Would Jesus do an MBA? Trinity Western University provides a space for discussions on religious values and ethics
Financial Post Aug 4 2009

What would Jesus do if he was the CEO of a large multinational company and he needed to layoff 25% of the workforce? How do you offer forgiveness to an employee who has made a serious mistake on the job? Questions like these are on the minds of the first class of MBA students at Trinity Western University, a Christian school in Langley, B. C.

At the end of May, the first group of master's students at TWU's business school finished their courses, and when they go to their graduation ceremony this fall, they will become the first-ever MBA graduates from a Canadian Christian school. "Our content is 90% similar to the vast majority of MBA programs that are out there," says Mark Lee, the program's director, "but what distinguishes our program is the whole aspect of doing business around principles -- things like integrity, wisdom, honesty -- and what it is to be a Christian in the workplace."

TWU's MBA program launched in August 2007, and includes an entrepreneurial stream, a nonprofit stream and an international business specialization.

The first two streams have classes on campus during the summer and online classes during the rest of the year, so students can work as they complete the 22-month program. The international specialization is full-time and takes 12 months to complete.

About 40 students in total are enrolled in the three streams. Most are Evangelical Christians, and many have careers at Christian organizations, such as Power to Change (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ). However, some students are non-Christians; for example, some parents in Muslim countries prefer to send their children to Christian schools to shield them from the partying aspect of North American university life. All of TWU's MBA professors are Christian.

While talking about faith is taboo in most business programs, TWU provides a space for discussions on religious values and ethics. Lee, who was previously the president of Lakeland College in Alberta, says many business people who aren't Christians are very ethical and follow the same principles as the ones his school espouses. But he says that, in general, the field of business ethics has failed to address the bigger moral issues. "The whole field ended up being a discussion of how we're treating the environment," says Lee. "That's important, but what about the concept of being a steward of other people's money? That's a foreign concept for these people who are declaring whopper bonuses for themselves as they squander copious amounts of shareholder value."

Lee says leaders have a responsibility not just to shareholders, but to the people who work for them. "They've got mortgages, kids with braces, ambitions and dreams. You can't take that lightly for profit's sake."

One of the students from the first graduating class, Tony Lapointe, entered the non-profit stream to boost his career at Kinghaven Treatment Centre, a secular drug and alcohol treatment centre in Abbotsford, B. C., after being told that he needed an MBA to become an executive director. Thanks to the degree, he's already snagged a job as an executive director of a community service organization in Mission, B. C.

Lapointe describes himself as an Evangelical Christian and says he learned a lot from TWU's discussions on "servant leadership," a concept that was popularized in the 1970s. It is partially based on Biblical values. "The idea is that a leader serves from behind, not in front," Lapointe says. "If you read the Bible, you'll see that Jesus's approach to people is very much a servant leadership approach. In my opinion, servant leadership is the approach of seeing human resources as the greatest resource of the organization."

He says he can apply the program's teachings on Christian values without preaching in the workplace. "We talk about forgiveness and repentance. We talk about the idea that we're all along the same journey and we all fall down at times and need support to stand back up. As a Christian leader, I can apply those ideas without being overtly Christian."

So how do Christian values impact a business's bottom line? According to Mark Lee, they don't hinder profitability.

"If you're looking to be efficient and wise about what's entrusted to you, you're trying to get the maximum return on investment for your investors and for the people who work for you. I don't see any conflict between Christian values and profitability. If anything, the values should encourage greater profitability."