Changing Corporate America From Inside Out

Despite the backlash against lesbian and gay rights occurring in cities and states across the country, a growing number of corporations are actually expanding protections and benefits for their gay and lesbian employees. Why this should be, and why some corporations are increasingly open to inclusive policies while others are determinedly not, is what Nicole C. Raeburn seeks to explain in Changing Corporate America from Inside Out. A long-overdue study of the workplace movement, Raeburn's analysis focuses on the mobilization of lesbian, gay, and bisexual employee networks over the past fifteen years to win domestic partner benefits in Fortune 1000 companies. Drawing on surveys of nearly one hundred corporations with and without gay networks, intensive interviews with human resources executives and gay employee activists, as well as a number of case studies, Raeburn reveals the impact of the larger social and political environment on corporations' openness to gay-inclusive policies, the effects of industry and corporate characteristics on companies' willingness to adopt such policies, and what strategies have been most effective in transforming corporate policies and practices to support equitable benefits for all workers. Nicole C. Raeburn is assistant professor and chair of sociology at the University of San Francisco.

MAKE YOUR COMPANY A FORCE FOR GOOD You’re ambitious. You’re not afraid to take risks. You want to bring about positive social change. And while your peers have left a trail of failed start-ups in their wake, you want to initiate change from within an established company, where you can have a more far-reaching, even global impact. Welcome to the club—you’re a social intrapreneur. But even with your enviable skill set, your unwavering social conscience, and your determination to change the world, your path to success is filled with challenges. So how do you get started and maintain your momentum? Changing Your Company from the Inside Out provides the tools to empower you to jump-start initiatives that matter to you—and that should matter to your company. Drawing on lessons from social movements as well as on the work of successful intrapreneurs, Gerald Davis and Christopher White provide you with a guide for creating positive social change from within your own organization. You’ll learn how to answer four key questions: • When is the right time for change? Learn how to read your organization’s climate. • Why is this a compelling change? Use language and stories to connect your initiative to your organization’s mission, strategy, and values. • Who will make this innovation possible? Identify the decision makers you need to persuade and the potential resisters you need to steer around. • How can you mobilize your supporters to collaborate on your innovation? Use the online and offline tools and platforms that best support your initiative. This book is a road map for intrapreneurs seeking to reshape their companies into drivers of positive change. If you want to spearhead social innovation from within your company, use this book as your guide.

Corporate responsibility is considered an oxymoron by much of society. Corporations are among the least trusted of our institutions; and the 2008 financial crisis, BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the collapse of the house of cards that was Enron have only added to public skepticism. So, at a time when trust in corporations has reached an all-time low, why is interest in corporate responsibility at an all-time high? A plausible explanation is that increasing numbers of stakeholders are demanding responsibility from corporations. Hyper-transparency of corporate activities, fueled by disclosure laws and the Internet, has increased awareness to the point where corporate behavior is under constant scrutiny. Smart business leaders are aware of this scrutiny and of the high costs of a public scandal. They know that in the long run it is cheaper to act responsibly now than to dig out from a PR disaster later. Tim Mohin is a veteran corporate responsibility practitioner who has led programs at Apple, Intel, and AMD. In this book, Tim tells us why he believes he is making a difference where it counts and how others can do the same. His book is a manual on how to steer the corporate supertanker toward doing good for people and our planet. Changing Business from the Inside Out provides a fascinating roadmap to the corporate responsibility and sustainability field, from beginning a career, to forming a program, to navigating the complicated politics of a corporation. Mohin likens the corporate treehugger role to "being the designated driver at the corporate cocktail party". Throughout his book, he argues strongly that activists can accomplish more for the planet and society by serving as a voice of responsibility within the corporation rather than protesting outside the factory gates. Corporations are clearly the drivers of the world economy, and the corporate responsibility practitioner has an essential role in bringing ethical and sustainable values to the C-suite and making sure that they are accomplished. Whether you are a practitioner needing advice, a mid-career professional wanting to change course, or an MBA wondering how to incorporate responsibility into your career, this book has the answers you need.

An accurate picture of the LGBTQ rights movement’s achievements is incomplete without this surprising history of how corporate America joined the cause. Legal scholar Carlos Ball tells the overlooked story of how LGBTQ activism aimed at corporations since the Stonewall riots helped turn them from enterprises either indifferent to or openly hostile toward sexual minorities and transgender individuals into reliable and powerful allies of the movement for queer equality. As a result of street protests and boycotts during the 1970s, AIDS activism directed at pharmaceutical companies in the 1980s, and the push for corporate nondiscrimination policies and domestic partnership benefits in the 1990s, LGBTQ activism changed big business’s understanding and treatment of the queer community. By the 2000s, corporations were frequently and vigorously promoting LGBTQ equality, both within their walls and in the public sphere. Large companies such as American Airlines, Apple, Google, Marriott, and Walmart have been crucial allies in promoting marriage equality and opposing anti-LGBTQ regulations such as transgender bathroom laws. At a time when the LGBTQ movement is facing considerable political backlash, The Queering of Corporate America complicates the narrative of corporate conservatism and provides insights into the future legal, political, and cultural implications of this unexpected relationship.

Today we find ourselves at a crossroads of two powerful, unrelenting currents that are completely at odds with one another. The movement for legal recognition of same-sex unions has gone beyond the separate but equal status of civil unions to demand equality in marriage for all couples. Progress is being made on many fronts: mayoral action, clergy officiating at same-sex marriage and union ceremonies, state legislative responses, and street protests, to name a few. Meanwhile, opposition to same-sex marriage has also been gathering strength. The struggle is sure to continue unabated for some time to come, pitting those who believe in the traditional definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman—and who seek to codify this belief in the U.S. Constitution—against those who find the basis for marriage between two loving, committed individuals not only in the history of our civil rights legislation and court decisions, but also in scripture and sacred religious traditions. Those who believe in extending to same-sex couples the 1,049 rights conferred by marriage as well as the supportive embrace of religious communities seek to strengthen the institution of marriage by making it inclusive and by passing laws and broadening doctrines to uphold marriage rights for all couples. This three-volume set clarifies the legal, political, religious, cultural, and social ramifications of same-sex marriage for gay and lesbian couples and their families and friends, and for the general public interested in the future of civil rights in the United States.

At last, there’s a business leadership book that really tackles the tough issues of integrity and governance. Taking a unique approach to leadership, this book gathers the path-breaking perspectives of influential shareholder activists; opinion-leading CEOs of major firms; trailblazing, distinguished academics; and courageous regulators. The all-star roster of contributors from the corporate world and academia includes Vanguard's John Bogle, former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, and Harvard Business School's Rosabeth Moss Kanter. Sherron Watkins, Enron whistleblower and Time Person of the Year, shares an inside look at Enron, and Barbara Ley Toffler, former head of Arthur Andersen's Ethics Practice, paints a picture of Anderson Consulting before their fall.

This volume explores the relationship between media, movements, and political change through analyses of how actors use print media and the Internet to achieve their goals. The chapters examine the role of media in the (Anti-)Abortion, Globalization, Labor, Townsend, and White Power movements as well as Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.

Examines the nature and process of private policymaking in US firms and how this interacts with public policymaking.