Influence of Personal Values and Value Congruence on Unethical Practices and Work

Behavior
Author(s): Damodar Suar and Rooplekha Khuntia
Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 97, No. 3 (December 2010), pp. 443-460
Published by: Springer
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40929464
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Journal of Business Ethics (2010) 97:443-460 © Springer 2010
DOI 10.1007/sl0551-010-0517-y
Influence of Personal Values and Value
Congruence on Unethical Practices
and Work Behavior
ABSTRACT. The study examines whether (a) personal
and organizational values differ in private and public
sectors, and (b) personal values and value congruence -
the extent of matching between personal and organiza-
tional values - influence unethical practices and work
behavior. Three hundred and forty middle-level managers
from four manufacturing organizations rated 22 values as
guiding principles to them to identify their personal val-
ues. In order to index organizational values, 56 top-level
managers of the same organizations rated how important
such values were to the organization. Results revealed
that the important shared values among managers of
private and public sectors are product quality and cus-
tomer service. Congruence between personal and orga-
nizational values is found to be higher in the private sector
compared to the public sector. Middle-level managers in
the private sector shared the organizational values more
than the managers in the public sector. Irrespective of the
type of organizations and age of managers, personal values
more potently and consistently decreased unethical prac-
tices and increased work behavior compared to value
congruence. Hiring managers emphasizing personal values
can demote unethical practices and promote work
behavior.
KEY WORDS: organizational values, personal values,
value congruence, unethical practices, work behavior
Damodar Suar Ph.D. (Social Science) is a Professor and cur-
rently the Head in the Department of Humanities and Social
Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West
Bengal, India. His research focuses on organizational
behavior and business ethics.
Rooplekha Khuntia Ph.D. (Social Science) is an Associate
Professor at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore,
Tamil Nadu, India. Her current research interest is in busi-
ness ethics.
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Damodar Suar
Rooplekha Khuntia
Introduction
Values are socially and personally shared conceptions
of the good, desirable, and righteous. They are
stabilized beließ about personally or socially pre-
ferred modes of conduct or end-states of existence
(Rokeach, 1973). They determine how one ought to
or ought not to behave or act. In conversations, we
qualify values using words like ought, should, good,
right, and fair. Values are so central to individuals'
personality and cognitive structure (Pitts and
Woodside, 1991) that they influence every facet of
human behavior (Rokeach, 1973, p. 24) - attitudes,
decisions, moral judgments, evaluations, and social
action. Intrinsic qualities of values determine our
outer behavior. People seek these qualities in activi-
ties they engage, in objects they acquire, in principles
they cultivate, in situations they live through, in
professions they work, and in evaluations they make.
Values are, thus, prime drivers of personal, social, and
professional choices.
Organizational values (OVs) are less researched
(Liedtka, 1991) compared to "instrumental and
terminal values" (Rokeach, 1973), "basic human
values" (Schwartz, 1992) "work values" (Super,
1970), and "cultural values" (Hofstede, 1980). Val-
ues depend on the contexts in which they are found.
Work and cultural values are desirable in work and
cultural contexts, respectively. Similarly, OVs such
as customer satisfaction, cost control, and product
quality are desirable in organizational contexts.
Though other researchers have used instrumental
and terminal values (Clare and Sanford, 1979;
Reagan et al., 1982) to assess OVs, these values are
not suited to the business world (e.g., a world at
peace, world of beauty). OVs stem from the vision
444 Damodar Suar and Rooplekha Khuntia
and mission statements of the organization (Raynor,
1998) and are incorporated in rules, policies, and
practices to uphold the integrity of organizational
members. The top-level managers hold, practice,
and promulgate OVs. Such values are preserved
formally by selecting personnel during recruitment
whose values match with the organization and
socializing them to the organizational ethos, and
informally through rituals, stories, myths, and heroic
acts. In the context of OVs, enquiring about the
importance of values to employees discloses personal
value priorities. Asking the employees or their
supervisors about the importance of values to the orga-
nization reveals OV priorities. This study (a) exam-
ines the differences between personal values and
OVs across the public and private sectors, and (b)
tests whether the personal values and the congruence
between personal values and OVs impact unethical
practices and work behavior.
Values have been assessed using a number of
methodological approaches. First, values are mea-
sured using rating (Finegan, 2000) and ranking
(Reagan et al., 1982) scales. Second, the impor-
tance of personal values and OVs has been assessed
over a set of values (Finegan, 2000; Meglino et al.,
1989; Reagan et al, 1982) or two different sets of
values (Akaah and Lund, 1994). Third, prioritiza-
tion of values as guiding principles to employees
indexes personal values, and to the organization
indexes OVs. Fourth, the degree of similarity be-
tween OVs and personal values indexes the extent
of value congruence (VC) (Verquer et al., 2003). In
Meglino et al.'s (1989) study, the rank-ordering of
values by employees and supervisors indexed their
personal values. The VC between a worker and
her/his supervisor is determined by correlating the
rank-ordering obtained from the worker with the
rank-ordering of values obtained from her/his
supervisor. Posner and Schmidt (1993) assessed VC
by asking respondents about the clarity of their
personal values and the certainty with which they
understand OVs. VC is gaugecl based on conso-
nance or contention between personal values and
OVs. However, without assessing specific values, it
is difficult to infer VC on the basis of replies to two
questions. This study assesses personal values and
OVs over the same set of values using a rating
scale. However, the instructions differ for different
categories of employees.
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Organizational values indicate how things ought
to be, and how employees are expected to act or live
in the organization. The extent to which personal
values match with OVs is considered to be one
indicator of "fit" between the individual and the
organization (Dawis and Lofquist, 1984). This is
referred to as the "person-organization" fit (Chat-
man, 1989; Verquer et al., 2003) or VC. VC occurs
when (a) at least one entity, either the organization
or the employee, provides what the other needs, or
(b) they share similar fundamental characteristics, or
(c) both (Kristof, 1996). This is based on the inter-
actionist point of view that VC is a function of
individual characteristics and organizational charac-
teristics (Chatman, 1989; Kristof, 1996).
Recruiters select persons whose values match
with the organization (Adkins et al., 1994). VC
further develops during the time employees gradu-
ally socialize into an organization. Organizational
socialization tactics such as mentoring, interaction
with superiors, formal training, and participation in
company-sponsored social events help in transmit-
ting OVs. The extent of internalization of OVs is the
degree of VC. VC reinforces employees to engage in
activities congruent with organizational demands. It
enhances communication, fosters friendliness and
teamwork, and reduces potential conflict, dissatis-
faction, and inefficiency. On the contrary, an
employee who is recruited on the basis of a small
number of task-related attributes, such as education
and experience, may possess values that are incon-
gruent with the values prevalent in the organization
and may not change her/his values following the
occupational socialization in the organization. In
such cases, friction between personal values and OVs
creates misfits. For example, an employee valuing
"cautiousness" is likely to shrink in a business
environment that encourages "risk-taking." A per-
son possessing the "self-enhancement" value to
exercise power over others may face difficulty in a
work situation that demands the "self-transcen-
dence" value to serve others. VC, thus, becomes a
key driver of employees' success vis-à-vis the cor-
porate institution (Howard, 1990).
The sharing of OVs among employees shapes the
organizational culture (Drucker, 1988). Sinha's
(1990, pp. 199-200) study uncovered two distinct
work cultures in India. In the soft work culture of
the state-owned public sector, employees engage in
 Values, Unethical Practices and Work Behavior 445
non-work activities, seek social and personal inter-
ests, do not work hard, do not have positive affect
for work, and maximize personal gains. The mana-
gerial policies, practices, and philosophy are liberal
and pliant. The opposite exists in the individual-
owned private sector: a synergetic work culture with
assertive and people-oriented management. Given
these cultural differences, the sharing of OVs among
managers will be greater in the private than in the
public sector. Accordingly, we propose the follow-
ing hypothesis (H):
Hp The personal values of managers would match
with the OVs in the private sector but they
would differ in the public sector.
Unethical practices are managers' unjust, unfair,
and wrong behaviors. Managers' unethical practices
may sometimes pay off but in the long-run can
defame the company, cost hard cash, reduce share
price, and dampen business prospects (Becker and
Fritzche, 1987; Velasquez, 2002, p. 5). On the
contrary, whether the organization will be vibrant
and productive depends on work behavior includ-
ing managers' job performance, organizational
commitment, job satisfaction, and initiative. Job
performance is a proxy measure of an employee's
productivity and is the degree to which an em-
ployee has executed his/her assigned duties. For
assessing job performance, a "behavioral observa-
tion scale" assesses the frequency ("never" to
"always") with which each job-related behavior
occurs, and a "behavioral rating scale" evaluates the
quality of each job-related behavior ("very poor"
to "very well"). Organizational commitment is the
bond between the employees and the employing
organization. It is the employees' positive emo-
tional attachment to and identification with the
goals of the organization (affective commitment),
and their desire to continue their job in the orga-
nization because they perceive high economic
(such as pension accruals) and social (friendship ties
with co-workers) costs of losing organizational
membership (continuance commitment). Though
normative commitment entails feelings of moral
obligation to put forth efforts on the job, it is not
so important to conceptualize commitment (Allen
and Meyers, 1990). Taking initiative includes
behavior to do more and varied jobs indepen-
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dently. Job satisfaction is an attitude toward the job.
It entails the extent to which employees' job-re-
lated needs are met. It may reside in factors external
to the job like salary, working conditions, working
hours, fringe benefits (leave facilities, provident
fund, health insurance, etc.), and relations with
superiors, subordinates, and peers, or in factors
internal to the job, that employees experience
while doing the job, like the interesting nature of
the job, responsibility, and scope for professional
growth, or in both.
Similar findings surface when the personal values
and VC are linked to unethical practices and work
behavior. One set of findings suggests the importance
of personal values to ethical practices and work
behavior (Akaah and Lund, 1994; Posner and
Schmidt, 1993). If the employees have possessed
values for product quality, customer service, honesty,
sincerity, transparency, obedience to rules, etc. in the
family, community, and are further reinforced
through socialization tactics in the organization, such
personal values will inhibit unethical practices and
facilitate work behavior. Having acquired the per-
sonal values, the employee will behave habitually
with self-knowledge, reasons, and good intentions
overcoming temptations. Another set of evidence
suggests that VC reduces unethical practices of
organizational members (Posner and Schmidt, 1993)
and has positive consequences for employees'
adaptability, job performance, job involvement,
commitment, job satisfaction, retention rates, career
success, and citizenship behavior (Bretz and Judge,
1994; Chatman, 1991; Kraimer, 1997; Liedtka, 1991;
Meglino et al., 1989; O'Reilly et al., 1991; Suar et al.,
1989; Verquer et al., 2003). Even in grassroots forest
protection organizations in India, organizational
members' participation for forest conservation has
increased depending on the parity of forest conser-
vation values of members with treasurers and secre-
taries in forest protection organizations (Sinha and
Suar, 2003). Accordingly, a proposition is made and a
research question (RQ) is posed:
H2: The personal values and the VC of managers
would decrease their unethical practices and
increase their work behavior.
RQp Of the managers' personal values and VC,
which one would more decrease unethical
practices and increase work behavior?
 446 Damodar Suar and Rooplekha Khuntia
Research on values is carried out on employees
and on different levels of the managerial hierarchy.
This study focuses on middle-level managers. They
carry out top-management policies and strategies,
and realize the corresponding actions through
bottom-line managers and workmen. Middle-level
managers are in an excellent position to understand
the OVs as defined by strategy and culture because
they execute the operational activities embodied in
strategy and culture. Knowing whether personal
values or VC more reduce unethical practices and
enhance work behavior is crucial for understand-
ing the choices and behaviors of middle-level
managers.
Control variables
The nature of the organization (private vs. public)
and age of employees can influence unethical prac-
tices and work behavior. Private sector companies
meet the demands of the customers constantly,
operate in an intensely competitive environment,
emphasize high-task, close relationships, participa-
tion, and employees' care. Their survival depends on
retention of market share along with profit maxi-
mization (Petrick and Quinn, 1997). On the con-
trary, public sector companies derive power from
state, meet the long-range interests and needs of the
public, and have many pro-employees' welfare pol-
icies (Petrick and Quinn, 1997). They operate in a
protected environment away from market pressures,
emphasize a low-task, impersonal work environ-
ment, and bureaucratic set-up with too many rules
and regulations for employees without actual practice
(Sharma and Bhal, 2001). Given these descriptions
along with the culture discussed earlier (Sinha, 1990),
managers in the private sector would indulge less in
unethical practices and show more work behavior
than managers in the public sector.
Evidence suggests that older employees are more
ethical than younger employees (Brenner, 1988;
Deshpande, 1997; Mudrack, 1989). Older employ-
ees, by virtue of their longer tenure, are more ex-
posed to norms in the organization and are aware of
the adverse consequences of unethical practices
(Lerner, 1980) that reinforce them to be ethical.
Also, older employees have financial security and are
settled in jobs. They are less likely to engage in
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unethical practices that can jeopardize their security
(Serwinek, 1992). Older employees are found to be
better performers (Waldman and Avolio, 1986),
more committed (Meglino et al., 1989; Sayeed,
2001), and more satisfied with their jobs (White and
Spector, 1987) than the younger employees. This
suggests that managers in the private sector and the
older managers would be less unethical and have
more favorable work behavior than managers in the
public sector and the younger managers, respec-
tively. The last proposition cannot be tested and the
research question cannot be answered without
controlling the confounding effects of the type of
organizations and the age of employees because
evidence suggests that they influence unethical
practices and work behavior.
In summary, this study intends to compare the
value prioritization of middle- and top-level man-
agers in the private and public sectors. Controlling
the confounding effects of the type of organizations
and age of managers, it examines the impact of
personal values and VC on unethical practices and
work behavior. It also explores whether personal
values or VC would better inhibit unethical practices
and facilitate work behavior.
Method
Sample
Permission to collect data was sought from the
authorities of two private and two public sector
manufacturing industries from Orissa and Jharkhand
states in eastern India. The public sector steel plant in
Orissa state and the private sector steel plant in
Jharkhand state were well-known and so also the
public sector aluminum plant in Orissa state and the
private sector aluminum plant in Jharkhand state.
Four hundred middle-level managers in the rank of
assistant/junior managers were selected randomly
from the official records of the companies. They
were approached individually and briefed about the
purpose of the study. They were given the ques-
tionnaires, assured complete anonymity of responses,
and requested to return the filled-in questionnaires
within a fortnight. The questionnaires were collected
personally and resulted in the return of 340 (85%)
completed questionnaires. There were a few female
 Values, Unethical Practices and Work Behavior 447
executives and they were excluded to avoid con-
tamination of results by gender differences.
Of the 340 middle-level managers, 152 were from
private sector and 188 were from public sector
companies (Table I). The sample also included top-
level managers at the level of general and deputy
general managers. One hundred top-level managers
were given the questionnaire, which was about one-
fourth the number of the middle-level managers that
were recruited. Twenty top-level managers from the
private and 36 from public sector companies (56%)
returned the filled-in questionnaires.
Socio-demographic profiles of managers from
private and public sector companies were compared
using Fisher's F ratio (Table I). The middle-level
managers in private sector companies were a little
older, had less years of formal education, had higher
basic salary, and had fewer promotions than the
middle-level managers in public sector companies.
However, the middle-level managers from both the
sectors did not differ on their length of service in
organizations. The top-level managers from both the
sectors did not differ on their age, number of years
of study in formal educational institutions, length
of service, and number of promotions received.
However,, the top-level managers in private sector
companies had more basic salary than the same cadre
managers in public sector companies.
Measures
The questionnaire for middle-level managers
included measures of values, unethical practices,
performance, organizational commitment, job satis-
faction, and taking initiative along with the socio-
demographic variables of age, education, length of
service, salary, and number of promotions. Items used
in the questionnaire along with their validity and
reliability are given in Appendix. Based on scores of
the current sample, construct validity of measures is
reported using principal component analysis and
rotating factor scores through varimax procedure.
The Cronbach alpha reliability of constructs used in
the study was high (>0.70), except for a dimension of
unethical practices (alpha = 0.51) and both dimen-
sions (alpha = 0.66 and 0.53) of organizational
commitment.
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Values
Twenty-two items, inclusive of 13 items from
Liedtka's (1991) descriptions, were used to measure
organizational values. Each middle-level manager
was instructed to indicate to what extent each value was
important as a guiding principle to her/him by assigning a
score between 1 (least importance of a value) and 20
(most importance of a value). This indexed personal
values of middle-level managers. When their scores
on 22 items were factor analyzed and rotated, four
factors emerged, which explained 62.48% of the
total variance. The first factor contained eight values
for "corporate excellence" - organizational leader-
ship, organization's reputation, employee welfare,
budget stability, organizational growth, profit max-
imization, product quality, and customer service.
The second factor included seven values for "orga-
nizational sustenance" - quality in personnel, cost
consideration, participative management, obedience
to rules, maintenance of physical work conditions,
protection of surrounding environment, and reward
for employees' worthy contribution. The third fac-
tor contained three items for "social concern" -
tolerance for diversity, service to the general public,
and community welfare. The last factor incorporated
four values - innovation, honesty, sincerity, and
transparency - which were indicative of "managerial
virtues." High scores indicated more importance to
values.
Another questionnaire for top-level managers
contained only values and socio-demographic mea-
sures. The questionnaire contained the same value
items and scoring that were used with middle-level
managers, but differed in instructions. Top-level
managers were instructed to indicate to what extent
each value was important as a guiding principle to the
organization. This indicated the importance of values
to the organization.
Unethical practices
Fourteen items were taken from Newstorm and
Ruch (1975) and Jones (1990) scales, and three items
were developed to assess unfair and wrong practices.
Response categories against each item were on a six-
point Likert-type scale ranging from "not at all
acceptable" (1) to "all the time acceptable" (6).
When the scores on items were factor analyzed and
rotated, three factors emerged, which explained
56.84% of the total variance. The first factor,
 448 Damodar Suar and Rooplekha Khuntia

TABLE I

Sample profile

Characteristics Sector F

Private Public
M (SD) M (SD)

Middle-level manager
Age 39.65 (7.60) 37.75 (6.65) 6.06*
Years studied 16.61(1.34) 17.09(1.41) 10.42***
Service (in years) 13.63 (7.82) 13.05 (6.67) 0.53
Monthly basic pay (IR) 12,175.07 (2281.92) 9193.22 (2223.45) 147.65***
Number of promotions 1.91(2.04) 3.18(1.52) 42.91***
Top-level manager
Age 47.63 (7.21) 48.20 (4.71) 0.13
Years studied 17.40 (1.19) 17.74 (1.56) 0.70
Service (in years) 19.52 (8.73) 22.31 (7.00) 1.70
Monthly basic pay (IR) 18,985 (3330.13) 12,734.72 (3822.65) 40.71***
Number of promotions 4.85(3.01) 4.94(1.07) 0.03

Note. F values are against 1, 338 df for middle-level and 1, 54 df against top-level managers.
IR Indian rupees.
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***/> < 0.001.

"manipulative and expedient behavior," consisted of
nine items. Sample items include, "Giving/accept-
ing gifts in exchange for preferential treatment" and
"Falsifying time/quality reports." The second factor,
"cheating in performance and misuse of finance,"
consisted of five items. Sample items include,
"Taking longer time than necessary to do a job" and
"Padding an expense account." The third factor,
"violation of organizational norms," consisted of
three negatively keyed items. Sample items include,
"Being very secretive about organization's sensitive
information" and "Sticking to organization's rules
and policies." Higher summated scores on items of a
factor indicated high value for that factor.
Job performance
Job performance was measured through seven items
of Abrainis's (1985) job performance scale. Sample
items include, "Producing satisfactory quantity of
work" and "meeting deadlines." Each respondent
was asked to report how well she/he was doing on
each item over the last 6 months on the job. The
response categories against each item were given on
a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from very poor
(1) to very well (5). When the scores on items were
factor analyzed, one factor emerged, which ex-
plained 49.76% of the total variance. High additive
scores on items indicated high performance.
Organizational commitment
Eight items were taken from Mowday et al. 's
(1979) scale to measure organizational commitment.
Response categories against each item were on a
Likert-type five-point scale ranging from "strongly
disagree" (1) to "strongly agree" (5). When the
scores on items were factor analyzed and rotated,
two factors emerged, which explained 48.64% of the
total variance. The first factor, "affective commit-
ment," consisted of five positively keyed items.
Sample items include, "I am proud to tell that I am a
part of this organization" and "I really care about the
fate of this organization." The second factor,
"continuance commitment," consisted of three
negatively keyed items. Sample items include,
"There is not too much to be gained by sticking
with this organization indefinitely" and "Deciding
to work for this organization was a definite mistake
on my part." High additive scores on items of a
factor indicated high value for that factor.

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 Values, Unethical Practices and Work Behavior 449
Job satisfaction
Job satisfaction was measured using a 14-item
questionnaire of Kanungo et al. (1975). The re-
sponse descriptions against each item were given on
a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from highly
dissatisfied (1) to highly satisfied (5). When the
scores on items were factor analyzed and rotated,
two factors emerged, which explained 49.67% of the
total variance. The first factor, "predominant
intrinsic satisfaction," consisted of eight items.
Sample items include, "to what extent are you satis-
fied or dissatisfied with... responsibility," and "...
advancement." The second factor, "extrinsic satis-
faction," consisted of six items. Sample items include,
"to what extent are you satisfied or dissatisfied with
"...basic salary," and "...working hours." High
additive scores on items of a factor indicated more
value for that factor.
Taking initiative
Taking initiative was measured by drawing 1 1 items
from the checklist provided by Kelly and Caplan
(1991). The response descriptions against each item
were given on a five-point Likert-type scale ranging
from, never (1) to almost always (5). When the
scores on items were factor analyzed, one factor
emerged, which explained 43.86% of the total var-
iance. Sample items include, "I do more than I am
asked to do" and "I look for other interesting pro-
jects to work on when my present work gets closer
to the finish line." High additive scores on items
indicated taking more initiative.
Results
Value prioritization
With differing instructions, the ratings on 22 values
assessed personal values of middle-level managers
and the ratings on same values evaluated OVs of top-
level managers. The value prioritization can be ob-
served from the mean ratings of values (Table II).
The more important personal values in private sector
companies were product quality, obedience to
organizational rules, customer service, and honesty,
and the less important personal values were em-
ployee welfare, development of the community
surrounding the industry, tolerance for diversity, and
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service to the general public. The important OVs of
the same sector were customer service, product
quality, sincerity, and reputation of the firm. Such
companies were the least concerned about service to
general public, budget stability, personnel quality,
and tolerance for diversity. Important shared values
in private sector were customer service, product
quality, and the cherished managerial virtues of
honesty and sincerity.
The personal values of middle-level executives in
public sector attached more importance to product
quality, customer service, sincerity, and honesty and
less importance to maintenance of physical work
conditions, development of the community, service
to the general public, and tolerance for diversity.
The prioritized OVs in the same sector were profit
maximization, reputation of the firm, product
quality, and customer service, and the less important
values were development of the community sur-
rounding the industry, innovation, tolerance for
diversity, and service to the general public. As in
private sector, important shared values in public
sector were product quality and customer service.
The 22 values represented four dimensions -
corporate excellence, organizational sustenance,
social concern, and managerial virtues. The personal
and OVs of private as well as public sector
were compared using one-way analysis of variance
(Table II). Supporting the first proposition, post-hoc
Tukey test revealed that in the private sector, the
personal value ratings of middle-level managers were
similar to OV ratings of top-level managers on all the
dimensions of values. On the contrary, in public
sector, the personal value ratings of middle-level
managers far exceeded the OV ratings of top-level
managers on all the dimensions of values except that
of social concern. OVs of top-level managers in the
public sector did not reflect their deeper ideals for
organizational excellence, sustenance, and manage-
rial virtues (Liedtka, 1991). OVs were more shared
among middle-level managers in the private than in
the public sector.
Control variables
The unethical practices and work behavior of mid-
dle-level managers in private and public sectors were
compared using one-way analysis of variance
 450 Damodar Suar and Rooplekha Khuntia

TABLE II

Personal and OVs in private and public sector companies

Value Private Public F

Personal Organizational Personal Organizational

M(SD) M(SD) M(SD) M (SD)

Organizational leadership 16.22 (4.10) 17.15 (3.00) 14.41 (5.33) 13.61 (5.53)
Organization's reputation 16.59 (3.53) 17.35 (2.92) 15.89 (4.26) 15.50 (3.60)
Employee welfare 14.97 (3.78) 14.45 (3.10) 14.64 (4.88) 12.67 (4.17)
Budget stability 15.67 (3.66) 14.25 (3.89) 14.53 (4.44) 13.89 (4.25)
Organizational growth 16.47 (3.67) 15.70 (2.94) 16.10 (4.23) 14.11 (3.82)
Profit maximization 16.30 (3.44) 15.70 (2.83) 16.19 (4.64) 15.53 (4.41)
Product quality 17.44 (3.24) 17.85 (2.70) 17.55 (3.18) 14.83 (4.08)
Customer service 17.06 (3.70) 18.15 (1.95) 17.03 (3.64) 14.58 (4.48)
Corporate excellence 130.72 (20.94) 130.60 (15.64) 126.34 (24.59) 114.72 (20.91) 5.15**
Quality in personnel 16.35 (3.59) 13.85 (3.30) 14.93 (4.02) 11.75 (4.22)
Cost consideration 16.47 (3.20) 16.70 (2.32) 15.50 (3.99) 13.83 (3.18)
Participative management 16.53 (3.32) 15.95 (3.05) 14.67 (4.49) 13.56 (4.05)
Obedience to organizational rules 17.07 (3.06) 14.40 (3.79) 15.09 (4.34) 12.47 (5.57)
Maintenance of physical work conditions 15.86 (3.24) 14.90 (3.19) 14.26 (4.53) 12.58 (4.27)
Protection of the surrounding environment 16.00 (3.45) 15.60 (2.62) 14.38 (4.67) 13.44 (4.35)
Reward for employees' worthy contribution 16.29 (3.61) 14.80 (3.04) 14.97 (4.57) 12.33 (3.89)
Organizational sustenance 114.57 (15.61) 106.20 (16.13) 103.80 (23.31) 89.97 (22.92) 17.01***
Tolerance for diversity 13.66 (4.03) 12.70 (3.73) 11.91 (5.41) 11.11 (4.96)
Service to general public 13.64 (4.12) 14.35 (3.28) 12.62 (5.26) 10.72 (5.26)
Development of surrounding community 13.86 (4.00) 14.50 (3.02) 13.44 (5.21) 11.47 (5.53)
Social concern 41.16 (10.58) 41.55 (7.52) 37.96 (13.72) 33.31 (13.34) 4.85**
Innovation 15.53 (3.66) 15.00 (3.03) 15.24 (4.34) 11.36 (4.17)
Honesty 17.04 (3.54) 17.25 (3.55) 16.39 (4.79) 12.72 (5.43)
Sincerity 16.84 (3.66) 17.40 (3.32) 16.85 (4.37) 13.94 (4.72)
Transparency 16.28 (3.75) 15.35 (3.79) 14.82 (4.59) 12.61 (5.01)
Virtues 65.68 (11.99) 65.00 (11.25) 63.29 (15.45) 50.64 (16.10) 11.22***

F values are against 3, 392 df.

*/> < 0.05; **/> < 0.01; ***/> < 0.001.

(see Table III). The middle-level managers in the
public sector violated the organization's norms more
than in the private sector. The managers in private
sector had higher performance, affective commit-
ment, intrinsic job satisfaction, and initiative than the
managers in public sector. Barring a few exceptions,
middle-level managers in the private sector had
violated the organization's norms less and had more
favorable work behavior than the same cadre man-
agers in the public sector.
In order to gauge the relations of age with
unethical practices and work behavior, Pearson
correlation (see Table HI) revealed that in both
public and private sectors, age of middle-level
managers did not vary directly with any dimension
of unethical practices. However, in both sectors,
older employees had higher job performance,
affective commitment, continuance commitment,
intrinsic job satisfaction, extrinsic job satisfaction,
and initiative behavior. Only continuance commit-
ment in private sector and job performance in public
sector did not increase with the age of middle-level
managers. These findings confirmed our assertion to
control the confounding effects of type of organi-
zation as well as age of managers, which influenced
unethical practices and work behavior.

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 Values, Unethical Practices and Work Behavior 451

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 452 Damodar Suar and Rooplekha Khuntia
Personal values and VC influencing unethical practices
and work behavior
It can be observed that, from the comparison of
different dimensions of personal values, the middle-
level managers in private sector companies gave
more importance to "corporate sustenance" and
"societal concern" than the middle-level managers
in public sector companies. In order to assess the
extent of VC, the average ratings on 22 values of the
top-level managers were correlated (by Pearson
correlation) with the ratings on 22 values of each
middle-level executive in the same organization.
The extent of VC of middle-level managers
was higher in private than in public sectors (see
Table III) reaffirming that OVs were more shared
among middle-level managers in the private sector
than in the public sector.
In order to control the effects of sector and age on
unethical practices and work behavior, sector was
considered as a dummy variable (private = 1, pub-
lic = 0) and the chronological age of middle-level
managers as a continuous variable. Moreover, the
independent variables on four dimensions of per-
sonal values correlated highly and directly with one
another and frequently with VC and chronological
age. In order to avoid possible multicollinearity
among independent variables, all independent vari-
ables - sector, age, corporate excellence, organiza-
tional sustenance, social concern, managerial virtues,
and VC - were mean centered (M-score). Structural
regression models (SRMs) were adopted to examine
the impact of independent constructs on unethical
practices and work behavior (Table IV).
SRMs are an extension of path analyses. They
include both latent (unobserved) and manifest
(observed) variables. They always have at least one
path (one-way arrow) leaving a putative (indepen-
dent) latent construct and ending at another con-
struct. SRMs carry out a series of multiple regression
equations with many independent and many
dependent variables in a single analysis and reveal
antecedent-consequent relationships that are unre-
served in bidirectional correlational analyses. They
incorporate measurement models of confirmatory
factor analysis and structural path models. They
control measurement errors - (a) random and (b)
systematic. Random errors occur due to difficulties
in measuring the constructs accurately. Random
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errors of each construct were isolated ensuring fac-
torial validity and reliability of each construct. Sys-
tematic errors occur due to factors like social
desirability, common method biases (e.g., scale type,
rater, or context), and response biases (e.g., leniency,
yea-saying, or nay-saying). Systematic errors like
common method biases (Podsakoff et al., 2003) were
controlled both procedurally and statistically. A
procedural control was made collecting data on
personal values from middle-level managers and
OVs from top-level managers at different times,
which estimated VC. A statistical control was using
SRMs with indicator variables loading on the
respective latent factors. SRMs were carried out
using Amos 4.0 (Arbuckle and Wothke, 1999).
The model showed that unethical practices did not
decrease in the private sector with an increase in
chronological age among middle-level managers.
However, middle-level managers in the private sec-
tor had higher job performance, organizational
commitment, jobs satisfaction, and initiative than the
same cadre managers in the public sector. Irrespective
of sectors, as the age of middle-level managers
increased, their job performance, organizational
commitment, jobs satisfaction, and initiative increased
too. In accordance with the second hypothesis, when
the effects of sector and age were partialled out, the
increase in personal values decreased the unethical
practices and increased the job performance, organi-
zational commitment, job satisfaction, and initiative
among middle-level managers. Irrespective of orga-
nizations and age of managers, VC similarly decreased
unethical practices and increased work behaviors. The
only exceptions were that an increase in VC did not
increase the middle-level managers' job satisfaction
and initiative (see Figure 1).
The fit measures of SRMs indicated that the
relative chi-square (% /df) of the model was just
above the cut-off limit of 3. Such a value of the
model indicated dissimilarity between the observed
and model-implied covariance matrix. Because of
the sensitivity of chi-square to large sample sizes,
other fit measures of the model were considered.
The Goodness of fit index (GFI) is analogous to
squared multiple correlations (R2) in multiple
regression analysis. The comparative fit index (CFI)
indicates the overall fit of the model relative to a null
model and the normed fit index (NFI) adjusts for the
complexity of the model. These fit measures being
 Values, Unethical Practices and Work Behavior 453

TABLE IV

SRMs of personal values and VC predicting unethical practices and work behavior

Regression path variable Regression weights SE CR p Proposition

Criterion Explanatory Standardized Unstandardized

Unethical practices <r- Sector -0.01 -0.15 0.76 -0.19 0.848 Refuted
Unethical practices <- Age 0.06 0.04 0.05 0.81 0.416 Refuted
Unethical practices «- Personal values -0.37 -0.45 0.13 -3.51 0.001 Supported
Unethical practices <- Value congruence -0.19 -4.529 1.69 -2.68 0.007 Supported
Performance <- Sector 0.16 1.14 0.38 3.01 0.003 Supported
Performance <- Age 0.11 0.06 0.03 2.14 0.032 Supported
Performance <- Personal values 0.55 0.44 0.09 4.81 0.001 Supported
Performance <- Value congruence 0.13 2.05 0.83 2.48 0.013 Supported
Commitment <- Sector 0.21 0.90 0.30 3.03 0.002 Supported
Commitment <- Age 0.21 0.06 0.02 3.02 0.003 Supported
Commitment <- Personal values 0.93 0.44 0.09 5.01 0.001 Supported
Commitment <- Value congruence 0.16 1.50 0.64 2.32 0.020 Supported
Job satisfaction <- Sector 0.31 4.08 0.52 7.90 0.001 Supported
Job satisfaction <- Age 0.11 0.11 0.04 2.94 0.003 Supported
Job satisfaction <- Personal values 0.45 0.65 0.135 4.90 0.001 Supported
Job satisfaction <r- Value congruence 0.03 0.87 1.11 0.78 0.436 Refuted
Taking initiative <- Sector 0.17 2.24 0.69 3.21 0.001 Supported
Taking initiative <- Age 0.13 0.12 0.05 2.47 0.014 Supported
Taking initiative <- Personal values 0.54 0.79 0.16 4.78 0.001 Supported
Taking initiative <- Value congruence 0.08 2.43 1.50 1.60 0.103 Refuted
Manipulation <- Unethical practices 0.71 1.00
Cheating <- Unethical practices 0.60 0.51 0.11 4.72 0.001
Violation of norms <- Unethical practices 0.24 0.13 0.04 3.15 0.002
Excellence <- Personal values 0.25 1.27 0.25 5.02 0.001
Sustenance <- Personal values 0.30 1.34 0.23 5.83 0.001
Social concern <- Personal values 0.25 0.67 0.16 4.13 0.001
Virtues <- Personal values 0.33 1.00
Affective commitment <- Commitment 0.74 1.00
Continuance commitment <- Commitment 0.31 0.41 0.09 4.73 0.001
Intrinsic satisfaction <- Job satisfaction 1.23 1.00
Extrinsic satisfaction <- Job satisfaction 0.44 0.26 0.05 4.69 0.001

SE, standard error; CR, critical ratio; ;f/df = 3.75; GFI = 0.90; CFI = 0.85; NFI = 0.81; RMSEA = 0.08.

close to 0.90, the recommended cut-off criterion
(Bender, 1990; Bollen, 1989), favored the fit of the
model to data. Root mean square error of approxi-
mation (RMSEA) indicates the approximation of the
observed model to the true model. The lower the
RMSEA, the better the model. RMSEA corre-
sponded to the required limit of 0.08. This mini-
mum model fit was achieved when the four
dimensions of personal values were correlated with
one another (see Table IV).
In order to answer the research question, stan-
dardized regression weights were compared to know
the relative impacts of personal values and VC on
unethical practices and work behavior. Observation
of direct path values suggested that personal values
more strongly and consistently decreased unethical
practices and increased job performance, organiza-
tional commitment, job satisfaction, and initiative
compared to VC among middle-level managers
(Table IV).

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 454 Damodar Suar and Rooplekha Khuntia

J^^a^j^c^^-^
/ t II i£i iSioim violati ori^Ceg)
I Sfrfttnr k j I jfcPerformancã

C^ UVT1 Commitment Jg 1 -
1

(gV-»TVirtuësr ûv -

lvalue congurenceT '' TrK

^Taking initiative!

Figure 1 . Impact of personal values and VC on unethical practices and work behavior.

Discussion of top-level managers do not reflect their deeper

The study examined whether personal values and
OVs differ in private and public sectors, and whether
personal values and VC determine unethical prac-
tices and work behavior. Middle-level executives
from two private and two public sector companies
were asked to rate each of 22 values as guiding
principles to them to assess their personal values. The
ideals for organizational excellence, sustenance, and
managerial virtues. Irrespective of organizations and
age of managers, personal values of middle-level
managers have more potently and consistently de-
creased unethical practices and increased work
behavior compared to VC. Even VC does not in-
crease middle-level managers' job satisfaction and
initiative.

top-level managers from each organization were
asked to rate how important each of the same 22
values were to the organization to index OVs. The
average ratings on 22 values of top-level managers in
an organization were correlated with the ratings on
the same values of each middle-level manager ofthat
organization to estimate the extent of VC. Findings
suggest that the important shared values among
middle- and top-level managers in both the sectors
are customer service and product quality. Value
prioritization of middle-level managers does not
differ from the top-level managers in the private
sector only. VC has been found to be higher in the
private than in the public sector. OVs are more
shared among middle-level managers in the private
than in the public sector. In the public sector, OVs
This study is distinct from earlier research. First, in
past research, personal values and VC were assessed
using a ranking scale, which caused statistical diffi-
culties (Edwards, 1991). We have used a 20-point
rating scale against each value, which has generated
metric data to overcome statistical difficulties. Sec-
ond, we have tested the impacts of personal values
and VC on unethical practices and work behavior
controlling the confounding effects of sector and
age. Salary, educational level, and job tenure are not
controlled because previous research does not con-
sistently find them to influence unethical practices
and work behavior (Ford and Richardson, 1994;
Serwinek, 1992). Third, compared to no reference
to specific values to test VC (Posner and Schmidt,
1993) and a list of four OVs (Meglino et al., 1989),

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 Values, Unethical Practices and Work Behavior 455
we have identified 22 values further adding to the list
of values outlined by Liedtka (1991), which are
relevant to business vis-à-vis managers. VC for each
middle-level executive was estimated by correlating
his ratings on 22 values with the average value rating
on the same values of top-level executives from the
same organization. Such correlations (rather than
differences between personal and organizational
values) are an objective measure (Verquer et al.,
2003) of VC. Also, instructions for middle- and top-
level managers over a same set of values differed so
much that they were assessing arguably different
constructs of personal values and OVs respectively.
The responses of middle- and top-level managers
over the same set of values have arrested "common
method biases" (Podsakoff et al, 2003).
The personal values of middle-level managers
were found to be similar to OVs in private than in
public sector and VC was found to be higher in the
former than in the latter sector. Values are the
bedrock of organizational culture. Companies where
managers share OVs have a strong culture. Com-
panies where values of managers and organizations
are quite diverse have a weak culture. Therefore,
private sector companies have a better culture than
the public ones. These conclusions are in conso-
nance with the earlier findings in Indian organiza-
tions (Sharma and Bhal, 2001; Sinha, 1990).
Discussion with the middle-level managers in the
public sector during data collection revealed that the
top-level managers have joined the organizations
toward the end of their career. They are frequently
transferred or have retired from the job shortly.
They are more concerned about their well-being
rather than the organization's well-being. Because of
this, even the intensity of personal values of middle-
level managers is found to be more than the intensity
of OVs of top-level managers in public sector
companies.
Compared to the individualistic/contractual cul-
ture of the west, in the communal culture of India
with power distance (Abrams et al., 1998; Triandis,
1998), managers are likely to be unethical, show less
concern for duties, respect seniors and work well
under directive leadership, trust their organizations
and develop a sense of obligation, expect the orga-
nizations to take care of their needs, and cultivate
interpersonal relationships in work settings. How-
ever, organizational culture evolves over time from
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the acts of senior managers and personal history such
managers create, and become embedded in an
institutional context. In the institutional context of
the private sector, managers have obeyed the insti-
tutional norms and rules more, shown concern for
productivity, become achievement-driven, culti-
vated work-related support, taken initiative to do
new and varied jobs, garnered more financial and
social benefits from the organization, and felt com-
mitted to the organization and its goal compared to
the managers in the public sector. Accordingly, in
the institutional context of the private sector, man-
agers have shown less unethical practices, more work
behavior and more VC than the managers in the
public sector. With increasing age, managers have
gained experience, understood the demands of
business, and increased their work behavior and VC.
Values in organizations function for external adap-
tation and internal integration (Schein, 1985). In fos-
tering external adaptation, holding the core values of
the organization has influenced the middle-level
managers to be competitive in performing well in the
job and being committed to the organization for its
survival. In nurturing internal integration, managers
share certain aspects of cognitive processing, like
method of classifying and interpreting environmental
events, and a common system of communication and
feelings. Middle-level managers' deep-rooted per-
sonal values compared to VC have fostered the
internal integration in organizations, which has con-
sistently demoted their unethical practices and pro-
moted their work behavior.
With the matching between personal and OVs,
middle-level managers' unethical practices have de-
creased and work behaviors have increased. The
matching created consistency between two cogni-
tions. When the extent of VC has been low, there is
incompatibility between personal values and OVs.
Consequently, cognitive dissonance (Festinger,
1957) sets in and managers have engaged in uneth-
ical practices and decreased their work behavior to
reduce dissonance.
Irrespective of the nature of the organization and
age of managers, personal values of middle-level
managers have consistently wielded greater influence
than VC to decrease unethical practices and increase
work behavior. Shortly after the independence of
India, industrialization took place. Indians have
imbibed the values of business and thrift and
456 Damodar Suar and Rooplekha Khuntia

fine-tuned those in the organizational context, and
such personal values have consistently inhibited
unethical practices and facilitated work behavior.
Indeed, skill and knowledge are relatively easy to
develop through pre- and on-the-job training
compared to values (Spencer and Spencer, 1993).
While personal values are shaped by years of life
through early socialization and are further reinforced
in societal and organizational contexts, organiza-
tional values are acquired through the process of
occupational socialization. Personal values are
strongly entrenched within the individual and find
expression in all aspects of life and accordingly are
found to be a potent and consistent inhibitor of
unethical practices and facilitator of work behaviour
compared to VC. Hence, recruitment process can
look for personal values of managers in the context
of business vis-à-vis the organization to reduce their
unethical practices and enhance their work behavior.
There are certain limitations of the study, which
must be acknowledged. First, data have been pro-
cured through self-reported inventories that are
likely to be tainted with social desirability effect.
Qualitative research can be further carried out to
ascertain the external validity of results. Second,
findings were obtained studying four manufacturing
units only excluding a few female managers therein.
Caution must be exercised in generalizing the
findings to service organizations and female man-
agers. Notwithstanding the limitations, this study
provides the first empirical evidence on the impor-
tance of personal values compared to VC for
demoting unethical practices and promoting work
behavior of Indian middle-level managers.

Appendix: Rotated or unrotated factor loadings of constructs

Factor loading

I II III IV

Personal value: rotated factor loading

1. Organizational leadership 0.54 0.29 0.26 0.17
2. Reputation of the organization 0.74 0.09 0.20 0.19
3. Employee welfare 0.60 0.17 0.49 0.18
4. Tolerance for diversity 0.25 0.37 0.67 0.08
5. Service to the general public 0.07 0.17 0.85 0.12
6. Value to the community surrounding industry 0.12 0.15 0.82 0.18
7. Budget stability 0.49 0.33 0.42 0.10
8. Organizational growth 0.65 0.09 0.19 0.25
9. Profit maximization 0.69 0.08 0.09 0.21
10. Innovation 0.35 0.18 0.33 0.60
11. Honesty 0.26 0.16 0.08 0.86
12. Sincerity 0.20 0.23 0.06 0.84
13. Product quality 0.60 0.42 -0.15 0.21
14. Customer service 0.64 0.43 -0.09 0.10
15. Transparency 0.22 0.38 0.28 0.62
16. Quality in personnel 0.34 0.41 0.24 0.41
17. Cost consideration 0.37 0.54 0.13 0.14
18. Participative management (teamwork, participatory goal 0.22 0.67 0.18 0.16
setting, problem solving, decision-making, etc.)
19. Obedience to organizational rules 0.14 0.72 0.06 0.36
20. Maintenance of physical work conditions 0.14 0.76 0.31 0.15
(illumination, noise, safety, ventilation, etc.)

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 Values, Unethical Practices and Work Behavior 457

Appendix
continued

Factor loading

I II III IV

21. Protection of surrounding environment 0.11 0.72 0.38 0.16

22. Recognition/ reward for employees' worthy contribution 0.42 0.43 0.26 0.20
Explained variance 4.00 3.77 3.04 2.94
Explained variance (%) 18.17 17.11 13.83 13.37
Cronbach alpha 0.86 0.86 0.84 0.86
Unethical practices: rotated factor loading
1. Doing personal business on organization's time 0.48 0.38 -0.16
2. Taking one's spouse/family along on an organization's 0.40 0.68 0.03
business trip at the organization's expense
3. Taking longer time than necessary to do a job 0.24 0.68 -0.04
4. Claiming credit for someone else's work 0.45 0.60 0.01
5. Padding an expense account 0.34 0.69 0.04
6. Giving/ accepting gifts in exchange for preferential treatment 0.57 0.53 0.23
7. Eating and staying in the most expensive hotel 0.21 0.72 0.15
on the organization's business trip
8. Being very secretive about organization's sensitive information 0.14 -0.35 0.66
9. Sticking to organization's rules and policies 0.18 0.26 0.60
10. Taking away organization's materials and supplies 0.81 0.16 0.06
11. Extracting work through threats and blackmail 0.60 0.30 0.12
12. Accepting blame for work errors -0.15 0.12 0.73
13. Falsifying time/quality reports 0.69 0.35 0.06
14. Having a receptionist tell a caller that one is not in when he/she is 0.64 0.22 -0.08
15. Passing blame for work errors to an innocent co-worker 0.76 0.17 0.04
16. Using organization's services for personal use 0.74 0.38 0.07
17. Taking advantage of a person's ignorance 0.73 0.28 0.09
Explained variance 4.76 3.43 1.47
Explained variance (%) 27.98 20.19 8.67
Cronbach alpha 0.89 0.82 0.51
Job performance: unrotated factor loading
1. Taking decisions 0.74
2. Meeting deadlines 0.70
3. Producing satisfactory quality of work 0.78
4. Producing satisfactory quantity of work 0.77
5. Planning and organizing work 0.71
6. Facing conflict situation 0.53
7. Feeling confident to handle the job 0.67
Explained variance 3.48
Explained variance (%) 49.77
Cronbach alpha 0.82
Organizational commitment: rotated factor loading
1. I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond the call 0.60 0.29
of my duty in order to help this organization to be successful
2. I would accept any type of job assignment to keep this organization working 0.70 -0.12
3. I am proud to tell others that I am a part of this organization 0.72 0.27
4. There is not too much to be gained by sticking with this organization indefinitely 0.28 0.53

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 458 Damodar Suar and Rooplekha Khuntia

Appendix
continued

Factor loading

I II III IV

5. This organization really inspires the very best in me in the way of job performance 0.72 -0.01
6. I really care about the fate of this organization 0.42 0.10
7. Deciding to work for this organization was a definite mistake on my part 0.22 0.84
8. I feel little loyalty to this organization -0.18 0.71
Explained variance 2.22 1.67
Explained variance (%) 27.76 20.88
Cronbach alpha 0.66 0.53
Job satisfaction: rotated factor loading
1. Working conditions (illumination, noise, ventilation, etc.) 0.45 0.14
2. Working hours 0.20 0.46
3. Basic salary 0.19 0.74
4. Organizational policy 0.51 0.50
5. Job security 0.01 0.67
6. Fringe benefits (bonus, PF, gratuity, etc.) 0.14 0.77
7. Promotions 0.32 0.62
8. Welfare facilities (school, hospital, club, canteen, recreation) 0.26 0.49
9. General supervision 0.65 0.22
10. Technical supervision 0.74 0.26
11. Responsibility 0.76 0.23
12. Achievement in work 0.79 0.09

13. Advancement (professional growth) 0.69 0.36

14. Interesting nature of work 0.78 0.10
Explained variance 3.97 3.01
Explained variance (%) 28.34 21.53
Cronbach alpha 0.86 0.74
Taking initiative: unrotated factor loading
1. I do more than I am asked to do 0.47

2. I look for opportunities to do extra work to help the organization move ahead 0.71
3. I try to do some original work 0.66
4. I look for places where something that is already done might be done better 0.71
5. When I have an idea, I try to make it work and let people know about it 0.76
6. I think about and try to document how my idea would save 0.71
the organization money or bring in new business
7. I seek advice from people who have been successful in promoting ideas 0.71
8. I tell colleagues about my ideas to get their reactions and criticisms 0.63
9. I use others' comments and criticisms to make my ideas better 0.70
10. I look for other interesting projects to work on when my 0.62
present work gets close to the finish line
11. When I feel there is any genuine work I do it 0.55
Explained variance 4.83
Explained variance (%) 43.86
Cronbach alpha 0.87

Note. Principal component method was used to extract faeton based on eigen value greater than or equal to 1 and varimax
procedure rotated factors if number of factors were equal to or greater than 2.
Bold face figures indicate the significant loading of the item on the factor.

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 Values, Unethical Practices and Work Behavior 459
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Damodar Suar
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur,
Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
E-mail: ds@hss.Htkgp.emet. in
Rooplekha Khuntia
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham,
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India