SBenegaL

Category: Values

  • Values in Organization Culture

    In the last byte, we looked at a presentation on company culture by TaxiforSure. In today’s byte, we begin our discussion on Values. 

    We have already seen that values are the next layer of understanding culture after the visible representation of culture through artifacts. Values reflect the underlying belief of what should be or should not be – and often consistently articulated both in conversations and in a company’s mission statement or annual reports.

    Values could actually reside in two forms:
    1. espoused values: refers to what members of an organization say they value
    2. enacted values: refers to values reflected in the way individuals actually behave.
    It is interesting to note that a firm’s values and how it promotes and publicizes these also affect how employees would feel about their job and themselves – there has to be a synchronization between what is spoken and how it is acted on!

  • Summary Thus Far

    In the last byte, we concluded a long discussion on understanding the individual dimension of organizational behavior with a discussion on how professional help could help reduce stress. It would be to list the various components we have discussed on this dimension thus far to help people relate to, and set the context for the next set of discussions.

    Over the last few months we have discussed aspects like:

    • Personality
    • Perception
    • Attribution
    • Attitudes
    • Values
    • Motivation
    • Learning
    • Performance Management
    • Stress
    All these put the individual as the subject matter, but it is also important to think beyond and begin understanding relations between people. Continuing from here, we will begin looking into the discussion on interpersonal diminution of organization – beginning with the aspect of communication.

  • Work Values

    In the last byte, we looked at how we could classify an individual’s values. In today’s byte, we look at the concept of value in the light of a work environment – we call these “work values”.

    If one were to ask why it is important to understand values in the context of a work settings; it would be good to realize that it is the basis of how individuals behave on their jobs in terms of what they see is right action and what would be a wrong action. Research has identified 4 work values:

    1. Achievement – is concerned with the development of one’s career
    2. Concern for others – is shown in the form of an individual caring for one’s colleagues,
    3. Honesty – is about providing accurate information and refusing to mislead others for personal gains
    4. Fairness – emphasizes impartiality and recognizes different points of views
    Given the large number of people who work in an organization, it is pretty clear that the individual value systems would differ. If people share similar values at work, it is found to produce positive results. Research has also found that employees who share their supervisor’s values are more satisfied with their jobs and more committed to the organization.

    It is also seen that values have a profound influence on job choice decisions that the individual takes. Organizations would need to keep this in mind when they are to look at the value compatibility when making a recruitment decision.  Organizations’ should also take care to send the right signals of their value systems in the market.

  • Values – Classification

    In the last byte, we understood about values and their increasing significance in the organizational context today. In today’s byte, we look at the classifying these values and attempt to understand them better.

    When one looks at the remarkable accomplishment of Dr Muhammad Yunus, one would definitely begin to wonder where he got this energy from! It is to be understood that, if he didn’t have a larger than life goal of seeing a better living standard for the people surrounding them, then something like this wouldn’t have been possible to achieve. This terminal goal played a serious role in his ability to achieve the change that he has been to initiate.

    Similarly, values could be seen as terminal in nature – these values represent the goals to be achieved or the ends state of existence. Goals like World Peace, Self-respect, and Prosperity etc are all examples of those.

    While these are more a goal to work, there are other values that represent the acceptable behavior to be used in achieving some end state. These are called Instrumental Values. Examples of these could be values like independence, courage, ambition etc.

    It could be seen that, both terminal and instrumental value work in concert to provide individuals with goals to strive for an acceptable way to achieve the goals.

  • Values

    In the last byte, we looked at persuasion routes and understood the difference between them. In today’s byte, we move to understanding the concept of value.

    In our surroundings, we find people doing various activities. On watching some of these, we find that it creates a negative feeling in our mind; if you were in such a situation, you possibly wouldn’t do it. While the action was right for an individual, it looked completely wrong in your eyes! What is it that creates a sense of right and wrong, good and bad in the minds of an individual? It is the value that the individual possesses.

    Values could be understood as enduring beliefs that a specific mode of conduct or end state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end state of existence. – This definition was proposed by Rokeach, an early scholar on human values.

    Values exist at a deeper level than attitudes and are more general and basic in nature. The behavior of the individuals is generally evaluated with the use of values. It is these values that give the sense of right and wrong, good and bad.

    If one is to think about what are the various factors and sources that would influence values – these are generally picked up when an individual grows and matures. These values also change over time – the experiences of life are the major factors which create this change. Cultures, Society, and Organizations also influence the shaping of these values.

    Businesses realize the importance of understanding the values compatibility of their employees, and are increasingly trying to understand the relation of values with the corporate behavior, ethics etc.