The Management of Meaning – Conditions for Perception of Values in a Hierarchical Organization

Abstract

This article argues that the introduction of value based management in a decentralized, hierarchical, and rule-based organization will add to existing informal and formal systems instead of replacing them. Consequently, employees' perception of and willingness to embrace and operationalize centrally imposed values were assumed to be dependent upon existing emotional, social, and formal processes and structures. Hierarchical regression analysis on data from a maritime company (N = 408) gathered in Norway in 2004 -which claims to be a learning and value based company -showed that affective commitment and group coherence correlated positively with perception of values among employees. Formalization was positively but insignificantly correlated, whereas loyalty toward immediate superiors was significantly negatively correlated with perception of values.

Conditions for Communication in Risk Exposed Organisations

“…One factor accounted for 80.56% of the variance (a = 0.76). Horizontal relationship was assessed by five items adapted from Kirkhaug (2009) examining the degree to which the respondents felt like a tight-knit unit. Example items are 'Do you feel like you get support from your colleagues?'…”

“…Age and organisational experience were measured by asking the respondents to state their age and the number of years in the organisation. Value perception was assessed by four items adapted from Kirkhaug (2009) measuring the degree to which organisational members were able to account for the values in the event they were asked to do so and the degree to which they felt that they complied with the values in daily work.…”

An Unexpected Means of Embedding Ethics in Organizations: Preliminary Findings from Values-Based Evaluations

“…Gruys et al [70] (p. 833) lament that "too often the values of organizations show up on laminated cards or wall plaques, rarely heard or seen", while Lencioni's [71] (p. 113) damning verdict on corporate values statements is that the majority are "bland, toothless or just plain dishonest", with resulting destructive impacts on employee morale, client satisfaction and managerial credibility. Values transmitted implicitly through other channels such as rituals, drama, stories and symbolic constructions within an organization's culture may contradict those that are explicitly communicated in oral or written forms [72]. Even when there is a prominent and unambiguous values discourse within an organization, shared understanding of value meanings may be lacking.…”

Dual-Mission Management in Social Entrepreneurship: Qualitative Evidence from Social Firms in the United Kingdom

“…Furthermore, formalized economic and social objectives into a strategic plan are crucial for management accountability (Tracey and Phillips ), thus impacting on the level of coherence between the SF's aspirations and the concreteness of management decisions and practice. Ultimately, formalization is a structural attribute of organizations, which impacts on the efficiency of decision‐making (Argouslidis and Baltas ); it positively impacts on employees' perception of values (Kirkhaug ), objectives, and, therefore, their emotional commitment to them. We argue that formalization of both social and economic targets is critical to the sustainability and authenticity of the social enterprise as it contributes to lessening tensions over time and developing a mutual supportive identity.…”

“…Furthermore, formalized economic and social objectives into a strategic plan are crucial for management accountability (Tracey and Phillips 2007), thus impacting on the level of coherence between the SF's aspirations and the concreteness of management decisions and practice. Ultimately, formalization is a structural attribute of organizations, which impacts on the efficiency of decision-making (Argouslidis and Baltas 2007); it positively impacts on employees' perception of values (Kirkhaug 2009), objectives, and, therefore, their emotional commitment to them. We argue that formalization of both social and economic targets is critical to the sustainability and authenticity of the social enterprise as it contributes to lessening tensions over time and Table 3 Drivers of Integration Approaches to Dual-Mission Management Blended strategic planning Formalization of the social and economic targets into a unified business plan Blended social and economic targets guided decision-making Tailored production processes Disadvantaged/disable workforce at the center of value creation Incomes from commercial activities reinvested in processes aimed at improving efficiency of employees who are disadvantaged and with disabilities Specific measurement approaches to evaluate the attainment of both economic and social targets Processes aimed at empowering employees who are disadvantaged and with disabilities Blended governance and management structures Blend of skills and knowledge in the composition of governance and management bodies Professionalism combined with a high sensitivity to/vision of blended social and economic targets Commitment to open/learning organizational culture developing a mutual supportive identity.…”