Experts to dig into role of spirituality in business and management

Management experts from across the world will be huddling in Bangalore next week to ponder how 'spirituality' can meet the challenges of global markets and technology.

To take place from January 9-12, 2012, the conference with the theme "The Spiritual Challenge In management: What is to be Done?" is set to address and question the current paradigms of management for the "future of mankind and our planet".

The three-day "International Spirituality Conference", according to the organisers, will stress on the role of Spirituality and Religion in shaping structures, decision making, management style, mission and strategy, organizational culture, human resource management, finance and accounting, marketing and sales.

The conference will be jointly organized by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) and the Journal of Management Spirituality and Religion (JMSR) with the support of two research institutes from France and Spain.

"The positioning of the conference in India is signalling the issue we are questioning: is the Western model of management the best suited for the challenges we face? What can West and East learn from each other? And how does the new epoch of spirituality fit into these new emerging agendas?" states a note summarizing the relevance of the event

"On the one hand, we are facing dangers that threaten our world: climatic changes, hunger, wars including the proliferation of nuclear weapons; on the other hand we are presented with unparalleled opportunities as evidenced by new communication technologies and developments in biomedicine; and linked to these are the surging economies of China and India, representing new thinking on managing and organizing."

Some 100 management experts from about 60 countries are expected to participate at the Bangalore gathering. Key speakers at the meet will be from India, France, Britain, the United States, Sweden, South Africa, Dubai, Spain, Germany and Denmark.

"Recent developments reveal that there is a growing belief that spirituality is intimately connected with 'purpose' and 'meaning', not so much 'religion', and that corporate work can be fulfilling if steeped with purpose. Meanwhile there is also an urgent need for businesses to be ethical, inclusive, compassionate and moral," says Professor Ramnath Narayanswamy, one of the hosts for the event.

"There has been a growing concern to incorporate spiritual teachings into management theory and practice. Two events precipitated this development. The tragic events of 9/11 in the United States and the unceremonious collapse of multibillion dollar entities like Enron and Lehman Brothers," Narayanswamy told IANS.

"The first highlighted the strong case for inter-faith harmony, while the second highlighted the need for checks and balances because in retrospect these were cases of collusion between consulting companies and chartered accountants who grossly overvalued the net assets of these firms."

Some eighty papers on topics like spirituality as revelation, workplace spirituality, personal sustainability, spirituality in management education and many other diverse fields will be presented during the conference, Narayanswamy said.

A similar conference took place in Vienna in December, 2010. The third conference is planned to take place in and around Lourdes, France in May 2013, to coincide with Pentecost.