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Date of Graduation
Spring 2011
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Education (MSEd)
Department
Department of Learning, Technology and Leadership Education
Abstract
Drawing on research about the increasing number of organizations that label themselves Christian-based companies (Ibrahim, Rue, McDougal, & Greene, 1991), training and development, and spirituality in the workplace, this study investigates the ways in which the Chick-fil-A© corporation aligns their training and development practices toward achievement of their corporate purpose. The corporate purpose of Chick-fil-A© as recorded on the company‘s website is ―to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A©‖ (Chick-fil-A©, 2010). The researcher seeks to determine whether the organizational culture of Chick-fil-A© as expressed through training and development positively impacts the lives of employees through the presence of a spiritual workplace. This research examines how Chick-fil-A©‘s corporate foundation in spiritual principles permeates its franchises to promote a spiritual organizational culture that fulfills the corporate purpose. This study was conducted at Chick-fil-A© franchises located in Harrisonburg and Chesapeake, Virginia. The researcher used a mixed methods approach, combining survey and interview protocol, to determine whether Chick-fil-A©‘s spiritual principles are adequately reflected in training and development to meet their corporate purpose. Results of this study provide evidence that training and development is used at Chick-fil-A© as a catalyst to positively benefit employees through the promotion of the organization‘s core vision and values. Corporate purpose is therefore met in the presence of a spiritual workplace at Chick-fil-A©.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Jasmine, "Aligning organizational culture to training and development in a spiritually based company" (2011). Masters Theses, 2010-2019. 369.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/369
