Sustainable Management for Managers and Engineers

2Embedding Corporate Sustainability in Human Resource Management Practice

There is a growing trend for corporations to act in ways that are socially responsible and that acknowledge the interests and concerns of the society in which they are positioned and within which they operate. In the organization, the human resource management function has the potential to develop procedures, policies and practices that encourage and support the organization’s attempts to embrace social responsibility and corporate sustainability. This chapter explores three significant areas of current academic and professional literature: the meaning, scope and implications of corporate responsibility and corporate sustainability; the nature and function of human resource management; and the nexus of corporate social responsibility possibilities and human resource management engagement. The chapter reviews these areas of interest in order to suggest a means by which the end goals of corporate social responsibility can be reached, or at least become more attainable, through thoughtful and socially responsive human resource management practice.

2.1. Introduction

As the title suggests, this chapter explores the ways in which the functionality of human resource management (HRM) – that is what the HRM department does through its policies, procedures and practices – can shape and reinforce the organization’s position on, and commitment to, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate sustainability ...