Why person-organisation fit may not be person-nation fit: Exploring the meaning of value congruence for global organisations Dr. Nathalie van Meurs Middlesex University Business School

Questions we’d like to see answered In case of a merger, what happens to the identity of the organisation(s)? How (if at all) do employees reframe their professional identity? What are the consequences for management development? What kind of values are necessary to make a fit - corporate or national values? Is value congruence a good thing? How do you determine whether a fit / value congruence exists when soft cultural factors are often disregarded? What kind of people do organisations need to implement international change? What role do managers and practitioners play during this process?

ACADEMIC RESEARCH Social groups determine our identity (i.e., our self concept). –Spend a lot of time at work –“What do you do” Organizational decisions involve different groups and these groups often have sharply diverging agendas, values, perspectives and goals” (Haslam, 2001, p. 179). Attitudes, values and beliefs guide behaviour (Schwartz, 1992) and may colour what people see as ‘effective’ and ‘appropriate’.

DEFINITIONS of FIT Person-Environment Fit “the compatibility between an individual and a work environment that occurs when their characteristics are well matched” (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, and Johnson, 2005, p. 281) Person-Organisation Fit “Judgement of congruence between an employee’s personal values and an organization’s culture” (Cable & DeRue, 2000, p. 875)

Fit Domains

FIT FINDINGS Complementary and Supplementary Fit Surface and Deep level differences The values of people important to us should be used to characterise the person’s environment (Van Vianen et al., 2004) What we perceive is a better predictor than what is actual. –Measured opinions time 1 and time 2. Work adjustment, interaction adjustment, general adjustment. –Surface level difference affect general adjustment –Openness to Change most important –Self Transcendence affects work and interaction adjustment Interaction: My values and your values –Work adjustment: congruence; whether low or high –Interaction adjustment: both high on ST

ANSWERS TO IMPORTANT QUESTIONS In case of an international merger or IJV, what happens to the identity of the organisation(s)? Organisational reputation vs. organisational ID (van Dick et al., 2006) Career, team and organisation identification (van Dick et al, 2005) Identification increases job satisfaction, motivation and well being, decreases turnover and absenteeism Identification is fluid

Higher organisational identification: motivates employees intrinsically they are more likely to internalise collective goals Regardless of personal benefits (pay)! After a merger, employees often identify negatively with the organisation Conditions of discontinuity, unclear communication and merger mismanagement (van Dick et al., 2006) Balance of power Media maintenance

What kind of values are necessary to make a fit - corporate or national values? Short term: surface level fit, long term: values Self Transcendence values Is value congruence a good thing? Yes, but is it realistic? And what are the long term consequences – Dry rot? Discuss risk of stereotyping and relativity of ‘truth’ How do you determine whether a fit exists when soft cultural factors are often disregarded? Will the transaction keep value? vs. Will I keep my job? Call a presentation Practical examples and research evidence Use diagnostic tools (HRM) testing values

What kind of people do organisations need to implement international change? The kind of people that created an identity out of being different What role do managers and practitioners play during this process? Practitioners be aware of context: Org id & staff turnover, team id & altruism, career id & training Maintain continuity, communication and socio- emotional orientation Work routines, teams and communication channels Newsletters, hotline, regular meetings staff & supervisor Provide emotional support, demonstrate care How to deal with feeling like a misfit

AFTERTHOUGHT The past and present wilt--I have fill'd them, emptied them. And proceed to fill my next fold of the future. Listener up there! what have you to confide to me? Look in my face while I snuff the sidle of evening, (Talk honestly, no one else hears you, and I stay only a minute longer.) Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) Song of Myself - Walt Whitman, 1867

Thank you