Values Flashcards
values
- what’s desirable to you
- Goldsmith: “principles guiding behaviour”
- Deacon and Firebaugh: “meanings that indicate what is desirable and has worth to the manager”
values vs. attitudes
- Values:
- Relatively enduring
- Broad, abstract goals that lack a specific referent
- Attitudes:
- Learned, somewhat more likely to change
- Have specific referent (ex. Starbucks)
- Likes/dislikes
why are values important in management?
1) Give stability and continuity to management decisions
2) Help us to clarify and rank our goals
3) Value chains (families build shared commitment based on shared values guiding behaviours) -> Ex. Having team-building activities (?)
types of values
- absolute and relative
- intrinsic and extrinsic
- traditional, personal, and professional
- instrumental and terminal
absolute and relative values
- Absolute:
- Extreme, specific direction for action
- Independent of surroundings
- Not responsive to new situations
- Reduces alternatives
- Relative:
- General direction for action
- Interpreted in context of surrounding conditions
- Responsive to new situations
- Increases alternatives
intrinsic and extrinsic
- Intrinsic: internally motivated
- Extrinsic: externally motivated (through awards, money, etc.)
traditional, personal, and professional
- Traditional: dominant belief system in your culture (ex. what brides wear at weddings)
- Personal: your own personal values (ex. serving the community)
- Professional: ethical considerations (ex. honesty, integrity)
instrumental and terminal
- instrumental:
- modes of conduct, ways you behave
- terminal:
- end state; your goals in life
Example of absolute values
- Amish
- Their values give them specific ways to act (ex. Not using technology); they’re independent of surroundings (they’d act this way anywhere), they’re not responsive to new situations, and their values reduce their alternatives
- Ex. Value of forgiveness – some dude killed Amish people then committed suicide, and the Amish people forgave him and reached out to his wife and went to his funeral
Example of generational values
- Baby boomers, Millennials
- The generations aren’t always stable – their values can change over time
Example of value changes
Astronauts
value orientation
- person’s internally integrated system; expressed in part in the way he or she makes judgments
- Judgments are based on value meanings derived from his or her feelings (affective domain) and thinking (cognitive domain) about events, situations, groups of people, and things
behaviour
what people actually do -> actions
how can values change?
- Family or societal upset
- Technological, economic, and cultural changes
- Dramatic events such as war, famine, or disease
- Environmental threats
cultural values
Generally held conceptualizations of what is right or wrong in a culture or what is preferred (ex. Customs, manners, gestures)
socialization
- process why which children learn rules and values of a society -> Can happen through parents, media, etc.
- values are shared by most members of society and are passed on to younger members by senior members (ex. Parents passing on to kids)
- The values taught are also influenced by traditionalism and non-traditionalism
value chains
series of events or activities that take place in a specific take and space
difference in dominant work values between generations
- Boomers: enter work 1965-85
- Values: success, achievement-oriented, loyal to career, dislike authority, ambitious
- They desire accomplishment and recognition
- Gen-x: enter work 1985-00
- Values: work-life balance, team-oriented, dislikes rules, loyal to relationships
- They desire: friendship, happiness, pleasure
- Gen-y/millennials: enter work 2000+
- Values: confident, financial success, loyal to self and relationships, self-reliant but team oriented
- They desire: money, freedom, comfortable life
results of value-based cross-sectional survey conducted on high school seniors
- Least to most materialistic: boomers -> millennials -> gen-x
- Least to most work-centered: millennials -> gen-x -> boomers
- Baby Boomers had more intrinsic values at that time, whereas Gen-X and Millennials had more extrinsic values
- Millennials were more community service oriented
- Boomers were more civic-minded and more concerned for elders
how does the hierarchy of values differ from astronauts to normal people?
- Astronaut ranking:
- Achievement = 1
- Enjoyment = 2
- Self-direction = 3
- Benevolence = 4
- Typical people ranking:
- Achievement = 6
- Enjoyment = 7
- Self-direction = 2
- Benevolence = 1
summary of findings from astronaut study***
- Spaceflight had impact on values
- Values reflected individualism initially -> Achievement, enjoyment, self-direction
- Post-flight values reflected collectivism -> Universality, spirituality and power (social recognition)
astronaut gender differences: pre to post mission
- Achievement decreases more for women than for men
- Spirituality, universalism increases more for women than for men
- Overall pattern the same but more dramatic for women than men
