Cultural Values & Diversity

Cultural Values

Rokeach (1973) defines a "value" as an "enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to some other mode of conduct or end-state of existence." He defines a "value system" as "an enduring organization of beliefs concerning preferable modes of conduct or end-states of existence along a continuum of relative importance." (p.5)

Values enter into practically every decision-making we do. Even with the omnipresence of values in our everyday lives, we still find it difficult to "get a handle" on them. How do personal, organizational, and cultural values actually affect our decision-making? It is much easier to "get a handle" on facts than on values. Even though the nature of values and the role of values in our everyday lives are difficult to comprehend, we can all agree that they are the bedrock of ethics. According to Webster's Dictionary, "ethics" is defined as " the study of standards of conduct and moral judgment." A set of value is what guides a person's life, and any description of a person's ethics would have to revolve around his or her values. Ethics and values would need to go hand - in hand. Our decisions will largely depend on various needs we feel at the time of decisions for example your need for financial security, your need for self-esteem and self-respect, your need for approval from a friend or supervisor, your need to have a clear conscience etc. In other words, the more pressure or pain a person feels because of one or more needs, the more likely he or she will find a way to bend the ethical rules as long as it is convenient and suit their needs. We would base the decision on the basis of personal convictions and what our conscience would tell us to do. In addition, we should base and follow ground rules for making decisions when we know it is right and ethical.

Most people are certain about what is right and wrong based on their personal experiences, family background, religious beliefs, cultural roots, family background, laws, organizational values, professional norms, and political habits. These are not the best values to make ethical decisions by, not because they are unimportant but because they are not universal. We would make decisions on the basis of expected results, what would give us the greatest return of investment. It is important that we have an open mind when it comes to ethical issues, and that you are able to adapt to different values. Our decision-making would also be based upon the laws that govern us.

Greene (1993/1994) states that when we put ethical thinking into practice, we become more sensitive as to how our interactions with people we deal affects them and may also undermine the effectiveness of our work with them. The level of ethical thinking requires discernment, sound judgment, and reasoning by each of us in each situation. It is about asking questions making our own ethical decisions consciously and being open to changing our decisions in the future as we re-examine from a new perspective and experience.

Our values are what we prize, and our values system is the order in which we prize them. Because they rank our likes and dislikes, our values determine how we will behave in certain situations. Yet values often conflict. For example, the desire for personal independence may run counter to our desire for intimacy. Our desire to be honest may clash with the desire to be rich, prestigious or kind to others. In such cases, we resort to our values system. The values we consistently rank higher than others are our core values, which define character and personality.

Hitt (1990) indicates we would need guidance in determining priorities and formulating objectives. This guidance should be in the form of clearly articulated values- guiding