Sterling Management Systems
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| Type | For-profit |
|---|---|
| Founded | Vacaville, California (March 1983) |
| Founder(s) | Dr.Gregory K. Hughes, DDS |
| Headquarters | Glendale, California United States |
| Key people | Kevin C. Wilson, Chairman, CEO |
| Services | Management consulting |
| Owner(s) | Kevin C. Wilson |
| Website | Web site |
| Awards: INC 500 award winner 1988[3], 1989[4] | |
Sterling Management Systems, a member of WISE, is a Management Consulting firm which offers owners of private-practice Accounting, Medical and Dental practices and other similar businesses training and implementation support programs based on the management techniques developed by L. Ron Hubbard.[5] According to New Religions: A Guide, Sterling Management is a subsidiary of the Church of Scientology.[6] According to the books Perspectives on the New Age and The New Age Movement and the Biblical Worldview, the Church of Scientology oversees the operations of both WISE, and Sterling Management.[7][8]
Contents |
[edit] Services
Sterling provides services under a license from WISE, the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, which oversees the use of L. Ron Hubbard's copyrighted materials in applications in the business community at large[9]. According to the LA Times, Sterling Management Systems offers and teaches the same techniques the Church of Scientology has for years employed including heavy marketing, high productivity and rigid rules of employee conduct[10].
For owners and key executives this involves formal training delivered at Sterling’s facilities in Glendale, CA. For staff, training is typically delivered at weekend workshops held by Sterling for that purpose throughout the year in key cities around the country.
[edit] Scholarly analysis
Wilson's New Religious Movements and Heela's The New Age Movement describe Sterling Management Systems as an "est-like movement", referring to Werner Erhard's Erhard Seminars Training[11][12].
In a journal article in the Marburg Journal of Religion, Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi questioned whether secular activities of Sterling Management Systems had any effect on the religious categorization of Scientology. Hugh Urban also analyzed Sterling Management Systems within this context, in his article "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America.[13][14]
[edit] WISE, Sterling Management Systems and the Church of Scientology
WISE consulting companies like Sterling Management Systems may introduce their client to the religious aspects of Scientology and refer clients to the church for training and/or other religious services. Estimates vary as to the number of people introduced to Scientology in this manner, officials of the WISE consulting company Singer Consultants estimate that 20% of their clients end up taking courses in Scientology while Pat Lusey, co-founder of another WISE consulting group, Uptrends, has stated that 50% of the clients of WISE consulting groups end up in Scientology.[15].
No such estimates are available for Sterling Management Systems but the company does inform clients when they enroll for services that they may be referred to a "Scientology practitioner" if they so desire.[16].
[edit] Criticism
Glover Rowe and his wife Dee stated in 1990 that they were forcibly held against their will by Scientologists after attending two Sterling management seminars[17]:
"They put a telephone in front of me and said I should call every member of my family and tell them I was a member of the Church of Scientology. I refused," said Mrs. Rowe. "At that point, they said, 'but you see Dee, you have to.'....... "For seven hours, a man drilled me, tried to brainwash me," said Mrs. Rowe. " l begged him to let me go, he kept saying, 'but you see Dee, you can't.' He tried to get me to confess to crimes. He started getting me to tell him sex stories. He made me list every overt sin I had committed. They insisted I write down everything I had done wrong. I couldn't list anything bad enough to please them." (" 'Management Seminar' Harrowing Experience", by Terry Dean, Cherokee County Herald, December 12, 1990 pp. 1A, 5A) [18]
Sterling Management Systems has been also criticized for its "high-pressure sales tactics".[17][19][20]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Fictitious Business Name Statement first published in Daily Commerce, Los Angeles on 1/14/94 File No. 94-58012
- ^ CA Business Register
- ^ INC 500 List, 1988
- ^ INC 500 List, 1989
- ^ Koff, Stephen (1988-12-22). "Dozens of groups operate under auspices of Church of Scientology". St. Petersburg Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/51440809.html?dids=51440809:51440809&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 402. ISBN 0195220420.
- ^ Lewis, James R. (2004). Perspectives on the New Age. State University of New York Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0791412138.
- ^ Newport, John P. (1997). The New Age Movement and the Biblical Worldview. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. p. 389. ISBN 0802844308.
- ^ World Institute of Scientology Enterprises L. Ron Hubbard Management technology
- ^ Sappell, Joel; Welkos, Robert W. (1990-06-27). "Church Seeks Influence in Schools, Business, Science". Los Angeles Times: p. A1:1. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-scientology062790,1,278433,full.story?coll=la-news-comment. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
- ^ Wilson, Bryan R.; Jamie Cresswell (1999). New Religious Movements: challenge and response. Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 0415200490.
- ^ Heelas, Paul (1996). The New Age Movement: the celebration of the self and the sacralization of modernity. Blackwell Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 0631193324.
- ^ Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin (September 2003). "Scientology: Religion or racket?". Marburg Journal of Religion 8 (1). http://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/mjr/beit.html.
- ^ Urban, Hugh B. (June 2006). "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America". Journal of the American Academy of Religion (Oxford University Press) 74 (2): 356–389. http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/rapidpdf/lfj084v1.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
- ^ Koff, Stephen (November 29, 1987). "Chiropractors seeking advice find Scientology-influenced seminars". St. Petersburg Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/50162617.html?dids=50162617:50162617&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT.
- ^ Better Business Bureau of Southern California - Report on Sterling Management Systems[1]
- ^ a b Behar, Richard (May 6, 1991). "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power". Time: p. 5. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972865-5,00.html.
- ^ Dean, Terry (December 12, 1990). ""Management Seminar" Harrowing Experience". Cherokee County Herald.
- ^ Koppel, Ted (1992-02-14). "Scientology Leader Gave ABC First-Ever Interview". Nightline. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2664713&page=1. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ Mallia, Joseph (1998-03-02). "Milton school shades ties to Scientology". Inside the Church of Scientology. Boston Herald. http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s04a05.html. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
