Focuses on why worldview is a legitimate business discussion

1. THE NATURE AND
IMPORTANCE OF A
WORLDVIEW IN
BUSINESSES (AND
IN LIFE IN
GENERAL)

2. The BIG Picture
The word picture to
the right (developed
on the Wordle.com
website) displays the
many ideas we will
consider in this
course. This essay
slide set draws on a
variety of sources,
but is, ultimately, the
expression of my
perspectives and
priorities for the
course.

3. Essay Slide Set Outline
• Best Place to Work and Worldview. We begin with an example of a value-driven
(and, so, worldview-driven) assessment of best practices in managing an organization.
• Definitions of Worldview. We move into a discussion of the variety of perspectives
concerning what a worldview contains and its impact.
• Dimensions of a Worldview. MY synthesized definition of worldview
• Four Elements of a Worldview. This model proposes a way of organizing our discussion
about the ―structure‖ of a worldview along with examples of how those elements might look
in the real world of business.
• The Forces that Shape Our Worldview. This single slide is just a short list reminding us
that our worldview is not just something we individually dream up.
• The Human Dynamics of a Worldview. Our worldview deals with things and structures
… but mostly (and most importantly) with how we interact with others. Humans alone have
the capacity to have a conscious (rather than an instinctual) worldview.
• Discipline Building Blocks of a Worldview. The formal concept of worldview draws from
a variety of ―academic disciplines – these slide define and discuss some of those more
important influences. Think of these as tributaries flowing into the stream of thought about
worldview over many decades.
• Distinctives of a Christian Worldview. This final section of the essay slide set focuses
attention on the particular beliefs that have characterized Christianity over thousands of
years. The proposition is that IF a worldview is going to label itself as a ―Christian
worldview‖ it must incorporate these elements.

4. Best Place to Work and Worldview*
• At the heart of our definition of a
great place to work - a place
where employees "trust the
people they work for, have pride
in what they do, and enjoy the
people they work with.―
• A great workplace is measured by
the quality of the three,
interconnected relationships that
exist there:
– The relationship between
employees and management.
– The relationship between
employees and their
jobs/company.
– The relationship between
employees and other employees.
* Drawn from GPTW website

5. Best Place to Work and Worldview
Enhancing the workplace brings in
results
 In a great workplace, how people are
treated is important. Creating a
great working environment is
considered a valid objective of the
company.
 In a great workplace, both goals are
seen as compatible. Indeed, good
employers that create the best
possible workplace may enhance a
firm's ability to perform well
financially.
 But they insist that having a great
workplace cannot be merely another
strategy to make money. Quite the
reverse. Rather than stifling
employees' lives to make money, a
great workplace also sees profits as a
means of enhancing employees' lives.

6. CREDIBILITY and Worldview
Credibility is built through three interdependent sets of behaviors and
attitudes found in the practice of two-way communication, competence
and integrity.
• Effective communication invites two-way dialogue. Leaders and
managers are clear and comprehensive with the information they share;
mechanisms are available to employees that afford them the
opportunity to begin conversations about what they might need or want
to hear.
• Competence is seen in the skills and behaviors needed for the
effective coordination of people and resources, directing employees’
work with the right amount of oversight, and clearly articulating and
pursuing a vision for the organization as a whole and for individual
departments.
• Management’s integrity depends on honest and reliable daily actions.
Managers strive to be consistent in what they say and do, and promises
are kept. Additionally, employees have confidence that their managers
run the business ethically.

7. RESPECT and Worldview
Respect is demonstrated through practices that provide professional
support to employees, encourage collaboration and allow for
expressions of care both in the workplace and outside.
• Professional support is shown to employees through the provision
of training opportunities and the resources and equipment
necessary to get work done, as well as through the expressions of
appreciation for accomplishments and extra effort.
• Collaboration between employees and management re-quires that
leaders and managers genuinely seek and respond to employees’
suggestions and ideas, and involve people in the decisions that
affect how they get their work done.
• Managers demonstrate caring by providing a safe and healthy
working environment, and by showing an interest in people’s
personal lives. Caring managers are also aware of the impact the
work has on employees’ personal lives.

8. FAIRNESS and Worldview
The three principles that support the practice of
Fairness in an organization are equity, impartiality and
justice.
• A sense of equity is conveyed through balanced
treatment of all people in the distribution of intangible
and tangible rewards.
• Manager impartiality is displayed through an
avoidance of favoritism in hiring and promotions
practices, and absence of politicking in the
workplace.
• Justice is seen as a lack of discrimination based on
people’s personal characteristics, and the presence
and utilization of a fair process for appeals.

9. PRIDE and Worldview
Managers in great workplaces help to build
employees’ pride in their work and the work of
the company.
• Employees feel pride in their personal jobs,
and know that their individual work makes a
difference. The work that is produced by their
team is a cause for pride and is supported
through a willingness to give extra.
• People also feel pride in the company as a
whole, based on the organization’s public
reputation and standing in the community.

10. Best Place to Work and Worldview
• The qualities of great places do not
happen accidently nor incidentally.
• These qualities are targeted for
cultivation by managers who have
developed a worldview of business
that is passionate, purposeful,
powerful, pervasive, promoted and
performed.
• A business worldview is a reflection
of beliefs about the nature of
organizations and the nature of
people.
• A Christian worldview of business
completes the ―triangle‖ by focusing
on people, the organization, and
God.

11. Some definitions of worldview
• A particular philosophy or view of life.
• Abstract cultural aspects that give
value, meaning, and order to the experiences of a
folk group, often embodied in folk life.
• An organized and accepted set of ideas attempting
to explain the social, cultural, physical and
psychological world.
• The way we explain and assimilate experience.
• A set of commonly held values, ideas, and images
concerning the nature of reality and the role of
humanity within it.

12. Alternative definitions of worldview
• The collective interpretation of and response to the
natural and cultural environments in which a group
of people lives.
• The largely unconscious but generally coherent set
of beliefs about how the world operates; at the level
of day-to-day practice, approximately synonymous
with paradigm
• A foundation or belief system about how and why
things happen in the world.
• One's personal view of the world and how one
interprets it
• The totality of one's beliefs about reality

13. Dimensions of a Worldview
• Our worldview is
• A complex structure of elements (ideas,
meanings, values, beliefs)
• Shaped by a variety of internal and external
forces
• Expressed in the ways we perceive, process
and relate to our universe and the people in it
• Refined by what we learn from the
perspectives of various disciplines and their
proponents

14. Four elements of a worldview – a suggested
structure
• Presuppositions:
– Primary, fundamental beliefs about
what is true and what is valuable Presuppositions
Perspectives
– Often personally or culturally
implicit – that is, so a part of the
―fabric‖ of our personal or cultural
Practices
being that they go unquestioned
because they are taken to be ―the
way things are.‖
– They more asserted than proven. Principles
While they can be subjected to
various tests of reasonableness,
their power to impact our thinking
is not wholely dependent on such
tests

15. Four elements of a worldview – a suggested
structure
• Presuppositions:
– They are ―first‖ beliefs upon which
Presuppositions
other beliefs are constructed
Perspectives
– Because of their primary
importance, they are often
defended with great passion that
Practices
may seem totally unreasonable to
others not holding these beliefs
Principles

16. Four elements of a worldview – a suggested
structure
• Presuppositions:
– Examples of
• The world is rational and Presuppositions
Perspectives
operates in knowable ways vs
the world is random and
unpredictable
• God exists and is involved in
Practices
His created world vs there is no
god and we (people) alone are
responsible for the world
• All men are created equal and Principles
endowed by their Creator with
inalienable rights vs people are
created unequal and have only
the rights they can fight for and
win.

17. Four elements of a worldview – a suggested
structure
•Perspectives:
– Ways of viewing and
evaluating events and people Presuppositions
Perspectives
(partly rooted in our
presuppositions)
– These perspectives provide
Practices
meaning to the events/people
we observe:
• Similarity vs differences Principles
• Cause/effect relationships
• Primary/secondary priorities
• Critical/non-essential
considerations

18. Four elements of a worldview – a suggested
structure
•Perspectives (examples):
– ―Bob betrayed me because he
is like all people – when push Presuppositions
Perspectives
comes to shove everyone
looks out for #1‖
– ―You cannot trust younger
Practices
workers – they are self-
centered‖
– ―Women are hard to work for Principles
as bosses‖
– ―I had to sacrifice my integrity
or my job, I would sacrifice…‖

19. Four elements of a worldview – a suggested
structure
• Principles: guidelines for
decisions and actions in terms of:
– Effectiveness (goal Presuppositions
Perspectives
achievement)
– Enhancement (human
development)
Practices
– Efficiency (resource
management)
– Efficacy (power and influence)
– Emergence (change) Principles
– Education (the learning
organization)
– Economy (sustainability)
– Ethicality (values)

20. Four elements of a worldview – a suggested
structure
• Principles (examples):
– Always tell the truth - you will
never regret the lie you do not tell Presuppositions
Perspectives
– How we obtain our goals is as
important as what our goals are
– Satisfied employees are more
Practices
productive employees
– Change is always painful, but
always essential – sort of like
exercise Principles
– Every organization must take in
more money than it spends –
being a non-profit does not mean
being a money loser

21. Four elements of a worldview – a suggested
structure
• Practices: specific rules/guidelines
governing
– Individual behavior Presuppositions
– Interpersonal relationships
Perspectives
– Institutional authority and
responsibility
• Practices may be highly
Practices
personal, or may be influenced by
people we respect, groups we are
a part of, faith beliefs, etc.
• Our view on practices is more likely Principles
to change, or to be subject to
situational conditions, than
presuppositions, perspectives or
principles

22. Four elements of a worldview – a suggested
structure
• Practices: (examples)
– Measure twice – cut once
– Look both ways before you cross Presuppositions
Perspectives
any line
– Take others seriously, and
yourself lightly
– We have two ears and one
Practices
mouth: listen twice as much as
you talk
– Never make the same mistake
twice – unless you do it in a more Principles
creative way!
– Life is short: fill it with more
laughter than tears, more risk
than safety, and more praise than
blame

23. The forces that shape our worldview
• Family
• Friends, groups
• Church
• Education
• Experience
• Media
• Leaders: governmental,
non-profit, business
• Cultural history

24. The human dynamics of a worldview
• Worldviews are not mere
Believing Understanding
Sensing
abstractions. They are embedded in
the hearts, minds and souls of
individuals and the fabric of groups
and culture. As such, worldviews are
Believing
influenced by, and, in turn, influence:
– Our perceptions (seeing)
– Our philosophy (understanding)
– Our relationships with people
Understanding
(belonging)
Culture

25. The human dynamics of a worldview
• Our perceptions
– Sensing and believing are mutually
influencing worldview elements
– Our senses (what we see, feel,
Believing
Sensing
touch, taste) influence what we
believe about things
– Any situation has hundreds of
elements we could sense – our
beliefs filter out many of those
elements (for example we filter out
the unusual, the unexpected and the
unwanted)
– Both senses and beliefs are
imperfect

26. The human dynamics of a worldview
• Worldviews are influenced
by, and, in turn, influence our
philosophy
• Our beliefs influence what we
Understanding
Believing
understand (tying together
various beliefs)
• Our understanding, in
turn, influences what we
believe (that is how we
evaluate truth and value
claims made by others)

27. The human dynamics of a worldview
• Worldviews are influenced by, and,
in turn, influence the way we relate
to people (culture)
• Where our belonging (the
Understanding
Culture
people we identify with, the
people we believe we are a part
of, or the people we feel we are
apart from) is a matter of shared
beliefs and perceptions and
ways of understanding)
• Our sense of belonging is
related to the strength of
connection of our beliefs

28. Discipline Building blocks of a worldview
– Taken (in part) from What's the Big Deal About Worldview? by
Dr. Steven C. Riser, found at the Ankerberg Theological
Research Institute website,
http://www.johnankerberg.org/Articles/practical-
christianity/PC0205W2.htm

29. Discipline Building blocks of a worldview
• The study of
worldviews Metaphysics Epistemology
(thinking deeply Theology Cosmology
about and going
beyond superficial
descriptions of Psychology Teleology
things) finds it Morality Soteriology
―roots‖ in many Ideal-ology
disciplines Eschatology
• Each discipline
raises its own
Anthropology
unique set of
questions (and
also may have its
own vocabulary
with which we might
struggle)

30. THEOLOGY (the study of God)
• The most important element in a worldview is what it says or
doesn’t say about God. Worldviews differ greatly on this matter.
Some important questions to ask are:
– Does God exist? If so, what is the nature of God? Is there
only one true God?
– Is God a personal being?—the kind who can know, love and
interact with? OR,
– Is God an impersonal force or power?
– The theological ―question‖ is not an easy one to escape.
• Calvin said that man is incurably religious. There really
is no such thing as an atheist. Everybody worships
(another word for what we love) someone or something.
Whatever that object of ultimate concern, it will be our
god because it shapes our attention, affections and
energy. People can worship things, ideals, others, or
themselves instead of God.
• So, worship, or faith in and of itself is the unusual state of
affairs – the determining issue is what we have faith in.

31. METAPHYSICS (the study of reality
beyond what we “see”)
• Met⋅a⋅phys⋅ics – (meta = beyond, physics = tangible
reality)
• 1.The branch of philosophy that treats of first principles,
includes ontology [the ends or goals of things] and
cosmology [the nature of our universe] , and is intimately
connected with epistemology [how do we know what we
know] … 3. Underlying theoretical principles of a subject or
field of inquiry.4. A treatise (4th century BC.) by Aristotle,
dealing with first principles, the relation of universals to
particulars, and the teleological doctrine of causation.
• Origin: 1560–70; < ML metaphysica < MGk (tà)
metaphysiká (neut. pl.), Gk tà metà tà physiká the (works)
after the Physics; with reference to the arrangement of
Aristotle's writings [Note – the idea of “physics” is related to
the “lawful” relationship of cause and effects]

32. METAPHYSICS (the study of reality
beyond what we “see”)
• Metaphysics deals with what constitutes ultimate reality. Questions in
this area include:
– Is the existence of the universe a fact – or a conjecture? That is,
do things exist outside our perception of them?
– What is the relationship between God and the universe - is God
the ―Master of the Universe‖ or are God and the world co-equal
and interdependent?
– Is there one God – or many – or none?
– Is the universe best understood in a mechanistic (non purposeful)
way or an organic (purposed) way?
– Is the universe a closed system (no miracles) or can someone
outside the system circumvent natural law (miracles)?
– Are there forces beyond what we can see – and, if so, is there any
way to comprehend these forces – and, if they are
comprehensible, is there any way to influence or control these
forces?

33. COSMOLOGY (the study of the universe, its
creation and meaning)
• Cosmology has to do with the study of the universe and how it
came into being. Questions to be asked in this area are:
– Is the universe (matter) eternal? Or did it have a beginning?
If so, when? How? Will the world ever end – if so, when and
how?
– Did an eternal, personal, omnipotent God create the
universe – or did the universe just happen?
– How old is the universe? How is it sustained? By what laws
does it operate?
– How, when and why was the earth created? Is it unique –
are there other inhabited planets or worlds?
– What is the nature and purpose of the universe - or is there
a purpose at all?

34. EPISTEMOLOGY (the study of knowing from the
Greek episteme = knowledge)
• This area deals with the question, how do we know what we know? Some
questions in this area include:
– Can we trust our senses - what are the proper roles of feeling, reason and
sense experience in knowledge?
– Are our intuitions more or less dependable than our sense experience of
the world?
– Is truth relative, or must it be the same for all rational beings?
– What is the relationship between religious faith and reason?
– Is the scientific method the only or best method of knowledge?
– Is certain or accurate knowledge about God possible? If so, how? Since
there are so many different views of God, what does this mean?
– Can God reveal Himself to human beings? If so, how? Under what
conditions? How do we know God has revealed this?
– Can God reveal information beyond Himself to human beings? If so, how,
and to whom?

35. MORALITY (sometimes called axiology – the study of
ethics from the Greek axiologie = what is valued)
• The area has to do with how do you determine right
from wrong? Some important questions in this area are:
– Are there moral laws that govern human conduct? If so, are
these laws God-made or man-made?
– Is morality relative (culturally or individually) or absolute?
Why or why not?
– Are moral laws discovered, or invented, by people?
– Is God or man the source of morality?
– Can the same thing be right for one person and wrong for
another? What is the relation between ethics and the law of
non-contradiction?
– Does morality transcend individuals, cultures and history?

36. PSYCHOLOGY (the study of the human mind)
• This question deals with the true nature and make up of
humankind. Some questions in this area include:
– Is man simply a product of time plus chance?
– Is he the creation of an infinite, personal God?
– Is man created in God’s image? If so, what does that mean?
– Is man simply another animal controlled by his instincts? If
so, how can he be held responsible for anything?
– Is our nature any different now then when we were first
created? Does human nature change? If so, how, and
toward what end result?
– What is wrong with man? Is our main problem ignorance or
character or choices or circumstances?

37. SOTERIOLOGY (the study of “deliverance from”
Greek sōtēría = salvation, deliverance)
• The subject deals with how to solve man’s most basic problems
of sin and redemption. Questions in this area include:
– Is there such a thing as sin? If so, how did it arise? What are
its consequences?
– Was there such an historical event as the fall? What
provision has God made for it? Where were the effects of
the fall and how can they be reversed?
– Is there a real hell – or is it just figurative?
– Is there a need for salvation?
– Is there something we can do to save ourselves?
– Is there something God has done to provide a way for us to
be saved? If so, what?

38. TELEOLOGY (the study of end purposes or final causes
from Gk. teleos = entire, perfect, complete, end, goal)
• This area deals with the purposes for which we and everything else
were created. Some important questions in this area include:
– What am I here for? Is there any meaningful purpose in life?
Are we simply here to grab for all the gusto we can get?
– If there is no ultimate purpose to life, does it really matter how we
live?
How meaningful is life without a significant purpose in life?
– Does my life really matter? Can I make a difference? Is my life of
any temporal or eternal consequence?
– If I am only a product of evolution what meaning can my life have?
– Am I responsible for determining the ultimate purpose of my life? If
so, what reliable way do I have to do this?
– Does God love me and have a wonderful plan for my life? If
so, what?
– What will determine if my life is ultimately in vain?

39. ESCHATOLOGY (the study of last things from the Greek
éschatos = last)
• This area deals with the end of history, as we know it. Questions
include:
– Where is history going? Is there any ultimate purpose in the
universe?
– Is there life after death? If so, what kind of future will I have?
– Do my actions in this life affect the quality of my existence in the
next life? Are there any other factors that can influence the
outcome?
– Is death simply the extinction of by being and the beginning of
decomposition? Or, is there more to the story?
– How will human history be consummated - with a bang or a
whimper?
– Is God in control of the universe and has He said how it will end?
– Does God have an over-all purpose that he is working out and will
bring to fruition?

40. IDEAL-OLOGY (the study of ought-to-be)
• This area deals with the kind of vision we should have about what
should be, and how we handle the gap between vision and reality.
Questions to ask include:
– Can things be better that they currently are?
– Do we have ideals or a vision of how we think the world should
be?
– How do we explain the disparity of the way things are and the way
they ought to be?
– Should there be less selfishness, less stupidity and less
corruption? Should there be more equity and less poverty? Should
people make fewer excuses and accept more responsibility?
Should people be more loving and less hurtful toward others?
Should there be more justice and less injustice?

41. ANTHROPOLOGY (the study of mankind from Gk,
comb. form of ánthrōpos human being, man)
• Deals with the nature of mankind, both as individuals and as
groups. Questions might include:
– Were people created – or evolved? If created, created by whom for
what? If evolved, how and with what consequences?
– What explains the social structures developed by humans?
– Are individuals more important than the group – or is the group
more important than the individual?
– Are people essentially self-seeking, or bent on serving others?
– People show a great deal of diversity in
cultures, races, abilities, appearances – are the ways people are
alike more important than the ways people differ?

42. Discipline Building blocks of a worldview
While we cannot Metaphysics Epistemology
―master‖ all these Theology Cosmology
disciplines, we can Psychology Teleology
deal with the issues Morality Soteriology
Ideal-ology
they raise in a Eschatology
disciplined and insightful way. We Anthropology
can dig deeply into what and why
we believe – and what others
believe.

43. Distinctives of a Christian Worldview
• (This discussion is based primarily on David
Naugle’s Worldview: a History of a Concept [William
B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002], James
Orr’s Christian View of God and the World (PDF
copy downloaded from Christian
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/orr/view.html, [Grand
Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library]),
and our course texts.
• If a worldview is going to be called legitimately a
Christian worldview, there are some basic
assertions that it must contain. These could be
called the ―fundamentals:‖

44. God’s Objective Existence
• ―Worldview‖ in a Christian perspective implies
the objective existence of the Trinitarian
God whose essential character establishes
the moral order of the universe and whose
word, wisdom and law define and govern all
aspects of created existence. (Naugle, p.
260)
• God’s holiness, justice and love constitute the
transcendent, authoritative standard in which
the moral order of the universe is anchored
… God graciously provides insight into the
ethical patterns of human existence through
both natural and special revelation. (Naugle,
p. 262)

45. God’s Transcendence and Intimacy
• The Christian view affirms the
existence of a God who is
– Powerful (without limitation)
– Personal (intimate involved)
– Holy (without moral imperfection)
– Self-Revealing (knowable)
• The Christian view affirms the creation
of the world by God, His immanent
presence in it, His transcendence over
it, and His holy and wise government
of it for moral ends. (Orr, p. 43)

46. Revelation of God’s Will
• God reveals His will and work through
two means:
– General revelation. This refers to the
revelation of God’s existence, attributes
and will through creation and human
nature (individual and in community).
General revelation can reveal truth both
through normal observation and through
systematic exploration (such as through
the ―hard‖ and ―social‖ sciences).
– Special revelation. This refers to the
revelation of truth through the specific
channel of Scripture. In evangelical circles
Scripture is held to be the wholly inerrant
and completely authoritative in all matters
that it covers.

47. The Nature of Mankind
• People are created in God’s image and
share many of His attributes (self
awareness, ethical sensitivity, creativity, a
desire for community [other awareness],
communication)
• People are fallen – God’s ―image‖ in them
has not been erased, but has been
deeply marred. Our fallenness is deep
and leads to a habitual individual self-
centeredness and interpersonal
competitiveness. Our fallenness affects
our minds (we deceive ourselves), our
hearts (our emotions are undependable
guides) and our bodies (we are beset by
fleshly desires).

48. Sin and Spiritual Warfare
• ―Worldview‖ in a Christian
perspective implies the catastrophic
effects of sin on the human heart
and mind, resulting in the fabrication
of idolatrous belief systems in place
of God and engagement of the
human race in cosmic warfare
spiritual in which the truth about
reality and the meaning of life is at
stake. (Naugle, p. 274)
• Sin is both personal (we ―want‖ to
sin, and Satanic (malevolent forces
prod us to sin)

49. Grace and Redemption
―Worldview‖ in Christian perspective
implies the gracious inbreaking of
the Kingdom of God into human
history in the person and work of
Jesus Christ, who atones for
sin, defeats the principalities and
powers, and enables those who
believe in Him to obtain a
knowledge of the true God and a
proper understanding of the world
as His creation. (Naugle, p. 284)

50. History
• The Christian worldview affirms that history is linear
(has a beginning, a middle and an end) has a goal,
and that the present order of things will be terminated
by the appearance of the Son of Man for judgment,
the resurrection of the dead, and the final separation
of righteous and wicked,—final, so far as the
Scriptures afford any light, or entitle us to hold out any
hope. (Orr, p. 44)
• The Christian worldview affirms that the historical aim
of Christ’s work was the eventual founding of a
Kingdom of God on earth, which includes not only the
spiritual salvation of individuals, but also a new order
of society, the result of the action of the spiritual
forces set in motion through Christ.