The Basics of Business & How to Prosper as a Christian - A new Book

The Basics of Business and How to Prosper as a Christian, is an upcoming new book. Along with this new book will be a series of business courses regarding how the Christian worker or manager can thrive in business, by practicing their Christian ethics. This book will be the first in a series of books related to business subjects.

Capitalism

In the US we have harnessed capitalism to finance the requirements of our country, from the total country needs down to the needs of the family unit and/or individual, in such a way as to minimize harm to others.  Whenever there is competition there is going to be a winner and a loser.  We have put into place the rules of engagement that control how we do business fairly.  These rules exist in the form of laws and regulations.

Capitalism will not thrive, or indeed can it live, in a socialistic or communistic form of government and related culture.  Improvements and progress are stimulated by capitalism and killed by socialism and communism.  Capitalism breeds an incentive and creative based culture whereas socialism and communism suppresses incentive and creativeness, resulting in a stagnant and poor society that doesn’t know how to take care of itself.

Ethics

Basic to how businesses operate in a capitalistic business culture, is ethics. Ethical businesses become known positively. Note the various advertised lists for finding good plumbers, lawyers, doctors, etc. In all of these lists, the individuals or companies on those lists must qualify to be there.

A few years ago, ethics in business was not considered a factor in doing business. Now, some companies have ethics officers. As it turns out, companies that are unethical don’t seem to last very long. No one wants to do business with a crooked business or businessperson.

Webster’s Definition of Ethic: The discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. A set of moral principles or values. A theory or system of moral values. The principles of conduct governing an individual or a group.

Christians Can Thrive in Business

It is also interesting to note that practicing Christians can thrive in business by just practicing what they believe as Christians. We all struggle from time-to-time in the workplace regarding what our conduct should be as Christians.  Some feel they have an obligation to witness to others in the workplace, accomplish personal study of the Bible in the workplace, pray in the workplace, evangelize in the workplace, minister to some in the workplace, and have Bible studies in the workplace.  Actually, there is nothing improper with any of these in the workplace.

What becomes improper, is the when and the where in the workplace as well as the how.  What you do before and after working hours, during breaks, or at lunch is usually not a problem in any company.  The problem arises when these activities are being done during working hours.  During working hours, man-hours that are not being spent doing the company’s business become lost to the company.  If you stop to visit with someone during working hours regarding new pictures of your children, or to discuss an upcoming fishing trip, or to tell jokes, or to convert someone to your religious beliefs, you are not only wasting your man-hours, but you are also wasting the man-hours of the individual you interrupted.  Some companies are quite lenient regarding visiting among its employees and are only interested in overall accomplishment.  However, most companies look at all these activities as stealing from the company.

Productivity

Stealing productivity time from a company is not a fairy tale, it is real.  Man-hours lost are directly related to a specific amount of money, based on what each individual involved is being paid per hour plus the benefit package.  It is never good for anyone to be pegged as a time thief, especially a Christian.  We are supposed to be setting a good example and leaving good impressions regarding honesty, integrity, and professionalism.  Being a model employee is a good reputation to have.  Of course, I am not saying that it is acceptable to do anything a company wants you to do.  Some companies force, or as a minimum, pressure employees to do things that are morally improper.  If you find yourself in that kind of a situation, you need to find another job.  In this discussion, I am addressing the average company and how they look at time thievery.  Doing God’s work is always the right thing to do however, it must be done in a proper manner or it is unacceptable and possibly even sinful.  It is never acceptable to accomplish God’s work in a sinful manner.

The Book on Business

The business environment is the place we all go to make a living. For some, it may be self-employment of some sort and for others it will be as an employee. In either case, the book and related courses will provide useful information for you to apply to your specific situation. Also, the book and courses will provide, management types a better understanding of what they are managing and non-management types will better understand how they should fit into the big scheme of things.

Online Courses

The book and courses are not intended to improve your basic skills or teach you a skill. The courses presume that you have a skill set you apply. For example, you might write software for a living or you could be an engineer or an accountant. If you need improvements in your basic skill set, you will need to address that as a separate issue, away from the book and courses.

Courses on Management

If you are a management type, you will find the book and courses directly applicable to your situation. Hopefully, you are managing a business activity that you came up through and understand what you are managing. For example, if you are an engineer by trade and are now managing an engineering operation, it will make the task of management somewhat easier because you at least understand the technical side of the business. Of course, the next question is, “do you know how to manage?”

Courses for Employees

If you are a non-management type, you will find the book and courses helpful to your understanding of where you fit in the big scheme of things. It will also help you to understand the importance of teamwork.

Most of all, the book and courses will help you to understand how you should conduct yourself in the work environment. Understanding what a business is made of and how it should operate is basic to knowing how to conduct yourself in business.

Christian Values are an Asset in Business

You will also find out that Christian values are actually an asset in business. The key to this understanding is, knowing how to combine how you should conduct yourself in business with your Christian values.