Religious Diversity in the Workplace

by Jawad Syed, Alain Klarsfeld, Faith Wambura Ngunjiri, Charmine E. J. Härtel

Overview

Employees bring their beliefs and religious values to work, and this can be a source of either positive performance or negative conflict. Social conflicts around religion impact more than societies and communities. They also impact organizations. 'Anti-religion' sentiments tend to be based on the perception that religion can be neatly separated from the 'more acceptable/palatable' spirituality, but this ignores the fact that - for most people - the two are intimately intertwined and inseparable. As religious identity is salient for a majority of the world's population, it is thus an important aspect of organizations - particularly those with a large and diverse body of employees. This handbook provides a timely and necessary analysis of religious diversity in organizations, investigating the role of national context, the intersections of religion with ethnicity and gender, and approaches to diversity management.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781316501733
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/28/2017
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	468
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 8.94(h) x 0.91(d)

About the Author

Jawad Syed is Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Dean of Suleman Dawood School of Business at Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan. Professor Syed is an Academic Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Program Co-Chair of the European Academy of Management's (EURAM) Gender, Race and Diversity in Organizations (GRDO) Special Interest Group. He is a Director of the Global Centre for Equality and Human Rights (GCEHR). He has written more than 75 journal articles and book chapters including articles in British Journal of Management, Business Ethics Quarterly, International Journal of Human Resource Management, and Gender, Work and Organization.

Alain Klarsfeld is senior professor at Toulouse Business School, Toulouse, France, where he created and managed the Human Resource Management Specialized Master program (2003–2015), and acted as Department Head from 2012 to 2016. He co-founded the competence management SIG (Special Interest Group) and the equality-diversity SIG within the French-speaking HR society (AGRH). He has published extensively in both of these fields in various French-speaking and international journals, including Cross-Cultural and Strategic Management, Equality Diversity Inclusion, European Journal of Industrial Relations, European Management Journal, International Journal of Human Resource Management.

Faith Wambura Ngunjiri is Associate Professor of Ethics and Leadership at Concordia College, Minnesota. She is also Director of the Lorentzsen Center for Faith and Work at the Offutt School of Business of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota. She is author of Women's Spiritual Leadership in Africa: Tempered Radicals and Critical Servant Leaders (2010), co-author of Collaborative Autoethnography (2013), and co-editor of Women as Global Leaders (2014) and Women and Leadership around the World (2015). Her research has been published in various academic journals, including the Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and Advances in Human Resource Development.

Charmine E. J. Härtel is Professor and Chair of Occupational Health and Work Psychology for the University of Queensland Business School in Brisbane, Australia. Recently, in her role as Senior Editor (Invited Contributions and Special Issues) for the Journal of Management and Organization, she commissioned the special issue 'Contextualizing diversity within Islam: Interpretations, understandings and implications for management and organizations'.

Table of Contents

Introduction: the complex interface of work and religion Jawad Syed, Alain Klarsfeld, Faith Wambur Ngunjiri and Charmine E. J. Härtel; Part I. General Frameworks and Sources of Reflection: 1. A relational perspective on religious diversity at work Jawad Syed; 2. Religious diversity, identity and workplace inclusion Charmine E. J. Härtel, Jasmin C. R. Härtel and Prem Ramburuth; Part II. Religious Approaches: 3. The Christian faith and the preservation of personal identity Timothy Ewest; 4. Islamic view of diversity: implications for the business world Abbas J. Ali; 5. The untold, the unseen and the forgettable: Jewishness, Jews and Judaism in diversity management scholarship Alain Klarsfeld; 6. National perspectives on Jews at work: contrasting Australia, France, Israel and the UK Alain Klarsfeld, Diane Bebbington, Avi Kay, Lucy Taksa, Fei Guo and Philip Mendes; 7. Hinduism, religious diversity and spirituality at work in India Radha R. Sharma and Rana Haq; 8. Buddhist Brahmaviharas and religious diversity at work Edwina Pio; Part III. Regional Approaches: 9. Spirituality and workplace diversity practices in Africa Kurt A. April, Thabo Makgoba and Dion A. Forster; 10. The French principle of Laïcité and religious pluralism in the workplace: main findings and issues Patrick Banon and Jean-François Chanlat; 11. Lessons from the academy: Concordia College's journey toward religious pluralism Jacqueline Bussie and Michelle Lelwica; 12. Religious diversity in the Canadian workplace: the case of Muslims Hanifa Itani and Yusuf M. Sidani; 13. Religious diversity at work in the Asia-Pacific region Edwina Pio and Timothy Pratt; Part IV. Organizational Approaches: 14. Organizational approaches to religious diversity in the workplace Timothy Ewest; 15. From diverse references to diverse attitudes towards religion at work: focus on the French case Géraldine Galindo and Hédia Zannad; 16. Resilient leadership and tempered radicalism: navigating the intersections of race, gender, nationality and religion Faith Wambur Ngunjiri and Kathy-Ann C. Hernandez; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'This important book provides a much overdue scoping review of religion at the workplace, a matter far too often overlooked. Whilst gender, sexuality, race, have by now entered mainstream diversity management, rarely does religion feature on an organization's Head of Diversity brief. This collection remedies the lack. A must read for academics and practitioners alike.' Yochanan Altman, Middlesex University and The Open University of Hong Kong

'This book is a tour de force. Not only does the text explore myriad religions and the impact on organizations, the text also unveils the importance of understanding diversity management in very different socio-cultural and geo-political contexts. As a consequence, one is left in no doubt of the central role of religion in organizations, and everyday lives. Together with gender and race difference dimensions, religion is radically shaping not only management philosophy, but also international relations and spatial critiques of the political economy of development. In celebrating difference and diversity as part of organization and social theory, one wonders why religion has not been addressed before. This book corrects this.' Beverly Dawn Metcalfe, American University of Beirut

'Recent terrorist attacks in several countries have tested our tolerance of religious diversity. This edited volume written by prominent diversity scholars is particularly timely in enlightening our understanding of spirituality and religion at work. The contributions touch on religious misunderstandings, discrimination, conflicts, and accommodating religious diversity in the workplace.' Eddy Ng, F. C. Manning Chair in Economics and Business, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia

'Religious Diversity in the Workplace treads boldly where many fear to go, thoughtfully raising the role and impact of religion and growing religious diversity at work. Yet go we must, if companies want to flourish at home and abroad in today’s global marketplace. The editors and contributors offer a welcome and illuminating guided tour - for both scholars and practitioners - of a wide range of perspectives and insights into religious diversity in the workplace, and why it matters now than more than ever.' David W. Miller, Director, Princeton University Faith and Work Initiative, and author of God at Work: the History and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement

From the Publisher