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  The Concept of accountability in the writings of Ellen G. White : a grounded theory research

  (Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, 2018-05) Vargas, Ana Mercedes Pena de

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  The 21st century began with a wide array of corporate meltdowns, managerial and leadership frauds, sexual scandals, and other cases of unethical behavior in the business world. Many cases are also taking place in non-governmental organizations and religious organizations. Some have argued that this is the result of failure in corporate governance (CG) systems to curb unethical behavior; and failures in CG can be construed to be failures in accountability. As directly quoted in this study, accountability has been defined not only as a means through which individuals and organizations are held responsible for their decisions and actions, but also as a means by which they take internal responsibility for shaping their organizational mission and values, for opening themselves to external scrutiny, and for assessing performance in relation to goals. Although there are general accepted accountability practices, several authors have pointed out that no single accountability model can serve all settings, hence the need for religious organizations to work under a customized approach. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, as an organization, has not developed a framework of accountability explicitly derived from its own worldview. Given the prophetic authority of Ellen G. White and that her voluminous work addresses all aspects of life, her writings are the primary data in this study. This research used a grounded theory methodology in order to identify Ellen G. White’s understanding on accountability and to propose a model with the emerged theory grounded in the data. The data was coded and classified into categories, which became more comprehensive codes. These selective codes in turn led to four overarching themes of accountability present in EGW’s writings: (a) stewardship, (b) sanctification/character building, (c) influence, and (d) final judgment. The interrelationship among these four themes resulted in the SAFE model of accountability. Whereas most models and studies in the contemporary literature tend to focus on a mechanisms-oriented approach to accountability and in impersonal standards concentrated in corporate accountability, the SAFE model is described as holistic, relational, based on virtues, and God-centered. This model is complemented by a matrix developed to represent the interplay between virtues and mechanisms in the context of individual accountability.

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  The Influence of human, spiritual, customer, innovation, and structural capital on non-financial performance measures of a firm

  (Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, 2018-01) Senguo, Msafiri Allen

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  There is a growing acceptance among scholars and practitioners that non-financial performance [NFP] measures may be better predictors of long-term survivability of a firm than the financial performance measures. In spite of this growing acceptance of NFP measures, many firms still underestimate, understudy, under-test, and undermine NFP measures as credible performance indicators. As a consequence, firms that poorly apply non-financial measures as credible performance indicators do not get a complete prognosis of the firm. Hence, the understanding of factors influencing non-financial performance becomes necessary as it affects the long-run survivability of a firm. The primary purpose of this study is to build a model, using structural equation modeling that explains factors influencing non-financial performance measures of a firm. In particular, the influence of human, spiritual, customer, structural, and innovation capital on nonfinancial performance measures of a firm was studied in selected commercial bank organizations in Tanzania. The independent variables selected for the study were spiritual capital, human capital, customer capital, innovation capital, and structural capital with non-financial performance measures of a firm as the dependent variable. A survey questionnaire consisting of 6 instruments was utilized. A total of 254 employees from 4 selected commercial bank organizations in Tanzania were used as respondents. The model developed as a result of this study explained 61% of variance in nonfinancial performance measure of a firm. The model explains that human capital (r = 0.52, p < 0.001) and innovation capital (r = 0.31, p < 0.001) have a significant direct influence on non-financial performance measures of a firm. Additionally, spiritual capital through innovation capital (r = 0.24, p < 0.001) had a significant indirect influence on non-financial performance measures of a firm. Among the variables in the study, human capital was the best predictor of non-financial performance measures. The model developed is significant as it provides empirical evidence that links human capital, spiritual capital, and innovation capital to non-financial performance measures. Further, it explains that by embracing distinctive non-financial performance measures of a firm may consequently have quality goods and services, satisfied customers, and outstanding reputation, thus, building a long-term survivability of a firm. Among others, this study recommends that the future research surveyor may use a qualitative approach to explore the understanding of the influence of human, spiritual, customer, structural, and innovation capital on non-financial performance measures of a firm.

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