OIKOS: Convergence in business ethics

The current focus on corporate culture in managerial theory, on character development in business ethics, and on the work—family relationship in family studies calls for an integrating concept to help us explore the relationship of work, family, and fundamental values. The ancient Greek concept of the oikos offers a basic framework for understanding the ensemble of emotional commitments and faith values underlying ethical action in organizational life. Examination of the interrelationships among the arenas of work, family and faith directs us to the importance of ecclesiologies, faith concepts, and family forms for business ethics. William Johnson Everett is Associate Professor of Ecclesiology and Director of the OIKOS Project on Work, Family and Faith at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta. He is the author of many articles in social ethics as well as Blessed Be the Bond: Christian Perspectives on Marriage and Family (Fortress Press, 1985). He is co-author of Disciplines in Transformation: A Guide to Theology and the Behavioral Sciences (University Press of America, 1979).