Religion, Spirituality, and Profits

''Religion in the Workplace'' (Cover Story, Nov. 1) confuses spirituality with religion. Religions are formal systems and organized communities of faith and practice, with a strong sense of insiders and outsiders, a claim to true vs. false beliefs, sectarian sacred texts and ritual observances, and a sorry history of frequently murderous intolerance.

Spirituality is a universal quality of connection, purpose, integration, and awareness that transcends religions and exists apart from religions as well. Bringing religion to work and bringing greater spirituality to management and corporate policy are not the same thing. The former is a recipe for divisiveness and attempted ''takeovers'' similar to what the religious right has attempted in the political arena. The latter is a development full of promise for humane values in the workplace and the growth of corporate social responsibility.

Karine Schomer
President
Change Management
Consulting & Training
El Cerrito, Calif.


The phrase, ''by their deeds shall we know them'' comes to mind. Are these self-professed spiritualist chief executive officers and employees any less likely than others to, respectively, lay workers off at the hint of an increased stock price or commute in a gas-guzzling, air-polluting sport-utility vehicle? If not, they haven't got a prayer.

Alan Posner
East Lansing, Mich.


To lump together Internet time decision-making, teamwork-development programs of various types, and evangelical religion in the workplace is both a tremendous stretch and a terrifying prospect. There is a big difference between team-building exercises and religious-based business programs and decision-making, and they are not necessarily both part of a larger religious movement.

Certainly, the withering pace in today's workplace leaves many of us with needs for family and spiritual sustenance that work cannot provide. However, the thought of corporate-sponsored or approved religious programs, prayers, proselytizing, and (yikes!) spiritual ''stealth bombers'' is objectionable.

Of course, we all have choices as to where we want to work and can opt out of organizations whose philosophies we do not approve of. But work is not the place to bring personal issues, since they could and often do offend others. Your article stretched the point but was also disquieting in its implications.

Vic Benson
Phoenix


Spirituality may be sweeping the business world, but aside from those efforts directly aimed at accommodating (or imposing) religious beliefs, it doesn't seem to have affected business practices much. What would Jesus--who said it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven--have thought of a system in which solid, profitable companies lay off thousands of workers because the notion of what constitutes an acceptable return on capital is constantly being ratcheted upward?

What would the Buddha, who was content to live as a wandering beggar, have thought of corporations that mine his wisdom for tips on how to improve productivity? What would pre-Columbian Indians--some of whom followed the custom of potlatch, by which a man was honored according to how much he gave away--have thought of executives with seven- to nine-figure stock options crowding into ersatz ''sweat lodges'' to achieve an insight that never seems to disturb their materialistic values? Save your preaching, boss. Corporate spirituality is bunk; show me the money instead.

Marc Desmond
Brooklyn, N.Y.


To view spirituality as just another management tool is to trivialize this potentially transformative force. What would happen if corporations genuinely supported the universal moral messages the article cited? Employees would likely spend less time at work, as they reclaimed time for their families and communities. Consumer spending would likely decline, as more people turned away from unbridled, unsustainable consumption in favor of more fulfilling pursuits. Cooperation would replace competition as our primary means of relating to others.

In fact, a serious commitment to spirituality in the workplace would almost certainly lead to a reduction in corporate profits. But it would just as certainly lead to a more compassionate, joyful, and sustainable world.

Gary H. Forman
New York

Medical Savings Accounts Are a Vital Alternative

''The nasty side effects of medical savings accounts'' (News: Analysis & Commentary, Oct. 25) overlooks the value of MSAs for millions of Americans who don't have access to employer-sponsored health insurance. It's simply not fair that Wall Street can get favorable tax breaks for its health-care costs while Main Street cannot.

The author makes theoretical arguments that MSAs do nothing for the uninsured. Not true. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service recently reported that MSA participation jumped 28% last year alone, giving more than 14,000 previously uninsured Americans the health-care coverage they need. The House of Representatives recently passed legislation expanding MSAs so even more Americans can have control over their health-care dollars. That means giving consumers the freedom to consult any doctors they choose, to lower deductibles or premiums, and to save any unused funds for future health-care expenses. With MSAs, patients--not insurers--control their choices.

Opponents complain that MSAs prevent the healthy from participating in an ''insurance risk pool,'' thereby threatening higher premiums for others. But why should individuals who don't choose to buy high-cost health-insurance policies be forced to participate in them? For thousands of Americans and their families, MSAs have meant the difference between access to affordable health coverage and no access at all.

Bill Archer
Chairman, House Ways & Means
Committee
Washington

The Drop in Poverty Seems to Have Passed New York By

Reading ''Poverty in America'' (Special Report, Oct. 18) left me with a sense of how starkly New York City contrasts with the rest of the nation. The Community Service Society of New York has a new report based on Census Bureau data. Despite an improving economy, one in four New Yorkers remains in poverty, nearly twice the national average.

While many urban labor markets have tightened, the city's unemployment rate averaged just under 7% for the first half of 1999. Unemployment rates for those residents who have less than a high school education remain in double digits. And real wages for those at the bottom of the income ladder are still falling.

Years of 4% unemployment nationally may be a necessary condition for real progress against poverty, but it is not sufficient when you have a major city such as New York that is left out of the boom. Good macroeconomic policy at the federal level must be supplemented with more direct measures to spur local demand for inner-city workers in high unemployment areas. Prompt congressional approval of a $1 hike in the minimum wage is a good place to begin.

David R. Jones
President, Community Service
Society of New York
New York

Don't Blame Texaco for Delays in a Rain Forest Case

''Legal wrangling won't restore the rain forest'' (Environment, Oct. 11), about ongoing litigation between Texaco and a group of Ecuadorians, urged that the case proceed without delay. We agree. Unfortunately, it is the legal maneuverings of the plaintiffs' lawyers that have resulted in delay.

During its 26 years in Ecuador, Texaco acted responsibly, complied with all applicable Ecuadorian laws, adhered to industry standards, and spent $40 million on an environmental remediation program certified by Ecuador's government. Texaco is committed to a proper resolution of this matter.

Faye J. Cox
Director
External Communications
Texaco Inc.
White Plains, N.Y

Defending Yourself against the Feds Is No Picnic

Anthony Bianco opened up some old wounds with ''Jerry Barton vs. The United States'' (People, Oct. 11). I was there--except I was a two-time loser. I lost a mortgage company to the Resolution Trust Corp.'s operation out of Des Moines and then lost what I had left by bidding on another mortgage company through the Dallas RTC. Talk about being naive and believing in the government.

People wonder why I sympathize with President Clinton vs. the Office of the Independent Counsel. You have to experience going up against these omnipotent agencies to understand it. But Bianco caught the flavor.

Richard Conger
Scottsdale, Ariz.

Europe Trails the U.S. in Digital Wireless

In ''Here come smart phones'' (Marketing, Oct. 25), the authors draw several misleading conclusions. Europe moved to a single digital wireless standard, Global System for Mobile or GSM, because of the need for more capacity. The U.S. was not capacity-constrained at that time. The U.S., along with Korean and Japanese carriers, selected a newer digital technology, Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, pioneered by Qualcomm. CDMA is on its way to being the standard for the next generation of wireless networks. Europe will eventually need to switch to CDMA. It will then become obvious to all that the U.S. has been ahead for quite some time.

Anatole Raif
Engineering Consultant
MicroE Technologies LLC
Carlsbad, Calif

The Key to Tech Stocks: Covering the Spectrum

''We're all tech investors now'' (Finance, Oct. 25), is timely and important. Constant demand for increasing speed and capacity in technology is permanently upon us. While investors can easily find lists of technology stocks, the key to significant long-term gain is to isolate 10 or so such stocks that cover the communication spectrum without duplication, redundancy, or overlapping function.

George S. Cummins
Blackstone, Va.

''Don't leave home without a freebie'' (Finance, Nov. 8, 1999)

''Don't leave home without a freebie'' (Finance, Nov. 8) incorrectly implied that American Express' new digital wallet can now link its customers' online shopping, banking, and brokerage accounts. AmEx is considering offering that capability, but it does not yet do so.