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 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. Organizational Values

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)