Values Definition – What is Values?

Values defined in Organizational Behavior as the collective conceptions of what is

considered good, desirable, and proper or bad, undesirable, and improper in a
culture.
Some common business values are fairness, innovations and community
involvement.
According to M. Haralambos, “A value is a belief that something is good and
desirable”.
According to R.K. Mukherjee, “Values are socially approved desires and goals that
are internalized through the process of conditioning, learning or socialization and
that become subjective preferences, standards, and aspirations”.
According to Zaleznik and David, “Values are the ideas in the mind of men compared
to norms in that they specify how people should behave. Values also attach degrees
of goodness to activities and relationships

According to I. J. Lehner and N.J. Kube, “Values are an integral part of the personal
philosophy of life by which we generally mean the system of values by which we live.
The philosophy of life includes our aims, ideals, and manner of thinking and the
principles by which we guide our behavior”
According to T. W. Hippie, “Values are conscious or unconscious motivators and
justifiers of the actions and judgment”
A value is a shared idea about how something is ranked in terms of desirability,
worth or goodness. Sometimes, it has been interpreted to mean “such standards by
means of which the ends of action are selected”.
Sometimes, it has been interpreted to mean “such standards by means of which the
ends of action are selected”.
Thus, values are collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and
proper or bad, undesirable, and improper in a culture.
Familiar examples of values are wealth, loyalty, independence, equality, justice,
fraternity and friendliness.
Familiar examples of values are wealth, loyalty, independence, equality, justice,
fraternity and friendliness. These are generalized ends consciously pursued by or
held up to individuals as being worthwhile in them.
It is not easy to clarify the fundamental values of a given society because of their
sheer breadth.

Characteristics of Value
The characteristics of values are:
 These are extremely practical, and valuation requires not just techniques but
also an understanding of the strategic context.
 These can provide standards of competence and morality.
 These can go beyond specific situations or persons.
 Personal values can be influenced by culture, tradition, and a combination of
internal and external factors.
 These are relatively permanent.
 These are more central to the core of a person.
 Most of our core values are learned early in life from family, friends,
neighborhood school, the mass print, visual media and other sources within
the society.
 Values are loaded with effective thoughts about ideas, objects, behavior, etc.
 They contain a judgmental element in that they carry an individual’s ideas as
to what is right, good, or desirable.
 Values can differ from culture to culture and even person to person.
 Values play a significant role in the integration and fulfillment of man’s basic
impulses and desire stably and consistently appropriate for his living.
 They are generic experiences in social action made up of both individual and
social responses and attitudes.
 They build up societies, integrate social relations.
 They mold the ideal dimensions of personality and depth of culture.
 They influence people’s behavior and serve as criteria for evaluating the
actions of others.
 They have a great role to play in the conduct of social life. They help in
creating norms to guide day-to-day behavior.
Types of Values
The values that are important to people tend to affect the types of decisions they
make, how they perceive their environment, and their actual behaviors.
There are two types of values;
1. Terminal Values.
2. Instrumental Values.

Importance of Values
Values are the enduring beliefs that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of
existence is personally or socially preferable.
These are more difficult to change or alter.
As ethical conduct receives more visibility in the workplace, the importance of values
is increased as a topic of discussion in management.
Values are general principles to regulate our day-to-day behavior. They not only give
direction to our behavior but are also ideals and objectives in themselves.
They are the expression of the ultimate ends, goals or purposes of social action.
Our values are the basis of our judgments about what is desirable, beautiful, proper,
correct, important, worthwhile and good as well as what is undesirable, ugly,
incorrect, improper and bad.
Pioneer sociologist Durkheim emphasized the importance of values (though he used
the term ‘morals’) in controlling disruptive individual passions.
He also stressed that values enable individuals to feel that they are part of something
bigger than themselves.
E. Shils also makes the same point and calls ‘the central value system,’ (the main
values of society) are seen as essential in creating conformity and order.
Indian sociologist R.K. Mukherjee writes: “By their nature, all human relations and
behavior are embedded in values.
 Value is the foundation for understanding the level of motivation.
 It influences our perception.
  Value helps to understand what ought to be or what ought not to be.
 It contains interpretations of right or wrong.
 These influence attitudes and behavior.
 It implies that certain behaviors on outcomes are preferred over others.
 These allow the members of an organization to interact harmoniously. These
make it easier to reach goals that would be impossible to achieve individually.
 These are goals set for achievements, and they motivate, define and color all
our activities cognitive, affective add connective.
 They are the guideposts of our lives, and they direct us to who we want to be.
 Values and morals can not only guide but inspire and motivate a person, give
energy and a zest for living and for doing something meaningful.

Sources of Values
Sources of values are;
 Family: Family is a great source of values. A child leams his first value from his
family.
 Friends & peers: Friends and peers play a vital role in achieving values.
 Community or society: As a part of society, a person leams values from
society or different groups of society.
 School: As a learner, school and teachers also play a very important role in
introducing values.
 Media: Media such as – Print media, Electronic media also play the role of
increasing values in the mind of people.
 Relatives: Relative also helps to create values in the minds of people.
 Organization: Different organizations and institutions also play a vital role in
creating value.
 Religion.
 History.
 Books.
 Others.

Conclusion
Values help to guide our behavior. It decides what we think as for right, wrong, good,
or unjust.
Values are more or less permanent in nature. They represent a single belief that,
guides actions and judgment across objects and situations. They derived from social
and cultural mores.

Difference between Values and Attitudes

Values are about how we have learned to think about how things ought to be, or
people ought to behave, especially in terms of qualities such as honesty, integrity,
openness, etc.