Deck 9: Measuring,reporting,and Communicating CSR

Question 1

In Canada,the Dow Jones Sustainability Index is used to guide investors demanding CSR accountability.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Empirical studies show definitively that there is a positive effect on profitability as a result of CSR engagement.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The social audit process is useful for evaluating past performance,but does not help with the assessment of future performance.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

CSR reporting is considered important because of its relationship to reputation,stakeholder expectations,and firm profitability.

Question 5

The drivers of corporate reputation include product quality,innovativeness,and environmental stewardship.

Question 6

Corporations following the GRI guidelines are expected to report certain standard disclosures such as: strategy and profile,economic,environmental,and social.

Question 7

NMO Corporation was a negative corporate image.This means that it also has a negative corporate reputation.

Question 8

The Global Reporting Initiative is a long term,multi-stakeholder,international process which includes principles guiding the framework of social reports,inform decisions about what to report,ensure quality and reliability of the reports,and inform decisions regarding accessibility of the reports.

Question 9

The blind pursuit of maximum profits is generally accepted to be socially irresponsible.

Question 10

Social auditing is a systematic assessment of the effects an enterprise has on society that are not covered in the traditional financial reports.

Question 11

Service professionals,such as accounting associations,are influential stakeholders that recommend that firms engage in elaborate CSR and sustainability reporting.

Question 12

Program management is a sophisticated social auditing approach useful to respond to sustainability performance.

Question 13

The guidelines developed by the Canadian Business for Social Responsibility,a non-profit CSR consultancy,are not useful for small businesses.

Question 14

The results of the social auditing process become the basis for social reporting,a management function that is also known as sustainability reporting.

Question 15

KLP Corporation is preparing a social report.They are assessing,in part,the accountability of their business to stakeholders such as customers and international operations.They are probably applying the checklist of the 7 reporting criteria of the Global Reporting Initiative.

Question 16

NBS has identified three categories of metrics that business should use to capture value: economic,social,and ethical.

Question 17

The Network for Business Sustainability (NBS) suggests calculating the return of investment of CSR by thinking in terms of creating value.

Question 18

Cost or outlay is an accounting approach to tabulate the social costs and benefits with the objective of the best social return for the social investment made.

Question 19

CSR reporting in Canada is no longer voluntary for companies with public ownership.

Question 20

Triple-E criteria and social objective reporting are quite often presented in internally prepared social reports.

Question 21

A large sporting goods chain develops a listing of social activities of the firm.This social report does not evaluate the effectiveness of these activities.This is an example of the __________ approach to social auditing.

A) inventory
B) program management
C) process
D) social indicators
E) None of the answers.

Question 22

In the Strandberg continuum of future commitment to CSR,"Deep CSR" is a business model with a mission to circumvent government CSR requirements and focus on responsiveness to complaints.

Question 23

The ______________ approach to social auditing describes program initiatives.

A) inventory
B) program management
C) process
D) outlay
E) social indicators

Question 24

A large manufacturer has developed a CSR program that uses corporate sponsorship to benefit both the company and the non-profit organization partnered with.The company is seen,through this program as well as because of its quality products,to be a credible and responsible business,worthy of future trust.In this example,this manufacturer has developed its _____________ as a result of ____________.

A) corporate image; CSR
B) corporate reputation; CSR
C) corporate reputation; corporate image
D) social report; stakeholder impression
E) corporate image; community initiatives

Question 25

CSR reporting is necessary for all the following reasons,except:

A) To maintain corporate reputation.
B) To meet the demands of stakeholders.
C) To sustain corporate profitability.
D) To meet legal requirements.
E) To lessen the focus on image.

Question 26

Preparation of brochures summarizing the content of a CSR report is not an adequate approach to communicating CSR performance to key stakeholders.

Question 27

A specific manager or department should not be responsible for the communication of CSR reports.If everyone in the corporation is equally responsible for communication of results,dissemination will be broader.

Question 28

Considering White's scenarios of the future of CSR,if firms follow the fad-and-fade scenario,there will be a multiplicity of new,complex standards and guidelines which will be problematic for the corporation.

Question 29

Social audits can be used for all of the following reasons,except:

A) Assessing existing performance
B) Evaluating the performance of managers
C) Providing information for planning
D) Measuring future performance
E) Meeting government requirements

Question 30

The Strandberg report on the future of CSR stated that ethical consumerism will become a more powerful influence on corporation decision-making.

Question 31

NTS Corporation hopes that its accounting system used in social reporting will help it identify the best social return for the social investment made.They tabulate social costs and benefits.This is an example of the __________ approach to social auditing.

A) inventory
B) social responsibility accounting
C) triple-E reporting
D) cost or outlay
E) financial

Question 32

Because of the emphasis on teaching CSR,most business schools are now preparing their own CSR reports.

Question 33

A retail chain calculates the expenditures an enterprise makes on social objectives and then deducts the negative costs for social objectives not addressed.This social report measures total social impact,positive and negative.This is an example of the __________ approach to social auditing.

A) inventory
B) social responsibility accounting
C) cost or outlay
D) social indicators
E) community

Question 34

ME2 Corporation develops a listing of the social activities of the firm.They,then outline the resources utilized on each social program.A statement of each program's objectives and an outline of how the programs developed and why they developed are particularly useful for this corporation when coupled with a description of the accomplishments of the programs.This is best identified as an example of the __________ approach to social auditing.

A) inventory
B) program management
C) process
D) social indicators
E) strategic

Question 35

The Strandberg model outlines a continuum of future commitment to CSR.The middle of the continuum is CSR Strategic.Corporations will become compliant with standards and then create niches in areas more strategic to the corporation.

Question 36

The corporation has devoted considerable resources to the social audit process.The management function that documents and communicates this information is ______.

A) CSR reporting
B) triple-E reporting
C) social reporting
D) internal reporting
E) strategic reporting

Question 37

CSR reports are a form of corporate communication which will enhance reputation.

Question 38

The best known surveys evaluating the social and environmental performance of business schools are the American "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" and the Canadian survey "Knight Schools: The Annual Knight School Guide to Business Education".

Question 39

Stakeholders are increasingly demanding or expecting sustainability reporting from business.The pressure for these reports comes from all of the following stakeholders,except:

A) shareholders
B) employees
C) consumers
D) service professionals
E) E.competitors

Question 40

Maclean's Magazine publishes Top 50 Socially Responsible Corporations report in cooperation with Jantzi Research,and selection is based on social,environmental,and governance indicators.

Question 41

In the future,incremental changes to CSR are insufficient and,with the pressure of NGOs,businesses are forced to take a broader social role.This requires a major rethink in terms of organizational design and the very structure of the business system.This is the _________ scenario as identified by White.

A) Fad-and-fade
B) Embed-and-integrate
C) Transition-and-transformation
D) CSR integrated
E) CSR compliant

Question 42

Strandberg's survey of CSR thought leaders concluded that all of the following issues will dominate,except:

A) Reduction of poverty
B) Developing nations' economic growth
C) Environment
D) Governance
E) Accountability

Question 43

What are some of the best known surveys evaluating the social and environmental performance of business schools?

Question 44

It was a long process,but Albert was delighted to finally have finished his social audit process.His next step is to report the findings.He develops a report following the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards.This is the first time he conducted an audit with this process in mind.Which of the following 'clusters' of his completed report are not required under the GRI?

A) Auditability
B) Neutrality
C) Relevance
D) Timeliness
E) Responsibility

Question 45

The majority of experts believe that in the future,business will likely see

A) Increased standardization of measurement of CSR
B) Mandatory CSR reporting by governments
C) Greater stakeholder engagement
D) CSR becoming more mainstream
E) Corporations losing interest in CSR

Question 46

Discuss the transition-and-transformation scenario developed by White.

Question 47

What are the recommendations made by Chatterji and Levine for improving the reporting process?

Question 48

Ahmed is developing a social report for his employer,a major airline company.He formulates the report around a series of checklists focusing on community,employees,customers,suppliers,environment,shareholders,and international operations.He is assessing such factors as transparency and stakeholder involvement.Ahmed is probably using the ________ Guidelines for Corporate Social Performance.

A) Good Company
B) Conference Board of Canada's
C) Global Reporting Initiative's
D) Sustainability Reporting
E) CICA

Question 49

Discuss the fad-and-fade scenario developed by White.

Question 50

Describe the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Question 51

Which of the following are among the recommendations made by Chatterji and Levine for improving the reporting process?

A) The codes or standards should be more transparent.
B) The measures should be better explained and the source of weightings justified.
C) Efforts should be made to reduce compliance costs by better designed forms and measures.
D) The data used should be improved with less reliance on information being supplied by management and more being sought from stakeholders.
E) All of the above

Question 52

Employees may receive communication from their employers regarding performance measures and social reporting through ___________.

A) Internet
B) financial audits
C) staff meetings
D) public meetings
E) codes of conduct

Question 53

Compare Strandberg's CSR Lite to Deep CSR in the continuum of future commitment to CSR.

Question 54

The ________ is a socially screened,common stock index modelled on the S&P/TSX 60 of 60 corporations that have passed a set of broadly based environmental,social,and governance rating criteria.

A) JSI
B) TSX
C) Dow Jones
D) S&P 500
E) NASDAQ

Question 55

Brandon is preparing a report for the CEO of his company.He is trying to encourage the company to become more proactive in social issues in the community.In building his case for corporate social responsibility,he does research on the relationship between CSR and firm profitability.He can report the following:

A) Expenditures on social responsibility initiatives do not contribute to profit.
B) Expenditures on social responsibility initiatives do contribute to profit.
C) Expenditures on social responsibility initiatives might contribute to profit.
D) Studies show no conclusions.
E) A definite link can be established through additional research.

Question 56

BNO Corporation has just promoted Ned to the role of Corporate Responsibility Officer.His new job will include all of the following,except:

A) Compliance management
B) Workforce diversity
C) Information systems
D) Government lobbying
E) Public relations

Question 57

What are some of the various ways that a corporation may communicate CSR and sustainability results?

Question 58

Beyond Grey Pinstripes is a survey outlining MBA programs' engagement in social and environmental stewardship.This program evaluates all of the following factors,except:

A) The number of student groups or clubs focusing on social or environmental issues
B) The percentage of course time dedicated to considering social and environmental issues
C) The degree to which the course illustrates the value of integrating social and environmental considerations into business decisions
D) The number of relevant articles published by faculty in leading peer-reviewed management journals
E) The number of courses with social and environmental content

Question 59

White believes that the future of CSR could follow different scenarios.If,in the future,governmental regulations replaces the self-regulatory purpose of CSR a(n) __________ scenario likely took place.

A) Fad-and-fade
B) Embed-and-integrate
C) Transition-and-transformation
D) CSR integrated
E) CSR compliant

Question 60

An alternative view on the relationship between CSR and profitability,taken by ____________________ is to calculate the return of investment of CSR by thinking in terms of creating value.

A) Imagine Canada
B) Global Reporting Index
C) Global Reporting Initiative
D) the Network for Business Sustainability
E) the Association of Sustainable Organizations

Question 61

Is there a definitive relationship between CSR and profitability?

Question 62

Describe the Jantzi Social Index (JSI).