Abstract/Details

Social accounting for international oil companies: A judicial critique

Musk, Thomas Dale.   University of Calgary (Canada) ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  2002. MQ77397.

Abstract (summary)

Corporations are only responsible in three areas: laws and regulations, voluntary codes and salient stakeholder demands. This thesis concentrates on the third aspect. Salient stakeholders, such as powerful NGOs, can effectively undermine corporate reputation and mobilize the public in protest when corporations egregiously violate social mores, ultimately impeding corporate pursuit of profit-maximization. In this way, social mores are converted into financial signals forcing corporations to account for social costs. For this to be effective, however, requires corporate transparency.

Social accountability, defined as “a systematic attempt to identify, measure, monitor, and evaluate an organization's performance with respect to its social efforts, goals, and programs”, is still in its nascent stages.

Using Talisman Energy's Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2000: Sudan Operations as a case study, it is demonstrated that the current financial accounting methodology is ineffective at promoting greater corporate transparency. Instead, current approaches serve only to legitimate existing performance.

In response to these criticisms, an alternative to the financial accounting approach is recommended: the judicial model of inquiry. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Indexing (details)


Subject
Environmental science;
Studies;
Transparency;
Social responsibility;
Petroleum industry;
Social accounting;
Accounting;
Politics;
Ethics;
Morality;
Democracy
Classification
0768: Environmental science
0272: Accounting
0394: Ethics
21112: Crude Petroleum Extraction
Identifier / keyword
Health and environmental sciences; Social sciences
Title
Social accounting for international oil companies: A judicial critique
Author
Musk, Thomas Dale
Number of pages
99
Degree date
2002
School code
0026
Source
MAI 41/05M, Masters Abstracts International
ISBN
978-0-612-77397-4
Advisor
Stein, Stanley
University/institution
University of Calgary (Canada)
University location
Canada -- Alberta, CA
Degree
M.E.Des.
Source type
Dissertation or Thesis
Language
English
Document type
Dissertation/Thesis
Dissertation/thesis number
MQ77397
ProQuest document ID
304794667
Copyright
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/docview/304794667