Running head: INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING
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Integration of Faith and Learning
Rebecca Blessley
Liberty University
Policy and Strategy in Global Competition
BUSI 690
Dr. Aaron Blossom
October 1, 2019
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Integration of Faith and Learning
Over the years there has been a few scandals with organizations and high-ranking
managers that have chosen to be unethical in their pursue of profit and performance, such as
Enron, Facebook, Bernie Madoff and Martha Stewart. These companies and individuals
determined that to increase profit and business performance that it was better to choose unethical
behavior. Does the pursuit of business performance and profit cause organizations or individual
employees to choose unethical behavior? Can an organization or their employees choose ethical
behavior and still increase performance and profit?
Ethical/Social Issues
Organizations can feel pressure to meet performance goals and produce high profits
which can create temptation to choose unethical behavior. Businesses might feel the pressure of
not performing well in their sector and know that this could cause their consumers to consider
going to their competition. The pressure of decreasing profits could cause an organization to
possibly close their doors if they are unable to find a strategy to increase their profits. The
pressure and stress an organization feels to increase profits and meet performance goals can
cause individuals employees or whole companies to cut corners or misrepresent facts (Bolander,
Zahn, Loe, & Clark, 2017). The damage caused by unethical behavior could result in the
company losing revenues, lower profits, stock prices drop, and the reputation of the business can
weaken (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, & Strickland III, 2020). “Individual ambitions to succeed
are often the basis of unethical behavior in the workplace, and the desire to be successful can be
very strong” (Lilly, Duffy, & WIpawayangkool, 2016, p. 33). Organizations might reward
employees for lying to help improve profits or performance which causes the behavior to
continue and becomes embedded into the organizational memory causing the corrupt mindset to
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continue (Fleischman, Johnson, Walker, & Valentine, 2019; Lilly et al., 2016). Managers are key
in helping organizations to establish ethical attitudes within the organization through instituting
and reinforcing the behaviors of their employees (Fleischman et al., 2019). Rewards are
important to help managers to emphasize ethical behaviors employees show more than punishing
unethical behaviors and should improve ethical behaviors as well as create an honest
environment within the organization (Fleischman et al., 2019).
Bible Research
The Bible is a great guide to ethical behavior. In Leviticus 19:11 (ESV) the Bible clearly
states that “you shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another”. An
organization that chooses to allow unethical behavior is dealing falsely, stealing and lying to their
clients. Clients that are cheated have a hard time trusting the organizations who have wronged
them. Leviticus 25:14 explains that if you are completing a transaction with your neighbor
(could consist of you buying from them or them purchasing from you) that neither of you should
wrong the other. Organizations trying to gain treasures like increasing their profits or
performance through choosing unethical behaviors need to realize that their treasures are
momentary. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 21:6 that “the getting of treasures by a lying tongue is
a fleeting vapor and a snare of death”. Individuals who know the right thing to do and fail to do
the right thing have sinned against the Lord (James 4:17). Many people and organizations feel
that the greatest profit and business performance is the only way to succeed in the business
world, yet at what cost should profit and performance be put above our lives? Mark 8:36 asks,
“for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”
Discussion/Analyzation
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The Lord has given us many verses that not only speak on how individuals should act but
how we should act in our businesses and as higher management within the organizations.
Businesses need profits so that they can pay their employees, the bills and survive as a company.
At what cost should a company put profits and performance above what is right? Performance of
an organization can show how well a company is doing and help to increase profits. An
organization that works to instill honesty and ethical behavior within the company climate will
have a better chance of not choosing unethical behavior when the pressure and stress to enhance
performance and profits rise. Just as Christians we need to build a foundation of reading our
Bible and memorizing verses; a company needs to build a foundation of honesty and ethical
behavior. Enhancing our knowledge of the Bible and writing God’s words on our heart help us
to pick the right choice when we are in the midst of a difficult season. When we surround
ourselves with other godly people to help us build our foundation and encourage us during all
seasons of our Christian journey, this helps us to stay on the right path. It is important for
businesses to build a foundation of honesty and ethical behavior and align themselves with other
organizations that also have their foundation in honesty and ethical behavior. Surrounding
themselves with other ethical organizations helps during the difficult seasons that could cause an
organization to choose an unethical decision and take them down a path that could lead to the
company’s ultimate demise. Christians are blessed to have a God that is forgiving, and we only
need to come to Him asking sincerely for forgiveness. Companies that understand that they have
made unethical choices and ask for forgiveness have a better chance of being revived then those
that continue in their unethical behavior.
Conclusion
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Does the pursuit of business performance and profit cause organizations or individual
employees to choose unethical behavior? The pursuit of business performance and profit does
not need to cause an organization or individual employee to choose an unethical behavior. Can
an organization or their employees choose ethical behavior and still increase performance and
profit? Yes, it is possible for an organization and their employees to choose ethical behaviors
and still increase performance and their profits. Ethical behavior might seem an easy choice for
Christians, but it is just as hard as a company who wishes to stay on the right path when
pressures are increased causing them to make the choice to do right or wrong. Building a
foundation of honesty and ethical choices is important for a company; just as a Christian’s
foundation in the Word of God.
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References
Bolander, W., Zahn, W. J., Loe, T. W., & Clark, M. (2017, September). Managing new
salespeople’s ethical behaviors during repetitive failures: When trying to help actually
hurts. Journal of Business Ethics, 144, 519-532. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-
2817-8
Fleischman, G. M., Johnson, E. N., Walker, K. B., & Valentine, S. R. (2019, September). Ethics
versus outcomes: Managerial responses to incentive-driven and goal-induced employee
behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 158, 951-967. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-
3695-z
Lilly, J., Duffy, J. A., & WIpawayangkool, K. (2016). The impact of ethical climate on
organizational trust and the role of business performance: If business performance
increases, does ethical climate still matter? Journal of Behavioral and Applied
Management, 17, 33-49. Retrieved from http://www.proquest.com
Thompson, A. A., Peteraf, M. A., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. J. (2020). Crafting and
executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage (22nd ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Education.
