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Individual Values
Values are the guiding principles that underpin the way people think, behave, and are motivated. They serve as standards that guide people’s action, judgment, and the choices they make, as well as their attitudes and behaviors. Values are generally “stable” and accompany people into every facet of life—societal, organizational, cultural, political, economic, and religious. The general stability in values tends to differentiate them from attitudes, which may be more readily altered by events or situations in which people find themselves. For example, a person might have strong values in relation to “equal opportunity.” However, in a situation of severe job shortages, the same person might vote in favor of jobs being allocated to “local” employees rather than “foreign” employees, on the basis of the outcome being more beneficial to the local community. This entry explores definitions of the concept of individual values and comments on similarities as well as differences. It provides an insight into wellknown value typologies and frameworks used to provide further understanding and enable the measurement of individual values. The entry also draws attention to the impact of cultural values and the need for managers to be cognizant of these values at a time of increasing globalization and intercultural interactions.
Fundamentals
A glance at the literature on individual values identifies an array of definitions and conceptualizations. Despite differences, there is consensus that values are a central determinant in an individual’s behavior and motivation in societal, organizational, and work-based contexts. Some researchers, such as Milton Rokeach and Shalom Schwartz, view individual values as “goals.” Shalom Schwartz, for example, defines values as desirable and trans-situational goals that vary in importance and serve as guiding principles in people’s lives. Milton Rokeach distinguishes between instrumental values (which signify desirable modes of conduct) and terminal values (which signify desirable end-states of existence), with the two dimensions being interlinked. For example, in his values survey, Rokeach identifies “a comfortable life” as a terminal value, while he identifies “being ambitious” or hard working as an instrumental value that enables achievement of the terminal value.
A popular definition that captures many facets of individual values is that offered by Robin Williams. He contends that one’s values are the standards that we apply in all situations we encounter, not only to determine our action and guide the position we take on various social, political, religious, and other ideological issues but also use to evaluate and judge ourselves, as well as to compare ourselves with others.
Value Types and Frameworks
Rokeach sought to bring consistency in understanding the nature of individual values. He identified five assumptions that could be made: (1) The total set of values that an individual has is relatively small; (2) all people have similar values but to different degrees; (3) values are organized into value sets and systems and are often interrelated; (4) values can be traced to culture, society, and its institutions; and (5) the consequences of human values and actions are widely evident in all phenomena and can be investigated.
The notion of value types is elaborated on by Rob Gilbert and Brian Hoepper, who identify a set of values, each with their own associated concepts. These include the aesthetic (e.g., beauty), economic (e.g., efficiency and productivity), intellectual (e.g., reasoning), political (e.g., justice and freedom), moral (e.g., right and wrong), and environmental (e.g., sustainability).
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