Digital Commons Network^™

The Servicemaster Company As A Model For Bam Startups, Larry W. Sharp

Pollard Research Fellowship Papers

A template/typology for Business as Mission startups using the redemptive methodologies of ServiceMaster, which focused on the people-first development of the employee, with a focus on areas of the world which restrict free speech.

Managing Diversity At Servicemaster, Maria Lai-Ling Lam

Pollard Research Fellowship Papers

ServiceMaster developed their capacity of managing diversity in diverse global workforce, workplace, and marketplace through their deep-rooted four objectives: Honor God in all we do, help people to develop, pursue excellence, and grow profitability. The leaders used these four objectives to make quality decisions in the midst of differences, similarities, and the related tensions and complexities. The leaders practiced the concept of “shingles on a roof”, exemplified the characteristics of diversity-mature individuals, advocated the integration-learning perspective of diversity, developed religious inclusivity, promoted minorities and women as leaders, developed a teaching and learning organization culture. Managing diversity at ServiceMaster were embedded …

Management As A Liberal Art? Exploring The Connections, Laura G. Singleton

Pollard Research Fellowship Papers

Essay exploring Peter Drucker's claim for the field of management as a liberal art, comparing his writing with works on liberal education by John Henry Newman and Martha Nussbaum, and drawing upon examples of management practice from C. William Pollard of ServiceMaster.

Servant Leadership At Servicemaster: A Commitment To Love, Development, And Diversity, Helen H. Chung

Pollard Research Fellowship Papers

In recent years, servant leadership has gained currency as a promising pathway for inclusive organizations, where individuals can experience a sense of belonging and participate in decision-making. Given the framework’s significant attitudinal and behavioral demands, potential servant-leaders may need to consider the costs and benefits of the servant leadership mantle. Drawing from a conservation of resources theory, I propose that both individuals and organizations will increasingly need to consider the personal and environmental conditions (i.e., resource caravans) that support servant leader behaviors. Specifically, I examine servant leadership from a critical lens, asking the question of how women and members of …

Management As A Christian Liberal Art, Daniel Castelo

Pollard Research Fellowship Papers

C. William Pollard, the long-time serving past CEO of The ServiceMaster Company, was often inclined to remark that “management is a liberal art.” This is a phrase attributable to one of Pollard’s friends and consultants, Peter Drucker, the pioneer of the academic discipline of management. Several features of the phrase are worth noting. First of all, few managers or specialists in the field would be inclined to speak of management in this way; therefore, the phrase stands as a kind of anomaly, as an odd remark in the face of “conventional” thinking in which profit and the maximization of shareholder …

Re-Personalising Work And Business: Bill Pollard And Servicemaster's Narrative Of Continuity Through Change, Gordon Preece

Pollard Research Fellowship Papers

This paper addresses the Re-Personalising of Work and Business by Bill Pollard, the long-serving CEO and Chair of the U.S. and global service industry giant ServiceMaster. It uses two frameworks to shed greater light on this story. The first framework is Michael Goldberg’s Narratival Ethics Audit, which explores the role of character/virtue reinforced through connections to story via rituals and traditions. The second framework is the Cambridge UK-based Relationship Foundation’s measure of relational proximity in terms of equality, continuity, multiplexity etc. The mega-theme running through these frameworks, as largely maintained and carried by Pollard and ServiceMaster, is that of the …

Honoring God And Developing People: Servicemaster, Bill Pollard And The Heart Of The Corporation, Darrell Cosden

Pollard Research Fellowship Papers

This study examines the model of faith-business integration developed at ServiceMaster, and relatedly Bill Pollard’s role in developing and implementing it. My argument is that ServiceMaster’s celebrated 4 corporate goals functioned both as a mission statement defining the core of the business, but at the same time also as “philosophy of Christian ministry” infusing their core business with the Christian faith. As used, the 4 goals functioned as a faith-business integration model in its own right, deserving a place alongside other models and thereby deserving reflective analysis and evaluation. To that end, this study examines how the model came to …

Communication Technologies And Interpersonal Relationships: Some Considerations From Theology, Randy Beavers, Denise Daniels, Al Erisman, Don Lee

SPU Works

While the unintended consequences and high pace of change associated with technology will change the nature and types of our interpersonal relationships, Christian theology provides a lens through which we can evaluate these changes. In this paper we outline some theological principles that undergird our understanding of what God intends for relationships, as well as ways that our relationships are either consistent or inconsistent with God's intentions in terms of healthy and unhealthy relationships. We then discuss ways in which communication technology can amplify both positive and negative aspects of relationships, providing examples from the workplace. We classify the impact …

What Matters Most In Ceo Compensation?, Randy Beavers

SPU Works

Components of compensation have been analysed in previous studies of corporate financial variables of interest but never together to get a sense of the complete picture of what truly matters. This paper includes variable interactions using the difference-in-differences methodology for panel regressions. Data is collected from Capital IQ, Compustat, CRSP, and ExecuComp for S&P 1500 firms from 2006 to 2013. Inside debt is negatively related to a firm’s total risk, idiosyncratic risk, and CEO turnover. Inside debt is positively related to diversification, liquidity, firm value, and return. Overconfidence is negatively related to total risk, liquidity, investment, and firm value. The …

Ceo Inside Debt And Firm Debt, Randy Beavers

SPU Works

Purpose: This paper aims to examine jointly the CEO inside debt and firm debt to further investigate the compensation incentives on risky decision-making and the resulting financial policy decisions concerning the debt structure of the firm.

Design/methodology/approach: Using S&P 1500 data from CRSP, Compustat, Execucomp and Capital IQ between 2006 and 2011, statistical analysis and regression models are used to determine potential correlations between the variable of interest, inside debt and debt control variables, including specialization.

Findings: Firms with high inside debt specialize in commercial loans and drawn credit lines. Larger firms diversify their debt holdings among commercial instruments and …

Ceo Long-Term Incentive Pay In Mergers And Acquisitions, Randy Beavers

SPU Works

This paper analyzes the CEO incentives of inside debt in the form of deferred equity compensation in the context of M&A decisions. This study runs statistical regressions on the likelihood of a merger, whether the deal is diversifying, how much stock is used to pay for the deal, and the relative deal size controlling for CEO long-term incentive pay as the main variable of interest and including controls for firm characteristics, merger characteristics, industry, and year. This paper sheds light on LTIP effects before compensation changes occur after an M&A event. This study uses archival data from 1996 to 2005 …

Management As A Liberal Art (Summary), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this brief document, Pollard outlines the main contours of Peter Drucker's concept of "management as liberal art." In particular, he notes how management is a spiritual and moral endeavor oriented to the development of the whole person.

Note: Page 6 is missing from the original document.

Various Notes Regarding Peter Drucker, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In these handwritten documents, Pollard outlines some of the main lessons he has learned from his decades-long friendship with noted management theorist Peter Drucker.

Speech On The Tides Of Life, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

For Pollard, the development of people is the key to a future made uncertain by rapid socio-economic change. Proper development, however, is predicated on upholding ServiceMaster's primary objective of honoring God.

Some Ethical Principles For A Follower Of Jesus Christ Seeking To Lead In The Marketplace, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In these seven principles Pollard outlines what is required of a disciple of Christ in the marketplace.

Various Handwritten Notes Regarding Peter Drucker, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

These handwritten notes contain various thoughts and reflections concerning Peter Drucker's influence on Pollard.

The Web, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this brief handwritten document, Pollard reflects on the topic of the "web."

Handwritten Notes Regarding Peter Drucker Lessons, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In these handwritten notes, Pollard outlines some of the lessons he has learned from a long relationship with noted management theorist Peter Drucker.

The Theory Of The Firm, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

This document contains the PowerPoint outline for a presentation made at a ServiceMaster meeting in which Pollard outlined the corporation's broader vision regarding profit, management, and customer relations.

The Role And Importance Of Profit, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this speech at Baylor University (Waco, TX), Pollard asks whether profit can have a "redeeming value." He answers in the affirmative, noting that there is indeed a biblical injunction to create wealth as part of God's call to stewardship.

Lessons Of Life, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this outline from a speech at the 2016 InterAct/Delta One Workshop in Nashville, TN, Pollard provides thirteen "lessons of life" for the participants to learn from and reflect upon.

Speech At Second Faith At Work Summit, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In these brief remarks delivered via video at the second Faith at Work Summit (Dallas, TX), Pollard reflects on his own introduction to the idea that faith and and work can be mutually enriching.

Gleaning As A Transformational Business Model For Solidarity With The Poor And Marginalized, Bruce D. Baker

SPU Works

“Gleaning” refers to the mandate within the Mosaic Law that harvesters should leave behind “gleanings” for the sake of the poor who subsist on the literal and figurative margins of society. Although this biblical mandate is generally neglected and considered irrelevant in modern business practice, it holds powerful lessons to help guide modern businesses into transformational solidarity with the poor and marginalized. This paper interprets the biblical significance of gleaning, to discern how the principles of gleaning, though rooted in ancient agrarian culture, might be applicable to modern business which is generally far removed from agriculture. The exegesis and analysis …

Leadership (Chattanooga, Tn), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

This is the text of a speech Pollard delivered via video to the 10 Project Video Conference at Covenant College (Chattanooga, TN). In it he addresses the topic of leadership, focusing especially on the need for servant leaders.

The Tides Of Life (Convene Ceo Summit), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Delivered at the Convene CEO Summit, this speech asks how Christian business leaders might apply their faith in work settings. In particular, Pollard notes that servant leadership -- while not always overtly Christian -- is oftentimes the primary means of actualizing Christian values in the corporate firm.

The Soul Of Our Work (Article), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this article based on a speech delivered at the Faith at Work Summit, Pollard speaks of how Christians can be "ambassadors for Christ" in their work by adopting people-focused leadership strategies.

Speech At The New Canaan Society, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In these brief remarks at a 2016 meeting of the New Canaan Society, Pollard outlines various lessons he learned during many decades spent in the corporate world.

Leadership Transition And Long Term Ministry Sustainability, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Speaking to the Thornton Educational Fund Board of Directors, Pollard reflects upon what he considers the fundamentals of servant leadership and considers lessons he has learned from participating in several leadership transitions.

Outline For Talk To Delta One Group, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

This document is a brief outline of a talk Pollard gave at the 2016 Delta Group Meeting in Nashville, TN. In it Pollard covers everything from business growth to the relationship between leadership and belief.

In the original documents, Pollard attached Brian Oxley's poem "Life's Tracks" to the outline. It can be found here: http://oxvisionmedia.com/index.php?p=blog/lifes-tracks

The Truth Of God's Way, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this speech at John Brown University's 2015 commencement exercises, Pollard encourages graduating students to build their future vocational endeavors upon God's truth as well as a commitment to servant leadership.