Network activities

Network activities mentioned below represent all upcoming activities organized by our members.

For all activities organized by the European SPES Forum itself please visit "The Euro SPES Agenda".
For the activities of the SPES Academy (Dutch) please visit the SPES-forum.

Philo & Management organizes its 12th seminars’ cycle where managers & philosophers meet to question current managerial practices & discuss potential new ones.

In these turbulent and uncertain times, the imperative transformation of our society, businesses and institutions calls for deepening our understanding and practice of leadership. Some people talk about “Wise Leadership”: What does that mean? Does that make sense? What does it take? Can it be learned? Am I concerned?

These are just some of the questions we will address in our new annual cycle of conferences and seminars to be held in Brussels between October 2012 and June 2013.

Programme Seminar Cycle
- 11/10/2012: Opening conference Talking transformation: what is the wisdom & impact of genuine human engagement?, Mark Strom
- 13/11/2012: Seminar 1 Obedience, intuition & frugality - The way of the monks?, Sébastien Henry
- 03/12/2012: Seminar 2 Elegance, generosity & justice - The way of the knights?, Fabrice Midal
- 29/01/2013: Seminar 3 Simplicity, humility & inner calm - The way of techniques?, Jacques Castermane
- 25/02/2013: Seminar 4 Courage, naming & promise - The way of democratic groups?, Cynthia Fleury
- 25/03/2013: Seminar 5 Care, sensitivity & responsability - The way of women?, Pascale Molinier
- 23/04/2013: Seminar 6 Dialogue, influence & authority - The way of three great sages?, Emmanuel Toniutti
- 23/05/2013: Seminar 7 Objectivity, discernment, insight - the way of Vedanta?, Surya Tahora
- 13/06/2013: Closing conference Wisdom: ethical foundation for managerial decision-making?, Mike Thompson

Please note:
- All seminars are in French except the Opening and the Closing conference
- An additional series of practice oriented workshops with the speakers runs from Nov. 11th until May 24th. All information can be found below.

Where? All conferences and seminars will take place at ICHEC, at the Manoir d’Anjou campus

More on Seminar Cycle
More on additional workshops

We will research processes of change that arise in the interaction between religions and societies in contexts of plurality - especially and also in a global world. Where a diversity of religions and societal perspectives are present, identity-claims are problematised, and the understanding of citizenship is evolving. What role can religions play in shaping such societies? How do plural societies affect religions towards changing their own attitudes towards one another and revising their role in society? How do religious convictions and perspectives on citizenship relate to one another? Can one ‘belong’ to various cultures and religions? These challenges can be studied in various areas: changes in the perception and self-image of religions and faith-based organizations (so-called ‘identity-issues”), education, public health management, welfare programs, the relevance of voluntary work, attitudes towards (im)migration, gender and race issues, culture, politics, involvement in the public sphere, etc.

Guest lecturers are José Casanova (Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Georgetown University, Washington DC), Robert W. Hefner (Boston University), John Hutchinson (London School of Economics) and Louise Ryan (Social Policy Research Centre, Middlesex University, London).

You can submit your application via the electronic submission on the summer school website. The completed file as well as all other required application documents must be submitted to the UCSIA Selection Committee not later than Sunday 18 April 2013.

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This project seeks to explore whether spiritual thought can still progress along with other aspects of the European social and political environment, primarily by:
(i) examining documentation for examples of spiritual values driving EU policy, and
(ii) providing both practitioners and policy-makers of European science with a self-assessment framework (via surveys, interviews and workshops) to encourage them to evaluate which values influence their research decisions.

By reasserting an emphasis on personal humility in this way, it should be possible to detect whether spiritual values still have the potential to contribute to the construction of a ‘common vision’ for European science long called for by European officials.

For further details on the project or to participate in its surveys, please visit the project's website www.restoringspiritualvalues.wordpress.com. You can also keep up-to-date with relevant news and information, by
following us on Twitter @EUScienceValues
or ‘liking’ us on Facebook.

The ‘Spirituality in Higher Education’ (SHE) special interest group has been established as an interdisciplinary community for those interested in exploring in depth the role of spirituality in all aspects of higher education.
SHE embraces a broad definition of spirituality and does not endorse or advocate a particular faith tradition. SHE simply seeks to encourage discussion on various themes including, although not restricted to:
• The existence of spirituality in different academic pursuits
• ‘Spiritual capital’ and its added-value
• Teaching methods, resources and support systems
• Communication and public outreach projects
• The development of spirituality as an academic discipline in its own right.

SHE welcomes members from all levels and sectors of higher education systems throughout Europe (and beyond), from all disciplines and subjects, and from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds. You can be part of SHE by following and engaging in discussions, posting articles, or sharing your own approaches, resources and views on:
• Twitter: @SpiritualityinHE
• Facebook
• Google Groups

New Publications

The book presents new contributions of Buddhist economics to pressing socio-economic problems. Buddhism points out that emphasizing individuality and promoting the greatest fulfillment of the desires of the individual conjointly lead to destruction. The book promotes the basic value-choices of Buddhism, namely happiness, peace and permanence.

Happiness research convincingly shows that not material wealth but the richness of personal relationships determines happiness. Not things, but people make people happy. Western economics tries to provide people with happiness by supplying enormous quantities of things and today’s dominating business models are based on and cultivates narrow self-centeredness.But what people need are caring relationships and generosity. Buddhist economics makes these values accessible by direct provision. Peace can be achieved in nonviolent ways. Wanting less can substantially contribute to this endeavor and make it happen more easily. Permanence, or ecological sustainability, requires a drastic cutback in the present level of consumption and production globally. This reduction should not be an inconvenient exercise of self-sacrifice. In the noble ethos of reducing suffering it can be a positive development path for humanity.

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he book is a collection of scholarly papers focusing on the role of spirituality and ethics in renewing the contemporary management praxis. The basic argument is that a more inclusive, holistic and peaceful approach to management is needed if business and political leaders are to uplift the environmentally degrading and socially disintegrating world of our age. The book uses diverse value-perspectives (Hindu, Catholic, Buddhist, and Humanist) and a variety of disciplines (philosophy, ethics, management studies, psychology, and organizational sciences) to extend traditional reflections on corporate purpose and focuses on a self-referential organizational-existential search for meaning, identity and success. Contributions include papers by European SPES Forum founding members like Luk Bouckaert, Laszlo Zsolnai, Josep Lozano, Mike Thompson and Peter Pruzan.

More information and orders on: www.laszlo-zsolnai.net

‘We are in the midst of a leadership crisis that extends to all spheres of society. The lack of trustworthiness amongst leaders has contributed to the erosion of trust amongst the general public. With its fresh thinking and practical wisdom, this book will help arrest the crisis and inspire us to become the leaders we have it within us to be.’ - Peter S. Heslam, University of Cambridge, UK -

From Rayment and Smith’s passionately argued but well reasoned perspective, leaders, the led, and those responsible for leadership development, will gain an insight into the prevalence and causes of misleadership and into ways in which it can be identified and overcome. A range of examples and case studies is provided to enable the concepts presented here to be related to practice. As well as illustrating instances of ‘misleadership’ these also demonstrate that emphasis on the decision making models currently available to leaders may not be the most important stages of the processes involved.

John Rayment is a Principal Lecturer in Decision Making and Problem Solving and MBA Programme Leader at the Ashcroft International Business School, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge and Chelmsford, England.

Jonathan Smith, MA, Chartered FCIPD, is a Senior Lecturer at the Ashcroft International Business School, Anglia Ruskin University. He leads international postgraduate programmes in leadership and facilitates innovative masters level courses in leadership, strategy, organizational change, HRM and research methods.

More information and orders on: www.gowerpublishing.com

Today we are witnessing social and political dominance of large corporations. They provide for its employees moral values and business principles. Moreover, they institutionalize their codes of ethics. The theory of Business Ethics provides the moral guideline and standards for corporate life and concrete business organizations apply those standards to practice. The individual employee, as a member of a business organization, accepts those standards. Therefore, it is important to examine the foundation of the individual's moral value in Business Ethics in order to understand on what the foundation of the moral value depends on.

This highly interdisciplinary text is a critique of Business Ethics as an ideology and life politics. The author discloses how contemporary business ethics grovels before corporations, how it is too weak to create a truly critical voice of American capitalist economy. The individual's treatment in corporate life is revealed through the eyes of American Protestant culture and its coercive work tradition where efficiency value usurps values of individual choice and freedom. This book suggests a new concept of an out-corporate individual.

European SPES Forum special offer! Save 30% off this title! (RRP £65.00). Simply go to www.palgrave.com and enter discount code WSPES2011a at the checkout.

Offer is for individuals only and excludes customers in the US, Canada & Australia. Offer expires 28th February 2011.

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In the light of the current financial crisis the task of reinventing the management profession seems to be more relevant than even before. The book is a collaborative efforts of 18 professors of different CEMS universities to create a new professional profile for management. We believe that business management should be renewed if business leaders are to uplift the financially collapsing, environmentally degrading and socially disintegrating world of our age.

The New International Manager as presented in the book is (i) a reflexive practitioner, (ii) committed to environmental sustainability, (iii) exercises social responsibility, (iv) works with sensitivity toward gender and diversity issues, (v)harmonizes information communication technologies with processes and organizational culture, (vi) applies holistic perspective in problem solving, (vii) cooperates with social and political actors, and (viii) is engaged in progressive entrepreneurship.

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Sharda Nandram and Margot Borden and 18 other authors from Europe, USA and India contributed chapters to the book. Each of the 20 chapters presents a different view of the role and potential of bringing spirituality into the workplace; bringing spirit into matter! The authors were honored to have H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar write the foreword. The book has been well-received good by the following business people and academics: Ms. Liva S. Judic, Mr. Sushil Jiwarajka, Mr. Karel Samsom, Mr. Toon Bullens, Mr. Ed Voerman, Mr. Gul Kripalani, Mr. Stephen Stumpf and Professor John Drew.

The book is written for: Individual professionals, business professionals, academics, students interested in management concepts and anyone interested in participating in an evolution of consciousness in our society. It presents the topics of: mindfulness, various leadership models, transformational learning and coaching, business ethics, sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, a holistic model for market research, diversity, meditation and breath as means of engendering a transformation in consciousness.

Refenenties: Spirituality and Business Exploring Possibilities for a New Management Paradigm
ISBN: 978-3-642-02660-7 Nandram, Sharda ; Borden, Margot Esther (Eds.) Hardcover

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The author's experiences in many organizational and cultural contexts are reflected in this book's selection from his writings during the past twenty years. They portray an evolution in his mind-set - from rational to ethical to spiritual perspectives on leadership. This evolution is not just a personal matter; it reflects developments that are taking place, although usually tacitly, at the individual and corporate level throughout the world.

A primary motivation underlying the development of the book is to inspire leaders as well as teachers and students of leadership to integrate their hearts, minds and souls when making decisions, and to develop the awareness and conviction that wise and successful leadership is concerned not only with effectiveness and wealth generation, but also with contributing to the well-being and fulfilment of all those whom one serves as a leader.

The book is divided into seven interrelated themes: Morals and Ethics; Conflict and Consensus; Ethical Accounting; Values and Leadership; Identity; Responsibility; and Spiritual-based Leadership.
Read the preface

More information and orders on www.peterlang.com

This book provides an overview of current advances regarding the integration of sustainability in the financial sector. Its originality lies in the fact that it does not focus exclusively on a particular aspect of this emerging trend, but instead, presents various illustrations – for instance in the fields of SRI, sustainable banking or innovative investments – of what can be considered as the beginning of a paradigm shift in global finance. Indeed, the different contributions show that the still-dominant logic of financial markets and institutions – the search for short-term profits and the maximization of shareholder value – is increasingly questioned by alternative views and practices, which can be observed in a number of activities and countries. Written by academics and practitioners, this forward-looking book suggests that a change in mindsets and behaviors could open new paths for financial actors in the future – and even in the present, starting here and now.

More information and orders on www.palgrave.com

Globalization and information technology are driving the world into a new era. Is it the responsibility of business to pursue the common good - and more precisely, to participate in the construction of the global common good? This book brings together contributions from various disciplines, written by scholars who are at the forefront of this debate. It provides multiple insights into a tripartite relationship: business, globalization and the common good. It helps explain why the business sphere will probably not be in a position to ignore the common good much longer, and why this latter concept, widely ignored in today's management realm, is likely to become part of tomorrow's corporate policies and practices in the global context. Finally, this work opens up a plethora of avenues for future research, calling for the development of transdisciplinary approaches and for the elaboration of a research program embracing theoretical, empirical and spiritual perspectives to tackle this complex issue.

More information and orders on www.peterlang.com

This remarkable book, written by a former senior Dutch diplomat, offers a penetrating analysis of some of the major threats to humanity. Its special feature is that it goes beyond the usual pragmatic approach by putting the emphasis on a spiritual awakening. Edy Korthals Altes makes a convincing case about the need for a fundamental transformation in our deepest motivation; a reappraisal of man's place in Ultimate Reality. Here is, according to the author, the base for the so urgently required change in attitude towards man, material goods and nature. This 'spiritual approach' has not only far-
reaching consequences for our personal development, but also for the society we live in. Spiritual values should not be treated as
abstract notions, but have to be translated into hard reality. Hence, the inspiring chapters about just and sustainable economics; a comprehensive concept of security and a responsible European Union.
This is a challenging and most timely book in a world short of hope and vision. It should be widely read by all those who care for our time.

Authors: Korthals Altes E.
Year: 2008
ISBN: 978-90-429-2046-0
Pages: VIII-235 p.
Price: 48 EURO

Orders: PEETERS@peeters-leuven.be

Leading with wisdom: spiritual-based leadership in business
Peter Pruzan and Kirsten Pruzan Mikkelsen (together with Debra and William Miller)

352 pp | 234 x 156 mm | hardback | ISBN 978-1-874719-59-5 |
Published 15 June 2007
List price: GBP24.95 EUR37.50 USD$45.00

More information and orders on www.green-leafpublishing.com