Reeling From Rotten Reorganizations
Our Mission
To present Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission.
Jeremiah 30.21 records, I will invite him to approach Me, says the LORD, for who would dare to come unless invited? I am increasingly amazed at the belief we practice about God. We take God for granted and hold Him in very little esteem. We believe that what we think He is defines Who He really is rather than getting our definition directly from Him.
Everyone seems quite comfortable with everyone else’s interpretation of Who God is as though He were all things to all people. What kind of a person is that? None of us are all things to all people. Certainly different people may have differing opinions of us but those who know us best will have a consistent opinion of our character, nature and ways. We are what we are.
In fact, most of us dislike being mischaracterized, it hurts us. Image is everything and most of us work hard to present ourselves in a light that is positive and appealing. Wouldn’t God be similar? Doesn’t it make sense that God would have a defined nature, character and way? If God is a Person, albeit not human, but a thinking, feeling, intelligent and rational Being, then He would have a defined and understandable nature, character and way.
Indeed, God does, as He defines Himself in the Bible: good, holy, just, righteous, gracious, merciful and loving, to name a few. The Bible is replete with descriptions of the character, nature and will of God. God did not leave Himself to be defined by humanity but invites humanity to learn of Him in order to come to understand Who He is so that we can know Him and obey Him. God has recorded Who He is so that we are without excuse for knowing Him.
When God judges humanity for how they lived their lives He will not ask us what we thought of Him and then measure us based upon our conceived notions of Him. God will judge humanity based upon their acceptance and adherence to the revelation of Him they have received from Him. This revelation starts with creation itself, moves to our conscience, crescendo’s in Jesus Christ and is recorded for eternity in the Bible.
If God is God, and He is nothing less than God, then He will measure us by His standard according to His ways; doesn’t that make sense? What doesn’t make sense is us refusing to know those ways so that we can align ourselves in obedience to them in order to pass the coming judgement.
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MONDAY MANNA
A service to the business community
A Publication of CBMC International
August 8, 2016
Reeling From Rotten Reorganizations
by Rick Boxx
Constant reorganization was one of the biggest drawbacks I have experienced in working for large organizations. Every year, usually around September, the budget process would begin. Rumors would start about the expected casualties as budgetary cutbacks were being considered.
This process would extend for months before the actual staff reductions took place. However, due to the uncertainty of what lie ahead in their future, much of that time employees found waiting to be fraught with anxiety; it was paralyzing. Would they keep their jobs, or would they – sometimes with little or no notice – find themselves on the unemployment line, desperately searching for a new job?
Typically the reorganization process involved many closed-door meetings that everyone knew about, but had no idea of what was transpiring behind those doors. Too often, the only things that came out of secretive sessions were deception and outright lies. The profitability of the company appeared to be paramount. The goal of top management seemed simply to keep employees working, much more than showing them the respect and dignity they deserved. Because of the lying and deception we observed, most employees interpreted this as a lack of regard for them, their needs and concerns.
While we could understand why corporate executives could not disclose, much less discuss, every step in the reorganization process, their unwillingness to demonstrate any compassion for the plight was not acceptable. It was no wonder that employee morale would drop noticeably and loyalty to the company declined to virtually nothing. Just as the corporate leaders were looking out for themselves and the organization first, the workers also felt the need to protect their own interests.
In situations like that, I observed the practicality of biblical principles that could have been applied:
Recognizing the consequences of deception. Although lying and dishonesty are hardly a new phenomenon for the workplace, invariably the outcome of deception is bad, often even disastrous. If leaders are considering reorganization, they should first think carefully about how to respect the dignity of their staff. Lying does not help, it hurts. As Proverbs 26:28 teaches,“A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”
Demonstrating compassion for all involved. There is a temptation to make profits and the desires of shareholders of paramount importance, but the best leaders – those that inspire confidence and trust – are those of take into account the interests of all, especially employees who perform the work that enables the company to function. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Proverbs 2:3-4).
Seeing the leader’s role as serving rather than commanding. It seems easy to conclude, “I am in charge. Whatever I decide is right.” But wise executives practice servant leadership, communicating concern for everyone affected by major changes. Jesus embodied this principle: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Copyright 2016, Integrity Resource Center, Inc. Adapted with permission from “Integrity Moments with Rick Boxx,” a commentary on issues of integrity in the workplace from a Christian perspective. To learn more about Integrity Resource Center or to sign up for Rick’s daily Integrity Moments, visit www.integrityresource.org. His new book, Unconventional Business, provides “Five Keys to Growing a Business God’s Way.”
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