Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between business and religion by the case of “Quaker codes and business activities.” To clarify, the topic of religion as covered in this paper is not concerned with the personal philosophies or religions of management executives. Instead, this paper conceptualizes the role of religion as a framework or cosmology that exists inside companies and their surrounding communities. On both conscious and unconscious levels, this structure dictates people’s behavior. The paper explores the impact that religion has on management; that is, it attempts to elucidate how an implicit system of belief interacts with and underlies practical behavior in practices of management. In particular, this paper examines the relationship between Quaker thought and management. Even though Quakers are a small, unique Protestant denomination, they played a significant role in the progress of the British Industrial Revolution, mainly in the steelmaking and railway industries. Furthermore, they have continued to play a considerable role in historical turning points in the generations following. This paper will focus on studies in Birmingham and York in the UK, and it will also make use of literature on the history of management
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Notes
- 1.
Bellah (1970), pp. 7–8.
- 2.
Bellah (1970), pp. 11–12.
- 3.
Bellah (1970), p. 12.
- 4.
Kitazawa (2003), pp. 48–49.
- 5.
Numbers are from 2017 Finding Quakers Around the World Map (FWCC).
- 6.
I went to a Quaker meeting in Bournville Village, Birmingham, UK (the place of origin of Cadbury), for the purpose of field research. This was right after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the USA, and after a deep silence, people quietly stood up and said sincere messages for world peace one after another. There was no part of it that felt like heretical mysticism. Additionally, at the coffee time at the end of the meeting, they let a variety of outsiders in, which led to friendly exchanges. I got valuable advice about researching documents on Quakers there.
- 7.
For details, see Yamamoto (1994), pp. 93–94.
- 8.
George Fox’s Epistles (200). https://esr.earlham.edu/qbi/gfe/e200-206.htm (accessed at 2018/12/9).
- 9.
- 10.
Yamamoto (1994), p. 104.
- 11.
Yamamoto (1994), pp. 95–96.
- 12.
Yamamoto (1994), pp. 153–156.
- 13.
Yamamoto (1994), p. 215.
- 14.
- 15.
British management thinkers O. Sheldon and L. Urwick were also Rowntree board members. In addition, M. Follett, management philosopher and a social activist in Boston, was a Quaker herself. She went to Britain upon the invitation of Seebohm Rowntree. She carried out a series of lectures at London School of Economics that would later become the centerpiece of her philosophy. Her thought was considerably influenced by the management of Rowntree.
- 16.
Child (1969), pp. 46–47.
- 17.
Yearly Meeting of the religious society of Friends in Britain (1999), 23.16.
- 18.
Anthony Bradney and Fiona Cowie performed an observation by ethnography about decision-making among present-day Quakers. They point out that Quaker decision-making is not “consensus building” but rather the process of reaching “unity” via the “inner light.” Bradney and Cownie (2000), p. 72.
- 19.
The foundation’s activities are maintenance and real estate management of residential housing in New Earswick that were previously built as residences for workers. The foundation also contributes to urban development and runs a scholarship. In a study I carried out in the area in 2002, there are still some Quakers who are board members. Through their social action, they are steadily carrying down the Quaker spirit to the present day. However, the Rowntree factory that was previously on the outskirts of York is now used as a Nestlé factory, and the only remaining trace of it is a sign saying, “Nestlé Rowntree Division.” In a study I carried out in the area in 2003, the building of the theater that was used as the headquarters of Rowtree and as a welfare facility for employees remained, but it was currently not in use, and it was said that it had already been decided that Nestlé would sell it to another organization. However, the library for employees that was built inside the grounds of the factory still remained as a library open to the general public and was used by Nestlé employees.
- 20.
In a study I carried out in Bournville Village (the place of origin of Cadbury factories) in 2001, there is a visitor center called Cadbury World run by Cadbury Schweppes in the site of the former rural factory. It is used as an amusement facility for families and exhibits information on the history of chocolate and how it is manufactured. There was only one small exhibition remaining on the history of the Cadbury family , in a corner. Furthermore, the workers’ residences in the vicinity have been restored and are run by the Bournville Village Trust .
- 21.
Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance (1992), pp. 16–17.
- 22.
Kirk-Smith (September 28, 2010).
- 23.
Taylor (1947), pp. 21–22.
- 24.
Taylor (1947), pp. 18–19.
- 25.
Taylor (1947), p. 140.
References
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This article is a revised and updated version of my paper Kigyo Shakai no Chitsujo Keisei to “Quaker Code” (Order Formation of the Corporate Society and the “Quaker Code”) (in Japanese) in Nakamaki and Hioki (2009).
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Mitsui, I. (2019). Corporate Society, the Formation of Order, and “Quaker Codes”: Seeking an Origin of Corporate Governance Principles. In: Nakamaki, H., Hioki, K., Sumihara, N., Mitsui, I. (eds) Enterprise as a Carrier of Culture. Translational Systems Sciences, vol 16. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7193-6_1
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