KEY CULTURAL VALUES IN ORGANIZATIONS - INFLUENCES AND PRIORITIES

Abstract

It is a challenge to examine how the values of the society in which an organization is embedded affect the
values of the organization. This influence can be determined both by the value culture in the surrounding society and
by the personal value priorities of the organization's members and the nature of the organization's main tasks. It is
logical to assume that culture in society affects organizational values not only directly, but also indirectly - through
its impact on the values of members and on the nature of organizational tasks in business management. In other
words: how the cultural values of the society in which the organization operates affect the cultural values of the
organization.
In the paper we will try to look at the dimensions of cultural values that distinguish societies as suitable for
comparing organizations. In addition to the challenges that societies face, organizations must deal with their specific
tasks, structure and environment. This can produce other cultural value dimensions. Identifying and validating such
additional dimensions will require research in many organizations from different sectors, industries and occupations,
and in many countries. Here we focus on the cultural dimensions of organizations that share with societies, paying
attention to communications and their management, considered fundamental in the development and prosperity of
modern companies in general.
Personal value priorities are the product of individuals' unique social experiences and distinct heredity. However, the
members of each society show some value similarity. This is because they are socialized and must adapt to the
family, education, legislation, media, market and state system, whose daily practices and norms express to some
extent the same underlying societal cultural emphases. In their day-to-day organizational activities, members
communicate continuously—they communicate to each other their important values and goals, which they express
through their ideas, preferences, and choices. Members' personal values thus affect the goals and objectives that the
organization adopts, the norms and practices that develop, and the shared perceptions and interpretations of
organizational actions. Individuals influence the cultural values of organizations both intentionally and
unintentionally. They promote the values they find desirable through their deeds, serving as a model for others. They
influence more the organization's views of the good and the desirable directly through formal and informal
communication processes about the nature of the organization, with suggestions about what to look for in new
members and how to socialize them and praise or condemn them for certain actions. Members also build structures
in the organization that promote their preferred values by designing practices (e.g., reward systems based on effort,
sales, or seniority; e.g., regular staff evaluations and timely feedback; communication activities that encourage
certain types of behavior etc.) and physical settings (for example, open or closed spaces in offices, etc.).