Muslim Work Ethics: Relationships with Religious Orientations and the “Perfect Man” (Ensan-e K ¯ amel ¯ ) in Managers and Staff in Iran
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2017, Vol 8, Issue 8
Abstract
Weber’s association of a work ethic with Protestantism has been extended to religions, including Islam, more generally. Managers and staff in a bank and department store in Tehran responded to Muslim religiousness measures along with the multidimensional work ethics profile (MWEP). The MWEP is a 7-factor instrument that records Weber’s interpretation of work ethics. Intrinsic, extrinsic personal, and extrinsic cultural religious orientations predicted a higher work ethic. Two extrinsic cultural religious orientation factors exhibited especially strong connections with MWEP factors. The morality/ethics MWEP factor most consistently predicted Muslim commitments. Integrative self-knowledge and self-control served as empirical markers of an Iranian Muslim spiritual ideal called ensan-e k ¯ amel ¯ or the “perfect man.” Both correlated positively with morality/ethics and with three of the four extrinsic cultural religious orientations. Managers scored higher than staff on morality/ethics, on the two characteristics of the “perfect man”, and on the three of four extrinsic cultural religious orientation factors. These data supported the existence of a Muslim work ethic.
Authors and Affiliations
Nima Ghorbani, P. J. Watson, Maryam Karimpour and Zhuo Job Chen
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