Scripture Interpretation
Leaders play a crucial role in running societal affairs and must exercise their power by following God’s word. Christians have bestowed leadership activities to the church leaders and other community elders who can serve and guide them. The Bible in the book of I Peters 5:1-4 gives guidance on how the elders should lead their followers. The Bible, in verse 1, states that the elders are witnesses of Christ’s suffering (Bible Gateway, n.d.). Verse two insists that leadership should be exercised without pursuing dishonest gains but with eagerness to serve (Bible Gateway, n.d.). The Bible verse can be applied to corporations that may take advantage of vulnerable consumers. Although the scripture expressly warns elders against dishonest behaviors, businesses can adopt the message from the scripture by avoiding mischief for their gains and not their clients. Therefore, 1 Peter 5:1-4 provides an ethical approach that corporations should adopt when handling uninformed consumers.
Scripture and Ethical Perspective
Ethics is crucial for business activities and enhances consumer trust. Although the Bible expressly mentions elders, the passage resonates with the textbook’s discussion on unethical business behaviors. Businesses should be cautious when selling their products to consumers who have little or no information about them (Mullins & Walker, 2013). Overpricing and wrong product prescriptions are some of the tricks that mischievous corporations use to exploit vulnerable clients (Rossi et al., 2021). Such an approach is detrimental to the consumers and the organizations (Mullins & Walker, 2013). Consumers may end up spending money on products that do not meet their needs. Consequently, they developed a negative attitude towards the company that was dishonest with them, destroying its reputation. Honesty is crucial for organizations that intend to benefit their consumers while making profits.
References
Bible Gateway. (n.d.). 1 Peter 5:1-4.
Mullins, J. W., & Walker, O. C. (2013). Marketing management: A strategic decision-making approach (8th ed.). Mcgraw-Hill.
Rossi, M., Festa, G., Chouaibi, S., Fait, M., & Papa, A. (2021). The effects of business ethics and corporate social responsibility on intellectual capital voluntary disclosure.Journal of Intellectual Capital, 22(7), pp. 1–23.