As
I begin to attempt to write the final discussion board post of my college
education with Liberty University, I am deeply honored to think of the roles
faith and learning have and will play in my future vocation, and in light of
this class on operation’s management. An article out of the Acton Institute’s
publication, about theological vocation and the marketplace, resonates deeply
in this regard. As a Christian, faith and learning never stop, and their
implications reach into all aspects of our lives, including our careers in the
marketplace of the world. The perspective in the article was posed of the
phenomena of Steve Jobs. Jobs was not a computer programmer, scientist or even a
professionally trained developer; he had good business sense, and represented a
Buddhist ethic and viewpoint on life (Dalrymple, 2015) . The writer asks the
profound question: what if Steve Jobs had embodied biblical values and beliefs,
having been nurtured by the church, and his foundation was based on
Christianity that spilled over into “his work, his product, his company, and
his effect on society” (Dalrymple, 2015) ? We have this
opportunity, through our faith and learning, to impact operations management
and more in our future careers.
Sometimes in our work, in the
marketplace, it is not always easy to be a direct witness and light of Christ.
Perhaps open sharing of our faith is discouraged by management. Through our own
faith walk and learning journey, however, there are numerous other ways to
shine regarding basic operations management, no matter what our future careers
may hold.
We
learned in our textbook that ethical
conduct is desperately needed in operations management, and that managers
must deliberate and make choices that affect everything from “shareholders,
management, employees, customers, the community at large, and the environment” (Stevenson, 2015, p. 29) . The Bible states in
1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever we
do, we must do it all to the glory of God (The Bible, n.d.) . Our guidelines are
clear, and in actions of ethical consideration, our unspoken testimony in areas
of operations management can be bold without words, as we seek to do the best
of our ability for all the areas mentioned before, in the decisions we make in
the marketplace.
Additionally, sustainability in
companies, and including operation’s management issues, has become a major concern.
In sustainability, we are to use
resources in methods that will not harm the “ecological systems that support
human existence” (Stevenson, 2015, p. 28) . As Christians, we
know and believe in God’s wisdom and divine charge at the creation of this
beautiful earth. As humans, God charged us with stewardship of the earth, to
have dominion over it (Genesis 1:28) and to work and keep it (Genesis 2:15).
This extends in our faith and learning to applying the knowledge we have gained
in this course of operations management, and all our prior courses, and taking
this knowledge to our future vocations. We are supposed to use resources in a
way that make the earth fruitful, and care for it; this applies to the
decisions we make in managing operations.
Faith and learning do not stop, and
their impact does not need to end after our degrees are attained. We can
implement them, through our actions of ethical integrity at work, and our
decisions, in care of our resources in our careers, and we can bring glory to
God in the marketplace.
Bibliography
Ballor, J. J. (2015). Editorial: The theological
vocation and the economy of social life. Journal of Markets and Morality,
18(2). Interesting commentary on how Christianity influences various
vocations whether they are theological or secular jobs.
Dalrymple, T. (2015). Theological vocation and the
marketplace. Journal of Markets, 18(2). Direct discussion of the need
for theology to influence jobs, and the increased demand of discourse on
religion in the world through social media.
Stansbury, J. (2015). Moral imagination as a
reformational influence in the workplace. Journal of Markets and Morality,
18(1). Great article discussing the challenges of Christians of living
out their faith in a pluralistic workplace, and sometimes an unreceptive
environment.
Stevenson, W. (2015). Operations management
(Vol. 12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
The Bible.
(n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2017, from biblehub.com:
http://biblehub.com/colossians/4-6.htm
