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Five companies from India, Germany, Australia and the United
States recognized for engaging the “heart of business”
EAST HAVEN, CT (PRWEB) August 28, 2006 -- The honorees of the
2006 International Spirit at Work Award (ISAW) were announced today
and will be recognized at the ISAW Award Conference to be held at
the Garrison Institute in Garrison, New York October 27 - 29,
2006.
The ISAW honorees are pioneering organizations that are
energized and motivated to respond to the call of our times for
corporate cultural transformation. In an age of high-stress work
environments and focus on short-term financial gain, these companies
stand out for their interest in the spiritual well-being of their
employees.
“These companies are successful public and private
organizations that have integrated high ethical standards and
various spiritual values and practices that inspire and honor their
stakeholders,” said Judi Neal, executive director for the
Association for Spirit at Work. “These organizations are showing us
a better way. They reflect the recognized opportunity that honoring
the human spirit actually results in a more sustainable and
financially successful business operation.”
This year's five
honorees are:
• Nicholas Piramal India Ltd.
Located in Mumbai, India, this 6,000-employee pharmaceuticals,
manufacturing and research company provides spiritual guidance to
its employees by incorporating prayer into routine work functions,
providing yoga and meditation and allowing employees of all
religions the expression of their own spiritual beliefs. They have
demonstrated commitment to the community by establishing programs to
help empower women, teach the poor and nurture people's health in
significant ways.
• Search for Common
Ground. Headquartered in Washington D.C. but with locations around
the world, this 300-employee non-profit is dedicated to transforming
the way people, organizations and governments deal with conflict –
away from adversarial approaches toward cooperative solutions.
• Keller Williams Realty. This national
real estate company headquartered in Austin, Texas states in its
values that it values God first, then family, then business. The
company works hard to build a culture that nourishes the human
spirit throughout the organization and with all those that they
touch in the communities where they work.
•
Jesuit Social Services. With 110 employees headquartered in
Victoria, Australia, Jesuit Social Services provides a range of
direct services designed to highly disadvantaged young people,
families and communities. They work to effect social change at a
local, state and national level through research, social policy and
advocacy work.
• Clean Servicepower GmbH.
This 1,250-employee cleaning company based in Bonn, Germany, is a
model for building a company on spiritual principles and values and
allowing these principles to guide the actions of the organization.
A role model for environmental concern, Clean Servicepower has woven
spiritual principles into its service offerings, providing holistic
cleaning services.
To be selected for the 2006 ISAW award, these
organizations met the following criteria:
•
Have at least 60 full-time employees and are at least five years
old;
• Demonstrated that both vertical and
horizontal dimensions of spirituality are implemented at their
organizations;
• Have sustained the
explicitly spiritual project, policy or practice for at least one
year;
• Have a long-term commitment to
continuing spirit at work initiatives;
•
Are considered exemplary in their commitment to spirit at
work.
The International Spirit at Work Award is organized in
cooperation with the World Business Academy, the European Baha'i
Business Forum and the Spirit in Business World
Institute.
The 2006 ISAW conference, to be held October 27 –
29, 2006, offers workshops by the CEOs, executives and internal
change agents who have received the International Spirit at Work
Awards. Keynote speakers are Hearthstone Homes CEO John Smith;
Futurist John Renesch; Diana Whitney, an expert on appreciative
inquiry; and Peter and Monika Ressler, the authors of Spiritual
Capitalism. For additional information and to register, visit http://www.spiritatwork.org/.
The
Association for Spirit at Work (ASAW) is a non-profit association of
individuals and organizations interested in the study and/or
practice of spirituality in the workplace. This annual awards
program recognizes companies around the world that have implemented
specific policies, programs or practices that nurture spirituality
inside their organizations. This award was inspired by the work of
Willis Harman, Ph.D. (1919-1997) who was a visionary thinker,
futurist and social scientist who continuously articulated the
possibility for humankind to transcend the limits of out-moded
thinking. The award honors organizations that are living examples of
Willis Harman's vision that business will play a major role in
transforming social consciousness.
Thirty-one companies from
11 countries have been honored in the last four years. These include
The Body Shop (United Kingdom), The Times of India (India), Elcoteq
Communications Technology GmbH (Germany) and Hearthstone Homes
(United States).
About Spirituality in the
Workplace
“Spirituality in the workplace” means that
employees find nourishment for both the vertical and horizontal
dimensions of their spirituality at work. Examples of vertical
organizational spirituality include: meditation time at the
beginning of meetings, retreat or spiritual training time set aside
for employees, appropriate accommodation of employee prayer
practices, and openly asking questions to test if the company's
actions are aligned with higher meaning and purpose.
Companies with a strong sense of the horizontal generally
demonstrate some or all of the following: caring behaviors among
co-workers; a social responsibility orientation; strong service
commitments to customers; environmental sensitivity; and a
significant volume of community service activities. The vertical and
horizontal dimensions are well integrated so that motivations
(sourced from the vertical) and actions (horizontal manifestations)
are explicitly linked.
The International Spirit at Work
Awards honor organizations that are financially sound and effective,
as well as focused on greater meaning and purpose. When done
properly, spirit at work enhances the overall value of the
organization.
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