Questions of Business Life?
Anne Messer reviews Saving the Corporate Soul and (who knows?) Maybe your Own by David Batstone
Right at our desks?
David Batstone's point has been made before: 'Think about how much of our lives we spend at work.' Christians ask this and wonder if they are genuinely fulfilling God's call in their lives. Batstone doesn't say whether he's a Christian, but he recognizes the personal stake we make in our work. He knows that we 'want to be part of something that matters and contribute to a greater good'. And he knows this is a spiritual struggle. Batstone bandies around the word 'soul' like it's a clearly defined word in our post-Christian society. I, for one, am convinced by his idea that corporations have souls - after all, they're made up of human beings working together as a body toward a goal (or trying to), each of whom has an eternal identity before God that will exist after death.
The problem is, Batstone can't point to a defined philosophy or framework to give his laudable call to have 'soul' substance. Doing the subjective 'Right Thing' is a pretty flimsy standard for corporate responsibility.
He believes that 'each individual holds within a passion for significance that awaits discovery.' But my significance might be insignificant to you, and my Eureka moment just plain boring.
Batstone sets out to prove that a corporation has the potential to 'act with soul' when it puts its resources at the services of the people it employs and the public it serves. This 'journey begins once a company seeks to align its mission with the values of its workers.' He urges corporate bosses everywhere to stop sacrificing credibility and integrity at the altar of quarterly earnings reports. He says that a corporation's reputation is the guardian of its brands - including its treatment of employees and the community.
Overall, this is a pithy and engaging summary - with a few new ideas - of post-Enron morality. Batstone advances eight principles for long-term successful and 'soulful' corporate behaviour that are a call to corporate holiness. They are certainly worth exploring and even endorsing: 'Like it or not, every action a corporation takes may be interpreted as a statement about what it stands for.' And that's not unlike Paul's reminder to us that wherever we go, whatever we do, we are ambassadors of Christ, always bearing the message of reconciliation in him (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
Talk about corporate soul and personal spiritual struggles has hit the mainstream, so if hasn't already hit our desks, our tearooms, our carpools, it soon will. And unlike Batstone, we have God's word to give our responses and recommendations some substance and direction.
Anne Messer
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