Individual Behaviour - Values

                                               VALUES

Values are enduring beliefs 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 existence. Values lay the foundation for the understanding of attitudes and motivation because they influence our perceptions. Values generally influence attitudes and behavior.

Rokeach distinguished between two types of values: instrumental and terminal values.

• Instrumental values reflect the means to achieving goals which include ambition, honesty, self-sufficiency, intelligence, independence and courage.
• Terminal values represent the goals to be achieved or the end states of existence which include happiness, love, pleasure, self-respect, family security, and freedom.

Allport and his associates categorized values into six types:

• Theoretical: Interested in the discovery of truth through reasoning and systematic thinking
• Economic: Interest in usefulness and practicality including accumulation of wealth.
• Aesthetic: Interest in beauty, form and artistic harmony.
• Social: Interest in people and love as a human relationship
• Political: Interest in gaining power and influencing people
• Religious: Interest in unity and understanding the cosmos as a whole

Work values influence individuals’ perceptions of right and wrong on the job. Four work values are achievement, concern for others, honesty, and fairness.

Cultural differences and work related values - Hofstede’s Dimensions of cultural differences:

• Individualism: Employees prioritize themselves to their company and their work group
• Collectivism: Employees value their group decisions to their own decisions   
• Power distance: The degree to which a culture accepts unequal distribution of power
• Uncertainty avoidance: The degree to which a culture tolerates ambiguity and uncertainty
• Masculinity: The cultural orientation in which assertiveness and materialism are valued
• Femininity: The cultural orientation in which relationships and concern for others are valued
•  Time orientation: Defines whether a culture’s values are oriented toward the future (long-term orientation) or toward the past and present (short-term orientation)