Untangling the Processes of Leaving a Member-Abusive Organization

Prior to its dissolution, Mars Hill, a former megachurch, developed a reputation for abuse and dictatorial control, creating an organizational environment from which many sought to exit. However, for those members desiring to leave, exit was far from straightforward. Our interpretive analysis of former members’ stories revealed tension as Mars Hill cast out members who wanted to stay ( involuntary exit) while pressuring those who wanted to leave ( involuntary staying). Former members used a form of faith-based reasoning ( spiritual rationality) to manage this tension. Finally, members described ways they simultaneously experienced identification and disidentification with the organization in the face of abuse and control, a phenomenon we characterize as uncoupled identification. We discuss these findings in light of the literature on employee-abusive organizations and identification.

Environmental Sustainability: Worldview, Philosophy and Teachings

Economic choices influenced by animalistic instincts in an ethically neutral framework have not only resulted in huge disparities in distribution of income, wealth and standards of living, but, as we now realise, they have also resulted in an unprecedented loss to ecology and environment with catastrophic consequences for future generations. More than ever, economics as a discipline of knowledge needs an ethical base in order to rekindle a spiritual rationality that can enable us to take into account equity considerations more explicitly in economic choices, both at the individual and at the societal level. This paper explains how Islamic economics can help in bridging the gap. The paper explains the teachings of Islam on different environmental issues and shows how the Islamic worldview can help to encourage and reinforce environmentally friendly behaviour and choices.