Introduction. Every human being carries within himself a more or less organised set of beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong, important or unimportant in life. These deep-rooted standards are known as values. In managerial context, values play a crucial role because they influence a person’s attitudes, decisions and behaviour at work. For example, if honesty and hard work are central values for an employee, he will behave very differently from someone who values only money or power. Therefore, a student of “Psychology for Managers” must clearly understand the meaning of values and the major sources from which values are formed.
Meaning of Values
In simple words, values are enduring beliefs about what is desirable or undesirable which guide an individual’s behaviour and evaluation of events.
Main points included in this meaning are:
- Values are deeply held beliefs regarding what is right–wrong, good–bad, just–unjust, moral–immoral, important–unimportant.
- They act as standards or criteria for choosing among alternatives and for judging the behaviour of self and others.
- Values are relatively stable and long-lasting; they do not change from day to day, though they may slowly develop over time.
- Values are more general and abstract than attitudes. One value (e.g., honesty) can influence many specific attitudes and behaviours.
Examples of common values are: honesty, truthfulness, respect for elders, obedience, hard work, discipline, independence, equality, justice, loyalty, achievement, material success, self-respect and so on.
Characteristics / Nature of Values
From the above, we can summarise important characteristics of values as follows:
- 1. Concept of the desirable: A value always refers to what a person considers desirable, not merely what is desired. A person may desire money, but may value honesty more than money.
- 2. Have both content and intensity: Content tells what is important (e.g., honesty, equality), while intensity shows how strongly the person holds that value.
- 3. Relatively stable but capable of change: Values are learned early and become rooted, yet they can slowly change through powerful experiences, education and social influences.
- 4. Provide standards for judgement: Values serve as yardsticks to judge people, actions, ideas and events. For example, an employee who values punctuality dislikes those who frequently come late.
- 5. Influence attitudes and behaviour: Values are more fundamental than attitudes; they shape attitudes, which in turn influence behaviour.
- 6. Organised into a value system: Individuals arrange their values in a hierarchy of importance. Some values (like family, religion) are more central, others are peripheral.
Importance of Values in Organisational Behaviour (Brief)
Values have great significance for managers because:
- They affect ethical behaviour – issues of corruption, fairness, honesty, use of authority.
- They influence attitudes towards work, discipline, quality, customer service, etc.
- They affect leadership style, decision-making and handling of conflicts.
- They determine how individuals react to organisational policies and change.
Sources of Values
Values are not inborn; they are acquired through a long process of socialisation and learning. Various agencies of society contribute to the formation of values. Important sources are discussed below.
1. Family and Home Environment
- The family is usually the earliest and most powerful source of values.
- Parents, grandparents and other elders constantly convey, through their speech, behaviour, rewards and punishments, what is acceptable and what is not.
- Values relating to truthfulness, respect for elders, obedience, helping others, religious practices, gender roles etc., are first learned at home.
- A loving and disciplined family tends to develop values such as cooperation, responsibility and self-control, whereas a broken or conflicting family may lead to confusion and negative values.
2. Religion and Moral Teachings
- Religious beliefs, scriptures and moral teachings of different faiths provide powerful standards of right and wrong.
- Concepts like honesty, charity, non-violence, tolerance, purity, forgiveness, service to others and respect for life are reinforced through:
- Religious stories and rituals,
- Visits to places of worship,
- Teachings of priests, gurus and spiritual leaders.
- Even persons who are not very religious are indirectly influenced by the moral climate and traditions of the religion into which they are born.
3. Culture and Traditions of Society
- Culture may be defined as the shared beliefs, customs, traditions and ways of life of a society.
- Every culture emphasises certain values as important – e.g., in Indian culture, values like respect for elders, hospitality, family loyalty, tolerance and spirituality are strongly emphasised.
- Festivals, rituals, folk tales, proverbs and community practices all act as vehicles for transmitting these cultural values from generation to generation.
- Thus, culture acts as a broad environment within which individual value systems are shaped.
4. Educational Institutions and Teachers
- Schools, colleges and universities are important sources of values beyond the family.
- Through curriculum, textbooks, classroom discipline, co-curricular activities and the personal example of teachers, students learn values like:
- Hard work and achievement,
- Teamwork and cooperation,
- Respect for rules and authority,
- Scientific outlook and rational thinking,
- Respect for diversity and democratic values.
- Teachers often become role models whose conduct strongly influences the moral development of students.
5. Peer Group and Social Interaction
- As children grow, the influence of peer group (friends and classmates) increases.
- To gain acceptance in the group, individuals often adopt the group’s norms and values regarding dress, language, leisure activities, attitudes towards study, authority, etc.
- In later life, colleagues at work, professional associations and trade unions act as peer groups which further influence values related to work culture, unionism, ethics and loyalty.
6. Work Organisation and Experience
- The organisation in which a person works is itself a very important source of values.
- Organisational culture, policies and practices repeatedly communicate what is rewarded and what is discouraged.
- If honesty, quality, customer orientation and teamwork are rewarded, employees will gradually internalise these as values.
- On the other hand, if only results are rewarded irrespective of means, employees may develop values that justify shortcuts and unethical behaviour.
- Supervisors and top managers, through their own conduct, serve as value models for subordinates.
7. Mass Media and Information Technology
- Modern electronic and print media – television, films, newspapers, magazines, internet, social media – are powerful and increasing sources of values, especially for the younger generation.
- Media continuously presents certain lifestyles, heroes and patterns of success which shape values related to:
- Materialism and consumerism,
- Body image and fashion,
- Gender roles and relationships,
- Political and social issues.
- Media can thus play both a positive role (spreading awareness about environment, human rights, national integration) and a negative role (glorifying violence, vulgarity and corruption) in value formation.
8. Laws, Political System and National Ideology
- The legal and political framework of a country also shapes values.
- Constitutional principles like justice, equality, liberty, secularism and democracy express the collective values of the nation.
- Through civic education, public debates and institutional practices, citizens develop values of respect for law, tolerance, national integration and social responsibility.
9. Personal Experiences and Self-Reflection
- Individual experiences, successes and failures, rewards and punishments play a major role in strengthening or weakening particular values.
- For example, a person who experiences the benefits of honesty and hard work is likely to deepen his belief in these values.
- Similarly, exposure to injustice, exploitation or discrimination may lead a person to value equality and social reform.
- Through self-reflection, reading, counselling and spiritual practices, people sometimes re-examine their earlier values and adopt more mature ones.
10. International Exposure and Global Culture (Brief)
- In the era of globalisation, many individuals come into contact with foreign cultures through travel, multinational companies, foreign education and global media.
- This exposure may modify existing values and introduce new values such as greater individualism, emphasis on human rights, environmental concern, professionalism and quality consciousness.
Managerial Implications of Understanding Sources of Values
For a manager, knowledge of how values are formed is extremely useful:
- It helps in understanding why employees from different backgrounds differ in work behaviour and expectations.
- It guides the design of training, orientation and ethical programmes to strengthen desired values like integrity, quality and customer orientation.
- It reminds managers that they themselves, as role models and decision-makers, are powerful sources of value transmission within the organisation.
Conclusion. To conclude, values are deep-seated, relatively permanent beliefs about what is desirable or undesirable, right or wrong, which guide human behaviour and evaluation. They form the foundation of attitudes and play a vital role in determining ethical conduct and organisational climate. Values are not inherited; they are acquired from multiple sources such as family, religion, culture and traditions, educational institutions, peer groups, work organisations, mass media, legal–political system, personal experiences and global exposure. A clear understanding of these sources enables managers to appreciate diversity in value orientations and to consciously build an organisational culture based on sound, positive values.