Zen and the Art of Business Ethics

Class begins in the dark. Students sit silently with their eyes closed and relax into their chairs. The only sound is the professor, who speaks soothingly through the darkness.

This is not your typical class.

But for business lecturer Jack Phillips, class begins like this every day.

Phillips, who teaches Business Ethics for the 21st Century, leads students through "centering" exercises at the start of each class.

During the five-minute period, students rest with "sternums forward, shoulders relaxed, surrendering their bodies into their chairs." The purpose of this exercise is to clear students' minds for self-reflection, Phillips says.

"We get relaxed but stay alert so that we can spend a few moments completely relaxing the body and mind," Phillips says.

Phillips, who designed the course in 2001, has used centering as a tool since he began teaching on campus nearly 20 years ago.

While Phillips stresses to every class that the exercise is optional, most students participate and have found it extremely helpful and relaxing, he says.

"Sometimes it's the most important thing students take from the class," Phillips says.

The connection between centering and business ethics lies in helping students distinguish between gut reactions and thoughtful decisions, Phillips says, a skill that is imperative in the business world.

"If you're reacting, you're just a robot," Phillips says. "Centering puts us all on the same page and gives us a chance to be human beings rather than human doings."

Phillips says he became involved in meditation through yoga, an activity that initially led him to introspection and relaxation.

"Yoga got me to slow down enough so that I could finally do meditation," Phillips says. "After a wonderful yoga workout, the body is completely relaxed. That's a lovely thing to feel."

Last year, when the business school was considering cutting classes because of the state budget crisis, Phillips offered to teach his class for free because he says giving students a chance to look at themselves as individuals is a crucial part of business.

But the business school was able to find funds and Phillips was reimbursed with full benefits.

Although students welcome Phillips' methods, he says he did receive criticisms early in his career based on the misconception that centering is linked to religion.

"There is no organized religion in it," Phillips says. "There is absolutely nothing dogmatic, doctrinal or religious in any sense like that other than perhaps getting quiet and perhaps returning to your own sense of being."

But despite these early criticisms, Phillips has an excellent reputation with faculty and students, says Robert Holub, dean of the College of Letters and Science.

While some students feel that centering is beneficial, others remain skeptical.

"There are people who feel that it's a waste of time," says Adnan Iqbal, one of Phillips' students. "But just like any new experience, if you try it sincerely, you can gain benefits from it."

The class provides a needed break from the rigor of other business classes, says senior Reshma Nichani.

"As a business major, it's a refreshing course to take," Nichani says. "This is a class that is really for you. It puts a lot of things into perspective."

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