Moving Inspiration


Downloadable for non-commercial use only, under creative commons license, see below. Christians typically bring to the workplace a conviction that ethics matters and doing the right thing is a priority. We also typically argue that ethical standards are not relative and subjective but at a foundational level are absolute. This is all good but we have not done enough to move beyond a dilemma/quandary-oriented, reactive “damage control” ethics to a more biblical, proactive “mission control” ethics. Many Christians add Bible verses but don’t challenge the framework and process. We have not done enough to move beyond hard core individualism to a more biblical team approach and beyond an abstract rules-orientation to a more biblical agent/character and corporate/culture approach. We fail to get to the missional heart of the matter. Biblical Christians are uniquely positioned to help bring a more robust “business ethics 2.0” to the marketplaces of our world. ___ David Gill (BA, UC Berkeley; MA, SF State; PhD, USC) is Mockler-Phillips Professor of Workplace Theology & Business Ethics and Director of the Mockler Center for Faith & Ethics in the Workplace at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He previously taught at New College Berkeley (1977-90), North Park University (1992-2001) and St. Mary’s College (2004-2010). Ordained in the Progressive National Baptist Convention and an experienced organizational ethics consultant (www.ethixbiz.com), he is author of seven books including Becoming Good: Building Moral Character (IVP, 2000), Doing Right: Practicing Ethical Principles (IVP, 2004), and It’s About Excellence: Building Ethically Healthy Organizations (Wipf & Stock, 2008/2011). ___ Reflect/Respond What are some best practices to deepen Christians’ understanding of biblical ethics and values, both the content and process aspects? How can ethics and values concerns provide common ground for meaningful conversation in today’s workplaces? ___ Resources John Beckett, Mastering Monday: A Guide to Integrating Faith & Work (IVP, 2006) David W. Gill, It’s About Excellence: Building Ethically Healthy Organizations (Wipf & Stock, 2011) David W. Gill, “A Fourth Use of the Law? The Decalogue in the Marketplace,” Journal of Religion & Business Ethics 2:2 (Sept 2011) Art 4. David W. Gill, “Eight Traits of an Ethically Healthy Culture: Insights from the Beatitudes,” Journal of Markets & Morality 16.2 (2013): 615-633. David W. Gill, “Upgrading the Ethical Decision-Making Model for Business,” Business and Professional Ethics Journal 23.4 (Winter 2004): 135-151. Alasdair MacIntyre, Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry: Encyclopedia, Genealogy, & Tradition (Notre Dame, 1990) Robert Solomon, A Better Way to Think About Business Ethics (Oxford, 1999) ___ Faith@Work Summit 2014 by fwsummit.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://www.fwsummit.org.

Workplace Ethics | David Gill


 

WP313 VIRTUAL FORUMS 2020

 

THE WORLD is waking up to the march on behalf of a much-delayed, much-needed recognition that black lives matter. Black lives matter and are precious to God and need to be treated as such by people everywhere. Much of the public attention is focused, understandably, on policing and on the political and cultural level. At Workplace 313, we call for some serious focus on the workplace in particular. Our forum was led by the Rev. Dr. Gina Casey, who holds degrees from Howard University, American University (MS Info Systems), and both Fuller and Gordon-Conwell Seminaries. Her work experience includes years in government (NASA) and the tech industry (Intel) and as a pastor and chaplain ordained in the AMEZion Church.

 

THE WORLD IS WAKING UP to the march on behalf of a much-delayed, much-needed recognition that black lives matter. Black lives matter and are precious to God and need to be treated as such by people everywhere. Much of the public attention is focused, understandably, on policing and on the political and cultural level. At Workplace 313, we call for some serious focus on the workplace in particular. Our forum was led by the Rev. Dr. Gina Casey, who holds degrees from Howard University, American University (MS Info Systems), and both Fuller and Gordon-Conwell Seminaries. Her work experience includes years in government (NASA) and the tech industry (Intel) and as a pastor and chaplain ordained in the AMEZion Church.

 

COVID-19 HAS BEEN A major force of disruption. In addition to its dramatic health and social upheaval, it has forced a pause in the way business is carried out. It has exposed • THE NEED for “essential workers” • THE DIFFICULTY with efficient workplaces (including supply chains) that proved to be too brittle for the shock • THE WAY we meet and how and why we travel. It has also accelerated our use of new technology out of necessity. The new world of work will be developed out of these changes. During this period, many business leaders have also asked a fundamental question they should have been asking all along: why are we in business and what is the measure of our success? Individual workers may also be asking “do I want to (or will I be able to) go back to the same job?” Whatever our work looks like on the other side of this pandemic, we can expect it to be very different. AL ERISMAN HAD A DISTINGUISHED 32-year career at the Boeing Company, managing some 300 of Boeing’s top IT researchers for his last decade there. He is author of both technical articles and books, including The Accidental Executive: Lessons on Business, Faith, & Calling from the Life of Joseph (Hendrickson, 2015) (reviewed in the August issue of “the 313) and The ServiceMaster Story: Navigating Tension between People and Profit (Hendrickson, 2020). In this forum, Al explores, identifies, and brings “salt & light” insight to these present day challenges.

 

COVID-19 HAS BEEN a major force of disruption. In addition to its dramatic health and social upheaval, it has forced a pause in the way business is carried out. It has exposed THE NEED for “essential workers” THE DIFFICULTY with efficient workplaces (including supply chains) that proved to be too brittle for the shock • THE WAY we meet and how and why we travel. It has also accelerated our use of new technology out of necessity. The new world of work will be developed out of these changes. During this period, many business leaders have also asked a fundamental question they should have been asking all along: why are we in business and what is the measure of our success? Individual workers may also be asking “do I want to (or will I be able to) go back to the same job?” Whatever our work looks like on the other side of this pandemic, we can expect it to be very different. Al Erisman identifies, explores and brings “salt & light” insight to these present day challenges.

 

COMIING OUT OF economic chaos and uncertainty of the pandemic, many if not most of our workplaces are changing. Some are disappearing completely. Searching for and finding work will be a (or “the”) major challenge. For some of us, we will need to think about starting our own new enterprise. Join us for an exciting, inspiring two-hour on-line Forum with five entrepreneurs in different work specialties: Jacqueline Cooper founded Financial Education Associates (2001). Victor Cubi launched Victor for Hire, a handyman business (2013). Calvin Ho is co-founder of Restvo, a “discipleship and mentoring app” (2018). Devin Marks is founding president of Hutchinson, Marks, & Co., a business communications and speech consultancy (2019). Christine Paige is the proprietor of Bliss Hair & Beauty Salon (2015). Their stories and lessons learned show there is hope (as well as hard work) ahead. Moderated by David Gill and Larry Ward, we will hear about entrepreneurial start-up basics and meet these fascinating start-up leaders.

 

COMING OUT OF economic chaos and uncertainty of the pandemic, many if not most of our workplaces are changing. Some are disappearing completely. Searching for and finding work will be a (or “the”) major challenge. For some of us, we will need to think about starting our own new enterprise. Join us for an exciting, inspiring two-hour on-line Forum with five entrepreneurs in different work specialties: Jacqueline Cooper founded Financial Education Associates (2001). Victor Cubi launched Victor for Hire, a handyman business (2013). Calvin Ho is co-founder of Restvo, a “discipleship and mentoring app” (2018). Devin Marks is founding president of Hutchinson, Marks, & Co., a business communications and speech consultancy (2019). Christine Paige is the proprietor of Bliss Hair & Beauty Salon (2015). Their stories and lessons learned show there is hope (as well as hard work) ahead. Moderated by David Gill and Larry Ward, we will hear about entrepreneurial start-up basics and meet these fascinating start-up leaders.