Values

What are values

• Guide our Behaviour

• Right and Wrong

• Internalized

• It predisposes us to judge

• Rarely Questioned

• Some are functional while others

are dysfunctional
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
How do you feel about these?
Thalidomide Debacle
A morning sickness drug introduced by
Pfizer in 1957 resulted in more than
10,000 cases of birth defects

Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Resulted in 16,000 deaths and Lakhs of
sufferer across generations
 How do you feel about these?

• Gulf oil spill (BP’s Deepwater

Horizon rig)
• Polluted 572 miles of Gulf shoreline
killed hundreds of birds and
devastated the marine life in the
region

• Lehman Brothers and financial

meltdown of 2008

• Barrings Bank (nick lesson) , Satyam,

Enron… the list continues…
 What caused these?

Greed

Yes – No

Lack of Guiding Ethical Principles

Values, Morality, Law, and Ethics
• Values are ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ from an individual
standpoint of view
• Morality is the codes of conduct put forward by a
society (or other groups) and accepted by
individuals within the society (or groups)
• Law is the codes of conduct (explicitly written) put
forward by the State and prescribed penalties for
its violation
• Ethics examines the moral code of conduct for the
well-being of all human beings
Business Ethics

• Business Ethics are the codes of conduct that

guide behaviour in business

• What should a business manager do in various

situations?
 If the company's main purpose is to
maximize the returns to its
shareholders, then it should be seen as
unethical for a company to consider
the interests and rights of anyone else.

How do you react to the statement above?

Definition of Value

“ An enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct

or end-state of existence is personally or socially
preferable to an opposite or converse mode of
conduct or end-state of existence”. Milton Rokeach:
1973
Types of values
• Instrumental value – The End state
• Terminal value – Means of achieving the end state
Dimensions of Culture by Hostede

Individualism
Masculinity Vs.
Power Distance Vs. Collectivism
Feminity

Long Vs. short

Uncertainty Indulgence Vs
term
Avoidance Restraint
Orientation