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1 – 10 of over 15000The purpose of this paper is to examine work outcomes preferences of Jewish, Muslim and Christian employees. The study attempts to explain the similarities and the differences…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine work outcomes preferences of Jewish, Muslim and Christian employees. The study attempts to explain the similarities and the differences among the ethno-religious groups.
Design/methodology/approach
The Meaning-of-Work (MOW) questionnaire was conducted on 898 Jews, 215 Muslims and 103 Christians working respondents. The work outcomes were: status and prestige, income, time filling, interpersonal relations, serving society, interest and satisfaction.
Findings
Significant differences were found between the three ethno-religious groups, especially between Jews and Muslims, regarding the preferences of work outcomes and their rankings. The findings can be explained mainly by cultural differences.
Research limitations/implications
There is the unbalanced proportion of Jews, Muslims and Christians in the study.
Practical implications
This study provides a better understanding of the three ethno-religious groups and their valued work outcomes. This knowledge can help in the planning of material and non-material rewards systems and methods suitable to the different ethnic groups. Implementing “Diversity Management” programs in organizations based on the variance among sub-groups can maximize the potential of the organizational human resources.
Originality/value
There are no other studies that compared the work values of Jews, Muslims and Christians, in or out of Israel. This study explores the work outcomes preferences of the three ethno-religious groups in Israel and the causes for those differences.
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A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balanceeconomics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary toman′s finding the good life and society enduring…
Abstract
A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balance economics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary to man′s finding the good life and society enduring as a civilized instrumentality. Looks for authority to great men of the past and to today′s moral philosopher: man is an ethical animal. The 13 essays are: 1. Evolutionary Economics: The End of It All? which challenges the view that Darwinism destroyed belief in a universe of purpose and design; 2. Schmoller′s Political Economy: Its Psychic, Moral and Legal Foundations, which centres on the belief that time‐honoured ethical values prevail in an economy formed by ties of common sentiment, ideas, customs and laws; 3. Adam Smith by Gustav von Schmoller – Schmoller rejects Smith′s natural law and sees him as simply spreading the message of Calvinism; 4. Pierre‐Joseph Proudhon, Socialist – Karl Marx, Communist: A Comparison; 5. Marxism and the Instauration of Man, which raises the question for Marx: is the flowering of the new man in Communist society the ultimate end to the dialectical movement of history?; 6. Ethical Progress and Economic Growth in Western Civilization; 7. Ethical Principles in American Society: An Appraisal; 8. The Ugent Need for a Consensus on Moral Values, which focuses on the real dangers inherent in there being no consensus on moral values; 9. Human Resources and the Good Society – man is not to be treated as an economic resource; man′s moral and material wellbeing is the goal; 10. The Social Economist on the Modern Dilemma: Ethical Dwarfs and Nuclear Giants, which argues that it is imperative to distinguish good from evil and to act accordingly: existentialism, situation ethics and evolutionary ethics savour of nihilism; 11. Ethical Principles: The Economist′s Quandary, which is the difficulty of balancing the claims of disinterested science and of the urge to better the human condition; 12. The Role of Government in the Advancement of Cultural Values, which discusses censorship and the funding of art against the background of the US Helms Amendment; 13. Man at the Crossroads draws earlier themes together; the author makes the case for rejecting determinism and the “operant conditioning” of the Skinner school in favour of the moral progress of autonomous man through adherence to traditional ethical values.
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Ute Hilgers-Yilmaz, Ralf Spiller and Christof Breidenich
The Christian Churches have lost a great amount of their attraction in many European countries over the last century. Since the 1960s, ties to the Churches have been relaxed and…
Abstract
The Christian Churches have lost a great amount of their attraction in many European countries over the last century. Since the 1960s, ties to the Churches have been relaxed and approval for their central beliefs and standards has declined.
This is a problem, since the Christian churches are essential agents of fundamental values, such as solidarity and charity that foster the cohesion of a community. Christian faith communities are committed to preserving these values.
If we imagine the Church as a company, from a design perspective the question arises of what stories and images of the Church could revive its values? What could be a convincing set of contemporary visual items of the Christian Churches?
With the creative methods of design thinking some alternative approaches for visual communication of Christian Churches in the age of social media have been developed in a workshop with various representatives of Christian Churches.
Two creative methods were the focus of the workshop, Rummaging and PaperPoint. These methods were selected for refining the strategic concept with the goal to develop solutions for a new way of visual storytelling.
The first strategy is the definition of ‘core values’ and transition to today and the second strategy is change of perspective, refining the concept for the new way of visual storytelling.
The results show that design thinking can be used to bring about creative results even from participants without a professional advertising background.
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The purpose of this paper is to assess the compatibility between the religious investing criteria of some Christian mutual funds and the “ Interfaith Center for Corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the compatibility between the religious investing criteria of some Christian mutual funds and the “ Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility” (ICCR) shareholder resolutions about corporate unethical/illegal practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Among all ICCR 2007‐2008 shareholder resolutions, the paper analyze unethical practices that could lead to corporate illegalities for business corporations that are included in the portfolios of Christian mutual funds. It will determines to what extent such companies have codes of ethics that clearly explained the expected behaviour from their employees, managers, or directors about given ethical issues: sexual orientation discrimination, conflicts of interest on the board and slave labour in the supply chain.
Findings
About the issue of slave labour in the supply chain, managers of Christian mutual funds could not invoke ignorance since in the code of ethics of one company, there is no provision dealing with slave labour. Concerning conflicts of interest on the board, managers of Christian mutual funds could not identify potential risks related to those companies, since the problem is the applicability of their codes of ethics. Finally, companies have very different ways to address or not the issue of sexual orientation discrimination in their codes of ethics.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper is twofold: first to compare companies Christian mutual funds are investing in (on the basis of Christian selection criteria) and companies for which there are ICCR resolutions (the aim of such resolutions is to change some questionable or unethical aspect of a given business corporation), and second to see to what extent corporate codes of ethics are written in a way to reduce or increase the potentiality of ethical conflicts.
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Engaging corporate social responsibility (CSR) is essential to attain corporate sustainability. This paper aims to take the CSR from the viewpoints of a believing system…
Abstract
Purpose
Engaging corporate social responsibility (CSR) is essential to attain corporate sustainability. This paper aims to take the CSR from the viewpoints of a believing system, Christianity in an attempt to bridge a gap in the existing literature.
Design/methodology/approach
Through related literature reviews, research questions asked and grounding in the Christians' sacred text, the author seek to explore the Christians' social responsibilities and their relatedness to the CSR.
Findings
This paper highlights the interlocking principles – honoring God, one's neighbor, God's creation, great commissions and eternality concept – that shape the Christians' fundamental approaches toward their social responsibilities. These collective faith driven principles would redefine the existing CSR conceptions in a refined form that the author call a faith‐based CSR.
Practical implications
The paper discusses the applications of the faith‐based CSR in the areas of corporate philanthropy, environmental preservation and social reporting. The faith‐based CSR is inherently beneficial to the firms and their stakeholders. It refines the organizational paradigms on the business competition, and uncovers a corporate sustainability paradigm otherwise hidden to managers and scholars.
Originality/value
The Christians have significant presence in both developed and emerging nations. Their worldviews on the social responsibility, consequently, would have influenced the CSR practices of firms. Given the scant attentions paid to explore the intersection between a believing system and the business ethics, this paper can make a unique contribution to the area of CSR literature.
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Practical wisdom is central to the tremendous success of Peter Drucker as a management thinker. The paper aims to argue that the attractiveness of his writings is mainly due to…
Abstract
Purpose
Practical wisdom is central to the tremendous success of Peter Drucker as a management thinker. The paper aims to argue that the attractiveness of his writings is mainly due to the underlying Christian value system, which is the basis for the coherence of his thinking, and the reference system for his normative statements and practical wisdom.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discerns the moral foundations of Peter Drucker's work by highlighting explicit value statements in his early writings, some even before he turned to management. Against this background, examples are provided of how he translates his values in practical wisdom into dealing with management challenges.
Findings
A major driving force of Drucker's entire work is seen as the secularization of his religious beliefs. His practical suggestions for modern corporations are deeply influenced by Christian faith. Up to now this has been largely unknown or ignored.
Research limitations/implications
The paper rests on limited text analysis which should be extended in future research. If Drucker's success may be at least partially attributed to his moral tone, any effort to redeem management and to anchor it as a liberal art can deploy his work.
Originality/value
Dissecting the moral background of the most influential management thinker in the last century the paper reveals that Drucker's practical wisdom is the result of a deep connection between Christian values and knowledge. It clearly points to an integrated research perspective, and above all it calls for a rigorous inquiry into moral assumptions underlying any writing on management.
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The past few years have seen a swelling of interest in explicitly Christian approaches to business ethics. The time is ripe, it would seem, to map the diversity of approaches…
Abstract
The past few years have seen a swelling of interest in explicitly Christian approaches to business ethics. The time is ripe, it would seem, to map the diversity of approaches within what I term “Christian business ethics.”1 Here I will frame the diversity of approaches as answers to the distinctive kind of question which religiously minded ethicists have brought to the terrain of business. I will not use theological or religious terms or categories, since such language is not likely to be of interest to philosophers and social scientists. Drawing up this map has been rendered easier by the fact that Christian business ethicists themselves have used a language which is readily accessible to listeners outside their traditions.
The early institutional theory literature highlighted religion as a core societal institution that influences the behaviours of individuals and organisations. Yet to date…
Abstract
The early institutional theory literature highlighted religion as a core societal institution that influences the behaviours of individuals and organisations. Yet to date, religion has remained relatively unexplored in the management and organisational theory literature. This chapter draws on the idea of homophily – similarity breeds connection to explore a peculiarly instructive case focussing on how religion might influence employees’ trust in the CEO in the Nigerian context – generally assumed to be a religious society. The qualitative study employed a multiple case study design with 40 interviewees from two private sector organisations. The study found religion to be instrumental in developing trust relationships. However, contrary to the idea of homophily, it is not religious similarities per se that influence employees’ trust in the CEOs. Instead, employees’ trust is predicated upon them attributing inherent to the CEOs. Therefore, the study provides theoretical and practical insights into how institutional logics, specifically religious logic, influence employees’ behaviours.
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Social movement scholars have increasingly drawn attention to the process of “bridge building” in social movements – that is, the process by which activists attempt to resolve…
Abstract
Social movement scholars have increasingly drawn attention to the process of “bridge building” in social movements – that is, the process by which activists attempt to resolve conflicts stemming from different collective identities. However, most scholars assume that social movements primarily attempt to resolve tensions among activists themselves, and thus that bridge building is a means to other ends rather than a primary goal of social movement activism. In this chapter, I challenge these assumptions through a case study of a “bridging organization” known as Bridge Builders, which sought as its primary goal to “bridge the gap between the LGBT and Christian communities” at a Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. I highlight the mechanisms by which Bridge Builders attempted to facilitate bridge building at the university, and I argue that Bridge Builders succeeded in bridging (a) disparate institutional identities at their university, (b) “structural holes” between LGBT- and religious-identified groups at their university, and (c) oppositional personal identities among organizational members. As I discuss in the conclusion, the case of Bridge Builders has implications for literatures on bridge building in social movements, cultural and biographical consequences of social movements, and social movement strategy.
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