Revista da ESPM JAN-FEV_2007

R E V I S T A D A E S P M – MAIO / JUNHO DE 2006 Abs tracts ENGLISH The spirit of (in) business CELSO NUCCI page 28 To discuss spirituality in business has little to do with religion or religious practices. It is essentially a matter of the consciousness that may be elicited inside corporations, relating to their positioning in the world, and what they do about it. Companies may continue to seek success as an end, but they will also have to think about the human be- ings responsible for the task, as well as the health of the planet and the welfare of the communities around them. They will have to treat their employees as whole persons, who do not leave their emotions and souls outside when getting to work, and thus introduce spirituality in the business.This must not be a complicated task, if you consider spirituality as basically the junction of the material and emotional aspects of life, geared toward universal solidarity and justice. The influence of religion in business FRANÇOIS SOULAGES page 36 This article discusses the relationship between religious work ethics and the managerial systems in big business. Starting with the theories put forth by MaxWeber, the author points out that the rationality of capitalist enterprise is based on behavioral premises, which have roots in their internalization of ethical-religious work concepts. Such concepts are to be found in protestant asceticism, specially in Calvinism. On the basis of this frame of reference, the author analyses two contemporary cases: the French PSA group (Peugeot and Citroën), where the controlling family has strong ties with the protestant culture, and the Kayseri group of industries (in Turkey), where what he calls a type of “islamic calvinism” has taken charge in the last decades. Notes about religion and business in the Odebrecht case VLADIMIR SAFATLE page 46 The article analyses the ways in which the Odebrecht Group of Brazil has been noted for a close association between work ethics, of a religious nature, and managerial practices. The group was begun by a protestant family, who set forth the principles for its organizational culture based on an image of ascetic work ethics. Situations like this one remind us that such liaisons between work ethics and managerial practices may be ever more present in a reality where labor relations may not be otherwise strong enough. This is also to be considered in the context of a possible future model of a society- without-jobs. Who would guess it? Virtue pays dividends FRANCISCO GRACIOSO page 52 The author starts by trying to define what is spirituality in business; and proposes that spirituality is essentially the application of human values in other-related ties, in community integration, and in the definition of what should be the major objectives of an enterprise. For socially-oriented organizations, such objectives go beyond the simple quest for profits, and become a wish for world-improvement. However, the author adds a new element: virtue - and concludes that by taking into consideration the humanistic and social aspects of their activities, business will tend to become more productive, innovative and profitable. Companies with and without souls FRANCISCO GOMES DE MATOS page 70 Distortions about a spiritual vision and their actual practices, in the day-to-day of businesses, are all too common. Often, what is really to be seen, is spir- ituality without God and sentimentality 144 I A D A E S P M – JANEIR / F VEREIRO DE 2007