Chapter 3 Worldview and Religion Managing Organizations in a Global Economy: An Intercultural Perspective First Edition John Saee Copyright  by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.

Worldview (Weltanschauung) FWorldview deals with culture’s orientation towards a number of philosophical issues such as God, humanity, nature, the Universe. FWorldview is shaped by religion.

Types of Religions FMonotheism. FPolytheism. FNon-literate religions.

The most wide spread religions FChristianity – 32% FIslam – 17.7% FHinduism – 13.3% FBuddhism – 5.7%

Judaism and its major concepts (Porter and Samovar, 1995) FGod is one. FNo human will ever be divine. FHumans are free. FHumans are the pinnacle of creation.

FJews are chosen people in terms of serving God. FHumans must be obedient to God  given commandments in the holy book Torah, and have personal responsibility.

Christianity FGroups within Christianity: Roman Catholics Eastern Orthodox Protestants Indigenous Christian

Major issues in Christian faith: FThe coming Kingdom of God. FSalvation. FEthical system.

Islam  Islam is the youngest and fastest growing religion.  Islamic philosophy: A feeling of dependency on God. The fear of God’s punishment on Earth as well as hereafter. A deep respect for tradition and for the past.

Five Pillars of Islam FThere are no Gods but one God (Allah), and Mohammad is the prophet of Allah. FPrayer. FZakat. FFasting observed during Ramadan. FPilgrimage to Mecca (haj).

Hinduism FThis religion believes in the existence of more than one God. Hindus find divine in everything. FThe ideas of reality in Hinduism are different from those in Christianity and Islam.

FNirvana is the ultimate detachment from the world when all the worldly desires are renounced. It is achieved through meditation.

Buddhism FGautama, founder of Buddhism, and his “mission.” FBuddha’s four truths: Existence is suffering. The suffering arises from a desire. Desire can be suppressed, and therefore the suffering will cease. The process of suppressing the desire or Eightfold Path: the role of morality and techniques of mental discipline.

FBuddhism does not encourage austerities but teaches to control the mind.

Confucianism FA public philosophy embodying Chinese norms of social and personal morality.

FMajor issues in Confucianism: JEN, love for mankind. Respect for the past. Respect for education. Society is best run by virtue, not by law. Responsibility of government to the governed.

System of hierarchy. Emphasis on social harmony and obligation. Family institution is strongly supported. Work is a moral virtue.

A Comparison of Worldviews FMechanistic versus Non-mechanistic Reason and intuition. Science and religion. FA dualistic view Separation of mind and body. Does the world consist of separate pieces or is it profoundly holistic?

FImportance of Religion to Managing Organizations in a Global Economy

What have you learned today?