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1、2014钻石卡学员阅读讲义（一）Text One For all the burgeoning popularity of corporate social responsibility-the art of doing well by doing goodits benefits remain unproven. It is all well and good to say that a globalizing company needs to take account of social problems in its new markets, or that social respons
2、ibility will be its own reward, in happier employees, lower legal costs and improved productivity. But at heart, for many companies, corporate social responsibility is still just a matter of branding. Look at McDonalds and the Body Shop, for example. The former is still a target of consumer derision
3、 and lawsuits despite its introduction of healthier food. The environmentally friendly reputation of the Body Shop, on the other hand, has long outpaced its actual investment in eco-friendly processes.Building Reputational Capital, by Kevin Jackson, a professor of legal and ethical studies at Fordha
4、m University in New York, argues that corporations need to be socially responsible to build their “reputational capital”, which is similar to, but bigger than, any brand they might market. A company with lots of such capital will be able to attract better employees, charge higher prices, negotiate b
5、etter deals, attract more investors. But how much control does a firm actually exercise over its own reputation? The examples Mr. Jackson gives are not entirely encouraging. Nike, a favourite target of activists for its treatment of sweatshop workers, appears several times; but Mr. Jackson does not
6、elaborate on whether a drop in its reputational capital costs Nike any sales. Mr. Jackson does cite studies showing a positive correlation between a commitment to an ethical behavior and performance. But his examples do not make as powerful a case for the necessity of corporate social responsibility
7、 as he would like.Indeed, a firm that embarks on a plan of corporate social responsibility may be setting itself up for a worse, not a better, reputation. Mr. Jackson cites the example of H.B. Fuller Company, an American adhesives manufacturer that had built up reputational capital by declaring its
8、intention to be a good corporate citizen and making philanthropic donations. But it was blamed when one of its products, Resistol, become the drug of choice for glue-sniffing children in Central America. Other competitors whose glues were sniffed, he notes, got little criticism. One can see how a co
9、mpany with a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility might elicit the same charges of hypocrisy and similar companies might then decide that corporate social responsibility might be more trouble than its worth.Anyone who has already embraced the idea of a socially responsible corporatio
10、n might well find this book useful; it provides a decent framework for implementing and justifying a socially responsible strategy. But there are many who, like The Economist, question whether corporations should be investing in social initiatives at the possible expense of profit. Building Reputati
11、onal Capital, while well-written and serious, will not convince them otherwise.1. McDonalds and the Body Shop are cited in the first paragraph to show that_A a famous brand is no guarantee that its products are of high qualityB healthier products are only illusions when they harm productivityC many
12、firms are not really serious about their social responsibilityD social responsibility has never been a concern of these reputed corporations2. Professor Kevin Jackson holds that_A commitment to social responsibility is a rewarding practiceB many companies have done little in developing eco-friendly
13、productsC building the reputational capital does not contribute to a rise in salesD the efforts at social responsibility often turn out to be made in vain3. The author considers the examples cited by Jackson_A admirable B encouraging C unconvincing D deplorable4. It is implied in the fourth paragrap
14、h that_A making voluntary donations is often not appreciated by the societyB reputation in social responsibility can well be a disadvantageC assuming more social responsibility can make a firm well-knownD profit, rather than social responsibility, should be a companys goal5. The best title of the pa
15、ssage is_A The Goal of Globalizing CorporationsB The Burden of Social Responsibility C The Necessity of Corporate Social ResponsibilityD Corporate Productivity and Profit-makingText TwoFor more than two decades, U.S. courts have been limiting affirmative-action programs in universities and other are
16、as. The legal rationale is that racial preferences are unconstitutional, even those intended to compensate for racism or intolerance. For many colleges, this means students-can be admitted only on merit, not on their race or ethnicity. It has been a divisive issue across the U. S., as educators blame the prolonged rea
