Current Event -Values, Attitudes & Perceptions - Essay Example

Current Event on Values, Attitudes & Perceptions The essay aims to select, read, and analyze a recent event or article gathered from magazines, journals, newspapers, or World Wide Web media on the topic covering values, attitudes and perceptions in organizational behavior. The discourse would include the following: (1) a brief reaction to the article/work of your choice that pertains to topics covered in this module; (2) an explanation on the reason why this article pertains to class by providing a summary of the article in terms of the importance of the topic versus our class learning.

Current Event on Values, Attitudes & Perceptions: The Definition of Workplace Values Summary The article entitled The Definition of Workplace Values written by Juarez on January 18, 2011 and published by Demand Media, Inc. aimed to determine the factors that define values, attitudes and perceptions in the workplace. As initially averred, these factors are ultimately grounded from cultural orientations that have been specifically examined by Dr. Geert Hofstede who founded five specific patterns in cultural dimensions, to wit: power distance, individualism, gender, avoidance and traditions.

Background The author based the contents of the article from Hofstede’s Cultures and Organizations that examined the five dimensions of culture, found to be instrumental in determining expressions and manifestations of values and attitudes in organizational setting. The author aimed to write a concise abstract of each dimension as applicable in the workplace. The study of organizational behavior manifests the inclusion of diversity in culture to provide a more comprehensive understanding of why and how people behave the way they do.

Findings The author clearly averred that “different cultures have different workplace values along five cultural dimensions, which help us define our own workplace values” (Juarez, 2011, par. 1). By describing the five dimensions in detail, readers are made more aware of the differentiating characteristics of each dimension to clearly recognize their specific applications diverse work settings that span comparative details across the globe. Reaction The contents in the article are significant as it provides crucial information on the role of culture in the formation of values, attitudes and perceptions that are exhibited by workers in the organization.

The information are most useful in global organizations that encourage diversity in culture as part of their policies and composition of human resources. The five dimensions of culture provide explanations on distinctive characteristics of people depending on their cultural orientation, and have been known to continually be manifested in organizational settings. By understanding these dimensions, decision makers could apply appropriate strategies to enhance motivation and solicit the appropriate behavior towards the accomplishment of organizational goals.

Juarez, A. (2011). The Definition of Workplace Values. Retrieved 11 May 2011. < http://www.ehow.com/info_7808221_definition-workplace-values.html>