Organizational Behavior:

Values
Values
• Values represent basic convictions 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 of existence.”
• They are the judgmental element of an individual and contains both content and
intensity attribute.
• Content Attribute says a mode of conduct or end state of existence is important
• Intensity Attribute specifies how important it is.

• Ranking of Individual’s values in terms of their intensity gives us theirs's value

system
Importance of Values
• Values lay the foundation for the understanding attitudes and motivation and
how they influence our perception.

• We enter an organization with preconceived notions of what “ought” and “ought

not” to be.
• While values can sometimes augment decision making, at times they can cloud
objectivity and rationality.
Terminal versus Instrumental ValuesMilton Rokeach’s Argument

Terminal Values Instrumental Values

• Desirable end state • Preferable modes of behavior
• Goals a person would like to achieve • Its is a means to achieve terminal
during his or her lifetime values
• E.G: Prosperity and economic success, • E.G: Autonomy and self-reliance,
Freedom, Health and well-being, Personal discipline, kindness, Goal-
World peace, Meaning in life orientation.

A balance between the two is important as is an understanding of how to strike a

balance
Generational Values
• The workforce in USA can be divided into different cohorts.
• These cohort are helpful in describing general trends but not the individual
beliefs

Cohort Entered the Workforce Approx Current age Dominant Work Values
Boomers 1965-1985 50s to 70s Success, Achievement ,Ambition, Dislike
of authority, Loyalty to career
Xers 1985-2000 Mid 30s to 50s Work life balance, Team oriented, Dislike
to rules, Loyalty to Relationship
Millennials 2000 to present Below Mid 30s Confident, Financial Success, Self-reliant
but team oriented, loyalty to self and
relationship
Cheating Personality
• A person with tendency to cheat will have High Narcissism, Low
Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, High Competitiveness
• A person is more likely to cheat when it is :
• Easier to cheat
• Great pressure to cheat
• Clear standard is lacking or not reinforced

• Prevention:
• Recognizing situations that are more likely to provoke pressures to cheat
• If one is high on traits of cheating, then avoid situations that will lead to cheating
Person- Job Fit - John Holland’s Theory
• It identifies 6 personality types and proposed that fit between personality type
and occupational environment determines satisfaction and turnover.
Type Personality Characteristic Occupation
Realistic Shy, genuine, persistent, stable, Mechanic, Drill press operator,
Prefers physical activities that require skill, conforming, practical farmer, assembly line worker
strength and coordination
Investigative Analytical, original, curious, Biologist, economist, mathematician,
Prefers activities that requires thinking, organizing independent new reporter
and understanding
Social Sociable, friendly, cooperative, Social Worker, teacher, counsellor
Prefers activities that involve helping and understanding,
developing others
Conventional Conforming, efficient, practical, Accountant, corporate manager, bank
Prefers rule-regulated, orderly, and unambiguous unimaginative, inflexible teller, file clerk
activities
Enterprising Self-confident, ambitious, energetic, Lawyer, real estate agent, public
Prefers verbal activities in which there are domineering relations specialist, small business
opportunities to influence other and attain power manager
Artistic Imaginative, disorderly, idealistic, Painter, musician, writer,
Prefers ambiguous and unsystematic activities emotional, impractical
that allows creative expression
Person- Organization Fit
• People are attracted to and selected by organizations that match their values, and
they leave organizations that are not compatible with their personalities
• Using the Big Five terminology, it is expected that
• people high on extraversion fit well with aggressive and team-oriented cultures
• people high on agreeableness match up better with a supportive organizational climate than
one focused on aggressiveness
• people high on openness to experience fit better in organizations that emphasize innovation
rather than standardization
International Hofstede’s Framework
• Power distance describes the degree to which people in a country accept that power in
institutions and organizations is distributed unequally. A high rating on power distance means
that large inequalities of power and wealth exist and are tolerated in the culture, as in a class or
caste system that discourages upward mobility. A low power distance rating characterizes
societies that stress equality and opportunity.

• Individualism Vs Collectivism
• Individualism is the degree to which people prefer to act as individuals rather than as
members of groups and believe in individual rights above all else.
• Collectivism emphasizes a tight social framework in which people expect others in groups of
which they are a part to look after them and protect them.
International Hofstede’s Framework
• Masculinity versus femininity: Degree to which the culture favors traditional
masculinity roles such as achievement, power, and control, as opposed to viewing men
and women as equals. High Masculinity will have separate men and women role where
as High Femininity will see less differentiation in separation on roles

• Uncertainty avoidance. The degree to which people in a country prefer structured

over unstructured situations defines their uncertainty avoidance
• In cultures that score high on uncertainty avoidance, people have an increased level of anxiety about
uncertainty and ambiguity and use laws and controls to reduce uncertainty.
• People in cultures low on uncertainty avoidance are more accepting of ambiguity, are less rule oriented,
take more risks, and more readily accept change.

• Long-term versus short-term orientation

• People in a culture with long-term orientation look to the future and value thrift,
persistence, and tradition.
• In a short-term orientation , people value the here and now; they accept change
more readily and don’t see commitments as impediments to change.
International GLOBE Framework
• GLOBE : Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness
• Compiled data from 825 organization and 62 countries

• 9 dimensions we identified on which national cultures differs

• Few of these dimensions are:

• Power Distance
• Individualism vs Collectivism
• Uncertainty Avoidance
• Gender Differentiation
• Long Term vs Short term Orientation
• Humane Orientation
• Performance Orientation