ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR (MGMT1135)

SESSION 4 VALUES
Dr. Burak Oc | burak.oc@uwa.edu.au | Business School: 192

Values are beliefs that guide

our preferences
for outcomes or courses of
action in a variety of
situations.
They tell us what is
good
right
moral

or
or
or

bad
wrong
immoral

VALUES

Value System
Hierarchical ranking of an individual's values in terms of their intensity
Relatively stable & enduring
Personal, shared or organizational values

Difference between values & personality traits

VALUES

PERSONALITY TRAITS

what we ought to do
are opposed to another
more socialization

what we tend to do
do not oppose to another
more innate

VALUES
Importance for Organizations
Values are foundation of attitudes & motivation.
Values influence perceptions.
Values influence behaviour.

Sources of value systems

WAYS OF CLASSIFYING VALUES

Rokeach Value Survey
2 sets of values
Each 18 individual value items
Terminal Values
Desirable end states of existence
Goals a person would like to achieve during lifetime

Instrumental values
Preferable modes of behavior
Means of achieving one's terminal values
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.
Terminal values refer to desirable end-states of existence. These are the goals that
a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime. Instrumental values
refer to preferable modes of behavior, that is, the means of achieving the terminal
values.

TERMINAL VALUES
A comfortable life
An exciting life
A sense of accomplishment
A world at peace
Equality
Family security
Freedom
Happiness
National security
Self-respect
Social recognition
True friendship

INSTRUMENTAL VALUES
Ambitious
Open-minded
Cheerful
Courageous
Helpful
Honest
Creative
Independent
Intellectual
Logical
Loving
Obedient
Responsible

SCHWARTZS VALUES MODEL

Openness to change motivation
to pursue innovative ways
Conservation -- motivation to
preserve the status quo
Self-enhancement -- motivated by
self-interest
Self-transcendence -- motivation to
promote welfare of others and
nature

Times Change.
Unique values of different
cohorts/generations

GENERATIONAL VALUES

GENERATIONAL VALUES
Cohort

Entered the
workforce

Approximate
current age

Dominant work values

Boomers

1965 1985

50s to 70s

Success
Achievement
Ambition
Loyalty to career

Generation Xers

1985 2000

Mid-30s to 50s

Work/life balance
Team-oriented
Dislike of rules
Loyalty to relationships

Millennials

2000 to present

To mid-30s

Confident
Financial success
Self-reliant but
Team-oriented
Loyalty to both self and
Relationships

Boomers (Baby Boomers) entered the workforce during

the 1960s through the mid-1980s. Xers (Generation Xers)
entered the workforce beginning in the mid-1980s. The
most recent entrants to the workforce, are the
Millennials. Though it is fascinating to think about
generational values, remember that these classifications
lack solid research support. Generational classifications
may help us understand our own and other generations
better, but we must also appreciate their limits.

VALUES AND CULTURE

SURFACE

DEEP

artifacts

= observable expressions of culture

e.g., symbols, stories, ceremonies, rituals

values

= specified rules of behavior

beliefs about right vs. wrong, whats important,
how to solve problems

assumptions

= logics underneath culture

taken-for-granted images and moral sentiments
(implicit, hard to articulate)

INTERNATIONAL VALUES (Hofstede, 1970)

Variations between cultures and values

Surveyed more than 116000 IBM employees in 40 countries about
their work-related values

Hofstedes framework
Power distance
Individualism versus collectivism
Masculinity versus femininity
Uncertainty avoidance
Long-term versus short-term orientation

Hofstedes framework for assessing cultures suggests five value

dimensions of national culture.
Power distance: is the degree to which people in a country accept
that power in institutions and organizations is distributed
unequally.
Individualism versus collectivism: individualism is the degree to
which people in a country prefer to act as individuals rather than
as members of groups. Collectivism emphasizes a tight social
framework in which people expect others in groups in which they
are a part to look after them and protect them.
Masculinity versus femininity: masculinity is the degree to which
values such as the acquisition of money and material goods
prevail. Femininity is the degree to which people value
relationships and show sensitivity and concern for others.
Uncertainty avoidance: is the degree to which people in a country
prefer structured over unstructured situations.
Long-term versus short-term orientation: long-term orientations
look to the future and value thrift and persistence. Short-term
orientation values the here and now; they accept change more
readily and dont see commitments as impediments to change.

POWER DISTANCE

is the degree to which people in a

culture accept that power in
institutions and organizations is
distributed unequally

INDIVIDUALISM vs. COLLECTIVISM

Individualism is the degree to which

people in a culture prefer to act as
individuals rather than as members
of groups
Collectivism emphasizes a tight
social framework in which people
expect others in groups in which
they are a part to look after them
and protect them

MASCULINITY vs. FEMININITY

Masculinity is the degree to which

values such as the acquisition of
money and material goods prevail
Femininity is the degree to which
people value relationships and
show sensitivity and concern for
others

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

is the degree to which people in a

country prefer structured over
unstructured situations

LONG-TERM vs. SHORT-TERM ORIENTATION

Long-term orientations look to the

future and value thrift and
persistence

Short-term orientation values the

here and now; they accept change
more readily and dont see
commitments as impediments to
change