PERSONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL
VALUES
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2010 Modified by Jackie Kroening 2011

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Values are the worth or importance attached to different factors in one’s life.
Values are ideals that shape and give significance to our lives. They are reflected through the priorities that we choose, and the decisions we make and actions we take.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Corporate culture is a system of shared values throughout any given organization.
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Differences in values may give rise to conflicts between:
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Organization and employees.
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Management and employees
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Employees and employees
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Attitudes are affected by values.
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Values may be tangible or intangible.
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Values and their priority are an important part of everyone’s lives and organizations.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Personal values are 40 to 50 percent genetically determined and other values are formed in early childhood and are affected strongly by the values of parents and the child’s environment.
Other important factors are religion, political views, parents, socioeconomic class, exposure to education, television, the Internet, and other mass media.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Values are relatively stable and enduring.
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If we know an individual’s values, we are better able to predict a behavior in a particular situation.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed
 Control/Order/Discipline
 Care/Nurture

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Daniel Yankelovich - Value patterns that have emerged since the early
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1970s:
The nature of a person’s paid job is now more significant.
Leisure time is more valued.
Americans now insist much more strongly that jobs become less impersonal, and more human and humane.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

Where Values Come From
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed
Social Factors of a Generation

Where Values Come From
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Values can be placed in two categories.
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Terminal values (goal values) that maintain a high priority throughout one’s life.
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Instrumental values (means values) that reflect the ways one prefers to behave.
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Skills – learning and experiences necessary to integrate means values
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

Examples of
Terminal and
Instrumental
Values
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Value systems are frameworks
(values clusters) people use to develop beliefs about themselves, others, and how they should be treated. (hierarchy based on a ranking of an individual’s values)
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Eduard Spranger defined six types of people based on their types of value systems.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

Value Systems
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Spranger’s six value systems:
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Theoretical person - Individual seeks to discover truth.
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Economic person - Perceives useful things in life as most important.
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Aesthetic person - Considers beauty, form, and harmony as most important.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

Value Systems
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Spranger’s six value systems (cont.):
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Social person - Values and loves other people.
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Political animal - Is motivated by power; their values center on influence, fame, and power.
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Religious person - Values unity highly, and tries to understand the universe as a whole and relate to it meaningfully.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

Value Systems
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Graves’s seven value levels:
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Reaction
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Tribalism
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Egocentrism
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Conformity
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Achievement
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Social orientation
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Existentialism
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

Value Systems
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Another way to see values systems
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Pragmatism - The belief in the practicality of an action, rather than in strong belief in the idea behind that action.
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Humanism - A belief in the worth and dignity of all people.
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Idealism - The belief in the importance of ideas and thoughts.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Integrity is defined as soundness of moral character . (Morals are means value clusters)
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Lately, the word has received a new emphasis —especially as an element of trust.
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According to Stephen Covey, people have developed a focus on personality rather than on character.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Personality ethic: Emphasis is placed on being likable, making sure that you are received well, and maintaining a positive mental attitude.
Character ethic: Emphasis is placed on principles, beliefs, and strong values rather than upon the use of various surface techniques.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Values conflicts occur when one set of values clashes with another, and a decision has to be made.
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Interpersonal values conflicts
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Occur when people from differing backgrounds having different value systems have to work together.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Personal versus group values
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Often involve a clash between the individual and the group.
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Internal values conflicts
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Occur when people themselves want two different outcomes that contradict each other.
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Could lead to cognitive dissonance, the emotional state that results from acting in ways that contradict one’s beliefs or other actions.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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When you experience cognitive dissonance, you might use any of these methods to make them appear more consistent and to lessen the stress caused:
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You can change your original beliefs.
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You can use denial.
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You can get into self-justification.
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You can change your own behavior.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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People from other cultures define your values by your behavior.
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Areas of difference in values and in perception of the values of others:
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Views of power and authority.
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Views of the individual versus the group.
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Tolerance for uncertainty.
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The value of punctuality.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Redefining your personal values: The Rath test:
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Did I choose this value freely, with no outside pressure?
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Did I choose this value from several alternatives?
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Did I consider the consequences of my choice?
Do I like and respect this value?
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Will I defend this value publicly?
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Will I base my behavior on this value?
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Do I find this value persistent throughout my life?
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

Strategies for Success
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Building a character ethic for integrity:
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Focus
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Respect
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Responsibility
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Pride
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Fairness and equity
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Trust and being trusted
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed

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Corporate culture is a system of shared values throughout any organization.
Attitudes are often affected by values.
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Values systems are frameworks people use in developing beliefs about themselves, others, and how they should be treated.
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Integrity, or soundness of moral character, is an important part of any value system.
Parts taken from Human Relations 4ed