The Corporation Study Guide

General Resources

Bakan, J. (2004). The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power. New York: The Free Press.

This book, authored by one of The Corporation’s filmmakers, provides the basis for the film. Because it elaborates on theories and concepts, it is an excellent companion reading.

Fuller, R. B. (1981). Critical path. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Critical Path details the limits of the planet's natural resources in light of political, economic, environmental, and ethical crises. It also traces the limited liability aspect of the corporate form to its origins with the British East India Company, providing additional background and information beyond what appears in The Corporation.

Accounting and Finance

Abbey, D. (2003). Global profit and global justice. New Society Publishers.

This book focuses on investing in ethical funds worldwide and how individuals can use their money to change the world.

Brewster, M. (2003). Unaccountable: How the Accounting Profession Forfeited a Public Trust. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley and Sons.

This book chronicles the US audit system, with a particular focus on the Enron Arthur Andersen case, where auditors are consultants and are paid for by the firms they were auditing. This provides an excellent reading to anchor themes explored in The Corporation’s “Mindset” chapter.

Everett, J. (2000). “Globalization And Its New Spaces for (Alternative) Accounting.” Research Accounting Forum, 27 (4), 400-419.

This article argues that accounting should address social and environmental justice, particularly in our global economy. This article addresses themes about the costs of economic progress in The Corporation.

McPhail K. (2001). “The Dialectic of Accounting Education: From Role Identity to Ego Identity.” Critical Perspectives on Accounting , 12 (4), 471-499.

This paper draws on critical education theory in order to show how accounting education tends to reproduce certain types of cultural norms that are not necessarily in the best interests of individuals and the public, and make recommendations for change.

Partnoy, Frank. (2003). Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets. New York: Times Books/Henry Holt Co.

This is a look at the increasingly volatile world of illegal corporate finance and accounting that has led to several spectacular financial collapses in the past decade.

Popper , M. (2000, 24 April). “Globalization Threatens Workers, Thrills Investors” Business Week Online. Available online at www.businessweek.com.

This article highlights the differences in business practices from country to country, fitting with The Corporation’s themes of international inequities.

Marketing

Aaker, D.A. and Joachimsthaler, E. (2000). Brand Leadership. New York: The Free Press.

This book is important for students to gain an understanding of contemporary notions of branding as discussed in The Corporation.

Michalos, A.C. (1995). A Pragmatic Approach to Business Ethics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

This resource can be used to frame discussion about some of the marketing practices highlighted in The Corporation (e.g., marketing to children, stealth marketing, etc.).

Potter, M. (1954). People of Plenty: Economic Abundance and the American Character. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Economic abundance, Potter argues, permanently shaped the American sense of possibility and opportunity, though a paradox exists on how that abundance is dealt with through disparities in wealth and opportunity. The chapter on advertising will be of interest to marketing students.

Management and Leadership

Frederick, W.C. (1995). Values, Nature, and Culture in the American Corporation. New York: Oxford University Press.

This book addresses issues that are central to The Corporation regarding the nature of corporations, and the values that organizations and individuals possess.

Hawken, P. (1994). The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability. New York: Harper Business.

This is the book that Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface, read which changed his way of doing business and thinking about the environment and discussed at length in The Corporation. In the book, Hawken attempts to design a system that makes conservation profitable, productive, and possible for commercial entities.

Soros, G. (1998). The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered. New York: Public Affairs.

In this book, Soros attempts to show illustrate how the market system will destroy itself unless certain, fundamental changes are made to public policy and corporate activity. His suggestions, to an extent, parallel those made in The Corporation which focus on democratic action and shared social and environmental responsibility.

Corporations and Business Structure

Global Issues That Affect Everyone
This site provides a variety of pages with relevant information on issues including corporate activity, consumption, and consumerism.

Power and Accountability
This online book addresses several themes from The Corporation, including shareholder interests and the role of government.

Accounting and Finance

Corporate Governance
This site provides specific articles and resources regarding corporate governance, with an emphasis on greater accountability. The site provides explanations of key terms, and fundamental principals, as well as links to relevant legislation and organizations with a stake in corporate governance issues.

International Accounting Standards Board
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is an independent accounting standard setter based in London, UK committed to developing a single set of high quality, understandable and enforceable global accounting standards. Board Members come from nine countries. In addition, the Board cooperates with national accounting standard setters to achieve convergence in accounting standards around the world.

Marketing

American Association of Advertising Agencies Standards of Practice
Students considering the ethics of marketing and advertising practices as illustrated in The Corporation will find it useful to be aware of the AAAA’s standards of practice.

Commercial Exploitation of Children
This site addresses arguments against marketing to children, and provides news and cases on this issue, which appear in The Corporation.

Direct Marketing Association
Through this site, the Direct Marketing Association provides data and information about direct marketing approaches. Such approaches to marketing relate to issues of consumerism and marketing discussed in The Corporation.

Management and Leadership

Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire
This site refers to itself as a “leading source of corporate responsibility and sustainability, press releases, reports and news” and contains press released about acts of corporate responsibility. Be sure to look at “The Business Case for CSR” in the “Resources” section of the site.

Business Ethics Magazine
“The mission of Business Ethics is to promote ethical business practices, to serve that growing community of professionals striving to work and invest in responsible ways.” The site provides a variety of articles and reports about positive and negative corporate citizenship. The site includes links to sample corporate codes of ethics.

ISO Standards for Corporate Social Responsibility
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) creates industry standards for many aspects of business, and is widely used in the manufacturing sector. ISO developed tools to help businesses define and address what CSR means and how to implement it throughout their organizations.

The World Bank Corporate Social Responsibility Page
The World Bank provides consulting services to organizations who wish to pursue social responsibility agendas. Be sure to examine the links to reports and brochures on the right-hand side of the screen.

Alliance for Responsible Trade
The Alliance for Responsible Trade (ART) is a national network of labour, family-farm, religious, women's, environmental, development and research organizations that promotes equitable and sustainable trade and development.