Managers' values as a determinant of non-economic activities in enterprises
of the building industry.
The main purpose of this dissertation was to analyze and evaluate the role of identified
terminal and instrumental values in undertaking non-economic activities by an enterprise. In
order to achieve this purpose partial epistemological and empirical objectives were adopted.
The epistemological objectives comprise the presentation and a critical analysis of the
theoretical issues related to:
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historical approach to the notion of values and their role in economic activity,
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ideas based on non-economic activities in business activity with special regard to
building quality of life,
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non-economic objectives in the theories of enterprise,
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values and their relationships with the organizational culture of an enterprise.
The partial empirical objectives comprise:
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identification of non-economic objectives,
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identification of values approved of by managers,
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research into satisfaction with the working life as a component of the quality of
life,
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description of the organizational culture in the enterprises covered by research
with comments on the connections with non-economic activities.
With regard to the material scope, the research covers values approved of by the
highest ranking personnel, the relationships between the realization of the non-economic
objectives and satisfaction with the working life which as a component of the quality of life is
an important element of Sustainable Development and the relationships between the
organizational culture of enterprises and the performance of non-economic activities. The
subject of the research are top executives in the construction industry. Due to the size of this
sector, the survey questionnaires were sent to 300 biggest domestic customers of one supplier
which according to the European Classification of Activities deals in wholesale of wood and
construction materials. Purposive sampling was applied. One hundred persons agreed to take
part in the study, most of whom are owners or top managers of small and middle enterprises,
which allowed to study the sphere of non-economic activities in small and middle enterprises
in the construction industry sector. 33 per cent of all survey questionnaires sent to enterprises
were returned.
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Not all of us represent the same level of social sensitivity. For this reason, for the purpose of
this dissertation the surveyed enterprises were divided into three groups (depending on the
realized objectives):
– DU sample realizes non-economic objectives and reports such activities in
widely available materials (24 enterprises),
– DN sample realizes non-economic objectives, but they do it incognito
(38 enterprises),
– ND sample realizes only economic objectives in their business activity
(16 enterprises).
The research covers the years 2010 – 2011 and 2013.
The spatial scope of the research is determined by the entities registered and operating within
the territory of the Republic of Poland. The managers who participated in the study most often
come from enterprises located in Wielkopolskie Province – 24%, Małopolskie Province –
16%, Świętokrzyskie Province – 9%, Dolnośląskie Province – 7% and Podkarpackie Province
– 7%.
On the basis of studied specialist literature, the following primary hypothesis has been
formulated in this dissertation - the undertaking of non-economic activities by enterprises is
determined to varying degrees by the system of values declared by the managers. From the
primary hypothesis, three secondary hypotheses have been constructed:
H 1 – the influence the values declared by managers have on undertaking noneconomic
activities varies,
H 2 – there is a connection between the undertaking of non-economic activities and
the
satisfaction from work, and consequently the managers’ quality of life,
H 3 – some types of organizational culture create particularly favorable conditions for
undertaking non-economic activities.
The basis for the research results presented in this dissertation are secondary source
materials and own research. Literature research included Polish and foreign literature on
values, organizational culture, theories of enterprises, management and the issues related to
undertaking non-economic activities by enterprises. The analysis of internal documents of
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surveyed enterprises, a questionnaire method, interviews and a statistical method with the use
of parametric tests: ANOVA, Cramer – von Mises, Watson and Anderson-Darling for many
independent groups were used in the empirical research.
To construct the survey questionnaire, three tools were used. The Rokeach Value
Survey (RVS) was used to investigate values and the Hoffman Vocational Values Scale
(HVVS), which is based on the hierarchy of needs by A. Maslow, to investigate job
satisfaction. The organizational culture was investigated using the Organizational Culture
Assessment Instrument (OCAI) by K. Cameron and R. Quinn.
The opinions of entrepreneurs-founders, owners and the highest rank managers of the
surveyed enterprises on the analyzed issue were collected by means of survey questionnaires,
and then using statistical methods, an analysis of the collected empirical material was
conducted in Excel and Gretl packages. The basic measures of descriptive statistics (mode,
median, mean, standard deviation, skewness and curtosis) and parametric tests were used.
The results of the carried out analysis allow to formulate the following conclusions:
Conclusion 1
Managers in enterprises which realize non-economic objectives have different values
than those who are profit-oriented. The most important values for them are: wisdom, freedom
and happiness whereas the profit-oriented group indicated wisdom, self-respect and a
comfortable life. On the significance level, 0.2 statistically significant differences were found
between the samples divided according to realized objectives with regard to such values as
freedom and social recognition. Freedom is valued more highly by the managers who realize
non-economic objectives.
As far as instrumental values are concerned, managers from enterprises which realize
non-economic objectives declare politeness and ambitions as the most important ones.
Independence understood as lack of subordination and self-sufficiency is the most important
value for profit-oriented managers. What needs to be mentioned in this summary of the
investigation into declared values is the fact that 40% of the surveyed enterprises managed by
women do not undertake non-economic activities. The noticeable regularities prove that the
values declared by the managing personnel of enterprises do have an impact on the realization
of non-economic objectives. The carried out analyses lead to a conclusion that the key value
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which determines whether a non-economic activity is undertaken or not is the desire to have a
comfortable and prosperous life. The high-ranking happiness seems to prove that managers
see a close relationship between the quality of their life and the elimination of social
inequalities in their nearest environment.
The research hypothesis put forward in this dissertation – the undertaking of noneconomic activities by enterprises is determined to varying degrees by the system of values
declared by the managers – has been positively verified.
Conclusion 2
Enterprise management is inextricably linked with the fulfilment of non-economic
objectives because managers are responsible not only for the financial result of the enterprise
and successful projects, but also for maintaining the company’s prestige and reputation, for
the employees, the local community and natural environment. The analysis of the issue
presented in this dissertation shows that working in an enterprise which realizes noneconomic objectives often or very often enables individuals to live according to their own
values. Lack of such possibility sometimes or often determines the quality of life.
The analysis of the relationship between the possibility of achieving non-economic
objectives at workplace and the subjective perception of the quality of life showed that the
key factor enhancing satisfaction is the possibility of satisfying the higher level needs at
workplace. The research proves that not all managers fulfil the non-economic objectives
openly, and those who do it incognito enjoy their lives even more. It probably results from the
fact that they do not undertake such activities for material reasons, but they are driven by
personal incentives thanks to which they satisfy their higher level needs, mainly personal
fulfilment, recognition and respect from persons or communities that receive the donation.
Obtained data show that the managers who have the possibility for fulfilment of noneconomic objectives which are consistent with their own values at workplace often or very
often feel that they are developing as a human being doing their present jobs, often or very
often perceive their jobs as interesting and inspiring. The job is often a source of creative
actions, enhances the creativity and allows to make the world a better place to live. The
obtained results confirm the ideas presented in literature that satisfaction from working life is
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greater if while performing the work, one can express his personality and character. Greater
commitment is generated from a job in which one can be independent, free and creative.
The formulated hypothesis that there is a relationship between the non-economic
activities and satisfaction from work, and consequently the managers’ quality of life has been
positively verified.
Conclusion 3
An investigation into the relationships between the declared values and the
organizational culture shows that the organizational culture is different in different enterprises
depending on the type of realized objectives. Enterprises that achieve non-economic
objectives and report them are hierarchy and clan oriented organizations, those which fulfil
the objectives incognito are hierarchy oriented whereas those which aim at gaining profits are
market and hierarchy oriented. The research confirms that some types of organizational
structure are particularly favorable to undertaking non-economic activities. It must be added,
however, that according to the assumptions presented in literature, the key role in determining
the enterprise objectives is played by persons who are at the top of the organizational
hierarchy. Therefore, it is the hierarchy that plays a decisive role in setting non-economic
objectives. Traits of market orientation in an organizational culture seem to prevent any noneconomic activities from being undertaken.
Conclusion 4
The obtained result confirms that it is possible to achieve a bundle of objectives shared
by a wide groups of stakeholders in construction companies. Contrary to the media reports,
socially responsible activities are not the exclusive domain of big and rich enterprises with a
well-known brand name. Small and middle enterprises from the construction sector can also
achieve non-economic objectives as far as their financial possibilities and the higher level
needs of the managing personnel allow them. It may mean that what we can observe is an
infection effect of other sectors on the construction branch and that although often regarded as
insensitive to social needs, the construction sector companies are aware of the necessity to
support under-financed state institutions, and the more entrepreneurs participate in such
activities, the higher the value of the whole undertaking will be.
Key words: values, organizational culture, non-economic activities, building industry
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