Methodology for working with organizational values

Summary

In the uncertain conditions of today's world, it is a necessity for organizations to have solid values that, assumed by all their members, guarantee the fulfillment of the defined mission and vision, as well as the meaning that they want to give to the actions that guarantee them, through a consistent way of thinking and acting.

In many cases, the work with values does not have sufficient weight from the strategic planning process, a reason that constitutes the support of this document where a procedure is exposed that starts from the diagnosis of values to the evaluation of the modes of action associated with these, articulated with a communication strategy.

In the conditions of uncertainty of the present world it constitutes a necessity organizations to count them on solid values that assumed by all the members, guarantee the fulfillment of the defined mission and vision, as well as the sense that is desired to give to the actions that guarantee them, through a form defined, declared and coherent to think and to act.

In many cases the work with the values does not have the sufficient weight from the process of strategic planning, reason that constitutes the sustenance of this document where a procedure that leaves from the diagnosis of the values until the evaluation of the associated ways of performance to these is declared, articulated with a communication strategy.

Introduction

Values are a word that is eagerly retaken in the current context. Every society has a system of values that includes political, legal, moral, aesthetic, religious, philosophical, scientific that are an expression of socio-economic conditions in a specific historical context.

In Cuba, the Strategic Planning processes have been developed, experimentally, since the 1980s and to date different components have been integrated. From the period 2000-2003, the explicit orientation of technically executing the work with values was introduced and Strategic Planning and Management by Objectives based on Values are applied. The experience in the methodological and advisory work carried out in different Organisms of the Central State Administration and Boards of Directors, has made it possible to systematize some actions that make possible by trial and error, the approach to a procedure proposal that is exposed in this article.

Organizations and their members, as members of society, assume values that are part of their culture, and for this, they are called to define them, as well as describe the modes of action associated with each value, to be communicated and ensure that they sustain the fulfillment of the organizational mission and vision.

The process of declaration of values is part of the strategic design of each organization, it must be led by senior management and defined with participatory processes.

The four steps described in the procedure allow to establish values and behaviors oriented from learning processes, facilitating communication and commitment of all members, as well as evaluating the results in performance. Are they:

Diagnosis of existing values in the organization Conceptualization of Values Definition of modes of conduct associated with organizational values Assessment of modes of action.

All this procedure is based on a process of continuous improvement through a Communication Strategy of organizational Values.

Development

The term value has been treated by several authors, among which it is stated that in organizational culture there are three levels, with a central nucleus formed by the basic assumptions as the essence of culture, the presence of a set of patterns that are identified as values and the behaviors or behaviors that manifest them (Schein, 1991).

Values represent the philosophy of how the management wants to carry out the organization (Leseem, 1990), they must be known and shared by all and redefined to adapt them to the economic and social environment.

The word value has three dimensions that are: the stable belief that a certain behavior is preferable to its opposite mode (ethical dimension); the scope of the importance or significance of something, what is worth (economic dimension) and is the moral quality associated with facing dangers without fear, that is, courage (psychological dimension).

As common elements are the beliefs, the patterns that guide the direction of an organization in a specific context, which for the author in turn respond to satisfy a human need, associated with the personality and the fulfillment of the practical functions of the individual, in the social and personal context in which it develops (Newstrom, Robbins, Ouchi, Schein).

In order for values to constitute a management instrument, it is necessary to integrate them into a continuous learning and communication process, in such a way that they constitute relevant and internalized concepts, to be put into practice in daily actions as support for the fulfillment of organizational objectives.

For this, the following premises must be considered:

Existence of the Strategic Planning process based on values. (According to state and particular planning regulations for the organization.) Involvement of top management. (That guarantees the work with the values in cascade, up to the base.) Application of training processes - action. (For learning, evaluation and communication of work with values.)

The procedure consists of the following steps:

Scheme of procedure for working with values

Figure 1. Procedure scheme for working with values. Own elaboration.

Step 1. Diagnosis of values

Goals:

Identify the perception of the members about the values that are currently present in the organization. Rank the values, discovering the internalized values and establishing priorities for the organization.

It is developed through a group work process. All the organization's personnel participate, starting with a session with senior management. The working groups must not exceed eight people.

Participants are asked to freely list the values present in the organization (they can be those declared in the strategic design and others that under the specific conditions are considered useful for this work) The list of existing values is drawn up. On paper the indicated values, and individually an ascending scale is applied from 1 to 5, to determine the level at which each of them is present in the analyzed organization. It is taken to a group work session, the amount of manageable values for the work of the organization, are weighted and declared.

This process, which is carried out for existing values, is also valid for desired values.

In this step, you can enter the SWOT analysis of values (7) recognized as strategic learning based on the exchange of the individual with his environment.

Table 1. Example SWOT matrix of values, adapted from García and Dolan.

Organization values	Strengths	Weaknesses
Responsibility	-Obligation and commitment for compliance -Self-discipline	-Use of time -Lack of leadership
Teamwork	-Spirit of cooperation -Participation	-Limited creativity -Lack of communication skills
Values of the social environment.	Opportunities	Threats
Environmental respect	-Social recognition …….	-Little knowledge of environmental policy …….
Centralization	-Resource control …….	-Limited reinvestment. …….

From the matrix that considers all the values, the strategy to communicate and share them will be established.

Learning orientation:

SWOT analysis technique applied to values Group work skills Interpersonal communication skills

Step 2. Conceptualization of values

Objective: To put into words the meaning of each selected value, so that the understanding of the content is guaranteed and it is understandable by all members of the organization.

Clarifying dialogues, value sheets, unfinished sentences, and clarifying questions can be used as methods.

It is done through a group work process, using the dictionary and the documentary information that is estimated.

The search for the meaning of the selected values and the adaptation of the semantic content to the specific expression that corresponds to the characteristics of the organization is oriented. If the values are already defined, in this step they can be re-analyzed, enriched or modified. The teams present their conceptualization, the concept of each value is enriched and recorded. The list of values and their meanings is drawn up and approved. This implies the degree of acceptance of a certain value and the commitment to want it, communicate it and share it in the organization.

Below is the example of the conceptualization of the same value elaborated by organizations with different missions:

Responsibility: Obligation to guarantee the fulfillment of the services of the Cuban health system, both in the individual and organizational order. (Ministry of Public Health)

Responsibility: We enable the creation of a climate of self-discipline in the performance of our missions in daily activities. We deploy all our potential in conquering the environment, with responsible boldness. (Ministry of Higher Education)

Learning orientation:

Creativity development techniques. Analysis and synthesis processes.

Step 3. Declaration of Conduct

Objective: To define the ways of behaving, as voluntary ways of acting to comply with each conceptualized value.

It is carried out through a reflective process by which each involved participates consciously and is responsible for what they value and accept, which facilitates their communication process and action accordingly.

The expression is presented by the facilitator:

The X value is present if….

And by means of group work techniques, the list of expressions associated with each value is collected, the list is reduced and the understanding of the expressions formulated is checked in plenary.

Taking as an example the value of responsibility.

I feel that I am responsible if…

I act in a committed and consecrated way to respond to assigned tasks, I foster an atmosphere of collectivism and a sense of belonging, I fulfill the assigned tasks and objectives on time and with quality, I am optimistic, I seek solutions with creativity and enthusiasm,… among others.

It implies the way in which each member of the organization is committed through action, with the intention and fulfillment of each value.

The internal communication process of each of the modes of action is very important so that its fulfillment is not stereotyped, but consciously assimilated and executed.

Learning orientation:

Interpersonal communication skills Elements of ethics Process approach

Step 4. Evaluation

Objective: To define, through behavior analysis, the degree to which each value is present.

Questionnaires, structured training processes, and performance evaluation can be used in this step.

Regarding managerial work, it requires the exercise of educational criticism and the will and commitment to achieve the committed organizational values, in daily action.

A positive performance must consider the congruence between values and daily performance, designing and developing measurement scales (8).

The existence of organizational values can be perceived when:

Its existence satisfies the mission and the needs of the organization It manifests itself in conscious attitudes of the members Its existence and possession provoke enthusiasm and pride It generates behavior modifications towards desired behaviors.

Verification can be done through:

Control and monitoring of the behaviors associated with each value. Focus groups with heterogeneous integration to give their opinion on compliance with the values, through previously formulated questions. The criteria are collected and a report is prepared. Periodic group work sessions, by areas of activity to expose and prioritize the main problems that arise in the process of applying the organization's values, in the specific field of work. questionnaires and other ways to facilitate verification.

When developing the evaluation, results will be obtained that allow to assess to what extent the values have been internalized and contribute to the fulfillment of the objectives.

Learning orientation:

Evaluation techniques Skills for group dynamics Elements of ethics Techniques for the elaboration and measurement of scales.

Communication Strategy

The strategy is an essential instrument for working with values and fulfills the following functions:

It requires periodic reflection and analysis on the organization's relationship with its publics (internal and external) It defines a communication guideline for each public It establishes the different areas of application (internal or external communication, institutional communication, communication leader or other) Ensures coherence to the plurality of communications Determines the criteria for evaluating results.

The communication strategy is reflected in a document that is made known throughout the organization (12) and must be considered.

The organization's communication policy Image objectives for the year, declaring the current image and objective image, regarding the issue of values Other strategic objectives to communicate External communication policy (consider the relevant audiences, objectives of this communication and the strategy for each audience) Internal communication policy (existing subcultures, climate, human resources policy, internal and external corporate communication objectives) Monitoring and control (control and evaluation policy, monitoring, parameters, evaluation deadlines).

It is essential in the content of this strategy to define the messages associated with each step, during the execution of the process itself, taking advantage of the immediacy and timely communication for involvement during the execution of the procedure. Table 2 shows the general results obtained during the application in different organizations.

Table 2. Message contents by procedure execution steps.

Source: self made.

Steps	General messages
1. Diagnosis of values	-List of existing values -Level of weighting of the values - SWOT matrix
2. Conceptualization of values	-Definitive version of the conceptualized values. - SWOT analysis -Work strategies for values
3. Declaration of conduct	-Modes of action described for each value at the central level. -Modes of action of each corresponding work area.
4. Evaluation	-Evaluation periods -Ways and methods for evaluation -Staff involved in evaluations up to the level of work areas. -Behaviors associated with values and their relationship with the fulfillment of objectives, up to the job level.

Values learning processes, designed from the SWOT analysis, which culminates in Step 2, are included in the communication strategy. Other elements relevant to the organization can be added.

Learning orientation:

Organizational communication skills.

Conclusions

The methodological procedure for working with organizational values is based on learning and communication processes and is applicable to any organization. Group work and the intentionality of learning in each step generates commitment, both individual and collective. The manifestation of values in Daily behaviors occur if a process of internalization of their social importance is achieved, to which the proposed evaluation contributes, which helps managers to plan training processes and evaluate performance.The personal example of leaders is a key factor for the assimilation of the procedure in any organization. If the values of the leaders are manifested in daily action, the procedure is positively assimilated and the values are sustainable.

recommendations

Apply the proposed procedure, promoting the intentionality of learning in all steps Encourage the performance of behaviors associated with organizational values, in each space of analysis of the results of the work Design and evaluate training actions in values and communication that is required in each organization Periodically analyze the effect of the Communication Strategy on organizational values.

Bibliography

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