Haugeinstituttet
Ethics in the Workplace - the Norwegian and American Experie
Most who hear the name Hans Nielsen Hauge think of the Norwegian lay preacher as someone who inspired people with his spiritual ideas and prompted his compatriots to action on behalf of God and in the interests of themselves and their neighbours. Few it seems think of Hauge as an entrepreneur, as one who not only laid the foundation for a modern Norwegian approach to social and economic life but as one who pioneered in new business formation. Only recently are we coming to see his ideas as influential in the way businesses could be organized.
My ongoing research into the impact of Norwegian lay preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge and conversations with Norwegian colleagues who have established the Hauge Centre in Norway suggest that Hauge’s ideas about ethics and business have had a profound impact on the way Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans conduct their work and create conditions for workers in their organizations. In some instances this impact is direct in that Hauge-inspired business initiatives in Norway have continued to the present day. In other cases, the impact is indirect as Hauge’s ideas informed the thinking of countless Norwegian immigrants to the Upper Midwest. The primary purpose of this conference is to explore further the notion of ethics in the workplace and the extent to which Hauge’s ideas illuminate ethical formation. Secondary purposes are to highlight examples of business operations that epitomize an ethical approach to business (both Norwegian and American), to enhance conversations about advancing ethics in the workplace, and to strengthen linkages between St. Olaf College and Norwegian organizations that can promote these conversations.
Prof. Bruce Dalgaard
Professor of Economics and Executive Director
of The Centre for Experiential Learning, St. Olaf College