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GLOBALISATION, SPRITUALITY AND BUSINESS ETHICS: THE PERSPECTIVE OF DEVELOPING ECONOMIES: A paper for the XIII ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR on

“Ethics, Morality and Spirituality” from January 4-5 in Delhi, India.

by Dr. Assad Abdallah Kipanga – DCA, PGDA, CPA (T), MBA, PHD. DESIGNATION: Senior Lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Business Studies St. John’s University of Tanzania (SJUT), P. O. Box 47, Dodoma. TANZANIA +255787714700 E-mail:akipanga@sjut.ac.tz

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GLOBALISATION, SPRITUALITY AND BUSINESS ETHICS: THE PERSPECTIVE OF DEVELOPING ECONOMIES: A paper for the XIII ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR on “Ethics, Morality and Spirituality” from January 4-5 in Delhi, India by Dr. Assad Abdallah Kipanga Abstract: In the spirit of globalisation, national economic policies in developing and transitional economies are subjected to a global framework in order to regulate and redress the dysfunctions, malpractices and mismanagement of local entities. The resultant improved performance is expected to spearhead the development of those economies and essentially benefit all the respective stakeholders. Nevertheless, the practical dimensions of this over publicized doctrine of globalisation has frustrated the expectation of many optimistic proponents to the extent of questioning whether it is be possible to have a fair global economic order without the influence of a supernatural authority based on spirituality. It is the objective of this paper therefore to show how the application of moral ethical practices that are loaded by religious faith (spirituality) can influence good corporate governance. The paper will cite cases of how, under the guise of globalisation, unfaithful multinationals have undermined and exploited the very weak economies they were supposed to promote and protect. Key words: Globalisation, Spirituality, Business Ethics, Ethical Values and Multinationals 1.0 INTRODUCTION

Corporate leadership has been damaged, maligned, and challenged in recent times by a number of incidents that have received substantial publicity. Leaders, who were once respected, have been caught in compromising unethical and financial dealings that threaten their careers and the security of their companies1.

In-born traits have for long been disregarded as neither necessary nor sufficient qualities for able modern

leadership. Good leaders need to undergo specialised training to equip them with the required managerial

skills to serve the stakeholders better. Among the stakeholders are the shareholders as the suppliers of

finance to corporations. Their main responsibility then is to use their ultimate authority to ensure that a

fair return on their investments is achieved through the services of employed executives and directors.

The means to which such shareholders exercise control on the management to achieve this goal is what

comprise corporate governance (Kempf, 2007). The board of directors must ensure that executives’

interests are aligned with the shareholders’ interests to curb a situation in which the managers can take

advantage of their positions to inhibit poor managerial behaviour (Kim, Nofsinger and Mohr, 2010:10).

1 Herman Trend Alert in Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists, copyright 2005. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com/. "Herman Trend Alert" is a trademark of The Herman Group. Archived editions are posted at www.hermangroup.com/archive.html

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Although the shareholders who contribute capital to run corporations deserve a fair return from

their investment, responsibility to other stakeholders like customers, employees and society or the

community is equally desirable. Aburdene (2010) cautions corporations on the need to consider the

reactions of all stakeholders before introducing new brands because conscious consumers hold

corporations morally responsible and that values-driven customers are willing to pay more for products

and services that reflect their values. Failing companies will obviously face a possible backlash. She

identifies twelve core values considerations as Compassion, Humility, Justice, Courage, Respect,

Humanity, Empowerment, Integrity, Holism, Broader Good, Responsibility and Excellence.

Despite adopting very strenuous procedures in the process of recruiting the managerial cadre,

cases of abuses by modern business practitioners such as stealing, lying, fraud, deceit are just too many

(Beekun, 1997). The Wall Street Journal reports that over 85% of the senior executives of 300 companies

surveyed across the world expressed the following as top ethical concerns: employee conflict of interest,

inappropriate gifts, sexual harassment and unauthorised payments. At the same time, ethical problems

affecting 2,000 major US corporations in order of importance, include, drug and alcohol abuse, employee

theft, conflict of interest, quality control issues, discrimination in hiring and promotion, misuse of

proprietary information, abuse of company expense accounts, plant closing and layoff, misuse of

company assets, and environmental pollution. Judging from the impact of current developments on

human lives the world over socially, culturally, economically and politically, Nolan (2006) identifies what

is prevailing in the status quo as:

• The decline in loyalty in organizations;

• Notorious breaches of trust;

• Diminished professionalism;

• Lack of sincerity in the Church;

• Lack of honesty in political life; and

• Increased individualism and selfishness versus espirit de-corp.

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Needless to say, since it is the directors and mainly the management team that make important

decisions and see them going through, and not the shareholders who own the enterprises, the calibre of

such officials matters most in ensuring that ethical considerations are given due attention. Based on the

record of many cases of management incompetence, Alert (2005) finds it difficult to see the type of

honest leaders that employees can exemplify as role models and also feels that such lapse also dictates the

caliber of employees that may be attracted to join organisations. It is his view that top talents will only

join organisations based on their leadership styles and effectiveness. The example of unethical

experiences of the collapse of major corporations in the light of wealthy CEO’s amidst bankrupt

companies or huge bonuses paid to officers during equally huge layoffs of employees clearly signify the

need for a check and balance mechanism to contain abuses of power cum betrayal of trust (Collins, 2006).

On a positive note, such state of affairs has challenged businesses to creating a caring, values-

based atmosphere that puts a spiritual balance into business. Furthermore, due to the fall of the major

firms like Enron and WorldCom, corporate scandals have taken their toll on the conscience of the

business world compelling people to consider strong moral values in their business dealings. In that

respect, Visser (2003) observes that because the West are experiencing a sense of existential crisis in their

working lives, the status quo is seen to be devoid of a sense of soul, thus creating the need for citizen

companies that can demonstrate greater accountability and a restored balance between the rights and

responsibilities of business. Visser together with Miller (2009) conclude that corporations are now

compelled to provide high quality products and services, care about the environment and have to worry

about the gulf between the ‘have’s’ and the ‘have not’s’. They contend that people might think that the

world is just not ready for spiritual-based leadership, even if it is practical, but the evidence is compelling.

Sharing the same feeling is Collins (2006) who is fully convinced that a win/win situation can

easily be achieved through integrating the religious values in the workplace. He urges business leaders to

integrate personal and spiritual values into the workplace, to make sure that work contributes to the

deepest value or act as a training ground on how to transform into spiritual human beings. This is

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important because focusing primarily on material growth, may spoil the opportunity of attaining healthy,

economic prosperity. Collins thus concludes that to make one feel first and foremost as a spiritual being,

the intrinsic motivation to be spiritually creative cannot be understood without the context of spirituality

becoming known and accepted. On that notion, Miller (1999) discovers that even at personal level, it is

possible to find managers that may be emotionally committed to apply their own values in line with the

fundamental human values like concern for well-being, responsibility, caring, truthfulness and

equanimity.

Aburdene (2010) has on record that the old notion of underrating moral considerations versus

earning the highest returns is now outmoded. She states that decades of continuous research show that

those who go in for social justice never suffer financially and that socially responsible firms are reported

to repeatedly achieve first-rate financial returns that meet and often beat the market and their peers. The

Governance Metrics International rated public firms on governance, labour, environmental and litigation

policies and found that top-ranked firms substantially outperformed the market, while poorly rated firms

significantly trailed it. In yet another study, Morningstar examined socially responsible stock funds over a

three-year period and found that 21 percent had earned its top five-star rating, which is twice the rate of

all mutual funds signifying that moral companies perform so well financially. As such, many experts are

reported to conclude that corporate responsibility is a proxy for good management, which is the prime

indicator of superior financial performance.

At this juncture, it is important to show the type of spirituality that is relevant for our case.

Guillory (2006) defines it as listening to our inner guidance, which influences decision making; the source

that influences us to behave with passion, understanding, empathy, humility, compassion, and love.

Similarly, Arburdene (2010) links spirituality to human consciousness, which she defines as the gleam of

spirit that animates because the inner world of ideals and beliefs shapes peoples’ actions. On the other

hand, McGaffigan (2009) maintains the conservative view of spirituality by associating it to religious

values. He believes that religious identity is necessary to guide global humane governance to a firm social

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or political foundation. Others who associate religion with spirituality include Rev. Alan Race2, Smith

(2002a), Smith (2002b) and Èiegis, Gavënauskas, Petkevièiûtë, and Ðtreimikienë (2008).

To emulate the Christian perspective in business, Platt (2006) expresses the need for executives to

portray positive image and a deliberate desire to be looked upon favourably by customers and co-workers.

He urges Christians in the business to be honest in their business dealings and not to exaggerate the

features or benefits of a product or service they are selling although it is believed that "everyone else is

doing it." He criticises the industrial sector that believes the little "white lie" is a perfectly acceptable

means of conducting business and challenges Christians on the extra obligation they have to emulate a

higher standard of honest in all their dealings with others, regardless of whether those they deal with will

ever know or not.

Obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord (Colossians 3:22).

Similar standards are outlined in Islam where ethical considerations play a very big role in all

spheres of life whether in conducting business or in personal dealings3. The Islamic code of ethics

emphasises on the relation between man and the Creator (Allah). And, because Allah is believed to be

perfect and omniscient, Muslims have a code that is neither time bound nor biased by human whims.

Islamic ethical values are also embodied in justice by ensuring equitable distribution of wealth and

benefits and burdens. However, Islam does not call for blind justice in its approach to distributive justice;

it is applied in a balanced manner. Muslims in leadership positions are encouraged to treat their followers

or subordinates justly where the basic needs requirement of the needy are to be met by part of the wealth

accumulated by the rich. Islam also is opposed to human exploitation at any level. That is why the Islamic

ethical system is totally opposed to the concept of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) (Beekun, 1997). It

2 Rev. Alan Race is Editor-in-Chief of Interreligious Insight, UK/USA, on Religion in Public Life http://www.interreligiousinsight.org/index.html 3 Qur’an 3:110: You are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah.

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is for the same reason that Islam forbids both the giving and taking of interest (Hasan 2006:323 and

Qur’an 2:278-279).

So when spirituality is applied to the work place, it exemplifies the ways spirituality is expressed

at work, both for personal support and in making ethical just decisions. And since, leaders in the work

place command authority and influence, such leaders are not expected to live by one set of standards in

their personal life and another in their work life. They should be aware that the same ethical, moral, and

spiritual standards by which they live with their family and friends also govern their dealings in business,

and they should openly act in accordance with those standards, fully expecting anyone with whom they

deal to act similarly (Smith, 2002a).

Now that there is a changing attitude in the business world where values and ethics are given

serious consideration against the orthodox emphasis on profit maximisation, the “triple bottom line,” of a

commitment to “people, planet, and profit,” has taken ground, recognising the role employees and the

environment play in economics/business circles. A research for spirituality published in the USA Today of

November 17, 2003, records that 6 out of 10 people agreed that workplaces would benefit from bringing

spiritual values into workplace, which include embodying personal values of honesty, integrity, quality

work, treating co-workers and employees well, participating in spiritual study groups/praying, meditation,

or intuitive guidance at work, and social responsibility on environment (McLaughlin, 2004).

On how globalisation comes in picture, is what this paper wants to address to show whether or

not the impact of global rules on business alone are enough to dictate sound business practices without the

influence of value loaded ethical considerations. The experience about different foreign businesses

operating in Lithuania indicates lack of sincerity and honesty. These businesses, which would perfectly

follow norms of business ethics in their own countries very strictly, were instead observed to run their

business in Lithuania in the most indecent manner by tolerating or accepting corruption and illegal

payments, and ignoring the interests of local communities. Recent facts available in the regions of ex-

USSR also testify that social responsibility of some international corporations is valid only in their home

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country, but it does not take such factors into consideration when operating in host countries. Cases where

the international companies apply the whole set of dishonourable means in order to force governmental

structures in the host country to change local laws, that are not favourable for the company, are not new

(Vasiljevienë, 2001).

When viewing the impact of the global financial crises and trade liberalisation, the global

disparity in economic development, and justice concerning North-South relations, it gives room for

serious consideration on the rationale for the European-inspired “Social Market Economy”. Rusu (2006)

reports another case showing conflict of interest between small farmers from Nicaragua and the

Dominican Republic and the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (DR- CAFTA)

that requires Central American countries to open their markets to the dumping of US rice and other

commodities, which they felt could spell economic disaster for the small farmers who won't be able to

compete with highly subsidized U.S. producers. Since the US is reported to lavish its producers with

billions of dollars in government subsidies every year, allowing them to export their products at a price

well below the cost of production, by lifting tariffs on imports from the United States and forbidding

measures to safeguard food security and promote rural development in these countries, DR- CAFTA will

cause a flood of cheap imports. Thus driving Dominican and Nicaragua farmers out of business, and

destabilize their economy. It is obvious that despite the optimism proposed by DR-CAFTA, international

trade of this nature does have the potential to promote development and reduce poverty in these already

very impoverished countries. Instead, it will only harm the very people its proponents claim it will help.

Nevertheless, through globalisation economic relations and attitudes of sustainable development

ideologies have been realised by invoking international efforts (Brown, 1994). For example, in 2002, the

leading persons of the world gathered in Rio de Janeiro to legitimise sustainable development as the main

long-term ideology of the society development. The international community is reinforcing this role of

corporate responsibility through development of codes of conduct to guide business as global corporate

citizens. Mofid (2006) notes that the globalised world economy records many significant achievements

during the last few decades, and especially since the end of the Second World War, in areas such as

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science, technology, medicine, transportation and communication. However, these achievements are not

incident free. The world is still facing major catastrophic socio-economic, political, cultural and

environmental crises, resulting into major problems of inequality, injustice, poverty, greed,

marginalisation, exclusion, intolerance, fear, mistrust, xenophobia, terrorism, sleaze and corruption. The

twentieth century is perceived to be the bloodiest in human history, with holocausts, genocides, ethnic

cleansing, two world wars and hundreds of inter and intra-national wars.

Mofid adds that today’s financial globalisation has created an environment and culture in which

individual self-interest takes priority over social good. And that a transactional view of the world

dominates economic thinking where personal relationships and the creation of a stable society are largely

ignored in the maximisation of profits. However, he is encouraged by the fact that after decades of

selfishness, greed, individualism and emphasis on wealth creation without care about how this wealth is

being created, the world today is entering a period of reflection, self-examination and a spiritual

revolution. He notes that many people around the globe have come to an understanding that it is possible

to create a better world if a critical mass of people with a sense of human decency and a belief in the

ultimate goodness of humanity, rise and realise their power to transform the world. He describes

economic globalisation without a globalisation of compassion for the common good as nothing but a

‘house of cards’. Historian Arnold Toynbee, who traced the rise and fall of civilisations, states that

spirituality has more significance in the rise of civilisations than political leadership, and that once a

civilisation has lost its spiritual core it is bound to decline. In this paper, the focus will be on the ethical

implications of the present situation in business, and will discuss how ethics and morals relate to good

corporate governance.

THE CONCEPTS OF ETHICS AND SPRITUALITY

Beekun (1997) defines ethics as the set of moral principles that distinguish what is right and what is

wrong. According to Èiegis (2004), ethics arise out of the necessity to maintain values that can be passed

from one generation to another. For example, the quality of the environment would greatly depend on

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ethical attitudes, ecological conscience and moral responsibility for the economic performance (Kothari

1994). Sustainable development as well operates on the basis of ethical principles based on morality.

Likewise, fast economic development will only make sense if coupled with a commitment for reducing

the income gap between the haves and the have not’s, the level of poverty and environmental degradation,

a careful evaluation of macroeconomic policies and its social impacts, and promoting corporate social

responsibility (Èiegis et. al., 2008). Needless to say, the aspect of value is also reckoned in the Islamic

perspective of ethics defined as practices and values that embrace all aspects of life, business or otherwise

(Beekun, 1997). The Islamic values are based on the provisions of Qur’an 3:104, where Allah describes

people who are successful as those who are “inviting to all that is good (khayr), enjoying what is right

(ma’ruf) and forbidding what is wrong (munkar)”.

The link between ethics and spirituality is first outlined by Marques (2002) as the one that is not

necessarily likened to religious values. In religion he finds freedom of choice between different religions

or between being religious or not, while he considers spirituality as a deeper personal experience

associated with an individual’s personal quest to discover one’s identity. Thompson (2001) also describes

it as: a portrayal of ones values on what is right and thus builds ones personality. A number of other

authors perceive religion to represent an over-simplistic and narrow view of reality that is intolerant of

contrary view...4 Conversely, Smith (1999) contrasts between what she calls self-defined spirituality and a

church-based faith and acknowledges the fact that although those who reject traditional faiths have many

reasons to justify their cases, she recognises these “New Age” beliefs as attempts to revive lost values in

the “old” religions and the beliefs of indigenous peoples. She sees many of the phrases used to define

spirituality to have their solid foundation in Christianity or other faiths, psychology, or some other

worldview, which still is a foundation beyond the individualistic self-defined spirituality or what she calls

“junk-food” spirituality. She thus emphasises on some kind of worldview foundation that forms a

consistent and coherent foundation, which is obviously religion based. 4 Paterson, A. (2000, 23 May). RELIGION versus SPIRITUALITY, http://www.vision.net.au/~apaterson/esoteric/religion_spirituality.htm; Rosner, B. (2001). Is there room for the soul at work? Workforce, 80(2), 82-83.

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Guillory (2006) goes further to differentiate between spirituality and religion. He describes

spirituality as "essence" and religion as "form", clarifying spirituality as the source of an unlimited

number of forms the human experience may take, like meditation, prayer, zen, environmental

conservation, and treating others with respect, dignity, and as equals. He suggests that since, the nature of

work life has become complicated, he calls for the need to seek values-based answers which Engineer

(2006) defines it as religion because of its role in molding good moral character that leads to success in

life. Engineer thus considers the support and guidance that religion offers as a prerequisite to good

governance. This goes hand in hand with enhancing quality of life which is a necessary factor for

enriching spiritual life. He emphasises that religion is very important as a guiding force because most

human beings cannot resist temptations and can easily yield to the pressure of their desires, requiring the

inspiration of religious ideals and values to help in improving governance.

To cite examples, while a Buddhist governs in such a way as to reduce or even eliminate suffering of

the subjects (dukkha), a Jainist’s main concern will be stopping violence from peoples’ life believing that

intensifying violence leads to bad governance in society. On the other hand, Christianity would always

promote love in the society so as to smoothen mutual relations and make people live in perfect harmony.

Accordingly, Islam would want to strike a balance between leading a moral life on earth and also to

prepare for the hereafter through worship. The Quran stresses cooperation on goodness (birr) and taqwa

(avoidance of evil) and prohibits cooperating with each other in sin and aggression (Qur’an 5:2)5. Islam

also puts greater weight in justice with its Prophet providing the best model of a good governor. The

Prophet never misused his powers to favour even his closest relative. Since Islam considers justice the

most fundamental to good governance, the Quran has therefore laid down very high standard of justice

and considers it as the central value in Islam. The Quran says,

5 It is a duty of every individual to enforce what is good (maâruf) and contain what is evil (munkar) (3:110). No one, according to the Quran enjoys higher status than the other except by good deeds; one closest to Allah is one who is most pious (49:13).

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O you who believe, be upright for Allah, bearers of witness with justice; and let the hatred of a people incite you not to act justly. Be just; that is nearer to observance of duty. And keep your duty to Allah. Surely Allah is aware of what you do” (Qur’an 5:8).6

Prompted by the alienation and uncertainty of our age, people, now more than ever before, are

seen to want to find a reliable moral compass as a logical conclusion. Hence, for people in positions to

make substantive changes, they should become aware of the fact that business decisions must be driven

by more than just profits. They must be driven from a holistic perspective, considering not just what is

good for one part, but what is good for the whole (Guillory, 2006).

ETHICS AND SPIRITUALITY AT WORK PLACES

A reflection on the growing desire to bring spiritual values into the workplace is observed by McLaughlin

(2004) who records a figure of over 500 book titles on the subject. In addition, she names several national

newsletters and associations based on spirituality at work, as well as dozens of national conferences on

this theme. She gives the example of the American Management Association that held a conference on

“Profiting from a Values-Based Corporate Culture,” on how to tap into the 4th dimension of spirituality

and ethics as crucial components for success. She also records the on going transformation of corporate

America as growing numbers of business people want their spirituality to be more than just faith and

belief. They want it to be practical and applied to bring their whole selves to work: body, mind and spirit.

Beekun (1997) argues that ethical or unethical conduct takes place in an organisational context

that is conducive. As such, the rewarding system in an organisation may also encourage unethical

behaviour. At individual level, one’s ethical stance may determine the climate in an organisation as those

committed to ethical behaviour will not engage in doubtful practices and vice versa. Unethical standards

of peers, bosses, or external environmental pressures may also influence the performance of others in an

6 For a leader even hatred of other people should not incite him to commit injustice to them. Prejudice against people not belonging to ones community or caste whether in the name of merit, efficiency or nation is also forbidden. The Prophet followed Allah who is described by Quran as Best of the Judges. Injustices always lead to darkness of oppression and exploitation in society. The Quran say Allah is Friend of believers and brings them out of darkness into light (2:257).

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organisation. Accordingly, Haughey (2006) states that negative attitudes at work places are normally

caused by managerial deficiencies both technically and morally originating from what he calls capital

sins, defined as ‘pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth’, which St. Paul calls them “the

works of the flesh” and defines them as immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, hatreds, rivalry,

outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy...”�(Gal. 5:19-21). Hamel

(2000) thus concludes that unless there is allegiance to the plight of the creator, the working place will

continue to suffer. As such, Muslims are required to strictly follow Islamic ethical guidelines knowing

that Allah witnesses all their transactions (Qur’an 10:61).

Hamel defines spirituality in the workplace as the feeling of responsibility that one bears at the

work place to be appreciated as being worthwhile. The findings of a survey on business ethics conducted

by the American Management Association (AMA) and Human Resource Institute (HRI) reveal that

pressure to meet unrealistic business objectives and deadlines is the leading factor for unethical corporate

behavior followed by the desire to further one’s career and to protect one’s livelihood7. Other factors

identified are working in an environment with cynicism or diminished morale, improper training or

ignorance on unethical acts and the lack of consequences when caught, the need to follow the boss’s

orders, peer pressure, desire to be a team player, desire to steal from or harm the organization and,

paradoxically, wanting to help the organization survive8.

On the most influential external drivers of corporate ethics, the research finds out that laws and

regulations are the most dominant determinants. Corporate leaders are supposed to communicate ethical

values throughout the organization and should be exemplary in order to establish and sustain an ethical

culture. Accordingly, organizations should establish policies and processes for ensuring the ethical

7 American Management Association (AMA) is the world's leading membership-based management education and professional development organization. Since 1923, it has provided valuable and practical action-oriented learning programs to business professionals at every stage of their careers. 8 That is according to a global survey commissioned by American Management Association (AMA) and conducted by the Human Resource Institute (HRI) reported in Workplace Spirituality of January 16, 2006. The AMA/HRI survey on “The Ethical Enterprise” included responses from 1,121 managers and HR experts from around the world notably, AMA’s affiliates and global partners from Canadian Management Centre in Toronto, Management Center de Mexico in Mexico City, Management Centre Europe in Belgium and AMA Asia in Japan. A copy of the survey summary is available at http://www.amanet.org/research

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culture. These include leadership support and modeling of ethical behaviour, consistent communications

from all leaders, integrating ethics into goals, processes and strategies, and making ethics a part of

performance management systems and a part of the recruitment and employee selection process.

The survey also found that the single most important ethical leadership behavior is keeping

promises, followed by encouraging open communication, keeping employees informed and supporting

employees who uphold ethical standards. If an organization has leaders who simply don't “walk the talk”

when it comes to ethics, there’s little hope of maintaining a strong ethical culture. As for specific

programs and practices, a corporate code of conduct is viewed as being most important. Such a code

must reflect and reinforce the values and principles of an organization. The top five programmes are

ethics training for all members of the organization, Corporate Social Responsibility programmes,

ombudsman services and help lines. Employees need to have a code to set the ethics foundation, training

to help people truly understand it, and programmes that permit them to inquire about and report ethical

violations.

As pointed out by Mclaughlin (2004), the workplace is a very powerful institution today,

requiring it to play its rightful dominant position. In the words of the World Business Academy

cofounder Willis Harman, “The dominant institution in any society needs to take responsibility for the

whole, as the church did in the days of the Holy Roman Empire.” According to his observation, each day,

more and more business people are helping to create a better world by being more socially responsible in

how they treat people and the environment. The application of spirituality at workplace is now gaining

more grounds due to increased recognition on the contribution of the labour force. Mclaughlin gives the

following reasons.

• Corporate downsising and greater demands on remaining workers.

• Globalisation of markets requires more creativity from employees.

• To survive into the 21st Century, organisations must offer a greater sense of meaning and purpose for their workforce.

• In today’s highly competitive environment, the best talent seeks out organisations that reflect their inner values and provide opportunities for personal development and community service, not just bigger salaries.

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• Today’s information and services-dominated economy requires instantaneous decision-making and building better relationships with customers and employees.

• Many people are feeling more comfortable in the public expression of their faith9.

• The fact that there are more women in the workplace today who tend to focus on spiritual values more often than men.

• The aging large baby boom generation find materialism no longer satisfying and begin to fear their own mortality

Mclaughlin gives more examples on the increasing trend of spirituality at workplace. They

include a study published in the Harvard Business Review which indicates that business owners credit

80% of their success to acting on their intuition. Avaya, a global communications firm, has a room set

aside for prayer and meditation that is especially appreciated by Muslims who must pray five times a day.

Like wise, Paula Madison at WNBC TV in New York City prays before each show and says she became

the number one news show in the area when she increased coverage of spiritual stories. The CEO of

Rockport Shoes, Angel Martinez, talks openly of the spiritual mission of his company and encourages

employees to spend work time envisioning ways to express their deepest selves in their work. Companies

such as Evian spring water have successfully used spirituality in their advertising, like “Your body is the

temple of your spirit”. The following success stories are also given.

• Southwest Airlines, one of the only airlines staying profitable since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, treats people as a most important resource. Unlike other airlines, negotiations between management and employees for pay raises and benefits are much shorter and easier as both sides come to the table wanting to hand write a win/win contract. They have been named many times as one of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

• Aaron Feurenstein, CEO of Malden Mills in Lawrence, believes on the importance of labour and being responsible to the community. And, since his town has high unemployment, he kept all 3,000 employees on his payroll after a major fire destroyed three out of its four factory buildings. Workers repaid his generosity with a 25% increase in productivity and 66% drop in quality defects.

• Saturn Auto Manufacturing says the key to their success is their experiment in corporate democracy and participatory governance. Empowered teams make most company decisions.

• A billion dollar computer Software Company that has low absenteeism and only 3% turnover saves $80 million each year in training and recruitment. This is all due to a no-lay-off policy, 35

9 According to a 1999 Gallup poll published in Business Week, 95% of Americans say they believe in God or a universal spirit, and 48% say they talk about their religious faith at work.

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hour workweeks, flex time, and on-site amenities such as a gym, a medical clinic, and massage therapists.

• Consulting firms using spiritual approaches are doing a booming business. The Enlightened Leadership International in Colorado has been teaching top executives at major companies such as GTE, Georgia-Pacific, and Lockheed Martin how to focus on what is positive, instead of the problems, because our beliefs create what we experience.

• NYNEX established an Office of Ethics and Business Conduct to encourage employees to live by a set of core values: quality, ethics and caring for the individual. This new focus led to increases in profits, productivity and product and service quality, as this affected how the company is perceived by customers and stakeholders.

• Judy Wicks, founder of the highly successful White Dog Café in Philadelphia, uses her restaurant as “a tool for the common good”, raising money for the hungry and sponsoring seminars on racism, the environment and social change.

McLoughlin (2006) refers to a keynote speech at the Christian Medical and Dental Society (CMDS)

of Canada conference in Kelowna, BC Canada on April, 2006 to clear doubts expressed by Christian

professionals on whether religious values have any place at work. The message given was that to manage

the faith work tension well, Christian professionals need to recognise the role played by Jesus as the

image bearers of God, they should allow Jesus to motivate them to love and serve, and treat their daily

work as a service to God. Inspiration is also drawn to the Hippocratic Oath that requires medical

practitioner/physicians to a set of a professional ethics in the context of community. Reference is also

drawn to Christian ethics that required physicians in the early church to draw on the love of people, active

caring, charity and compassionate empathy as the source of their calling and profession. The church has

always maintained that all healing is from God (Genesis 50:20).

Benefiel (2005) opines that integrity, organisational effectiveness and profitability are natural

partners. She also states that fostering a spiritual atmosphere in the workplace does more than keep

employees and customers happy but contributes to the life and health of the business’s future. She

concludes that not only can collective spirituality make employees happier; it can also boost business

profits since spiritually grounded organisations perform better and better enrich their stakeholders. Alert

(2005b) is also observes that imposing values at working places is now given due consideration. He sees

corporate leaders developing values statements or statements of guiding principles to all employees in

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order to avoid the ethical issues that may damage their reputation. Hand in hand to the growing emphasis

on values, is the growing interest in spirituality that is not necessarily directly attached to church/religious

affiliation or involvement.

Alert also talks of spirituality in the workplace that looks to the morality and ethics that are

common to most of the world’s religions. In his view, spirituality can also be equated to a range of items

like religion, new age stuff, quasi-religion, a substitute for faith, an expanded consciousness or a

movement toward accepting a diversity of religious beliefs, faiths, and practices and valuing their

contributions in the workplace. At the same time, spirituality is what some may call it a maneuver on the

part of businesses to get their workers even more dedicated to the workplace, more willing to work even

longer hours, and more willing to give up time that might otherwise be spent in recreation, with family, in

community or charitable work, or in religious practice.

Collins (2006) outlines the relationship between productivity at the work place and workers’

satisfaction, by observing that employees, who feel truly valued, trust their employers, and see their

company as being honest and ethical, are going to be happier and consequently more productive through

creating a more positive workplace and attracting honest and ethical customers and vendors. He also

observes that the companies that performed well during recent economic downturns are those with high

employee and customer loyalty, brought about by a strong management team that focuses on treating

everyone fairly. Accordingly, people who clearly are in business for profit, but who also place their focus

on providing a service to others, openly speak of the need for a spiritual foundation because it doesn’t

take a great deal of effort to start implementing spiritual standards into business; it does not need a large

capital investment, upgrading equipment, expanding the facilities, or creating a “spirituality committee.”

Nevertheless, for some reasons, companies have been afraid to use the term “spiritual” in conjunction with their business due the following objections by leaders in big (and small) business:

• We don’t want to appear “religious”

• We might offend our customers/vendors/employees because it’s not politically correct

• That old “separation of church and state” applies to business, too!

• We’re a business, not some fluffy “new age” group

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• We’ll limit our market with “spiritual” terminology

• “Spiritual” is too vague and might be misinterpreted

Conversely, Alert (2003) is disturbed by the fact that during the difficult days of financial crisis over

the past few years, employees were unethically treated as mere objects or ‘disposables’ that could be

discarded in a similar fashion to the way we throw away soft drink containers or food wrappers, sending

the message that no one individual in an organisation is really that important and that everyone is

replaceable because if one employee leaves, voluntarily or involuntarily, there are plenty of other people

who are quite suitable to take the places of the departed workers. In his view, ill treatment by a company

owner, an immediate supervisor, human resources, or anyone else in the company builds dissatisfaction,

disappointment, anger, contempt, and occasionally explosions of temper that result in workplace violence.

And that the non-caring attitude exhibited by some employers over the past few years of the slow

economy is a strong memory for many workers as the resentment over disposable attitudes will haunt

many employers for the next few years, while their remorse will come too late.

Hinkley (2002) opines that many social ills created by corporations stem directly from corporate

law.10 He thus states that corporate law casts ethical and social concerns as irrelevant, or as stumbling

blocks to the corporation's fundamental mandate since it actively disregards harm to all interests other

than those of shareholders. Hence, when toxic chemicals are spilled, forests destroyed, employees left in

poverty, or communities devastated through plant shutdowns, corporations view these as unimportant side

effects outside their area of concern, while when the company's stock price dips, that's a disaster. In our

legal framework, a low stock price leaves a company vulnerable to takeover or means the CEO's job

could be at risk. This system design helps explain why the war against corporate abuse is being lost,

despite decades of effort by thousands of organisations, concluding that until now, tactics used to confront

10 Section 716 of the business corporation act of the Law in Maine states: ...the directors and officers of a corporation shall exercise their powers and discharge their duties with a view to the interests of the corporation and of the shareholders....

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corporations have focused on where and how much companies should be allowed to damage the public

interest, rather than eliminating the reason they do it.

Both Frankl and Maslow argue that for work to have relevance it must aim at making a

contribution to a cause, or society, beyond selfish needs. Maslow talks about sacrificing self interest for a

bigger cause that is community based and Frankl introduces a feeling of the sense of responsibility and

value attached to the person’s work as a contribution to society. On the part of Houghtaling (2002), he

adds that the workplace teamwork spirit must be embodied in an element of spirituality, as a

manifestation of love in the sense of the desire to do good to others. The goal of all mystical spiritual

traditions is therefore to realize our inherent Oneness with the Creator and then give service to others

from this experience of Oneness. Work then is the opportunity to deepen and express an experience of

Oneness with all beings through selfless service, which is one way to begin experiencing the true nature

of God as one’s own nature, purified through more and more selflessness.

It is also noted by Houghtaling that some business people are more comfortable using the word

spirituality in the work environment than religion because they feel that instead of emphasising belief as

religion does, the word spirituality emphasizes how values are applied and embodied. Still, other people

aren’t comfortable with the word spirituality and prefer to talk more about values and ethics when

describing the same things that others would call spirituality. Nevertheless, there are some people who

would be happier to talk about God as their business partner or their CEO. Although there is some fear

about spiritual beliefs or practices being imposed by employers, some observers warn about the potential

for superficiality and the distortion of spiritual practices to serve greed. All the same key spiritual values

embraced in a business context should include integrity, honesty, accountability, quality, cooperation,

service, intuition, trustworthiness, respect, justice, and service.

According to a growing body of research as reported by McLaughlin (2004), spirituality and

profitability co-exist. Thus, bringing ethics and spiritual values into the workplace has been found to lead

to increased productivity and profitability as well as employee retention, customer loyalty, and brand

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reputation. More employers are encouraging spirituality as a way to boost loyalty and enhance morale at

workplace. Other relevant cases observed include:

• A study published in Management Accounting found that companies with a defined corporate commitment to ethical principles do better financially.

• Public shaming of Nike’s sweatshop conditions and slave wages paid to overseas workers led to a 27% drop in its earnings.

• The shocking disregard of ethics and subsequent scandals led to financial disaster for Enron, Arthur Anderson, WorldCom, Global Crossing, and others.

• Research by McKinsey and Company in Australia found that productivity improves and turnover is greatly reduced when companies engage in programs that use spiritual techniques for their employees.

• In a book entitled, A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America, it is on record that Spirituality could be the ultimate competitive advantage.

• A study reported in MIT’s Sloan Management Review concluded that, “People are hungry for ways in which to practice their spirituality in the workplace without offending their co-workers or causing acrimony.”

• Research by UCLA found that “companies that increased their community involvement were more likely to show an improved financial picture over a two year time period.”

• Business Week reported that 95% of Americans reject the idea that a corporation’s only purpose is to make money and that 39% of U.S. investors say they always or frequently check on business practices, values and ethics before investing.

• The Trends Report found that 75% of consumers polled say they are likely to switch to brands associated with a good cause if price and quality are equal

McLaughlin further narrates that employees who are encouraged to express their creativity, result

in a more fulfilled and sustained workforce; happy people work harder and are easy to retain at their jobs.

A study of business performance by the highly respected Wilson Learning Company found that 39% of

the variability in corporate performance is attributable to the personal satisfaction of the staff while

Spirituality was cited as the second most important factor in personal happiness (after health). As such,

many companies find that the most effective way to bring spiritual values into the workplace is to clarify

the company’s vision and mission, aligning it with a higher purpose and deeper commitment to service to

both customers and community.

At individual level, high-integrity and high-responsibility business acts as soul-satisfying exercise of an inherently spiritual nature; while at the corporate and community level, it leads to attracting more

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investors, more business, and more talented people. The society will increase confidence on their competence in the power of goodness. Miller (2009) gives the following examples:

• The assets in screened portfolios – portfolios that exclude items like tobacco and weapons companies or ‘immoral’ firms - rose by 227% in two years, from $162 billion to $529 billion in relation to increase of 84% for the overall market during the same period.

• Wall Street set up a transaction company for informed investors. Its reputation for integrity attracts both customers who seek trustworthiness and employees who value character.

• William George, CEO of Medtronic, states: “If we serve our customers well, provide products and services of unsurpassed quality, and empower our employees to fulfill themselves and the company's mission, we will provide an outstanding return for our shareholders.” Their stock has gained more than a 25% annual, compounded growth over 40 years.

• Unleashing the whole capability of the individual -- mind, body, and spirit -- gives enormous power to the organization. Spirituality unlocks the real sense of significance of the organization's purpose.

• Peter Drucker stated that leaders should lead not only through knowledge and skill but through courage, responsibility, and integrity.

• A study by the Stanford Research Institute reports that only 12% of effective leadership is based on knowledge and vision; the other 88% is dealing appropriately with people.

• In demonstrating the impact of values on organizations an ongoing study of the Fortune magazine assesses 100 best corporations. The companies that adhere firmly to high-integrity character have an average growth rate more than 50% higher than their industries.

The forgoing observations bring home the fact that character at work has significant impact. A

person would do his or her best quality work, even if no one were watching. A professional would tell

the truth about errors or delays, even if it meant a reprimand. An executive would find creative new ways

to deliver goods faster, without costly delays to customers. A sales person would neither over-promise

nor overcharge. A manager would seek to serve people. Love, and related values, can be synonymous,

and synchronous, with business success. Indeed, the reputations for living by noble values help attract

top talent, who then contribute to outstanding growth and performance. By living to these values, we

gain the moral authority to bring people, even divisive factions, together to heal conflict and enrich

community. We find the spiritual common ground amidst the diversity. Spirituality is essential to health,

trust, creativity, commitment, ethical behavior, and productivity. Spirituality tends to ground us in a

greater good beyond the self, helps us value other people, and creates in us more depth and sensitivity.

It is thus concluded that any company that successfully integrates performance and responsibility

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will thrive. When leadership is firmly grounded in spiritual principles, business skills are applied with

excellence, and people strive to apply high values to its products, its communications, and internal

management practices. Then, the brands of that company take on an allure to anyone interested in high

integrity. That reputation will return multiple dividends in terms of greater investment, greater growth,

and greater talent. And we all gain greater confidence in the power of love and character to provide for

our material as well as spiritual well-being.

THE IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION In the words of the Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, "Today, it is possible to produce

product anywhere, using resources from anywhere, by a company located anywhere, to be sold

anywhere." The world today is perceived to be indeed a very small village thanks to the birth of modern

technology and communications; we have experienced the death of distance. The death of distance,

notwithstanding, what matters most for international businesses to survive and thrive is the way to

embrace the world's cultural differences (Lane, 2005). Hence, globalisation is a severe challenge to the

cultural identity and economy of national countries creating more new challenges to diverse societies,

nations and cultures with world economy becoming more integrated. Although sudden opening has

already become a prerequisite for the acceptance of open trade policy and liberalisation of finance and

capital flows, increasing international competition and accelerating the shift from national to global

markets, what would interest us most is to see a global framework that coherently tackles all the

aspirations of globalisation in its true sense of the word. Èiegis et. al. ( 2008) comments that in the

context of globalisation attitudes of sustainable development, international efforts should prioritise

sustainable development as “the main long-term ideology of the social development”

The ability of local producers to compete and find a niche in the world commodity and labour

market, the conformity of national laws and institutions on the international level stimulate a faster

integration and sustainable development. Thus openness, competitiveness and ecological ethics are the

crucial components for the successful and harmonious integration into the world economics.

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Globalisation, however, can hardly be controlled. Its subjects are the greatest international corporations;

its only driving force is economic rationality and profitability. The biggest advantage of globalisation is

the economic progress and the greatest drawback is the spontaneity and instability that any country and

culture encounters. The growth of economic interdependency has created a lot of fears that have great

influence on both international relations and the relationship between man and nature. This is the fear for

the negative impact of cheaper labour force abroad on investments or trade, the fear for the sudden flight

of capital, for selling land to foreigners, ecological catastrophes etc (Èiegis et al., 2008).

Many factors influence man in the context of globalisation. They change his world-view, motives

of behaviour, value orientations and spiritual world. Modern means of communication have forwarded the

flow of information, its presentation, widened economic and cultural relations and linked human

activities. Living standards and working conditions have been improved, comfort has appeared. Due to

such rapid overall evolution in all spheres of life the relationship between man and nature and his way of

life has changed, which absolutely affected the state of his organism. Taking the experience of countries

of the former Soviet Union and transitional economies after the decades of communist rule, with no

traditions of private business activity, the reforms in these countries demanded ethical reasoning of

market relations (Skolimowski 1990). In Lithuania, for example, it is easy to reveal still unpropitious

business environments in the form of imperfect legislation, irrational tax system, unsound restrictions for

private business along with obvious protectionism towards unprofitable state enterprises, corruption etc.;

depicting a clear negative attitude to the private business and free market principles. As a result, the

norms and concepts of business ethics, widely recognised in modern developed countries are whilst not

valid in most spheres of social and economical life of Lithuania (Vasiljevienë, 2001).

Having become independent subjects of international economical relations, the countries of ex-

USSR simultaneously became participants of a rationally arranged order of business activities. In many

cases this order includes strong adherence of foreign firms and international corporations to the norms of

business conduct as well. All the companies, which are planning to run their businesses and make

investments in former communist countries, are anxious about security and reliability of this new business

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space. However, they often face the necessity to improve current business environment. On the other

hand, any good intentions of transnational corporations with the best ethical reputation, goodwill of

foreign governments or international organisations to share their experience, to assist in resolution of

development problems in some post-communist country like Lithuania become futile (groundless waste

of funds, time and labour forces) due to unprepared ground (Vasiljevienë 2000).

In the midst of the globalisation era, Estes (2004) reports that the overall picture for social

progress in the world is not very impressive. As 21 African and Asian countries are at the bed of social

collapse due to concentrated poverty, weak political institutions, repeated economic failure, disease and

cultural isolation, the U.S. has gone from 18th in the world to 27th due to cuts in social services and

chronic poverty in U.S. cities and rural areas during the '90s. While a handful of nations are doing very

well, many are struggling just to meet basic needs. The last decade has seen a sharp deterioration in

overall life quality for vast segments of the world’s population, especially for people living in the poorest

nations of Africa and Asia. Even people in previously well-off countries are not doing as well today.

Still Lane (2005) believes that for worse or better globalisation is inevitable, affecting the farmer

in Story County, Iowa as well as the shopkeeper in Shanghai. He gives the example of General Electric —

a global company with a market capitalization of $380 billion that reported that in the next ten years, 60

percent of their revenue growth is expected to come from developing countries, as compared to 20

percent in the past decade. Combines made in East Moline, Illinois are shipped to the former Soviet

Union, Chinese combines to the Middle East, Brazilian combines to Europe, and German and Indian

tractors to the U.S. In fact, to be competitive, a tractor produced in Augusta, Georgia is assembled largely

with parts received from 12 other countries! And in Waterloo, Iowa, one of every four tractors produced

at that plant is exported from the United States to any one of more than 110 countries on six continents.

US business and those that support farmer customers are extremely dependant on the global economy.

Economist Fred Bergsten says that one half of U.S. productivity is the result of globalisation. He

goes on to predict that over the next five years, the U.S. and China will be the key drivers in the world

economy. A closer look at China, a country where two thirds of its people are engaged in agriculture,

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shows that two years ago, they represented four percent of the world economy in terms of gross domestic

product. By comparison, the U.S. and the European Union represented 30 percent. But thanks to

globalisation China's GDP growth rate has been about nine percent for each of the past 13 years, and

some experts project that country's gross domestic product to be larger than the U.S. by 2050. As China

surges forward, along with other developing countries, their income levels rise and diets change.

Under globalisation, a more relaxed global trade environment appears to be emerging with

predictions of reduced trade barriers and fewer export and domestic subsidies. It is vital to have trade

agreements in place that are fair, strategic and enforced, and that allow for a level playing field. In the

past two years, the United States has concluded or advanced trade agreements on several levels, through

the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas and with the global community through the WTO's Doha

Development Round. That strategy has created a dynamic that former U.S. Trade Representative Bob

Zoellick refers to as "competitive liberalization," whereby competition among nations to grow their own

exports and access new markets creates the economic incentive to open up their own markets to foreign

goods. Indeed, the World Bank reports that countries that opened their economies to trade experienced a

five percent increase in per capita GDP relative to non-globalisers due to comparative advantage. Today,

an extremely competitive environment is experienced, facing competition for product inputs, technology,

financial capital and the best employees.

So it pays to develop competencies that support global business. Things like cross-cultural

awareness, flexibility, language skills, sensitivity, the ability to value differences in people and the ability

to understand nonverbal communications styles. It's also important to remember that being part of a

global operation means work goes on round the clock — someone is producing your product on the other

side of the globe, and your project teammates likely are working in multiple time zones. Global

manufacturing can be a competitive advantage for a company, but it does require flexibility on the part of

its employees in various parts of the world. Hence, Skillen (2002) records significant changes taking

place in the world of labour over the past few decades. Giving the example of work in the United States

that has been redefined by the service and information economies and where a declining percentage of

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labourers are farmers and steel workers, he observes that the decline has gone hand in hand with the

globalisation of much of economic life. He also observes that more of the steel used in America is

produced in Japan; clothes come from China, and food is from Mexico. Moreover, technological changes

and globalisation have also encouraged the further marketisation of labour. He further observes that

although the work of US road builders and construction workers may not be able to be sent abroad, many

communications and information-processing jobs are being outsourced.

However, Skillen is dismayed by the fact that throughout the world, labour is becoming more of a

commodity valued and distributed as a cost to businesses in their scramble to survive. This is why

companies work so hard to replace or supplement human workers with robots and computers that will

reduce labour costs. He observes a declining sense on the contribution of work to a joint human venture

that adds to the national and even international treasures. Skillen concludes that while the American

economy as a whole continues to grow, the valuation of many who work does not appear to be keeping

pace and that poverty in America increases, continuing to widen the gap between rich and poor; the work

that many do is not valued highly enough on the market to yield an income adequate to support a family

or to buy health insurance. He proposes that what human beings need is a growing appreciation and

celebration of work as a gift from God for human development, which is valued as more than a cost factor

in economic growth; labour must be seen as soul, which should be regarded as community treasure.

Another major shortcoming of economic globalisation is its slavish adherence to market forces. This is

wrong and harmful as it has removed human beings from the equation. “If everything can be done

according to market forces, then where is the place for us, for humanity, for love and compassion?”

GLOBAL ETHICAL CUM SPIRITUAL CONSIDERATIONS

Visser (2004) is of the view that business is doing far more than ever before to tackle the sustainability

challenge of recognising social responsibilities, reducing environmental impacts, guarding against ethical

compromises, making corporate governance more transparent, and becoming more accountable to

stakeholders evidenced by a plethora of voluntary codes, management systems by the truckload, volumes

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of sustainability reports, socially responsible indexes and funds, and an increasingly conscious business

press. Nevertheless, this is perceived to be ‘but’ what could prove to be a showstopper because all of this

activity has failed to turn the tide on some of the most crucial dimensions of sustainable development:

ecological decline, poverty, greed, trust, and hope. Without significant progress on these five issues, the

corporate sustainability crusade is doomed.

On the eco gap, Visser reports that one billion people depend on fish for protein, yet 75 percent of

the world’s fisheries are over fished or fished at the biological limit. Some 350 million people are directly

dependent on forests for their livelihoods; yet global forest cover has declined by 50 percent since pre-

agricultural times. More than 40 percent of the world population live in water-stressed basins and 65

percent of global agricultural lands show soil degradation. On business, the consumptive lifestyles are

also signifying a gap. Companies are reported to spend more than $446 billion annually to stimulate with

advertising, a nine-fold increase since 1950 with this trend not showing any signs of slowing down.

Private consumption expenditure is reported to top $20 trillion in 2000, a four-fold increase since 1960.

Approximately 60 percent of this consumption is but only enjoyed by 12 percent of the world’s

population, that is, those living in North America and Western Europe.

The point is that, despite all the efforts of companies in shifting towards sustainable strategies, the

numbers are all still headed in the wrong direction. And partly, we are allowing this to happen by letting

business get away with cosmetic makeovers when wholesale transformation is needed. For example,

instead of corporate sustainability reports disclosing cumulative emissions, they report on annual

emissions, which often lure the reader (and management) into a false sense of security. All the same,

commitment to the environment is now regarded by many business people as their spiritual mission. A

1995 Vanderbilt University analysis found that in 8 out of 10 cases, low-polluting companies financially

outperformed their dirtier competitors. Another example is that of Ray Anderson, founder of Interface

Carpets, the world’s largest commercial carpeting manufacturer, who trained 8000 employees in

environmental sustainability with the goal of reducing pollution to zero percent in the next few years. On

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waste reduction effort alone, his company saved $185 million (Smith, 2002a and 2002b). The following

cases of commitment to environmental care are also cited:

• Home Depot recently introduced a line of wood products grown through sustainable forestry practices.

• British Petroleum renamed itself Beyond Petroleum as it is developing alternative forms of fuel and lobbying governments in the scientific, economic and moral reasons for climate change so they will sign the treaty on global warming.

• Starbucks Coffee has partnered with Conservation International to work with its farmer/suppliers in Mexico to promote water and soil conservation and reduction of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

• By reducing, reusing and recycling, Fetzer Wine has reduced its garbage by 97%, buys recycled paper, cans and glass for their products, switched from petroleum to biodiesel fuel, and farms its own grapes organically.

• At Hewlett-Packard each product has a steward, whose job is to minimize its ecological footprint by reducing packaging, reducing toxic materials in the product, increasing recycling, etc.

• Mistsubishi Electric American specified that their suppliers could not provide them with paper or timber from old growth forests. Once they set the example, almost 500 other companies followed their lead, and together they saved four million acres of forest.

• In 1986 the Caux Round Table, based in Minnesota, pioneered a list of Principles for Business, an international code of ethical values formulated by senior business leaders from Japan, Europe, and United States and Canada. And recently, 300 multi-nationals joined the UN Global Compact, pledging to support human rights, labour standards and environmental protection.

The Poverty Gap

Despite the United Nations Human Development Report (2003) reporting on the increase of life

expectancy in the developing world by eight years over the past 30 years, illiteracy was cut nearly in half,

to 25 percent, and in East Asia the number of people surviving on less than $1 a day was almost halved

just in the 1990s. In addition despite individual success stories in South Africa where the number of

people without access to safe water was halved in just seven years (1994-2001), from 15 million to 7

million, and in China where the population living in extreme poverty was reduced from 33 percent to 18

percent in nine years (1990-1999), nevertheless, 54 countries were poorer then than in 1990. In 21 of

those countries a larger proportion is going hungry. In 14 countries, more children are dying before the

age of five; in 12 countries, primary school enrolments are shrinking; in 34 countries, life expectancy has

fallen. It is concluded that if global progress continues at the same pace as in the 1990s, only the

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Millennium Development Goals of halving income poverty and halving the proportion of people with

access to safe water by 2015 stand a realistic chance of being met, mainly thanks to China and India.

However, at the current pace, Sub-Saharan Africa would not reach the Goals for poverty until 2147 and

for child mortality until 2165; and for HIV/AIDS and hunger, trends in the region are heading up, not

down.

The role of business in addressing poverty is crucial, but until now, it has abdicated active

responsibility in a number of ways. It has argued that economic growth naturally leads to development,

which the UN shows statistically is neither an obvious nor automatic link. Secondly, business has claimed

that poverty alleviation is the responsibility of government, not the private sector. And thirdly, companies

have pointed to their charitable activities as their contribution to solving the problem. The fact of the

matter is that business is going to have to get far more actively involved if any headway is to be made into

poverty reduction, and it is in their best interests to do so. Although business alone cannot be held totally

responsible, or cannot achieve results on its own, at least companies should be tracking performance

against the Goals and their contribution to making a difference on each dimension. Moyers (2004) gives

the American experience where he notices that the livelihood in America has also worsened during the

globalisation era.

The Governance Gap

There is a temptation when looking at issues of equity or social justice to think that it is just a North-

South issue; that the gap between rich and poor, which has widened in the last fifty years despite global

economic growth, merely reflects differences between First and Third World development. But this

masks not only the inequity within industrialised societies like America, but also the role that business has

in perpetuating and exacerbating the problem. The issue of executive pay, which has dominated the

headlines with the governance debate heating up, makes this complicity clear, as the facts and figures

demonstrate. According to Business Week’s Annual Executive Compensation Survey, the gap in pay

between average workers and large company CEOs surpassed 300-to-1 in 2003, up from 282-to-1 in 2002

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and just 42-to-1 in 1982. Between 1990 and 2003, CEO pay rose 313%, compared with profits rising

128% and average worker pay increasing only 49% (just ahead of inflation at 41%). If the minimum wage

had increased as quickly as CEO pay since 1990, it would today be more than three times its current level.

During 2003 alone, average CEO pay was $8.1 million, up 9.1% from the previous year, a year in which

the US employees’ pay inched up only 1.5% and the economy shed 410 000 jobs.

The Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy report the CEOs of 23 large

companies currently under investigation for accounting irregularities earned 70% more from 1999 to 2001

than the average CEO at large companies. By contrast, the value of shares at these 23 companies shrunk

by $530 billion, or roughly 73% of their market capitalisation, and 162 000 of their employees were

retrenched in 2001 alone. To drive the point of greed and excess home, it would take one Haitian worker

producing Disney clothes and dolls 166 years to earn what CEO Michael Eisner was earning in one day in

2001.

The Trust Gap

In 2002, the World Economic Forum unveiled the largest public opinion survey on trust that has ever

been conducted. The survey, called Voice of the People, interviewed 36 000 people across 47 countries on

six continents. With this sample, results are statistically representative of the views of 1.4 billion citizens.

Respondents were asked to rate their level of trust in 17 different institutions “to operate in the best

interest of society”. The results show that global companies and large national companies are the third

and second least trusted (most distrusted) institutions respectively.

A more detailed follow-up survey in 2003 conducted in 15 countries revealed that executives of

multinational companies are the second least trusted of eight categories of institutional leaders. Asked

how their levels of trust in executives had changed over the past year, only 10 percent of the public

claimed their trust had improved for domestic companies and 11 percent for multinationals, while 44

percent and 38 percent respectively reported declining trust. This is despite all the rhetoric and action in

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the past few years by companies regarding stakeholder engagement, corporate transparency and public

accountability.

The Existential Gap

One of the biggest challenges facing business, especially in the booming knowledge economy, is how to

keep their employees motivated, satisfied, committed and inspired. And yet this is precisely where

companies are struggling. A survey by a London PR agency, Fish Can Sing, shows that two-thirds of all

18-35 year-olds are unhappy at work, and the proportion rises to 83 percent among 30-35 year-olds.

These are young professionals with all the trappings of success – material rewards, prospects for rising

rapidly up the corporate ladder, and luxury lifestyles. And yet one-in-fifteen has already quit the rat race

and 45 percent are seriously contemplating a career change.

The researchers have invented a new psychographic group for these people, called TIREDs – an

acronym for Thirty something Independent Radical Educated Drop-outs. Chief reasons for them opting

out of their high-powered jobs are stress and lack of fulfilment. The survey report calls this the LDDR

factor – they want Less Demand and Deeper Reward. This compares a third of Americans that were

reported being “very happy” in 1957 when Americans were only half as wealthy. Many people are not

getting a sense of meaning from the companies they work for, they are looking elsewhere. Already six out

of ten adults in the US now work without pay in any year for causes they believe in, a trend that is

increasing.

On the issue of addressing global poverty, Action Aid UK (2002) shows pessimism on the

deliberations of the G8 summit to come out of viable resolutions on aid, trade and debt relief; promises

made do not seem to tackle poverty effectively. These concerns still hold water almost a decade later

now. The following steps are perceived to fall far short of what is needed.

• Make Poverty History campaigners have succeeded in putting poverty and Africa at the centre of the G8 agenda, but there is still a yawning gulf between expectations raised and policy promises delivered.

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• G8 leaders failed to end the scandal of forced liberalisation and there is also deep concern that a further push on liberalising services and non-agricultural market will threaten livelihoods and jobs in poor countries worldwide.

• No date has been set to end export subsidies. George Bush’s offer to axe subsidies by 2010 comes at the same time as derisory proposals on cotton subsidies. Thus US cotton exports will only be reduced by just 1.7%, dashing the hopes of 10 million cotton farmers in West Africa.

• The US and EU are still pushing to retain subsidies by another name.

• The announcement on trade contains no increase in poor countries’ access to markets; no special treatment, such as allowing them to protect their farmers; and no undertaking to make multinationals legally accountable for their social and environmental impact.

• The debt cancellation announcement by G8 Finance Ministers is good news for the 18 countries but addressed only 10% of the problem and fell far short of the full debt cancellation desperately needed by more than 60 countries. This leaves many spending more on debt repayments than on education or healthcare.

• Debt relief will still come with harmful strings attached. Although G8 leaders have at last recognised that poor countries should be free to determine their own economic policies, they have given no indication that this will apply to debt relief.

• G8 leaders promised $50bn more in aid by 2010, half of which is for Africa. However, while any aid increase is welcome, this is still too little and it comes too late for the 50 million suffering children who may die before 2010. If the G8 is serious about making poverty history, they should announce an aid of $50bn each year.

• The G8 have offered warm words on other aspects of aid quality, but have failed to make any concrete commitments, for example to untie aid. Although the G8 promised to support the global movement for Aids treatment by guaranteeing universal access by 2010, a funding gap for HIV and AIDS of $18 billion over the next three years still remains.

CONCLUSIONS

Business ethics is to do with the moral aspect of conducting business for the interest of all the

stakeholders. That is, to make sure that shareholders earn a fair return of their investment, employees are

fairly compensated, customers are not cheated, environment issues are not neglected and human kind is

accorded due care and consideration. The world of labor today tells us, among other things, that much of

the social capital and mutual trust that holds our society together is undervalued. Too few people think of

their work as a calling or vocation from God, the deepest value of which is found in being able to use

talents and training that complement the talents and training of others so that together we can serve God

and one another. It is also observed that although the world is in the process of strengthening the service

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economy, the service function is increasingly digitised, automated, commoditised, and even

depersonalised.

As modern economics wants to explore the link between economics, politics, trade, banking,

insurance, commerce and globalisation in wealth creation, of necessity, such wealth must be created for a

noble reason. Business leaders should ensure that problems such as economic inequality, environmental

degradation and social injustice will not compromise their ability to do business in the long run. The

world of good business needs a peaceful and just world in which to operate and prosper. As a matter of

fact, the creation of a stable society in today’s global world is largely ignored in favour of economic

considerations of minimising costs and maximising profits, while other equally important values are put

aside and ignored. This is contrary to the purpose of the economy as described by John Maynard Keynes:

to control the material basis of a civilised society, enabling its citizens to explore the higher dimensions

of human existence, to discover their own full potential. In that connection, the world prosperity is for the

few in which lives are restricted by harsh working conditions and the common assets of a community are

degraded in the pursuit of endless economic growth.

Today’s huge controversy which surrounds much of the economic and business world is because

they do not adequately and appropriately address the needs of the global collective and the powerless,

marginalised and excluded. This, surely, in the interest of all, has to change. The need for an explicit

acknowledgment of true global values, such as altruism, inclusion, universality, fraternity, sympathy,

empathy, sharing, security, envisioning, enabling, empowering, solidarity and much more, is the essential

requirement in making economics work for the common good. Economics, as practiced today, cannot

claim to be for the common good.

The state of our world today is seen to be the world of progress and poverty, elaborate and

difficult to comprehend, infused by so much mathematical jargon, economic models and theories but has

not delivered the happiness that has been promised because of its failure to satisfy people’s spiritual

needs. We have to reverse this. We should not construct a global society that is materially rich but

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spiritually poor. We should begin to construct globalisation for the common good where the heart and the

soul of the concept of the common good is service to others. Moreover, the most important ingredients of

common good are truth, justice and love. Furthermore, the best way to fulfil our obligations of justice

and love is to contribute to the common good and to serve it.

As for Globalisation, a globalisation for the common good is an economy of sharing and is an

economy of community. It is not an economy or a system in which well-placed people, institutions or

governments can make a ‘killing’. It is an economy and a philosophy whose aim is generosity and the

promotion of a just distribution of God’s gifts. The economic vision in globalisation for the common

good is the development of globalisation as if people mattered, involving an honest debate on an analysis

of integrity, responsibility, accountability and spirituality for the good of all.

Globalisation for the common good will ensure the success of globalisation because it will

remember that the market place is not only a place of trade; it is also a region for the human spirit, for

love and compassion. The practice of business and formulation of economics is generally carried out with

little or no reference to spiritual concerns. If there is no humanity and spirituality, no love, then the laws

enforcing business ethics and corporate responsibility will be broken in the selfish interests of profit-

seeking, by the few, for the few. Globalisation for the common good is all about commitment and hope.

It is a challenge for hearts and minds.

To sum up, the need and relevance of religion into leading a peaceful and fair business

environment has been over scored throughout in the foregoing explanations. It is a question between

failure and success: religious teachings are the main source of sound ethical values very much needed in

creating the humanistic business approach and is a very dominant criterion for success in business and all

day to day dealings. Globalisation that is not guided by spiritual ethics has been seen to be goal displaced

because man at any level or environment still requires direction to overcome temptations, greed and many

other vices that may hamper quality leadership.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

If we truly want to change the world for the better, all interested parties, the business community,

politicians, workers, men and women, young and old, must truly become better ourselves, by each one

becoming an instrument of peace. In the words of Robert Muller, former UN Under-Secretary General,

‘we ought to see the world with global eyes; to love the world with a global heart; to understand the world

with a global mind; and to merge with the world with a global spirit’. No one can manage, lead or

influence someone else if they, themselves, are out-of-control. Developing your emotional intelligence is

the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your leadership skills. The conflict between man

and nature is the global ecological-moral-social crisis that has become one of the most crucial problems in

the world requiring urgent solving. Man is no longer richer in anything else but in means of self-

destruction. We can achieve this by:

1. bringing the material consumption of our species into balance with the needs of the earth;

2. realigning our economic priorities so that all persons have access to an adequate and meaningful means of earning a living for themselves and their families;

3. democratising our institutions to route power to people and communities;

4. replacing the dominant culture of materialism with cultures grounded in life-affirming values of cooperation, caring, compassion and community;

5. integrating the material and spiritual aspects of our beings so that we become whole persons;

6. amending the corporate legal provisions and clauses to include care for the environment, human rights, the public safety, the communities in which the corporation operates or the dignity of its employees;

7. as a necessary condition, economics should once again find its heart, soul and spirituality to reconnect itself with its original source, rooted in ethics and morality;

8. a revolution in values is needed, when it demands that economics and business must both embrace material and spiritual values simultaneously;

9. there is the need to re-introduce values into the world of commerce as only a spiritually and philosophically committed mind will strive for humane globalisation, for ethical as well as corporate social responsibility;

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10. economic efficiency and compassion as well as justice should work hand in hand to create a humane and peaceful environment for all God’s people;

11. at present mankind has become extremely meagre from the viewpoint of morality, values that can save the Self and Nature. As such, man must overcome his internal chaos, suppress his primary instincts and harmonise his internal life; and above all

• authorities should recognise the important role played by religious institutions to shape human conduct by offering them friendly and supportive mechanisms.

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