Individual and Group Values - Case Study Example

Organisational Behavior: Individual and Group Values Name Institution Name Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Values 4 Personal values 5 Cultural values 6 Organisational Values 7 Terminal Values 7 Instrumental Values 8 Generational Workplace Values 8 Veterans 8 Baby boomers 9 Generation X 9 Generation Y/Millennial 10 Personal Reflection 10 References 12 Introduction Organisational behaviour is regarded as the study of the way people interact within groups particularly in organisational settings; it is the interface between the organisation and human behaviour, as well as the organisation itself. Organisational behaviour is a study that is focused on improving or creating more efficient business organisations (Chance, 2013). Human behaviour is largely determined by the values that he or she holds. Values are those long-lasting, stable and evaluative beliefs that are responsible for guiding human preferences, decisions and actions. For instance, they are that ones that help human beings define what is right or wrong and differentiate between good and bad. Values are also regarded as the source of human attitudes, motivations and perceptions. It has been established that, values are mainly driven from ones mindset, family, religious beliefs, peers and friends, education, life experiences and above all, individual’s socialisation and conditioning. This paper in this section discusses the differences in individual and group values and how they affect individual and organisational behaviour. Furthermore, the section will give reasons as to why knowledge about values can be applied in organisations. Values Values can be defined as the long-lasting, evaluative, and stable beliefs that guide human preferences, actions and decisions. It is a broad preference that determines the appropriate courses action or outcomes (Golembiewski, 2001). Values also reflect ones sense of right and wrong or what ought to be. For example, people should be treated with dignity, and equal rights for all, are some basic values that are held by human beings. Types of values and how they influence individual and organisational behaviour There are different types of values including: Personal values These are values held within an individual and they exist in relation to cultural values which might either be in agreement with or divergent from the societal prevailing norms (French, 2011). In a cultural setting there exists a social system that share a set of standard values; it is through these values that permit personal or societal social expectations together with the collective understanding of the good, constructive, and the beautiful (Jones, 2008). It has been established that without normative personal values, the cultural references from which individual values are measure would not be there thus cultural identity would disintegrate (Sankar, 2004). From the above explanation, it is important to note that personal values are ethics, guiding principles, virtues, ideals and/or personal moral compass which directs his/her way of life (Forshaw et al., 2010). Personal values are important to an individual as they provide inner happiness, increase ones confidence, empowers him/her to make better decisions, it helps in creating and fulfilling relationships, helps one to have clearer direction, and more importantly gives one a greater personal awareness (Taylor & Hansen, 2005). Accordingly, personal values are of great significance to an organisation as they contribute to the shared meaning and direct people’s behaviour in order to achieve the set organisational goals. Cultural values Each culture emphasizes on values with which its members should broadly share; they are the values that are shared by a society. Within a society, values can be expressed by noting how people receive respect or honour. For example, great performers are greatly honoured as compared to the low performers. Cultural values are related to the norms held by that culture; however, they are more diverse as compared to norms. Norms within a society are responsible for providing specific rules for certain behaviour in specific situations; values on the other hand identify what should be judged as good or evil (Kitchin, 2010). In the same line of discussion, norms are standards, rules, patterns, and directions of expected behaviour while values are normally abstract concepts of what is worthwhile and important. For example, flying a flag on a national holiday is a norm that is held by all states across the globe; however, it reflects patriotism value (Nelson & Quick, 2007). Accordingly, wearing dark clothes and being solemn during funeral are normative behaviour but also represent the value of respect. Members of the society are fond of taking part in a culture despite the fact that their personal values may not agree with some of the normative values held in that culture. Cultural values are helpful in an individual’s life; for instance, they direct him/her to develop personal values that are acceptable in the society including interacting with others, treating others with respect and dignity (Robbins, 2009). In essence, it allows individual members of the society to have positive and meaningful experiences; particularly in an event, that more than one individual is involved. Consequently, cultural values are also important to organisations; for instance, organisations are compelled to develop values that are in line with the values of the society within which they operate. Furthermore, the cultural values that are formed within an organisation help in binding employees together as a community, which on the other hand contributes to the company’s vitality and performance. Organisational Values These values are shared by people across the organisation. Organisational values are responsible for guiding the organisation’s thinking and actions (Walker, 2011). They represent the organisation’s corporate culture, as they are responsible for defining what matters. They are the qualities that define organisations, products/services, and people at their most basic level. Organisational values are responsible for developing a basis onto which expectations and trust are built. Organisational values are extremely important as they form the basis for the company’s strategic decisions (Sims, 2002). For instance after their definition, they are shared across the organisations and thus understood by all employees; the values themselves simplify and speed up other business decisions. More importantly, organisational values ensure consistency in information and approach. Terminal Values These are desirable end-states of experience; they are the goals that an individual would like to achieve during his/her lifetime. They usually include things like happiness, self-respect, recognition, family security, inner harmony, comfortable life, freedom, and professional excellence. Organisations can use terminal values to motivate their employees, for instance, an organisational culture that allows employees to grow in their careers, assures family security, and recognizes individual performance is key in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness within that organisation. Accordingly, terminal values help individuals to work hard and tirelessly to meet the desired ends. Instrumental Values These are preferable modes of behaviour or means of achieving one’s terminal values and they include values like honest, obedience, courageous, imaginativeness, and competitiveness (Greenberg, 2013). These values help individuals to work towards meeting their terminal values; they are like motivational factors (Signh, 2009). Similarly, companies can tap into these values; this can be achieved by ensuring the corporate culture within the organisation encourage openness, honesty, innovativeness, competitiveness, and sincerity; this on the other hand will allow employees to work extra hard. Generational Workplace Values Veterans These individuals were roughly borne between 1946 and 1964. Their lives were largely influenced by the Great Depression and World War II. These individuals are characterized of being loyal to their employers, they are respectful of authority, have strong work ethics, and are self-driven (Fox, 2007). Consequently, they are hardworking, conservative, practical, traditional, and value family and comfortable life. These individuals posses values that are aimed at developing the society; organisations can tap into this valuable resource as they will always work to ensure the company accomplishes its objectives more efficiently and effectively. They will obey the rules and regulations set by the company. Baby boomers This generation was borne roughly between 1965 and 1985 just after World War II. They are described to have Hippie Ethics; although they are hard working, pragmatic and believing that ends justify the means, they distrust authority (McKenna, 2000). Furthermore, they value achievement together with material success, and above they value the sense of accomplishment and social recognition (Murray, Poole & Jones, 2006). Organisations can make use of this immense resource; for instance, corporate culture that allows employee autonomy as well as encouraging innovations, these individuals are the best option (Robbins, Odendaal & Roodt, 2003). Given the fact that they value accomplishment, they will work hard to accomplish the firm’s goals and objectives. Generation X They were borne approximately between 1985 and 2000 and are referred to as Baby Busters/MTV generation (Scott, 2007). These individuals’ values are characterized to be shaped by globalisation, two-career parents, MTV, HIV/AIDS and computers. They have an in-depth drive to advance, they want to work with organisations with good reputation, they are sceptical of authority, they enjoy teamwork, the appreciate flexibility but unwilling to sacrifice personal time, and they also value family and relationships. These generations presents a prime resource for companies that appreciate teamwork culture, socially responsible, and encourage flexibility between work and personal life. Generation Y/Millennial This generation came into play approximately from the year 2000 to present; they are also called Boomerang/internet generation/netters. They are extremely ambitious with goals of becoming rich and famous. They have higher job turnover levels as compared to Generation X. They are inquisitive, electronically networked and entrepreneurial; they are comfortable with diversity and tend to take technology for granted (Griffin & Moorhead, 2013). They do not readily respond to command and control type of management, they have high expectation of their employers, and more importantly they like immediate responsibility with regular feedback (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2010). Business organisations which encourage diversity with strict timelines; this generation will automatically be the best fit. Personal Reflection The study of values in organisational behaviour has made me to discover that it is through values that human beings live in harmony, correlate, and work together; set individual and societal goals, and above all, values help organisations to work in a manner that is acceptable by the society. Initially, I never understood why my dad always encouraged me to be happy, friendly and always play with my younger siblings. The study of personal values allowed me to discover what my dad was developing in me at that initial stage of my life. I grew up knowing that it was the right thing to be hardworking, friendly and welcoming. This actually affirms that personal values are mainly derived from cultural values. Through playing with my younger siblings, I developed friendliness and welcoming virtues, and by dad encouraging working hard in order to become a better person in the society, I have strongly nurtured the hardworking value in me. Accordingly, this course has also empowered me to understand that shared and cultural values are all the good things that the society share embrace and more importantly encourage its members to conform to. During junior school, the school administration always used to award top performers in academics, sports, and other extra-curricular activities like music and drama. At that age and time, I never understood why this act was a norm; through the study of this course, I have realized that it is a norm for the society to honour top performers. Similarly, during the national holidays like the Heroes Day, almost all public and private institutions across the country fly the national flag to show their solidarity with the founders of our country as well as embrace patriotism. After going through this course, things that never made sense before, I have now discovered their meaning. Furthermore, I strongly believe in becoming rich and influential one day in my life. I hope to meet this objective by working extremely hard for my organisation. For instance, I have the habit of sourcing for enough information before making any decision; for instance, I am fond of asking questions whenever I feel I do not have enough information to tackle something successfully. Consequently, I am socially networked with many of my friends and former college mates with whom we always discuss on how to start individual businesses. In the same line of discussion, I have high expectation of my current employer; for instance, I always insist on immediate responsibilities while at the same I ask for regular feedback. I never understood why I always behave like this; however, after completing this course, I have discovered that I am a Generation Y individual. References Chance, P. (2013). Introduction to educational leadership and organisational behaviour. London: Routledge Publishers Forshaw, C., Callinan, M., Sawchuk, P., & Corbett, M. (2010). Work and organisational behaviour: Understanding the workplace (2nd Ed). 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