On the Role of Faith in Sustainability Management: A Conceptual Model and Research Agenda

International audienceThe objective of this article is to develop a faith development perspective on corporate sustainability. A firm’s management of sustainability is arguably determined by the way decision-makers relate to the other and the natural environment, and this relationship is fundamentally shaped by faith. This study advances theoretical understanding of the approach managers take on sustainability issues by explaining how four distinct phases of faith development—improvidence, obedience, irreverence and providence—determine a manager’s disposition towards sustainability. Combining insights from intentional and relational faith development theories, the analysis reveals that a manager’s faith disposition can be measured according to four interrelated process criteria: (1) connectivity as a measure of a manager’s actual engagement and activities aimed at relating to sustainability; (2) inclusivity as a measure of who and what is included or excluded in a manager’s moral consideration; (3) emotional affinity as a measure of a manager’s sensitivity and affection towards the well-being of others and ecological welfare; and (4) reciprocity as a measure of the degree to which a manager is rewarded for responding to the needs and concerns of ‘Others’, mainly in the form of a positive emotional (and relational) stimulus. The conceptual model consolidates earlier scholarly works on the psychological drivers of sustainability management by illuminating our search for a process of faith development that connects with an increasingly complex understanding of the role of business in society

Evidence based neonatal surgery

Surgical intervention has, quite rightly, a well-established role in the management of a number of congenital and acquired neonatal conditions. Surgical approaches have been developed over a period of time, from the initial endeavours of pioneering neonatal surgeons, to the procedures commonly in everyday use today. Such development has been predominantly a result of necessity, learning from past experience and translation of techniques in use in other surgical fields into neonatal surgery. As neonatal surgical experience has grown, surgeons have begun to develop alternatives to what were once thought to be traditional techniques such that for a number of conditions we now have the luxury of choice in the treatment of these often fragile infants. With choice, there comes a dilemma. Which approach should be used? How should we make the decision