Values of Organizational Development
An organization’s values are a set of manners that employees learn and live by while performing their duties. Employees benefit from values as they progress along their career paths. The development of an organization is a continuous process, which accommodates multiple changes which occur in many aspects, such as science and technology, economics, the market, the political environment, education, knowledge, values, attitudes, and behavior of individuals, culture, etc.
Adapting to new ideas, beliefs, and technologies is essential for the organization’s values and structure. For the organization to be prepared to face the challenges that lie ahead, it must adapt to changes. The development of an organization involves a variety of planned changes based on business and human values that aim to enhance the effectiveness of the organization and the well-being of its employees.
COMMON ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES
- Respect the people - People are the heart and soul of an organization, and they provide the opportunity for growth. Consequently, they should be treated with respect and dignity. Understanding that every person has a complex set of needs which are all equally important, both in and out of the workplace. Whenever possible, we try to respect the fact that individuals are complex in order to assist them and maximize their potential within an organization. Consequently, we strive to understand that individuals have different needs, skills, and feelings and to respect those differences in our work with them.
- Trust and support - Organizations are made up of people, and they should be believed in and supported to achieve success. When people are trusted and taken into confidence, as well as, when necessary, support is provided to them, a healthy environment will prevail.
- Collaboration and dialogue - Conflicts concerning any issue should not be suppressed. It should be dealt with in an open and transparent manner. Morale is dampened by suppression. By identifying the problem and its causes, discussing it openly, and finding feasible solutions, morale is boosted, and a positive work environment is created. In teams and organizations, conflict is inevitable. As a result, we believe in using dialogue to address conflict in a healthy, open manner to avoid the negative effects that suppressed conflict may have.
- Participation, involvement, and empowerment of employees - Employees who will be affected by organizational development activities should be involved in decision-making processes. Allowing individuals to function as human beings rather than as supplies for the production process. As practitioners of organizational development, we may hold this value to be the most fundamental. Our clients are encouraged to see the benefit of involving all organizational members in decision-making and change processes as appropriate. We believe that “people support what they help create.”
- Expression - Human beings differ in terms of their age, experience, maturity, ideas, opinions, and outlook. An organization is affected by this situation. A company benefits from the differences in quality, ideas, opinions, and experiences of its employees. Humans are social animals; we have feelings, emotions, anger, sentiments, etc. It is important to allow them to express their emotions and sentiments. This will result in building up high morale and the people will be motivated towards hard work ultimately resulting in increased efficiency.
- Cooperation - Managers should learn to seek cooperation from the employees under their supervision. The result will be an atmosphere of cooperation leading to increased organizational effectiveness and a willingness to accept change as part of the organizational development process.
- Groups and Teams - Organizations are composed of formal and informal groups and teams. It is therefore imperative that clients recognize the norms and beliefs that accompany these structures to assist those groups and teams in contributing most effectively to the organization.
- Growth, Development, and practitioners - People and teams are seen with optimism by OD practitioners. Therefore, they believe that their work with organizations should help people to learn the skills needed to help them navigate change in the future.
- Authenticity, Openness, and Trust – In order to create trusting environments, organizational leaders and members must consistently demonstrate honesty and transparency in their words and actions.
IMPORTANCE OF OD VALUES
Organizational values are important to the study of organizational behavior because they lay the foundation for understanding attitudes and motivation as well as affecting perceptions. It is common for individuals to enter a company with preconceived notions of the way things should be and what they should not be.
Values associated with organizational development contain moral undertones, involving an individual’s judgment 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 almost permanent and hard to change, and
- Are more interior to the heart of a person.
As individuals grow and mature, they acquire values. An individual’s sense of self may develop over the course of his or her lifetime. Values are shaped by cultures, societies, and organizations.
In order for an organization to develop, values must be learned and acquired primarily through interactions with other individuals. Every source of influence contributes to our understanding of what is important in life as we grow and develop. Values are influenced by cultural beliefs. A person’s cultural background determines the basic opinions he or she holds regarding what is good or bad. OD is based on a set of core values and principles that guide behavior and actions.
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