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On the Reciprocal Relationship between Faith and Management
Volker Kessler
Pages - 1 - 14     |    Revised - 30-06-2022     |    Published - 31-03-2023
Volume - 14   Issue - 1    |    Publication Date -   Table of Contents
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KEYWORDS
Economic Theology, Faith-based Organizations, Faith@work, Servant Leadership, Vision.
ABSTRACT
This article describes the complex reciprocal relationship between faith and management. Firstly, faith-based organizations have to be managed. Some management methods will foster the faith; others will affect the faith negatively. Each faith group will have to look for management methods suited to the specific faith of that group. Secondly, faith has an influence on management. This can happen implicitly or by intention. An example of the latter is when managers just copy concepts from a faith group because of their success, without necessarily sharing their faith. Or it happens when believers want to implement the standards of their faith at work. The concept faith@work can be problematic if it is a single-faith approach within a secular work environment because it might lead to injustice. Due to the reciprocal relationship between faith and management, we can discover the re-entry of religious terms or concepts: these terms originate in Christian faith, enter the management sciences and from there re-enter the Christian faith. The examples “servant leadership” and “vision” show the subtle change of meaning that occurs when words wander between the two worlds, thus becoming “false friends” to the faith group.
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Professor Volker Kessler
Akademie für christliche Führungskräfte, Gummersbach, 51643, Germany
&
Dept. of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology, University of South Africa, Unisa, 0003 - South Africa
volker.kessler@gbfe.eu


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