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Bible Integration
Tiffany Burgi
School of Business, Liberty University
Author Note
Tiffany Burgi
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tiffany Burgi
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how God's character is and is not reflected in a workplace
case study. In the paper, it is analyzed if the management of Boston Bank demonstrates God's
character in relation to a workplace issue. The senior management (Ellen) is also evaluated to see
if how she handled hiring a new manager and discussing the new manager’s infractions are
aligned with God's character. The paper also looks at the new manager, Ralph, to if his actions
are reflective of God's character. Also addressed in the paper is the way I would have or have not
handled the negative situation related to the new hire.
Keywords: character, expectations, management, responsibility
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Bible Integration
Reflecting God's character
Reflecting God's character comes in many forms. It could be in actions, interactions with
other people, how people manage their own reactions to situations, how they shepherd others,
care for others, being honest with others, etc. However, simply because people display good
character, moral and ethical characteristics does not mean they are automatically a Christian. For
example, if someone is a law-abiding citizen, it does not mean they are a Christian, when we
read the Ten Commandments, we are able to see who God is through His laws (Bornapé, 2018).
With regards to that statement, if we do not kill someone, steal, or commit adultery, just to name
a few, we are expressing the character of God. But, as I stated before, that does not make
someone a Christian.:
Expectations
After reading the case study, I believe the situation of Ralph's employment was handled
in the way of God's character. First, the manager let Ralph know she didn't think he was ready to
be the branch manager. However, their search for a more qualified candidate to take the position
was unsuccessful. Ultimately, they took a chance on Ralph instead of passing him over. Second,
they let him know areas he needed to work on in order to be successful in the position. When
management has relayed clear communication about positions and expectations related to the
organizations, all employees typically work hard to contribute their best (Tay et al., 2016).
Management clearly explained to Ralph what was expected of him and what changes he needed
to make since he was the newly appointed branch manager.:
Reflecting God's Character
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Management gave Ralph several chances to modify his negative actions. After six
months in the position, Ralph's supervisor pointed out the issues that were happening. In the next
six months, things started to improve, but once again, the problems that were brought up to
Ralph in the past were surfacing again. At this time, Ralph was given a verbal warning as a part
of the formal disciplinary process. Again, Ralph would focus on improving for a while and then
his improvements would start to decline. The supervisor had to step in again, and at this time, a
formal written warning was given to him in accordance with the human resource policies. When
assessing the situation from a Christian lens for how problems could or should be handled, the
first thing that comes to mind is Matthew 18:15. The manager went directly to Ralph first, which
coincides with "If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense"
(Matthew 18:15, New Living Translation). However, with him still having issues, their next step
looks similar to "but if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again"
(Matthew 18:16, New Living Translation). Now, Ellen did not take a physical person with her,
but she involved the human resources process, which coincides with God’s character as stated in
the Bible. Ralph was made aware that a third party was directly involved and informed of the
warnings already given. "Strong leadership with weak management is no better and is sometimes
actually worse than the reverse" (Qadri, 2016, p.17). The way the bank management handled the
situation with Ralph was them trying to make sure his management and leadership style were
adjusted so it lined up with the expectations they previous established, which was also to ensure
the situations did not decline. The method they followed aligns well with God's character.
Not Reflecting God's Character
When considering Ralph and whether he handled the situations with a Godly character, I
would have to say no. When Ralph's supervisor brought the issues to him, he denied the
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allegations or downplayed his negative actions. "If the other person listens and confesses it, you
have won that person back" (Matthew 18:15, New Living Translation). His supervisor handled
the situation with God's character, but his response was not in God's character. The issue that
was brought to Ralph's attention was the fact he treated customers with more respect than his
own employees. Also, another issue was when he spoke inappropriately to an employee in front
of a customer. "Underscoring the notion that employees lose the motivation to advance in their
organization when they are subjected to managers who consistently undermine them" (Hurst et
al., 2017). Ralph negatively treating his employees was not going to motivate them to work hard
in order to reach for higher positions like him. They may also look at the company they are
working for in a negative light. When supervisors are treating their employees poorly, the
employees can lose trust in the organizations altogether.:
How I Would Have Done Things
I believe Ellen, Ralph's supervisor, handled the situation in an appropriate and biblical
way. There are a few things I would have done differently or approached differently. However,
that is because before giving Ralph the position, they knew there were concerns. I would have
been taken a more hands-on approach and I would have found a mentor for him. If I were Ellen,
it would not have been me because I was his direct supervisor. When someone has a mentor in
the same business, the mentor knows the organizational expectations and can provide
constructive feedback regarding the negative behaviors while reinforcing the positive actions
(Csillag et al., 2017). If he were to have had a mentor, there could have been continuous
adaptation. When Ralph made improvements, it is possible that having a mentor could have
helped him sustain those improvements instead of slipping back into his old ways. Also, once he
had the position, I would have given him a verbal warning the first-time issues were brought to
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my attention. The reason behind my decision would be because his problems were already
known and addressed before he took the position. "Corporate recruiters revealed that good
communication skills and ability to work with others are major influencers for a successful
career" (Hoon, 2017, p. 69).:
Conclusion
Overall, I believe the bank management handled the situation with God's character,
regardless if they were believers or not. However, I do not believe that Ralph acted in a way that
was in line with God's character.:
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References
Bornapé, A. (2018). “Fear god and keep his commandments”: The character of man and the
judgment of God in the epilogue of Ecclesiastes. DavarLogos, 17(2), 37–59.
Csillag, S., Csizmadia, P., Kerekes, K., & Zaharie, M. (2017). Business mentors’ competences in
intensive learning environments: Lessons from an empirical research. Managerial
Challenges of the Contemporary Society, 10(1), 102–107.
Holy bible new living translation. (2021). DaySpring; Candace Cameron Bure
Hoon, T. S., Nasaruddin, N. F. B. M., & Singh, P. (2017). Communication Skills among
Different Classroom Management Styles Teachers. Asian Journal of University Education,
13(1), 67–78.
Hurst, C., Simon, L., Jung, Y., & Pirouz, D. (2017). Are “bad” employees happier under bad
bosses? Differing effects of abusive supervision on low and high primary psychopathy
employees.:Journal of Business Ethics,:158(4), 1149–1164.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3770-5:
Liberty University. (2021, June 7).:Bible Integration Exercise Case Study. Liberty University
Canvas. https://canvas.liberty.edu/courses/96172/assignments/1515105?
module_item_id=9081740.:
Qadri, Muhammad Ahmed (2016). The concept of applied leadership in the contemporary world.
Journal of Education and Practice, 7(4), 17–23
Tay, A., Lees, C., & Lin Dar, O. (2016). Job performance expectations and perceptions of retail
employees: Cognitive dissonances between self-reports and supervisor-ratings.:South
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African Journal of Business Management,:47(3), 13–23.
https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v47i3.64:
Annotated Bibliography
Bornapé, A. (2018). “Fear god and keep his commandments”: The character of man and the
judgment of God in the epilogue of Ecclesiastes. DavarLogos, 17(2), 37–59.
This journal article is found in the Academic Search Ultimate database. The article is found
in DavarLogos. The journal was first published on 03/01/2002. It is released two times a
year. The journal is published by River Plate Adventist University. It is accessed online
and is a peer-reviewed journal. The journal focuses on biblical studies. The author Allan
Bornapé has been published 13 times. Nine of those are academic journals. The article
focuses on the fear of God and how it is looked at. It examines the relationship between the
moral character of the human being. It analyzes linguistic connections with the rest of the
book Ecclesiastes. Also, the intertextual relations with sapiential, poetic, and prophetic
literature will be examined.
Csillag, S., Csizmadia, P., Kerekes, K., & Zaharie, M. (2017). Business mentors’ competences in
intensive learning environments: Lessons from an empirical research. Managerial
Challenges of the Contemporary Society, 10(1), 102–107.
This journal article is found in the Business Source Complete database. The article is found
in the Managerial Challenges of the Contemporary Society Journal. The journal was first
published on 01/01/2010. It is typically released twice a year. Risoprint Publishing House
publishes it. The journal is accessed online and is peer-reviewed. The journal focuses on
academic scientists, business leaders, and professionals. The author S. Csillag has been
published six times, all in academic journals. The author P. Csizmadia has been published
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three times, twice in academic journals. The author K. Kerekes has been published nine
times, four times in academic journals. The author M. Zaharie has been published 13 times
in the EBSCO. The article focuses on a recently developed form of business support
services. They conduct a study to see if there is an improvement in understanding the
institutional settings under which mentoring services are provided. Also looked at is the
mentors' skills and competencies are somewhat different in the participating countries.
Hoon, T. S., Nasaruddin, N. F. B. M., & Singh, P. (2017). Communication Skills among
Different Classroom Management Styles Teachers. Asian Journal of University Education,
13(1), 67–78.
This journal article is found in the ERIC database. The article is found in the Asian Journal
of University Education Journal. The journal was first published in 2017. It is released
quarterly in January, April, July, and October. It is published by Asian Centre for Research
on University Learning and Teaching. The journal is accessed online and in print. It is a
peer-reviewed journal. The journal focuses on higher education, 21st-century teaching and
learning, assessment and evaluation, policy and curriculum development, educational
leadership and management, and equity in education. The author Teoh Sian Hoon has been
published 11 times in academic journals. This article is the only publication for the author
Nur Fadzlin Binti Mohamad Nasaruddin. The author Parmjit Singh has been published 85
times. Seventy-seven of those were academic journals and four books. The article focuses
on refining communication skills. They conducted a study aimed to investigate the
communication skills used among teachers with different classroom management styles.
There were 70 participants in the study. The study was administered by a survey. They
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found no strong evidence that there is a significant difference in communication skills
based on gender.
Hurst, C., Simon, L., Jung, Y., & Pirouz, D. (2017). Are “bad” employees happier under bad
bosses? Differing effects of abusive supervision on low and high primary psychopathy
employees.:Journal of Business Ethics,:158(4), 1149–1164.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3770-5
This journal article is found in the Business Source Complete database. The article is found
in the Journal of Business Ethics. The journal was first published on 02/01/1982. It is
released monthly. Springer Nature publishes it. The journal is accessed online and is peer-
reviewed. The journal focuses on Business Ethics. The author Charlice Hurst has been
published 33 times in academic journals. The author Lauren Simon has been published
nine times in academic journals and twice in magazines. The author Yongsuhk Jung has
been published in three academic journals. The author Dante Pirouz been published in five
academic journals. The article focuses on conditions of abusive supervision. How
individuals possess characteristics that enable them to experience higher levels of well-
being and lower levels of anger than their peers. They conducted a study looking at
psychopathy individuals. They found that abusive supervisors may empower employees
with characteristics that hold strong potential to damage the organization and its
stakeholders.
Qadri, Muhammad Ahmed (2016). The concept of applied leadership in the contemporary world.
Journal of Education and Practice, 7(4), 17–23
This journal article is found in the ERIC database. The article is found in the Journal of
Education and Practice. The journal was first published in 2010. They release about 37
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volumes a year. The journal is an open access online journal and peer-reviewed. The
journal focuses on innovative responses to the challenges of the 21st century, alternative
preparation programs, teaching and learning of different subjects, teaching in the
developed & developing countries, education, mental illness, and psychology. The author
Muhammad Ahmed Qadri has been published twice. The article focuses on how leadership
is the most studied aspect of an organization because it is the one overarching topic. They
look at the qualities leaders possess and if the country has any determination in it. They
identify how personal as well manage personal leadership development is achieved. They
discuss how leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a well-communicated
vision, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action.
Tay, A., Lees, C., & Lin Dar, O. (2016). Job performance expectations and perceptions of retail
employees: Cognitive dissonances between self-reports and supervisor-ratings.:South
African Journal of Business Management,:47(3), 13–23.
https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v47i3.64
This journal article is found in the Business Source Complete database. The article is found
in the Journal of Business Ethics. The journal was first published on 02/01/1982. It is
released monthly. Springer Nature publishes it. The journal is accessed online and is peer-
reviewed. The journal focuses on Business Ethics. The author, A. Tay, has been published
34 times in academic journals. The author C. Lees has been published 314 times in
academic journals. The author O. Lin Dar has been published twice in academic journals.
The article studied six retail outlets of a large global retailer to determine the self-reported
job performance expectations. Their study revealed that employees' performance
expectations were much higher than their self-reported and supervisors' performance
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perceptions. There were marginal differences in the mean scores between employees' and
supervisors' perceptions.
