Christian Ethics for Business World-
Practitioner Interview
The purpose of the practitioner interview is twofold: (1) to determine whether the 5-fold definition of "practice" is, or can be, a fair description of a real world business activity; (2) to determine if the practice-nature of business contributes to morality in business.
Your assignment, therefore, will be to initiate a face-to-face interview with a practicing business person. I will assign you a business person who has volunteered to be put on a list of interviewees, or you may interview a business person you know. The only stipulations are (1) you may not interview a professor; (2) you may not interview a relative (3) the interviewee must have at least 5 years in the field and (4) the interview cannot be conducted by e-mail or telephone. To make things easier for you, two-three students will conduct the interview of one businessperson together. However, each student must make his or her own written report. The written report (3 pages single-spacedmax.) will be a translation of the hard data of the interview into an essay that uses the data to support (or deny) the claim that your interviewee's business activity is a practice after all. Begin your essay with a thesis statement: "In this essay I will defend the claim that business in the form of [a description of the business activity of your interviewee] is (is not) a practice and that [name of your interviewee] is (is not) a practitioner."*Don't feel pressured by your admiration of the interviewee to conclude that their business activity qualifies as a practice. Then compose paragraphs explaining how the oral data you collected exemplify each of the marks (one paragraph per mark). In the past, it has helped to briefly define the mark before commenting on whether it applies to your interviewee. It may hurt if I cannot tell that you have really learned the mark.
Conclude your paper with a paragraph that a) explains whether or not your interviewee is a practitioner; and b) if they are, spells out your estimation of where your s/he lies on the following spectrum (remember, the further to the right, the more good character as well as technical skills is displayed):
trifler......novice......journeyman.....expert practitioner
Finally, Note at the end of your paper whether you a) handed in hand-written notes, b) emailed them, etc.
Below is a sample conversation that you can use to set up an interview.
"Hello, my name is _______ . I'm anbusiness student at the University of Dayton. I understand that you are an alum, is that right? The University gave me your name in hopes that you might be willing to help me out with some information for a class project. I'm taking a course called "Christian Ethics and Business" and we've been assigned to interview practicing business persons in the Dayton area concerning whether or not business is morally formative by its very nature.
Would you be willing to meet with me (and a classmate) for a 30-minute interview? We could meet you at your office or wherever would be most convenient for you.
Great! Let me leave you with my cell number in case something should come up and you need to reschedule. Thanks so much for your time! I'll look forward to meeting you at _______ on ________."
PRACTITIONER SURVEY 2015- Christian Ethics and the Business World, University of Dayton
Coherent
In your opinion, what is the ultimategoal (or "purpose") of your business?
("ultimate" used here to garner a response in addition to "make money")
[For small business owner]:Are there aspects of being a small business that you particularly value?
[For large company]:How long did it take you to feel a part of the company culture here?How does this company go about initiating new hires into the company culture?
Complex
What are the most challenging tasks involved in making your business (or, "department") function?
What percentage of your time is involved with this task?
How long did it take to become proficient at what you do?
About how many hours per week does it take to do your job well? How often do you think about your job when away from the workplace?
(Follow-ups: What resources and people do you rely on in order to do your job well? Do the tasks delegated to you always challenge you? How long did it take before you felt comfortable doing your job? What is the most difficult aspect of your job?)
Cooperative
[For Large Business]: What percentage of your job is spent working with a group? Tell me about an aspect of your job that requires the most cooperation and teamwork?
What character traits make team work effective?
How does working with people positively influence aspects of the projects you work on?
Have you ever been part of a dysfunctional team or group? How did you work through it?
[For Small/Entrepeneurial Business]:Do you have a (work-related) network of people you count on to achieve your business goals?
Can you describe the role of networking and community building essential to the success your business?
Have any of your business relationships developed into friendships?
Are there other business owners whose success is something you feel personally invested in?
Requires/Develops Virtues
Can you name one thing that you learned on the job that could never have been learned from a textbook?
Have these skills changed who you are as a person (either positively or negatively)?
Do you think your experience as an entrepeneur has affected other aspects of your life? (Either positively or negatively)
Can you recount any ethical dilemmas you've faced in the workplace?
Do you have any misgivings about decisions made in an earlier stage in your career?
Do you think a more experienced entrepeneur has a better moral compass than an inexperienced one? Why or why not?
Internal Goods
What originally attracted you to your line of business? What keeps you going to work every day? Are these rewards enough for you continue to be an entrepeneur(manager, etc.) and take a cut in income?
Have you ever considered donating your skills to a charity or church? Does this idea attract you? Why or why not?
What do you value most in your job other than making a living?
Do you think about your work in your free time? Do you have any hobbies related to your work?
State of the Art Embodied in Living Experts
Can you name some heroes or experts in your field that you admire or who help to set the bar for expertise in your field?
What qualities about them do you admire, and what have you done to be like them?
What advice would you tell an understudy?
Evolves Over Time
Are you working on any projects now that would not have been possible in the past due to advances in knowledge or technology?
How has your line of business changed during your lifetime? How would you compare your experience when you started to those now entering the field?
Any closing words of advice for me?
Interview Notes
1.) Ultimate Goal
Bought the business 20 years ago, engineering, own the company and help grow it to help the family, got more committed, aligned with Christian values, want work to be more meaningful, be good at what they do, mold the culture of reliable electric, be a force in the community, be able to walk away and hand down the business to someone who can be a ministry to a reliable community.
Community?
Figure out where the need is, 80 percent focus in Dayton area. Willing to help anywhere, get broader, helped international places. Support good causes. Help those who are in need. Company helped one individual fund 6 out of 9 treatments for a cancer patient. Look at the need and see if they can support it
Challenging?
Human Resources, construction industry, finding and maintaining staff, People look over the blue collar jobs, trying to show them that there is good money and jobs available. Having an issue staffing, have to turn away millions of dollars of projects, trouble finding people. Internal issues. Everyone wants a college degree.
Working with a group?
70/30 Group/individual, usually 50/50 but right now it is a busy time. Long range planning is going to require the most team work, forecasting and projection, workflow.
One thing you learned from this job?
Internal HR piece, Went to coast guard academy, lots of leadership roles but even that couldn't prepare him for this job. Navigation of dealing with conflict and people. Having to take a leadership role, you can roleplay all day long but until you get thrown into it you have no idea what to expect, it could be something different every day.
What keeps you coming to work everyday?
Ministry piece, wife makes more money, don't have to worry about finical income, feels financially secure, so he wants to focus on creating a viable company, he takes care of 70 people that he considers his own community.
Anyone heros.
My savior Jesus. He studied jesus and he had a large impact on Joe, and how one should live their lives. 2-3 guys in C12 group that are ahead of Joe who have had a large impact on Dayton community, it gives him hope because he sees that work can be done, also his wife, great support in the family.
Any advice?
Need a lot of energy, long weeks, have to be able to put in a lot of work upfront. Blood sweat and tears. Everybody wakes up and realizes how large of a commitment it is, knowing what to make a priority , know what you are getting into. Be willing to recognize that maybe the route you are going down might not be the right path for you, know when to call it quits. You will stress yourself out and put yourself in an unhappy situation. Hard to walk away, be able to walk away for the overall wellness for yourself. Figure out what is more important.
How has the industry changed?
Customer demands are crazy, the expectations have significantly increased, it is much more demanding, how quick, price, quality, everything the customers have raised, sometimes these bars are even unrealistic and the staff power is decreasing, Technology has changed a lot as well. LED lights have changed the lighting industry, Hard to keep up, moving very fast. Back in the 80's it was very predictable.
Who do you go after?
Residential services, when he bought the company he wanted to change the culture and be able to help the company grow. Started to move towards the commercial direction, different skill set and resources, felt like a startup in that way. Completely different animal, focus on all, commercial, residential, audio visual. Main focus is the commercial world now.
Current suseccsion plan?
Currently have a 30 year old , sharp energy, He wants to feel comfortable walking away, and wants someone to make sure the culture continues to grow and help the company grow, doesn't care about making a big sale leaving wants to continue to grow the culture.