In managing an organisation leaders should be aware that the different individuals that make up the workforce have different values, behaviours, perceptions, and attitudes. However, an organisation has one mission and it can only succeed if the various attributes of the workers get aligned to that mission. Research (Berkhout & Rowlands, 2007) has shown that companies whose employee-hiring criteria is focussed on matching personal values with organizational values tend to be significantly more successful because of the fact that employees have a higher level of job satisfaction. It is important for leaders of an organisation to understand the underlying causes of certain behaviours and work towards creating an environment that would enable and motivate people to contribute positively towards an organisation’s mission. The beginning point should be a good understanding of what constitutes values and knowing how values influence workers’ attitudes towards work.
Grieser (n.d.) in explaining why workplace values are important in his blog post likened an organisational system to an engine and steering wheel of a vehicle: A vehicle requires both an engine and a steering wheel to be able to work correctly – “An organization is no different: its purpose is the engine that propels it forward, and its values are the steering system by which it is guided”. To put it another way, an organisation has a mission, which is the purpose why an organisation exists, and values are needed to guide people on how they should conduct themselves, or to be guided on what things can be done and cannot be done in their work of serving the purpose of the organisation. For example loyalty, honesty, reliability, and efficiency may be the values of a company. But how exactly are values of a company formed?
It is important to note that values of a company never arise haphazardly; there has to be a deliberate plan in place. Heathfield (2019) explains that every work place has values and the question should be whether the existing values are creating the desired workplace. Thus, the first step towards defining the values of organisation should be the coming together of executives of an organisation to identify what currently characterises the organisation. The executives should move on to discuss the importance of having shared values as an organisation. Next a list of desired values should be discussed and agreed on. Workers should all be involved through well organised workshops during which individuals can freely share their personal values. Professional trainers should facilitate meetings during which individuals’ values are aligned to the organisation’s mission.
Now, aligning people’s attributes is not a mechanical process. Human beings are products of different experiences of life and the experiences may influence how they perceive life or situations around them. Perception is “a process wherein the individuals receive various stimuli, organize their impressions, interpret in their own way, thereby giving some meaning to the environment” (EDUCBA, n.d); because of this our behaviour is a consequence of our perception. It goes without saying that wrong interpretations about situations may lead to wrong behaviour and wrong behaviour may ultimately affect a company’s performance. In my teaching career for example, some teachers believe work is about earning money and so anytime there is a chashflow problem their eagerness and zeal to work gets affected; they slow down. Such happenings by individuals working for a school or college may over a period of time injure the reputation of an institution.
Grieser (n.d.) in explaining why workplace values are important in his blog post likened an organisational system to an engine and steering wheel of a vehicle: A vehicle requires both an engine and a steering wheel to be able to work correctly – “An organization is no different: its purpose is the engine that propels it forward, and its values are the steering system by which it is guided”. To put it another way, an organisation has a mission, which is the purpose why an organisation exists, and values are needed to guide people on how they should conduct themselves, or to be guided on what things can be done and cannot be done in their work of serving the purpose of the organisation. For example loyalty, honesty, reliability, and efficiency may be the values of a company. But how exactly are values of a company formed?
It is important to note that values of a company never arise haphazardly; there has to be a deliberate plan in place. Heathfield (2019) explains that every work place has values and the question should be whether the existing values are creating the desired workplace. Thus, the first step towards defining the values of organisation should be the coming together of executives of an organisation to identify what currently characterises the organisation. The executives should move on to discuss the importance of having shared values as an organisation. Next a list of desired values should be discussed and agreed on. Workers should all be involved through well organised workshops during which individuals can freely share their personal values. Professional trainers should facilitate meetings during which individuals’ values are aligned to the organisation’s mission.
Now, aligning people’s attributes is not a mechanical process. Human beings are products of different experiences of life and the experiences may influence how they perceive life or situations around them. Perception is “a process wherein the individuals receive various stimuli, organize their impressions, interpret in their own way, thereby giving some meaning to the environment” (EDUCBA, n.d); because of this our behaviour is a consequence of our perception. It goes without saying that wrong interpretations about situations may lead to wrong behaviour and wrong behaviour may ultimately affect a company’s performance. In my teaching career for example, some teachers believe work is about earning money and so anytime there is a chashflow problem their eagerness and zeal to work gets affected; they slow down. Such happenings by individuals working for a school or college may over a period of time injure the reputation of an institution.
To foster a positive work environment people’s personal values, attitudes, and behaviours should be aligned with a companie’s values. However, before workers can be motivated into alignment executives should agree on the importance of having shared values in a work-place. Managers would have to take a leading role in inspiring a culture that is conscious of company values. More important in all this is the human-resource function of an organisation; the recruitment process should select candidates with values that resonate with a company’s values. That would make the process of aligning individual person’s values with company values much easier.
REFERENCES
Grieser (n.d.). Why Workplace Values Are Important. Randy’s Blog. https://theordinaryleader.com/blog/why-workplace-values-are-important/
Berkhout, T., and Rowlands, I. H. (2007). The Voluntary Adoption of Green Electricity by Ontario-Based Companies - The Importance of Organizational Values and Organizational Context. Organization and Environment, 20(3), 281–303.
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