I had recently asked you a question regarding, Tom's of Maine Case. Are you able to refer back to that question and answer another question regarding that same case?

My question here is could you help me respond to this post with your ideas and thoughts. This is a classmates post and I would like to respond to it. 

To what extent is Tom Chappell’s spiritual perspective responsible for the company’s organizational culture and the company’s successes/failures?

Tom’s is in many ways, Chappell’s ministry as suggested by an old friend of his when Tom was seeking inspiration spiritually. With this concept in mind, he set out to educate himself more on philosophical, religious leaders and their readings. After his time at Harvard Divinity, he came back to working at Tom’s full time and was focused on integrating his values, morals, and beliefs into the framework of the Tom’s of Maine culture through the design of missions and beliefs. Chappell knew that it was important for his organization to see this new mission in action, and was committed to providing adequate training. His spiritual perspective in many ways was the link to grow the foundational culture that would lead to how and why decisions in business were made – which were always in alignment with the missions and beliefs set forth by Chappell and team. 

To Chappell, mirroring an “I-thou” relationship in business is imperative to the success of Tom’s based on the values and beliefs adopted and practiced. Leaders were encouraged to make people and other entities the focus for its decision making and rejected the American concepts of managing for maximum financial gain. As a result of Tom’s Value-Centered Leadership, Chappell quotes, “I have been running our company according to a mission of respecting customers, employees, community, and the environment, and we are creating more products and making more money than I ever dreamed.” (p. 216) 

An example of matching values and actions is when Chappell formulated plans for the new wellness line they were going to launch. It was determined that Tom’s could save $250,000 if they located the entire production/packaging operation of the wellness line to Vermont opposed to the original plan of extracting herbs in VT and shipping them back to Maine for packaging. Chappell in this case stuck to a decision that would adhere to the company’s commitment to the Kennebunk community in Maine and would split the work between the two locals. This is a perfect example of mission in action and ties back into leading with a value-centered mindset. 

Having values and then conducting yourself in ways that don’t reflect those values merely shows that such person is an individual who only claims to have values. Tom’s Seven Intentions of Values-Centered Leadership is more or less a process in which leaders turn in to themselves to learn more about connection, self, destiny, exploration, assessment, and sharing. This approach grounds the individual to their center core of who they are and encourages that individual to act and behave from that center so they are always truthful, always pure in intent, always creative.

What risks might an organizational encounter when encouraging the expression of spiritual values in the workplace? What are its advantages?

There are many risks associated with encouraging expression of spiritual values. Without leadership direction or motivation in how to channel those expressions, employees might perceive that it’s fair game to impose their views and beliefs on others causing tension, frustration, tarnished relationships, damaged organizational perception of the business due to such loose freedom of spiritual expression and more.

However, Chappell instead trained leaders how to ‘create a complex, multivocal conversation among managers and employees about what values the company should uphold’ rather than impose beliefs. This approach empowered employees through a spiritual framework bringing more value, meaning, and respect of others in the workplace. Chappell’s goal was to create a workplace of respectful pluralism. Respectful pluralism reflects an organization, as explained on page 219, that is not ‘aligned with any explicitly religious, spiritual, or other comprehensive worldview’ and where ‘organizations should allow for significant employee expression of various aspects of their identity on an equal basis.’ He states that pluralism reflects a positive quality of relationships among diverse people.  

Do you need me to attach the files again with the case study? Thanks!