Quakers and Business
Lisa
Smith
Short Description:
Explore Quaker economic philosophy and how Quaker business leaders today and throughout history have significantly impacted social inequality, industries and institutions. Examine complex ways our lives are woven through businesses we encounter daily and how shifts in our perspectives on business might influence our understanding and practice of Quaker Testimonies.
Long Description:
Expectations and objectives
To create and environment where participants can engage with the readings and other materials, reflect on their own experiences and have opportunities to share in a broader discussion about a variety of issues involving Quakers and Business. Each session will relate to the next and we’ll keep track of themes as they arise. Individuals and the group as a whole will have a deeper understanding of historical Quakers in business and be more aware of their decisions around business and engaging in the economy.
Participants will explore the following areas of emphasis:
- * How Quaker economic philosophy has impacted business practices and our lives over time;
- * Explore the role of Quaker business leaders in history to the present day and how they have expressed their faith in their work;
- * Learn how these business owners operated their small enterprises and used their influence in community to improve the lives of others, affect policy change and drive innovation in their industries.
- * Examine how many modern businesses are incorporating these principals;
- * Unpack the question of why there are so few prominent Quaker business leaders today and how this reality might be impacting opportunities for our members and our youth to relate to businesses, become self-employed or engage in the workforce.
- * Examine the opportunity for Quakers to engage in social entrepreneurship, buy local campaigns, microenterprise development and other innovative business development strategies that are working toward a triple bottom line. Strategies that are changing the face of our local economies. Examine these opportunities with a lens that looks beyond seeking a bigger piece of the pie for the poor to actually creating the revenue from businesses to make the pie larger in the first place.
Workshop Format
Each session during the week will have approximately 30 minutes of silence per day. Participants will receive writings in advance and have an opportunity to work through exercises presented by the facilitator and respond to questions in small groups. There will be ample opportunity for writing, small group interaction, sharing and discussion.
Recommendations for Reading
Selected sections from the following and potentially a few more:
The Social Ideas of Religious Leaders, 166o-1688 by Richard B. Schlatter,
Right Relationship Building a Whole Earth Economy by Peter G. Brown, Geoffrey Garver
The Rise and Progress of the People Called Quakers by William Penn
