Sterling Management Systems

Infobox Company
company_name = Sterling Management Systems,
a dba of the Emery Wilson Corp. [Fictitious Business Name Statement first published in Daily Commerce, Los Angeles on 1/14/94 File No. 94-58012] [ [http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C1622839&printer=yes CA Business Register] ]
company_
company_type = For-profit
genre =
foundation = Vacaville, California
(March 1983)
founder = Dr.Gregory K. Hughes, DDS
location_city =
location_country =
location = Glendale, California
USA
origins =
key_people = Kevin C. Wilson, Chairman, CEO
area_served =
industry =
products =
services = Management consulting
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
owner = Kevin C. Wilson
company_slogan =
homepage = [http://sterling.us/ Web site]
dissolved =
footnotes = Awards: "INC 500" award winner 1988 [ [http://www.inc.com/inc5000/2007/advanced-search.html?state=all&year=1988 INC 500 List, 1988] ] , 1989 [ [http://www.inc.com/inc5000/2007/advanced-search.html?state=CA&year=1989 INC 500 List, 1989] ]

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. [cite web | first = Stephen | last = Koff | title = Dozens of groups operate under auspices of Church of Scientology | url = http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/51440809.html?dids=51440809:51440809&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT | work = | publisher = St. Petersburg Times | date = 1988-12-22 | accessdate = 2008-08-23]

ervices

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 [World Institute of Scientology Enterprises [http://www.wise.org/en_US/l-ron-hubbard/what-is/index.html L. Ron Hubbard Management technology] ] . 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 conductcite news | first=Joel | last=Sappell | coauthors= Welkos, Robert W. | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-scientology062790,1,278433,full.story?coll=la-news-comment | title=Church Seeks Influence in Schools, Business, Science | work=Los Angeles Times | page=A1:1 | date=1990-06-27 | accessdate=2006-11-17] .

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.

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 [cite book
last = Wilson
first = Bryan R.
authorlink =
coauthors = Jamie Cresswell
title = New Religious Movements: challenge and response
publisher = Routledge
year = 1999
location =
pages = 56
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0415200490] [cite book
last = Heelas
first = Paul
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The New Age Movement: the celebration of the self and the sacralization of modernity
publisher = Blackwell Publishing
year = 1996
location =
pages = 62
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0631193324] .

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. [cite journal
last = Beit-Hallahmi
first = Benjamin
authorlink = Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi
coauthors =
title = Scientology: Religion or racket?
journal = Marburg Journal of Religion
volume = 8
issue = 1
pages =
publisher =
month = September | year = 2003
url = http://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/mjr/beit.html
doi =
id =
accessdate = ] [cite journal
last = Urban
first = Hugh B.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America
journal = Journal of the American Academy of Religion
volume = 74
issue = 2
pages = 356–389
publisher = Oxford University Press
month = June | year = 2006
url =
doi =
id =
accessdate = ] .

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.cite web | first = Stephen | last = Koff | title = Chiropractors seeking advice find Scientology-influenced seminars | url = http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/50162617.html?dids=50162617:50162617&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT | work = | publisher = St. Petersburg Times | date = November 29, 1987] .

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. [Better Business Bureau of Southern California - Report on Sterling Management Systems [http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReport_Details.aspx?CompanyID=40111&sm=B] ] .

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 seminarscite news | first = Richard | last = Behar | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972865-5,00.html | title = The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power | work = Time | page = 5| date = May 6, 1991] :

"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) cite news | first = Terry | last = Dean |publisher = Cherokee County Herald | url = http://www.scientology-lies.com/deerowe.html | title = "Management Seminar" Harrowing Experience | date = December 12, 1990]

Sterling Management Systems has been also criticized for its "high-pressure sales tactics". [cite web | first = Ted | last = Koppel | title = Scientology Leader Gave ABC First-Ever Interview | url = http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2664713&page=1 | work = Nightline | publisher = ABC News | date = 1992-02-14 | accessdate = 2008-08-23 ] [cite web | first = Joseph | last = Mallia | title = Milton school shades ties to Scientology | url = http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s04a05.html | work = Inside the Church of Scientology | publisher = Boston Herald | date = 1998-03-02 | accessdate = 2008-08-23 ]

References

Notes

External links

* [http://sterling.us Company website]

ee also

* Management Consulting
* World Institute of Scientology Enterprises
* L. Ron Hubbard