Christian publishing companies
Laura Allison Akin (in Judi Neal (ed.) (2013)) examines the management of a company with an unusually distinct Christian ethos. Like many other businesses mentioned in this research, DaySpring Cards has a Christian foundation, but it is part of a much smaller subset of companies whose products, and hence customers, are also clearly identifiable as Christian: the business produces Christian greeting cards. It was set up in 1971 by Christian entrepreneurs – two pastors in California – but it is listed in this section rather than the section on entrepreneurs because it has changed ownership to become a standalone business fully owned by Hallmark since 1999.
Akin’s research is largely uncritical of the company’s claims about its values, but this does provide an unedited look at how its version of Christianity is embodied in managerial policies, inculturated into the business in a way that has enabled it to survive a change of ownership. From a human resources perspective, she says this culture attracts like-minded workers and ensures that those who do not fit the ethos “likely do not choose to continue their career with DaySpring” – an outcome which she admits occurs at other companies but which is stronger at DaySpring. Also strong, she claims, is its focus on relationships with employees, at the higher end of the spectrum of measurement. “As an employee of DaySpring, you have a freedom to be who you are and live out your beliefs, a freedom that you would not find in most corporate cultures. There is a lack of concern in offending people. Values, beliefs, and faith are visually represented throughout the buildings and throughout the employees as they work.” However the author gives no indication that this freedom extends beyond a freedom to express devotion to Christianity; she cites by way of evidence one employee who has an office entirely full of pictures of Jesus. The only example of diversity given in Akin’s research is the fact that members of different Christian denominations can be found among the employees.
The concept of the servant leader is part of the corporate language, and demonstrates the flexibility of this phrase in Christian management practice.
The leaders at DaySpring all have a common characteristic of leading through participation and taking a genuine interest in people. A criticism of their style from an outside corporate leader is that the leaders act too much as a friend and lack the structure a leader should uphold. In reality the structure is there; their environment just brings trust and partnership into their relationships which bleed into their leadership. They rely on people to be more selfless than selfish, and while there may be room for criticism, there is definitely room for praise. (p. 549)
In terms of HR policy, Akin mentions four activities in which the Christian ethos is discernible: recruitment, training/development, surveys and salaries. However the management policies seem little different to those practised in other, secular businesses, demonstrating the difficulty that other authors have described in discerning the actual rather than the claimed influence of religion in determining business success. In terms of recruitment, DaySpring operates under legal requirements concerning discrimination, and employs a two-way communication at interview to explain what the company stands for: