The Role of Individual Values in an Organization - Coursework Example

THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL VALUES IN AN ORGANIZATION By Student’s Name Course Title Professor’s Name City and State Date The Role of Individual Values in an Organization Evolution tells us that man started forming groups for purposes of achieving that which they could not on their own. Man would stay in groups for reasons such as security and food. These were the primal organizations that man learnt to rely on at the evolutionary stage. This type of organization evolved as man evolved but the constituents of a stable organization remained intact. For the people to get food they needed to hung together and work hard in maintaining the well-being of the group members. They could also not achieve this simple goal by being in constant conflict with each other. The same qualities are what make or break today’s organizations. From the etiological perspective, organization is a set of things in order. If there is no order, there is not organization. Each constituent in the organization plays a role. The entire body, organization, would not be what it is without the members. The modes of conduct of each individual will succeed either in failing or developing the organization (Gillilandm Steiner & Skarlicki 2003, p.7). All the successful organizations are asked how they have managed to stay active for a given period, they would always reply that the support given at the individual level sustained them (Daft 2006, p.387). The values that each organization has determines the stability of the organization. This paper discusses the role that values play in an organization and how it determines organizational behaviour. Values are the elements that hold firm the organization at a level basis. By definition, they are basic convictions that define the specific modes of conduct or end-state of existence that one would socially or personally perceive as more preferable than the opposite mode of conduct. From this explanation, values have the option of being defined socially or personally as either good or bad, or more preferable to another. To one, good is more preferable to bad. To other people, they believe that the situation determines whether a particular mode of conduct is more preferable or not. These simple understanding of the definition of values can be related to one’s working place (Sule 2015, n.p). The type and place of work determine the type of value that one would have to implement o realize positive results. The organization also looks at the type of person and the values that they cherish before selecting them. These people are the ones that facilitate the values the organization stands by in its fulfilment of its duties. While there are some scientifically proven methods of evaluating the values that one prefers or is attuned to, not all of them are relevant to job performance. For instance, the Myers Briggs indicator is universally recognized but it is not related to job performance. In the same way that there are different lines of trade, there are a different set of objectives that individuals and organizations possess (Gillilandm Steiner & Skarlicki 2003, p.7). It is, however, important to point out that there are some overlapping values that are applicable is more than one organization or workplace. Values can be classified based on various parameters. As seen previously, they can be distinguished by the society or an individual as either positive or negative. On the other hand, the universally recognised way of classifying values is two ways: terminal values and instrumental values. Terminal values are the desired states that one hopes to achieve later on in the future. Different people have different states that they desire to achieve later on in their lives. Someone might want to one defined by wisdom, which demonstrates a state of maturity in terms of life and all matters surrounding it. Another would want to be saved, by attaining eternal life. Another might desire to achieve inner peace and harmony, where they are in complete control of their inner states. On the other hand, instrumental values are the daily commitments that one makes to achieve the terminal value. These include hard work, punctuality, cheerfulness, cleanliness, independence, obedience, humility and self-control. These values are the daily constructs of the future endeavour that one wants to become. Each of these values requires the other. The terminal value requires the instrumental value. There cannot be a desired destination without the journey. For this reason, the terminal is non-existent without the instrumental and the instrumental is worthless without the terminal. Similarly, the organization formulate missions and vision. The mission dictates the values that is has for its customers and workers while the vision is the terminal value it strives to achieve. The mutual reliance of these values shows the important contribution of individuals in organizational achievement. Values determines the degree of diversity of organizations (Uchenna 2015, n.p). To achieve this goal, they develop the kind of values that they intend to be alluded to the organization. The diversity will measure some of the strengths and weaknesses and in essence, evaluate the strength of the organization, even before it starts operating (Cohen & Liu 2011, p.275). In assessing the diversity of individuals, one looks at both the surface and deep level diversity. The clean interviewee will display attempts to be presentable before the interviewer. The person might then use appropriate etiquette to answer all the questions asked. However, the surface level might not be the correct match of the individual at the deep level. It is the responsibility of the organization to search for individuals that stand for the same ideals that they believe in for it to sustain itself and realise significant progress. For this reason, surveys and tests might be conducted to better understand the type of candidate showing interest in the organization. Some aspects to look at are the biographical perspective, attitude and abilities of the person. Biographically, one might look at the gender, race, ethnic or cultural backing, gender identity, tenure and even religion (White 2005, p. 229). When making an assessment of this aspect, one should exercise caution as it might result in unforeseen lawsuits. The other aspect to look at is the ability of the candidate. Abilities can either be intellectual or physical. It is the basis for the binary types of jobs, either involving more mental work than physical or the reverse. At the same time, attitude is one of the most pivotal of aspects to evaluate when it comes to investigating one’s core values (Whiteley &Whiteley 2007, p.213). A positive mental attitude is often more pro-active and determined to succeed than a negative-mental attitude. By assessing the attitude, ability and diversity at the biographical level, one can then successfully predict the behaviour of the individual and the value that they will add to the organization. There are also contributors to individual development of values. For one to develop a particular value, it starts at the basic definition and classification of value. One needs to have a terminal value. It will determine the behaviour of the person at every stage of the organization’s development. However, before one develops his or her values, one has to perform a series of self-evaluation. One must know oneself before they establish any sense of growth. For instance, one should understand the weaknesses that drag the work force or department. One should then strive to become better in that particular area while at the same time fine tuning ones strengths. Evaluation can be done at a personal level or via the help of fellow workers. In the field of academia, one is able to understand the areas that they might not have covered sufficiently or ineptly through peer reviews. Similarly, in organizations, there can be peer reviews, where fellow colleagues will give one an assessment of their qualities. Since it is the organization that assesses itself, it is bound to discover its weak points and address them accordingly. The other contributor to the growth of organization values is the reaction. Positive reaction of superiors to those they are responsible for will make department better. Some people might not have a high sense of self-esteem. This area might be their weakness despite their other strong suits. However, by crushing their self-esteem, the other qualities are also watered down. The development of individuals by positive reinforcement yields better results than negative reactions. However, there are some aspects where negative reactions elicit significant results. Such is seen in individuals who are proactive, despite the challenges they might face. These two aspects shows the relevance of understanding oneself, one’s strengths, weaknesses and addressing them. This step will register significant leaps in organization behaviour, growth and development. The values that individuals have in an organization directs the degree of motivation, decisions and actions of workers (Priadko 2015, p.135). For instance, one might have the strong desire to have a life of comfort by the age of 40. This type of person will work extra hard, chip in extra hours and even go out of his way to do an additional activity to become better. If this behaviour continues, one is destined to achieve this goal soon, and around the estimated time one might have given that particular target. How badly one wants a particular state (terminal value) determines the daily activities of the person (instrumental values). The values that one has also predetermines the kind of personality the person possesses. It can contribute to the making or breaking of the organization, through the person’s behaviour in relation to the mission of the organization. In all organizations, there are four types of persons. The one that neglects is the passive and uncaring who does not have any interests in the company’s associative factors of production. Such people let the factors that increase the risk to increase to a point that put the company in jeopardy. The other personality is the exit-type of person who wants nothing to do with the company. They hardly contribute to the production. The other type is the loyal person. They will conform with whichever rule that the leaders make without any contributions. Some might detect a flaw in the strategy formulated by the leader but would never point it out. Although they are contributing to the achievement of the mission of the organization, they do so in a redundant fashion. As time moves, ideas are supposed to revolutionize a particular activity. Technology and innovation in all departments is vital to match the pace with which competing organizations might be changing their strategies. If one were to have such a labour force, there would be no progress nor diversity in the achievement of a particular duty. The last people are those that are pro-active in voicing their opinions. They have the interests of the organization at hand. They understand the vision and are geared to come up with strategies to achieve it in various ways. They are continuously filled up with creative ideas to change the ways in which the routine duties are carried out. They have both the client’s and the organization’s interests at heart. All organizations look forward to having this type of employees (Allen 2015, p. 197). More often than not, these people end holding leadership positions in the organizations. To have a team of such employees would make ease the not only intensify production process and make it attain milestones in the achievement of its vision. In conclusion, the people who make an organization are the very individuals that interact with it. It is imperative that organizations know the type of values that it looks for in applicants. The values that they possess delineates the fuel with which the organization would stand even in times of difficulties. An enduring spirit that reverberates in an organization empowers both new and existing workers to weather the hard times if might be facing (Voegtlin, Boehm & Bruch 2015, p.360). It is also important to ensure job satisfaction and growth in each individual. By identifying the weaknesses the person is able to work on them, maybe even attend a few classes to better himself in that field. This approach will strengthen the relationship that one has with the organization and foster job satisfaction among the workers. In summary, the organizations should attract, select, retain and develop the kind of people with values streamlined with those of the organization. This is the only avenue with which it will make significant leaps in the line of business an organization might be involved in. References Allen, M, 2015, Using Communication to Create Environments That Empower Employees. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance, pp.189-229. Cohen, A &Liu, Y, 2011, Relationships between in-role performance and individual values, commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior among Israeli teachers, International Journal of Psychology, vol. 46, no. 4, pp.271-287. Daft, R, L,2006, Organization theory and design, Mason, OH, Thompson-South Western. Gilliland, S, Steiner, D & Skarlicki, D, 2003, Emerging perspectives on values in organizations, Greenwich, Conn, Information Age Pub. Pp 7 Priadko, K, V, 2015, The relationship between motivational factors of employment and value orientations of employees of the organization, Perspectives of Science and Education, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 132-139. Sule, B, 2015, Effects of Competency Based Management Approaches on Employee Performance in UNHCR Kenya. [online] USIU- Africa. Available at: http://erepo.usiu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/627 [Accessed 24 Aug. 2015]. Voegtlin, C, Boehm, S & Bruch, H, 2015, How to empower employees: using training to enhance work units’ collective empowerment, Int J of Manpower, vol. 36 no. 3, pp.354-373. White, C, 2005,The relationship between cultural values and individual work values in the hospitality industry, International Journal of Tourism Research, vol. 7 no. 4-5, pp.221-229. Whiteley, M, & Whiteley, J, 2007, Core values and organizational change: theory and practice. Hackensack, NJ [u.a.], World Scientific. P213. Uchenna, C, 2015, Psychological contract experience of survivor first-line managers during organisational downsizing: the mediating influence of culture in Nigeria, University of Bedfordshire. [online] Available at: http://uobrep.openrepository.com/uobrep/handle/10547/565793 [Accessed 24 Aug. 2015]. Read More