Values

What are values?

Values are socially and personally shared conceptions of the good, desirable, and righteous. They are stabilized beliefs about personally or socially preferred modes of conduct or endstates of existence. They determine how one ought to or ought not to behave or act. In conversations, we qualify values using words like ought, should, good, right, and fair. Values are so central to individuals personality and cognitive structure that they influence every facet of human behaviour - attitudes, decisions, oral judgments, evaluations, and social action. Intrinsic qualities of values determine our outer behavior. People seek these qualities in activities they engage, in objects they acquire, in principles they cultivate, in situations they live through, in professions they work, and in evaluations they make. Values are, thus, prime drivers of personal, social, and professional choices. Values are the principles & priorities which help us make decisions on a daily basis. If one truly values honesty, he will choose to be honest in interactions. If one values family strongly, he will make time in his life for family. If growth is a top value for one, he will make decisions which encourage personal development. Values are constantly changing & developing throughout our lives. In childhood, our values are usually the ones held by parents and other adults around us. As we continue to mature, other influences such as peers & the media affect our values. With so many influence telling us what to value, how do we know what is really important for us? Values, therefore, become part of complex attitude sets that influence our behaviour and the behaviour of all those with whom we interact. What we value guides not only our personal choices but also our perceptions of the worth of others. We are more likely, for example, to evaluate highly someone who holds the same hard-work value we do than someone who finds work distasteful, with personal gratification a more important value. We may also call the person lazy and worthless, a negative value label. The Global Economic Ethic Manifesto (Manifesto) is a moral framework/code of conduct which is both interactive and interdependent with the economic function of the main institutions of the economic system: markets, governments, civil society, and supranational organizations, which lays out a common fundamental vision of what is legitimate, just, and fair in economic activities. The Manifesto articulates substantially defined values and ethical standards. It includes five universally accepted principles and values of which one is the principle of humanity. The principle with its sub-headings are mentioned below : The principle of humanity : The fundamental principle of a desirable global economic ethic is humanity: Being human must be the ethical yardstick for all economic action. Article 1: The ethical goal of sustainable economic action, as well as its social prerequisite, is the creation of a fundamental framework for sustainably fulfilling human beings basic needs so they can live in dignity.

Article 2: Never may human beings be treated badly, either through individual ways of conduct or through dishonourable trading or working conditions. The Global Economic Ethic Manifesto 215 exploitation and the abuse of situations of dependence as well as the arbitrary discrimination of persons are irreconcilable with the principle of humanity. Article 3: It is legitimate to pursue ones own interests, but the deliberate pursuit of personal advantage to the detriment to ones partners that is, with unethical means is irreconcilable with sustainable economic activity to mutual advantage. Article 4: The Golden Rule of Reciprocity, what you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others, which for thousands of years has been acknowledged in all religious and humanist traditions, promotes mutual responsibility, solidarity, fairness, tolerance, and respect for all persons involved.

How Values Are Formed?

Research by Sociologist Morris Massey in part, suggests that there are 4 major periods that a person will go through in the creation of values and personality. 1. The Basic Programming Period which may occur pre-birth until age 4 2. The Imprint Period, which occurs from birth until age 7. 3. The Modelling Period which occurs from age 8 until 13; and 4. The Socializing Period from ages 14 to 21. During our Basic Programming we soak up everything, and largely without any filters. The filter means that at that age, we may not have the ability to determine the difference between useful and un-useful information. Its just information that goes straight in, so by age 4 most of our major programming and personality has been formed. During our Imprint Period ages 0 to 7 we continue to absorb everything like a sponge; we pick up and store everything that goes on in our environments and from our parents and other people and events that occur around us. It is imprinted in our mind. The Modelling Period from ages 8 to 13 is when we begin to consciously and unconsciously model basic behaviours of other people. Then we may also begin to mimic the values of those people. From Masseys research he suggests that our major values about life are picked up during this period about age 10. In addition he suggests that our values are based on where we and what was happening in the world at that time The Socialization Period from ages 14 to 21. The young person picks up relationship and social values, most of which will be used throughout the rest of his or her life. By age 21 the formation of core values is just about complete and will not change unless a significant emotional event occurs.

Our Values are Organised

In our minds we arrange our values in hierarchies. An "order of importance" to us. These can be recognized by watching where and on what a person invests their time, energy and money. Incongruence and conflict shows up when a person says that they value X but we observe them putting their time, energy and money into other things by comparison. Congruence is when they say they value X, and then you can see that that's also how they invest their time energy and money.

Why is Values Clarification Important?

If values affect so many decisions & actions in our lives, it is best that we understand them & that our behaviour is in line with our values. Many professionals say that family is their top value. However, many of these same people make very little time for their families. There is a discrepancy between what they profess to value, and their actions. However, if we make an effort to understand our values, it is easier to keep our priorities in the right order & our actions in line with our beliefs. If you sit down & realize that family is important to you, you are most likely to make the time for your family. Values clarification simply refers to any process a person might go through to discover and clarify their values and to bring values in line with behaviour.

Importance of Values and Ethics in Business

Ethics refers to a code of conduct that guides an individual in dealing with others. Deciding what is right (or what is more right) in a particular situation, determining what ought to be, deciding what is consistent with ones personal or organizational value s ystem are all ethics. Ethics is important not only in business but in all aspects of life because it is the vital part and the foundation on which the society is build. A business/society that lacks ethical principles is bound to fail sooner or later. According to International Ethical Business Registry, there has been a dramatic increase in the ethical expectation of businesses and professionals over the past 10 years. Increasingly, customers, clients and employees are deliberately seeking out those who define the basic ground, rules of their operations on a day today. Business Ethics is a form of the art of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in business environment. It deals with issues regarding the moral and ethical rights, duties and corporate governance between a company and its shareholders, employees, customers, media, government, suppliers and dealers. Henry Ford said, Business that makes noting but money is a poor kind of business. Ethics is related to all disciplines of management like accounting information, human resource management, sales and marketing, production, intellectual property knowledge and skill, international business and economic system. As said by Joe Paterno once that success without honor is an unseasoned dish. It will satisfy your hunger, but wont taste good. In business world the organizations culture sets standards for determining the difference between good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair. It is perfectly possible to make a decent living without compromising the integrity of the company or the individual, wrote business executive R. Holland, Quite apart from the issues

of rightness and wrongness, the fact is that ethical behaviour in business serves the individual and the enterprise much better in long run., he added. Some management guru stressed that ethical companies have an advantage over their competitors. Said Cohen and Greenfield, Consumers are used to buying products despite how they feel about the company that sells them. But a valued company earned a kind of customer loyalty most corporations only dream of because it appeals to its customers more than a product. The ethical issues in business have become more complicated because of the global and diversified nature of many large corporation and because of the complexity of economic, social, global, natural, political, legal and government regulations and environment, hence the company must decide whether to adhere to constant ethical principles or to adjust to domestic standards and culture. Managers have to remember that leading by example is the first step in fostering a culture of ethical behaviour in the companies as rightly said by Robert Noyce, If ethics are poor at the top, that behaviour is copied down through the organization, however the other methods can be creating a common interest by favourable corporate culture, setting high standards, norms, framing attitudes for acceptable behaviour, making written code of ethics implacable at all levels from top to bottom, deciding the policies for recruiting, selecting, training, induction, promotion, monetary / non-monetary motivation, remuneration and retention of employees. Price is what you pay. Value is what you get Warren Buffet Thus, a manager should treat his employees, customers, shareholders, government, media and society in an honest and fair way by knowing the difference between right or wrong and choosing what is right, this is the foundation of ethical decision making. REMEMBER: GOOD ETHICS IS GOOD BUSINESS. Non-corporation with the evil is as much a duty as is co-operation with good Mahatma Gandhi.

Two dimensions to business ethics

Business ethics has two dimensions? Honesty and truthfulness about the product or service, and its relevance to wider issues of social sense, i.e. the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Corporate Responsibility. This definition allows us free choice as consumers and producers to decide the merits (and demerits) of business products and services, without being caught in a philosophical catscradle. It could, of course, still be regarded as simplistic, but will serve as an adequate term of reference when considering the articles in this issue of Manager.

Good people often let bad things happen. Why?

The vast majority of managers mean to run ethical organisation, yet corporate corruption is widespread. Part of the problem, of course, is that some leaders are out-and-out crooks, and thy direct the malfeasance from the top. But that is rare. But that is rare. Much more often, we

believe employees bend or break ethics rules because those in charge are blind to unethical behaviour and may even unknowingly encourage it. When employees behave in undesirable ways, its a good idea to look at what youre encouraging them to do. Consider what happened at Sears, Roebuck in the 1990s, when management gave automotive mechanics a sales goal of $147 an hourpresumably to increase the speed of repairs. Rather than work faster, however, employees met the goal by overcharging for their services and repairing things that werent broken. Even the best intentioned executives are often unaware of their own or their employees unethical behaviour. Here are some of the reasons and what to do about them.

Ill-conceived goals

Description We set goals and incentives to promote a desired behaviour, but they encourage a negative one. We overlook the unethical behaviour of others when its in our interest to remain ignorant. We hold others less accountable for unethical behaviour when it is carried out through third parties.

Example The pressure to maximise billable hours in accounting, consulting and law firms leads to unconscious padding.

Motivated Blindness

Baseball officials failed to notice theyd created conditions that encouraged steroid usage. A drug company deflects attention from a price increase by selling rights to another company, which imposes the increase.

Indirect Blindness

The slippery We are less able to see others slope unethical behaviour when it develops gradually Overvaluing outcomes

Auditors may be more likely to accept a client firms questionable financial statements if infractions are accrued over time. We give a pass to A researcher whose unethical behaviour fraudulent clinical trial if the outcome is saves lives is considered good. more ethical than one whose fraudulent trial leads to deaths.

Remedies Brainstorm unintended consequences when devising goals and incentives. Consider alternative goals that may be more important to reward. Root out conflicts of interest. Simply being aware of them doesnt necessarily reduce their negative effect on decision making. When holding off or outsourcing work, ask whether the assignment might invite unethical behaviour and take ownership of the implications. Be alert for even trivial ethical infractions and address them immediately. Investigate whether a change in behaviour has occurred. Examine both good and bad decisions for their ethical implications. Reward solid decision processes, not just good outcomes.

Conclusion
So finally it can be concluded that values help us get and stay motivated. Values relate to our purpose in life and are used as guiding principles and rules to make our life easier. Values provide us with a strong foundation: a method for living our life to the fullest. If our business values and personal values are in alignment then it is great. If not, we will be dissatisfied, unhappy and will definitely not generate results we want. It would be difficult to be a bank robber if we think we have to serve the world as there is no alignment. So we need to be very clear on our personal values and try to align our business values to our values then only our business can be successful.

References
1. Suar, Damodar and Rooplekha Khuntia:2010, Influence of Personal Values and Value Congruence on Unethical Practices and Work Behavior, Journal of Business Ethics 97:443460 2. Clegg, Stewart, Martin Kornberger and Carl Rhodes:2007, Business Ethics as Practice, British Journal of Management, Vol. 18, 107122 3. Hemphill, Thomas A. And Waheeda Lillevik:2011, The Global Economic Ethic Manifesto: Implementing a Moral Values Foundation in the Multinational Enterprise, Journal of Business Ethics, 101:213230 4. Comment by Ray Moorcroft FInstAM, Editor 5. Getting Value from Shared Values by Paul McDonald and Jeffery Gandz 6. Review: For Business Ethics by Campbell Jones, Martin Parker and Ren ten Bos, 2005 7. Why dont we try to be Indias most respected company?, Harvard Business Review, November 2011 8. Good people often let bad things happen. Why? by Max H.Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel 9. The Environment and the Need for New Technology, Empowerment and Ethical values by Ralph Saemann 10. Chen ,Guoquan and Dean Tjosvold:2008, Organizational values and procedures as antecedents for goal interdependence and collaborative effectiveness, Asia Pacific J Manage, 25:93112 11. Ford, Robert C.:2002, Darden Restaurants CEO Joe Lee on the importance of core values: Integrity and fairness, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 16, No. 1 12. Personal Value Systems of Japanese Trainees and Managers in a Changing Competitive System by Roy J. Adams, Richard B. Peterson and Hermann F. Schwind