Value Congruence Awareness: Part 1. DNA Testing Sheds Light on Functionalism

Abstract

This exploratory study examines awareness of the other party's instrumental, terminal, and work values by members of supervisor and employee dyads. Subjective estimates of value congruence, provided by either member of the dyad, correlated with actual value congruence scores determine conscious awareness levels in all cases. Results demonstrate supervisory awareness of employee terminal values, but not work values or instrumental values, even though these latter value types probably possess the greatest relevance to achieving organizational goals. Further, employees possess awareness of supervisor work values but not instrumental or terminal values. These findings challenge traditional assumptions underlying the functionalism position on organizational culture that appears in the literature most frequently read by practicing managers.

Why work?

“…They play an important role in the functioning of the organization, guiding and directing decision-making (Kraimer, 1997). Moreover, an organizational culture is said to have its core substance in values (Schein, 1992), and values have metaphorically been called the DNA of organizational culture (Isaac et al, 2004). An investigation of the intangible but highly important concept of "organizational culture" is best done through an assessment of the relative importance of work values as perceived by individual members of the organization (Ostroff et al, 2005).…”