Материал: Management-and-Organization-Behavior

Lesson - 17 : Values And Attitudes

Objectives

After going through this lesson, you should be able to:

ӹӹUnderstand The Meaning And Types Of Values;

ӹӹFamiliarize With The Changing Value System At Work Place;

ӹӹKnow The Attitudes And The Formation Of Attitudes; And

ӹӹAppreciate The Implications Of Attitudes In Organizations.

Lesson Outline

ӹӹImportance, Sources & Types Of Values

ӹӹValues At Workplace

ӹӹAttitudes And Their Formation

ӹӹTypes Of Attitudes

ӹӹImplications Of Attitudes

ӹӹReview Questions

At the outset, let us examine a few definitions of values. According to Rokeach “values represent basic conviction 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”. Chakravarti defines values as “the manner in which an individual tends to make judgements or choices, both about goals and means, at different stages of one’s life, in different facets of it, as are deemed to lead to the well being and happiness of oneself and society”.

From the above, we understand that values are learnt from the society and hence are acceptable to the society as preferred ‘modes of conduct’ or ‘end states’. Values are stable and long-lasting beliefs about what is important in a variety of situations. They are evaluative standards that help us distinguish between right and wrong or good and bad in the world. Values do not represent what we need but they indicate what we

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ought to do to achieve the need in a socially desirable way. Some people value practicality while others value aesthetics. Some people value frugality while others value generosity. Values influence our priorities, preferences and our actions. Value systems represent prioritizing of individual values in relation to their relative importance. We all have a set of values that form a value system. This system is identified by the relative importance assigned to such values as pleasure, self-respect, honesty, freedom, equality, and so on. Consequently, values of an individual influence his attitudes and also his behaviour.

Importance of Values

In the organisational context, values are important because they influence employee conduct and behaviour. They play a vital role in behavioural disposition and the decision making behaviour of an individual. Now-a-days, employees resent the traditional command-and- control supervision and expect a lot of autonomy and operational freedom. Organizational ethics is becoming important in view of the manipulations and malpractices indulged in at various levels in the organization. It has something to do with the values of that organization.

Values influence behaviour of an employee in several ways. If an employee feels that payment of wages on the basis of performance is right, he / she cannot accept payment of wages on the basis of seniority, he becomes indifferent to such a system followed in the organization. Therefore, the values of individuals need to be studied, so that employees’ values could be matched with that of the organization.

Sources of Values

Values are learnt right from the childhood. They are taught by mother when she guides the child in several ways like “you go to bed early”, “you should wear clean clothes”, “you should achieve first rank” and things like that. Early ideas of what is right and wrong were probably formulated from the views expressed by the parents. As one grows, there is a likelihood of getting exposed to other value systems and be induced by them. We derive the values from the people we love or respect like our parents, teachers, friends, and other famous celebrities in movies, sports, business, and politics. Out of our admiration for them, we are likely to

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emulate them by imbibing their values also.

You may remember that in our culture itself, certain values have been developed over time and they are continuously reinforced. Peace, cooperation, harmony, equity, and de¬mocracy are the desirable societal values nurtured in our culture.

It is interesting to know that values are relatively stable and enduring. This is because of the way in which they are originally learned. In childhood, you are told that a certain behavior is always desirable or always undesirable. You are told, for example, that you should be honest and truthful. It is this absolute learning of values which ensures their stability and endurance. You may also note that values of an individual do change, but change very slowly. The process of questioning our values may lead to change in the existing values system.

Types of Values

You may note that values do not operate in isolation. Several values interact with each other to form value system in a society. According to Rikeach, value systems are composed of rank-ordered sets of values that fall into two general categories namely terminal values and instrumental values. Terminal values reflect the desired end states of existence whereas instrumental values are related to the choice of behaviour in reaching those end states. Terminal values are desired states of existence that we try to achieve. Preferences like duty, equality and wisdom and a compatible life are some of the terminal values. On the other hand, instrumental values are desirable modes of behaviour that help us reach terminal values. Being polite, courageous, logical, self controlled, ambitious etc., are some of the instrumental values.

Values can be categorized on the basis of the level at which they operate. These may be:

-- Personal values which are formed from past experience and interaction with others;

-- Cultural values which are the dominant beliefs held collectively society;

-- Organizational values which are at the heart of organizational culture in terms of shared assumptions, values and beliefs; and -- Professional values which are held by the members of an occupational group.

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Values may also be classified as the espoused values and enacted values. Espoused values represent the values that we want other to belief we avoid by. Values are socially desirable and so people create a positive public image by claiming to believe in values that others expect them to hold. Contrary to this, enacted values represent the values actually practiced. These values, in fact, guide our decisions and behaviours.

It may be recognized that values are functions of preferences. The most important early work in categorizing values was done by Allport and his associates. They identified six types of values. They are:

1. Theoretical-places high importance on the discovery of truth through a critical and rational approach.

2.Economic-emphasizes the usefulness and practicability.

3.Aesthetic-places the highest value on form and harmony.

4.Social-the highest value is given to the love of people.

5.Political-places emphasis on acquisition of power and influence.

6.Religious-concerned with the unity of experience and understanding of the cosmos as a whole.

Allport and his associates developed a questionnaire that describes a num¬ber of different situations and asked respondents to rank fixed set of answers. Based on the respondents’ replies, the researchers could rank individuals in terms of the importance they give to each of the six types of values. The result is a value system for a specific individual.

Values at Workplace

The values at work place may be defined as the perception of what is preferable from among the alternative modes of conduct or end states with respect to one’s work. Work values are expected to be an integral part a nation’s cultural system and hence we notice differences between the work values of American organizations and Japanese organizations. They represent the values internalized by members of the society through the process of socialization. In global organizations, now-a-days, it is becoming difficult to achieve congruence between the diverse values of employees and those of the organization.

While defining managerial values, Indian executives mentioned work ethics, commitment, self-motivation, integrity, hard work, character

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