Sterling Management Systems
Encyclopedia
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
and other private practice professionals. Founded in 1983 in the back office of a dental practice in Vacaville, Ca., it is currently located in a 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) office in Glendale, CA. It has been named in 1988 and 1989 by INC Magazine as among the 500 fastest growing companies in the US.
According to the company's website it has delivered practice management seminars to over 160,000 professionals, and courses to more than 70,000 clients and staff.
For practice owners and key executives Sterling's services involve formal training delivered at their 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.
Hubbard Management Technology
Sterling offers training and implementation support programs based on the management techniques developed by L. Ron HubbardL. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, author and founder of the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
. These services are provided under a license from WISE, the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises
World Institute of Scientology Enterprises
World Institute of Scientology Enterprises is an organization affiliated with the Church of Scientology that educates and assists businesses in the use of management methods and techniques developed by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard, such methods and techniques being, like all of Hubbard's...
, an international membership organization which licenses the use of Hubbard's copyrighted management materials and oversees their use in applications in the business community at large.
Controversy
According to New Religions: A Guide, Sterling Management is a subsidiary of the Church of ScientologyChurch of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
. 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.
Both of these facts are apparently contradicted by the company's status as a private corporation and its inclusion on the INC 500 , which is limited to verified private corporations, and by the company's web site, which states that it is a private corporation owned by Kevin Wilson, that it is not a subsidiary but a licensee of the Hubbard Management materials.
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
Werner Erhard
Werner Hans Erhard is an author of transformational models and applications for individuals, groups, and organizations...
's Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training, an organization founded by Werner H. Erhard, offered a two-weekend course known officially as "The est Standard Training"...
.
Sterling Management Systems has been criticized for its "high-pressure sales tactics".
WISE, SMS and the Church of Scientology
WISE consulting companies like SMS 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..No such estimates are available for SMS. The company states on their site that they are licensed to deliver the secular management technologies of L. Ron Hubbard only, that it has "happened where clients have asked for assistance in personal matters that lie beyond the scope of Sterling’s work. At that point, if asked by a client, we let them know that, if they want, we can introduce them to a Scientology practitioner who can tell them more."
See also
- Management ConsultingManagement consultingManagement consulting indicates both the industry and practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement....
- World Institute of Scientology EnterprisesWorld Institute of Scientology EnterprisesWorld Institute of Scientology Enterprises is an organization affiliated with the Church of Scientology that educates and assists businesses in the use of management methods and techniques developed by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard, such methods and techniques being, like all of Hubbard's...
- L. Ron HubbardL. Ron HubbardLafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...