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Business for the Common Good: A Christian Vision for the Marketplace
Is business just a way to make money? Or can the marketplace a venue for service to others? Scott B. Rae and Kenman L. Wong seek to explore this and other critical business issues from a uniquely Christian perspective, offering up a vision for work and service that is theologically grounded and practically oriented. Among the specific questions they address along the way are Business can be even more than an environment through which individual Christians grow in Christlikeness. In this book you'll discover how it can also be a means toward serving the common good. The Christian Worldview Integration Series, edited by J. P. Moreland and Francis J. Beckwith, seeks to promote a robust personal and conceptual integration of Christian faith and learning, with textbooks focused on disciplines such as education, psychology, literature, politics, science, communications, biology, philosophy, and history.
288 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2011
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65 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 29, 2024
ok so usually i joke about the books having no plot but this one is for real this time. i swear this guy is stupid and dumb and should be getting professional help for how bad it is. anyways much love <3
April 5, 2021
Transformative in my understanding of why my secular work is important to God.
August 4, 2011
Another Way of Doing Business
The School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University teaches that the purpose of business is to serve the common good.
This philosophy, titled "Another Way of Doing Business," has, in turn, inspired SBE scholars to research and explore supporting and complementary ideas. As such, Business for the Common Good is the perfect companion to SBE Dean Jeff Van Duzer’s Why Business Matters to God.
Where Van Duzer’s Why Business Matters to God focuses on the theoretical justification for the intrinsic value of business, Wong’s book shows practical examples of how leaders in the business world could implement Christian principles in the marketplace.
Increasing Profits, or Profitable Service?
Stated another way, Wong’s and Rae’s book furthers scholarship on the principle of approaching business from the position of service.
Typically, business is considered an enterprise whose sole purpose is increasing profits. When pursued from this limited perspective, business is capable of — maybe even conditioned to — harming stakeholders in an effort to appease shareholders. We see this play out in the business press in myriad ways:
1. The potential arises for customers to receive an inferior product as companies cut corners to save money.
2. Some employees suffer from unsustainably low wages, or poor and unsafe working conditions.
3. The environment serves as a dumpster for growing amounts of waste and pollution.
Transforming the Status Quo
Wong and Rae understand the necessity of net earnings. Yet they question the lofty pedestal on which most business people place profit.
In suggesting that business exists for a greater purpose, the authors argue that "work is transformational service to God in his new creation" (52). Instead of entering the marketplace in order to attain the necessary resources to live, Christians might operate in the marketplace to provide resources for others.
In other words, transformational service means that business exists both for the provision of resources for others and for the moral formation that service provides for the worker.
Through diverse topics, such as globalization, workplace ethics, management philosophy, marketing, and the environment, the authors tackle some of the difficulties inherent in transforming much of the status quo in modern-day business practice — without presenting a full-scale condemnation of contemporary business.
In fact, Wong and Rae assert themselves as pro-business. But they also suggest that the intrinsic value of business, which they defend so rigorously, can be diminished if the prevailing model of profit maximization is the "invisible hand" that guides all future action.
Creating Culture From the Top
If you run a small business, manage a group of employees, or carry executive status, Business for the Common Good offers valuable insights into the ways you can influence your company’s culture for the good of society.
For those who are in a more-limited role of organizational leadership, the lessons in this book may not be immediately applicable, but may serve as a guide for the types of companies for which you might want to work.
Regardless, Business for the Common Good supplies a valuable resource for readers interested in the intersection between faith and work, and specifically Christian theology and business, on a practical level.
Originally published at http://spu.edu/cib.
The School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University teaches that the purpose of business is to serve the common good.
This philosophy, titled "Another Way of Doing Business," has, in turn, inspired SBE scholars to research and explore supporting and complementary ideas. As such, Business for the Common Good is the perfect companion to SBE Dean Jeff Van Duzer’s Why Business Matters to God.
Where Van Duzer’s Why Business Matters to God focuses on the theoretical justification for the intrinsic value of business, Wong’s book shows practical examples of how leaders in the business world could implement Christian principles in the marketplace.
Increasing Profits, or Profitable Service?
Stated another way, Wong’s and Rae’s book furthers scholarship on the principle of approaching business from the position of service.
Typically, business is considered an enterprise whose sole purpose is increasing profits. When pursued from this limited perspective, business is capable of — maybe even conditioned to — harming stakeholders in an effort to appease shareholders. We see this play out in the business press in myriad ways:
1. The potential arises for customers to receive an inferior product as companies cut corners to save money.
2. Some employees suffer from unsustainably low wages, or poor and unsafe working conditions.
3. The environment serves as a dumpster for growing amounts of waste and pollution.
Transforming the Status Quo
Wong and Rae understand the necessity of net earnings. Yet they question the lofty pedestal on which most business people place profit.
In suggesting that business exists for a greater purpose, the authors argue that "work is transformational service to God in his new creation" (52). Instead of entering the marketplace in order to attain the necessary resources to live, Christians might operate in the marketplace to provide resources for others.
In other words, transformational service means that business exists both for the provision of resources for others and for the moral formation that service provides for the worker.
Through diverse topics, such as globalization, workplace ethics, management philosophy, marketing, and the environment, the authors tackle some of the difficulties inherent in transforming much of the status quo in modern-day business practice — without presenting a full-scale condemnation of contemporary business.
In fact, Wong and Rae assert themselves as pro-business. But they also suggest that the intrinsic value of business, which they defend so rigorously, can be diminished if the prevailing model of profit maximization is the "invisible hand" that guides all future action.
Creating Culture From the Top
If you run a small business, manage a group of employees, or carry executive status, Business for the Common Good offers valuable insights into the ways you can influence your company’s culture for the good of society.
For those who are in a more-limited role of organizational leadership, the lessons in this book may not be immediately applicable, but may serve as a guide for the types of companies for which you might want to work.
Regardless, Business for the Common Good supplies a valuable resource for readers interested in the intersection between faith and work, and specifically Christian theology and business, on a practical level.
Originally published at http://spu.edu/cib.
September 27, 2016
The authors of Business for the Common Good clearly state the purpose of the book. They are seeking to explore the understanding of business as a calling. More specifically they state, “Business, we will argue, is a calling to serve the common good through transformational service” (p. 33). However, the ground covered in this work is quite broad.
The writers ground their perspective in the Scriptures by tying their argument to an understanding of work from the Garden of Eden and then discuss the concepts of work as worship, work as a spiritual calling and the role work plays in the spiritual formation of the individual. These are foundational chapters. It is in these beginning chapters that they begin skillfully moving from current business perspectives to a perspective that seeks God’s glory in and through business.
The breadth of their exploration is seen as they move from the above mentioned foundational concepts for the believer to discuss a biblical perspective of wealth, success and ambition, globalization, ethics, a biblical perspective of leadership applied to the workplace, the dangers and directions of marketing and environmental concerns. The final chapter explores some emerging trends in business in the social concern in the context of business. This book truly is an ambitious endeavor and leads the reader into important discussions of the intersection of faith, business and the global good.
The strengths of Business for the Common Good are many. Moving beyond seeing work only as a place of evangelism or a way to fund the kingdom, the authors take us into the world of business with both its 21st century complexities (globilazation and environmental concerns) and its opportunities in serve God in his transformational work. One aspect that is much appreciated is the way the authors dealt with business in the real world. They did not oversimplify nor ignore real world issues.
Another much needed perspective was in chapter 3 on the topic of work and spiritual formation. This was a major teaching of the puritan work ethic that is often lost in later treatments of faith in the workplace.
A concern is the authors treatment of God’s current and ongoing plan and how business and “transformation” fit into what He is doing and the culmination of the current age. A few bibical texts are used with theological conclusions that at best are confusing and at worst harken to a pre-World War II idea of ushering in the Kingdom by human means. The foundations of a Christian Vision for Business starting on page 70 has some questionable exegesis and generalized statements that he does not back up well with the authorial intent of the Scriptures. One such example is found on page 73 with the following statement, “Scripture reveals that institutional and structural change is well within the scope of God’s intentions.” He then backs it up with a myriad of references to Old Testament texts in the context of the theocratic kingdom of the Old Testament.
Overall, however, I would recommend this book highly. It covers a spectrum of much needed discussion for the student preparing for life in the current business climate, a Christian preacher and the established Christian business leader.
The writers ground their perspective in the Scriptures by tying their argument to an understanding of work from the Garden of Eden and then discuss the concepts of work as worship, work as a spiritual calling and the role work plays in the spiritual formation of the individual. These are foundational chapters. It is in these beginning chapters that they begin skillfully moving from current business perspectives to a perspective that seeks God’s glory in and through business.
The breadth of their exploration is seen as they move from the above mentioned foundational concepts for the believer to discuss a biblical perspective of wealth, success and ambition, globalization, ethics, a biblical perspective of leadership applied to the workplace, the dangers and directions of marketing and environmental concerns. The final chapter explores some emerging trends in business in the social concern in the context of business. This book truly is an ambitious endeavor and leads the reader into important discussions of the intersection of faith, business and the global good.
The strengths of Business for the Common Good are many. Moving beyond seeing work only as a place of evangelism or a way to fund the kingdom, the authors take us into the world of business with both its 21st century complexities (globilazation and environmental concerns) and its opportunities in serve God in his transformational work. One aspect that is much appreciated is the way the authors dealt with business in the real world. They did not oversimplify nor ignore real world issues.
Another much needed perspective was in chapter 3 on the topic of work and spiritual formation. This was a major teaching of the puritan work ethic that is often lost in later treatments of faith in the workplace.
A concern is the authors treatment of God’s current and ongoing plan and how business and “transformation” fit into what He is doing and the culmination of the current age. A few bibical texts are used with theological conclusions that at best are confusing and at worst harken to a pre-World War II idea of ushering in the Kingdom by human means. The foundations of a Christian Vision for Business starting on page 70 has some questionable exegesis and generalized statements that he does not back up well with the authorial intent of the Scriptures. One such example is found on page 73 with the following statement, “Scripture reveals that institutional and structural change is well within the scope of God’s intentions.” He then backs it up with a myriad of references to Old Testament texts in the context of the theocratic kingdom of the Old Testament.
Overall, however, I would recommend this book highly. It covers a spectrum of much needed discussion for the student preparing for life in the current business climate, a Christian preacher and the established Christian business leader.
June 21, 2015
More and more people of Christian faith believe that working in business can be a legitimate calling. But what kind of a calling is it? What are businesspeople being called to do or be? Professors Kenman Wong (Seattle Pacific University) and Scott Rae (Biola) set out to answer that query. (Full disclosure: Dr. Wong and I work in the same academic unit at SPU.)
The book consists of a series of chapters that investigate various aspects of what it means to be a businessperson, teasing out the theological implications for each subject area. The basic premise that Wong and Rae look to support is that business is a calling to serve the common good through transformational service. With this lens, they explore leadership, ambition, marketing, globalization, wealth accumulation and other facets of the business enterprise, considering the potentialities for business to do good and the pitfalls inherent in it as well.
There is a lot of good material here, especially for those who have not thought about business or their work through the eyes of faith. However, the most useful insight may be one the authors share early on: Your work is an altar. Due to the amount of time, energy and talent we devote to it, there is an aspect of sacrifice to doing our work every day. And if we are sacrificing at the altar of work, are we not, in some fashion also worshiping? It is worth contemplating what we are worshiping. If we work only to make money, our priorities may be misaligned.
This book is a relatively engaging read and there are lots of useful examples provided by the authors of businesses and businesspeople who are thinking creatively about integrating faith and business. If you've never given much thought to what it means to be a person of faith and a businessperson, this book may be a decent starting place for your exploration.
I do have one small gripe: The proofreading in this book is quite poor. I found multiple typos in every chapter and it was a bit distracting. I would like to think that the publisher, IVP Academic, can and will do better on the next iteration of this.
The book consists of a series of chapters that investigate various aspects of what it means to be a businessperson, teasing out the theological implications for each subject area. The basic premise that Wong and Rae look to support is that business is a calling to serve the common good through transformational service. With this lens, they explore leadership, ambition, marketing, globalization, wealth accumulation and other facets of the business enterprise, considering the potentialities for business to do good and the pitfalls inherent in it as well.
There is a lot of good material here, especially for those who have not thought about business or their work through the eyes of faith. However, the most useful insight may be one the authors share early on: Your work is an altar. Due to the amount of time, energy and talent we devote to it, there is an aspect of sacrifice to doing our work every day. And if we are sacrificing at the altar of work, are we not, in some fashion also worshiping? It is worth contemplating what we are worshiping. If we work only to make money, our priorities may be misaligned.
This book is a relatively engaging read and there are lots of useful examples provided by the authors of businesses and businesspeople who are thinking creatively about integrating faith and business. If you've never given much thought to what it means to be a person of faith and a businessperson, this book may be a decent starting place for your exploration.
I do have one small gripe: The proofreading in this book is quite poor. I found multiple typos in every chapter and it was a bit distracting. I would like to think that the publisher, IVP Academic, can and will do better on the next iteration of this.
September 6, 2014
I bought this book quite awhile ago but did not have the urge to read it, though I did try. I picked it up again about five days ago and found it a wonderful and much needed read.
It is a part of a larger integration series that attempts to integrate the Christian life to various areas of living. This book deals with the integration with our work and career in the business world.
Its conviction is that "business, from a Christian viewpoint...is a calling to transformational service for the common good", using the Scriptures as a compass to guide us in our work life.
The book covered these areas in its chapters:
1 Your Work is an Altar
2 The Shape of a Calling to Business
3 Business and Spiritual Formation
4 Wealth, Success and Ambition
5 Business and the Global Economy
6 Ethics in the Workplace
7 Leadership and Management: Serving Employees
8 Marketing: Serving Customers
9 Stewardship and Sustainability: Serving the Garden and our Neighbours
10 Emerging Directions in Business
I have been trying to figure out the theology of work for awhile now and this book certainly served to help me understand better what I do and how I can live out my Christian life more holistically and faithfully in all areas of my life.
This is indeed a must-read if you work in the marketplace.
It is a part of a larger integration series that attempts to integrate the Christian life to various areas of living. This book deals with the integration with our work and career in the business world.
Its conviction is that "business, from a Christian viewpoint...is a calling to transformational service for the common good", using the Scriptures as a compass to guide us in our work life.
The book covered these areas in its chapters:
1 Your Work is an Altar
2 The Shape of a Calling to Business
3 Business and Spiritual Formation
4 Wealth, Success and Ambition
5 Business and the Global Economy
6 Ethics in the Workplace
7 Leadership and Management: Serving Employees
8 Marketing: Serving Customers
9 Stewardship and Sustainability: Serving the Garden and our Neighbours
10 Emerging Directions in Business
I have been trying to figure out the theology of work for awhile now and this book certainly served to help me understand better what I do and how I can live out my Christian life more holistically and faithfully in all areas of my life.
This is indeed a must-read if you work in the marketplace.
June 27, 2013
I read this book as part of an Integrating Faith and Business course required for my M.B.A. Though I am a Christian myself, I believe that a great deal of the ideas suggested in this book would be appealing to those who have no religious preference as well. Many of the thoughts, though stemming from Biblical teachings, reinforce ideas of ethics and morality in business that can be applied to both faith-based and secular institutions. My chief complaint is that several times I found myself reading content that had already been presented in another chapter, only with slightly different wording. I found a few concepts to be a bit repetitive.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews