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A Role for Ombuds in Embedded Corporate Social Responsibility Processes?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2015

Zachary P. Ulrich
Zachary P. Ulrich*
Affiliation:
Pepperdine University, School of Law
*
E-mail: [email protected], Address: Pepperdine University, School of Law, 5255 Tilden Avenue, Sherman Oaks, CA 91401
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Extract

My purpose here is to suggest that the often-overlooked organizational ombudsman (OO) role can and should become an influential component of embedded corporate social responsibility (CSR) processes as defined by Aguinis and Glavas (2013). An OO is an employee who works with individuals and groups to help resolve conflicts inside or outside of an organization and who brings systemic concerns to the attention of organizational leadership (Howard, 2010). An OO does this while maintaining the confidentiality of office visitors, operating from a stance of neutrality and impartiality, remaining independent of formal organizational structures, and not adjudicating disputes or otherwise making policy recommendations regarding conflicts (International Ombudsman Association, 2013; Ziegenfuss & O'Rourke, 2011).

Type
Commentaries
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , December 2013 , pp. 358 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2013

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