ETHICAL TREATMENT OF OTHER CULTURES

Ethical Treatment of Other Cultures

Ethical Treatment of Other Cultures

Introduction

Stewardship is personal responsibility for taking care of another person's property or financial affairs or in religious orders taking care of finances. Historically, stewardship was the responsibility given to household servants to bring food and drinks to a castle dining hall. The term was then expanded to indicate a household employee's responsibility for managing household or domestic affairs. (Don, 2006, 116) Stewardship later became the responsibility for taking care of passengers' domestic needs on a ship, train and airplane, or managing the service provided to diners in a restaurant. The term continues to be used in these specific ways, but it is also used in a more general way to refer to a responsibility to take care of something owned by someone else.

The Value of Stewardship: Ethical Treatment of Other Cultures

"Every person has a responsibility to look after the planet both for themselves and for the future generations. Acting irresponsibly could cause damage such as pollution, the destruction of cultural heritage, etc." Stewardship is an ethic that embodies cooperative planning and management of environmental resources with organizations, communities and others to actively engage in the prevention of loss of habitat and facilitate its recovery in the interest of long-term sustainability (Fisheries and Oceans Canada - 'Stewardship in Action' program) According to the EPA, Environmental stewardship is the responsibility for environmental quality shared by all those whose actions affect the environment. (Don, 2006, 116)

Fiscal stewardship refers to the practice of assuring that current spending programs and tax policies are affordable and sustainable over time. For instance, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has been criticized by The New York Times for "mixed fiscal stewardship," having managed short-term crises with a deft hand, but falling short some on long-term problems. David M. Walker, President of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, has been a frequent commentator on the need for fiscal stewardship at the federal level, to avoid mortgaging the future of the country and of successive generations. (Greenleaf, 2006)

In an organizational context, stewardship refers to management's responsibility to properly utilize and develop its resources, including its people, its property and its financial assets. In a development sense, stewardship also refers to thanking and recognizing donors. This includes organizing thank you phone calls, recognition events, and conveying the impact that the donor's gift has had. Stewardship in a land claims context is when a monarch or other noble may appoint a steward to oversee parts of his or her realm.

Stewardship is also a major part of teaching in Christianity and Islam. For example, Green Christianity emphasizes stewardship as a Bible-based environmental outlook. Financial stewardship is based on the belief that God is the true and ultimate owner of each person's possessions, and that one is accountable to God for the acceptable care and use of those possessions. (Greenleaf, 2006) Stewardship can also refer to Jesus Christ's accountability to God the Father for the Christians that have been entrusted to Him or ...