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"Practicing business with a conscience leaves no sector untouched. It trickles into how we treat our employees, approach our work in general, address stakeholders, engage in accounting, financial, and production management practices, implement and manage information technology, communicate on a direct and indirect basis, and market what we stand for. Business has encountered an interesting evolution in the first two decades of the twenty-first century, with social media as a catalyst toward greater understanding regarding the critical value of soft skills, workplace diversity, change readiness, moral responsibility, sustainable awareness, and a general socially responsible mind-set. This amalgamate spirit of business as we envision it in the near and far future has found its way in all segments of business education, research, and practice. Adhering to the global trend of increased responsibility and evoking a constructive change in the narrative of business, this Research Companion serves as a critical reference work to business scholars and practitioners in various settings. It brings together contributing scholars from multiple business areas, from a variety of cultures and locations of the world, in order to achieve a reference work that will find expansive appeal. Including insights from the broad business spectrum ranging from internal managerial practices to strategic applications, including international sensitivity, this volume highlights the urgency for increased awareness in business decision-making on all fronts. It will be of great value to researchers, academics, practitioners, and students in the fields of corporate social responsibility, business ethics, leadership, organizational studies, and entrepreneurship"--

"Presenting the essentials of awakened leadership through 50 contemplative branches, this text is a revolutionary yet sensible leadership manual that takes the reader from self-reflection to interaction, touching on internal and external factors that influence business decision-making. This book is designed to expand awareness within those who lead at present, or those who aspire to lead. One can only lead others responsibly having understood how to lead the self, becoming an 'awakened leader.' Awakened leaders stay true to their values but are very much aware that life and business are continuous processes of growth and change - an awareness more critical than ever in today's VUCA world. Awakened leaders recognize that these constant changes are calls to regular reflection, enabling greater empathy, understanding, and ultimately, improved decision-making. Postgraduate students and practicing leaders in the workplace will value this book, that tells them in a straightforward way how to undertake no-nonsense action with a compassionate and visionary foundation"--

"An unprecedented and important reference work, this research companion covers a range of aspects of happiness, an aim everyone aspires to achieve, yet can be easily overlooked in today's demanding and multi-challenged world, or confused with a plethora of quantifiable or career goals. This book helps readers to internalize happiness, form a healthy opinion about this emotion, and detach it from external factors that can only cause temporary discomfort or delight. A group of expert authors considers happiness within three critical realms: internally, interactively, and work-related. Their thoughtful contributions approach happiness from a multiplicity of angles, and present a full spectrum of backgrounds and perspectives to consider, based on a wide range of circumstances, personal and professional. This companion will be valuable for researchers, students, and coaches, whether they seek input for future theory development, or motivation for performance in personal and professional life"--

"An important reference work on a practice that is needed more than ever in a VUCA world, this book helps readers understand the importance of responsible and constructive practices and behavior in leadership. The broad approach to inclusive leadership presented in this volume highlights correlations between inclusive leadership and myriad issues, qualities, and circumstances that serve as foundations or impact factors on it. Some contributors review contemporary concepts and challenges such as change, innovation, the bottom line, sustainability, and performance excellence against inclusive leadership. Other contributors reflect on critical practices and qualities such as trust, passion, ethics, spirituality, and empathy, and their relationships with inclusive leadership. A range of religious and spiritual influences are also evaluated in the context of inclusive leadership, such as (but not limited to) Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Christianity. Postgraduate students, instructors, and coaches will appreciate this comprehensive look at inclusive leadership, which has become an urgent concept to be internalized and practiced by all, regardless of positions, possessions, locations, or generations"--

The growth of business : from then to now -- The twenieth century in America : setting the stage -- Ambivalent views toward modern days? -- New insights in a new millennium -- Buddhism some foundational notes -- Main vehicles in Buddhism -- The place of suffering and harming in our lives -- Buddhism and business : friends or foes -- A closer look at the points of caution -- Buddhist business leaders in action

Awareness is a critical aspect of successful leadership. As a new generation of business people enter the job market, the value of perceptive individuals should be considered among the most important assets for any company to acquire. Aimed at business students preparing to enter the workforce, Leadership and Mindful Behavior provides readers with guidelines for effective and perceptive leadership. Some of the aspects to be reviewed will be the importance of both soft and hard skills; the concepts of sleepwalking and wakefulness; and mental models, respect, change, and compassion.

Purpose
This paper aims to contribute or rekindle internal and external dialogues about the interactions, decisions and behaviour in the work environments; while also consider some critical overarching values that can help workforce members cope with the stress and pressure, which augment as the speed of life increases.


Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used in this project is an integrative literature review, supported by, findings and reflections from two doctoral dissertations: one in workplace spirituality and one in Buddhist psychology; and the researcher's analysis and joint application of these two streams over the past decade.


Findings
Workplace spirituality and Buddhist psychology share overlapping, multi-interpretable traits, with as the main discrepancies that workplace spirituality is a relatively new concept, while Buddhist psychology has been around for more than 2,500 years; and workplace spirituality focusses only on the workplace, while Buddhist psychology focusses on every area of the life. Yet, the overarching notion of doing right while respecting and accepting others and aiming for an overarching better quality of life remains a strong driver in both realms.


Research limitations/implications
This paper will hopefully entice future researchers to engage in additional studies on spiritual intersections to expand on such databases and enhance awareness, acceptance and implementation amongst scholars and practitioners in business settings.


Practical implications
Exploring intersections of behavioural disciplines such as workplace spirituality and Buddhist psychology addresses an important need within workforce members and therewith also those within their social circles, as they evoke deeper and consistent contemplation on the aspects that connect us together and can enhance overall well-being and happiness at a greater magnitude than, this study experiences it today.


Social implications
The study aims to deliver a contribution to the database of awareness-enhancing literature, in an effort to help spawn dialogue and critical thinking about the attitudes and behaviours towards ourselves, others and the future.


Originality/value
This paper presents an overview of themes in two psychological streams, both focussing on living and acting with greater consciousness, to make more mindful decisions, improve the overall experience of cooperating towards a common good and understand the responsibility towards creating a future that will be sustainable rather than destroyed.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate spiritual performance from the perspective of a globally operating corporation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses spirituality at work as its subject‐matter and takes the form of a literature review. The paper approaches the topic by: giving a general overview of the shift in global corporate behavior; a short historical review of American business culture; defining workplace spirituality; examining Starbucks Corporation's performance from three angles: suppliers and societies, employees, and customers; and a conclusion and postscript.FindingsThe paper finds that: spiritual behavior at the organizational level does lead to enhanced corporate performance; workplace spirituality, when encouraged by top management, is oftentimes instigated by personal life experiences; and spiritual behavior, at the organizational level, leads to advantages for multiple stakeholders.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations to the research are that the research findings were of a secondary nature. The information was gathered through massive readings, but not through primary research‐gathering processes. This study only reviews the performance of one major corporate entity, which reduces the justification of generalizability. Suggestions for future research would be: applying primary studies on a broader sample of globally operating entities to measure their spiritual performance; and formulating particular standards for this type of measurement.Practical implicationsThe practical implications are that globally operating but also smaller entities may start scrutinizing their performance toward stakeholders in a more spiritual light.Originality/valueNew in this paper is the: viewpoint of the Starbucks corporation as a spiritually performing entity; reflection of this major corporation's behavior in three dimensions: toward employees, customers, and suppliers and societies; and reflection of the elements of the definition used here for spirit at work on Starbucks' performance.