The Civil Corporation

The Civil Corporation is top draw reading for business professionals, management students and academics, activists and public servants. It goes to the heart of the issue of business in society, cutting through the rhetoric of campaigners and business-speak by framing the tough questions in balanced and yet provocative terms. Crucially, it connects an insightful vista of the broader landscape with a set of practical 'do's' that have stood the test of time. The book was awarded the prestigious Academy of Management's Social Issues in Management Book Award in 2006, confirming that Zadek has produced what every author aspires to: a classic book that is timely in its application.

About the Author

Dr Simon Zadek is Chief Executive of AccountAbility, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Government and Business of Harvard University's Kennedy School, and an Honorary Professor at the University of South Africa's Centre for Corporate Citizenship. He sits on the International Advisory Board of Instituto Ethos, the Advisory Board of Generation Investment Management, and the boards of the Employers' Forum on Disability and GAN-NET. In 2003 he was named one of the World Economic Forum's 'Global Leaders for Tomorrow'. Simon's previous roles include Visiting Professor at the Copenhagen Business School, the Development Director of the New Economics Foundation, and founding Chair of the Ethical Trading Initiative. He has served on numerous boards and advisory councils, including the State of the World's Commission on Globalization, the International Labour Organization's World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalization, the UN Commission for Social Development Expert Group on CSR, and the founding Steering Committee of the Global Reporting Initiative. Simon has supported many businesses' efforts around the world in driving accountability innovations into their strategies and practices. His work has increasingly focused on facilitating businesses and their stakeholders in developing mutual understanding and collaborative initiatives. His work in this regard has been both at company level (for example, for Gap Inc in their work around labour standards, and GE in its development of its approach to human rights) through to his convening role of the MFA Forum, a large-scale collaboration involving leading textiles and apparel companies, civil society and labour organizations, international development agencies and financing institutions, and national governments and business associations. He has authored, co-authored and co-edited numerous publications, including, most recently, two Harvard Working Papers on the role of multi-stakeholder partnerships in development and governance, Governing Partnership Governance (2006) and The Logic of Collaborative Governance (2005). He has written extensively on the impact of corporate responsibility on the competitiveness of nations Responsible Competitiveness (2005). His PhD thesis was published as The Economics of Utopia (1994), and an anthology of his writings was published under the title Tomorrow's History (2004). The Civil Corporation: the New Economy of Corporate Citizenship has become a classic in the field since it was first published in 2001, and has been recognized by the Academy of Management by being honoured with the Social Issues in Management Book Award for 2006. He is currently completing his next book, The New Competitiveness, which will be published during 2007 (Harvard Business School Press).