Over the last two months, I've been working on this paper on what it means to do business to honor God and how business can change the world. This paper is a work in progress, and I hope to continue editing it. I would love to hear your feedback, comments, and suggestions. Please email me or leave a comment on the blog. Thank you.
Rethinking Business to Honor God and Change the World
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
What if God wrote a mission statement for Business?
What if God wrote a mission statement for Business? That's the question that Jeff Van Duzer, dean of Seattle Pacific University (a Christian university started in 1891 by the Free Methodists), asks in his book Why Business Matters to God (And What Still Needs to be Fixed). The answer to his question is reflected in the "Business as Service" model.
Businesses exist not to maximize profits, but to serve people. Traditional
businesses serve customers and employees as a means to the ultimate ends of
maximizing profits. The Business as Service company sees generating profits as
a means to its ends, which is to serve its customers and its employees.
Jeff writes, “I would conclude that at this time in history,
there are two legitimate, first-order, intrinsic purpose of business: as
stewards of God’s creation, business leaders should manage their businesses (1)
to provide the community with goods and services that will enable it to flourish,
and (2) to provide opportunities for meaningful work that will allow employees
to express their God-given creativity.” [1]
Besides pursuing the twin goals of serving customers and
employees, the Business as Service companies should seek to do so within the
limits of sustainability. The decisions should be limited to the need to
operate in ways that “do no harm” to any of the business’s stakeholders,
including shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, the environment, and
the community.[2]
The Business as Service model originates from the Creation
Mandate given to Adam and Eve by God in Genesis 1 and 2. Jeff Van Duzer breaks down the Creation Mandate into several
parts.[3]
1)
Human beings are called to steward God’s
creation.
2)
Human beings are made in the image of God and
thus created to be in relationship with God and with other people.
3)
Human beings are made in the image of God and
thus created to work like God did. “Adam and Eve were called to creatively
organize (name the animals) and manage these resources (take dominion), to
enhance the productivity of the Garden (be fruitful and multiply) in a
sustainable (guard creation) manner.”[4]
4)
Humans are made to live within limits. Though
made in the image of God, men and women are inherently limited and created to
live within boundaries.
5)
God delights in variety and created humans to
complement one another, as Eve was created different from Adam, yet
complementary.
6)
“God intended that men and would take the raw
materials that had been provided and, in partnership with God, help to grow and
construct the kingdom here on earth.”[5]
Humans are called to co-create with God, to cause the Earth to flourish and be
fruitful.
7)
Human beings are called to be fruitful and
multiply, to enjoy sexual-relations and produce offspring.
Businesses should see themselves as not the only institution to
attempt to fulfill God’s mandates given in Genesis 1 and 2, but a part of many
institutions each playing a unique, yet complementary role. Van Duzer writes
that certain institutions are better suited for certain tasks within the
Cultural Mandate. For example, the family is a better institution for the
bearing and raising of children (be fruitful and multiply). The church and
neighbourhood might be the best settings to nurture community. The government
may be in a better position to assume primary responsibility for guarding
creation.[6]
As businesses pursue its purposes of enabling creative work
(innovation) and producing community-flourishing products (productivity) in a
sustainable manner, it should be mindful of the fact that it was designed to
work in partnership with all other institutions in order that they might
collectively advance God’s kingdom on earth. Whenever possible, business managers
should operate their businesses that respect other institutional agendas and
wherever possible, look for opportunities for collaboration to advance the
common good.[7]
What do you think about the Business as Service model? Agree or disagree?
Monday, August 15, 2011
Why do some people hate Businesses?
Graduating with a business degree, I've always been a little bothered when I encounter people who genuinely hate businesses. At times I get defensive and debate that businesses provide people with jobs, with innovative products, and improve people’s standard of living. Yet something in my gut tells me that these people have valid reasons for disliking businesses.
Damage to the environment. Violation of human rights. Exploitation of people. Deception of customers. Profit-driven. Breaking the law. Bribery. Scandals. Poor working conditions. Child labor. And the list of accusations against businesses go on and on.
Who can forget Enron, who used financial loopholes to cover-up billions in debt of failed deals and projects leading to $11 billion of loss to its shareholders? Or the Melamine scandal, where 21 companies in China were adding the industrial chemical to milk and infant formula to increase protein content, resulting in 6 infants dying and 860 babies hospitalized? Or the current allegations against media giant Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp for phone-hacking and police bribery?
At the core of these problems is the human heart. Businesses are run by people. If there is something wrong with businesses, then there is something wrong with the human heart.
God has a solution for what's wrong with the human heart. And I wonder if God also has a solution for what's wrong with businesses. What would it look like to run a business in a way that honors God? How do you manage a company that has business practises that reflect the heart of God? What value does a relationship with Jesus have in the workplace.
Over the next month I will attempt to answer these questions. I will write a paper tentatively entitled "Business that Honors God and Changes the World". I will also write a proposal for LeaderImpact Group (a ministry of Power to Change) for creating a ministry that helps people in the marketplace discover the relevance and value of Jesus in their work and business.
This is the hypothesis of my paper: When you do business in a way that honors God, you make the biggest change you can in the world and it is the most satisfying way to do business.
Over the next 30 days, I will interview Christian business leaders, read articles and books on the subject, listen to podcasts, research organizations that do similar work, blog some of my thoughts, and interact with people interested in the topic. If you have any suggestions or feedback for me through this process, I would love to hear it.
At the end of each blog, I'll leave you with a question. My question today is this:
What frustrates you about businesses?
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