There has been an increase in shareholder activism in recent years that has affected companies like Walmart, Goldman-Sachs and Citigroup. Shareholders are taking charge, expressing their discontent with extravagant pay packages when such high profile companies have been ripe with scandals and had poor stock performance. They're questioning the corporate governance of the companies they're invested in, and they are not afraid to exercise their power.

Corporate Governance, Ethics and CSR looks at the organization's role in society, its responsibilities and obligations to its stakeholders (including its employees) and the ethical underpinning which has to be in place for any form of honest reporting. This book looks not only at the organization as a reporting entity complying with a set of rules but also as a functioning part of the business environment. The authors explain that creating and maintaining an ethical culture needs a systematic approach that starts at the top.

近年来，股东积极性有所增加，影响了沃尔玛、高盛和花旗集团等公司。股东们正在掌权，表达了他们对奢侈的薪酬待遇的不满，因为这些高知名度的公司已经出现丑闻，股票表现不佳。他们质疑他们投资的公司的公司治理，他们不怕行使权力。
公司治理、道德和企业社会责任关注组织在社会中的角色、对利益相关者（包括其员工）的责任和义务，以及任何形式的诚实报告必须具备的道德基础。本书不仅将组织视为遵守一系列规则的报告实体，而且还将其视为业务环境的一部分。作者解释说，创建和维护道德文化需要从顶层开始的系统方法。