What comes to mind when you hear the term “Buddhism?
Do you see Buddhism as a religion or do you see is as a philosophy?
I think it can be either, but perhaps more importantly it makes an important contribution when it comes to exploring what we mean by prosocial values and behaviour. I was born in the 1950s and it seemed to me that back then, religion had a key role in defining what was good or bad. Nowadays, the influence that religions have has become increasingly marginalised and there seems to be confusion around concepts like right and wrong, especially in business.
Like it or not, Buddhism is likely to become increasingly important in business education as work becomes more globalised and Asian nations become more influential (Johansen & Gopalakrishna,2006). As somebody who has studied both Buddhist psychology and business management, and who has set up and run commercial and social businesses, I welcome this. I believe that incorporating Buddhism into entrepreneurship development interventions would make a significant contribution to helping business leaders understand themselves, how they relate to others, and their role within the wider society. It could achieve this by helping them to develop a more holistic and cross-cultural perspective to doing business, which is becoming increasingly relevant to our global economy.
What would it take for this to happen?
How might we overcome any barriers to introducing Buddhism?
There are definitely barriers to introducing Buddhism in the workplace. Even using a word like “Buddhism” can put some people off ( Marques,2012). In order to overcome these barriers, there needs to be genuine inter-disciplinary dialogue, exploring both the complexity of the entrepreneur experience and the contextual factors impacting upon that experience (Baer,2014). It also requires an approach to entrepreneur development that is underpinned by the principles of mindfulness. What would this look like? It would mean recognising the automatic judgements that negatively impact upon collaborative working, not rushing things, recognising that the world of entrepreneurship is changing and there is a need to let go of what is already known, recognising the unique value we bring to this way of working, dealing with facts, letting go of any biases, and focusing on the present. It is by adopting this approach to entrepreneur development that we can work in ways that are not only more balanced, but also more responsive to the needs of a broader range of stakeholders.
Maureen O’Callaghan
References
Baer, R. J. M. (2015). Ethics, values, virtues, and character strengths in mindfulness-based interventions: A psychological science perspective. Mindfulness, 6(4), 956-969. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0419-2
Johansen B-CP, Gopalakrishna D. A Buddhist View of Adult Learning in the Workplace. Advances in Developing Human Resources. 2006;8(3):337-345. doi:10.1177/1523422306288426
Marques, J. Consciousness at Work: A Review of Some Important Values, Discussed from a Buddhist Perspective. J Bus Ethics 105, 27–40 (2012).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0932-8