Overcoming Ethical Challenges at the Workplace: Focus on Tanzania

The purpose of this dissertation was to identify principles of overcoming ethical challenges at the workplace in Tanzania. Unethical behaviors such as corruption have hindered development in the country. The dissertation sought to discover people’ views of work and reasons for Christians’ failure in upholding ethics and values at the workplace. The research data showed that most Christians and church, in general, have a negative view of work originated from the Fall of Adam and Eve. Because of the Fall and the curse on the ground, work has been viewed as a negative issue that humanity would treat work as unpleasant and toilsome. Greek philosophers who brought the idea of sacred and secular strengthened this view. Many Christians who could be transformation agents in the communities ignorantly and unknowingly remain idle and impotent instead of living out the faith they claim in their daily lives for the glory of God. The task of the church of equipping the saints for the work of ministry is considered as preparing people to enter the church-related ministries. Very few people are trained for marketplace ministry by the church or Bible Institutions. The principal conclusion is that the church has been affected by the Greek philosophy so has failed to equip the saints for the workplace ministry. This study proposed several interventions, including training pastors in Bible Colleges on Marketplace ministry, and reviewing discipleship teaching in the church where children and young people grow in knowing values and ethics that can develop good character. The church also ought to change its view towards work and towards those working in the secular world and start equipping and supporting those in the workplace. Furthermore, churches need to change the view of the church as only the gathered church to both centripetal and centrifugal church. It must grasp the Kingdom mentality of equipping both the gathered and scattered church. This view will help Christians to overcome ethical challenges in the workplace.