Business and Buddhism

Joan Marques serves as director of the BBA program and is assistant professor of management at Woodbury University, USA. She has published in the Journal of Business Ethics, the Journal of Management Development, and Business and Society, and has authored or co-authored nine books on management and leadership topics.

Uniting the vehicles of business and management with those of the Buddhist tradition from a secular angle, this book presents us a fascinating opportunity to reconsider many of the concepts we practiced habitually yet not always mindfully. It provides us insights and tools to perform with more tranquility toward relationships that are based on mutual respect in an increasingly interrelated world. -- Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Pundarika Foundation, USA.This book carefully brings together two worlds that are often considered incompatible: the business environment with its ambition, competition, and profit orientation, and Buddhist psychology with its principles of selflessness, tolerance, and non-harming: An important foundation for considerations about future performance as we move deeper into the twenty-first century. -- Marshall Goldsmith, Dartmouth Tuck School of Business, USA.This is a highly engaging overview of business and Buddhism. Business needs Buddhist insights, and Buddhism needs insights from business. -- Ian I. Mitroff, Saint Louis University, USA.A book for the thoughtful, enlightened leader who is looking for ways to build a business that aligns with the motivations of his soul. -- Richard Barrett, Chairman and Founder of the Barrett Values Centre, UK.By providing an excellent outline of Buddhist principles and how they can be applied to business, Dr. Marques presents a unique perspective on leadership. A major strength of the book is that Dr. Marques has not just studied the Buddhist principles she describes, but she also has experientially lived them. -- Jerry Biberman, University of Scranton, USADr. Marques provides a uniquely balanced approach to the integration of Buddhism and organizations, including both the optimistic and the cautionary sides of applying Buddhist principles to the workplace. Real examples of leaders who have enacted Buddhist practices in their work lives provide suggestions that are both helpful and actionable for readers. It is inspiring to think about the kind of positive changes that could be enacted in today’s work environments if more business leaders followed the practices described in helpful detail in this book. -- Dana Sumpter, California State University, USA

• . The Growth of Business: From Then to Now 2. The Twenieth Century in America: Setting the Stage 3. Ambivalent Views Toward Modern Days' Business 4. A New Insights in a New Millennium 5. Buddhism Some Foundational Notes 6. Main Vehicles in Buddhism 7. The Place of Suffering and Harming in Our Lives 8. Business and Buddhism: Friends or Foes 9. A Closer Look at the Points of Caution 10. Buddhist Business Leaders in Action