Business, Ethics and Peace: Volume 24

This chapter explores how the concept of ‘peace’ has evolved and broadened over time within the Peace Studies Field to include at least seven aspects (Part I), and how a somewhat parallel evolution has occurred within the field of Business Ethics, so that each of these seven aspects of peace has implications for business ethics (Part II). In Part I, peace is defined as different, evolving visions and goals necessary for creating a more peaceful society and world. These seven aspects of peace also build on each other, collectively creating a more holistic, integrative view of peace for the 21st century, along with the need for various forms of nonviolence for bringing about these needed visions and goals. Each of these seven aspects of peace can also be seen as being based on certain underlining principles. What is most interesting to see is that these underlying principles seem to also be at work in the evolution of business ethics, implying that humanity is indeed moving towards addressing evolving aspects of what must be addressed for creating a world that increasingly works for everyone. This is perhaps a surprising but quite significant discovery.

The purpose of the chapter is to explore peace economics in the perspective of an organic worldview. Peace economics are discussed on two levels – the level of individual economic actor and the macro level related to the systemic interplay between economic actors. The main argument is that a change from shallow authenticity and competition towards deep authenticity and cooperation presupposes a paradigmatic shift from a mechanical to an organic worldview. Such a change in mindset should be supported by introducing peace economics in the curriculum on different levels of education. In an education for peace-building there should be a focus on what constitutes true personal development in the sense of obtaining more ‘inner’ peace as well as more peaceful interpersonal interactions. On the ‘outer’ spheres, the need for equity and joint projects is fundamental. The concept of equity emphasizes mutuality, equality and co-creative responsibility.

For a variety of reasons, both ordinary citizens and political leaders have failed since 1914 to be passionate and imaginative enough in the pursuit of peace. As technological advances have made it possible to kill increasing numbers of people and put civilians increasingly at risk, our moral development has lagged far beyond. We need to emulate Gandhi more, whose moral passion and non-violent resistance tactics have inspired other seekers of peace like Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Although political leaders have different responsibilities than ordinary citizens, they too can be ardent and imaginative peace seekers, as the examples of West Germany’s Willy Brandt, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy (during the last year of his life) demonstrate. At present, the Ukrainian Crisis cries out for just such leadership, but heretofore has not been forthcoming.

Searching for a foundation of Business and Peace, Galtung’s (2000) negative and positive peace framework is widely used and appears to be very helpful (Galtung’s and Jacobsen, 2000). Negative peace for Galtung refers to the absence of direct violence. Positive peace refers to the absence of indirect violence. In the first part of this chapter, we develop a foundation of business and peace, starting from Galtung’s negative peace concept. Eliminating violence and war leads to rediscovering the importance of Hobbes’ analysis of fear. Applied to business, Hobbes’ quote ‘Fear and I are twins’ becomes ‘Fear and business are twins’. In the second part, we use Galtung’s positive concept of harmony and cooperation to develop wisdom as the foundation of business and peace. The final part explores the specific wisdom of mercy. Not only mercy and peace are twins but also mercy and business. The conclusion will be that business and peace become twins when the mimetic desire is no longer the underlying drive of business but rather the desire for sustainability.

This chapter introduces the notion of a Culture of Peace as the only viable way to address global environmental, economic, and military challenges. It addresses the challenge of achieving the required cooperation across the boundaries of different philosophies of life and discusses the practical implications for military and economic policy. Four key words – interconnectedness, vulnerability, urge to live, and awe – may provide a common ground for joint reflection and a new, common course. Two crucial implications of the new mindset are the notion of shared security and a revised concept of economics as an instrument at the service of human welfare, rather than a goal in itself.

Renewed thinking on the idea of responsibility as the foundation of human relationships and of the relation of humans with nature is essential to face the current worldwide crises. While all people have an equal entitlement to rights, their responsibilities are proportionate to the possibilities open to them: freedom, access to knowledge, wealth and power. All increase the capacity for exercising responsibilities and the duty to account for them.

The practice of responsibility as a two-fold commitment of assuming charges and accounting for one’s actions is affected by ethical erosion, fragmentation, controversy, rugged individualism and rapid structural changes at the global level and within societies partly due to unprecedented progress of the sciences and technologies. Moral appeals, codes of conduct, declarations and manifestos, and unbinding self-regulation in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility are insufficient to counteract structured ‘de-responsibilisation’ and irresponsible unsanctioned behaviour that undermine the solution of the current crises.

A new international reference text on human responsibility, as a complement to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, setting out the basic principles of the idea of responsibility, and serving as a basis for international jurisdiction, must be a priority on the international agenda.

A greater stress on individual responsibility is essential for a more effective protection of human dignity and, ultimately, for securing the future of the idea of human rights. However, this responsibility is an ethical concept and must be distinguished from its moral and legal counterparts. With responsibility comes authority, meaning that individuals have an area of discretion, which must be respected by others and the State, but with regard to which there exists also certain expectations towards the bearer. This idea of an ‘ethical space’ is already familiar to (European) human rights law, where the principle of ‘subsidiarity’ and the related concept of the ‘margin of appreciation’ define the relationship between the European Court of Human Rights and the States party to the European Convention on Human Rights. This relationship resembles, mutatis mutandis, the relationship between the State and the individual. The resulting inter-personal ethical diversity, which inevitably entails a certain level of ethical conflict, is thus both a logical consequence of individual responsibility, as well as an essential feature of a democratic society, which is based on the principle of human dignity.

This chapter will explore the contribution of a major figure in peacebuilding – John Paul Lederach – and examine its relevance to leadership theory and practice. The first part of the chapter introduces Lederach and charts some of his key arguments with respect to peacebuilding. Lederach’s approach has not been applied previously to leadership. The second part will examine how it links to the co-charismatic leadership theory developed by Robinson and Smith (2014). This co-charismatic leadership theory is encompassed in seven Cs, that is, around shared responsibility for critical challenge, the development of consciousness, community, connectivity, creativity, commitment, the development of character (organisational and individual) and the nature of dialogue that will enable all these. The third part of the chapter will explore ideas and practices of peacebuilding in organisations through the lens of co-charismatic leadership theory (Robinson & Smith, 2014), with reference to Lederach’s (2005) ‘moral imagination’ and peacebuilding.

I wish to argue that peace, justice, peace building and non-violent conflict resolution raise important moral, ethical and spiritual concerns, which call into question what it is to be a human being. The path to peace (contrary to what is mostly practised today) is all about the world of heart, mind and spirit. In the first section, I will tell you about my own journey for peace, which has transformed me from an ‘economist as usual’ into ‘an economist for the common good’. The other sections deal with the definition of the common good and the aims of the ‘Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative’ (GCGI).

A historical analysis of Sikhism demonstrates that Sikh thinking on ethical management has long predated academic thinking and research pertaining to this subject. It also demonstrates the relationship between good management and peace. Sikhism with its relatively secular orientation promoted both profits by working and the peaceful society that was necessary to obtain these. Hence the concept of ‘Sikh Peace management’ became a reality. Its foundation is the idea that working and management for the common good acts as a spiritual experience and that it interacts with and reinforces a peaceful environment. Despite its similarities with Calvin’s work ethics Sikhism did not lead to religious warfare like in 16th and 17th century Europe. It did result however in ‘defensive’ characteristics, which, just like work, became part of a new spirituality.

In non-Muslim parts of the World, the majority of people increasingly link Islam with violence and terrorism. Nevertheless, salam (peace) is a core concept of Islamic spirituality. This chapter therefore tries to find the gaps in our understanding of the relation between Islam and Peace and tries to explain why the contemporary view of Islam as an inherently violent religion should be corrected. Starting from linguistic, theological and historical analysis, the intimate link between Islam and ‘salam’ is described. This is followed by an analysis of contemporary sectarian conflicts and their relationship with the present day geo-politics.

The chapter advances the idea that the ‘monotheism’ is not the driving force behind many of the contemporary conflicts in which Muslims are involved but that the main culprit is a sort of ‘moneytheism’ prevalent both in the East and the West. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the prophet’s original concept of monotheism and its view of God as ‘Ar-Rahman’ in order to propose a way out of our contemporary global cultural tensions and conflicts.

This chapter explores Christian wisdom in peacemaking, with particular reference to the experience of Christian International Peace Service (CHIPS). It expounds on the fundamentals of the Servant Leadership model and then draws these two strands together into the realm of business, with examples of how they are relevant in a commercial setting. This research can be aligned with principles of ‘participatory action research’, in so far as the author has been part of the community of practice generated by and informing the work of CHIPS in a range of peacemaking activities. Although CHIPS never makes claims to have made peace, it has proven beyond doubt that teams of Christians living humbly in the tension area, employing Biblical principles in peace-making and Servant Leadership, are incredibly effective in contributing to peace. Furthermore, the successful employment of servant leadership and peacemaking principles within commercial settings are illustrated through three business examples.

In this chapter, we will be exploring the concept of the Lesser Peace revealed in the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who offers this inevitable future state of global peace and unity. A time that all citizens of good faith and a thriving and flourishing economic system aspire towards. We will offer some ideas on the role of business and the implication of current and future economic systems in contributing towards that Lesser Peace, will be highlighted along with some key concepts that will form the flow of this chapter: (1) the interdepence of the peoples and nations of the earth (2) the unity in the economic sphere and (3) how the welfare of the part means the welfare of the whole and the distress of the part brings distress to the whole. At the centre of our chapter is the key element for reaching this elevated New World Order, which will derive from ‘the spiritualization of the masses’ in connection to a new economic and business paradigm.

“Being connected” is one of the key terms of Franciscan Spirituality. St. Francis decided not to become a hermit (although it always was a great temptation for him), but he lived within the world with the people, especially with the poor. He felt a deep connection with everything and everybody on earth. Nature for him was mother, sister, and brother. Therefore, he had to help creation and creatures, whether an animal, a tree, or a leper. Expressions of this deep connection are his demands and the Franciscan characteristics of (evangelical) poverty, being a minor friar in the brotherhood. Peace and the responsibility for creation or ecology for peace are essentials of this connectedness. Francis wanted to live in peace with everybody and tried to create peace wherever it was possible and necessary. St. Bonaventure laid emphasis especially on this aspect of the Franciscan way of life. For today that has consequences: a radical shift, a conversion toward life and peace-making, toward the poor, and the helplessness of creation. Being connected in this way also has consequences for a re-thinking of the common models of economy.

The chapter depicts the potential place of the spirit of non-violence and the spirit of peace in social affairs and economic circumstances. It deals with the approach of Mahatma Gandhi to non-violence and the approach of Saint Francis of Assisi to noble poverty, simplicity and peace as one of the great inspirations to Gandhi. These two concepts are closely interrelated, as they have analogous aspects in theory and practice. Both of them seem suitable to be used as the main characteristics of dealing with social and ecological problems.

The following part of the chapter describes the life and the credo of Mahatma Gandhi, emphasizing the importance of non-violence, an alternative approach to deal with emerging social difficulties. After it, the chapter presents the life and the philosophy of Saint Francis of Assisi and how Gandhi was inspired by him. It emphasizes the importance of peace, noble poverty, simplicity and their spirit in ecological and social affairs. The chapter then presents non-violence and poverty as spiritual notions and shows intermediary concepts and examples of feasible business models by which they could be applied in economic practices. Non-violence and peace can be the spirit of business strategies, and they have the potential to transform modern economic practices into a more humanistic and sustainable form.

This chapter aims to measure the total impact of conflict and violence to the global economy. By aggregating the most recent research on the costs of specific types of violence such as organized conflict, homicide, battle deaths, military spending, and incarceration, a comprehensive country-specific cost of violence and violence containment methodology is developed. The estimated benefit to the global economy of perfect peacefulness is at least 9.8 trillion dollars over the long run.

The leading traditions of Western ethical thought offer an immense collection of concepts and distinctions for thinking about how to make professional and personal decisions across any walk of life. In this chapter we consider how to draw from this vast terrain to provide a set of practical ethical guidelines for global business decision-making. Our aim is not to provide an historical survey of ethics but to identify some of the most useful ideas and distinctions across various ethical traditions that have survived the test of time and to suggest adaptable practical recommendations. We present four digestible ethical guidelines to bridge the theoretical traditions with the everyday world of time-sensitive business decision-making. These guidelines have versatile applications across an array of business applications and can also be useful for policymakers and decision-makers in not-for-profit organizations.

This chapter will look at how peace-entrepreneurs are crucial in conflict and post-conflict environments to address peace challenges, and how the use of ITC can scale up the outputs of peace-oriented business in a particular region. Indeed, when technology is used effectively it can amplify voices for peace and empower local communities and entrepreneurs looking for alternatives to violence through a market-oriented business approach. The chapter will also argue that a peace-driven local business network can be as powerful as the post-conflict international aid typically provided by international donors. The chapter will focus in particular on an analysis of the PeaceStartup initiative developed in Colombia. This initiative is aimed at promoting peace-entrepreneurs through a co-innovation process among relevant actors based on a specific methodology grounded in traditional Silicon Valley start-up weekends.

The question addressed in this chapter is whether the difference in the way we look at memory and the way it actually works might be the reason for the great number of conflicts and secondly, if we were able to embrace the broader, more accurate view, would it help solve or even prevent conflicts from occurring? The chapter presents an overview of the literature study into conflict and memory and a case study from my experience as a business coach working with the conflict between a fellowship of surgeons and the hospital board of directors.

Mediation aims at resolving conflict through negotiation. This negotiating aspect of mediation makes it very suitable for business conflicts. Yet European business stands aside and appears to be averse to this specific dispute resolution mechanism. As research shows, part of the problem is the poor knowledge and wrong (‘soft’) perception business people have of mediation. In this chapter we want to explain how mediation really works and how it can benefit businesses. We also suggest what could and should be done to further stimulate business mediation in the EU. Finally, we conclude that when businesses decide to choose mediation as the way of resolving their disputes, they show the desire to work towards Peace.

This chapter aims to describe the case of Buurtzorg Nederland as a good practice of Being-Centered organizational innovation. We use the concept of corporate peace as an expression of a workplace that induces both employee and client satisfaction. This in turn strengthens several organizational outcomes such as productivity and creativeness. The innovation has been framed as Being-Centered, providing capacity for a holistic view while introducing a multi-level process structure: physical, vital, mental, psychic, and non-dual. Such a holistic view fits the organic worldview framework. This framework is being developed as an alternative to the mainstream competitive economic view. A competitive view of the world has a set of assumptions that describe how we organize a workplace. In practice it has the belief of the organization as a zero-sum game containing players who are motivated by their self-interests. These organizational assumptions often encourage hostile competitive behaviors resulting in undermining corporate peace. Management scholars urge for developing alternative principles. The principles are often labeled as sustainable, spiritual, or organic. Good practices where alternative principles of organizing are implemented assist the scholarly field to further develop alternative frameworks as opposed to the competitive economic worldview. This chapter contributes by examining a good practice. A Case Study Approach has been followed using the single case perspective with face-to-face interviews for the data collection by purposive sampling and internal company reports. In total, 38 respondents were interviewed and five interviews with the founder of Buurtzorg were conducted. Based on the case study, we suggest a Being-Centered Approach as the main explanation of the good practice at Buurtzorg rather than a focus on one single concept such as: management structure, ICT, community-based care, or a patient focus.

This chapter highlights an unexplored aspect of corporate social responsibility, that is animal violence and welfare. According to (Dadds, M. R., Turner, C. M., & McAloon, J. (2002). Developmental links between cruelty to animals and human violence. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 35(3), 363–382), cruelty against animals can be a predictor of future violence. If one wants to avoid violence in general, one has to think about ways to prevent violence against animals. No longer accepting violence against animals in the fashion industry, a sector that has a big impact on youth, can be a major step in the reduction of violence.

The purpose of this chapter is to analyse how non-violence against animals is integrated as a business strategy into the fashion industry and how companies are trying to influence each other. The methodological approach is based on qualitative comparative studies between small and large firms. Five cases are selected taking multiple levels of corporate sustainability into account: JBC, ARFshop, Doekjes en Broekjes, Bellerose and Fake Fur.

The research shows that large companies do more to benefit human welfare, whereas the smaller ones attach more importance to the environment. Yet all companies agreed that long-term relationships are crucial in partnerships and that the process of exchanging information is valuable in order to act in a transparent way. They are all aware that animal welfare and environmental welfare will gain importance in the future, and therefore something must be done about the impact companies have. Hence, they are implementing strategies at their own pace to benefit the welfare of animals. A change in mind set is growing, slowly but certainly and partnerships with NGOs can benefit this transition process.