Throughout the course of the 19th century mankind experienced a lot of changes to the way they were used to live life, mostly due to the expansion of the industrial revolution. But the biggest change was perhaps the change in the conditions for women all over the world. Women no longer wanted to live their lives behind closed doors looking out from the window and thinking of all the things that they could have done with their lives. They wanted to be a part of society and they, sometimes literally, fought for change. In Sweden women got the right to vote in 1921. The way there was long and difficult with a lot of obstacles and prejudice to overcome. But not all of the associations had voting rights for women on their agenda. Some of them were strictly philanthropic. After reading Eva Österberg’s book “Rummet vidgas”, where she discusses her theory about 19th century women in Sweden and the “closed room” that used to be their arena of movement and its expansion during the 19th century, I decided to do a research in my hometown and therefor took a closer look at the first association started by women in 1854 in the little town of Eskilstuna, 90 km from Stockholm. The association was started by a few leading women and their goal was to help the less fortunate children of the community with clothes and shoes so they could attend school and later on be useful members of the society. In doing so the women themselves took their rightful place in the public society. The women were very successful, they achieved well more than they had set out for and the association managed to exist for over a hundred years helping thousands of children.

Aim of the pursuit {\clqq}The humanism and filantrophy in nursery`` is to find out if nurses participate on volunteery in nonprofit organizations. The aim was reached by two knowledge: at first {--} the hospital nurses don´t participate on volunteery in nonprofit sector, at second {--} in nonprofit organizations works mainly nurses. The hypothesis No.1 {\clqq}Nurses do participate on volunteery in nonprofit sector.`` was not confirmed, but it was confirmed from nonprofit organizations respondents. The hypothesis No.2 {\clqq}Nurses use principles of a humanism and filantrophy in their profession.`` was confirmed by the knowledge that more than a half of respondents use a humanism and filantrophy principles in their work .

In the theoretical part of this thesis, the theory and development of corporate social responsibility are being described. There is a closer focus on three pillars of corporate social responsibility and on stakeholders who deal with this topic. Arguments for and against the implementation of corporate social responsibility are given, as well as methods of its measurement. In the next part, there is an analysis of current situation of this topic in the European Union and in the Czech Republic. More details about particular steps for implementation of corporate social responsibility and its effective communication are provided. In the practical part, there is an evaluation of activities in this field on example of real companies: Johnson & Johnson, a big international company, and Tylex Letovice, a.s., a middle-size Czech company.

The subject of this thesis is to point out the growing importance of the corporate social responsibility and the sustainable business concept of firms in the Czech Republic and abroad, integrating corporate philanthropy into their long-term strategy. The basic terms and close connection of the corporate donation policy and social responsibility are explained. Corporate foundations present the strategic tool. First chapter is an introduction to philanthropy with the definition of basic terms. Second chapter deals in detail with importance of social responsibility in the Czech Republic and France, focusing on the role of corporate foundations, their activities and comparing the situation in both countries. Practical chapter analyzes the activities of selected corporate foundations in order to capture examples of good and bad practice. Subsequently, the observation is summarized and future developments are outlined. Last chapter provides practical advice and considerations for companies considering establishing their own foundation. Implementing and improving proposals of the efficiency and quality of their management are finally submitted.

This dissertation contributes to the study of educational change and the conditions thereof. During the second half of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, Swedish early care and education (ECE) programs underwent a comprehensive transformation as formal instruction was supplanted by early childhood education. My analysis of this transformation utilizes a comparatively long time-frame, an organizational historical perspective, and archival material from 44 ECE societies. It focuses on three types of ECE programs: infant schools, day nurseries, and kindergartens. Since philanthropic societies organized such programs, this study’s results are also of interest to the history of philanthropy. Early childhood education was established through a selection and adaptation process in which existing ECE programs were closed or changed as new ones were established. My investigation demonstrates that this occurred on the basis of the conditions in which individual ECE programs operated. Factors that stand out in this regard are the debate concerning infant schools, the funding of ECE programs, and the expansion of the mandatory elementary education system, together with changes in the dissemination of ideas about education and the establishment of municipal regulations. How these conditions contributed to educational change constitutes the substance of the dissertation. The results of this dissertation deepen our knowledge of the finances of ECE programs, their organizational niche, and their relations with municipal authorities. This study questions the significance for educational change within these programs that has been attributed to the growth of a romantic conception of childhood. It provides a new picture of the role of the kindergarten movement in this regard and ascribes to day nurseries a previously unobserved role in educational change. This dissertation thereby contributes to a revision of recurrent assumptions concerning educational change and of the connection between such change and general societal or ideological structures.

English abstract This dissertation thesis deals with an entrepreneur as an engaged social agent that wants to shape society, creating not only a successful business venture but also a societal vision. This research focused on the Czech example of Tomáš and Jan Antonín Baťa while utilizing case studies of American entrepreneurs Henry Ford and Milton Hershey. These business owners are examples of social agents that realized their entrepreneurial plans, while their enterprise also allowed them to create a desired societal vision. The goal of the dissertation thesis is to discover how the studied entrepreneurs tried to influence the community of their employees and their company towns. The examination will include the ways they tried to influence wider society, through areas such as politics, philanthropy, and support of education. The goal is to identify and evaluate their motivations, goals, and ideas they used to shape society. The intent of the thesis is to present engaged Czech entrepreneurs through comparison with their American counterparts. This thesis is focused on the first 40 years of the 20th century. It was a time that immediately followed the societal changes connected with industrialization, urbanization, and modernization. The studied entrepreneurs lived in an era of massive social changes,...