Spiritual quotient towards organizational sustainability: the Islamic perspective
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-01-2017-0002 |
| Date | 08 May 2017 |
| Published date | 08 May 2017 |
| Pages | 163-170 |
| Author | Sohail Akhtar,Mohd Anuar Arshad,Arshad Mahmood,Adeel Ahmed |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,Business ethics,Sustainability |
Spiritual quotient towards
organizational sustainability:
the Islamic perspective
Sohail Akhtar, Mohd Anuar Arshad, Arshad Mahmood and
Adeel Ahmed
School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Malaysia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of spiritual quotient (SQ) on the organisational
sustainability from the Islamic perspective. Till date, many organisations around the world are facing
environmental, social and economic issues affecting their organisational sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach –The present paper is conceptual paper based on literature review on
employee’s behavioural issues and role of SQ for organisational sustainability.
Findings –This present paper argues that SQ must be considered as the important factor for employee
development in the organisation. It develops spiritual awareness among employees which enhances their
productivity withinthe organisation. Furthermore, SQis necessary means of identifying andharnessing deeper
inner resources with the capacity to care for the well-being of the organisation and advance its development.
Research limitations/implications –The paper suggests SQ and its multi-dimensions with the
implication for future research in organisational sustainability.
Originality/value –The paper discusses the development of the concept of SQ from the Islamic perspective.
Keywords Islamic culture, Employee behaviour, Organizational sustainability, Spiritual quotient
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
The past decade has witnessed several large unethical scandals in global organisations,
perhaps best exemplified by the global financial crisis, which has underscored the
importance of organisational sustainability (Soltani, 2014). Since 2000, a number of large
organisations have been in the news due to unethical scandals (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2014).
In business organisations, sustainability is referred to as the “triple bottom line”comprising
environmental, social/ethical and economic well-being (Willard, 2012). The triple bottom line
has become the leading paradigm of organisational sustainability. The term was coined in
1997 by John Elkington (2004) in his book entitled Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom
Line of Twenty-first Century Business Organisations. The book argued that unethical issues
typically occur because of conflicts between an employee’s personal moral beliefs and
values and the core values of the organisational culture. Conflict usually starts when
employees attempt to fulfil their own goals instead of those of the organisation (Ferrell and
Fraedrich, 2015). According to the Ethics Resource Centre’s (2012) “National Business Ethics
of Fortune 500 Employees”, in 2012, 52 per cent of employees were involved in unethical
misconduct. The range of illegal and unethical activities that go unreported is extensive
and include bribery and fraud. Such behaviour by employees damages the organisational
sustainability and its reputation (Lu and Lin, 2014).
Organisational sustainability issues
Organisational sustainability is an emerging discipline.The debate regarding the indicators and
measures of sustainability is continued in literature (Özlem and Besler, 2014). To date, many
World Journal of
Entrepreneurship, Management
and Sustainable Development
Vol. 13 No. 2, 2017
pp. 163-170
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2042-5961
DOI10.1108/WJEMSD-01-2017-0002
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5961.htm
The authors acknowledge the support of IPS fellowship scheme Universiti Sains Malaysia in
conducting this research.
163
SQ towards
organizational
sustainability
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