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...ccesses and failures in order that they can become more effective in future situations. They pay close attention to their most basic assumptions, especially those that govern their “theories-in-use” (=-=Argyris & Schon, 1978-=-) and acquire skills that enable them to be more closely aligned to their espoused theory, how ideally they would like to or should behave. From an empowerment perspective, learning is very much an ex...

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...iousness” (Brown, 1992, p. 87). Given the number of primarily baby boomers who have adopted New Age approaches to spirituality and the increasing importance of work, especially among this generation (=-=Hochschild, 1997-=-), it is not surprising that the workplace has become an important venue in which to express one’s spirituality within a framework of empowerment and personal growth. Many workers spend more time and ...

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...e protected from the use of empowerment as an excuse for layoffs” (p. 684). On a more skeptical note, however, empowerment programs could also be part of a neo-Fordist system of covert control (e.g., =-=Barker, 1993-=-; Prechel, 1994), in which workers work harder under the misguided belief that they are doing it for themselves—for their own personal growth or for the betterment of society. Just as some have doubte...

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...ontributions together create a rich, symphonic sound, the empowered organization is synergistic, characterized by worker commitment, confidence, and collaboration forging a unique, synchronous whole (=-=Wheatley, 1992-=-). The concept of the synergistic organization mirrors Kanter’s (1972) description of a typical utopian vision where workers’ “deepest yearnings, noblest dreams, and highest aspirations come to fulfil...

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.... From an empowerment perspective, learning is very much an exercise in soul searching, at striving to identify one’s faults and improve both individually and collectively as a learning organization (=-=Senge, 1990-=-). This approach to learning to achieve collective purposes is not unlike how members of the utopian Oneida community in the mid-1800s would try to purge themselves of sinful attitudes through the pra...

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...oworkers and customers in order to build deeper and more fruitful relationships (Marcic, 1997), serving the “developmental needs of individuals, communities and the biosphere” (Rosenfeld, 1998, p. 1; =-=Greenleaf, 1977-=-), and deriving meaning from seemingly random but synchronous Elmes, Smith / MOVED BY THE SPIRIT 35sat PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on September 12, 2016jab.sagepub.comDownloaded fromsevents in everyday en...

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...s, when U.S. companies first started to adopt participative management approaches from Japan, the interest in and willingness to experiment with workplace empowerment programs has grown considerably (=-=Appelbaum & Batt, 1994-=-). During the 1990s, programs in workplace empowerment in the “new” organization (Ancona, Kochan, Scully, Van Maanen, & Westney, 1999) have ranged from total quality management (TQM) and autonomous wo...

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...p. 14) Elmes, Smith / MOVED BY THE SPIRIT 43sat PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on September 12, 2016jab.sagepub.comDownloaded fromsIndeed, the popularity of the discourse of the “boundaryless organization” (=-=Ashkenas, Ulrich, Jick, & Kerr, 1995-=-) first discussed in reference to General Electric’s “workout” sessions in the early 1990s was based on a similar theme: effectiveness and profitability increase when organizations design structures a...

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...iving meaning from seemingly random but synchronous Elmes, Smith / MOVED BY THE SPIRIT 35sat PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on September 12, 2016jab.sagepub.comDownloaded fromsevents in everyday encounters (=-=Jaworski, 1996-=-), workers can discover new energy and a deeper sense of purpose in their work. With increased self-discipline, motivation, commitment to the job, and concern for the customer, organizations can presu...

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...orkers in the absence of bureaucratic directives and narrow job descriptions; it enables workers “to act autonomously in their work rather than wait for permission and direction from top management” (=-=Quinn & Spreitzer, 1997-=-, p. 45). In short, vision in the discourse of empowerment offers a sense of purpose and direction by aligning worker goals and objectives, rooted in individualized expressions of meaning and purpose,...

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...ritual person in the modern, empowered workplace could as likely be a born-again Christian or Zen Buddhist as a follower of Covey’s seven habits or a practitioner of the “power of positive thinking” (=-=Peale, 1996-=-). There are several specific ways in which the discourse of empowerment is linked closely to spiritual ideals. First, individual and collective visions are essential to becoming empowered. According ...

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...n “contradistinction to the larger society, which is seen as chaotic, uncoordinated and allowing accidentally, random, or purposeless events to give rise to conflict, waste, or needless duplication” (=-=Kanter, 1972-=-, p. 39). In theory, a utopian community offers an order that is more closely aligned with community ideals, be they selflessness or cosmic consciousness, and that enables members and institutions as ...

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...positive self-talk to stay upbeat, to turn obstacles into opportunities, and to use imagery to rehearse desired outcomes—he or she can even become a “Superleader,” teaching others to lead themselves (=-=Sims & Lorenzi, 1992-=-). Likewise, through the manipulation of cultural artifacts such as slogans and reward systems, organizations can reinforce worker self-management and help to align worker mind-sets to institutional g...

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... only more workers would follow his example, workers and institutions alike would profit. Similar intimations have been made in several recent books on Jesus, leadership, and the business enterprise (=-=Jones, 1996-=-; Mantz, 1998). They suggest that the empowered worker, the inspired and righteous worker, can bring energy, vitality, high moral purpose, and persuasive skill to the enterprise. Although in Puritanis...

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...given the proper institutional environment, a factory town need not be a byword for vice and poverty, but might stand as a model of enlightened republican community in a restless and dynamic nation” (=-=Kasson, 1976-=-, p. 65). The founder of the mill, Francis Cabot Lowell, believed that, unlike his European counterparts, factories need not be degrading to workers but could actually be used to build character and a...

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...rganizational forms based on consensual rather than rational-legal forms of legitimation has coincided with market forces that have placed increasing emphasis on quality, customer service, and speed (=-=Heckscher, 1994-=-). In this scenario, companies have simply had to empower workers, give them meaningful work assignments in teams, and provide them with timely and useful information in order to be competitive in the...

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...tant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber (1958) made a strong case for the role of Puritanism in fostering self-discipline and “the impulse to accumulation with a positively frugal life-style” (=-=Giddens, 1958-=-, p. 4). Puritanism also embraced the notion of predestination, that is, that God chose only some individuals to be saved from damnation. One’s economic success and personal prosperity was a sign that...

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... enables workers to feel whole and complete and their organizations to prosper. By finding and expressing love toward coworkers and customers in order to build deeper and more fruitful relationships (=-=Marcic, 1997-=-), serving the “developmental needs of individuals, communities and the biosphere” (Rosenfeld, 1998, p. 1; Greenleaf, 1977), and deriving meaning from seemingly random but synchronous Elmes, Smith / M...

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...tions has remained a powerful one, particularly in a New Age context. During the 1960s and 1970s, as the Vietnam War intensified, as the legitimacy of authority in organizations and society declined (=-=Heller, 1985-=-), and as skepticism about the role of big business in society grew, the disciplinary influence of Christian and utopian ideals began to wane in the workplace. The emergence of empowerment programs in...

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...timately benefit the enterprise. Elmes, Smith / MOVED BY THE SPIRIT 41sat PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on September 12, 2016jab.sagepub.comDownloaded fromsMore recently, at “quasi-religious corporations” (=-=Bromley, 1998-=-) such as Amway, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Herbalife, and Shaklee, an evangelical Christian religious ideology has been employed to form workers into a “tightly knit social network” that is “legitimated sym...

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...y is consistent with the emphasis in New Age thinking on the “all-pervasive nature of consciousness as a primary force in the universe and the ability of human beings to tap into this consciousness” (=-=Brown, 1992-=-, p. 87). Given the number of primarily baby boomers who have adopted New Age approaches to spirituality and the increasing importance of work, especially among this generation (Hochschild, 1997), it ...

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...om the use of empowerment as an excuse for layoffs” (p. 684). On a more skeptical note, however, empowerment programs could also be part of a neo-Fordist system of covert control (e.g., Barker, 1993; =-=Prechel, 1994-=-), in which workers work harder under the misguided belief that they are doing it for themselves—for their own personal growth or for the betterment of society. Just as some have doubted the altruisti...

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...the homeless, and giving to community causes in lieu of advertising, Elmes, Smith / MOVED BY THE SPIRIT 45sat PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on September 12, 2016jab.sagepub.comDownloaded fromsamong others (=-=Cohen & Greenfield, 1997-=-). These companies and others like them have consciously decided to do good in part because, like the Lowell mill experiment, they believe it is the right thing to do and they can make money in the en...

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...a personalized, customized form of faith views which meet personal needs, minimize rules and absolutes, and bear little resemblance to the “pure” form of any of the world’s major religions. (cited in =-=Creedon, 1998-=-, p. 3) Barna notes further that this so-called pastiche spirituality can be characterized by “faith as a private matter, religious principles from a variety of sources, no centralized religious autho...

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...cking in specific ways and would put themselves before a special committee to be chastised for faults ranging from “insincerity, egotism, obstinacy . . . [to] failing to open their hearts up to God” (=-=Klaw, 1993-=-, pp. 113-114). In the modern empowered organization, however, workers are in service not to God but to the economic interests of the firm, manifested in industrial ideals like workplace stability, em...

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...n and improve so that they can avoid becoming complacent or self-satisfied, qualities that are anathema to the “indefinite perfectibility of men and women” that is rooted deeply in American idealism (=-=Kraushaar, 1980-=-a, p. 17). By emphasizing the importance of vision, service to others, synergism, and continuous learning, the discourse of workplace empowerment reflects much more than just the flattening of organiz...

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...rkers would follow his example, workers and institutions alike would profit. Similar intimations have been made in several recent books on Jesus, leadership, and the business enterprise (Jones, 1996; =-=Mantz, 1998-=-). They suggest that the empowered worker, the inspired and righteous worker, can bring energy, vitality, high moral purpose, and persuasive skill to the enterprise. Although in Puritanism only a few ...

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...xpressing love toward coworkers and customers in order to build deeper and more fruitful relationships (Marcic, 1997), serving the “developmental needs of individuals, communities and the biosphere” (=-=Rosenfeld, 1998-=-, p. 1; Greenleaf, 1977), and deriving meaning from seemingly random but synchronous Elmes, Smith / MOVED BY THE SPIRIT 35sat PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on September 12, 2016jab.sagepub.comDownloaded fro...