Values
Stable, evaluative beliefs that
guide our preferences
• Perceptions of what is good or bad:
what we “ought” to do
• Influence our motivation, decisions,
behaviors
Values are stable, evaluative beliefs that guide our preferences and actions
across a variety of situations.
They are perceptions about what is good or bad . They are usually normative
or prescriptive, they tell us what we ought to do.
Values are different from personality, which is descriptive “what we tend to do”
Values also serve as moral compass because they help us to evaluate what is
right or wrong in line with societal norms and universal virtues, consequently
influencing our motivation, decisions, and actions across situations/
Understanding the way values affect our behavior matters for two reasons.
1. Value guide our actions across all situations. knowing this help you to self-
manage, such as by choosing a major or career, or organization for which
you are well suited
2. You will be more effective at influencing others’ attitudes and behaviors
when you are armed with an understanding of values and their effects
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Schwartz’s model of values
57 values clustered into 10 categories, and
further into four quadrants.
Openness to change
§ Independence of thought and action
§ Readiness for change
Conservation
§ Order, preservation of the past
§ Resistance to change
Self-enhancement
§ Pursuit of one’s own interests and success
Self-transcendence
§ Concern for the welfare and interests of
others
Schwartz (1992)
Dominant model of personal values was developed and tested by social
psychologist Shalom Schwartz and many others.
Openness to change: Common among Entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, free-
lancers.
Conservatism: Common among law enforcement, military personnel.
Self-enhancement: Common among business leader, political leaders
Self-transcendence: Common among teachers, caregivers, social workers
Schwarz placed the 10 values in a circular representation to illustrate their
compatibility. The ones that are adjacent to each other are more compatible,
so an individual is more likely to simultaneously hold both of them.
Values that are far apart or opposing to each other are less compatible or in
conflict, so these opposing values are less likely to be held by an individual
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Values system
• A values system: We arrange values into a hierarchy of preferences
• One’s value system is highly stable and long-lasting, e.g. a 20-year
longitudinal study found that individuals’ value systems remained largely
consistent over two decades.
Lubinski, Schmidt, & Benbow, 1996
We arrange values into a hierarchy of preferences called a value system
We develop our value system through socialization from parents, school,
friends, and the society in which we live in.
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How do values Affect relative attractiveness
of choices
influence actions? • E.g. valuing stimulation makes a
challenging job seem more appealing
Guide perception
• Affects attention and how we
interpret things
Regulate the consistency of
behavior
• More motivated to engage in value-
congruent behavior
Values affect the relative attractiveness of choices. We generate more positive
feelings toward choices consistent with our values and negative feelings
toward those that are contrary to our values.
If stimulation is at the top of your values hierarchy, for instance, then jobs that
offer new experiences will appeal to you more than jobs that have predictable
and stable tasks.
Values frame perceptions, they influence whether we notice something and
how we interpret it. Our decisions and actions are affected by how we perceive
those situations.
Values are part of our identity. Values motivate us to act consistently with self-
identity. If achievement is a key feature of your identity, then you are motivated
to act in ways that are consistent with that value.
The more clearly a behavior is aligned with a specific value that identifies us,
the more motivated we are to engage in that behavior.
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When values don’t Situational factors
• Barriers, lack of opportunity
predict behavior
Counter-motivational forces
• e.g., threat of job loss, pressure from
management
Lack of value awareness
• Values are abstract
• Behaviors are often routine
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Value congruence
Refers to similarity of a person’s SHARED VALUES
values hierarchy to another • Higher team cohesion
entity’s values hierarchy. • Better performance
• More organizational citizenship
• Higher job satisfaction
• Lower stress, less turnover
PERSONAL TEAM / ORGANIZATIONAL
VALUES VALUES
Values congruence: how similar a person’s values hierarchy is to the values
hierarchy of the organization, a co-worker, or another entity.
Congruence between personal values and organizational/team values tend to
be associated with a range of positive outcomes. For examples, employees
are more likely to make decisions that are compatible with organizational
expectations when their personal values are congruent with the organization’s
shared values.
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Airbnb tries to attract and motivate employees by offering them travel credit of
$2000 each year to visit anywhere around the world. The company does this
because it believes Airbnb employees are driven to embrace the adventure.
Open-mindedness and curiosity are important company values
Salesforce give employees 7 paid days off each year to volunteer for anything
that they care about. This aligns with the company’s value of giving back to the
community and attracts people who value social responsibility.
Rei offers yay days, paid time off that employees can use specifically for going
outside and being in the nature, which resonates with their employees who
value adventure
By aligning benefits with their core values, these companies not only attract
individuals who share these values but also generate more work motivation
and positive job attitudes among employees
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Values across cultures
In all cultures, people Motivational
are motivated to techniques that are
develop a positive congruent with one’s
sense of self-worth values will be
and well-being. positively evaluated
• But what and contribute to
contributes to a satisfaction and
positive sense of performance
self varies across
cultures
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An Illustration of sense of self
INDIVIDUALISTIC COLLECTIVISTIC
Friend
Co-worker
Co-worker
Friend
Self
Self
Parent Parent
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Sense of self differs depending on which cultural value is prioritized:
individualism or collectivism.
The view of self in individualistic cultures is non-overlapping with others.
It also means your sense of self is stable across social contexts, it’s less
affected by whether you are with your co-worker or parent.
The view of self in collectivistic self is overlapping with close others,
It means that your sense of self is in part defined by close others. Implying
variability in self-definition with the change in social context.
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Individualism-Collectivism
Collectivism Individualism
• “We” consciousness • “I” consciousness
• Cultural ideal is to meet • Cultural ideal is to express
duties and fit in with a group one’s attributes, be
• Strong obligations in distinctive from others,
relationships and promote one’s goals
• Emphasis on harmony • Relationships are
calculative
• Prevalent in Asia, S. and
Central America, Africa • Emphasis on “speaking
one’s mind”
• Prevalent in the U.S., W.
Europe, Australia
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Individualism-Collectivism around the world
Individualism
Collectivism
Hofstede et al. (2010)
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Cultural values and achievement motives
How do cultural values affect the nature of achievement
motivation?
Individualistic
• An autonomous desire to achieve internalized standards of
excellence
• “Follow your passion”
• Personal effort is an important job input
• Standing out
• Self-enhancement cultivated from an early age
• Importance of positive feedback and personal achievement incentives
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Cultural values and achievement motives
Collectivistic:
• To maintain connections, contribute to the group, meet
expectations of others
• “Glorifying the ancestors”, “Heightening family reputation” Being a good
group member” as motivating
• Loyalty and cooperativeness are important job inputs
• Standing in
• Focus on weaknesses and self-criticism
• Importance of team-based rewards and collective recognition
Employees demonstrate higher organizational loyalty, expecting long-term
relationships with their employer.
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Mismatch of cultural values
A ‘bamboo’ ceiling in leadership attainment
CEOs of the S&P 500 companies
South Asian
White
East Asian
Lu et al. 2020
What happens when there is a mismatch between individual’s cultural values
and the society or the organizational values?
A group of researchers at MIT analyzed the ethnic background of CEOS from
S&P500 companies in the U.S. and found that although East Asians made up
roughly 6% of the country’s population at that time, they represented only 3%
of the CEOs of S&P 500 firms. In other words, East Asians are
underrepresented in leadership roles.
Why are East Asians less likely to become leaders in US cultures?
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Mismatch of cultural values
Self-rated leadership motivation Perceived assertiveness
Lu et al. 2020
East Asians are as motivated to be leaders as South Asian and White
respondents. However, they are seen as less assertive, i.e. less likely to to
stand up and speak out for one’s interests
East Asians’ tendency to be less assertive appeared to be one of the main
barriers to their leadership attainment.
US prioritizes individualism, which values speaking out and constructive
interpersonal confrontation.
Assertiveness is seen as a leader-like trait, which constitutes a mismatch with
the collectivistic values among East Asians, which prioritize humility and
harmony, impeding them from attaining leadership in the U.S.
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Power distance
The degree to which less powerful members of institutions and
organizations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally
(Hofstede, 1980)
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Power distance
Low Power Distance High Power Distance
• Expect relatively equal power • Accept and value unequal
sharing power
• Privileges are frowned upon • Privileges are expected and
good
• Employees are encouraged
to challenge authority • Employees reluctant to
contradict authority
• De-centralized decision-
making • Centralized decision-making
• Prevalent in N. Europe, N. • Prevalent in Arab countries,
America, Australia Asia, Latin America
Lower PD
Decentralized decision-making: managers and subordinates interact
informally;
Communications are more open decisions are usually made collectively, which
allow ideas and feedback to flow freely across all levels.
High PD:
Privileges and status symbols are both expected and popular and good.
There is a clear and accepted hierarchy. Subordinates are generally
deferential to their superiors.
Centralized, top-down decision-making, with limited input from lower-level
employees. Managers are expected and preferred as the decision makers
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Power distance in organizations
“In Order to Have Efficient Work Relationships, It Is Often Necessary to Bypass the Hierarchical
Line”
Agreement Rate Across Countries
Sweden U.S. U.K. France Netherlands Germany Indonesia Italy China Spain
80% 68% 65% 57% 56% 55% 49% 44% 41% 26%
Power distance is strongly related to organizational structures, shaping how
hierarchical the company is
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Uncertainty avoidance
The degree that people tolerate ambiguity, uncertainty, and unstructured
situations (Hofstede, 1980)
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Uncertainty avoidance
Low uncertainty High uncertainty
avoidance avoidance
• Open to risk and ambiguity • Strong aversion to risk and
uncertainty
• Quick, flexible decision-
making • Slow, cautious decision-
making
• Comfortable with job or rule
changes and flexibility • Prefer stable employment
and strict rules
• Prevalent in N. Europe, N.
America, Australia • Prevalent in Arab countries,
Asia, Latin America
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Uncertainty
avoidance,
Innovation,
and Bureaucracy
Uncertainty avoidance as a cultural value is reflected in organizational
activities at the national level
High uncertainty avoidance cultures are more risk averse, less open to
experimenting with new ideas. This preference can limit the emergence of
innovation within organizations.
High uncertainty avoidance cultures also value structured environments that
clearly define the rights and duties of employees to reduce uncertainty and
ambiguity, giving rise to more bureaucracy inside organizations
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Key takeaways of Cultural values shape
workplace expectations
cultural values • E.g. High-power distance cultures expect
hierarchical leadership; who we expect to
be leaders
Organizational strategies must
adapt to cultural contexts
• E.g. team-based rewards for collectivistic
cultures
Multiple subcultures co-exist
• There is more than one culture in a
country
• Navigating cultural values with caution
Cultural Values Shape Workplace Expectations and Interactions
• Employees’ expectations about leadership, teamwork, motivation, are
influenced by cultural values
• Example: High power distance cultures expect hierarchical leadership, while
low power distance cultures prefer democratic management. Cultural values
also shape who we expect to be leaders
Organizational strategies must adapt to cultural contexts
• Leadership styles, HR policies, performance evaluation, team dynamics
should be aligned with cultural values to ensure engagement and
effectiveness.
One Country Can Have Multiple Coexisting Subcultures
• Differences in region, ethnicity, social class can create different subcultures.
• Managers need to be mindful of these value differences which create
diverse workplace expectations even within the same country.
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