R E V I S T A D A E S P M –
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JUNHO
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2006
Abs
tracts
ENGLISH
Thespiritof (in)
business
CELSONUCCI
page28
Todiscussspirituality inbusinesshas
little todowith religionor religious
practices. It isessentiallyamatterof
theconsciousness thatmaybeelicited
insidecorporations, relating to their
positioning in theworld,andwhat they
doabout it.Companiesmaycontinue
toseeksuccessasanend,but theywill
alsohave to thinkabout thehumanbe-
ings responsible for the task,aswellas
thehealthof theplanetand thewelfare
of thecommunitiesaround them.
Theywillhave to treat theiremployees
aswholepersons,whodonot leave
theiremotionsandsoulsoutsidewhen
getting towork,and thus introduce
spirituality in thebusiness.Thismustnot
beacomplicated task, ifyouconsider
spiritualityasbasically the junctionof
thematerialandemotionalaspectsof
life,geared towarduniversal solidarity
and justice.
The influence
of religion in
business
FRANÇOISSOULAGES
page36
Thisarticlediscusses the relationship
between religiousworkethicsand the
managerial systems inbigbusiness.
Startingwith the theoriesput forthby
MaxWeber, theauthorpointsout that
the rationalityof capitalist enterprise is
basedonbehavioralpremises,which
have roots in their internalizationof
ethical-religiousworkconcepts.
Suchconcepts are tobe found in
protestant asceticism, specially in
Calvinism.On thebasisof this frame
of reference, theauthor analyses two
contemporarycases: theFrenchPSA
group (Peugeot andCitroën),where
thecontrolling familyhas strong ties
with theprotestant culture, and the
Kayseri groupof industries (inTurkey),
wherewhat hecalls a typeof “islamic
calvinism”has takencharge in the
last decades.
Notesabout religion
andbusiness in the
Odebrechtcase
VLADIMIRSAFATLE
page46
Thearticleanalyses theways in
which theOdebrechtGroupof
Brazil has beennoted for aclose
associationbetweenworkethics, of
a religious nature, andmanagerial
practices.Thegroupwas begunby
aprotestant family, who set forth
theprinciples for its organizational
culturebasedonan imageof ascetic
workethics. Situations like this one
remindus that such liaisons between
workethics andmanagerial practices
maybeevermorepresent ina reality
where labor relationsmaynot be
otherwise strongenough.This is also
tobeconsidered in thecontext of a
possible futuremodel of a society-
without-jobs.
Whowouldguess it?
Virtuepaysdividends
FRANCISCOGRACIOSO
page52
Theauthor starts by trying todefine
what is spirituality inbusiness; and
proposes that spirituality is essentially
theapplicationof humanvalues
inother-related ties, incommunity
integration, and in thedefinitionof
what shouldbe themajor objectives
of anenterprise.
For socially-orientedorganizations,
suchobjectives gobeyond the simple
quest for profits, andbecomeawish
forworld-improvement.However,
theauthor adds anewelement:
virtue - andconcludes that by taking
intoconsideration thehumanistic
and social aspects of their activities,
businesswill tend tobecomemore
productive, innovativeandprofitable.
Companieswithand
withoutsouls
FRANCISCOGOMESDEMATOS
page70
Distortionsaboutaspiritualvisionand
theiractualpractices, in theday-to-day
ofbusinesses,areall toocommon.
Often,what is really tobeseen, isspir-
itualitywithoutGodandsentimentality
144
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