Religion at the Workplace - Essay Example

Religion at the Workplace Religion at the Workplace Introduction The culture is considered as the software of human mind but thebasic ingredient of one’s mindset is aspired by the religious teachings. The religious teachings are emplaced in the personality by one’s parents during the early childhood. The religious beliefs are so strong and they are very deeply engraved in an individual’s mind that these cannot be changed and modified easily (Swartz, 1996). The bloody wars and battles fought in the history of mankind were fueled with religious hatred (Toft & Kennedy, 2007). The Crusades were fought in order to expand Muslim rule to the distant parts of the world. Hitler declared war on Jews because he hated them. Religious thinking is currently being translated in fundamentalism and terrorism. The Islamic Holy Book Quran is translated and literally twisted in order to motivate people to become a part of forces which are willing to destroy infidels around the world. In the light of above arguments, every historical war was a holy one and therefore, it is safe to assume that religious thinking only supported and propagated hatred in all times. The role of religion is no different in the present times as well. All religions of the world promoted peace, tranquility and justice in the society as Buddhism does not allow its followers to kill animals in order to fulfill their food requirements. The Islamic teachings helped Prophet Mohammad in creating a model city of Medina but the true message of all religions is lost and now all theological centers of the world are busy in telling people to kill others before they kill them. In this way, religious thinking has become the means of promoting hatred driven violence in the communities (Galtung, 1990). The professional circles on the other hand are moving towards incorporating people from throughout the world as internationalization of businesses is increasingly taking place. The multinationals need the sense of team to prevail in their units across borders. As they must work in order to meet common organizational goals and therefore, the international companies promote the organizational culture where people are discouraged to discuss religion because it promotes hatred and division amongst employees. The professional and corporate arena of the globe is successfully trying to develop and apply their version of ethics such as doctors are told to remain truthful to their patients (Brien, 1998). The psychologists are guided not to share their patients’ privileged information with others. The professional ethics are developed to bless the people working in the same line of work with a common sense of direction which is unfortunately lacking in case of theological frameworks. The notion of professional ethics allow people from different and divergent religious and ethnic backgrounds to connect and forget about their cultural and societal differences only to serve the goal of causing betterment in their area of work. The musicians are known to consider all kinds of differences irrelevant and they work with culturally diversified population. The workplace of the 21st century is becoming more and more freed from traditional religious mindsets. The era of religious thinking is surely coming to an end because people are realizing the true nature of theological schools of thought. The internet has given people more information and that is why, they are not willing to follow anything blindly. Scholars, political leaders and activists have to present proper logic in order to gain support of the masses. Additionally, economic interests of all the nations in the world have recently got so intertwined with each other that no country has the luxury to exist in isolation. The abovementioned trend almost killed the concept of nationalism and religious philosophy is also at the verge of collapse due to overpowered force of globalization. The economics of the contemporary world is so integrated that China and US have to work together in order to serve their common fiscal goals and objectives. The differences between America and Europe are weakening and it is only the matter of time before they fall apart. The changing economic order of the world is forcing individuals and nations to forget about their differences (Casanova, 2001). The nations cannot afford to hate each other on the basis of religious differences because their industrial worlds are attached in an inseparable way. According to Scholars in the field of change management changes start from the corporate sector and it is quite true in the given circumstances of the world economy. The trend of globalized business started from the need of American companies to find suitable production sites which can offer them substantial cost advantages. Conversely, in the past, people following violent religious philosophy were present in large numbers and because of this reason; the theological mindset was flourishing in all parts of the world (Swartz, 1996). The developed nations were under the influence of nationalism as they thought that they were the leaders of the world at that time. However, time changed with the uninvited kicking in of globalization. The developed nations had to outsource their production as their local economy was experiencing overproduction and as a result inflationary pressures were mounting. The economic and fiscal pressures caused the countries to become more accommodating in terms of letting the international business grow (Toft & Kennedy, 2007). The economic theory of specialization has recently become the driving force in national level decision making. The nations are increasingly focusing on producing goods which they can manufacture cheaply while outsourcing or importing those products whose local production is expensive. The afore-stated economic thinking helped the sense of interdependence to develop across national systems of the world in recent years. The diehard fans of violent religious philosophy are either deciding to remain silent or changing their mindsets in order to appear as a legitimate member of the globalized society where majority of the people is unwilling to listen about religious hatred. The economic forces of the world have made it necessary for the people to work with employees from different religions and nations. The number of global workforce is increasing multifold by the close of every year. The organizations have to develop a neutral culture in order to fulfill the psychological needs of the majority of the international workforce which is more than happy to follow and apply professional ethics in the course of their work life. Organizations therefore required to follow a utilitarian approach towards the issue of handling religious thinking at the workplace (Casanova, 2001). The companies are promoting workplaces that have zero tolerance for stereotyping, judgmental behaviors and racism so that each and every employee can have the luxury of feeling at home in the process of taking care of their professional obligations. The workplace of the modern organization is becoming free from any undesirable characteristics of the society in which it is operating. Nevertheless, the organizations are recommended to blend in with the culture by adopting positive and unavoidable practices of the society. Findings The culture is considered as the software of human mind but the basic ingredient of one’s mindset is aspired by the religious teachings. The religious beliefs are so strong and they are very deeply engraved in an individual’s mind that these cannot be changed and modified easily. The Crusades were fought in order to expand Muslim rule to the distant parts of the world. Hitler declared war on Jews because he hated them. The Islamic Holy Book Quran is translated and literally twisted in order to motivate people to become a part of forces which are willing to destroy infidels around the world. All religions of the world promoted peace, tranquility and justice in the society but the true message of all religions is lost The professional circles on the other hand are moving towards incorporating people from throughout the world as internationalization of businesses is increasingly taking place. The multinationals need the sense of team to prevail in their units across borders. The professional and corporate arena of the globe is successfully trying to develop and apply their version of ethics. The professional ethics are developed to bless the people working in the same line of work with a common sense of direction which is unfortunately lacking in theological frameworks. The notion of professional ethics allow people from different and divergent religious and ethnic backgrounds to connect and forget about their cultural and societal differences only to serve the goal of causing betterment in their area of work. The internet has given people more information and that is why, they are not willing to follow anything blindly and Scholars, political leaders and activists have to present proper logic in order to gain support of the masses. The economics of the contemporary world is so integrated that no country has the luxury to exist in isolation. The economic and fiscal pressures caused the countries to become more accommodating in terms of letting the international business to grow. The diehard fans of violent religious philosophy are either deciding to remain silent or changing their mindsets in order to appear as a legitimate member of the globalized society. The economic forces of the world have made it necessary for the people to work with employees from different religions and nations The organizations have to develop a neutral culture in order to fulfill the psychological needs of the majority of the international workforce which is more than happy to follow and apply professional ethics in the course of their work life. The companies are promoting workplaces that have zero tolerance for stereotyping, judgmental behaviors and racism. The organizations are recommended to blend in with the culture by adopting positive and unavoidable practices of the society. Conclusion This paper has reviewed and analyzed the current tolerance level of religious thinking in the modern workplace and it was found that organizations and employees do not want to bring their theological philosophies to work. The international organizations are required to have culturally diversified workforce and therefore, people do not discuss theology while working because by doing so they may risk making people uncomfortable. The sense of team is the most important organizational dimension for the multinationals and therefore, the management may take disciplinary action against those who are promoting religious divides in the setup. The organizations are bound to follow utilitarian approach towards managing religious thinking at the workplace. Most of the participants of global workforce do not want to bring religious thinking to the workplace and that is why, organizations have to promote culture of noninterference in others’ private theological beliefs. References Brien, A. (1998). Professional Ethics and The Culture of Trust. Journal of Business Ethics Vol 71 (4), 391-409. Casanova, J. (2001). Religion, the New Millennium, and Globalization. Sociology of Religion Vol 62 (4), 415-441. Galtung, J. (1990). Cultural Violence. Journal of Peace Research Vol 27 (3), 291-305. Swartz, D. (1996). Bridging the Study of Culture and Religion: Pierre Bourdieus Political Economy of Symbolic Power. Sociology of Religion Vol 57 (1), 71-85. Toft, M. D., & Kennedy, J. F. (2007). Getting Religion? The Puzzling Case of Islam and Civil War. Intrnational Security Vol 31 (4), 97-131. Read More