The Significance of Values in an Organization The formation of values We start forming values in our childhood. First we learn to appreciate things that fulfill our basic needs, but we value especially those people that provide them to us. Their behavior towards us becomes the main reference of what is valuable. Thus, our character and personality are molded through the attitudes and behavior of the people who raise us, whether they’re our parents or other relatives. Their behaviors determine in large part what will subsequently become our most important beliefs and principles. We learn to value the substance and the form of everything they say and do, and what they don’t say and don’t do. Each gesture or comment affects how we learn to make choices We also learn to differentiate between the theory and practice of values. The latter is what marks us the most. So the consistency and coherence of our parents’ behavior is what strengthens our formation. If they practice what they preach, our personality will be stronger than if they don’t. Later, when we are students, we start feeling social pressures and the pressure of values that are different from ours, as we relate to other people. The strength of the values formed through our parents is put to the test. Values are often confused with habits, and many parents hope that school will form the values that were not instilled at home. This is not possible, because school does not fulfill the basic needs of life… that is the responsibility of those who raise us. Teachers, leaders, and value models at school can reinforce what was formed at home, but they cannot replace them. If the convictions formed at home are not solid, they will soon be exposed to an intense social competition against other beliefs. Why is it so difficult to form values? Because, unlike norms, values are convictions; they are behaviors we gladly decide to follow and produce satisfaction. We can follow norms against our will, but values have the support of our will. We have learned their importance due to the benefits they produce, individually and collectively. Those who play a leadership role in our lives are most powerful at conveying to us their values. They are our parents, elder siblings, grandparents, some relatives, teachers, peers we admire, professors, and bosses. However, to convey something, we must first possess it. Values are only conveyed through the example of our daily attitudes and behaviors. They can seldom be formed by explaining them or through a list of what is considered correct or incorrect. Memorizing their theoretical meaning does not guarantee their implementation.
VALUE FORMATION AND EDUCATION Accomplishment by an individual in any field of activity depends on the level of skill which the person has acquired. Skill converts physical energy into useful productive force for achievement. Before the advent of public education and vocational training, individual skills were limited to what could be acquired from the family, by long apprenticeship and through personal experience. Opportunities for the individual were similarly restricted by the limited access to skills through these means. The formalization of curricula enabled society to impart much higher levels of skill to many more people
(e.g. mechanics, engineering, medicine, etc.) thereby geometrically increasing the opportunities for individual accomplishment and the general social progress. Accomplishment in any field also depends on the attitudes, understanding, decisiveness and values with which the individual acts. The simple act of writing depends not only on the physical skill for forming letters and words, but also the attitude of the writer toward the act of writing, the subject matter and the readership. It depends on the writer's understanding of the subject and decision to communicate. In addition it depends on the values with which the writer performs the act of writing. Physical values such as cleanliness and orderliness determine the neatness of the writing and sequence of thoughts. Social values determine how tactfully the writer communicates his message. Psychological values such as patience, honesty and humility determine how both the author and the message are received and interpreted. Without the necessary attitude, understanding, decisiveness and values, the act of writing has minimal effect. Every act in every field has its own requirements for accomplishment. All these elements are needed in order for the act to lead to accomplishment and fulfillment. Carrying on a discussion requires not only the ability to speak, but also the ability to listen, a cooperative and open-minded attitude, the selfdiscipline not to interrupt or change the subject, the capacity to understand what is spoken and quickly decide what should or should not be said, as well as the tolerance, honesty, humility and patience needed to gain the confidence and sympathy of the listener. Without these other elements, speaking one's thoughts has minimal effect and can often be counterproductive. The more complex, sophisticated and significant the act, the greater is the importance of these elements in determining its outcome. The act of selling, winning an election, managing an organization, negotiating an agreement, or leading a group depend more for their success on the person's values, attitudes and decisiveness than on the skills which the individual possesses. Every successful person exhibits these qualities. Every failure lacks them in some measure. Formal education and training programs focus almost exclusively on imparting physical, social and mental skills. They place very little conscious emphasis on the attitudes, the mental understanding and decisiveness, and the psychological values needed for these skills to result in accomplishment and fulfillment. Therefore, the overall effectiveness and accomplishments of the individual and the society are extremely limited compared to the opportunities that are available. If the requirements for success in each field of life are analyzed, most people would be found possessing only 25% of what is required for high achievement. Thus, the scope for improving personal effectiveness is enormous. Values represent the highest and most powerful individual capacity for accomplishment. As skills direct the use of physical energy, values direct the use of the psychological energy of the personality. Therefore the highest levels of individual and social accomplishment demand very high values. It is possible to evolve a formal curricula that does impart the values, attitudes, understanding and decisiveness necessary for achievement and personal fulfillment. In order to do so, it is necessary to fully understand the process of value formation and the ways in which values are acquired.
