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Business Management obviously taught us in this class how to become strong minded, goal orientated, driven minded business people. But the lessons learned in Business Management can also apply to life management as well as household management. Success is only as strong as the relationships we build around us. Many would agree, and few would disagree, that without strong fellow humans believing in us and loving us in our life we would wither away and become senseless lonely lost human beings. Family, friends, significant others, all contribute to success in life either professionally and or personally.
The biblical basis for business enterprise is quite easy to understand. It’s clearly stated in the bible to keep everything in perspective. God must be 1st. Business and profit must be a result of serving legitimate needs with value for a modest price. Its clear God wants us to work hard for our profit and not profit from the Impoverished or those less fortunate. He wants us to conduct and practice honest, trustful, peaceful business practices without coerce and manipulation. He wants us to avoid the pitfalls of dishonest business practices that create sin and tempt us Into greed and sloth.
God expects us to practice love and respect for others and himself foremost. He expects Integrity from his children with truth, honest, and Justice. This clearly explains that God wants us to run our business with the same principles that we use to run our life. In the end our business must profit the heaven of God. Business Is an environment that both reveals and refines a person’s character, morals, and ethics, and spirituality to perspective the only place we can have it all is in heaven. Life on this side of eternity, under the reality of sin, is a series of tradeoffs.
Choices have consequences and involve costs that need to be considered, no more so that when it comes to keeping perspective on work and family and personal life. ” (Wong & Rae, 2011, P. 112). Business is a tool to acquire money no doubt. But as well and more importantly it’s a path to serve others and spread the word and wishes of the lord on his beautiful green earth. In the book Business for the Common Good (Wong & Rae) explain in Chapter one that our work is an altar. ” Each of us serve Christ by doing our work faithfully and with excellence. “The Plumber serves Christ by fixing leaky pipes; the dockworker serves Christ when giving investment advice; the waitress serves Christ when serving food; the missionary serves Christ on the mission field; the health care professional serves Christ in the hospital, doctor’s office or dental chair; and the software engineer serves Christ as the computer terminal. Paul said that in whatever we do for our work, we are serving Christ. ” The extension of God’s rule is required in all occupations. ” (Wong & Rae, 2011, P. 58). In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus myself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive. ” (NIB) Acts 20:35 There’s more to life than to which a person accumulates. “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (ELK 12:15). Everything we own ultimately belongs to God. “Hold your wealth and possessions loosely and give with open-hand generosity. ” (Wong & Ra, 2011, P 124). The craving for possessions and wealth go hand and hand with temptation.
Many people lose sight of the important things in life while chasing monetary wealth. They neglect there friends and family of their time, love, and commitment. They then soon fall prey to cheating or taking unfair advantage over others in their lust for money, possessions and success. On the other hand those who are blessed with wealth are expected to share generously with those less fortunate. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. “(Matthew 6:24) muff cannot serve both God and Money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat? ‘ or ‘What shall we drink? ‘ or ‘What shall we wear? ‘ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. (NIB, Matthew 6:24-25, 31-33) Life is short, and effective time management is very important in your day to day life.
Time management in the Lord’s view doesn’t mean for us to book our daily schedule back to back with non- important task. But to effectively use our time to do the right things that are expected out of us in our one and only life. Our time is very limited on this earth. And every minute that ticks by is a minute less we have to share with others. God expects us to take daily time to enrich personal relationships. He expects us to spend a reasonable time with our family and loved ones, as well he expects us to rest and maintain our health.
Coveys time management system consists of 4 quadrants: important and urgent, important but not urgent, urgent but not important and not urgent and not decides what “first things” are, it is management that puts them first, day-by-day, moment by moment. Management is discipline, carrying it out “. Covey, 2004, P. 148). He also explains in 7 Habits of Highly Effective people, “We are the instruments of our own performance, and to be effective, we need to recognize the importance of taking time regularly to sharpen the saw in all four ways. ” (Covey, 2004, P. 288).
We must always be renewing and enhancing ourselves physically, social/emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. Steven Coveys book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has become a best seller and was a very valuable resource in this Business Management course. Steven Covey clearly states that he did not invent these rules but discovered a clear precise ay to deliver them so anybody could learn and practice the valuable lessons of them at hand in everyday life. Habit 1, explains for us to be “Proactive”. He explains the difference between the proactive mindset vs.. Reactive mindset. It means more than merely taking initiative. It means that as human beings, we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to values. We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen. ” (Covey, 2004, P. 71). Habit 2 states “Begin with the End in Mind”. “The repeater’s rule is “measure twice, cut once. ” You have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation, is really what you want, that you’ve thought everything through. Then you put it into bricks and mortar.
Each day you go to the construction shed and pull out the blueprint to get marching orders for the day. You begin with the end in mind. ” (Covey, 2004, P. 99). Habit 3 states “Put First Things First. ” We as humans must prioritize, plan, and execute our task by the urgency of them first. We must focus on what is important and what clearly isn’t. Successful people always prioritize their needs, wants, and goals. They determine what should be handled first, second, and third, etc. In their life. Habit 4 focuses on “Win-win. ” In this habit we must learn to compromise and handle problems and situations in a fare mutually beneficial attitude.
It focuses on not only are wants but the wants of others. A “Win- Win” applies to the relationship either personally or professionally. A “Win-Win” allows both parties to have equally what is being thought. Habit 5 is about “Seek First to Understand, Then to be understood. ” The purpose of Habit 5 is to teach us about Empathic listening or sometimes called active or reflective listening. Empathic listening is listening to a person and really hearing what they have to say. Empathetic listening causes us to put ourselves in the other person’s situation and feel what they are feeling.
We must remember we don’t always have to provide a solution to the problem but we really need to hear what the person is saying so that we can understand how they feel. ” We typically seek first to be understood. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. ” (Covey, 2004, P. 239). Habit six, involves Synergy. “Synergy is the interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce an effect different from or greater than the sum of their individual effects. ” (Covey, 2004, P. 263). In essence, it’s stating two heads are better than one.
Synergy is team work and brain storming as a whole instead of on one’s own. When people interact together they are able to come up with more problem solving in life and problem solving in business. Synergy can produce the positive as well as the negative. Synergy explains the positive constructive power of a group effort compared to individual efforts concerning problem solving and project management. Habit 7 tells us to “Sharpen the Saw. Covey tells a simple story of a woodcutter who is sawing for several day and nights straight but is becoming more and less productive in doing so.
Covey is merely explaining that we need to take time and re-focus on what we are trying to accomplish. We must take the time in our lives to relax and take a break once in a while in order to regain our strength and energy and relatable what we are doing. Habit 7 is personal PC. “It’s preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have-you. It’s renewing the four dimensions of your nature-physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional. ” (Covey, 2004, P. 288). In inclusion, Coveys habits basically tells us if we want something we must have a clear plan of action to acquire it.
We must be focused, organized, and prioritize our way of life to accomplish what we want. We must be fare and be able to compromise with others. Nothing will always go our way. We must sacrifice and work with others and other’s needs, wants, and goals. We must not neglect our mind or bodies. We must take time and seek proper rest. We must share our time with loved ones and friends. Learning can be described as a cycle made up of four basic phases. The Diverging Style combines concrete experience and reflective observation. People in this group may rather observe than to take action.
In formal learning situations these people may prefer working in groups to gather information. They enjoy brainstorming sessions, they listen with an open mind and expect to receive personal feedback. The Assimilating style combines Reflective Observation and Abstract Conceptualization. People have learn with style are usually less focused on people and more interested in abstract ideas and concepts. In formal learning situations they may prefer lectures, readings, exploring models and having time to think things through on their own. The Converging Style combines Abstract Conceptualizations and Active Experimentation.
People with this learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories. They have the ability to solve problems and make decisions based on finding solutions to questions or problems. In formal learning situations they also prefer experimenting with new ideas, simulations, laboratory assignments and practical applications. The Accommodating Style combines Active Experimentation and Concrete Experience. People with this learning style have the ability to learn primarily from hands-on experience. They tend to act on intuition rather than on logical analysis.
In formal learning situations they may prefer to work with others to get assignments done, to set goals, to do field work and to test out different approaches to completing a project. Just as each individual has a unique personality, each individual has a unique learning style. It is important to remember that there are no good or bad learning styles. Learning style is simply your preferred way of learning. It is how you like to learn and how you learn best. In conclusion, reading this information is easier said than done. To be successful we must be able to take a stand for what we want, and make a plan to accomplish what we desire.
Anyone, can read books on motivation or attend seminars seeking guidance; but the information will only be valuable if it is put into proper effect. Success comes in many forms. Money is the end result of diligence and hard work; but without strong relationships such as love from friends and family, guidance from the lord, and a vision to accomplish our goals we are Just an empty lost soul. Some of the poorest people I know are some of the happiest people Vie ever seen. Monetary lath has very little value compared to the fullness of love and support that others brings to them.