Instructions: Exploring Job Design, Staffing, and Christian Worldview PEER RESPONSE 2_DB 750
Develop a response to the post below highlighted in yellow. Peer responses must include meaningful and substantive contributions to the discussion, and ideally provoke and challenge the thinking of your colleagues. The reply must be no less than 250 words.
The response should NOT be a critique of the student’s post, nor should you acknowledge if they responded to the question. The purpose is to add value to the post in an effort to continue the conversation;
The response must demonstrate a substantive discussion;
Narrative prose only please – no bullet points, numbered lists, or tables.
Must use 7th Edition APA
Include a references section, and be sure to have in-text citations for the following sources:
At least 1 citation from Valentine: Human Resource Management.
At least 1 citation from Keller: Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work.
At least 1 citation from a related scholarly journal.
Original Task:
How does Hardy’s (Chapter 3) conceptualization of vocation and the “divine economy” specifically connect with at least 2 salient job design and employee engagement/retention constructs outlined by Valentine (Chapters 4-5)? Discuss at least 2 related HR-practice implications for strategically recruiting and selecting employees (Valentine Chapters 6-7).
Watch: Recruiting Trends with SHRM’s Tony Lee at SHRM19
PEER RESPONSE (MC):
Hardy’s Conceptualization of Vocation and the Divine Economy
Christians’ fundamental calling in the New Testament is not to specific social careers, jobs or roles, but to new ways of life, which has been described as following Christ (1 Peter 2:21), having fellowship with Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:9), and leaving darkness and moving towards the light (1 Peter 2:9). The concept of work as vocation comes to mind when one asks himself or herself how they propose to follow Jesus Christ. Hardy (1990) suggests the concept of vocation which picks up on New Testament’s image of the church as a body—everyone is called to follow Jesus Christ as the head of the church, but each individual has to assume a special role in the body on grounds of a unique gift. Hardy’s concept of work as vocation maintain that the same principle holds for the general society. Hardy suggests that vocation is humans’ divine calling for addressing others’ needs.
Connection between Hardy’s Conceptualization with Employee Engagement/Retention Constructs
Hardy’s conceptualization of vocation and the “divine economy” connect with the codified work/job design theory outlined in chapter 4 of Valentine et al. (2020) in the sense that Hardy’s divine economy is God’s way of using humans to connect each individual in a society that is dependent on everyone’s work. God has thus chosen to use humans as his agent in ensuring His work and will is done (Hardy, 1990). According to Hardy (1990), divine economy is a system that depends on working collaboratively and investing oneself in made-made organizations and the creation. While examining the nature of work and jobs, Valentine et al. (2020) maintain that one of the most challenging organizational activities involves assigning specific job responsibilities and tasks to employees and ensuring all employees become productive and motivated organizational members. Just as explained in the concept of divine economy, God gifted each person certain aspirations and passions as well as a calling to enter into the divine economy. Given the need for helping each other, divine talents are needed to ensure production efficiency and economic progress.
With the overarching “investment orientation” regarding human capital, Hardy places more emphasis on utilizing our concerns and talents to discover the vocations that make a great fit. He therefore encourages people to look beyond their gifts and make decisions on societal issues that concern them, cause them pain and drive them. Passion is not just found on things that one loves, but also in things that disturb them and it plays a critical role in bringing about change. Hardy employs the notion of “divine economy” for capturing how God created humans to be interdependent individuals who are served by and serve each other. People’s work becomes a part of their Christian vocation when they find a place of serving within the system of mutual support, in addition to entering into God’s way of caring for others.
HR-Practice Implications Strategic Recruitment and Selection
One of the HR-practice implications for strategic recruitment and selection of employees is reduced costs and time spent on recruitment efforts as a result of flexible recruiting strategies. Flexible workers are recruited on as needed basis (Valentine et al., 2020). Another HR-practice implication for strategic recruitment and selection of employees relate to diversity considerations. Diversity considerations are fostered by adhering to equal employment laws. Diversity considerations are also emphasized in Keller’s big picture thinking. Keller’s big-picture thinking is an incredible notion that places organizational members at the center of a firm’s problem-solving process. The idea takes into account the considerable aspect of diversity by looking at issues at hand from employees’ view point (Keller, 2012).
Stewardship serves as the main principle of Hardy’s divine economy. Stewardship theory supports relationship-centered collaboration between members of an organization that facilitates trustworthy and pro-organizational behavior in managers (Eddleston, Kellermanns & Kidwell, 2018). Stewardship can be demonstrated by fostering a moral obligation that binds individuals and organizations to work together to attain a mutual goal without exploiting either party (Nordberg, 2014). Stewardship requires leaders to position long-term interests of the group before personal desires or individual self-interest. Hardy maintains that God chose to make people interdependent to foster collaborative work and service to each other. When people find their own place in such an interlined system of mutual support, they start to take part in God’s way of caring for humans by investing themselves in the divine economy.
References
Eddleston, K. A., Kellermanns, F. W., & Kidwell, R. E. (2018). Managing family members: How monitoring and collaboration affect extra‐role behavior in family firms. Human Resource Management, 57(5), 957-977.
Hardy, L. (1990). The fabric of this world: Inquiries into calling, career choice, and the design of human work. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans.
Keller, T. (2012). Every good endeavor: Connecting your work to God’s work. New York, NY: Dutton/Penguin Group.
Nordberg, D. (2014). Governing the governance of the governors: Motivating accountability at the top of public organizations. Evidence-Based HRM, 2(1), 114-119.
Valentine, S.R. et al. (2020). Human Resource Management (16th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
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