Religion highlight the belief and worship of superhuman power. This power is often referred to as a god. There are several religions across the globe. However, Christianity is one of the largest religions in the global following. Moreover, the teaching of the Christian religion has been identified as applicable in the business field through the development of various business principles and approaches. This element asserts that business leaders can develop ethics and principles through a Christian view. The following paper analyses some of the business principles and the Christian view.
One of the essential business principles is the need for fairness during one’s transactions. The principle calls for the business owner to have an honest relationship when carrying out their business (Leone, 2015). This feature, for instance, ensures that businesses should ensure that their products are reasonably priced and reflect the status of the market. Subsequently, business practices such as price gouging are discouraged through this principle. Fairness also ensures that the business operators operate on an equal footing. Therefore, companies with a significant market share are discouraged from instituting business practices that would, in effect, impede the operations of their smaller competitors. Moreover, governments in liberal economies are tasked with ensuring a fair economy in which all businesses can compete equally. Subsequently, this principle can be viewed through the Christian view. In Leviticus 25:14, the bible encourages Christians to have fair dealing and avoid wronging others (Kugler & Baek, 2017). Therefore, it is evident that Christianity supports and encourages businesses to interact in a manner that does not harm the other party.
Sustainability has emerged as one of the core business principles in the modern field. Sustainability calls for the current generation to exploit the environment without negatively impacting the ability of future generations to fulfill their needs and wants. Subsequently, this principle has resulted in businesses considering three significant pillars in their operations, social, ecological, and economic. Effectively pursuing sustainability offers businesses considerable benefits, including creating an innovative product, creating a positive corporate image, and reducing business costs. However, the sustainability principle is apparent from the Christian perspective. In genesis 2:15, God takes a man through the Garden of Eden and instructs him to cultivate and take care of it (Ndoga, 2022). These features assert that God called for man to be sustainable when interacting with the environment.
The ethical use of debt is an essential principle in the business world. Debt is a central cog of the business world. Debt allows businesses to expand their operations and fulfill their financial obligations. Subsequently, businesses value developing a good debt score. A good credit score often ensures that businesses receive loans at a low interest and often have a more extended repayment period. However, the inability to manage debt could result in the closure of the business. Businesses are often forced to file for bankruptcy or to sell their assists when they cannot fulfill their business obligations. Christianity addresses the debt principle in proverbs 22:7. The verse highlights that a person in debt is a slave to the creditor (Howell, 2019). Therefore, this verse encourages businesses to have manageable debt levels that allow them to maintain independence.
Service to others is another business principle that has a Christian view. Service to others calls for the business to reflect on its input in the lives of its stakeholders (Leone, 2015). Essentially the business should institute measures to enable it to have a positive effect on stakeholders. This principle is enhanced through establishing a customer care service and employee benefits. Customer care service allows the business to respond to the queries presented by its clientele. Moreover, employee benefits allow the company to ensure its employees have a suitable standard of living by supplementing their income. This principle can be traced to the bible. For instance, Mathew 7:12 present the Golden Rule and encourages Christians to treat others as they wish to be treated (Apressyan, 2020).
The principle of stewardship is also apparent in the business. Stewardship calls for business leaders to exploit the resources available to them for the benefit of all stakeholders (Leone, 2015)). Moreover, stewardship ensures that business leaders are obligated to hand over the business assets to the next generation of managers in a better state when they receive the assets. This involves using electronic communication methods such as emails rather than physical letters to reduce deforestation. This principle can be traced from the bible. Psalms 24:1 asserts that everything in the world belongs to God (NIV, n.d.). Therefore, people must take care of the environment because it does not belong to them.
In conclusion, the paper analyzes business principles and their Christian perspective. Christianity is one of the world’s largest religions, with a large following. Christians believe in a single God. The principles assessed in the current paper include fairness, sustainability, ethical use of debt, services to others, and stewardship. Effectively applying these principles is bound to ensure the continued success of businesses.
References
Apressyan, R. G. (2020). The genesis of the golden rule. Russian Studies in Philosophy, 58(2), 109-123. https://doi.org/10.1080/10611967.2020.1780833
Howell, E. (2019). Payday lending and the case of proverbs 22:7: Wisdom for the borrower and warning to the lender. Review & Expositor, 116(1), 33-37. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034637319831234
Kugler, R. A., & Baek, K. S. (2017). The use of Leviticus in the scrolls by chapter and verse. Leviticus at Qumran, 45-54. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004329850_005
Leone, N. (2015). The Bible Is a Good Business Guide. usnews. https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/faith-matters/2015/02/20/the-bible-is-a-good-guide-to-best-business-practices
Ndoga, S. (2022). ʿbd and šmr in Genesis 2:15 as the ecological mandate: An African Theanthropocosmic perspective. Journal for Semitics, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/9255
NIV. (n.d.). Bible Gateway passage: Psalm 24:1 – New international version. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2024%3A1&version=NIV
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