Roman Catholic and Protestant Perspectives on Business as a Calling: Managerial Leadership in the Corporate Sphere

Shirley Roels and Regina Wentzel Wolfe

Chapter Chapter Nine in Finding Meaning in Business, 2012, pp 131-159 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract In the year 2002 Joseph P. Nacchio, former chairman and CEO of Quest Communications, and L. Dennis Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco International, who each claimed Roman Catholic affiliations, faced media scrutiny of their business ethics.1 Kozlowski, who along with other senior officers of Tyco was charged with violations of federal securities laws by the Securities and Exchange Commission, also created a controversy at Seton Hall University, his Alma Mater, to which he has been a generous benefactor.2 Former CEO of Enron, Kenneth Lay, was forced to resign amid federal investigations for fraud. This seemed incongruous to many in light of his claims about growing up the son of a Baptist preacher: “I was fully exposed to not only legal behavior, but moral and ethical behavior and what that means from the standpoint of leading organizations and people. I was, and am, a strong believer that one of the most satisfying things in life is to create a highly moral and ethical environment in which every individual is allowed and encouraged to realize their God-given potential…”3 Bernard Ebbers, CEO of WorldCom, who blends a Dutch Calvinist background with Southern Baptist commitments, addressed his church congregation about a week after the WorldCom scandal became public: “I don’t know what all is going to happen or what mistakes have been made… No one will find that I have knowingly committed fraud… More than anything else, I hope that my witness for Jesus Christ will not be jeopardized.”4

Keywords: Business Ethic; Grand Rapid; Faith Community; General Accept Accounting Principle; Managerial Leadership (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-29512-5_9

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DOI: 10.1057/9781137295125_9

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