rdth2018
Enhancing our Work Environment: The Contribution of Business Ethics 3.0 to Sustainable Corporate Practices
Professor Erhard Meyer-Galow Phd
www.ligw.de
www.thegoldenwind.net
We must all personallyaccommodate the stresses which result from conflicts in our lives. Perhaps the loss of love, of confidence, of financial security, the experience of minor illnesses or even life threatening diseases. From where do we draw our strength, find the resolve and foster the resilience which allows us to move forward with confidence that our decisions are not compromised? How can we cultivate and nourish greater wisdom from our misfortunes?
A promising pathway to explore is the recognition that resilience is a dynamic, emergent and evolving state, one which we must individually shape and finely tune to our specific circumstances through activebut receptivemindful awareness of our personal reality. When we further enhance this awareness through meditative reflection, a practice which encourages and nourishes resilience as an integral part of our being, we allow ourselves to personally experienceuniversal wisdom which then forever becomes an integral part of our SELF.
A leader who has undertaken inner growth becomes the ideal partner for engaging with employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, analysts, politicians, union members and all other stakeholders in a company.
As important as laws, legislation and regulations are, our every action cannot be controlled by simply establishing new rules. An ethical approach which is based upon the dictates of ourego based rational mind, , as is the case with political and religious dictates, is doomed to failure. It is therefore important that we encourage a personalresponsibility for recognizing and promoting those ethical principles which form the very heart of the spirit of entrepreneurship. Since the ego is invested in directing us towards short-term, ego-centered, ego-fulfilling decisions, it cannot be expected to guide us towards wise, long-term, societally enhancing decisions.
Mindfulness encourages us to choose actions which are in accord with our actual self, that divine holistic principlewithin all of us which inspires more empathetic behavior. We must transcend ego-centered knowledgewith intuitive, spiritual centered knowingand experiencingso as to engender, encourage and welcome wise decisions.We must cultivate the ability to listen to our inner voice and to be guided by our ethical compass.
We must heal our separation from our inner self if we are able to embrace ethical practices in a sustainable fashion. To accomplish this we must bridge the gap to our soul and to our spirit.The collective disorientation of modern man, especially when it remains unconscious and unassimilated gives rise to a series of dangerous reactions which have decisively molded the general ethos of our age. Within the individuation of a person it is therefore the task of lifeto become whole. There is no way back to the wholeness of the early childhood. To progress we must become whole as an adult and to act from this inner strength.
Interconnectivity
To make the shift from ego-based decisions to those based upon greater personal mindfulness necessitates not merely tinkering with the existing machineDepth Psychologyand the concept of IndividuationJung. This experience of inter-connectedness, advanced and enhanced by both modern quantum physics and mystics for thousands of years, integrates the apparent opposites into a single unity. This uniting process is what Jungrefers to as Individuation and the "Coincidentia Oppositorum,JungJungstated that thepsychology of the unconscious leads to an esoteric form of ethics. (Jung 1959)
We must restore our connection to our soul. When we act with mindfulness and compassion we will find ourselves a part of the wheel of life. Our energy will be in harmonious balance with that of all of the rest of creation. This leads to an ethically and morally impeccable treatment of all beings and the environment. It leads to a life of mindfulness and compassion.When we live compassionately in the moment, faithfully trusting in benevolent universal forces, we open ourselves to an unimaginably powerful source of previously untapped energy; energy of healing, of contentment, and of success which is measured by inner growth. The result is lasting resilience.
Morality is introduced into a social system by people, their values and their levels of integrity. In so far as people are essentiallyLearning to Live: encouraging the realization that life is best understood as a process of reflection and learning, would be an excellent Business School course!!
The premise upon which Business Ethics 3.0 is imagined and presented is that every individual is obliged, in both intention and action, to be morally and ethically faultless so as not to harm either others or the environment. Business Ethics 1.0was largely practiced as damage control. It considered the criteria which must constitute an ethics agenda and encouraged us to direct our attention and energy towards the management of specific crises, dilemmas and related ethical misdemeanors.
Business Ethics 2.0was more proactive, prompting us towards a clarification of the vision and the mission around a more philosophically based set of ethical guidelines and ethics training.
Even a casual observation of the international marketplace leads us to the recognition that Business Ethics 2.0, even with the inclusion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR 2.0), has only made marginal advances towards a New Ethic which encompasses sustainable moral decisions in all aspects of personal and professional life.
What remains missing?
First, it is necessary that we understand that practices built upon immoral foundations can never result in lasting personal or professional success or satisfaction.Secondly, we must realize that it is not possible to live and manage in a morally and ethically defensible fashion by simply following an externally imposed set of rules. Thirdly, it is essential that we recognize that a sustainable morality resulting in ethical practices can never be realized while we remain obsessed with our energy draining focus upon striving for success and wealth at any cost to either individuals or the environment.
It is only the inner peace, stability and balance in our life whicharises from withinNew Ethicas a development and differentiation within the old ethic, confined at present to those uncommon individuals who, often driven by unavoidable conflicts of duty, endeavor to bring the conscious and the unconscious into a responsible relationship.
Business Ethics 3.0is a further development and advancement of Business Ethics 2.0. It is nota new set of laws and guidelines. It encompasses a holistic focus which encourages an integration of spirituality, philosophy, theology, science and psychology, drawing upon all that we have learned and experienced thus far. This approach is unique in being able to engender an Integral Ethic, one which is fundamentalsinglerealitywhich cannot be described, but which mustbe personally experienced.
Contentment: Happiness: Joyfulness
Contentment is fostered by the re-connection of ourselves with the spiritual which heals the wounds which resulted from our separation from it as a result of the development of our ego mind. After birth we can only truly call ourselves holistic for about our first three years. Then begin the distinctions of me and you, of mine and yourscompleteindividuals, a dynamic, balanced integration of our body, mind, soul and spirit. Thisinnergrowth cannotbe achieved by our rational mind or by our emotions, it must take place in the trans-psycho- mental aspect of our Being. Overcoming our ego-centeredness is an essential first step which can be achieved through exercises which are based mainly upon the transcendence which is initiated by our letting goof thoughts and feelings.
When we become fully mindful we will never harm others or the environment, and will find inner peace in both our private and professional life. Not surprisingly, mindfulness is the necessary condition for creating equanimity, serenity, cheerfulness, humor, harmony, compassion, humanity and a love for others, while protecting individual dignity. Practicing mindfulness and compassion in our work, and with others with whom we work is an important opportunity for increasing our awareness, allowing and encouraging the further development of our inner growth and giving our life new meaning.
Meditation is an excellent means of relieving personal and professional tensions and preventing or relieving symptoms such as burn out, depression, anxiety and isolation. When we lack the resolve and discipline to meditate, we can instead try finding opportunities which interest and fulfill us, ones in which we can practice mindfulness every day. We encounter opportunities for increased mindful awareness daily as part of our work, music, art, enjoyment of nature, dance, of our experiences of illness, unexpected encounters or ...in a myriad of other activities and reflections, as discussed in Living in the Golden Wind(Meyer-Galow 2011/2014).
From Knowledge to Wisdom our ownjudge goodnessgrasp the essencecreate shared contextscommunicate the essenceexercise political powerfoster practical wisdom in others
Applying Business Ethics 3.0
The presentation will include examples of the application of Business Ethics 3.0 to organization, leadership, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, investments, strategy, taxation, supply chain, customer relations and sustainable environmental responsibility.
Reflection
