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The days when businesses could operate solely on self-interest, short-term gain and with an eye on the bottom line are numbered as customers, employees and shareholders insist on knowing what companies are doing in the world.
There is a growing interest in what is being called 'spiritual capital'.
Financial planner, chartered accountant and managing director of Money Matters and Rodger Spiller & Associates, Dr Rodger Spiller, says spiritual capital is the value reflected in a business's commitment to quality of life.
"It is a bit of an intangible - like brand worth," he says. "It's something that helps companies be better able to attract customers and employees.
"It's about focusing on quality of life and sustainability. These are things that citizens are getting more aware of and are seeing as more important."
A recent survey in Britain showed that 53 per cent of workers felt a tension between their spirituality and daily work. "This needs to be addressed," Rodger says, "as it affects productivity and engagement."
Rodger points out that wealth is being redefined but, in some ways, it's reverting to its original meaning.
According to Wikipedia, wealth comes from the old English word "weal", meaning "well-being" or "welfare", and the term was originally an adjective used to describe the possession of such qualities.
"Spiritual capital reflects the original definition of wealth as wellbeing - not just money," Rodger says.
"It's about individuals and businesses being environmentally and socially responsible and wanting to improve wellbeing for all.
"Employees want to work for companies that take into account these things. Interestingly, companies with this broader perspective who look to enhancing quality of life are doing better financially.
"Responsible investors who prefer these companies are doing well by doing good. Stakeholders want to work and invest in companies that make a difference in the world and make money at the same time."
A famous quote from Body Shop founder the late Anita Roddick is: "The end result of kindness is that it draws people to you."
Rodger talks of the four Ps of spiritual capital: purpose, principles, practices and performance.
He says the old idea that greed is good has been rejected by a lot of people who don't merely want to work to finance the weekend. They want to feel good about the work they're doing.
"People are searching for meaning, and becoming more aware of spirituality. Employees who feel in tune with their company's efforts will be more productive and enthusiastic," Rodger says. "People's purpose in the world is more than just about money.
"It's about improving quality of life and defining and fulfilling a personal and professional purpose, of making a difference for other people and the planet.
"This involves principles like kindness, caring, fairness, honesty and courage. These are often found in the realm of spirituality.
"It's about finding out what's really important to us and putting it into practice." Rodger points out that these days, with instant information through cellphones, the internet and other communications, the world can really see what a company's up to.
A good example was the movement against Nike when it was discovered companies associated with it were using child labour.
Nike acted on this and now reports on issues of social responsibility.
Organisations such as the New Zealand Superannuation Fund are signatories to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing and take account of the UN Global Compact, which defines expectations for responsible business practices.
"Generation Y is asking questions, searching for meaning, thinking about quality of life," Rodger says.
"These young people are not jumping out of bed in the morning wanting to make more money for shareholders, they want a lot more.
"And if companies want them to stay engaged, they have to be looking at their spiritual capital."
Rodger says it's not about lip service, either. "People are sceptical about what companies say and do.
"We are all aware that someone can go to church on a Sunday and then on a Monday behave in a way that's inconsistent with their religion.
"It's also known that some people who don't go to church at all can be highly spiritual.
"There is a lot of greenwashing. People want companies to practise their principles and prove what they're doing. They are wanting companies to produce performance measurement reports that show how the company is contributing to improving quality of life."
One way for employees to know whether the company they work for is walking the talk is to look at how human resources are being run.
Is the company providing fulfilling work, learning and development opportunities, and programmes to engage staff in volunteering in the community? How is the company contributing to quality of life?
Looking at New Zealand particularly, Chellie Spiller, who holds a masters degree in international relations and is researching a PhD in business, says this country has a huge asset in enhancing spiritual capital: the Maori culture. Spiller, of Ngati Kahungunu descent, says from a Maori perspective, spiritual capital enhances sustainability. "It's about the fundamental questions of life."
She says the Maori concept of well being or ora, which the online Maori dictionary defines as: "1. be alive, well, safe, cured, recovered, healthy, fit. 2. (verb) to survive", explains it well by providing the reason for being.
Ora reflects the purpose that Maori and many Maori businesses have of enhancing quality of life. Maori business principles demonstrate to all businesses how spiritual capital can be implemented.
An area where other businesses can learn from Maori is by looking at Maori cultural tourism businesses.
These businesses are part of the tourism sector, New Zealand's biggest export earner - worth $17 billion a year. The success of these businesses rests on their authenticity and strong principles.
The principle of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) requires that they look after the environment and that tourists experience New Zealand and Maori tourism businesses as clean and green to match the imagery associated with the country's brand.
Another principle is whanaungatanga (kinship), which in a business context means building team spirit. The hangi and haka traditionally associated with Maori tourism are practices these business apply to build whanaungatanga, and tourists experience the spiritual nature of these practices. Rodger says that now, "smart business people internationally are seeing these practices can help them personally and in their businesses to build their own spiritual capital.
"New Zealanders are being recruited to go overseas and run courses for business leaders and their teams. Rather than simply doing the usual corporate retreat exercises followed by French champagne and fine food, business people are rolling up their sleeves and learning how to make hangi.
"They are also learning the haka and creating their own. They've seen the All Blacks do the haka and been in awe of the spirit of that.
"Just as the All Blacks use it to build their focus for the coming game - businesses are seeing the value of that to building their personal and team spirit.
"Maori culture reflected in the All Blacks haka has added to New Zealand's spiritual capital and businesses want to capitalise on that."
Spiller says the dialogue processes at hui make for good guidelines too. "[They] take people to a deeper level. What's really important comes out. There's a lot that can move from the marae to the boardroom."
