Christian Guidance Christian Guidance: Biblical Value to Ethical Business Leaders

 "Biblical Value to Ethical Business Leaders"

 This project is designed to illustrate the value of Christian moral guidance, as offered by the teachings within the Holy Bible, for contemporary business leaders attempting to balance their roles between traditional organisational success and their acknowledgement as a functional, Christian business leader. Conventional leadership, referencing modern ideals, is often instructed, both academically and by circumstances, to utilise strategic initiatives in order to outmanoeuvre business competitors, misrepresent particular aspects of business negotiations or focus on mass profit-building as the primary target for organisational success. The Bible teaches a different philosophy: A lesson on ethics and morality that can be utilised by modern Christian business leadership to shed a traditionalist corporate mentality and replace that ideology with a business strategy that honours fair-dealing, divinely-inspired leadership and promoting a business environment that sustains ethical relationships. Christian Guidance 3 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and riches" – Matthew 6:24 Introduction The moral compass of business has been shattered for some time, if the excesses and failures of WorldCom, Enron, and Martha Stewart are any legitimate indication1. This particular group of well-publicised corporate disasters met with catastrophic repercussions for their practices in falsifying earnings reports and for passing illegal information about stock purchases from one Chief Executive to another. Christian morals, in contrast, as provided by Scriptural guidance, offer that honour and integrity are the most precious commodities available for Christian business leaders. The Bible clearly indicates a "cause and effect" mentality in that if a person is honest, God will reward him and if one is dishonest, God will punish him. An immoral conduct is the cause of a profound sense of culpability2. Some might argue that the teachings presented by Scriptures were intended for moral and ethical counselling to assist in guiding a Christian individual in primarily personal living, however, solid principles regarding ethics in business are astutely implanted throughout the Bible that offer this punishment versus reward assurance which focuses around strengthening leadership skills for business leaders and how to conduct business affairs with the utmost virtue. These Christian principals, and their effects on the __________ 1 Davenport, Rex. (Dec 2005). Faith at Work. Training and Development. Vol. 59, Iss. 12, p.22. 2 Cory, Jacques. (2005). Activist Business Ethics. Kluwer Academic Publishers: pp. 35-36. Christian Guidance 4 success of contemporary business leaders who have adopted them, will be explored so as to illustrate the genuine value of Christian teachings leading to professional triumphs. Leadership One professional author points out an interesting concept of Christs influence in establishing a structured organisation comparable to modern business with the following commentary: "Jesus Christ set up a rudimentary organisation initially consisting of twelve members. Like many other closely knit organisations, the demise of the inspirational leader wrought havoc and doubt…such indecision was nipped in the bud when Christ unexpectedly returned from the grave; an event which rebuilt confidence in their organisation and its mission".3 One particular aspect noted by both Christians and non-Christians in terms of creating organizational success is to establish strong leadership within the firm that is able to set the example for an ethical organisational culture. The analogy of Christs leadership as comparable to establishing a unified staff which remains focused around a strong, moral vision can best be supported with this reference to Gods teachings regarding leadership: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" 4 __________ 3 Walle, A.H. (1996). Localised marketing strategies and the bible of international business. Management Decision. London: Vol. 34, Iss. 7, p.5. 4 The Living Bible. (1989). Matthew 5:14. Tyndale House Publishers. Christian Guidance 5 Existing professional literature describes moral organisations as a firm with an unwavering dedication to the search for a moral common ground on which all people can fulfil their drams, define their humanity and gain the ultimate in pride and self-respect in spirit and harmony5. Further, business leadership requires setting an example and taking ownership of decisions and actions in order to be visually open and responsive to the needs of the subordinate staff6. Christs analogous representation of leadership as a shining lamp which gives light to others as it remains visibly displayed rather than obscured from view can best be summarised as representative of todays organisational leadership who must shine the proverbial light of morality across the business in order to set a standard of professional ethics. Building confidence in the ethical mission of a Christian-led company begins with sound leadership who must not only utilise faith-related lessons when distributing corporate ethical literature; the leader must become a noticeably symbolic representation of morality if the leader hopes to establish the same value system within the existing staff.