Values

Values
Value is an enduring belief that a specific mode of conducts or end state of existence is personally and socially preferable to the alternative modes of conduct or end states of existence. 

Once it is internalized, it becomes consciously or unconsciously, a standard
or criterion for guiding action, for developing and maintaining attitudes toward
relevant objects and situation, for justifying one’s own and others’ actions and
attitudes for morally judging oneself and others, and for comparing oneself with
others. 

Value, therefore, is a standard or yardstick to guide actions, attitudes,
evaluations and justifications of the self and others.
Values are tinged with moral flavour, involving an individual’s judgement of what is right, good or desirable. 

Thus values:
Provide standards of competence and morality.
Are fewer in number than attitudes.
Transcend specific objects, situations or persons.
Are relatively permanent and resistant to change, and
Are more central to the core of a person. 

Individuals learn values as they grow and mature. They may change over the life
span of an individual develops a sense of self. Cultures, societies, and organizations shape values. 

Values are important to the study of organizational behaviour because
they lay the foundation for the understanding of attitudes and motivation and
because they influence our perceptions.

Formation of Values 

Values are learned and acquired primarily through experiences with people and institutions. Parents, for example, will have substantial influence on their children’s values. A parent’s reaction to everyday events demonstrates what is good and bad, acceptable and unacceptable and important and unimportant. Values are also taught and reinforced in schools, religious organizations, and social groups. As we grow and develop, each source of influence contributes to our definition of what is important in life. Cultural mores have influence on the formation of values. Basic convictions of what is good or bad are derived from one’s own culture. 

Types of Values 

Allport and his associates categorized values into six types. 

1.  Theoretical: Interested in the discovery  of truth through reasoning and systematic thinking. 

2.  Economic: Interest in usefulness and practicality, including the accumulation of wealth. 

3.  Aesthetic: Interest in beauty, form and artistic harmony. 

4.  Social: Interest in people and love as a human relationship. 

5.  Political: Interest in graining power and influencing people. 

6.  Religious: Interest in unity and understanding the cosmos as a whole.