Mar

11

Scott’s Dissertation ~ Spirituality in Business

March 11, 2004 | posted by Scott |

Spirituality in Business: An exploration into three exemplar for-profit organizations, using qualitative and quantitative measures

I have posted some information about my dissertation research on this site… included in the overview are the following sections:

* Abstract from the approved research proposal
* Selection criteria for potential participating organizations in my dissertation research…
* What I’m asking for from participating organizations…
* Considerations regarding issues of profitability/financial performance
* The assessments I am using in my dissertation research…

Once I’m finished analyzing and writing, I will add a section with a summary of my findings.

Abstract from the approved research proposal:

This study is designed to explore the incorporation of a spiritual approach in for-profit businesses. I will collect both qualitative and quantitative data, both subjective and objective, from the members of three participating organizations. The assessments, questionnaires and interviews are designed to explore the operationalization of spirituality in the day to day business practices of the three organizations, including issues of definition, individual spiritual expression, specific practices, and the challenges experienced by these companies.. As such, this study will be primarily descriptive in nature.

The goal of this study is to provide a relatively complete picture of the implications of making the decision to incorporate spirituality into one’s approach to business. This will include the distillation of “key learning points”. My hope is that an examination of the data will allow me to provide a detailed review of what can be learned from organizations that have already been incorporating a spiritual approach into how they operate as for-profit businesses, including: definitions of success and spirituality; specific practices; and specific challenges. I hope to be able to provide a roadmap of sorts for other business people interested in finding ways to incorporate, encourage, or honour spirituality in their organizations ? a roadmap based in the reality of three organizations in some way practicing the incorporation of spirituality into how they do business, rather than based solely on the theoretical and anecdotal information currently available through academic discussion and self-report data.

Selection criteria for potential participating organizations in my dissertation research…

Selection criteria for potential participating organizations is relatively specific, in order to ensure that what can be learned from these companies is relevant to a wider business audience.

Ideally, participant organizations will meet the following criteria:

* the company’s management/owners claim to be incorporating a spiritual approach into how they run their business
* privately (or closely) held
* have been in business for at least 5 years
* profitable (average over past five years)
* between 30 and 250 employees (may be a division/department of a larger organization)
* located in North America

What I’m asking for from participating organizations…

My intention is to collect data through several means: interviews; pencil and paper assessments; and a “projective” assessment. Each organization is being asked to commit to the following:

1. In-depth intereviews (approx. 60-90 minutes) with each member of the management team
2. In-depth interviews (approx. 45-60 minutes) with a few employees (randomly chosen from throughout the organization) - (may not be needed, depeding upon level of depth in #5)
3. pencil and paper assessment of spirituality (30 questions - about 10 minutes) to be completed by everyone (usually completed during the group exercise - #4)
4. Participation in a projective assessment exercise - to be done in groups of 6-20, each group taking about 45-60 minutes (depending on whether #3 is done at the same time)
5. A short questionnaire developed based on the interviews with the management team members (about 10-15 minutes) to be completed by employees
6. Financial information for the past 5 years (in the case of privately held organizations, I will not ask for specific numbers, but rather some of the standard ratios: cash flow; ROI/ROE; etc.) - also see the “Financial Performance Considerations”

In order to help me decide how many employee interviews will be needed, I will also need a copy of an Organization Chart.

Although I have indicated above that I wish to have everyone complete the assessments, each employee’s participation must be entirely voluntary.

Considerations regarding issues of profitability/financial performance

Deciding upon acceptable criteria for determining a minimum level of financial success is, at best, difficult, especially in the context of this study. While I do not know prior to conducting the study whether this will actually be the case, it is at least plausible that organizations incorporating spirituality into the conduct of their business may define success somewhat differently than organizations not doing so. It is with this possibility in mind that, while I wish to be careful to ensure that the participating organizations are viable entities, I do not want to limit the pool of potential participating organizations by requiring levels of financial success that are not realistic, or perhaps not even relevant, given their definitions of success, and thereby miss out on exploring the topic within what could be the best exemplars available.

Clearly, for an organization to be a viable entity, at a minimum they must do well enough financially to be able to continue the next year. While accepting anything less than the best possible financial performance might not be considered success to some, the ability to stay in business for the foreseeable future will be a good starting point for this study.

In order to continue from year to year, an organization needs three things:

* Equity
* Liquidity
* Sustainability

Having enough equity allows an organization to do things and adapt to the changing environment, as it surely will. Equity provides the flexibility and safety margin to make short term mistakes. Here one looks at the Debt:Equity ratio. The required D:E ratio is different for each industry. What would be considered an acceptable D:E ratio can range from 5-7:1 for a public utility, to a primary resource company which will try to have no debt (i.e. will be as close to fully equity financed as possible).

However, if an organization does not have cash, none of the other measures matter. Liquidity is measured by the Working Capital ratio. Again, acceptable ratios differ by industry. While manufacturing companies strive for a 2:1 ratio, resource and IT companies will have to look more at real cash and “do we have enough cash to survive the monthly ‘burn rate’ until we start to generate some revenue and cash flow”. Even if the company is making money, one still must assess the liquidity. One can outgrow the equity (i.e. grow too fast) and run out of cash.

Sustainability is where profits come in. Eventually the company must become self sustaining. This is where one looks at the profit measures and the Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Investment (ROI) measures. Once again, acceptable levels of these measures varies, to some extent, with industry. One broader way to look at the ROE (for an investment in shares), is to look at the long term return on the equity markets in North America, which is about 12%. jost companies would strive to do better than the markets.

Having briefly outlined some of the considerations that can go into determining whether an organization is a viable entity, the following are the three questions I will use to assess the viability of organizations under consideration for inclusion in this study:

* Equity - does the company have enough equity that one could reasonably surmise that it could sustain itself through a modest disaster?
* Liquidity - Is the company going to run out of cash in the next 6-12 months?
* Sustainability - Has the company historically made money and does the company have a track record that would indicate that management knows what they are doing and have the smarts to adjust to the changing environment?

If each of these three questions can be answered in the affirmative, then the organization will be considered to have met an acceptable level of viability. While I recognize that this may seem a rather “loose” measure, it is appropriate given the context of this study. Furthermore, these questions will be used solely for the purpose of pre-screening organizations for participation in the study. The actual numbers, indicating the degree of financial success, will be included, if available, in the presentation of results and the discussion for those who are interested.

The assessments I am using in my dissertation research…

Expressions of Spirituality Inventory

Projective Differential & JOG Exercises

Semantic Differential

Semi-structured interviews

An employee survey - questions designed based on interviews with the management team

When I have finished the analysis and writing, I will be posting a summary of my findings on my personal site www.ascottmcculloch.com.

[Posted in Research]



Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Scott on December 31, 2006 2:49 pm

    I finished this research in Spring 2006. I’ll post an update/summary soon.

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