Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 12:12am
Recognizing and dealing with corruption in organizational life
Column: PERFECTBALANCELIFE
It is the depravity of institutions and movements that given in the beginning to express life, they often end in throttling that very life. Therefore, they need constant review, perpetual criticism and continuous bringing back to the original purposes and spirit. The Christian church is no exception. It is the chief illustration of the above.
— Stanley Jones, Christian missionary to India for 50 years
You are in very serious trouble if institutional corruption permeates the organization you work with. This is especially true if you are committed to the success of a faith-based organization. You will quickly erode any foundations you have laid in your spiritual life if you allow yourself to operate in such an environment for too long. Here is what I mean by organizational corruption: when the institutional need to survive and grow takes precedent over the spiritual growth and development needs of those actively helping the organization. If you are in this situation right now, I urge you to quickly reassess your priorities. It is a matter of life and death — both spiritually and physically.
All organizations must survive and grow. In order for any organization to keep going, it is necessary that people working within can accomplish certain things. Leaders and managers in the organization need to make sure that people get things done. They need to make sure that specific things keep getting done consistently. People within the organization can be seen as valuable, more or less, as they accomplish things that contribute to the goals of the organization. Reaching goals, solving problems, developing skills, taking responsibility, being a team player, increasing membership or customer base, financial stability, etc., are identified as top priority in any organization that wants to survive and grow. Depending on what type of organization you work for, you can be seen as highly valued, more or less, depending on the kind of results and accomplishments you bring for the organization.
Problems usually crop up when institutional needs related to survival and growth take precedent over the spiritual growth and development needs of the people, especially in the case of faith-based organizations. When faith-based organizations fail to give top priority to the internal growth and development needs of people, individuals can begin to sputter, jerk, and eventually come to a dead stop. It's like when you fill up your gas tank and forget to watch the needle as you get down towards empty. Eventually, when the gas tank gets down to nearly nothing, the car engine will start to sputter and jerk sporadically. This is due to the carburetor not being fed enough gasoline by the fuel injectors. Similarly, when people's internal, spiritual engine is not being adequately filled up, certain symptoms will begin to appear.
On an internal level, complaint, apathy, unhappiness, depression, pain and ambivalence are just a few of the symptoms to be manifested. Physically, the consequences of violating or ignoring the importance of nurturing spirituality within organizational life can be manifested through all kinds of illnesses and diseases like: digestive problems, heart problems, headaches, high blood pressure, aches and pains and lethargy.
Faith-based institutional activities related to survival and growth needs must be continually rebalanced by making the spiritual maturity and growth development needs of people also a top priority. The ideal position for the interaction between institutional priorities and the individual growth and development needs of people is a position of equal balance and interchange between the two needs. In this way a healthy environment can be cultivated and maintained within the organization and among the people working within.
I think that healthy organizations continually work to create and maintain this equal balance. People working within such an organization regularly assess and review institutional goals and make sure that such goals do not take precedent over their own spiritual growth and development needs. If such review and assessment are not taking place within your organization, it is very likely that institutional corruption is definitely present.
Make sure that you are able to accurately read the culture in which you place yourself every day. If you see that your growth and development needs are being given a low priority, then you need to take action, and quickly. I encourage you to do so. Your mental and physical health is at stake. Carefully scrutinize whether or not your cherished ideals and values are able to be played out and reinforced with those with whom you are working. If not, you need to be prepared to consider some possibly difficult and challenging decisions. Going through this process successfully, you can be assured of vibrant physical health, dynamic mental activity, and fulfilling emotional development. Make sure your original spirit and purpose for being involved are not undermined because of institutional corruption.
— — —
Jack LaValley is a practitioner of the martial arts, physical cultivation exercises, and sitting meditation. Although currently working in the hospitality industry, he spends much of his free time helping and working together with those who are pursuing the spiritual path. Jack and his wife, Wha-ja Oh-LaValley, a native of South Korea, reside in Westchester County, New York, and are the proud parents of three beautiful children. Jack is completing his book manuscript, "A Perfectly Balanced Life: Living Each Day with Wisdom and Strength," and expects publication to be in October 2008. You can reach Jack at: perfectbalance1@optimum.net © Copyright 2008 by Jack LaValley.
— Stanley Jones, Christian missionary to India for 50 years
You are in very serious trouble if institutional corruption permeates the organization you work with. This is especially true if you are committed to the success of a faith-based organization. You will quickly erode any foundations you have laid in your spiritual life if you allow yourself to operate in such an environment for too long. Here is what I mean by organizational corruption: when the institutional need to survive and grow takes precedent over the spiritual growth and development needs of those actively helping the organization. If you are in this situation right now, I urge you to quickly reassess your priorities. It is a matter of life and death — both spiritually and physically.
All organizations must survive and grow. In order for any organization to keep going, it is necessary that people working within can accomplish certain things. Leaders and managers in the organization need to make sure that people get things done. They need to make sure that specific things keep getting done consistently. People within the organization can be seen as valuable, more or less, as they accomplish things that contribute to the goals of the organization. Reaching goals, solving problems, developing skills, taking responsibility, being a team player, increasing membership or customer base, financial stability, etc., are identified as top priority in any organization that wants to survive and grow. Depending on what type of organization you work for, you can be seen as highly valued, more or less, depending on the kind of results and accomplishments you bring for the organization.
Problems usually crop up when institutional needs related to survival and growth take precedent over the spiritual growth and development needs of the people, especially in the case of faith-based organizations. When faith-based organizations fail to give top priority to the internal growth and development needs of people, individuals can begin to sputter, jerk, and eventually come to a dead stop. It's like when you fill up your gas tank and forget to watch the needle as you get down towards empty. Eventually, when the gas tank gets down to nearly nothing, the car engine will start to sputter and jerk sporadically. This is due to the carburetor not being fed enough gasoline by the fuel injectors. Similarly, when people's internal, spiritual engine is not being adequately filled up, certain symptoms will begin to appear.
On an internal level, complaint, apathy, unhappiness, depression, pain and ambivalence are just a few of the symptoms to be manifested. Physically, the consequences of violating or ignoring the importance of nurturing spirituality within organizational life can be manifested through all kinds of illnesses and diseases like: digestive problems, heart problems, headaches, high blood pressure, aches and pains and lethargy.
Faith-based institutional activities related to survival and growth needs must be continually rebalanced by making the spiritual maturity and growth development needs of people also a top priority. The ideal position for the interaction between institutional priorities and the individual growth and development needs of people is a position of equal balance and interchange between the two needs. In this way a healthy environment can be cultivated and maintained within the organization and among the people working within.
I think that healthy organizations continually work to create and maintain this equal balance. People working within such an organization regularly assess and review institutional goals and make sure that such goals do not take precedent over their own spiritual growth and development needs. If such review and assessment are not taking place within your organization, it is very likely that institutional corruption is definitely present.
Make sure that you are able to accurately read the culture in which you place yourself every day. If you see that your growth and development needs are being given a low priority, then you need to take action, and quickly. I encourage you to do so. Your mental and physical health is at stake. Carefully scrutinize whether or not your cherished ideals and values are able to be played out and reinforced with those with whom you are working. If not, you need to be prepared to consider some possibly difficult and challenging decisions. Going through this process successfully, you can be assured of vibrant physical health, dynamic mental activity, and fulfilling emotional development. Make sure your original spirit and purpose for being involved are not undermined because of institutional corruption.
— — —
Jack LaValley is a practitioner of the martial arts, physical cultivation exercises, and sitting meditation. Although currently working in the hospitality industry, he spends much of his free time helping and working together with those who are pursuing the spiritual path. Jack and his wife, Wha-ja Oh-LaValley, a native of South Korea, reside in Westchester County, New York, and are the proud parents of three beautiful children. Jack is completing his book manuscript, "A Perfectly Balanced Life: Living Each Day with Wisdom and Strength," and expects publication to be in October 2008. You can reach Jack at: perfectbalance1@optimum.net © Copyright 2008 by Jack LaValley.