Dear colleagues and friends,
I find it helpful to frame this issue in terms of our familiar common background of management:
From my perspective the relationship between spirituality and management is a familiar issue and and can be briefly stated:
- Spirituality is the Mission (or Vision or Purpose ifor those who prefer these similar terms)
- Religion(s) are the variety of Organizational Designs enacted with claims to fulfill the spiritual Mission.
Not every design succeeds in enacting the desired result; further, sometimes the actual mission for an organization as inferred from its behavior (i.e., "theory in use" rather than "espoused theory") differs from the stated Mission.
Often individuals choose to seek to follow spiritual principles without joining n a formal organization. Many of us who are spiritual do join with others but in a looser form, perhaps "network" of "informal permeable boundary group" might capture these. In my observation many religions, though not all (e.g. Quakers) include classical organizational characteristics such as hierarchies, rules and regulations, initiation/membership requirements and expulsion or other penalties (up to and including death in some organizations) for rules violations including violations of their hierarchical order.
As a Jew by background but a Buddhist by spiritual attachment, I find it interesting, perhaps dismaying, that many of the Buddhist religious organizations incorporate some of these classical organizational characteristics even without the existence of theism.
From the above perspective, both religion and spirituality are our domain. It appears to me relatively easy to identify religious businesses (as long as we accept their self-designations by religious organizations) but more difficult to identify spiritual businesses due to our long standing struggle with definition(s) for spirituality.
With regard to our research I keep longing for someone to decide to investigate the varieties of religion for their degrees of consistency or inconsistency between their stated (often spiritual in my view) principle and their organizational behavior which sometimes is but sometimes is not consistent. An interesting question then is whether self-identification as a religious organization (e.g., Jim Jones or the Ku Klux Klan) is acceptable as a determinant of whether the organization can be classified as "religious".
Well, just some thoughts. Clearly I have more questions than answers ... Thanks for reading this far.
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From: Judi Neal <judi@SPIRITATWORK.ORG>
Reply-To: <judi@spiritatwork.org>
Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 16:19:32 -0400
To: <MSR@AOMLISTS.pace.edu>
Subject: Re: Spiritual Businesses
Hi All,
We struggled with this issue in our selection of organizations for the
International Spirit at Work Awards. How do you decide if an organization
is spiritual? Can a religious or faith-based or faith-friendly organization
be classified as spiritual?
Our Selection Committee came to the conclusion that it is impossible to
characterize any organization as "spiritual," "religious," or anything else.
Instead we agreed to look at whether or not the organization had programs,
policies, and/or practices that nourish the human spirit at work. We ask
that applicants give us examples of both vertical and horizontal dimensions
of spirituality or consciousness (from Ken Wilber). This basically means
that it is not enough to just have good human resource practices (although
that is essential), there must also be some kind of awareness of a
connection to the Transcendent, however they define that.
We have given the award to both faith-based organizations and to secular
organizations. We ask applicants to show demonstration of the ways in which
they honor all faith traditions, and we will not give the award to the
organization that is committed to proselytizing and conversion. We will
also not give the award to an organization that whose primary purpose is
disseminating the teaching of one spiritual teacher or a particular
spiritual path. (So for instance, we will not give the award to a church,
regardless of how many spiritual practices they have for employees).
That is not to say that a church couldn't be classified as a spiritual
organization. Our goal is to identify organizational practices that can be
emulated by mainstream organizations, so we think that non-religious
institutions are probably more likely to be better models.
We are now moving to an expanded operationalization of "a commitment to
nurture the human spirit in the workplace." This includes asking our
applicants to sign up for the Global Compact, which emphasizes social
justice. In the future, we will probably be asking for evidence of
corporate social responsibility and of sustainability, although there are
separate awards for those practices. I think they are an essential part of
being an organization committed to spirituality in the workplace. I wonder
if others on this MSR list agree?
If anyone is interested in seeing the way we have operationalized
"spirituality" for the International Spirit at Work awards, you can download
a copy of the application from our website at www.spiritatwork.org.
By the way, we have one week left to receive applications for the 2008
award, so if you know of any organizations that might qualify, please
encourage them to download an application.
Basic criteria:
* 20 or more full-time paid employees
* In business for five years or more
* Explicit spiritual practice, program or policy in place for one year or
more.
The awards will be given out at the International Spirit at Work Conference
in San Francisco, October 31-November 2nd. CEOs and executives from honoree
organizations will give workshops on how they have implemented spirituality
in the workplace.
Warm Regards,
Judi Neal
Judi Neal, Ph.D.
President & CEO, International Center for Spirit at Work (ICSW)
www.spiritatwork.org
President, Judi Neal & Associates
www.judineal.com
Author of Edgewalkers: People and Organizations that Take Risks, Build
Bridges, and Break New Ground (Praeger 2006)
www.edgewalkers.org
+1 203-467-9084 office
+1 203-804-6160 mobile
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
-----Original Message-----
From: Management, Spirituality & Religion
[mailto:MSR@AOMLISTS.pace.edu]On Behalf Of Day, Mellani J.
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 11:09 AM
To: MSR@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
Subject: Re: Spiritual Businesses
Nick:
It sounds like you believe that religious organizations cannot be
spiritual! Of course organizations can be spiritual without being
religious, but religious organizations can also be spiritual despite the
fact that they are categorized as religious. My organization has been
categorized as religious. In the year that I have been here, I have
found it to be spiritual as well, much more so than any secular
organization I have ever worked for, and I have worked in a variety of
secular corporate and academic environments over the years.
Mellani
__________________________________________________________
Dr. Mellani Day, D.B.A.
Assistant Dean of Business and Technology
Director, Master of Business Administration Program
College of Adult and Graduate Studies
Colorado Christian University
(303) 963-3434
"...if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear
to you." Phil. 3:15b
-----Original Message-----
From: Management, Spirituality & Religion [mailto:MSR@AOMLISTS.pace.edu]
On Behalf Of Nicholas Twigg
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 3:19 PM
To: MSR@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
Subject: Re: Spiritual Businesses
Sorry Mark, but I do not recognize "religious" organizations as being
Spiritual. I believe that an organization can be spiritual without being
religious. Secular spiritualist if you will. :-)
Nick
Dr. Nicholas W. Twigg
Coastal Carolina University
Management, Marketing, & Law
P.O. Box 261954, Conway, SC 29528
Wall 230C
843-349-2241
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Russell" <mark@MARKRUSSELL.ORG>
To: <MSR@AOMLISTS.pace.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 4:31 PM
Subject: Re: Spiritual Businesses
> Does anyone know of some good businesses worth researching that have
not
> yet been published about? Of course, this is sort of giving up
> competitive advantage request, but we live in an open source world!
I'm
> looking for something Christian (though other religions could be
> helpful). It could be anywere in the world, but preferably with some
size
> and success.
>
> Peace,
> Mark L. Russell,
>
>
> _____________________________________________
> Mark L. Russell, Ph.D.
> Director of Spiritual Integration
> Hope International: Faith-Based Microfinance Organization
> www.hopeinternational.org
> Adjunct Professor Asbury Theological Seminary
> mark@markrussell.org
>
>
>> On May 2, 2008, at 9:38 PM, Margaret Benefiel wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> In my books, Soul at Work (Seabury Books, 2005) and The Soul of a
Leader
>> (forthcoming from Crossroad in September 2008), I do the same.
>>
>> Best,
>> Margaret Benefiel
>>
>>>>> "David W. Miller" <david.w.miller@YALE.EDU> 05/01/08 9:26 AM >>>
>> Hi folks,
>> In my book, God at Work, I also reference several companies who are
>> intentional about encouraging a spiritual environment.
>> best,
>> David Miller
>> _____________________________________________
>> David W. Miller, Ph.D.
>> Executive Director, Yale Center for Faith & Culture, and
>> Assistant Professor (Adjunct) Business Ethics
>> Yale Divinity School
>> 409 Prospect Street
>> New Haven, CT 06511
>>
>> God at Work: The History and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement
>> (Oxford
>> University Press, 2007)
>>
>> 203-432-8669
>> david.w.miller@yale.edu
>> www.yale.edu/faith
>>
>>
>>
>> _____
>>
>> From: Management, Spirituality & Religion
[mailto:MSR@AOMLISTS.pace.edu]
>> On
>> Behalf Of Richard Peregoy
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 6:20 PM
>> To: MSR@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
>> Subject: Re: Spiritual Businesses
>>
>>
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>>
>>
>> David W. Miller writing in God at Work cites the 2003 International
>> Faith
>> and Work Directory (2007) Oxford University Press. This may help
with
>> your
>> literature search.
>>
>>
>>
>> Kindly,
>>
>>
>>
>> Richard Peregoy
>>
>>
>>
>> _____
>>
>> From: Management, Spirituality & Religion
[mailto:MSR@AOMLISTS.pace.edu]
>> On
>> Behalf Of Alarkoubi Khadija
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 2:52 PM
>> To: MSR@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
>> Subject: Spiritual Businesses
>>
>>
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> My dissertation is on spiritual leadership in the business context of
>> Morocco, but I am looking for some examples of businesses that you
may
>> qualify as spiritual in the business context of the US. I'd like to
>> include
>> some examples in my literature review.
>> Thanks
>>
>> Khadija
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _____
>>
>> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.
Try
>> <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51733/*http:/
>> mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8H
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>>
>>
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