1st European Managers Conference

Divignano, Varallo Pombia, October 2014

1st European Managers Conference

The 1st European Conference on Management was held in Divignano, a small town in Northern Italy, on the 11th and 12th of October 2014.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss principles, practices and success cases on “Values Leadership”, the first-rate topic in management today. The Conference was organised by the Institute of Sathya Sai Education of South Europe – ISSE SE – and welcomed the participation of around 100 people, including 70 managers, from 14 European countries.

The terms "change" and "growth/success" were chosen as the thread of the meeting, which aimed at shifting perspective and setting a new paradigm in management by moving from a material-economical context to a human values perspective. The main points were: how can we raise  awareness (i.e. foster human growth and development) to overcome inequality and poverty? How can the character of local and world leaders be cultivated so that the working place confers happiness on its employees, and its business supports sustainability in the environment? This thought provoking conference gave way to further questions such as: how can we move from an “information oriented society to a society geared for transformation?”; how can we move from competition to cooperation, from self-centeredness to selfless service, from high-speed and high profit managerial patterns to corporate responsibility.

All participants agreed that value-oriented leadership is of paramount importance in today’s global society, feasible only if there is an honest and integral connection with human values. This implies letting go of the selfish aspects that business and management entail to make space for a new process, a spiritual process aimed at service to society. The daring goal of a similar spiritual-guided leadership reaches out to the extent of seeing "business" as a means for spiritual upliftment and self-realisation. Interviews with successful leaders, shared during the Conference, point out that there are very sincere and successful leaders supported by a personal spiritual outlook, whom represent an example of how spirituality and rationality can go hand in hand.

The traditional accepted values of the “business” we know today, such as “self-dominating will”, can however represent severe obstacles; the need to overcome these obstacles requires the cultivation of qualities such as humility and empathy. Examples taken from the public sector have shown how the value of truth is undoubtedly the backbone for sustainable development and success.

During the Conference, workshops on topics such as "corruption", "finance – is money bad?", "profit", "growth", “values in daily business-life", "competition" and "motivation" gave the participants an opportunity to discuss and share their experience and insights in small groups.  

The closing session emphasized how the practical application of “spiritually oriented business” can certainly be challenging and how this would mean regular confrontation with a series of fundamental dilemmas, stressing the need for training in human values and ethical and moral decision-making.

The Conference was delighted and honored to welcome the following speakers:

  • Peter Pruzan, Professor  Emeritus Dept. of Management, Politics & Philosophy, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark and Professor at Sri Sathya Sai University, A.P. India
  • Kirsten Pruzan Mikkelsen, Journalist, and former newspaper editor at Berlingske Tidende, DK
  • Jordi Griera i Roig, President, Fundacio INEVAL, Human Values and Economics
  • Werner Stein, President, Stein & Partner, Management Consulting SRL
  • George Vlachopoulos, ex Director, European Commission, European Union, Brussels
  • Roberto Micolitti, Civil & Social Organization, Latina Area, Italy
  • George Bebedelis, Educator, Director ISSE, SE
  • Vassiliki Stephanides, Professor Emeritus, Business School, Deree College, Athens, and Trainer ISSE SE

 

DOCUMENTS & PUBLICATIONS

  • EDUCÆRE HANDBOOK

    Introduction to the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values programme, known also as Sathya Sai EDUCÆRE.

ISSE SE AIMS

To inspire both adults and children to live moral and ethical lives and become constructive members of society.

         

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