Customer Reviews

The Gods of Business:

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This book is intended as a help to businesspeople who are dealing with people from different cultures around the world and who likely hold to different religious faiths than they hold themselves. Often, and mistakenly, people assume that all religions are pretty much the same. In fact, what most Christians assume a religion to be, with its ordinances and orthodox doctrines, would not only be foreign to some religions, the very ideas would not be understood.

While this book is in no way meant to be a comprehensive examination of these faiths, it does offer a good quick reference and a place to start. In chapter one Todd Albertson lays out the problem and then takes us through a chapter each on Confucianism (China), Shintoism (Japan), Buddhism (China & India), Hinduism (India), Sikhism (India), Christianity (global), Islam (global), and Judaism (Israel, Europe, America and more), and secular postmodernism (the West).

Each chapter discusses the history of each religion, its sacred texts, selected readings, core beliefs, the branches existing in the faith, how its beliefs might influence the business behavior of its practitioners, and some references and further reading. One nice touch that the author has a quote of that faith's version of the "Golden Rule" to begin each chapter.

I found this to be quite interesting and helpful. Again, anyone needing more than a quick overview will have to dig more deeply into other materials, but this book is a great place to start. And those who know a given religion deeply will find the treatment to be superficial, but that is the point of a quick reference. It cannot get bogged down in all the detail that matters to experts.

Quite useful.

I am fourth generation Mexican-American living in the San Diego area. I am also a practicing Roman Catholic. I have many friends who are not Catholic nor Latino and I generally get along with them and everybody regardless of race or religion. I have a new boss who is a recent immigrant from Asia. He is devoutly Buddhist. I have found it so difficult to work for him our values are so diferent and that plays out everday at work.

I shared this problem with some friends in a Book Club that I am member of. One of them had heard about this book, The Gods of Business, from w[...]. I was able to buy a copy, even though it says it isn't available for a few more weeks.

In the Preface, what author Albertson calls A Word to the Reader, he writes "This book will frustrate some because I don't spoon-feed the reader, as if you were unable to draw a conclusion for yourself. The sections applying religion to the marketplace are short compared to preceding sections. My reasoning is: once understanding is gained from a religion's history, core beliefs and sacred texts, the market application is often straightforward and self-explanatory. I do not decide the issues of the present day. I do try to lay out the bare bones of belief of the major religions, the basic ideas and values that many religions share towards business, and the most likely ways that people express their various faiths."

I read this statement and filed it away somewhere in my mind. By the fourth chapter, I was becoming frustrated because I wasn't being told what to think. I was expecting Dr. Phil, telling me what to think, feel, and believe about religion and business ethics. I then remembered the previous statement in the Preface that Albertson wasn't going to be doing this and was forcing me to draw my own conclusions. It made me think long and hard about what I was reading and about the situation with my boss.

I liked this a lot book because I was being treated with intellectual respect and dignity. After experiencing this, why would I want a Dr. Phil moment as this was so much better! This book helped me understand where my boss was coming from and how to deal with him better. I like this book so much that I've bought multiple copies to give away to a few co-workers and my boss!

I highly recommend.

I liked The Gods of Business a lot. I'm trying to get up speed real quickly on doing business in China. I think of it as a 1000 Mile journey. This book got me about 500 miles down the road real quick. It gave me the basics of the country's religion and their approach to business. After I read this book, I read Chinese Business Etiquette: A Guide to Protocol, Manners, and Culture in the People's Republic of China (A Revised and Updated Edition of "Dealing with the Chinese") and Doing Business in China For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance)) each of which added another 250 miles of knowledge.

Written by international business expert Todd Albertson, MBA, Ph.D., The Gods of Business: The Intersection of Faith and the Marketplace is a very straightforward introduction to the basic guiding principles of the world's major religions (Confucianism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Secular Postmodernism) and how those principles affect individual adherents, particularly in the realms of commerce and ethics. The Gods of Business spells out the a condensed yet balanced portrayal of each faith in plain terms, immediately accessible to lay readers, and is enthusiastically recommended for anyone preparing to embark upon business ventures among those of different faiths, or simply seeking to quickly grasp a better understanding of how religious diversity shapes different culture's worldviews. "Jewish ethics are summed up in the Ten Commandments and in the philosophy of 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' The latter sounds harsh today, but it was an enormous advance on the take-no-prisoners ethics of the societies that surrounded the Jewish people in the days of Moses. The non-Jewish principle of the time was a life for an eye, and if I cannot kill you, I will get a member of your family. This was the whole basis of feuding, which was widespread even in the West until recent history." A 'must-have' primer for anyone unfamiliar with basic tenets of world religions in today's era of globalization.

Though 'THE GODS OF BUSINESS: The Intersection of Faith and the Marketplace' was written as a means to understand the dichotomy so often found between personal ethics and business behavior, most readers will find this little book a fine resource for reviewing (or discovering!) the similarities and differences among the world's religions. Author Todd Albertson holds an MBA in International Business and a PhD in Theology and Culture, the latter degree achieved using the source material of this book as his doctoral thesis ('The Impact of Religious Worldview on Business Ethics and Practices in Twentieth Century Western Society'). A successful businessman, he is well informed from both the secular and theological aspects and serves as a solid guide to help us understand the manner in which 'religion' can potentially influence global business practices.

Knowing that including all of the world religions would be beyond the scope of this book, Albertson wisely divides his survey into five parts: 1) Religions originating in China and Japan (Confucianism and Shintoism), 2) Religions originating in India (Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism), 3) Religions originating in the Middle East (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) and 4) Religions originating in Secular Postmodernism (atheism, humanism, science based faiths). The creation of these 'Parts' is significant in that the divisions subject the various sects to comparison according to origin - a lesson reflecting some contemporary misbeliefs.

For each religion the manner of presentation is the same: short but important sections on History, Sacred Texts, Selected Readings, Core Beliefs, various branches within that religion, the shadow of that religion on the Marketplace, and substantial key References for the reader who wishes to explore each religion with more depth. Albertson does not bias the reader with opinion in this terse survey: he merely informs and allows the reader to draw conclusions on the basis of the material presented. It is only at the end of his book that he personalizes his years of information gathering with some observations that are sturdy and disturbing. He discusses the disparities between what people around the world claim to have as religious ethics and how they conduct their business lives, often with greed and dishonesty. "There is something in the human heart that recognizes what is right regardless of the system of belief one embraces. Some people apply concepts of right and wrong in their business dealings. Others do not."

Todd Albertson has not written a book that preaches 'his brand' of ethics. Instead he has presented us with a superb synopsis of the fundamentals of many religions, many being ones about which we understand little. And a little knowledge goes a great way in understanding the cores of mindsets of 'religions' as we know them. Grady Harp, June 07

This book is impressive. It was recommend recently by a colleague. The story of religious worldview and business ethics is excellent material, and the author tells it well.

The Gods of Business educates the reader as to the basics of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, New Age, The Occult, Secular Humanism, and more. In today's multi-relgious environment, people are confused with what each religion holds as truth. While this book does not exhaustively cover the subject, I can say as a Rabbi that it does provides an objective look at Judaism!

I was looking for a book that summarized major religions' view about business. This book did just that! The consistent format made comparison across faiths easy. (It looks like the formatting from a dissertation). Each chapter describes history, branches within the religion, the sacred text, how that faith views the marketplace and recommended reading. A great survey that is a prelude to reading more deeply. Thanks!

I'm a student at Princeton University. I am also a Christian (a practicing Roman Catholic). I was writing a paper on Business Ethics and the New Testament and my professor recommended I get this book. Between his endorsement (he is anti-Christian) and the review by Lisa from Colorado Springs who calls this book "liberal non-Christian dribble", I was reluctant to spend money on this book.

The author doesn't hide his faith at all and is obviously a Christian, although he writes the book more or less objectively. I think that is why my professor likes this book because the author doesn't advocate for a specific faith or slam non-Christian faiths directly. Although in reality he does, it is just that my prof is too blind to the facts to see them on the page. By the author objectively looking at each belief systems, Christianity sure seems the sanest of all faiths and the one requiring the least amount of "faith" to believe (especially compared to secular Post-Modernism).

I think Lisa's condemnation that this book isn't Christian because it uses the terms CE instead of AD (which she erroneously believes stands for "After Death" and not the Latin "Anno Domini") is just dumb! Everybody in academia refers to the modern era is CE (Common or Current Era). You couldn't write a book like this and have it be taken seriously by anyone other than right-wing fundamentalists without using that terminology. And besides, who says CE is bad? It also could stand for "Christian Era!"

I really like the author's revised Chapter 11. It is powerful and is a no holds barred commentary on modern life, religion, and business ethics. My major criticism of this book is that it provides each religion's equivalent of the "Golden Rule" at the beginning of each chapter. I don't feel this is objective since Christianity is the only religion reaching love and all these other Golden Rules are just cheap counterfeits that add credibility to other religions that they don't deserve. If not for this, I would have given the book 5 stars!

I bought this book because of the author's Evangelical Christian credentials. I was sadly disappointed. He must be a liberal Christian at best and probably not even really saved to have written this sort of non-Christian dribble. He should be ashamed calling himself a Christian!

In this book he treats all religions equally. He even uses humanistic terminology like C.E. (the abbreviation for "Common Era" which is an atheist replacement for A.D. ("After Death)." If you really are a Christian a much better reading choice would be Fundamentals of the Faith: Essays in Christian Apologetics.

Don't buy this book!