In a study on religious and business ethics, two-thirds of clergy members said they thought that ethics in business was more difficult than in other professions. More than the same number of company chief executive officers, however, stated the opposite. The study's findings reveal just how disparate the beliefs of clergy members and business leaders can be on the subject of ethics.
"Bridging the Gulf: Business Ethics and Religious Faith," a two-day seminar sponsored by the Yale Divinity School, the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and the School of Management (SOM), is being offered with the goal of helping clergy members and business leaders develop a common language about the subject. It will take place Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9, at the Divinity School, 409 Prospect St.
"One of the most important problems of the Church in contemporary society is the lack of a common ethical language with business," says Divinity School student Ian Spaulding, one of the organizers of the seminar. "Devout and conscientious business leaders often find that clergy and other church leaders have an insufficient understanding of economics and the complexities of business life. Indeed, many church leaders have little opportunity to experience the realities of the business world. Consequently, they are unable to offer meaningful or effective guidance to their parishioners who spend the majority of their lives in a business environment."
Although there is a fee for the seminar, a keynote address by C. William Pollard, chair of the ServiceMaster Company, is free and open to the public. His address, titled "Business, Ethics & Religious Faith," will take place at 7:45 p.m. Pollard, who is the author of the best-selling book "The Soul of the Firm," served as chief executive officer of ServiceMaster 1983-93. The company provides supportive management service to over 2,500 health care, educational and industrial facilities, and a variety of consumer services to over six million homeowners. It has been recognized by Fortune magazine as the number-one service company among the Fortune 500, and was cited as a "star of the future" by The Wall Street Journal.
Among the other participants in the seminar are Laura L. Nash, senior research associate and adjunct associate professor at the Institute for the Study of Economic Culture at Boston University, who this summer will become director of the program on business, values and leadership at Harvard Divinity School's Center for the Study of Values in Public Life; Todd Pittinsky, a former consultant with KPMG and coauthor of the recent book "Working Fathers," who is now a doctoral student at Harvard's Business School and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; and Michael Rion, an alumnus of Yale's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the founder of Resources for Ethics and Management. Yale speakers include Divinity School faculty member Thomas Ogletree and Divinity School students Janet Tanner and Paul W. Van Orden; and SOM faculty members Richard S. Shreve and Douglas Rae.
"Bridging the Gulf" is made possible with the support of KPMG. The fee for the seminar is $35 for Yale students; $175 for others. For registration information, call (203) 764-9300.
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