Values ​​approach in organizations

Summary

In this work, an analysis is made about the usefulness of the values ​​approach in organizations, from the strategic direction framework, this work was applied in the company Copextel de Villa Clara, based on detecting ideal conditions to promote change of the organizational culture, organization that is in Business Improvement.

It arises from the need to promote work with organizational values ​​and its usefulness to achieve convergence of goals and coherence of action between workers and organization taking into account that it complements the existing Strategic Management by Objectives model.

The work proposes a procedure in seven key steps to improve management processes based on the organic introduction of priorities in the order of organizational values.

Introduction.

The study of organizational functioning has been, in recent times, one of the main sources of knowledge for business management researchers. This interest has allowed to penetrate the complex world of man and work, as well as has made it possible to become familiar with the diversity of psychological structures valid for its understanding. Although the accumulated experience in these subjects is still insufficient, it could be affirmed that it has served to direct the attention of specialists and managers towards the importance of implementing the values ​​approach as a substantial and determining currency in achieving success in the organization.

Business organizations are essentially human and, consequently, they live together people whose behaviors and relationships respond to a culture in which rites, guidelines and codes prevail that are manifested in attitudes that reflect values. These values ​​are regularly sustained by deep-rooted beliefs, both in the individual and collective spirit, which often do not coincide with the new visions, with the new paradigms and with new ways of approaching the diverse and complex situations and social relations that modernity originates.

The issue of values ​​is complex from any angle. The interested party hardly finds proposals, criticisms and all kinds of analyzes carried out by the specialists of the subject determined to clarify and define their terms. These efforts and the rise of studies about values ​​in the organization are primarily due to the fact that they become crucial as criteria for making both strategic and tactical decisions. The values ​​identify the results expected by those involved in the organization and indicate to the members of the organization how they should act.

Cuba, immersed in a process of economic recovery and orientation towards new markets, finds it of vital importance to promote in organizations the knowledge of shared values ​​within its culture, which subsequently translate into economic, technological and human development in the grounds of organizational culture.

So that in national companies and in other organizational entities, an advance in human thought is imposed, in such a way that values ​​are placed at the center of all actions. This is exacerbated after the disappearance of the socialist field, the continuous decrease in integral efficiency, an almost total restriction of resources for production and services as well as the demotivation of its personnel, from the empowerment of new sectors with more attractive offers in Regarding a comprehensive standard of living for their workers.

In the Cuban business sector, firm steps have been taken in the application of the Strategic Directorate to face the demands and demands of the country, in which the commitment of the companies and production entities become the key to achieving success for provide economic solutions with greater efficiency and productivity in order to consolidate the Cuban economy. But this commitment is not effective, but rests on the basis of clearly identified, grouped and contextualized values ​​in correspondence with the organizational strategy, hence the need to address the values ​​since they only reach the level of the denomination and are not integrated from the strategic, tactical and operational point of view, this being the problematic situation of this investigation.

From which the following scientific problem is derived:

How should companies improve, to strategically, tactically and operationally integrate the values ​​approach in the context of strategic management?

The general objective:

Implement the values ​​approach according to the context of the Strategic Management, applied to the company Copexpel Villa Clara, which is in business improvement.

DEVELOPING

The work starts from the study of values ​​as an essential way to define the fundamental character of each organization, these represent the basic conviction of a specific way of acting (whether personal or social) and allow establishing the bases to understand attitudes, motivation and the expectations of individuals.

In the organizational field, values ​​define the fundamental character of each organization, create a sense of identity and set the guidelines to implement its practices, policies and procedures. On the other hand, although organizational values ​​are an adequate means of dealing with turbulent environments, the emergence of these within the organizational culture can really take generations. For this reason, the efforts of social scientists should focus on creating mechanisms or strategies to accelerate the emergence and fixation of such organizational values. For the research, the authors assume the concept of Dr. Michael O'Connor:

According to him, when we talk about values, by this term we mean, of course, a series of business values ​​that are used as standards so that the organization and people make daily decisions.

From the bibliographic analysis, criteria were adopted on which the categories and hierarchies of the values ​​are established. These criteria include the following:

• DurabilityIntegralityFlexibility: SatisfactionPolarityHierarchyTranscendenceDynamismApplicabilityComplexity.

There is no desirable ordering or unique classification of values ​​in this way, they have been grouped into objective and subjective (Frondizi, 1972) or inferior (economic and affective), intermediate (intellectual and aesthetic) and superior (moral and spiritual) values. Rokeach (1973) formulated instrumental values ​​related to modes of conduct (moral values) and terminal values ​​or referring to desirable states of existence (peace, freedom, happiness, common good). Kennth Cloke and Joan Glodsmith divide them into Values ​​in relationships, values ​​in the process, values ​​in communication, values ​​at work and values ​​in personal life.

Due to the characteristics and purpose of the research, we assume two large groups of values ​​according to the authors' classification Salvador García and Shimon Dolan.

The final values ​​are associated with the vision (Where are we going?) And the mission (What are we going for?). This also defines them as strategic values.

The instrumental or operational values ​​are those associated with the way of thinking and doing things with which the organization tries to face the demands of the environment or integrate its internal tensions to achieve its vision and fulfill its mission. These values ​​call them tactical or shared.

Talking about values ​​does not mean that objectives and strategies should be forgotten. The management by values ​​(DpV) does not annul the Management by Objectives (DpO) and the Strategic Planning (PE), but complements them and facilitates their implementation by giving it greater meaning. In fact, all smart DpOs and PEs already handle values ​​in some way. What the DpV intends is to systematize it.

Of special importance is for our country the introduction of the values ​​approach in the context of Strategic Management by Objectives and especially in companies that are immersed in the Business Improvement process. But why a value approach?

The Values ​​Approach in Strategic Management by Objectives is a unique experience, currently applied in Cuba, that is intended to be extended to all companies in the country when they have the necessary conditions.

According to Mérida (2003), the Values ​​Approach… ”Consists of organizations identifying a set of shared values, which are inviolable, and distinguishing them from the rest of the values ​​to put them into practice in a way that generates commitment, enthusiasm and sustained dedication. through work ”

The main objectives of the Values ​​Approach are.

• Knowledge and competence. Integration with synergy and shared values. Improvement, efficiency, productivity and quality. Attention to man.

The Values ​​Approach will allow the organization's worker to find out what the meaning of their work is based on the results that must be achieved collectively in order to foster a culture of commitment. The culture of commitment requires that the organization's strategies converge with personal strategies in order to encourage personal development with quality of life programs at work.

For some years now, the Cuban company has set out to seek efficiency, effectiveness and competitiveness at all costs, and there are many changes it is facing to achieve this. Among them the most important are associated with the implementation of Quality Systems, Environmental Management Systems and Business Improvement, all this is part of a single objective: to achieve the competitiveness of the national company.

Carlos Lage expressed: It is a change in the mentality of the bosses, who have to understand that the success or failure of their company depends fundamentally on him, his management group and his group of workers. Without this transformation there will be no progress.

Being the Values ​​Approach an extremely novel management tool, the work proposes a series of steps that allow determining the degree of congruence that exists between its variables, defining on which indicators to work to achieve the compatibility and harmonic operation of the system as a whole..

Definition of the final strategic values.

Defining end values ​​is the first step in implementing the value approach in an organization. What gives coherence to an organization is precisely the clarity and consensus of its goals; or what is the same, of its ends.

The final values ​​are essential to make sense and unite the effort to direct the company in the long term. These make reference to the type of company that one wants to become, the dimension to be reached and the differentiation that is intended to be assumed. In fact, the values ​​embedded in the vision define the company's essential strategic choices.

Another set of final values ​​are those integrated into the mission or raison d'être of the company.

Result of the application

In this stage a survey is applied to know the importance that the company workers gave to each of the proposed values ​​using the survey method to a sample of 130 people. The surveys were processed in Microsoft Excel. The selected values ​​were:

• Excellence in servicesQualityHuman ResourcesDiversity of the market and services.ProfessionalismLong learning

Reformulation of the mission and vision.

The first thing to do in this step is to check if the final values ​​defined in Step 1 are contained or reflected in the mission and vision of the company.

If they are contained, the next step is taken, otherwise the mission and vision must be reformulated. Although it seems simple, care must be taken when placing values ​​in the mission and vision, since each of them has different purposes. There are values ​​that reflect what the company does or how it works, while there are others that anticipate what the company will be in a few years.

This redefinition of the mission could be said to be a relaunch of the company's potential, which has already reached the peak of its development and before they begin to fall into a period of deterioration.

As a final result of this step, the insertion of the final values ​​of the organization in the mission and vision is obtained.

Result of the application

To carry out this step, the document containing the company's Strategic Planning was reviewed, headed by the mission and vision, where it was seen that not all the strategic values ​​were contained within them. Through the group work technique these basic categories are reformulated.

Finally, the reformulated mission and vision are as follows:

Mission

We offer products and services associated with state-of-the-art technology, we are distinguished by quality, professionalism, and responsibility towards our clients, guaranteeing leadership in the market that we serve in the central region, we have the necessary human, financial and material resources for the development of our job

View

We are distinguished by excellence in the services we provide to our clients, with quality, professionalism and variety, establishing our presence in all sectors of the tourism and business market.

Definition of operating values.

Once the mission and vision have been defined, it is necessary to select what the operational values ​​are to guide the achievement of the desired future.

The operational or shared values ​​have their own category, and therefore, differentials from the final values. While the final values ​​are eminently strategic, the shared values ​​are tactical, they are the tactical means used to achieve the mission and vision.

By definition it can be said that operational values ​​are the few critical values ​​with which the organization's statements must commit energies. They are the statements of basic values ​​that must guide the daily conduct of all to carry out the mission and the vision. (Díaz Llorca, C., 2000)

The end result of this step is the list of values ​​that are shared in the organization from the perspective of its workers.

Result of the application.

The way followed to find the operating values ​​is framed in a process of "brainstorming" and the list of values ​​was divided into three large groups or categories identified by the authors consulted with different nomenclature, but which refer to the same sector of the operating culture of the company, where ethical values ​​correspond to those related to the environment, practical values ​​correspond to those related to the management of economic resources, and development values ​​are those that have to do with processes internal humans.

Once the values ​​have been divided into three groups provided, the list was reaffirmed with 48 values, then using the list reduction technique, finally the three selected operating values ​​are:

• Ethical value: Prestige Practical value: Responsibility Development value: Differentiation

Formulation of the declaration of principles.

After defining the shared values ​​of the company, the statement of principles should be formulated, which is nothing more than the conceptual definition of each value adapted to the particular context of the company.

Herein lies the authenticity of the process of prospecting for shared values; precisely in determining the collective meaning of these, operationally identified with the daily personality of the company in question, and not as a pantheon of abstract ideals.

The determination of the declaration of principles of shared values ​​is not only an exercise in solving a technical problem; it is a process in which all parties must participate in order to achieve a design and agreement together.

Result of the application.

For the successful completion of this step, a third question was added to the shared values ​​survey, where each worker had to write down what each of the values ​​they selected in the previous questions means in the context of the company. Subsequently, the manager discussed which of the proposed criteria would prevail and whether a change in their formulation would be necessary.

Finally, the declaration of principles is as follows:

Prestige: (ethical value)

We identify ourselves with the recognitions granted by the top leadership of the party, the government and the corporation. Copextel's social impact on customers and society for attending programs. The prestige acquired by the high technology we have, by the quality system we have certified by the Lloyd's Register, by the professionalism with which we work.

Responsibility: (practical value)

We recognize individual and collective excellence, valuing the results obtained through the dissemination of the achievements of the workers, making daily use of the system of moral and material stimulation. We are responsible for meeting the goals, objectives and plans of our division.

Differentiation: (development value)

We are characterized by the results that distinguish us as an organization before clients and before the competition itself, for the work we do with the required quality, we work on its continuous improvement, we identify ourselves with the high technology we have,

Communication of operating values.

The true development of shared values ​​in the company must be a process of dialogue between all relevant interest groups, rather than a process of descending sale of invented words at the top. (García and Dolan, 1997)

The results obtained from the distillation of the shared values, requires to be reproduced, analyzed and discussed with all workers. It must be known to all and accepted by all. Not a formal discussion of the document, but a specific debate on how the criteria set forth in the workplace and in daily behavior are specified.

The simplest worker must know how their behavior plays with the operational values ​​of the organization, so that it becomes decisive for the results they want to achieve.

With this step it is possible to communicate to all workers in a climate of participation what are the operational values ​​of the organization, as well as its importance. Its final result is the raising of the degree of awareness of the workers about the importance of knowing and assuming the operational values ​​of the organization.

Result of the application.

The communication of the values ​​was made through graphic means such as posters, brochures, meetings with the workers, but in no case did they forget to carry out personal cascading presentations throughout the length and breadth of the company. It is important how in these presentations the participatory process that was followed to achieve them was highlighted.

Align rules of conduct with operational values.

Operational values ​​should never be considered as normative guidelines for behavior, usually perceived as indoctrination manuals. If the intention is to treat employees as adults with discretion, the operational values ​​must have a character of constitution or agreed rules of the game. (García and Dolan, 1997)

Values ​​are strategic expressions, norms are tactical. By virtue of this, the values ​​are not a simple statement; they require and play a special role in the development of actions consistent with said values. These actions must become rules of conduct for each member of a group, and for this, the interaction of each one is essential in order to convert them into agreed rules of conduct.

These agreed rules of conduct that arise from the interaction of each one of the members of a group are precisely the Norms and their non-compliance can generate external sanctions. In other words, non-compliance with regulations that must be in direct line with certain expected values ​​may imply penalties for those who do not have expectations based on said values.

Result of the application.

In this step, after determining the operating values, it is necessary to know the performance standards associated with each value. Here we ask ourselves: what basic fundamentals of action should serve as standards to achieve the operating values? It includes making an exhaustive analysis of the company regulations to introduce those that are not contained. In addition to teamwork with the legal entity of the company and with the people in charge of complying with said regulations. We take the prestige value as an example:

Standards of conduct associated with ethical value Prestige:

Disciplinary regulation.

Chapter II

Article 6: The duties of the workers belonging to the Villa Clara Territorial Division are:

1. Selflessly serve the country, strictly comply with the directives emanating from the PCC, our socialist state and the Commander-in-Chief. Maintain conduct with the principles of socialist morality, ensuring that the same conduct is carried out by family members under their care and protection, being example of discipline, honesty, modesty and hard work Basing friendly relations on true principles and revolutionary convictions Being objective and fighting against all manifestations of subjectivism Carry out your work observing the principle of optimal service provision and good customer service Provide services with quality and professionalism to clients Provide personalized services to potential clients

Align strategic values ​​between objectives and strategies.

The most rational way to convert values ​​into measurable actions is to translate them into objectives. A value that is not translated into specific action objectives is no more than a utopian purpose.

The final values ​​are critical variables for the success of the company, so they must be translated into general objectives for action in the long or medium term.

Implementing the goals to be achieved means putting the objectives in line with the defined values. It is to focus on the compatibility that must be in the specific actions according to the results that have to be achieved.

To achieve this, measurement indicators must be proposed in the current situation of real development of each of the strategic values. In the event that these indicators do not exist, they must be specifically created.

ARCs are those where performance is vital to the development of the company in the longer term. Each organization has to determine them and from them set verifiable objectives.

In this step, the relationship of the objectives and strategies of the company aligned with the strategic values ​​is obtained.

Result of the application.

Once the previous stage has been completed, the research team prepares the objectives, responding to the strategic values ​​of the organization, in line with or aligned with the mission and vision (Table I). A group dynamics was carried out where the ARCs were established and for each one of them the strategic objectives.

Table I: Integration of objectives and values.

The Key Results Areas are:

• Financial economic managementMarketQuality managementHuman resources managementTechnology

The Strategic Objectives were defined by ARC with their corresponding criteria for measures and strategies, below we present the case of Financial Economic Management.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Objective: Achieve the progressive improvement of the economic-financial indicators as a result of greater efficiency in business management.

Measurement Criteria

1. An annual economic return of 10.2% is achieved. The sales plan is fulfilled. The collection cycle does not exceed 60 days. The expenses are reduced by 1 cent per sales weight that represents 46000 CUC. The cost per service weight is less than 0.75 cents The certification of the financial statements and the results achieved in the audits are maintained as acceptable The inventory turnover cycle does not exceed 45 days The immediate liquidity was increased by 10 cents and the general liquidity by 20 cents pennies.

Strategies:

• Carry out more aggressive collection management. Establish systematic inventory scrubbing with slow movement. Systematically assess the results offered by the indicators and execute the corresponding actions to increase business efficiency. Disseminate the information on the economic and financial results to all workers. of the Division.

Control and feedback.

Strategic control implies the possibility of taking corrective actions due to changes in the environment, problems in the design of the strategy itself and in its execution. Therefore, the objective of this step is to periodically verify whether the organization is moving towards achieving its objectives.

Result of the application.

The main actions that control considers in this regard are:

• Permanent feedback, based on the criteria of the clients about the validity and fulfillment of the mission of the organization, inquiring about the behavior of the personnel in this regard. Constant diagnosis to evaluate the possible changes that are operating in the environment of the organization and introduce the necessary corrections and contingency measures. Bimonthly check of the key results areas to evaluate their performance. Quarterly rendering of the management councils of the heads of the key results areas to evaluate the fulfillment of the strategic objectives, the achievement of their criteria. of measures and actions provided for in the action plan Monthly analysis by ARC with all staff to evaluate the results that are obtained,detect the causes of the deviations and adopt the appropriate corrective measures. Annual strategy evaluation meeting with all the workers of the organization to assess its results.

Feedback mechanisms are established, such as contacts with clients, which will allow timely detection of deviations that may occur in each of the steps of the model. Application of surveys, interviews, observation, contacts with clients, visits to potential clients, etc.)

CONCLUSIONS

1. The need to apply Strategic Management by Objectives with a Values ​​Approach is recognized in the Cuban business context, since man is a key factor in the process of change that is carried out in Business Improvement and with his commitment, preparation and sense of belonging, it will be possible to respond to the demands that the country demands of them. The values ​​approach allows the identification of a set of shared values, which are inviolable, and distinguishes them from the rest of the values ​​to put them into practice in a way that generates commitment, enthusiasm and sustained dedication through work.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The application of research in organizations that meet the established conditions and that are in Business Improvement, The continuation of studies in the work with values ​​in organizations.

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