Stewardship Expresses Our Interconnectedness, Research Paper Example

Abstract

This project is mainly to show that stewardship express our interconnectedness. It will look closely at stewardship, its definition the several areas and classes of steward and its history. Ethics is highly related to good stewardship, and this will lead to greater levels of independence and self-sufficiency. By understanding good stewardship and the aspect of independence within a person and the feeling that one portrays, we  will be able to determine that it is a fact that our interconnectedness is express though stewardship. The research will be able to answer numerous questions regarding stewardship; most people believe that it is an aspect of spiritual connection with God and being able to serve God diligently only. The research methodologies used would be indicated, and the sample questionnaire will also be available. This would help in the data collection and analysis period.

Introduction

Stewardship is an ethic bestowed to a person with responsibilities and resources to manage. Historically, it referred to the occupation of a person nominated by law to represent a state.  Initially, the responsibilities were majorly to be household servants managing domestic matters but later their duties changed to taking care of people need while on a train, plane or ship. Stewardship is taking responsibility of other peoples belonging. According to Peter Block “Stewardship is the readiness to firstly work on ourselves, to those around us stay in intimate contact with, to own our qualms and restrictions, and make them part of our discourse with others” (43). Stewardship has several aspects; these are Environmental stewardship, theological stewardships, Product Stewardship, Marine stewardship, Forest stewardship and many more. Stewardship is not job oriented or money minded, it is a way a person lives.

Literature Review

According to WHR, stewardship entails managing carefully the responsibilities within a population. Stewardship and governance go hand in hand, and are mostly delegated to work in the ministry of health their main responsibility is to ensure that the governance standards and principals are adhere to. In the World Health Organization (WHO) meeting, in 2001, several expert meet to discuss on the about stewardship, their characteristics and what is their role in the government set up. WHO defined stewardship as “the effective trusteeship of national health”. They agreed that stewardship should be incorporated in the government; this is because the current government is full of people who are money minded and they work only for the money and nothing else. Stewards are known to be people with good code of ethics and conduct, their main objective being to serve others and make their life better. Stewardship and health system will help the society because of the self-determination and the sense of direction depicted by stewardship.

According to scholars Davis, Schoorman and Dolnadson, stewardship theory of management has three distinctive differences; these are concerning motivation, power and identification. Their theory is focusing on intrinsic motivators as the power and development is self-actualized. They work as a corporation and are committed to the assigned job, and can work as long as it is required. Their main characteristic is openness, trusting and ethical behavior. They operate as teams with people building capabilities and the formal bureaucratic process is viewed with suspicions. There are several structural and organization matter to be handled in the decision making model of a health system before settling at stewardship, according to Saltman. A WHO research by Murray and Frenk (1999), there are three key aspect of Stewardship; these are having a set of standards and rules for the health system, ensuring the market is open for all competitors and have a set strategic plan to govern the way of doing things in the health sector.

According to the world health organization, some of the stewardship-like solutions include rebuilding trusts in governments, emphasizing on the long-term tasks of governments, empowering people with understanding and societal learning.

The WHO subdivides stewardship into six sub functions:

1. Overall system Design- This is when one has to formulate policies and does all the  function in the health system.
2. Priority Setting – Helps in setting priorities and ensuring that stewardship is conducted as required.
3. Performance assessment- An important part to provide strategic way forward and guarantee good operations to the organization in regard to earnings, procurement and resources.
4. Intersectoral Advocacy- Helps to uphold health policies to other social system for better enhancement and growth of the health system.
5. Consumer protection- A protector of the consumer on the much information that could be used negatively.
6. Regulation – Maintaining the health system rules, these are sanitary regulations and also the health care regulations.

These sub-functions can be illustrated in the figure below:

Travis et al of WHO identify the six sub-functions of stewardships and describes them in details, he calls them domains. In the above figure, an additional domain was added related to Consumer protection.

According to the R. Kao, stewardship-based economics is based on the theory that individual human beings are all custodian of property. They make proprietary decisions, but they must assume stewardship responsibility. This contradicts traditional economics is based on the principle of the right of private property ownership. This contrast between traditional ownership based economy and contemporary economics is fundamental. Stewardship based economics takes in to consideration both the finite nature of life and of resources, as it is a knowledge discipline that deals with the livelihood of people on a global basis. Traditional economics will always be with problems of the long-term nature of sustainability as long we continue the current idea of the individual right to ownership. The main challenge is poverty whose root problem is ownership and it can be mitigated by changing our mindset that we are not owners of the world but stewards (Kao, 2007).

Product Stewardship

Product stewardship is a term generally used to mean a product-oriented approach to environmental management. This is being driven by a more global trend to make companies more responsible in terms of the environmental impacts of products that they make and sell. There are two main principles behind product stewardship, which are ‘life cycle thinking’ and the ‘shared responsibility’. Life cycle thinking is where the impact of the product is considered over its total life cycle. Shared responsibility is where different stakeholders share the responsibility for managing these impacts.

Product stewardship used within a corporate social responsibility framework has three dimensions. These dimensions are; social topics or issues that must be addressed by companies, types of responsibilities (the extent to which companies are obligated to the society), and the responsiveness or the strategy underlying corporate responses to social responsibility. Corporate responses to environmental issues are also considered. Product stewardship ought to be integrated in to a broader environmental policy by companies. Companies to product stewardship should also allocate enough resources and funds. The whole concept of product stewardship entails a special hub on the continuous enhancement of product eco-efficiency through a systematic eco-design in the practices and strategies of the company. It covers the whole process of research and development, design for environment, supply chain management, cleaner production, recycling of solid product waste, environmental marketing strategies, product labeling, product recovery, litter management, regulatory compliance and consultation and education (Jonker & Witte, 2006).

Environmental Stewardship

Environmental stewardship is taking care of the surroundings to make certain that it is kept as usual as possible.  This is done by ensuring that trees are not cut and the natural habitat of wild animals is maintained. A well-sustained environment can enhance global competitiveness. Pollution currently control the eco system and  this  to be able to sustain the environment well  stewardship should be a continuous process  for the benefits to be clear (Subhash, Jain & Kedia, 2011).

Ethic, leadership and Stewardship

Stewardships, ethics and leadership go hand in hand; a leader is a person that is a distinct feature in an organization. Ethics is a prerequisite for stewardship; this is because it is majorly based on trust, integrity, and good morals. One can easily incorporate stewardship in the organization objectives and plan to be able to work with trust with its employees, have clear guidelines and for its staff to be self-motivated.  When setting an organization it is important to cultivate good leadership with ethical stewardship.  Caldwell, Hayes, Karri and Bernal (2008) says “When leaders earn the trust and followership of those they serve by creating integrated organizational systems that demonstrate the leaders’ commitment to honor the Steward’s duties’.

According to R. Harris, forest stewardship entails a managerial approach that meets current owners’ needs, but does not detract or demean the exploit by generations of the future.  An equally important element is a private commitment, to perform management activities of are stewardship based on objectives and principles (43). Forest stewards enthusiastically control their land on a enduring basis by following multiple-resource based executive objectives that are ecologically responsible, conservative of natural resources and socially, environmentally and economically viable. Forest stewardship is based on principles of conservation that ensure shelter of all forest resources including timber, soil, water, recreational opportunities, wildlife, and natural beauty (Harris, 2007).

Theological Stewardship

This stewardship seeks to strengthen ones relationship with God by adhering to his word and teaching. This kind of stewardship is practiced by individually or corporately in church.  It first starts as a personal matter, within oneself before practicing it in a group. In many churches, it takes a chance to teach its people on stewardship, and give teachings on engaging and worshiping God with honor. Being able to others with an open heart and joy, teach how to explore our spiritual live and improve, and to make a difference in the planet earth by serving the people and all other creations.

Methodology

Research methodology is a method used to identify t hares to research. This method aids in formulating the objective by analyzing the collected data. First, one has to define the research problem by identifying questions that can easily trigger the answer of the problem at hand.

Sampling Design

Sampling is the most appropriate way of collecting data when the matter to be discussed affects a large population. During our study, we generated a questionnaire and distributed them to 44 people. We had to ensure that the questionnaires were given to all age groups, people from all levels that is working or unemployed, it also focused on the learned and the unlearned. The questions were simple and only required a yes or no answer and numbers. We gave them enough time to complete the questions and collected them afterwards. We were also able to distribute some sample questionnaires to our fellow students in selected classes.

Pilot Testing

This kind of test is conducted to detect the weakness of the methodology used, a sample data is used to verify if the selected method was good to be used. Regarding our method, we found it to sufficiently good because it provided us with the material we required. The reason for using the pre test is because the target population was small and this would help refine the results.

Data Collection

Data collection method used was easy and all the participants were able to answer. They were simple and provided in a language that everyone could handle. The questions were short and answered within 3 minutes depending on the level of literacy. They were precise and gave one kind of answer we required. The main aim of targeting other population apart from school population was to get the true feeling of how people thought of stewardship in general.

Data analysis

Data analysis was conducted all the 3 members of the  group, this we did by entering the figures acquired  into an SPSS spreadsheet  and given distinctive names and labels according to the  sample questions. The several figures were explained and the results verified, and compared to previous finding during lecture lesson.

Findings

Using collected data, an extensive analysis conducted to determine the research’s magnitude and aid in the establishment of all and any findings significant to the study. The summary below gives summaries on findings. Note that all questions were appraised between 1 and 10 on an interval scale as follows: (1) strongly disagree, (5) neutral, (10) strongly agree.

Construct Assessment of survey questions for the audience

Question 1: For me, stewardship refers only to the management of time, talent and treasure.

Purpose: To determine whether management of time, talent and treasure refer to stewardship and if perceived by respondents.

Findings: The question has a mean of 4.93 and a standard deviation of 3.00. 38.64% of respondents agreed to the definition, 11.36% were neutral about the reference given, while 50% of the respondents had different views on the questions, neither or not perceive the above definition of stewardship.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 2: I believe good stewardship leads to greater levels of independence and self-sufficiency.

Purpose: To determine how greater independence and self-sufficiency levels are because of stewardship.

Findings: The question has a mean of 3.93 and a standard deviation of 3.34. 56.82% of respondents disagree with the stated belief while 11.36% of the respondents are neutral, while 31.82% disagree on the definition stipulated.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 3: I believe it is perfectly fine to give time and talent instead of money.

Purpose: To determine how individuals perceive the issue of giving time and talent and not money.

Findings: The question has a mean of 5.09 and a standard deviation of 2.52. 34.09% of respondents disagree that it is fine to give talent and time, 22.73% of the respondents are neutral, while 43.18% disagree on giving time and talent and not money.

Descriptive Statistics

Construct Assessment of Our Interconnectedness

Question 4: My stewardship decisions are between me and God; it is not anyone else’s business.

Purpose: To determine how decisions on stewardship are associated to God and me, not any other individual is present in the equation.

Findings: The question has a mean of 8.07 and a standard deviation of 1.65. 93.18% of respondents agree that decisions are not anyone’s business, and 6.82% of the respondents are neutral.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 5: I believe good stewardship leads to greater levels of independence and self-sufficiency.

Purpose: To determine how independence and self-sufficiency are factors related to good stewardship.

Findings: The question has a mean of 7.05 and a standard deviation of 2.06. 18.18% of respondents disagree that these factors lead to greater stewardship levels, 15.91% of the respondents are neutral, while 65.91% agree on the factors associated to good stewardship.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 6: I regularly feel supported and encouraged in my work by people outside my congregation.

Purpose: To determine how workmates gives support and encouragements.

Findings: The question has a mean of 4.73 and a standard deviation of 2.84. 50% of respondents disagree that support and encouragement comes from work colleagues, 6.82% of the respondents are neutral, while 43.18% disagree on the source of support and encouragement.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 7: I feel there is value in discussing stewardship issues openly with peers and colleagues.

Purpose: To determine how open discussion on stewardship assimilates to value adding measures.

Findings: The question has a mean of 4.43 and a standard deviation of 1.78. 56.82% of respondents disagree that value is brought about by open discussions, 6.82% of the respondents are neutral, while 36.36% disagree on open discussions.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 8: I regularly discuss how my church is working throughout the world.

Purpose: To determine how my church has accomplished work globally.

Findings: The question has a mean of 4.39 and a standard deviation of 2.78. 47.73% of respondents disagree that the church has worked in a global perspective, 11.36% of the respondents are neutral, while 40.91% agree on church diversity around the globe.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 9: I regularly engage in conversation with congregation members about balancing life priorities.

Purpose: To determine the perspective of the congregation on conversations made concerning priorities of life balancing.

Findings: The question has a mean of 5.82 and a standard deviation of 3.03. 38.64% of respondents disagree with the aspect of engaging in conversation concerning a balance of life priorities, 6.82% of the respondents are neutral, while 54.54 agree with the aspect of having conversations on balancing priorities of life.

Descriptive Statistics

Construct Assessment of God’s Abundance

Question 10: I believe the object of Christian Stewardship is to share what we own with others.

Purpose: To determine how the Christianity object is perceived with an inclination to sharing property.

Findings: The question has a mean of 5.70 and a standard deviation of 3.08. 38.64% of respondents disagree that sharing is an object of Christianity, 6.82% of the respondents are neutral, while 54.54% agree on property sharing as an object of Christian stewardship.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 11: I feel the earth has sufficient resources to provide enough for all.

Purpose: To determine how the take of respondents on the earth having enough resources to supply to all is perceived.

Findings: The question has a mean of 5.25 and a standard deviation of 3.15. 38.64% of respondents disagree on the earth having sufficient resources, 18.18% of the respondents are neutral, while 43.18% disagree on the availability of resources.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 12: I honestly believe God always provides enough for those who are faithful.

Purpose: To determine how faithfulness is perceived to get enough providence from God.

Findings: The question has a mean of 6.23 and a standard deviation of 2.51. 29.55% of respondents believe that faithfulness contributes to enough providence by God, 15.91% of the respondents are neutral, while 54.54% disagree on God always providing to those who are faithful.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 13: I think most people are grateful for what they have.

Purpose: To determine if most people are grateful for what they have.

Findings: The question has a mean of 5.75 and a standard deviation of 2.84. 38.64% of respondents disagree on the statement, 11.36% of the respondents are neutral, while 50% agree on being grateful.

Descriptive Statistics

Question 14: I truly believe people feel that they have earned what they have

Purpose: To determine the believe that what they have is earned by the same individuals.

Findings: The question has a mean of 5.05 and a standard deviation of 2.98. 45.45% of respondents disagree that what they have is earned, 18.18% of the respondents are neutral, while 36.37% agree that they have earned what they have.

Descriptive Statistics

All Questions

A careful analysis of the three constructs for questions provided established the following important research conclusion. Respondents rated “stewardship decisions” the highest with a mean of 8.07, out of all other analyzed characteristics. With comparison to the lowest ranked characteristic, “physical health, diet and exercise (3.93)” and “discussing stewardship issues (4.43)”.

Cronbach’s Alpha

Each construct applied Cronbach’s Alpha to test asked question reliability. Reliability in this case is if it is higher or equal to .70 thus, Cronbach’s Alpha is strong.

For the first construct, audience, Cronbach’s Alpha was .840, proving that the questions asked were reliable.

For the second construct, interconnectedness, Cronbach’s Alpha was .853, proving that the questions asked were reliable.

For the third construct, God’s abundance, Cronbach’s Alpha was .733, proving that the questions asked were reliable.

Demographic Data

This section is important because it gives researchers on the various individuals participating in the study. Additionally, the demographics give a clear understanding of what trends get along, their corresponding responses  with regard to stewardship affecting all aspects of life.

Gender

The gender of our respondents varied from 17 years old to 23 years old.  Our survey statistics for gender were:

• Female…47.73%
• Male…52.27%

We found gender to be a significant demographic, with a significance level of .763, meaning there was significantly more males.

Test Statistics

0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 22.0.
0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 12.7.
0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 20.0.
0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 19.5.
0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 13.3.

Salary

The salary of our respondents varied from 0K to 50K and above. Our survey statistics for salary were:

• 0-25K…39.47%
• 25-50K…31.58%
• Other…28.95%

We found salary to be a significant demographic, with a significance level of .710, meaning there was significantly more 0-25K.

Income Salary

Children’s Foundation in Christianity

The children’s foundation in Christianity of our respondents varied from No to Yes. Our survey statistics for children’s foundation in Christianity were:

• No…40%
• Yes…60%

We found salary to be a significant demographic, with a significance level of .206, meaning there was significantly more Yes.

Test Statistics

0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 22.0.
0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 12.7.
0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 20.0.
0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 19.5.
0 cells (.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 13.3.

Conclusions

After completing a comprehensive research analysis study of stewardship affecting all life aspects, we found a number of significant correlations that make our results valuable. Based on Cronbach’s Alpha, the questions asked for all three constructs: audience, interconnectedness, and God’s abundance in the survey proved to be strong, meaningful and reliable.

Ideally, research results from the study add feasible information, statistically, to already established research topic. Given analysis gives deeper insight and thorough comprehension to life aspects in stewardship.

References

Armstrong, J. (1997). Stewardship and public service. A discussion paper prepared for the Public Service Commission of Canada.

Block, P. (1993) Berrett-Koehler series, Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest; Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Caldwell, C. Hayes L.A & ump;  D.T. (2010) Leadership worthiness and ethical stewardship JPE

Davis, JH. Schoorman, FD. Donaldson, L. (1997) Towards a stewardship theory of management. Academy of Management Review 22(1):20-47.

Dollar, D. Pritchett, L. (1998) Assessing Aid: What Works, What Doesn’t and Why? World Bank Policy Research Report. Oxford University Press.

Jonker, J. & Marco, W. (2006). Management Models for Corporate Social Responsibility. New York: Spring Publishers.

Kao, W.Y.W. (2007). Stewardship –Based Economics. WorldScientific puplishers

Managing Health Systems for Better Health: Experts Explore Stewardship Function of Health Ministries. PAHO/WHO . 2002.

Murray, C. & Frenk,  J. (2002). A framework for assessing the performance of health systems. Bull World Health Organization.

Murray, C. &  Frenk, J. (1999). A WHO Framework for Health System Performance Assessment.  WHO, Evidence and Information for Policy.

Report on WHO meeting of experts on the stewardship function in health systems. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2002 (document HFS/FSR/STW/00.1).

Regional Consultation of the Americas on Health Systems Performance Assessment. Critical Issues in Health System Performance Assessment.  2001. Washington DC, Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization.

Saltman, RB. Ferroussier-Davis, O. (2000) The concept of stewardship in health policy. Bull World Health Organ; 78(6):732-9.

Strengthening ministries of health for primary health care. Report of a WHO Expert Committee. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1988 (WHO Technical Report Series, No. 766).

Subhash, C. Jain, B. Kedia, L. (2011) New Horizons in International Business, Enhancing Global Competitiveness Through Sustainable Environmental Stewardship. Edward Elgar Publishing.

The World Health Report 2000. (2000). WHO. Report on WHO Meeting of Experts on the Stewardship Function in Health Systems. 2001. WHO.

Travis, P., Egger, D., Davies, P.  & Mechbal, A. (2002). Towards better stewardship: concepts and critical issues. WHO: Evidence and Information for Policy. http://www.itg.be/itg/uploads/publichealth/Review%20stewardship.pdf