Ouimet, J.-Robert (2000)

Reconciling human happiness and corporate profitability: Feasible mission! (2nd ed.), Montreal, Ouimet Cordond Bleu Publications

Dr. J.-Robert Ouimet, Ph.D., C.M., C.Q.,
L.Sc.Com., MBA, L.Sc.Pol.

RECONCILIATION OF HUMAN HAPPINESS

AND

BUSINESS PROFITABILITY:

IT CAN BE DONE!

Second Revised Edition

Preface by Ghislain Dufour

Dr. J.-Robert Ouimet, Ph.D., C.M., C.Q.,
L.Sc.Com., MBA, L.Sc.Pol.

Reconciliation of Human Happiness
and
Business Profitability:

IT CAN BE DONE!

with the help of sixteen new management tools

Second Revised Edition

Preface by Ghislain Dufour
Chairman of the Board of the Quebec Business Council
(Conseil du Patronat du Québec)

Translated from French by
Steven R. Bigham

Résumé of the doctoral thesis of

J.-Robert Ouimet

entitled

NEW MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR THE WORK PLACE:
A CONTRIBUTION TO HUMAN HAPPINESS
AND TO BUSINESS PROFITABILITY

Practicing the Values of Humanization and Spiritualization
in a Market Economy

A 30-page résumé of the thesis (599 pages),
annexes (144 pages), research and quantitative data (804 pages)
total: 1546 pages.

All documents are available at the Library of the Faculty of Economics and Social Science of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland)
and at the Library of the École des Hautes Études Commerciales
University of Montreal
as well as at the Library of Graduate School of Business and Administration,
Columbia University, New York (pending deposit,
but without the research and quantitative data).

II

Editor: Ouimet-Cordon Bleu Inc.
Legal Deposit of the doctoral thesis, its annexes, and the 30-page thesis résumé
Legal Deposit--Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, 1998
Legal Deposit--The National Library of Canada, 1998
ISBN # 2-9806112-5-5

Dr. J.-Robert Ouimet, 1998, all rights reserved ã Printed in Canada
Dr. J.-Robert Ouimet, 1999, all rights reserved ã Printed in Canada
1st French and English editions, August 1998
2nd revised French edition, Easter 1999
2nd revised English edition, Pentecost, May 1999.

III
TABLE OF CONTENTS

page
-Acknowledgments V

-2nd Revised Edition. Birth of FIMES: International Forum on Management,
Ethics, and Spirituality VI

-Preface: Ghislain Dufour, Chairman of the Board of the Quebec Business
Council (Conseil du Patronat du Québec) VII

-Words of Appreciation:
André Bisson, Chancellor of the University of Montreal
Claude Masson, Vice-President and Associate Editor of La Presse
Serge Saucier, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the HEC
(Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Montreal) VIII

-Introduction 1

-What is Our Project? 2

-The Responsibilities Identified in Our Project
A. Responsibilities toward people working
in the company and toward their families 3
B. Responsibilities toward consumers of the company's
products, toward its suppliers and customers 4
C. Responsibilities of management personnel and supervisors 4
D. Responsibilities of the members of the Board of Directors
and stockholders 5
E. Responsibilities toward society, the nation, and the Creation 5
F. Ultimate responsibilities toward, and WITH, the Creator--
the Supreme Being or God-Love 6

-Two Illustrations of the Movement of Values Contained in the Six Chapters
of Our Project and Fostered in the Work Place by Sixteen Innovative
Management Tools
A. Our Project: Illustration of the Six Circles of Responsibilities 7
B. Our Project: Illustration of the Two Columns and the Keystone 8

-The Main Values--Human and Christian--Deriving from Each of the Six Sections
of Our Project 9

IV

-The Sixteen Innovative Management Tools--Divided into Three Different Kinds--That
Make the Implementation of Our Project possible
A. Activities of the first kind having the greatest influence on the
growth of psychic and physical well-being, especially with a
content of humanization and social awareness 10
B. Activities of the second kind having the greatest influence on the
growth of psychic and physical well-being, with a mixed content
of humanization and spiritualization 12
C. Activities of the third kind that can have the greatest influence on
the growth of psychic and physical well-being, especially with a
spiritualization content 13
-The Most Original Contribution of the Thesis: All Sixteen Innovative
Management Tools--Divided into Three Different Kinds--Discovered
and Tested in the Company, Deriving from Our Project 15
-Table of Value Contributions Made by the Sixteen Management Tools. The
Research, the Studies, and the Reflections Reveal the Values--
Received and Anticipated--Fostered by the Tools Along With the
Countervalues They Provoke 16
-A Recap of the Main Values Identified and Fostered by Our Project 19
-Research Studies on Making Our Project a Reality and Their Results
A. Seven Research Studies on the Organizational Climate
and Well-being Measure Twelve Values 21
B. Twelve Research Studies on the Management Tools Add
Eight Fundamental Values 22
-The Universal Application of Our Project Is Possible If Three
Conditions Are Met 23
-Conclusion
1. The thesis...in brief 24
2. The author's general comments 25
3. The perspectives opened up by Our Project
A. The possible universal application of Our Project 27
B. The first, long-term experiment ever carried out
with new management tools fostering human
happiness and competitive profitability in a company 27
C. Résumé 30
-Some Quotations that Support the Human and Christian
Character of Our Project 32
-Notes on the Author and His Companies 34

V

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My reflection on human happiness in the work place, in a market economy, began while I was studying at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal (The Montreal School of Advanced Business Studies) where I was working on a bachelor's degree in commerce, the economic section. There I was greatly influenced by Professors Charbonneau, Angers, Deschamps, and Parizeau Jr. and Sr. Starting in 1958, during my studies at the University of Fribourg, in Switzerland, my reflection deepened, thanks to the profound influence my professors had on me: especially Professor Bongras, but also Professors Valarché, Darbellay, Schwarzfischer, and Büchi, among others. I was thus able to obtain a bachelor's degree in political science with the distinction of magna cum laude. My reflection continued to broaden during my studies at Columbia University where I received an MBA in 1960. The professors I met there (Newman, Summer, and Oxenfelt, among others) were powerful shapers of men's minds.

In 1988, I had the privilege of beginning my doctoral studies with Professor Maurice Villet at the University of Fribourg, in Switzerland. This very long period of reflection and sharing with Professor Villet, along with many thesis revisions, allowed me--through his rigorous guidance--to develop the outline of reflection and experimentation that would become my thesis, and, in fact, I actually began to write it. In 1994, Professor Villet thought it good to invite Professor Roger Berthouzoz to contribute his wisdom to the reflective process. It was then that a theological, philosophical, and ethical deepening of thought took place. As a result, I more deeply reflected on this complex experiment in the movement of values, values that were fostered by new management tools put into practice in three companies functioning in a market economy, and within the ever-present dichotomy between two powerful, cultural currents that are invariably present. It is quite obvious that I, the thesis writer, would have become a "drop out" many time since 1988 if it had not been for the human, professional, moral, and especially spiritual guidance of Professors Villet and Berthouzoz.

Due to the amount and depth of the reflection required and the complexity of the tables needed to communicate clearly the results of the research inquiries, this work would not have been possible without the courageous and irreplaceable efforts of Mesdames Lise Leblanc, Yvette Abitbol, and Raymonde Robert who have worked seven days a week, especially during the last two years. Thanks are also due to Steven R. Bigham for the English translation and to Nathalie Morin for the Spanish translation.

The thesis and its conclusions will perhaps permit this reflection and experimentation to contribute, during the 21st century, to the increase in the well-being of the many people working in all sorts of companies and organizations throughout the world. And if the conclusions of the thesis, being applied and adapted to various kinds of companies and organizations, contribute to the growth of lasting happiness among people in the work place as well as to the profitability of companies in the market economy, then my joy will indeed be great. For one of the two primary desires of the Creator, who is perceived by each person in a different way, is no doubt that human beings in the work place or elsewhere think of each other as having value, encourage each other, forgive each other, and love each other--more tomorrow than yesterday--and at the same time grow, develop, and enrich themselves while earning a living, thus increasing their own security and that of their families.

Dr. J.-Robert Ouimet, Ph.D., C.M., C.Q.

VI

2nd REVISED EDITION
and
THE BIRTH OF FIMES
The International Forum on Management, Ethics, and Spirituality

The first French and English editions of the thesis résumé are already out of print. One of the logical results of the scientific discoveries contained in the thesis as well as of the first edition of its résumé was the organizing and conducting of the first International Forum on Management, Ethics, and Spirituality called FIMES. This forum took place in September 1998 at Montreal's École des Hautes Études Commerciales and was a great success from the scientific, human, moral, and spiritual points of view. The texts, conferences, and certain videos are now available. After the first Forum, the 2nd revised edition of the thesis résumé was necessary.

The second FIMES forum has already been organized thanks to the close collaboration of many of the following people:

- The Myriam and J.-Robert Ouimet Foundation;
- Montreal's École des Hautes Études Commerciales and its director Jean-Marie Toulouse and Prof. Thierry Pauchant, coordinator of the FIMES forums in Montreal1;
- The Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of Fribourg University and Profs. Maurice Villet and Jacques Pasquier-Dorthe;
- The Faculty of Theology of Fribourg University and Prof. Roger Berthouzoz;
- Lausanne's École des Hautes Études Commerciales and its dean, Mr. Olivier Blanc, and Prof. Alexander Bergmann, coordinator of the FIMES forums in Lausanne, Switzerland;
- The Faculty of Theology of Lausanne University and Prof. Denis Muller;
- The School of Business Administration of the University of Southern California, USA, and Prof. Ian I. Mitroff.

The next FIMES forum will take place in October 1999 at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Lausanne, Switzerland.

In October 2000, the 3rd FIMES forum will be held at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Montreal; in 2001, at a business school in Belgium or France; in 2002, in Montreal; and in 2003, at a business school in New York.

It now seems quite possible, and useful, that the first goal of FIMES is to spread the use of the new management tools described in the thesis, since they offer to those who use them in the work place a whole series of humanization and spiritualization values that contribute to the growth of people's well-being at work and also to the efficiency and profitability of businesses and organizations, whether they operate in a market economy or not.

VII

PREFACE

After forty years of reflection, after more than twenty years of research, experimentation, and the discovery of new management tools in his companies, after more than nine years of research and writing, after more than forty trips to the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, Mr. J.-Robert Ouimet, well-known Montreal businessman, received the distinction magna cum laude for the public defense of his doctoral thesis on November 27, 1997, at the Faculty of Economics and Social Science of the University of Fribourg. The thesis is entitled New Management Tools for the Work Place: A Contribution to Human Happiness and to Business Profitability. He received his doctorate in Economics and Social Science from the University of Fribourg on July 3, 1998.

First of all, we would like to point out that it is certainly very rare, anywhere in the world, that an adult student and very active president of various companies, already holding two bachelor's degrees and a master's degree from three different universities, takes on advanced studies of such magnitude with so much spirit and tenacity, and receives his doctorate at the age of 64. This fact by itself should earn him our highest words of appreciation.

But there is more. He needed just as much faith and tenacity to be able to show, through much research and experimentation, that it is possible to reconcile business profitability and the human happiness of those in the work place, and this in a market economy where competition is often ferocious.

As far as we know, no other such lengthy (more than twenty years) and successful experiment (human well being and business profitability), has ever been carried out anywhere in the world, and this is also the opinion of Professors Maurice Villet and Roger Berthouzoz of the University of Fribourg who guided Mr. Ouimet through his long, academic journey.

What we have here is in fact an original experiment based primarily on the analysis of and experimentation with Christian social doctrine and thinking. It is a scientifically valid experiment showing that, in the daily management of a company, it is possible to foster the values of humanization and spiritualization not only by not bankrupting the company but, on the contrary, by contributing to the steady growth of human well-being in the company. As a result, motivation increases and, most of the times, profitability as well.

Moreover, Mr. Ouimet has no intention of imposing his views in any manner whatsoever. At the most, he wants his thesis very simply to tell the story of an experiment that has deeply marked him. Furthermore, he hopes that the thesis will be useful to the study of economics, social science, and more especially to management theory, but also to theology, philosophy, and ethics.

Thank you, J.-Robert, for this reflection that will leave some skeptical, but no one will be indifferent. Thanks also to Myriam, your wife, for the help she gave you during all those long years.

Ghislain Dufour
Chairman of the Board of the Quebec Business Council (Conseil du Patronat du Québec)
May 30, 1998

VIII

Words of Appreciation

This publication, which we welcome with great pleasure, underlines three values that derive from such a monumental work.

Subject originality
At first glance, reconciling serenity, quality of life, and self-fulfillment with business profitability seems to be a tremendous challenge. The author shows us, however, and in a quite surprising way, not only that this goal is possible but also that these two values reinforce each other.

The quality of the work
The reader can judge for himself in this résumé. Since I have had the privilege of reading through the thesis, I can appreciate the rigor of its language and thought. The whole, original document certainly deserves to be published in its own right.

The author's determination and perseverance
Running a business; being particularly active in his milieu; being present in social, cultural, and economic affairs; and being a model family man have not stopped the author from giving the required time to the preparation of a work that demands so much. This doctorate shows us that it is possible to combine an active life with intellectual reflection.

André Bisson
Chancellor of the University of Montreal

This thesis résumé is inspiring. Without any doubt, it will spontaneously move every reader who has a role in a company to wonder about his or her own contribution to "the reconciliation of human happiness and business profitability."
It is very useful as a philosophical reflection, as an encouragement to adopt a certain behavior, and as an attempt to introduce this privileged set of values into business.

Claude Masson
Vice-President and Associate Editor of La Presse

In his doctoral thesis, J.-Robert Ouimet has shown, and with brilliance, that "happiness and profitability" can be tied together. His work shines a new light on the motivations of business managers and on the inner factors that influence their behavior, such as joy, serenity, and well-being. I warmly congratulate the author for this remarkable work.

Serge Saucier
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the HEC

1

Reconciliation of Human Happiness
and
Business Profitability

IT CAN BE DONE!
with the help of sixteen new management tools

INTRODUCTION

On November 27, 1997, Mr. J.-Robert Ouimet, president of Ouimet-Cordon Bleu Inc., having its head office in Montreal, obtained the distinction of magna cum laude for the public defense of his doctoral thesis, after twenty years of experimentation and after nine years of research and thesis writing. On July 3, 1998, he received a Ph.D. in Economics and Social Science from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

In essence, this thesis attempts to demonstrate that new management tools can, if used correctly, progressively bring the values of humanization and spiritualization to the work place.

What are these management tools? What are the values they promote? What are the conditions that permit the long-term reconciliation of increasing the human happiness of each person working in a company, with the profitability of that company in a market economy? What are the challenges to be met?

These are the questions that Mr. Ouimet tries to answer in this in-depth document of more than 1500 pages.

Basing his work on a one-of-its-kind experiment, carried out in his own companies and explained in the basic document called Our Project, the author first describes the Project; second, he sets out the responsibilities of the six main groups that intervene in the activity of any company; third, he identifies the general values that the Project sets forth; fourth, he describes the management tools that allow the Project to become a reality; fifth, he explains the numerous joys, contradictions, and breakdowns encountered along the way; sixth, he presents the quantitative and qualitative results obtained; and finally he draws various conclusions based on the experiment.

In the short document that follows, the reader will find a thesis résumé that uses the plan set out by the author.

2

WHAT IS OUR PROJECT?

Our Project is essentially the story of an experiment using different management tools that have, over the years, allowed the discovery of, and the experimentation with, activities capable of bringing to the work place, and to interested people, many values that promote humanization and spiritualization. The contributions, fostered by these values, mutually reinforce and complete each other.

Again, for those people interested, Our Project is a human, moral, and spiritual guidebook setting out the raison d'être of their work in a company and in society.

The fundamental objective of Our Project is simple, even if it remains very complex and risky: to reconcile long-term growth in human happiness and sustained profitability, in a company that operates in a market economy, where it is essential to make profits not only to continue to exist but also to grow.

Supporting points

Our Project is based on a series of actions and events that have all marked and influenced the experiment very profoundly, each one in its own way.

Whether it is a question especially of (1) the analysis of Christian doctrine and social thought as contained in pontifical documents, among others, over more than a century; (2) of the analysis of the fundamental work of Arthur Rich, The Ethical Economy; (3) of the numerous meetings with internationally-known personalities, such as Mother Theresa who agreed to discuss Our Project; (4) of the many joy-filled discoveries, contradictions, and breakdowns; (5) of the good decisions, but also of the errors of comprehension and of incomprehension which occurred during the time that Our Project was taking form--all these actions, gestures, and events helped consolidate the foundations.

And it was intended that this long experiment become a reality within a climate of complete, individual, and collective freedom.

Foundation

Finally, it is important to note that an undertaking, as is reflected in Our Project, is not possible without certain forms--chosen by the interested participants--of silence, reflection, and, for certain people, prayer. All of these are unavoidable, spiritual foundation stones of the process underlying the Project.

3

THE RESPONSIBILITIES IDENTIFIED IN OUR PROJECT

The Project identifies six blocks of responsibilities along with the values that derive from them. These responsibilities and values are in constant movement among the principal people who intervene in the life of a company. The essential foundation of the Project is the following:

"God created, loves, and lives in each human being, whether he works in the company or outside of it. The same is true of each consumer. All people, therefore, are of inestimable value and must be respected in their lives, dignity, and chosen paths."

A. Responsibilities toward people working in the company and toward their families

-The company must recognize that work exists for man and not man for work.

-Salaries and social benefits must be just, adequate, and generally comparable to those granted in companies of similar size and activity.

-Task enrichment must also be seen as a way to reduce work monotony, to contribute to moral and spiritual development, to the professional and technical competence of all personnel, and to the increase of their productivity and efficiency.

-The company must encourage every activity that increases solidarity, brotherhood, human dignity, and personal fulfillment in a climate of justice and fairness, of freedom and discipline, of constant growth in efficiency and productivity. All those working in the company, through their unceasing efforts, have the fundamental duty of contributing to this constant and necessary growth of efficiency and productivity, for their own good and that of their families, as well as for the common good.

4

B. Responsibilities toward consumers of the company's products, toward its suppliers and customers

-The company must be sensitive to the needs of those consumers, actual and potential, who use its products. It must offer them only those products and services that have a happy and competitive blend of price and quality, thus ensuring that the customers will not be better served and treated by the company's competitors.

-In order to accomplish the above, the company must show creativity, discipline, imagination, determination, intelligence, judgment, and wisdom; it must give prime importance to research and development in order to improve its productivity; and finally it must constantly review its technology and strategic long-term goals.

C. Responsibilities of management personnel and supervisors

-Managers must provide an example and above all live themselves what they require of others.

-The company has a responsibility to choose its management personnel with great care, taking into account the values that the Project seeks to foster, so that these leaders can help the men and women that they have the privilege of directing to develop and fulfill themselves.

-For their part, the members of upper management must be the "motors" of the company and must prefer the title of "servant" of the company to that of "big boss." But most of all, they must seek excellence in the accomplishment of their professional, human, moral, and spiritual responsibilities.

5

D. Responsibilities of the members of the Board of Directors and stockholders

-Of all those who intervene in the life of the company, the stockholders and the directors are by far the most privileged. They must, therefore, require more of themselves--humanly, spiritually, professionally, and morally speaking--than they require of others.

-The Board of Directors and the stockholders, more than any others in the company, must at all times seek the happiness of each person working in the company.

-In addition, the Board members have a duty toward their stockholders and toward the other people who intervene in the economic and social life of the company, continually to make profits that are at least comparable to those made by companies of similar size and activity. This responsibility will help ensure the long-term viability of the company--for the good and the happiness of each person in the company and of each actual and potential consumer.

-The Board members and stockholders have a duty to help and influence each other, by recommendations and decisions that are made in the interest of the company's development as expressed in Our Project.

-They have a duty to build the future by taking advantage of any expansion opportunities that might present themselves, by launching new products, by building appropriate financial reserves, etc.

E. Responsibilities toward society, the nation, and the Creation

-The company must be involved in the community with generosity, justice, and fairness.

-It must pursue the common good in collaboration with all levels of government.

-It must pay its rightful share of taxes and take an interest in the quality of the environment.

6

F. Ultimate responsibilities toward, and WITH, the Creator--the Supreme Being or God-Love

-The two important work goals in the company are ensuring the happiness of those who work in the company, and their families, as well as its economic profitability.

-Meeting these two goals is only possible, however, with an openness, according to the preference of each participant, to every form of Transcendence and by calling on the help of the Supreme Being.

-Everyone, therefore, who works in the company has the responsibility and the freedom to ask for this help over and over again, by using different forms--both individual and sometimes collective--of interior silence, reflection, meditation, and, for some, prayer.

These diverse responsibilities, which call on interior silence and prayer, are illustrated on pages 7 and 8. On page 7, six circles are shown. They indicate the key actors who intervene in the company, starting with the Creator.

On page 8, there is a different illustration showing the keystone of Our Project. It shows the various component parts in an interaction that ensures the long-term increase of human happiness in the company (right-hand column) and its sustained and competitive profitability (left-hand column).

The following is the company's motto, which became the basis of Our Project,
as suggested by Mother Theresa on April 14, 1983,
during the first of several trips by the author to Calcutta.

PRAY TO MANAGE IN GOD
ORARE AD GERENDUM IN DEO
PRIER POUR GÉRER EN DIEU

TWO ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MOVEMENT OF VALUES

CONTAINED IN THE SIX CHAPTERS OF OUR PROJECT

AND FOSTERED IN THE WORK PLACE

BY SIXTEEN INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT TOOLS

1ST MOTTO

Be of use to man

instead of using man.

7

OUR PROJECT
RECONCILIATION OF HUMAN HAPPINESS AND BUSINESS PROFITABILITY:
IT CAN BE DONE!
Thanks to sixteen New Management Tools
Fostering Values of Humanization and Spiritualization in a Market Economy

ILLUSTRATION OF THE SIX CIRCLES OF RESPONSIBILITIES
.............

THE VALUES IN MOVEMENT IN AND WITH:

THE PEOPLE WORKING
IN THE COMPANY
AND THEIR FAMILIES2

THE THE
CONSUMERS OF ITS SOCIETY,
PRODUCTS, ITS SUPPLIERS THE NATION, AND
AND CUSTOMERS2 THE CREATION2

THE CREATOR

THE THE
MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL MEMBERS OF
AND SUPERVISORS THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS AND
THE STOCKHOLDERS2

8

OUR PROJECT
RECONCILIATION OF HUMAN HAPPINESS AND BUSINESS PROFITABILITY:
IT CAN BE DONE!
Thanks to sixteen New Management Tools
Fostering Values of Humanization and Spiritualization in a Market Economy

ILLUSTRATION OF THE TWO COLUMNS AND THE KEYSTONE
.............

HERE IS THE KEYSTONE
OF OUR PROJECT

THE CREATOR(1)

SILENCE--PRAYER

CREATION UNIVERSE

SERVE THE LOVE
CONSUMER BROTHERHOOD

SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND -PRIER POUR GÉRER SOCIETY
RELIGIOUS LIFE EN DIEU- NATION

HUMAN WORK -PRAY TO MANAGE HAPPINESS
IN THE COMPANY WITH GOD- FAMILY

ECONOMIC HAPPINESS
PROFITABILITY PEOPLE IN THE
WORK PLACE

9

THE MAIN VALUES--HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN--
DERIVING FROM EACH OF THE SIX SECTIONS OF OUR PROJECT

Beyond the various responsibilities identified in Our Project and its objective--to reconcile long-term growth of human happiness in the work place with competitive profitability--Our Project fosters at least twenty human and Christian values that we have been able to quantify (see pages 19, 20, and 21). In the table , we indicate certain values deriving from each of the six sections of Our Project. There are more: listening to others, freedom, brotherhood, peace, serenity, authority, appreciation.

These values are "interchangeable and in constant movement in time" and--according to various points of view and changing needs--in the culture and value hierarchy of each person in the work place.

RESPONSIBILITIES PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY
VALUES VALUES VALUES

Responsibility to people Human dignity Justice Productivity
who work in the company Truth
and to their families

Responsibility to the Responsibility Productivity Solidarity
consumers of the
company's products, to
its suppliers and customers

Responsibility of Efficiency Authenticity Discernment
management personnel Human dignity Wisdom
and supervisors

Responsibility of Humility Justice Economic
Board members prudence
and stockholders

Responsibility toward Responsibility Solidarity Justice
society, the nation,
and the Creation

Ultimate responsibility Faith Hope Charity-Love
to, and with, the Creator-- Mercy Brotherhood
Supreme Being or God-Love Forgiveness

10

THE SIXTEEN INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT TOOLS
--DIVIDED INTO THREE DIFFERENT KINDS--
THAT MAKE THE REALIZATION OF OUR PROJECT POSSIBLE

Experimenting with the numerous values in the six groups of responsibilities identified by Our Project has given birth over the years to a variety of innovative management tools.

The company's personnel must be totally free to participate, or not, in each activity. Most of these activities take place during normal working hours. These management tools and the activities that derive from them can be grouped under three categories:

Management tools of the first kind
These are activities having the greatest influence on the growth of psychic and physical well-being, especially with a content of humanization and social awareness.

Management tools of the second kind
These are activities having the greatest influence on the growth of psychic and physical well-being, with a mixed content of humanization and spiritualization.

Management tools of the third kind
These are activities having the greatest influence on the growth of psychic and physical well-being, especially with a spiritualization content.

***
In what follows, we will look again at each tool according to its kind.

A. Activities of the first kind having the greatest influence on the growth of psychic and physical well-being, especially with a content of humanization and social awareness
1. A gesture; the Prize of the Heart
Especially here, it is a question of inviting the personnel of the company once or twice a year (to make a gesture)--on a voluntary basis--to distribute, freely and anonymously, food products to people in need. Other activities could also be envisaged. The food distributors would not carry any trademark. The
personnel would also be encouraged, once or twice a year, to give of their time, often paid-time, to help the many organizations that are dedicated to assisting the less fortunate in our society.
11

As for the Prize of the Heart, it is offered annually to a few people in each company; they receive $1000 a year for life. Those chosen will have been, for many years, examples of generosity, assistance, solidarity, brotherhood, and openness to others. These people also carry out their work responsibilities in an exemplary way.

2. Activities, behavior, and individual human gestures
Economically speaking, every company has its ups and downs, and these can cause temporary or permanent layoffs, and even the closing of certain operations. It is therefore essential that such actions, undertaken by the company to ensure its survival, be carried out first of all in a spirit of justice and fairness, in a climate of solidarity, brotherhood, wisdom, and humility. In the final analysis, this means supporting--humanly, morally, and even spiritually--those persons laid off who often have a very hard time dealing with such a blow. Surprising and encouraging results--human, moral, and even spiritual--have been obtained in the last fifteen years with this management tool.

Moreover, the hiring of all new people, and more especially managers, should be done--as a general rule--by including the person's spouse, or companion, at the very end of the interview process, but before any final decision. In this way, right from the beginning, the understanding of Our Project's spirit is reinforced, the spirit of collaboration and solidarity, which must exist in the company.

3. An annual, shared bonus plan
Once the company's annual financial budget has been met or surpassed, an annual bonus--varying with each person's responsibilities and the company's performance--will be paid to all those working in the company, whatever their role. In addition, an extra bonus will be given to each member of the personnel on the basis of the number of children that person has in his or her charge.

4. An ombudsman
The stockholders, through the chief executive officer, should put an "open door" policy into practice. What is more, the Board of Directors should choose someone to be the ombudsman of the company, someone on whom anyone can call, at any time, once the rigidly-defined stages of the complaint procedure have been tried. The ombudsman has all the powers necessary to ensure the increase of justice and fairness in all situations so that the spirit and values of Our Project will be fostered and lived.

5. Nontraditional, warm, and authentic communication
Such communication assumes an authentic, inner spirit, one full of humility
and openness to others. It must have as its only goal "to be authentically oneself," to say to others a genuine "Hello, how are you?," a real "We value
12

you." Personal interest exclusively should never be the main reason for any communication. Even less, no communication should have "motivation manipulation" as its exclusive purpose, in the hopes of increasing productivity and profitability

B. Activities of the second kind having the greatest influence on the growth of psychic and physical well-being, with a mixed content of humanization and spiritualization
1. Interior silence, reflection, sharing, and, for some, prayer during certain meetings

In a climate of freedom, during official meetings of the Board of Directors, the executive committee, specialized committees, and other meetings, there can be brief periods of silence, sharing, reflection , and sometimes prayer.

2. Testimonials

These testimonials, usually monthly or biannually, whose frequency will vary according to the needs and desires of the personnel, allow people in the company, but also outside the company, to present reflections on their own chosen paths, existential situations, expectations, mistakes and successes, joys and sufferings, discoveries of certain values of humanization and sometimes spiritualization, without ever making any recommendations. These are strictly personal testimonials. Under no circumstances should anyone ever make any recommendations or, even worse, present any teachings.

3. An annual, personal one-on-one bilateral conversation

These personal exchanges about harmony of communication in non productivity-related matters generally take place once a year, between the members of management who have among themselves a relation of direct authority. These one-on-one conversations allow the two persons concerned to share ideas frankly and directly about tension or breakdowns that may have occurred in their personal communication during the last year. The discussions can develop values of confidence, solidarity, brotherhood, better understanding, and even reconciliation and forgiveness. This annual conversation, in a very special and

13

essential way, complements the annual evaluation of professional performance. The one-on-one conversation should, however, never be held at the same time as the meeting dealing with performance. After all the different management levels have experienced this tool during quite a few years, then its use can be gradually extended to all the personnel.

4. Groups engaged in systematic reflection on Our Project
These reflection groups allow interested personnel to know better and to deepen the values--Christian and other kinds--contained in the Project. Those participating in the groups will also be able to detect the values in the company that will allow human happiness and competitive profitability to increase steadily.

C. Activities of the third kind that can have the greatest influence on the growth of psychic and physical well-being, especially with a spiritualization content

These are tools that transmit to their users a content in which the values of spiritualization dominate. There are four of them:

1. Spiritual support group: an essential and irreplaceable management tool
These meetings allow those working in the company--those who desire to do so--to affirm their Christian faith--or the faith of their choice--in silence and interior prayer. In addition to the impact that these meetings can have on the
participants, they certainly influence all those working in the company, on the level of faith, Hope, and Love. They also have a human, moral, and spiritual impact on everyone, even though this cannot be measured quantitatively.

2. Rooms set aside for silence and prayer: wall posters and mottoes
In each geographic area of operation, a room will be set aside where the members of the personnel who want to, can be alone in interior silence, relaxation, reflection, and, if desired, personal and silent meditation and prayer.

14

In the corridors of the company, posters present the themes that foster, among others, the values of friendship, generosity, welcoming, relaxation, and hope by using illustrations of flowers, animals, mountains, landscapes, people, etc.

The mottoes are proposed to the personnel out of a "bank of sayings" that those who work in the company themselves have suggested. Each year, a saying is chosen by a vote of all the personnel.

3. Gestures of reconciliation
Here we have a group of gestures showing apology, humility, and reconciliation that one member of the personnel can make to another when normal, everyday friction and tension come up in the work place, and this regardless of whether the other person is on an equal, a lower, or a higher level in the company's hierarchy.

4. Counseling
In the work place, it is sometimes possible (after several years of "breaking in" quite a few of the management tools of the Project) to make a specialist available to all members of the company--again to those desiring it. Such a person would guide and support them in a human, moral, and spiritual way as they themselves, individually or collectively, seek brotherhood, a welcoming ear, solidarity, well-being, happiness, advice, etc.

***

To these fourteen management tools found in Our Project, two others can be
added:

- Two forms of research studies on the movement of values. These are studies on the values in movement in the organizational climate as well as on human
happiness, plus complementary research on the values received and desired during the use of the management tools.

- The biennial, strategic plan describing precisely the implementation of the innovative management tools. This strategic plan complements beautifully the normal, strategic, economic business plan.

On pages 15, 16 and 17, the reader will find schematic illustrations of the management tools tested and used in the company--some of them for twenty years. These tools foster the values contained in Our Project.

THE MOST ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE THESIS:
ALL SIXTEEN INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT TOOLS--DIVIDED INTO
THREE DIFFERENT KINDS--DISCOVERED AND TESTED IN THE COMPANY, DERIVING FROM OUR PROJECT

The most original contribution of these twenty years of experimentation in the three companies is the discovery, the testing, and the perfecting of a whole series of innovative management tools that can bring to those who choose freely to use them a remarkable and exceptional group of complementary values: those of humanization and spiritualization in the work place. And, as we will see later on, these remarkable and exceptional values not only will not hamper the long-term growth of the company's profitability but will in fact contribute to it. Here is the list of the tested management tools that are still being used today in one or another of the companies, some in all three.

1. The first kind: the seven management tools that especially foster humanization values
a. a gesture; the Prize of the Heart;
b. activities, behavior, and individual human gestures;
c. an annual, shared bonus for all, not just for the managers;
d. the designation of an ombudsman;
e. nontraditional, authentic, and warm communication;
f. two forms of essential research studies on the movement of values:
1. on the organizational climate and on human happiness;
2. to measure the contribution of the values offered by the management tools to those who use them;
g. the biennial, strategic plan describing precisely the implementation of the innovative management tools.
2. The second kind: the five management tools offering a balanced mix of humanization and spiritualization values
a. moments of silence, sharing, or prayer at certain meetings;
b. monthly testimonials;
c. biannual testimonials;
d. an annual, one-on-one bilateral conversation;
e. groups engaged in systematic reflection on texts of Our Project.
3. The third kind: the four management tools that especially foster the values of spiritualization
a. spiritual support group: essential and irreplaceable management tool;
b. rooms set aside for silence and prayer; wall posters and sayings;
c. gestures of reconciliation;
d. counseling

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A TABLE SUMMARIZING THE VALUE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE SIXTEEN MANAGEMENT TOOLS
The Research, the Studies, and the Reflections Reveal the Values--Received and Anticipated--Fostered by the Tools Along With the Countervalues They Provoke.

On page 18, the reader will find a chart showing the complete series of the three kinds of management tools discovered and tested since the first implementation of Our Project.

This chart, thanks to the research studies carried out, identifies the primary and secondary values, received or anticipated by those who freely chose to use the various management tools, as well as the countervalues the tools provoke everyday in the company through the movement of values circulating within the larger feedback loop.

Here is a list of the references (see the next page) that allow the reader to understand the chart on the following page:

1. "Management tools" will be designated as MT's.

2. "Complementary studies" will be designated as CS's.

3. For the management tools that were not measured by quantitative studies, which will be discussed later, we have indicated, in italics, the values that were anticipated when each management tool was discovered, and when its testing began.

4. We list the main countervalues that are everywhere present and active, to different degrees, in the daily operation of the company and in the relations that the people working in the company have among themselves and with the world outside the company.

5. The values fostered by meetings with people laid off have not been quantitatively measured since no questionnaire has been used. It seems obvious to the managers present that this type of meeting has generated, among others, values of solidarity, brotherhood, and human dignity as well as those of justice and fairness.

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Complete Series of the Three Kinds of Management Tools(1) (MT's)
Discovered and Tested Over Twenty Years
The tools that can be measured, the main values associated and received by those who use them.
The unmeasured tools, the main, anticipated values. The main countervalues present.

MT's discovered and tested MT's measured by CS's(2) Primary values received or anticipated Secondary values received or anticipated Main countervalues(4)
First kind: especially values of humanization1. A gesture; the Prize of the Heart2. Activities, behavior, individual human gesturesa. meetings with people laid offb. Prehiring interviews3. An annual shared bonus for all4. The ombudsman5. Nontraditional, authentic, and warm expressions and communication6. Studies on the organizational climate and the CS's7. A biennial, strategic plan for the implementation of MT's CS's------------ solidarity-brotherhoodsolidarity-brotherhood(5)human dignity(3)justice-fairness(3)justice-fairness(3)love-human dignity(3)---- human dignityhuman dignity(5)family-solidarity(3)brotherhood(3)honesty-the common good(3)humility(3)---- jealousyhateangerlaziness
Second kind: values of humanization and spiritualization8. Silence, sharing, or prayer at certain meetings9. Monthly testimonials10. Biannual testimonials11. Annual personal one-on-one bilateral conversation 12. Groups engaged in systematic reflection on Our Project CS'sCS'sCS'sCS'sCS's listening to otherssolidarity-brotherhoodfaith-hopelistening to otherslistening to others humility-peace-serenity, solidarity-brotherhoodlistening to othershuman dignity listening to otherssolidarity-brotherhoodhuman dignity greedinessenvy
Third kind: especially values of spiritualization13. Spiritual support group: essential and irreplaceable14. Rooms set aside for silence and prayer; posters and sayings15. Gestures of reconciliation16. Counseling CS'sCS's---- faith-hopepeace-serenityhumility-forgiveness(3)wisdom(3) solidarity-brotherhoodfaith-hopebrotherhood (3)faith(3) prideegotism

MOTTO

In giving we receive.

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A RECAP OF THE MAIN VALUES
IDENTIFIED AND FOSTERED BY OUR PROJECT

On page 9, we have already identified certain human and Christian values deriving from Our Project. However, we come back to them here in order to regroup these and other values into four groups which are even more specifically targeted: values of
solidarity and brotherhood human dignity and listening to others
faith and hope love and appreciation

Our Project would in fact have no meaning if, among the twenty main values that it fosters (see page 21), it did not offer, more especially, the values identified below:

A. The values of solidarity and brotherhood
- By slowly learning to know themselves and to value each other during certain activities that are particular to Our Project, the members of the personnel develop and reinforce the spirit of solidarity and brotherhood.
- In addition, these values are not simply theoretical. For certain members of the personnel, they constitute a need often expressed in a very strong way.

B. The values of dignity and listening to others
- We recognize here that all persons must be treated as ends in themselves, not as means to an end. This axiom invariably encourages managers, executives, and even more stockholders to base their management techniques and decisions on the primacy of human dignity, and not essentially on mercantile considerations.
- Moreover, reality obliges managers to convince themselves that in order to direct, develop, and lead members of the personnel--in order to permit everyone to be more productive, happier and more personally fulfilled--they must have a great ability to listen to others. This quality, however, is not easy to find and is hard to develop.

C. The values of faith and hope
- It is not easy either for people in the work place to value, to help, and to love each other! Nonetheless, it is essential for some in the work place to have faith and hope in the help of the Creator, the Supreme Being, or God-Love so that in the work place Our Project can become a reality and be lived. It is therefore possible to create an economic order that is more just, that can be fair to people to the highest possible degree, that can often reduce poverty, etc.
- Moreover, it is normal to hope that the work place will satisfy much more than the basic needs of people and their families.

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D. The values of love and appreciation

- These two values can be summarized this way: Do for others what is good as we would wish them to do for us.
- It is thus in certain forms of interior silence, reflection, and for some prayer--forms that are adapted to each person's needs--that we will find the courage to do what is good and right and to communicate to others love and appreciation.

***

As we have previously mentioned, these values are not the only ones deriving from Our Project, but they are at its heart. We would like, nonetheless, to add the following ones:

- The most important goal of the company should be to promote a just and equitable social order.

- The freedom of each person, a very sacred thing, must be respected to the highest degree.

- Discouragement is never permitted in the face of the immensity of the task.

- The ultimate purpose of work must be human happiness: the happiness of the people in the work place and their families, of the consumers and their families, and of the stockholders and their families.

- Work must not make man servile; work exists for man, not man for work.

- Work is a necessary element in the building up of family life.

- In the face of discouragement, contradictions, and breakdowns, the power of returning to certain transcendental values, to interior silence, to prayer...must never be forgotten.

Our Project fosters these values by centering them around such words as love, brotherhood, society, happiness, family, work, transcendental values, spirituality, etc.

Moreover, all these words are joined together
in the company's daily life and activity.

***
21

THE RESEARCH STUDIES ON MAKING
OUR PROJECT A REALITY AND THEIR RESULTS

Several research studies have been carried out since 1990 in order to measure the results obtained in the implementation of Our Project. They have become one of the important, innovative management tools, discovered and tested.

A. Seven research studies on the organizational climate and well-being measure twelve values

We have thus carried out seven research studies on the organizational climate and well-being. They have quantified twelve values in movement:

-responsibility -efficiency -productivity
-listening to others -authenticity -economic prudence
-discernment -solidarity -freedom
-justice -dignity -brotherhood

All these values are linked to the good management of the two columns of Our Project (see page 8). Some of them are linked to research on human well-being and happiness (the right-hand column); others are linked to the company's type of management and administration--to the quality of communication in the company--as well as to its efficiency, productivity, and long-term profitability (the left-hand column).
These research studies on organizational climate and well-being have, however, been unable to measure certain values that are essential and basic to long-term, human happiness.

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B. Twelve research studies on the management tools add eight fundamental values

Thanks to the perfecting of, and the experimenting with, twelve new research studies on nine different management tools, we have been able to add eight new values to those already measured. They are the following:
-peace and serenity -faith and hope -love & appreciation
-humility -truth

***
Following these nineteen studies, which measured twenty values in movement within the company, we realized that the strategic, biennial plan for economic development (the left-hand column) was incomplete. It dealt with the economic aspects of the company, but it did not deal at all, or very little, with the well-being of the people in the work place and the values necessary for their personal and collective fulfillment. We have therefore decided to experiment with, and to perfect one very innovative and essential management tool (see pages 15 and 17): the strategic, biennial plan describing precisely the implementation and functioning of the sixteen innovative management tools.

All these research studies have allowed us, in a general way, to identify several large movements and tendencies, relating to values, inside the company:
- a greater feeling of belonging to the company and a greater attachment of the personnel to it;
- a gradual growth of freedom of opinion and participation in the activities relating to the management tools; an improvement in communication thanks to a growing preoccupation on the part of the managers, executives, and stockholders with the impact of their administrative decisions and management styles on the well-being of those working in the company.

More generally still, all the research studies have clearly demonstrated a close correlation between the long-term growth of the personnel's psychic, moral, and physical well-being, on the one hand, and the long-term growth of the company's competitive profitability in the market economy, on the other.

Finally, the studies have also demonstrated that, thanks in great part to Our Project the rate of personnel turnover, absenteeism, and work-related accidents compares favorably with that of our own industry. As a result, earned profits are often above those of our own industry sector.

It is thus clearly possible to aim at values of humanization and spiritualization without going bankrupt! On the contrary, experimentation has shown that the solidarity and brotherhood generated by the values that the management tools foster have permitted the three companies to increase their return on investments quite favorably in comparison to that of other companies comparable to us in size and type of industry.

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The universal application of Our Project is possible if three conditions are met:

a. It is necessary for at least a small number of people working in the same company to agree, freely and systematically, to live--together--an openness to the Transcendent by practicing certain forms of silence, sharing, and prayer that asks for the Creator's help; they must believe in the possibility of receiving this help.
b. It is necessary that the upper management of the company--and/or an influential group of stockholders--be convinced that the pursuit and the long-term growth of human happiness in the company, on the one hand, and its profitability, on the other, are not two opposing concepts. They must be ready to take the risks and to ensure the costs of the experimentation and the gradual implementation of numerous, new management tools.
c. It is necessary that a climate of complete individual and collective freedom exist at all times in the work place.

CONCLUSION

PRAY as if everything depends on God,

AND

ACT as if everything depends on you.

This is Our Project.

This is what it means "to manage like God."

This is what it means "to manage for, with, and in God."

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THE THESIS...IN BRIEF
THE AUTHOR'S GENERAL COMMENTS
THE PERSPECTIVES OPENED UP BY OUR PROJECT

1. The thesis...in brief

A. First of all, the author defines Our Project, and presents it as being a dynamic system built on human and Christian values, operating in a feedback loop that permits the long-term growth of human happiness in a company or any organization, while at the same time ensuring its sustained, economic profitability in a competitive environment. He also describes the special character of these various values in relation to the intrinsic responsibilities entailed in Our Project. He then describes the innovative management tools that can offer these values to those who use them in the work place.

B. Secondly, the author classifies into three different kinds all the management tools discovered and tested in the process of making Our Project a reality.

C. Thirdly, the author describes the difficulties encountered in the experimenting with, and the use of, the new management tools, in the movement of the different values of Our Project; he also describes the countervalues that the values provoke when they are put into practice.

On the basis of this descriptive and analytic process, he concludes that the management tools used in implementing Our Project allow the following things to happen in the company. The tools can...

-give us the ability authentically to listen to others;

-"tame" us so we can help each other;

-help us love each other in the daily routine of our work;

-give us the ability to do everything necessary to keep the company competitive in a market economy;

-help us not only "to overcome" the crises that happen in all companies but also to correct what needs correcting in the company.

D. Fourthly, and finally, the author presents a whole series of research data and concludes that, despite the inevitable ups and downs, the elements of Our Project (values and management tools) have fostered--during more than twenty years in the three companies studied--a healthy and long-term growth both in human happiness and in competitive profitability.

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2. The author's general comments

All through the forty years of the Project's "maturation" and throughout the experiment of more than twenty years--an experiment that he describes in the 1546 pages of his thesis--the author concludes his work by sharing a series of findings, reflections, and questions.

Here are the ones that seem to be the most significant:

A. In experimenting with Our Project, we have found that the management tools brought joys and contradictions; that, through the movement of values, they made it possible for the values of spiritualization and humanization to complement each other, finally coming to a happy and harmonious relation. However, this was the result often after considerable periods of adjustment and tensions.

B. In the whole process surrounding Our Project, we had to face a fundamental and constant contradiction. Thus, in order for us to love one another and to live Our Project, we have to become aware of our poor, hesitating, and insufficient ability to restrain pride, personal interest, egotism, and economic Darwinism as fundamental motivations of the rules governing the free market. Once convinced of our very limited ability to love one another in the work place, each one of us can then, if he or she wants to, call on the Creator for help and receive it.

C. The seven research studies on the organizational climate, on psychic well-being--both interior and exterior--and on physical well-being permitted the identification of seven large movements and tendencies in the company:

-feeling of belonging -freedom

-communication -relation between happiness and profitability

-cultural dichotomy -enlarged leadership

-management attentive
to the human dimension

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What is more, thanks to these seven research studies and to the twelve complementary research studies (see page 21), it has been possible to identify the contribution of the sixteen management tools, developed throughout the years, to human happiness and well-being in the company. This contribution has been made in the following areas:

-completeness -adequateness
-exemplarity -duration
-complementarity -adaptability
-openness to the qualitative -efficiency

A certain number of dominant values have also emerged from these twelve complementary research studies, values--both discovered and tested--that the management tools have brought out:

-solidarity and brotherhood -human dignity
-listening to others -faith and hope

It seems to us quite remarkable that this series of six values is composed of a balanced blend of two values of humanization, two mixed values, and two values of spiritualization.

Finally, from this research data derive results that a great number of people thought impossible... The so-called "idealistic dream" of reconciling long-term growth of human happiness in a company with its sustained profitability has become a "fulfilled dream."

These results were obtained between 1990 and 1997, thanks to a plan aimed at correcting a management style, in one situation, and at considerably rationalizing operating costs, in another.

These results were also obtained thanks to the integration of the values brought to the personnel of the company by the sixteen innovative management tools, values that reinforced and increased the realism, courage, discipline, determination and wisdom of all the people in the company as they faced their responsibilities and the challenges of the market economy.

***

3. The perspectives opened up by Our Project

A. The possible universal application of Our Project

According to the author, the eight characteristics of the management tools, discovered and tested, and the six dominant values that they foster permit the belief that it is possible to apply Our Project universally, if three essential conditions, which have already been described are met.
The author believes, of course, that the choice of management tools can vary from one company to another. These tools must be flexible and adapted to the needs and desires expressed at the beginning of--and all through--the testing, and implementing of the Project.
At the very beginning of any experimentation, those involved must do the following in order to promote a balanced increase in the movement of values: as quickly as possible, they must use one management tool fostering values of humanization, another fostering mixed values of humanization and spiritualization, and finally a third fostering values of spiritualization.
The author is convinced, however, that the Project is universally applicable and can successfully be implemented anywhere in the world, in numerous companies and organizations as well as in government and nonprofit organizations.

B. The first, long-term experiment ever carried out with new management tools
fostering human happiness and competitive profitability in a company

The author stands by this conviction because it is based on a forty-year long period of reflection and because the implementation of Our Project over a period of twenty years is without any doubt the first lasting experiment ever accomplished with management tools that put Christian social doctrine into practice in the management structures of companies operating in the market economy.
Certain companies have no doubt experimented with some nontraditional management tools, but most of them have abandoned the experiment due to the contradictions and breakdowns encountered, along with the ensuing discouragement. Other companies have disappeared because the managers or stockholders have not known how to discern the very difficult and often painful choices that so frequently are necessary between the column of human happiness and that of profitability in a market economy. Finally, it is absolutely certain also that those companies and organizations that do not respect the three essential conditions1 will not be able "to hang in there."

28
For the author, this long experiment is, in its concrete results, the confirmation that work exists for people in the work place and for their families and not the other way round. It further means that work can develop, fulfill, broaden, and deepen the human person in a long-term and permanent way by producing goods and services that satisfy human needs. He writes the following:

And therefore, after ten, twenty, or forty years of work, all people can feel that they are happier, more fulfilled, more "complete" than they were when they started in the company or entered the work market. At the same time, they will have earned an honorable living for themselves and their families, will have obtained a real security in retirement, and will have authentically helped and loved other people in the work place. They will, at the same time, feel that they were authentically helped and loved by others at work.

The author goes even further and, at the end, offers the following perspectives:
a. Far from discouraging motivation in the work place, the unique and exceptional way in which the values fostered in Our Project are organized and tied together actually increases motivation considerably. In fact, research results allow us to conclude that the values fostered by the management tools--such as solidarity-brotherhood, listening to others, human dignity, and faith-hope--do not hamper long-term growth and profitability. On the contrary, these values join together and contribute to growth and profitability by increasing motivation.
b. Our Project is applicable not just to people working in a company. It also concerns suppliers and customers. What is more, consumers are no longer seen to be simply mercantile instruments because, above all, consumers allow those working in the company legitimately to earn their living and to increase their own security and that of their families. Thanks to this Project, which can be lived differently in each company, it may indeed be possible for certain people to prepare and supply products and services "based on a perfectly normal personal interest," but also "based on authentic caring" for all consumers, present and potential, since such people ultimately seek the consumers' well-being, in the full sense of the word.
c. Our Project does not work or go against the market economy, which we feel is the best economic system available at the beginning of the 21st century. On the contrary, by its contribution of values and increased motivation, Our Project favors the emergence of new ideas along with the creation of products and services offered with a happy mix of quality and competitive price. To these advantages can be added the development of efficient, administrative plans; rigorous and disciplined management; and intelligent, strategic far-sighted goals that increase long-term productivity and competitive profitability.

29
Nonetheless, we can continue to improve the market system by gradually reducing its numerous weaknesses and limits. We can, moreover, increase its strengths by using certain new management tools that we have suggested.
In addition, there must be in each company a sustained effort--especially on the part of those who have received more (power, resources, individual gifts)--to increase justice and fairness in a healthy climate of freedom, whenever the need arises.

d. Thanks to the success of this long experiment in the three companies studied, a success that many thought impossible and called "an unrealistic dream," we find that this "fulfilled dream"--which entails long-term growth in human happiness and competitive profitability--was made possible by the contribution of three kinds of values: values of humanization, mixed values, and values of spiritualization fostered by the sixteen management tools, discovered and tested by our experiment.
This balanced contribution of twenty cumulative values, a contribution discovered through experimentation, has confirmed that people in the work place need the spiritual and the values of spiritualization, and that the spiritual cannot grow without the values of humanization.

e. Thanks to the values of humanization, the mixed values, and the values of spiritualization fostered by Our Project's management tools, these same tools open human work to growth, fulfillment, and the possibility of going beyond one's own human limits, and this can, for those who desire it, take various forms of openness to the Transcendent.

The work place thus becomes a welcoming, motivating, and life-affirming milieu. And if the work place permanently becomes this kind of milieu, it is due to the fact that certain people--they do not need to be numerous--have freely put into practice the following sayings, but they have done it in their own way, continuously, and often very discretely:

"Pray to manage in God." "Work and pray."
"Pray your work." "Pray and act."
"Act and work as if everything depends on you;
pray and work as if everything depends on God."

30

C. Résumé

The author is absolutely convinced that Our Project can be put into practice in other companies, both big and small, and on other continents, if three precise conditions are met. The economic world will thus be more humanized and somewhat more spiritualized, which will take nothing away from efficiency and competitive profitability--the thesis has proved this. All research shows that the opposite is true!

He emphasizes that Our Project has nothing to do with the corporatism of the 1930's and is completely foreign to all forms of narrow, suffocating, pride-filled, "manipulative," or domineering paternalism.

The Project can in fact be lived in any company or organization--governmental or other--whatever its activities, management philosophy, culture, or religion. It will have to be adapted, however, to the culture and milieu of the company or organization, lived at its own rhythm, and above all implemented in a climate of total freedom--individual, bilateral, and multilateral.

The writer has no doubts that this experimentation can be carried out by people of all faiths, on any continent. The more-than-twenty humanization and spiritualization values fostered in the work place by the innovative management tools are present in all faiths, certainly with different emphases and to varying degrees of importance.

For those interested in the Catholic faith, the writer, during the last forty years, has especially studied the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. He is now persuaded, having scientifically proved it beyond any doubt, that such a social doctrine can be put into practice in the real world. What has been missing up to now, and what is now available at the beginning of the 21st century is the "how-to" implement the doctrine in a lasting way.

Are we not presently "starving" to find many companies and organizations that will begin to experiment and use the new management tools? And all this would reinforce the strengths and reduce the major weaknesses we presently find in the free-market economy, which, however, as an economic system is the most efficient one we have, even with its weaknesses.

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The author then adds the following:

It is possible to live the values of humanization and spiritualization in a company--in a lasting and sustained manner--without fearing having to sell the company to its competitors. It is also possible to live these values in solidarity and brotherhood, in justice and fairness, in constant respect of human dignity, in a climate of freedom and growth in human happiness. It is possible to accomplish this not only without going bankrupt or having to sell the company, but by increasing its competitive and long-term profitability, and by building its strength on the cumulative contribution in values of the sixteen management tools that derive from Our Project.

He concludes in this way:

This long reflection has allowed the discovery and testing (quantitatively and qualitatively measured during seven years) of new, innovative management tools. They in turn have concretely permitted the solid grounding and lasting growth of human happiness in a company, along with the profitability of that company in a market economy. We humbly hope that this experimentation will provide a useful contribution to the science of economics, to social science, and particularly to management theory. It may perhaps also contribute to the theological, moral, and ethical dimension of the management of a company in the market economy. This also applies to any organization, governmental or other.

***

MOTTO

The first form of sharing

is respecting others.

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SOME QUOTATIONS THAT SUPPORT
THE HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF OUR PROJECT

These quotations are numerous in the thesis and its annexes. It would be impossible to present them all. Here then are but a few.

We would like to make a suggestion: in order to maintain objectivity, it is better not to look at the names of the authors. The important thing is to know the message of the quotation rather than the name of its author.
******
- Man has the right to require a form of work that allows him the freedom to fulfill himself without making him into a cripple or a robot. (Arthur Rich, The Ethical Economy)

- The fundamental goal of economic production is not just to multiply produced goods, nor to make profits, nor to acquire power, but to serve people in their material, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs. (Gaudium et Spes)

- The criteria of faith, hope, and love, as constituent elements of everything that is human, appear to be decisive reference points in the search for meaning in the economy. (Arthur Rich, The Ethical Economy)

- In the work place, managers are often called on to make difficult decisions without being well informed about the consequences that these decisions may have on the economic situation of others. Such situations invite us to dialogue, silence, and prayer. (A Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of the United States, 1988)

- Even though it is true that man is destined and called to work, work is above all for man and not man for work. (Laborem Exercens)

- People think they do not know how to pray. Basically, it is not important, for God hears our sighs, knows our silences. Silence is the whole of prayer: God speaks to us in the breath of silence and touches us in that part of solitude that no human being can fill. (Brother Roger)

- Unity of direction is necessary for the proper operation of a company, but it does not follow in any way that those who come to work day after day in a company must be treated like people who simply and silently carry out the orders of others, not being able to give their opinions or to contribute their experiences, being entirely passive in the face of the decisions that concern their positions and the organization of their work. (Mater et Magistra)

- The economy, created by human beings, only has meaning if it serves everyone, ...but it cannot distribute more than it produces, whatever the system or order by which it operates. (Arthur Rich, The Ethical Economy)

- According to the law of our country, the first responsibility of business managers is to exercise prudent judgment in running their companies so that the investors can earn a better profit. However, from the moral point of view, this legal responsibility can only be exercised within the limits of justice toward the employees, the customers, the suppliers, and the local community. (A Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of the United States, 1988)

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- When the accumulation of riches will no longer have social importance, there will be deep changes in our moral codes. We will be able to free ourselves from many false moral principles, which have weighed down on us for 200 years... In this new, future society, we will be free to return to certain principles...of religion and of traditional virtue according to which greediness is a vice, usury is a crime, and love of money is detestable. (Lord John Maynard Keynes)

- When salaries are determined, the needs of the company and of those who manage it should also be taken into account. It would be unjust to require of managers exaggerated salaries that they could not afford to grant without going into bankruptcy and dragging the workers into the disaster with them. (Quadresimo Anno)

- First of all, it is necessary to love your first neighbor (wife, husband, children, family, etc.). It is too easy to love your neighbor when he is far away. (Mother Theresa)

- I believe that it is only when people freely choose to work together that they can enter into this human communion out of which emerge the highest intentions and projects...I believe that the expansion of cooperation and personal development are realities that mutually depend on each other... Science cannot determine the terms of this interrelation. It is a question for philosophy and religion. (Chester J. Barnard)

- In companies, we must develop structures of authentic cooperation, with management, supervisors, and workers who rightfully want to contribute to a better adaptation of the company to man. Which kind of company, however, and for which kind of man? We must constantly think about this in order to avoid the roadblocks and impasses of our industrialized world. (Paul VI, National Conference of Caen)

- Prayer is not a refuge, not an escape, not a call, not a miracle. True prayer requires that we ourselves seek to do what we ask God to do. If I ask for our daily bread, I must myself give this bread to those who have none. If I pray for peace, I must myself walk the road of peace... Then, only, will we know how much prayer is the recognition of God's power and initiative... Pray to the God who loves you with your arms in the form of a cross, not with crossed arms. (Roger Etchegary)

- It is necessary for management to possess the qualities of real leaders and, for subordinates, to possess the will to collaborate confidently and sincerely with the administration. (Pius XII, Italian National Congress of Small Businesses)

- We suffer from an imbalance due to a purely material development of technology. The imbalance can only be repaired by a spiritual development in the same area, that is, in the realm of work... A civilization based on a spirituality of work would be the highest degree of man's anchoring in the universe... The word spirituality implies no particular religious affiliation. (Simone Weil)

- You want to know what the Church expects of company heads? We will quote three of the qualities in which are found, more or less, all the others: honesty, competence, and a social conscience. (Paul VI, Congress of Company Heads of Portugal)

- The free market is the most appropriate instrument for sharing resources and efficiently meeting needs. Unfortunately, however, there are numerous human needs that cannot be satisfied by the free market. (Centesimo Anno)

- A company is not just an organization, a structure of production but a milieu where man lives with others like him and has relations with them, a milieu where personal development is not only permitted but promoted. (John-Paul II, Meeting with the Business World, Barcelona)

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NOTES ON THE AUTHOR AND HIS COMPANIES

THE AUTHOR
The author is chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of Ouimet-Cordon Bleu Inc.. He is well known in the business and political worlds of Quebec and Canada and has turned a small family business into a medium-sized company, which is today active in the Canadian market as well as in the American and Australian markets, and in other countries.

Mr. J.-Robert Ouimet is the principal promoter of Interior Silence and Prayer Meetings for Quebec leaders, a unique organization; more than 20,000 participants have already attended these gatherings. He is a member of the Order of Canada and the National Order of Quebec; and a knight of the Sovereign and Military Order of Malta, the Order of the Guardians of Mount Zion and of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.

He is a graduate of Montreal's École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC), which granted him a BA in commerce. He also holds a BA in economics and social science (magna cum laude) from the University of Fribourg, in Switzerland, and has an MBA from Colombia University. Finally, starting in 1988, with the guidance and sustained encouragement of Professors Roger Berthouzoz and Maurice Villet of the University of Fribourg, he was able to write and publicly defend his doctoral thesis (November 27, 1997), obtaining for the defense the distinction magna cum laude.

In September 1998, thanks to Mr. Ouimet and the collaboration of Montreal's HEC, the first International Forum on Management, Ethics, and Spirituality (FIMES) was born. This new forum flows from the discovery of new management tools, which are described in the thesis; some of them are unique in the world. Every two years, new forums will be held probably at the HEC in Montreal; in alternate years, the meetings of FIMES will be held outside Canada, as explained at the beginning of this brochure.

THE COMPANIES
The three companies that are the object of the thesis are located in Quebec and constitute three distinct, legal entities. They are owned by the author. All three produce food products, but two of them are completely integrated. During the last several years, they have employed between 320 and 360 full-time people, plus 100 part-time people. The first of the three companies was founded 66 years ago; the second, 26 years ago; and the third one, over 20 years ago. The second and third companies were bought fifteen years ago. Our Project began in the first of the three over 30 years ago; in the two others, about 15 years ago.

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OTHER MOTTOES

CHOSEN IN PAST YEARS

All work is empty except where there is love.
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A welcoming attitude transforms people and makes everyone grow.
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Together we can build and love.
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Action speaks louder than words.
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The mind is richer for what it receives; the heart, for what it gives.
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We can only see with the heart; what is essential is invisible to the eyes.
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A smile is a window into the heart.

2nd Revised Edition
Printed at Imprimeries Quebecor, Pentecost, May 1999.

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