (Idemudia, 2008) Voluntary/philanthropic - charity perspectiveLegal - accountability perspective.

LITERATURE

CSR in international development: CSR is now intertwined with international development and the related goals of poverty alleviation and sustainability (Blowfied,2005)

CSR as Western Imperialism: CSR practices in the North are imposed on Southern partners (Khan & Lund-Thompsen, 2011)

SR as boundary-making practice : the complexities in organization’s commitment to dos and don’ts. (Fenwick, 2011)

RESEARCH QUESTIONSHow are adult learning and education discussed

and conceptualized in the literature?

What role does adult learning and education play in forming part of the overall CSR agenda of Canadian mining corporations?

What roles do adult education and training initiatives play in serving the public good of stakeholder communities?

BARRICK GOLD (world’s leader)Domican Republic (Pueblo Viejo comm’ty.)

‘’All of the programs that we develop hinge on the axis of education because in providing people knowledge, new ways of doings things and adequate tools, we are developing their capacity to provide for themselves and make positive changes in their world’’ CSR Rep in D.R

CAPACITY BUILDING - LOCAL COMMUNITY 1.Adult Literacy Program : graduated 400 students from 16

communities.2.Teacher skills/communication enhacement program- 8

communities3.Maths & Leveling program4.Professional Development for educators

5.Digital Literacy program for teachers

6.Local partnership for youth training {Inst. Of Technical & Vocational training }

KINROSS GOLD

https://www.youtube.com/embed/wrefWwz-S28 (Mauritania)

SKILLS TRAINING - LOCAL COMMUNITY Student Apprenticeship programsOrganizational skillsBook keepingLiteracy and numeracy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7vfw5_LKt8 (Russia) CERTIFIED WORKPLACE TRAINING Mining equipment mechanicsSafetyWorking heights

FINDINGS - AREAS OF CONCENTRATION

ENVIRONMENTBiodiversityEnergy & Climate Waste Management

WORKFORCEWorkplace

health/safetyWorkforce diversity

COMMUNITY Socio-economic

sustainability development

Health programs

Employment-related training

FINDINGS - ROLE OF ADULT ED. PROG IN CSR

Role of Adult Ed. programs in overall CSR agenda.

Commitment to meeting local community needsBuilding good stakeholder relationshipMaking ‘positive changes in the world’ (Barrick Gold)

Serving public goodShare roles assigned to governments and state

institutions Building capacity or enhancing capabilities –

freedom (Sen, 2010)Creating opportunities for community members

FINDINGS- RELATED CONCEPTS

Werna et al. (2009)Business-Community RelationsCorporate CitizenshipCorporate GovernanceCorporate Responsibility Corporate Philanthropy Sustainability Community Investment Tripple Bottom Line (TBL) :economic prosperity,

social equity and environmental quality. (Elkington, 2004)

CRITICAL ISSUES

‘FRAMING’How is CSR framed and used by organizations and how

does this affect research in the field?

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT APPROACHESWhat are the issues of power relations in decision

making - how effective is the voice of the community? LEGACYWhat happens after mining (corporate) activities are

over? CSR as location-specific.

CONCLUSIONTHE FIELD OF CSR IS RIPE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHERS

References Blowfield, M. (2005), Corporate Social Responsibility:

reinventing the meaning of development? International Affairs, 81, 3, 515-524

Elkington, J. (2004), Enter the tripple bottom line, In A. Henriques & Richardson(eds), The Tripple Bottom Line, Does it add up? Assessing the sustainability of Business and CSR., Earthscan, London

Fenwick, T. (2011). Learning 'social responsibility' in the workplace: Conjuring, unsettling, and folding boundaries.Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 19(1), 41-60. 

Khan, F.R. & Lund-Thomsen, P. (2011), CSR as imperialism: Towards a phenomenological approach to CSR in the developing world, Journal of Change Management, 11, 1, 73-90

Ref. cont.Idemudia, U. (2008). Conceptualising the CSR

and development debate. The Journal of Corporate Citizenship,2008(29), 91-110

Newell, P. & Frynas, G. (2007), Beyond CSR? Business, poverty and social justice: an introduction, Third World Quarterly, 28, 4, 669-681

Werna E. et al. (2009), Corporate Social Responsibility and Urban Development: Lessons from the South, Palgrave McMillan, New York