"What kind of values do we want to have operative in corporate life?' "How do our religious values and ethics impact our lives as CEOs?" "Do we have any responsibility to help provide an economic and social safety net in our society?"
These are some of the questions that come up in the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Program of Auburn Theological Seminary. During the past five years both Christians and Jews have been involved from the profit and not-for-profit sectors. The corporations that these CEOs head are among the largest in the world and employ thousands of people around the globe.
The programs are planned by a small group of CEOs and take place in different corporate headquarters in the New York City area. Participation is by invitation and limited to sixteen to twenty CEOs. The standard format includes a meal (breakfast or dinner), a half-hour presentation, and a good hour and a half of off-the-record discussion.
Issues
The overall purpose of the Auburn program is to discuss a range of religious/ethical issues that CEOs face; probe religious/ethical values that may inform their decisions; explore the impact these issues have on corporations and the larger society; and participate in discussions that are mutually beneficial with peers. Among the topics that have been explored are ethics and corporate leadership in America; ethics of executive compensation; human rights, religious values and international trade; market pressures, accounting principles and ethical failures; and ethical responsibilities of CEOs in corporate mergers. The next program will focus on making ethical decisions in difficult times.
Being the primary staff person who works with the planning committee and programs has been an extraordinary experience for me. I have learned alot about the very complex and demanding world in which these CEOs live and work. The pressures are unbelievable! For the most part they are deeply concerned about the quality of life in the corporate setting and the societies in which they live. They are aware of the conflicting values that operate and the failures and successes of corporate life. They are concerned about people and how to be just and fair.
CEOs know each other by name and reputation but are often not well acquainted. There is an eagerness to know each other better and talk about issues and concerns of an ethical nature in a setting that provides confidentiality and openness. They know that there are no easy or simple answers to the questions facing corporations in today's world. They ask that divergent views be presented on different topics and that there be a willingness to challenge assumptions and conclusions.
Values
Sometimes, it is really tough to examine the values that are held implicitly or explicitly about the nature of persons and society and the planet on which we live. I remember well the program on the ethics of executive compensation. The evening began by one CEO telling the group that he had just received a bonus from his corporation, well over a million dollars. He told his wife the night before and she responded by saying "That is the most Immoral thing that I have heard this week." As you can imagine, it was not an easy discussion. I was fascinated to see how the conversation unfolded and the genuine wrestling with the extent to which "CEO compensation is out of control" -- in the words of one chief executive -- and some approaches that could be taken to lessen the gap between CEO salaries and benefits and all others in the corporation.
I doubt if any of these CEOs would be comfortable using biblical or religious language in the workplace or making simplistic applications of faith to life. All of their corporations exist in an increasingly religiously plural society. They are aware of this and concerned about meaning and value on the one hand and the quality of life in civil society on the other. There is no question in my mind that most are committed to assuring the quality of their work and the best that they can do at any given time to be responsible corporate leaders. Unfortunately, many of us in religious institutions have taken little time to listen to them and to struggle together to speak about our religious and moral commitments in a way that makes sense to all of us and contributes to the common good.
In facing the challenges that lie ahead to be more faithful in our commitments and actions, we should not assume that any one institution is necessarily more ethical than another. All of us need to be clearer about the values that we hold, seek to tear down the compartmentalization and rampant individualism that plague our lives, and overcome the narcissistic globalism that in any way assumes that any one of us has the one true belief about God, the world and what is good for humankind. Seeking to be faithful individually and corporately is both treacherous and promising.
Robert L Reber recently retired as Dean of Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City. For several years be has worked with chief executive officers, judges and attorney, middle manager; health care professionals, and laity in congregations to explore connections between faith and work. He is most recently the author and coeditor of A Lifelong Call to Learn: Approaches to Continuing Education for Church Leaders, Abingdon Press, 2000.