February 6-12, 2012
Headline News
Priest and CEO reflect on money and ethics at symposium held across Taiwan
Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan
Written by Lydia Ma
As globalization intensifies competition between corporations, holding on to ethical practices while increasing profits will become a tough challenge for every manager. A forum on this topic was held on February 3, 2012 at Tainan Science Park’s Tree Valley Park Auditorium. Co-sponsored by Tainan City, Taiwan Church Press, and South & North Publishing Company, the forum featured Anselm Gruen, Jochen Zeitz, and Chi Lin Technology CEO Richard K.F. Soong.
Gruen is a German Benedictine padre and author of many books which have been translated and published in Taiwan in recent years. Zeitz, on the other hand, was the CEO of renowned sports shoe and sportswear brand Puma before the company was taken over by Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR). He currently serves as the CEO of the PPR’s Sport & Lifestyle Group department. In 2010, Zeitz and Gruen co-wrote and published “Prayer, Profit and Principles – Monk and Manager in dialogue”, which was later translated and published in Taiwan by South and North.
During this forum, Zeitz underscored that ideals such as fairness, honesty, positive thinking, and creativity were the 4 guiding principles that led PUMA from the brink of bankruptcy to success. He said that these principles directed the company’s focus from profits to sustainable development.
Zeitz was appointed Chairman and CEO of PUMA in 1993 and became the youngest CEO in German history to head a public company at the age of 30. He managed to transform the company from near bankruptcy to a top brand in the sporting goods industry. During this forum, he disclosed that PUMA’s woes at the beginning were not only financial because there existed many problems amongst employees as well. Believing that every obstacle is an opportunity, Jochen implemented a long-term development plan and gave PUMA an overhaul.
Zeitz said that Taiwanese entrepreneurs would profit from applying the 4 guiding principles that transformed PUMA when they make decisions because these are important values for any corporation. He underscored that these corporate values are not vague philosophies, because they can be turned into policies that benefit people.
For his part, Gruen underscored that entrepreneurs must prioritize moral values such as justice and self-control. He explained that justice seeks a fair distribution of resources, which in turn enhances peace and helps an entire corporation move forward in unity. Self-control ensures a controlled pace of growth that is both reasonable and natural, because any other kind of growth would be harmful.
Gruen also suggested three Christian values that could be applied universally: Trust, hope, and “rituals”. He explained that a gesture of trust and hope delivered through a ritual can go a long way in helping employees identify with their employers and develop a sense of belonging.
During the forum in Tainan, Soong opined from an employer’s perspective that caring for employees is one of the most basic responsibilities of corporations. “We must not only care for them and strive to understand them, we must also boost their self-image and dignity.”
Using the example of old ladies who make Chimei buns every day to make his point on self-image, he said that it’s obvious these women’s goal is to make good buns. Perhaps due to their educational background, they can’t grasp the meaning of words such as “self-image” or “dignity”. However, if you simply tell them, “When you take your grandkids to a convenience store, you can proudly point to Chimei buns and say you made them,” these women would have a sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, and belonging.
Besides the forum in Tainan, another similar forum was held in Taipei a day prior, where Gruen and Zeitz met with renown corporate leaders and former officials at an educational center of the Catholic Church.
