Bubna.txt Page:1 JOURNAL OF BUDDHIST ETHICS ONLINE CONFERENCE ON BUDDHISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS 1-14 October 1995 BUDDHIST ETHICS AND BUSINESS STRATEGY MAKING DAVID BUBNA-LITIC School of Management University of Technology Sydney e-mail: D.Bubna-Litic@uts.edu.au COPYRIGHT (C) David Bubna-Litic 1995 Publication date: 29 September 1995 COPYRIGHT NOTICE Digital copies of this work may be made and distributed provided no charge is made and no alteration is made to the content. Reproduction in any other format with the exception of a single copy for private study requires the written permission of the editors. All enquiries to JBE-ED@PSU.EDU. ABSTRACT This paper will explore the implications of Buddhism (Mahaayaana perspective) to Business practice, particularly the assumption behind independence versus interdependence or interbeing. The article will focus on how ethical assumptions are made in the genesis of strategy creation in business organisations, that is, how businesses make fundamental decisions about their activities. Issues relating to the "process" of strategy formulation (as opposed to the content) will also be explored. Strategic decisions relate to a wide range of Human rights issues, such as, intervention in the political process, the use of sweat-shop labour, abuse of third-world environments, manufacture of materialist values and the marginalisation of spiritual values. Many organizations enter into such practices on the basis that they are serving their shareholder's best interests. This paper will question this assumption deconstructing monolithic views of a) organisations b) agency and c) assumptions about top management's locus of control. TEXT INTRODUCTION We are in an era in which "business" organizations pervade almost every aspect of our lives. The ubiquity of modern business activities in providing products, services and information for almost everything Bubna.txt Page:2 we do has impacted on the deepest level of our thinking. Decisions made by business executives affect almost every aspect of contempory living. It would be very difficult to set up an autonomous community in the West which did not have some contact with the business community, as cash and products would be required for maintenance and taxes. The rise of the business organization is not the result of a striving for religious union, but rather an organic evolution of a mechanism for distributing the wealth of society. Commercial activities have undergone tremendous changes reflecting technological advances which began in the seventeenth century. These advances which began in Europe now affect all nations in the world. The power of the business community has increased exponentially. Even so business organizations have a political stance on ethical and human rights issues. The role of business has been dominated by the ideology of economic rationalism which depicts firms as neutral mechanisms for wealth generation. Mahaayaana Buddhism challenges many of the fundamental assumptions of economic rationalism. The Buddhist ideal for compassionate action in the world based on an experiential understanding of the Dharma set a radically different agenda. The idea of work as a means to an end reflects a base alienation from realized action. When Yun Men's instructs us through his famous koan statement "Every day is a good day!" [1] he is not suggesting this is contingent on material accumulation or success at work. Rather, he is stating the possibilities of Buddhist practice. Joanna Macy (1991) understands that this involves "waking up" to a new vision of human potential based on an understanding of interdependence and oneness. The complicity of modern business organizations in human rights abuses runs counter to this perspective. ZEN BUDDHIST ETHICS Buddhism, as it developed through Mahaayaana schools of Chan and Zen, has evolved a particular interpretation of Buddhist ethics characterized by a concern for all beings, not just humans. From a Mahaayaana perspective, human rights are best seen in the context of this compassion for all beings. Beings are phenomenal manifestations of the Dharma that not only include animals and plants, but also material objects such as clouds, as well as ideas, feelings and dreams. [2] This is not to assume that there is no hierarchy in nature, but rather an unfathomable and complex set of interrelationships. These relationships interpenetrate both at a spiritual level and at the level of the psyche because images, dreams and archetypal symbols affect how we behave. The power and connection of nature to human images is evident in polytheistic religions in which many gods are embodiments of natural forces. Jungian and archetypal psychology have explored the ways in which these images affect and can transform the psyche and behaviour of people. Thich Nhat Hanh has coined the term " inter-being" to describe his experience of this intimacy of all things. Understanding human rights from a Mahaayaana perspective requires a deep appreciation of the oneness of all beings. Bubna.txt Page:3 Human rights have historically been conceived of as legal rights, but as Nino (1991:10) points out that "when reference to human rights has radical importance in evaluating laws, institutions, measures, or actions, these rights are not identified with norms of positive law, indeed such legal rights are created as a result of the recognition of rights which are logically independent of the legal system." Human rights are thus pragmatically driven from a set of moral principles. Buddhism like other religions has a highly developed set of moral principles. Although these principles have their roots in the entire thrust of the religion they are formally expressed in the "precepts" or general rules that govern the Sangha. [3] In Mahaayaana Buddhism these are derived from the rules for monastic life set out in the "Vinaya" collated some 500 years after Sakyamuni Buddha's death. Although the various strands in Mahaayaana Buddhism have different variations on the precepts, the "Three Vows of Refuge" are central to almost all: I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the Dharma; I take refuge in the Sangha. This simple set of vows is repeated in initiation ceremonies and in daily suutra recitations. They are a signification of trust in the realization experience of the Buddha, the truth of the Dharma and the importance of harmony in relationships within the Sangha. They also simply set out the essential aspects of the Buddhist experience: the attainment of insight through practice, the expression of insight into the Dharma, and, in context of these, relationship to other beings. In Mahaayaana schools these are elaborated at length through further monastic vows or precepts. Fundamentally, however, the emphasis on ethics in Mahaayaana schools has been an organic approach. As an understanding of the Dharma develops through practice, this insight naturally transforms the practitioner to an unaffected compassion beyond any mechanistic (religious) following of a set of rules of conduct (precepts). Feminist critiques of Buddhist history, however, have highlighted how religious insight is interpreted by the teachers and scholars in the context of their time and experience. Codes of conduct were written by Doogen Kigen Zenji and Bodhidharma. These were usually studied on a one to one basis with the //roshi//, the teacher, without public discussion or commentary. Robert Aitken (1984) suggested that this public silence could be explained by fears of misunderstanding because insight needs to be interpreted and developed. A further reason could be that in the context of monastic life behaviour was highly ritualized and ethically "right conduct" was either implicit in almost every activity or otherwise self-evident. Life in monasteries was also able to provide significant protection from the confusing seductions of secular society. It was such protection that Sakyamuni Buddha sought when, after his enlightenment, he chose to maintain his practice through teaching Bubna.txt Page:4 others in a relatively isolated community or Sangha. In such a small group, Buddhist values could take root against the prevalent values and beliefs of the time. Ultimately, it was Sakyamuni's alienation from these societal values that became the source of Sakyamuni's discontentment and eventually his search for enlightenment. The genesis of Buddhist practice from small, relatively self-contained, monastic communities has had a powerful influence on the practice of Buddhism through-out its history. Separated from secular life these communities developed strict codes of conduct, with powerful sanctions that could be ultimately backed up by loss of membership. Most monasteries were hierarchical and authority was based on the Weberian traditional ideal, where the title of Abbotship was handed down from Abbot to a leading disciple. [4] A key challenge to contemporary Buddhists lies in preserving the essential elements of Buddhist practice whilst transplanting them into secular life. To understand Buddhism as it was practiced in this context it must be recognized that monasteries are essentially organized communities. Implicit in organization and what separates it from just a random collection of people is the existence of some form of social contract. Social contracts include both the formal and informal codes of conduct that set out what behaviours are sanctioned and what are not. The formal social contract which characterized early Buddhist communities was generally derived from the Vinaya which, as stated above, was a set of rules attributed to the Buddha setting out the rights and obligations of members in a monastic community. These rules prescribed a very simple and restricted life with a collective aim of understanding the Dharma. The social contract which characterizes a community, however goes beyond mere codification and can be found, informally, in the web of understandings and commitments that develop overtime between the members of the community. These understandings and commitments and their symbolic manifestation in the architecture, art, literature and ritual of Buddhist monastic life incorporate, to a large degree, the technology of Buddhist practice and ultimately express the Dharma. The intertwining of compassion and insight are the key to understanding Mahaayaana Buddhist practice. This relationship is expressed in the archetype of the "Bodhisattva". [5] A Bodhisattva is a being who is an enlightened, compassionate guide to all beings, yet is still on the path of enlightenment. This paradox is important to the understanding of Mahaayaana practice. As Robert Aitken (1984) points out: "learning to accept the role of the Bodhisattva is the nature of Buddhist practice." One of the most popular archetypal Bodhisattvas is Kuan Yin, the Bodhisattva of compassion. Kuan Yin is the Chinese name for Avalokite"svara: "The One Who Perceives the Sounds of the World". She/he represents the experience of //Praj~naapaaramitaa// (Perfection of Wisdom). In this state, according to the //Praj~naapaaramitaa Heart Suutra// "all five //skandhas// are empty", [6] which "transforms anguish and distress". It is a state that is free of self-preoccupation which brings awareness of the suffering of other creatures. In this state we understand the interpenetration of things as Robert Aitken (1984) Bubna.txt Page:5 points out: "if you can see that all phenomena are transparent, ephemeral, and indeed altogether void, then the thrush will sing in your heart, and you can show compassion ..." Aitken (1984) discusses at length contemporary applications of the "Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts" that are a set of vows that are studied and followed as part of Zen Buddhist practice. These sixteen precepts consist of the "Three Vows of Refuge" discussed above, the "Three Pure Precepts" and the "Ten Grave Precepts." The "Three Pure Precepts" are an adaptation from the //Dhammapada//: Renounce all evil; Practice all good; Save the many beings. The "Ten Grave Precepts" include: (1) Not Killing, (2) Not Stealing, (3) Not Misusing Sex, (4) Not Lying, (5) Not Giving or Taking Drugs, (6) Not Discussing the Faults of Others, (7) Not Praising Yourself While Abusing Others, (8) Not Sparing the Dharma Assets, (9) Not Indulging in Anger, and (10) Not Defaming the Three Treasures. Aitken (1984) stresses the importance of these precepts as a vehicle to make Buddhism a daily practice and the central work of our lives as opposed to a "hobby." As the central role of monastic life declines, the issue of earning an income is becoming increasingly important to Buddhist practice. It is not surprising that contemporary lay students find work is a major aspect of their lives. As Buddhist practitioners seek work in the secular society they are brought, inevitably, into contact with the ubiquitous modern business corporation. Even should they seek to avoid them, as part of their practice Buddhists can not ignore the pervasive influence of business organizations on the world. Especially, the negative effects of many modern business activities on the societies in which they operate, not to mention the ecology of the world. Many business activities are deeply in conflict with Buddhist values. Buddhist ethics apply to two distinct categories of strategic business decisions. Strategic business decisions are those which could significantly impact on the long-term survival of the business. Research into strategic decisions has tended to separate into two categories. The first category relates to decisions that specify what is decided, for example, should a business make cars, ice-cream or torture equipment. This category deals essentially with the "content" of decisions. The second category of research has investigated the "process" through which such decisions are made, essentially how such decisions are reached at an organizational level. Although, the distinction is useful, recent research has emphasized (not surprisingly) how the two categories are inter-linked, and that how one goes about making strategic decisions affects the type of decisions that are made. From an ethical perspective Buddhism has much to say on both because many business decisions clearly lack integrity and any sense of compassion. Furthermore, the process by which they are taken exacerbates the lack of concern for others and Bubna.txt Page:6 often contradicts or negates the personal values and ethical stance of the decision makers. THE CONTENT OF STRATEGIC DECISIONS The vast majority of research conducted on the content of strategic decisions has focused on the factors in the environment of an organization which impact on its economic performance. Performance has commonly been measured by traditional accounting-based measures of return such as profit, return on investment, growth, and market share. More recently economists, such as Michael Porter (1980, 1985), have advocated the concept of a sustainable competitive advantage which is perceived to be the causal basis of outstanding economic performance. Recently the _Strategic Management Journal_ has run a series of articles which have advocated optimization of economic rent on the assets deployed in the firm as the key basis for economic performance These economic views of the ultimate purpose of a firm have been questioned by Buddhist writers. According to Christopher Titmus (1995), "views which reduce economics to market values reveal our deranged thinking." Paul Hawken (1993) shows that "commerce [as it is currently practiced] and sustainability [are] antithetical by design." Thich Nhat Hanh (1994) reminds us that millions of people do not practice right livelihood because they are involved either directly or indirectly with the manufacture of arms. Christopher Titmus (1995) reveals that "the world's poorest billion inhabitants receive 1.4% of all global income while the world's richest billion receive 83%." The actions of commercial organizations around the world are constantly breaking Buddhist precepts described above and fail to nurture the dharma of individuals or the natural world with compassion. Stephen Batchelor (1990) argues that, from a Buddhist perspective, traditional economics has, at its very core, dualistic assumptions about mind and nature. From a Buddhist perspective, to use the words of Torei Zenji, all things are "...sacred forms of the Tathagata's never-failing essence." Dualistic assumptions encourage egoism as opposed to altruism, individuality over community, humans over animals and hedonism over spirituality. The accounting practices legally specified in commerce are based around a fundamental assumption of independence. Gain or profit can only occur in the context of an independent entity, otherwise it would be like selling things to yourself, since you pay for the profit you make, it is a zero sum game. From a Buddhist point of view, all things are manifestations of the Dharma, and this was the experience of the Buddha sitting under the Bodhi tree. Robert Aitken (1990) points out, however, "It was not until he arose and sought out his former disciples that he began to turn the Wheel of the Dharma." If everything is equal then there is also nothing. To actively engage in the world is to also appreciate the world of phenomena. This is the world of the //nirmaa.nakaaya// in which there is uniqueness and inequality and business. Buddhism places us in the paradoxical world of differences and oneness at the same time. The //Praj~naa Paaramitaa Heart Suutra// states there is "...no old age and death and also no Bubna.txt Page:7 ending of old age and death;" There is loss and gain in nature and at the same time no loss and no gain. To engage in the world we cannot ignore profit. Accounting systems that do not treat firms as separate entities would be unviable. From a buddhist perspective, however, our sense of profit and how it is obtained are in important ways different. When there is inequality, as the defenders of the market system point out, there is trading and commerce. The idea of a market is ultimately an abstraction which down plays that most real markets are made up of transactions and relationships between people. Profit [7] in a market transaction is made by selling something (either a service or product) for more than its cost. The market price of a good or service is determined by a complex set of factors. There are three that are usually considered as most important. The first is the degree of information and knowledge the buyers have about the market, that is if the buyers know the prices of other sellers. The second is the availability of alternative sellers, or the amount of competition in the market. The final one is the value that the buyer places on the product. Buddhism is not fundamentally against the market as a mechanism for exchange (see Rahula, 1959). Rather its concern is about the unethical behavior that can occur in market relationships. Taking advantage of lack of market information for one's own advantage would contradict Buddhist ethics. Historically, markets in many countries have operated on assumptions that buyers beware. This is encouraged by the impersonal and distant relationship firms create to deal with the mass society in which they operate. Axelrod (1980) found that opportunistic behaviour is related to likelihood of further interaction. When we do business through telephone and the operator does not disclose their full name, as is the practice in the US,8 the intimacy of all things is affronted. Even if you were to meet the operator again it would be impossible to recognize them. Gary Synder (1995) sees this estrangement as a fundamental problem that not only applies to each other, but also to place. From a Zen perspective we are not really there. Fundamentally, a market exchange is a cooperative relationship. It is when such a relationship is abused for "excessive" profit that problems arise. Some recent studies have suggested a new importance and value of relationship and trust in market relationships. Such theories are suggesting that more cooperative approaches may be more efficient economic mechanisms (see Bubna-Litic, 1995). Interestingly trust comes out of honesty and open communication which are Buddhist precepts. Trust and relationship also allow for different kinds of economic relationships such as partnerships, networks, alliances and joint ventures. Other cooperative relationships in which sellers join with each other or suppliers or buyers and sellers work together are possible. As an increasing number of firms are finding that collaborative strategies and joint ventures can unlock new resources. These are allowing for faster product development, better quality, and improved distribution (see Lorange and Roos, 1992 ). The conception Bubna.txt Page:8 that simple competition leads to economic efficiency has to be questioned. The value that buyers place on products is another source of Buddhist concern. We are now in a symbolic economy. What people buy is less of a construction of manufacturing technology, than it is of marketing technology. We are being sold dreams and ego extensions for use as props in the drama of life. The power of modern media to twist our perception of reality is (strangely) a little publicized topic. Anyone with children will know how difficult it is for them to separate reality from the fiction that appears on the television screen. The contemporary parent is confronted with questions such as: "Dad, are you as strong as Batman?" Behind these dreams is the manufacture of a false consciousness in which happiness and freedom from suffering are obtainable through the purchase of material goods. This false consciousness pervades an entire spectrum of film and television drama that portray others with lives that are free from suffering or at least will end happily ever after. This is not wrong in itself, yet in the context of such powerful media and with little contradiction, many lose sight of the truth. We need to look at the real world to be confronted with the first noble truth, that life is suffering. This suffering goes beyond the barriers of class or material wealth. Material wealth did not shield Shakyamuni Buddha nor his family from suffering nor, on a contemporary level, Liz Taylor from the pain and suffering of yet another failed marriage. Yet the assumption that drives our current economic system is that the accumulation of wealth brings about cessation of suffering. This is a contradiction of the fourth noble truth -- that freedom from suffering is cultivated by practicing the Eightfold Path of the Middle Way. In defense of the market Paul Hawken (1993) notes that whilst markets are efficient at setting prices they are incapable of recognizing costs. Paul Hawken (1993: xii) argues that markets could operate beneficially to humankind "when they reflect real costs [to the environment]. Gary Snyder (1995:76) eloquently points out how we are part of a food web where beings live by eating other beings. "Our bodies--or the energy they represent--are thus continually being passed around." Yet human consumption has increased astronomically in the last two hundred years. Individual consumption in western countries is currently over 100 times what is was 200 years ago. This combined with the world increase in population means that humans have radically altered their position in this food web. We consuming the rest! The costs of modern commerce are not only environmental. Ever since the beginning of industrialization the human costs of the mechanization of work and the mass market economy have been the subject of many writers. Human rights abuses are more common in poor and developing countries. Brazil, for example, is a country in which there are huge differences between the rich and the poor. The country has to serve more than $100 billion in loans per year. According to Russel (1994), $50 billion per annum leaves the country as "flight Bubna.txt Page:9 capital" to various foreign bank accounts -- more than enough to substantially reduce its debt problem. The elite both internally and externally in economically powerful countries exacerbate the problems of the weak in the name of profit maximization. One does not have to dig deep to find some variant of Malthusian economics, concerning helping third world countries. When political barriers to economic activities develop, politically independent firms are known to interfere with the political system, financing supportive regimes regardless of their human rights records. The purpose of our economic system to maximize the accumulation of wealth is enshrined in legislation. Company and corporate directors have a legal duty in most countries to maximize the wealth of their shareholders. In most OECD countries, as Kenneth Galbraith (1967) observed, even the major shareholders have very little direct role in the day-to-day operation of corporations. Rather it is professional management who, in the role of agents of the shareholders, make the strategic decisions of the firm. There has been considerable debate as to in whose interests professional managers actually make decisions. Shareholders are often unaware of the full extent of the operations of the business and even when they are, few mechanisms exist to facilitate collective action. Institutions make investment decisions on behalf of their depositors, or insurance policy holders of which these investors have no awareness. When we shop around for the best interest rate on our savings we may be providing capital to armament factories, abattoirs, feedlot farms and companies which support governments notorious for human rights abuses. Contrary to the popular image of shareholders, as being a monolithic bloc of like-minded people all holding similar values regarding what they want managers to do with their funds, they are highly heterogeneous. The imperative of optimization of shareholders' wealth seems to be greatly abstracted from what the actual people who supply the money really want. A fascinating example of this was the outrage of ordinary Exxon shareholders when they found our about the causal role Exxon had played in Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster. There are situations where the control of an organization lies with only one or two shareholders, without them having even a majority shareholding. [9] The ability of such shareholders to dominate a large corporation places tremendous power in few hands. These people often do not articulate the ethical values of the people whose money they use. Little work, however, has been done to explore mechanisms for creating open communication and verification of what the shareholders really want. Without such mechanisms, corporate management, by attribution and stereotyping, assume that shareholders are purely economic animals. These economic assumptions could be well informed by better mechanisms for articulating shareholders' opinions. The fundamental assumptions about the world held by executives and other key stakeholders mediate a wide range of strategic decisions (see Johnson, 1987). These assumptions about the Bubna.txt Page:10 environment in which the firm operates and ways in which the firm can be organized ultimately guide the types of strategic decisions that are made. New research reflecting a shift to a sociological perspective highlights how managers, like other people, construct their view of the world. The implications of this are, as Weick (1977: 288) points out, "people invent organizations and their environments and these inventions reside in ideas that participants have superimposed on any stream of experience." This process of construction is not a random or frivolous act, but is the result of ones lifetime cultural experience including the dominant ideas and explanations of reality prevailing in any society at one time. If organizations are driven by what executives and others understand as reality, then the consensus reality of this era has also largely defined established institutional arrangements, codes of behaviour (laws), norms and practices. The questioning of the consensus reality of managers in this era from a Buddhist perspective has become important for two reasons. Firstly because of the pervasiveness of commerce into so many aspects of life. Secondly, because the prevailing order includes a pattern of shared meanings and ideas, especially economic and political ideas which are becoming less and less specific to one nation. It is an era in which the dominant ideas about how business should be conducted are based on a paradigm of rational economic assumptions. Underpinning such assumptions, are according to Harman and Hormann (1993), four persistent themes. First, is the supremacy of the scientific method as a mode of inquiry, which arguably negates the subjective wisdom of religious experience. The second theme is the assumption of unlimited material progress as a benefit of the advancement of scientific knowledge and a value in itself - ignoring the limits of the earth as a provider and intrinsic value of the natural world. Third, is the value of industrialization as a means to greater social good - ignoring the cost of pollution, alienation and human rights consequences. The fourth theme is the pragmatic values of self-interest, and the organic evolution of the consequences of market forces. It is the great success of such assumptions that has resulted in world wide economic development. Economic development is not without merit, although it is frequently resisted by its recipients. As Rahula (1959) points out, Buddhism does recognize the necessity of certain minimum material conditions in order to maintain a successful spiritual practice. Furthermore, according to the //Cakkavatti-siihanaada-sutta//, poverty is a cause of immorality and many types of crime. However, such rapid and ubiquitous development has not been without cost. These manifest into three categories of systemic problems: global environmental destruction, marginalisation and exploitation of political subgroups, and widespread alienation. It could be argued that Buddhism is fundamentally about the latter--alienation from our true nature. The distinctive contribution of Buddhism is that it identifies suffering as caused by our attachments to things rather than our lack of them. Freedom from suffering is therefore not obtained by trying to emulate heaven on Bubna.txt Page:11 earth through material accumulation, but rather in the practice of the eight-fold path which implicitly advocates moderation, spiritual reflection, morality, and finally meditative mindfulness.. This is a radically different position from the current economic ethos. The economic retort to such fundamentally different claims is to point out that economics deals with the world as it is. Firms which are not driven to optimize economic rent simply do not survive in the long term. There are several key issues at stake here. First, the accumulation of wealth through profit provides the capital for investment. Second, growth is essential to obtain economies of scale. Firms which ignore economies of scale ultimately will not be able to compete. Third, many shareholders are institutions which obtain their funds through offering competitive rates of return and thus will take their funds elsewhere if returns are not high. Finally, the market will always provide situations for opportunism and windfall profit. In answering this retort regarding economic realities, Buddhists are faced with the need to identify appropriate systemic changes as well as to recognize the need to make changes within the existing system. There is, however, significant room for change in current systems. Herman Hesse explored the tremendous potential of spiritual practice for business in Siddharta. Many of the current assumptions about economic efficiency in organizations involve assumptions about organization which as Donaldson (1990) points out are underpinned by a narrow and negative model of human behaviour. The collective weight of literature on participation (Harman, 1994), openness (Argyris and Schon, 1978) and environmental responsibility (Porter, 1991) suggests that many Buddhist practices could be incorporated into business organizations with positive strategic outcomes. The success of mainstream companies in the US such as Esprit, Ben and Jerry's, Patagonia, Smith and Hawken and others add support to this view. Many strategic decisions are taken which harm other beings such as feedlot farming because failure to incorporate them would result in competition making a business unviable. In such cases where collective cooperation is important government intervention is necessary. Many firms which have considerable resources to lobby governments and restrict such practices take the easy option and comply with industry norms. Up to recently, human concerns in the corporate world have been perceived of as weakness, whereas the ability to command large returns on capital a mark of greatness. Until the simple accounting and economic criteria of organizational performance are questioned by both shareholders, regulators and others it is likely that the content of strategic decisions will continue to maintain the pretense of being a-political, yet the consequences of those decisions impact on the human rights of others. Many strategic decisions which abuse human rights and break the precepts arise through a lack of concern rather than a lack of viable alternatives. It is during the early stages of strategy development that many organizations show a lack of integrity in neglecting to Bubna.txt Page:12 develop ethical strategic options. The inclusion of ethics and a concern for human rights is an important element of the early stages of the strategy process. THE PROCESS OF STRATEGIC DECISIONS Strategic decision making is not, as it is widely believed, the sole domain of top management. Research is increasingly uncovering other layers of influence on the strategy formation process in which a wide range of stakeholders are seen to potentially affect the strategy of an organization. Strategy can be seen to be what emerges as the result of a weave of commitments and shared understandings between the various stakeholders both in and outside of a firm. As discussed above, the ultimate locus of strategic decisions lies in the frameworks of belief and understanding of reality that these stakeholders share. These beliefs, as Giddeons ( 1976, 1979) has suggested, structure power relations and are in turn structured by them. The strategy creation process, as Mintzberg (1990, 1993) highlights, does not follow the traditional rational planning models: of setting goals; analysing internal resources and external opportunities and threats; developing a series of options; evaluating the best option, choosing and implementing this option; and finally, instituting a reliable control process. The reason for this is manyfold, but perhaps the most significant is that the future is unpredictable and so even the best laid plans go astray. It is too complex and time consuming to go through the strategic planning process every time unforeseen events or difficulties arise. Real time strategic decisions responding to such situations inevitably result in an organic, evolutionary strategy that emerges independently of any one stakeholder or plan. Furthermore the difficulty of specifying in detail the implementation of plans means that strategy becomes distorted as it moves down the organization. It is from the accumulation of myriads of minute decisions and incremental responses to the chaotic and surprise ridden world of organizational life that what is called a strategy emerges. These can count as much as the big decisions made by a few at the top. From this perspective, blame for organizational evils such as the genocide of Jewish people by the Nazi bureaucracy can not be laid only at the feet of a few individuals at the top. Ethical dilemmas in organizational life arise at all levels. Salespeople deceive others by failing to tell customers that they know the products they sell are defective or half as good as their competitor's for the same price. Marketing executives kill and trade in drugs when they target teenage girls for smoking advertising. These dilemmas vary in magnitude. Sakyamuni Buddha identified a few occupations that fundamentally work against compassion for all beings such as working in an ammunition's factory, butchering, bartendering, guarding prisoners and pimping. Every job, however, will confront a person with ethical dilemmas. It is through working with the difficulties of these ethical dilemmas10 that Buddhists can influence the strategies of corporations. As Thich Nhat Hanh (1994) appreciates, the responsibility for human rights abuses lies with us all. Collectively Bubna.txt Page:13 we share responsibility through a whole range of actions, such as, choosing to not pay more for ethical produce, not challenging the consensus reality, not living simply, not working from our hearts and not encouraging others to jobs that are oriented towards peace and compassion. It is also important not to underestimate the power of top management, who not only have formal power, but also have symbolic salience in minds of other members of the organization. When the leadership has regard for ethical conduct this will have a strong impact on the actions of the rest. In the process of strategy formulation, decisions that abuse human rights can be made by a wide range of members of the organization. Management groups often develop powerful tools of rationalization and manipulate values to gain complicity. Without powerful rationalization how could the manufacture of cluster bombs, for example, be an honourable occupation. The world of business is full of attractive captivations, diversions and distortions of reality. History chronicles how easily people can become swayed and manipulated. Some of these date back thousands of years, such as Archilles' wish to die young and be remembered rather than live to an old age and be forgotten.11 The precepts and the eight-fold noble path can serve as guards against seductive ideologies. As John Diado Loori (1994: 32) states "the foundation of work practice is mindfulness" in this state abuse of others is difficult to ignore. Through Buddhist practice we can open our hearts and in time we become Kuan Yin ourselves as, to use Thich Nhat Hanh's (1994: 246) words we recognize that "our whole life and our whole society are intimately involved". Yet it is this interdependence which rational economic assumptions ignore. To bring about a social transformation we must begin with a change in the way we think about the economic process. The Buddha Dharma presents a coherent alternative way of thinking about how we go about the conduct of our lives. The strong orientation towards ethical behaviour as the manifestation of compassion developed as a result of practice, holds a more positive vision for the future of commerce. Strategic decisions reflect the current //zeitgeist//, yet clearly there is a significant shift towards a deeper view, both on ecological issues that confront the world and on the inner life of the human population. These two go hand in hand. Buddhism can have an impact on strategists by raising their consciousness of the underlying assumptions that pervade rational economics and by confronting the negative consequences of such a way of thinking. Furthermore, Zen Buddhism has a wealth of learning that can be taken from its monastic past and applied to business organizations. Life in a monastery has much in common with the modern corporation. There is a need for discipline, concentration, awareness and cooperation. There are other similarities too, for example Gibson Burrell (1989) notes the curious taboo around sexuality in organizations. These spiritual strengths can be both developed and utilised in a work situation. Buddhist organizations based on the ethical rules which governed monastic life would be less likely to contribute either directly or indirectly to the abuse of human Bubna.txt Page:14 rights. Robert Aitken asks the question: "How does the tradition of work as the actualization of love bear fruit in our Western sangha?" Extending this question we can ask: How does the tradition of work as the actualization of love bear fruit in the modern corporation? Integral to this question is how can Buddhist ethics be applied to the modern corporation. CONCLUSION How does the tradition of work as the actualization of love bear fruit in the modern business? Buddhists may encounter the modern business firm from a number of ways. As employees they are limited in their power to change the way an organization operates. However, strategic decisions are influenced by a range of stakeholders and employees are not insignificant. Buddhist employees can create change, introducing mindfulness and compassion into each moment of their working life in this way they can lead without being leaders. As managers they may look at developing alternative ethical strategic options. For example, the product be made so that it has less packaging or the firm can use its technology for non-defense industry contracts. There is, however, a great opportunity for the ownership of businesses which can create strategies which support Buddhist practice thus meeting the Western desire for economic independence and including the benefits of community support found in monasteries. In such an organization the strengths and disciplines of spiritual practice could be combined with modern organizational practice to produce a compassionate and supportive base. Yet such an organization would still be embedded in a social context in which the dominant ethos is based on economic rationalism. The abuse of human rights has its source in greed, hatred and ignorance. The current dominant paradigm of economic rationalism sanctifies greed as a fundamental good. This leads to great disparities in wealth and does little to reduce poverty. The results engender hatred and the extremes which result in basic human rights abuses. In many ways it is ignorance that underlies the current epoch of thinking. The seductive nature of materialism and the helter skelter life-style of modern employees caught up in a career spiral makes it easy to not notice the four noble truths. Few westerners have encountered first hand the joy which can be found in just chopping wood and carrying water. Yet we are relatively new to this way of life and the promises of modernism are relatively unexamined across generations. Perhaps the tide is turning. BIBLIOGRAPHY Aitken Robert 1984 _The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics_ San Francisco: North Point Press, 1984. Bubna.txt Page:15 Aitken Robert 1990 "Right Livelihood for the Western Buddhist" in _Dharma Gaia_, Allen Badiner (ed) Berkeley, Ca.: Parallax Press, Argyris, Chris, & Schon, Donald 1978 _Organizational Learning_, San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Axelrod, R. 1984 _The Evolution of Cooperation_ Penguin: London, 1984. Batchelor, Stephen 1990 "Buddhist Economics Reconsidered" in _Dharma Gaia_, Allen Badiner (ed) Berkeley, Ca.: Parallax Press. Bubna-Litic, David 1995 _Managing Cooperative Relationships: A Case Study_, Masters Dissertation, University of New South Wales, Burrell, Gibson 1989 "The Sexuality of Organization" in _The Sexuality of Organization_ J. Hearn, D, Sheppard, P. Tancred-Sheriff and G. Burrell (eds.), London: Sage, (1-28). Donaldson, Lex 1990 "The Ethereal Hand: Organisational Economics and Management Theory" _Academy of Management Review_, 15(3):369-381. Galbraith, Kenneth 1967 _The Industrial State_. New York: Signet. Giddens, A. 1976 _New rules of sociological method_, London: Hutchinson. Giddens, A. 1979 _Central problems in social theory_ London: Cambridge. Harman, Willis 1994 "A Revolution from Above" _World Business Academy Perspectives_ 8(1): 83-91. Harman,Willis and Hormann, John 1993 "The Breakdown of the Old Paradigm" in Ray, M. & Rinzler, A.(Eds), _The new paradigm in business: Emerging strategies for leadership and organizational change_, New York: Tarcher/Perigee. Huff, L. and Christensen, H. K. 1986 "Evaluating the Research on Strategic Content", _Yearly Review of Management_ of the _Journal of Management 12(2): 67-183. Diado Loori, John 1995 "The Sacredness of Work" in _Mindfulness and Meaningful Bubna.txt Page:16 Work: Explorations in Right Livelihood_ Claude Whitmyer (ed.) Berkeley, Ca.: Parallax Press. Johnson, Gerry 1988 "Rethinking Incrementalism" _Strategic Management Journal_, 9: 75-91. Johnson, Gerry 1987 _Strategic change and the management process_, Oxford: Blackwell. Lorange, Peter and Roos, Johan 1992 _Strategic Alliances: Formation, Implementation, and Evolution_, Oxford: Blackwell. Mintzberg, Henry. 1990 "The Design School: Reconsidering The Basic Premises Of Strategic Management", _Strategic Management Journal_, 11: 171-195. Mintzberg, Henry. 1993 "The Pitfalls Of Strategic Planning", _California Management Review_, 32-47. Nino, Carrlos Santiago 1991 _The Ethics of Human Rights_. Oxford: Clarendon Paperbacks. Porter, Michael 1991 "America's Green Strategy", _Scientific American_, April. Porter, Michael 1980 _Competitive Strategy_, New York: Free Press. Porter, Michael 1985 _Competitive Advantage_, New York: Free Press. Quinn, James B 1980 _Strategies for Change: Logical incremmentalism_, Homewood, Ill.: Irwin. Rahula, Walpola 1959 _What the Buddha Taught_, London: Grove Press. Snyder, G. 1995 _A Place in Space: Ethics, Aesthetics and Watersheds_, Washington: Counterpoint. Thich Nhat Hanh 1988 _The Heart of Understanding_ Berkeley: Parallax Press. Thich Nhat Hanh 1995 "The Art of Living" in _Mindfulness and Meaningful Work: Bubna.txt Page:17 Explorations in Right Livelihood_, Claude Whitmyer (ed.) Berkeley, Ca.: Parallax Press. Titmus, Christopher 1995 _The Green Buddha_, Denbury: Insight Books (Totnes). Torei Zenji 1990 _Bodhisattva's Vows_, Sydney Zen Centre. Weick, Karl E. 1977 "Enactment Processes in Organizations", in B. Staw and G. Salancik, G. _New Directions in Organizational Behaviour_, Illinois: St Clair. NOTES [1]. See Cleary, Thomas and J.C. _The Blue Cliff Record_, Boulder: Shambala, 1977. [2]. See Robert Aitken _Mind of Clover_. [3]. Sangha originally referred to the community of monks or nuns. Now it is used to include all the Buddhist population. [4]. Monastic life also existed for women. [5]. Bodhisattva comes from the Sanskrit word meaning "enlightenment being" [6]. //Skandhas// are the factors which make up the human person. [7]. Profit is, however, a particularly confusing concept mainly because it is relative, depending on the amount of money invested and the amount of risk involved. Many large corporations appear to make extremely large profits, yet when compared to the amount of money invested in the company the profit per dollar invested may be very low. Furthermore, profitability varies over time and some firms may make high profits in boom times and low profits in recessions. Average profitability is therefore a better indicator of performance. Profit may appear higher or lower depending on the accounting conventions used, it may also be invested in future profits. Risk is a further complication. For example, some firms, such as mineral exploration firms, operate in high risk areas in which failure is common. The high profitability of surviving companies is related to the high chance of failure. [8]. This is probably so that individuals are not victimized by enraged customers. [9]. Control is possible with as little as 15% of the voting shares. It is not uncommon for such a shareholding to be funded by borrowed money. One prominent Australian businessman through his control of public companies borrowed the equivalent of $700 for every person in Bubna.txt Page:18 Australia. [10]. Some times the stakes are high. I lost my job when I worked for a major international chartered accounting firm for my stance on ethical conduct. [11]. I was recently talking to a Vietnam veteran who re-iterated a similar wish that he had been told in the Marines. Better to live a life of danger and action in which death is not far than die enfeebled and scared in old age. The truth is that the choice is not black or white, but the former gets compliance.