Running head: INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING 1
Integration of Faith and Learning
Liberty University
BUSI - 613
INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING 2
Integration of Faith and Learning
Introduction
The book of John 5:1-15 tells the story of what Jesus did at the pool known as Bethesda,
documented in the King James Version, 1988. The Scripture tells of a man who is one of many
who lay by the pool. The man could not reach the pool because he was lame. He continued to
try but he had no one to help him to get in and after 38 years he laid there, desperately wanting to
be healed. Jesus came upon the man and asked him a question. The question he asked the man
in John 1:6 “do you want to be made whole” (KJV, 1988). Of course the man did, but he replied
he cannot do it alone as another steps down before me. Jesus seen the desire and belief in the
man’s heart. Therefore, Jesus spoke to the man and told him to get up, walk and carry his bed
and he did just as he was told. The Pharisees seen the man walking and carrying his bed and
asked him why was he doing this. The man replied because he was told to. Later after Jesus met
with the man again in the temple, he said to him he was forgiven and made whole, the man
delighted by what had happened shared with the Jews the name of the person who had made him
whole. Unfortunately, Pharisees was not pleased by the miracle he was witnessing and was more
concerned with a rule that had been broken, because the man was carrying his bed on the
Sabbath day, which was to be a holy day. Instead of seeing the work of Jesus as one of many
acts of kindness to the ones who believed, he instead vowed to persecute Jesus.
Accommodating the customer
In supply chain management the customers are the ultimate predictor whether a company
fails or succeeds. The customer is reliant on the manufacturer and supplier to provide them with
a product that is of quality. According to Young (2015), “the way companies measure the quality
of their product and services has evolved…to external customer satisfaction” (p. 197).
INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING 3
Customers offer a business their biggest marketing by expressing their loyalty to other customers
who then begin to use their products. There are several dimensions on determining customer
satisfaction. The one that is most appealing to manufacturers is customer loyalty. Customer
loyalty can be determined by the amount and types of purchases a customer makes. Although,
this is a difficult task to achieve some companies utilize an internal database to analyze customer
repurchase (Young, 2015). Some companies have incorporated a customer lifetime value (CLV).
A CLV consists of purchase frequency, contribution margin, and marketing costs. Customer
level information focuses on the customer’s needs and helps the company to stay competitive.
The behaviors of customers are tracked using transaction data (Kumar, & Pansari, 2016). The
predictability of the customer determines the future profit for the company, thereby allowing
manufacturers to serve the customer specifically (Kumar, & Rajan, 2012). The ability to analyze
multinational corporations (MNCs) is paramount in understanding customers worldwide. The
motivation is to appease customers globally by enhancing cultural diversity. According to
Kumar, & Pansari (2016) “culture leads to differential processing and evaluation of
environmental information (Hofstede, 1991) and influences the types of socially engaging and
disengaging emotional processes people experience”(p. 3). This further reestablishes the theory
that customers are provided for in the way they need which influences customer satisfaction and
loyalty.
Discussion
There are two morals which can be taken from the Scripture of John 1: 1-15 that are
relevant to supply chain management. The first is the act of kindness and service that Jesus gave
to an unassuming man whom he did not know prior to their meeting, yet provided him with a gift
that had not been afforded to him before. The supply chain is one of many areas which have an
INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING 4
overall abundant effect on the processes of an organization. Much like in the Scripture
manufacturers and suppliers must offer the customer whom they do not know their service. The
manufacturer never says to a customer, we cannot serve you because of this or that, their goal is
to serve all much like Jesus. He never once looked at the lame man and turned a blind eye,
because he was disabled. He seen the lame man as someone who was in desperate need of his
service and therefore, with the will of God, he healed the man. The second is, the success of a
business is word of mouth. Once the man was healed (received his service) and knew who had
healed him, he went out and told all who would listen. This is very similar to customer
satisfaction as mentioned previously. When customers, like the lame man, receive goods and
services that can be life altering or changing, they are quick to tell everyone who provided the
service and show everyone what they received. In addition, this also rings true to customer
loyalty. As the lame man was healed, he gave his life to Jesus and was forgiven for his sins and
remained loyal. There again is the similarity with supply chain management and customer
loyalty. The customer who is very satisfied with the product and reaps the benefits of its quality,
will remain loyal to the manufacturer.
INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING 5
References
Kumar, V., & Pansari, A. (2016). National Culture, Economy, and Customer Lifetime Value:
Assessing the Relative Impact of the Drivers of Customer Lifetime Value for a Global
Retailer. Journal of International Marketing, 24(1), 1-110. doi:10.1509/jim.15.0112
Kumar, V., & Rajan, B. (2012). Social Coupons as a Marketing Strategy: A Multifaceted
Perspective. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40 (1), 120-136.
Life Application Study Bible (1988), King James Version. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc.
Young, G. (2015). Supply chain management (Custom.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Create. ISBN: 9781308091969.
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