Business - period ended 1.15.2006

Business/Religious Faith/Bonafiel, Margaret/Wagner: You can take your soul to work/MetroWest Daily News/Worcester/MA/USA/8-Jan-2006//…. Benefiel, an internationally known expert in the field of spirituality and organizations, is the CEO of ExecutiveSoul.com, an organization that helps managers make better decisions through spiritual leadership. She is a Quaker minister and teaches at the Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Centre as well as at the Milltown Institute, a college in Dublin, Ireland, that specializes in theology, philosophy and spirituality.
Among the questions Benefiel will explore in her upcoming talk are: How can a business create a caring, values-based atmosphere without negatively affecting its bottom line? Which Boston-area companies have been extremely profitable without sacrificing soul among staff and shareholders? Can a company use its collective spirituality to boost profits? Why do half of all managerial decisions fail, and how can soul at work improve the success rate? Why should you strengthen spiritual community in your workplace? And how?
According to Benefiel, since the rash of major corporate scandals involving -- among others -- Enron and World.com, legislation has been passed to require companies to be more transparent in their accounting practices.
But no one knows how the legislation will be implemented or what effect it will have. "In other words, can you force businesses to be ethical?" she asked. ….

Business/Benefiel, Margaret//At the library/Wayland Town Crier/Wayland/MA/USA/11-Jan-2006//…SOUL AT WORK
Dr. Margaret Benefiel, author of the book "Soul at Work," will speak at the Wayland Library on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. on how an organization can create a caring, values-based atmosphere without negatively affecting its bottom line.
Benefiel will present the case for how integrity, profitability and transformation of self and workplace can all be part of a common goal.
Dr. Benefiel, a Quaker minister, is CEO of ExecutiveSoul.com and teaches at Andover Newton Theological School in Boston. The lecture is sponsored by the Gossels Fund for Human Dignity ...

Business/Book Review/Honesty/Thomas, Lee B./Lee Thomas on business ethics/Louisville Courier-Journal/Louisville/KY/USA/9-Jan-2006//…Longtime Louisville businessman and civic leader Lee Thomas has written a new book, "Ethical Business Relationships: Partnerships in Peace." He will discuss the book and sign copies at 7 p.m. Thursday at Carmichael's Bookstore, 2720 Frankfort Ave.

Thomas is a founding member of the Louisville Friends Meeting. His business career included more than 20 years as president and CEO of the Vermont American Corp., and five years as chairman of its board. He now is chairman of Universal Woods, Inc. .......Thomas serves as executive in residence at Bellarmine University's School of Business.

"Ethical Business Relationships" concerns Thomas' Quaker-based philosophy, which he explains has informed his personal life and business career. The book's subjects include accountability, diversity and honesty -- and how they translate into ethical workplace conduct. ….