The article in the url below is a review of a recently published book about marriage within the African-American community. I forward it to you because of the final two sentences in the final paragraph. The reviewer sums up the message of the book she is reviewing as more than a critique of marriage—it is “an alarm bell warning of the failure of American partnerships.” She concludes her review with the following:
“[The author] alerts us to the consequences [of these failing partnerships] for families, and I would add that the alarm rings beyond marriage, to a broader social collapse that includes distrust of neighbors, weakened social networks and community institutions, evictions, foreclosures, diminished opportunity, hostility toward those we deem different and skepticism toward enduring human connection. In short, the ties that bind need tightening.”
If that is an accurate depiction of where we (the U.S.?) are as a society, then where do we go from here? More pertinently, where does it leave us regarding CSR? How do we start repairing the relationships that form the foundation of a more cohesive society in which corporations have an incentive to be socially responsible and their stakeholders have an incentive to hold them to account for their actions?
Teaching ethics and CSR in business schools has to be an important part of the answer. Look for more on this on Monday.
Have a good weekend.
David
Instructor Teaching Site: http://www.sagepub.com/strategiccsr/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: http://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/
The Wedding Gap
By Imani Perry
September 18, 2011
The New York Times Book Review
Late Edition - Final
11
