A Spring Conference at Ridley Hall, Cambridge
www.faith-in-business.org
DILEMMAS IN BUSINESS
12th-14th April 2013
Dilemmas in Business Do you ever lie awake at night worrying about a decision? Perhaps whether to make someone redundant or close a plant. Maybe you feel under pressure to reduce costs or win a contract by taking moral short cuts. And what if you’re told by your boss to do something that makes you profoundly uncomfortable?
Dilemmas can be positive as well as negative. They are an opportunity to think creatively and expand horizons. Should I focus on expanding my business, merge with another, leave it small and manageable, wind it down or sell it off...? All may be good things to do. Business abounds with dilemmas, individual and organisational. We need help in tackling them. There is practical wisdom to be found, but not easily. It needs a special sort of event to unlock this wisdom and make it widely available.
Christian faith is a precious resource in addressing dilemmas. The Bible contains many stories of people faced by difficult decisions, receiving guidance, discovering courage or needing forgiveness. The Christian tradition is replete with moral insight, if not necessarily definitive answers. The contemporary church includes experienced businesspeople at all stages of life. What better place to discuss Dilemmas in Business, then, than one which brings these different elements together – Ridley Hall, a theological college dedicated to resourcing lay people as well as those training for ordained ministry. For over 20 years Faith in Business has engaged in dialogue with business practitioners in resolving dilemmas or helping people live with them. An important part of this is finding, making and sustaining friends who understand your dilemmas. As well as a varied and stimulating palette of speakers’ input, don’t underestimate the value of time spent talking over a meal or a drink. Attending this conference could enhance your work and change your life….
For programme information and secure online booking visit: www.faith-in-business.org/programme.html
Dilemmas in Business
Speakers and Topics
Our Dilemmas: A Facilitated Workshop
Penny Pullan Dilemmas come in all shapes and sizes. This is the opportunity for delegates to share their own experiences of dilemmas they have faced and are facing in the workplace – and to tap into wisdom about how to resolve them. The Director of Making Projects Work will facilitate this session to set the scene and help us get to know each other at the start of the conference.
No Armchair Theorist
Richard Higginson Ethical theories tend to divide into three types based on rules, consequences and virtues. Which is the most ‘Christian’, and are any much practical use for a hard-pressed businessperson? The Director of Faith in Business, whose first book was entitled Dilemmas, takes theory out of the classroom and explores its relevance for the company boardroom and the factory floor.
Leadership in a Resource Constrained World
Mark Spelman The twin drives for economic growth and environmental sustainability pose corporate leaders with a dilemma. Are new leadership principles required for a world with more people and which is more urban, technology-enabled and resource-constrained than ever before? The Head of Global Strategy at Accenture shows how leaders can balance creativity and innovation with demands for stewardship and resource efficiency.
Dilemmas Down the Line
Emma Langman It’s not only chief executives of large multi-national companies that face dilemmas. Staff in subordinate positions face agonies of conscience about whether to obey morally dubious instructions. Leaders of small companies have their own distinctive challenges, ranging from cash-flow problems to personality clashes. The Managing Director of Progression Partnership addresses dilemmas faced both by those who are in and under authority.
Dilemmas in Financial Services
James Featherby Since the global crisis of 2007-9, the financial sector has come under a fierce ethical spotlight. Bankers have been vilified and a whole sector of their activity written off as ‘casino’ banking. Some criticisms are justified; others fail to appreciate the complexity of the issues involved. The Chairman of the Church of England’s Ethical Investment Group, former partner with Slaughter & May and author of the book Of Markets and Men guides a way through the moral maze in financial services.
Dilemmas in Social Enterprise
Tom Sanderson Micro-finance is one of several alternative business models which promise hope for the developing world. Yet can they actually deliver people out of poverty? Hasn’t their reputation been sullied in recent years? The Director of the Anglican micro-finance organisation Five Talents addresses these questions along with such issues as the ethics of charging interest to the poor, the balance of social and financial goals, and the exercise of prudence and risk in making loans.
Dilemmas and our Relationship with God
Adrian Chatfield How does God help us when confronted by difficult decisions? What difference does prayer make? What if we’re paralysed into indecision? What if we’re beset by regret or guilt after implementing our decision? The Director of Ridley’s Simeon Centre for Prayer and the Spiritual Life explores these intensely personal issues in the course of our final service of worship.
Dilemmas in Business
Registration
To book using our secure online system, go to www.faith-in-business.org/programme.html The cost of attending the conference residentially is £265, with a reduced “early bird” price of £240 for delegates who book by 15 February 2013. Non-residential rates are £195 and £170 respectively. All meals are included in both residential and non-residential prices. Name
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1. Please tick appropriate accommodation requirements:
q Residential (£265 or “early bird” £240) q I should like an en-suite room at an extra cost of £40 (subject to availability) q Non-residential (£195 or “early bird” £170) 2. You may pay either a deposit or the full balance now. Please tick one option:
q I enclose a non-returnable £50 deposit q I enclose the full balance (as above), including non-returnable deposit of £50 Please make your cheque payable to ‘Ridley Hall – Faith in Business’. Final date for receipt of bookings is 15 March 2013.
Signed: ______________________________________ Date _______________________
Please detach or photocopy form and return to: Janine Stewart, Faith in Business Administrator, Ridley Hall, Cambridge, CB3 9HG Tel: +44 (0)1223 741071 Fax: +44 (0)1223 746581 Email: jmps2@cam.ac.uk Registered Charity No 311456