ABSTRACT
Organizational theory is based on a culture’s answers to questions about the self. (Zohar, 1997, p. 96)
INTRODUCTION Interest in religion and spirituality has seen a marked increase since the mid-to late 1990s (Briskin, 1996; Daloz, Keen, Keen, & Parks, 1996; Jablonski, 2001; Kessler, 2000; Peppers & Briskin, 2000). Higher education scholars and practitioners have pursued this interest through a variety of means but the majority of attention has gone to students and their development as spiritual beings (Astin, 2004; Astin, Astin, & Lindholm, 2010; Chickering, Dalton, & Stamm, 2005). A complementary interest in spirituality exists in the context of organizational theory, although the collection of scholarship is a modest one at the present time. Th is stream of scholarship is essential to understanding modern organizations because
the spirituality in the workplace movement is the manifestation of a deep yearning for meaning and purpose in the work lives of individuals. People want to know that their work matters, that their eff orts are in the service of something worthwhile, that their legacy is one of contributing to the betterment of humankind. (Rogers & Dantley, 2001, p. 601)
An exploration of organizations from a spiritual perspective is helpful because people within and outside of higher education institutions question the U.S. emphasis on materialism, deterioration of community, and search for something larger than the self. Th is chapter explores the spiritual perspective in organizations and organizational theory, including implications for the work lives of faculty, administrators, and staff . Focusing on the work of Danah Zohar and Alan Briskin, this chapter explores the implications of spirituality, interrelationships, leadership, power, and vision in the context of higher education institutions.
