Transcript Values, Norms, and Goals

Values, Norms, and Goals
Britt Andreatta, Ph.D.
Values Defined
Values are “the entire collection of a person’s
attitudes, beliefs, opinions, hopes, fears,
prejudices, needs, desires, and aspirations that,
taken together, govern how one behaves.”
~ Mitchell, 1983
Values are “those elements which show how a
person has decided to use his/her life.”
~ Raths, Harmin, & Simon, 1966
Work Values
“Work values are those enduring dimensions
or aspects of our work that we regard as
important sources of satisfaction.”
~ Figler, 1979
Organizational Values
 Organizational values and beliefs are shared by
members of an organization.
 They operate unconsciously and define in a basic
“taken for granted” manner an organization’s view
of itself and its environment.
Org Values Displayed
1. Visible output of an organization
• Mission statement, Constitution, by-laws, Overt
behavior of individuals
2. Communications and justifications of behaviors
• People justify behaviors
• Values get proposed and tested
3. Becomes an organizational value
• Tried and tested values become basic
assumptions
• Guide behavior
• Tell group members how to perceive, think, and
feel about things
• Tend to be non-confrontable and non-debatable
Development of Norms
 As values develop and stabilize for the
organization, norms and standards arise
 Norms are expectations that explicitly or implicitly
act to influence behavior
 Norms create conformity among members
of a group
 Norms begin with individual’s expectations
 These merge with others’ expectations to produce
“rules” about behavior
 Norms relate to behavior, but emerge from values,
attitudes, beliefs, feelings
How Values & Norms Are Conveyed
 Formal documents
 Work/meeting environment
» Appearance of people
» Physical space
 Leadership, role modeling, training,
coaching’
 Explicit reward and status systems,
recognition techniques, promotion
criteria, awards
 Stories, myths, legends, parables
How Values & Norms Are Conveyed
 What leaders pay attention to
 Leaders’ reaction to critical incidents
 How the organization is designed – org.
chart
 Organizational systems – how people are
trained
 Criteria used for recruitment, selection,
promotion, termination, retirement
 Organizational communication – patterns,
jargon
How Leaders Set Values & Norms
 Create expectations for what is to be done
 Helps organization succeed if properly
communicated
 Some say leadership is the creation and
management of values and norms
 Values and norms create the basis for goals
Goals
 Statements of what the organization or
group wants to accomplish within a
specified length of time, with an
identifiable, measurable result.
 A desired future condition
 Broad in focus, but still realistic/challenging
 Relates to mission/values
 Goal statements start with “to” (improve,
conduct, create)