Abstract
What is the nature of the decision-related personal values of corporate management? Managers' attitudes and behaviors are built upon their personal value systems (PVS). Knowledge about the structure of management's PVS assists in understanding the attributes of corporate decision making. Utilizing a survey instrument developed and used by England (1967, 1975), this article updates this research into corporate managers' personal value systems. England's PVS consists of sixty-six pre-tested values clustered into five groups. As one could expect with personal values, statistical tests reveal that even with dramatic changes in the business environment the overall personal values structure has not changed over the intervening three decades. The results also reveal that corporate managers retain their pragmatic value orientation as discussed by England.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adkins, C. C., E. C. Ravlin and B. M. Meglino: 1996, ‘Value Congruence Between Co-Workers and Its Relationship to Work Outcomes’, Group & Organization Management 21, 439–460.
Barnett, J. H. and M. J. Karson: 1987, ‘Personal Values and Business Decisions: An Exploratory Investigation’, Journal of Business Ethics 6, 371–382.
Cavanaugh, G. F.: 1984, American Business Values, 2nd ed. (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ).
Clover, V. T. and H. L. Balsley, 1984, Business Research Methods, 3rd ed. (Grid Publishing, Inc., Columbus, OH).
England, G. W.: 1967, ‘Personal Value Systems of American Managers’, Academy of Management Journal 10, 53–68.
England, G. W.: 1975, The Manager and His Values: An International Perspective from the United States, Japan, Korea, India, and Australia (Ballinger Publishing, Cambridge, MA).
Estes, R.: 1996, Tyranny of the Bottom Line: Why Corporations Make Good People Do Bad Things (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco).
Gable, R. K. and M. B. Wolf: 1993, Instrument Development in the Affective Domain: Measuring Attitudes and Values in Corporate and School Settings (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston).
Hart, D. K.: 1988, ‘The Sympathetic Organization’, in N. D. Wright (ed.), Papers on the Ethics of Administration (Brigham Young University, Provo, UT), pp. 67–96.
Hiley, D. K.: 1987, ‘Power and Values in Corporate Life’, Journal of Business Ethics 6, 343–353.
Hoffman, W. M. and J. M. Moore: 1990, Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality (McGraw-Hill, New York).
Hosmer, L. T.: 1994, Moral Leadership in Business (Irwin, Boston).
Inglehart, R: 1985, ‘Aggregate Stability and Individual-level Flux in Mass Belief Systems; The Level of Analysis Paradox’, American Political Science Review 79, 97–116.
Korsgaard, M. A., B. M. Meglino and S. W. Lester: 1996, ‘The Effect of Other-Oriented Values on Decision Making: A Test of Propositions of a Theory of Concern for Others in Organizations’, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 68, 234–245.
Lusk, E. J. and B. L. Oliver: 1972a, ‘American Managers' Personal Value Systems—Revisited’, Academy of Management Journal 17, 549–554.
Lusk, E. J. and B. L. Oliver: 1972b, ‘Perceived Importance of “Social Goals” in Business Organizations’, Omega 2, 26–28.
Norton, D. L.: 1988, ‘“Character Ethics” and Organizational Life’, in N. D. Wright (ed.), Papers on the Ethics of Administration (Brigham Young University, Provo, UT), pp. 47–66.
Nystrom, P. C.: 1990, ‘Differences in Moral Values Between Corporations’, Journal of Business Ethics 9, 971–979.
O'Reilly, C. A., J. Chatman and D. F. Caldwell, 1991, ‘People and Organizational Culture: A Profile Comparison Approach to Assessing Person-Organization Fit’, Academy of Management Journal 34, 487–516.
Pozner, B. Z. and W. H. Schmidt: 1984, ‘Values and the American Manager: An Update’, California Management Review 16, 202–216
Pozner, B. Z. and W. H. Schmidt: 1992, ‘Values and the American Manager: An Update Updated’, California Management Review 24, 80–94.
Posner, B. Z. and W. H. Schmidt: 1993, ‘Values Congruence and Differences Between the Interplay of Personal and Organizational Value Systems’, Journal of Business Ethics 12, 341–347.
Ravlin, E. C. and B. M. Meglino: 1987, ‘Effect of Values on Perception and Decision Making: A Study of Alternative Work Values Measures’, Journal of Applied Psychology 72, 666–673.
Rokeach, M.: 1973, The Nature of Human Values (Free Press, NY).
Rokeach, M. and S. J. Ball-Rokeach: 1989, ‘Stability and Change in American Value Priorities’, American Psychologist 44, 775–784.
Ritchie, J. B.: 1988, ‘Organizational Ethics: Paradox and Paradigm’, in N. D. Wright (ed.), Papers on the Ethics of Administration (Brigham Young University, Provo, UT), pp. 159–184.
Seigel, S.: 1956, Nonparametic Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (McGraw-Hill, New York).
Votaw, D. and S. P. Sethi: 1973, The Corporate Dilemma: Traditional Values Versus Contemporary Problems (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ).
Wines, W. A. and S. Anderson: 1994, Readings in Business Ethics and Social Responsibility (Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Oliver, B.L. Comparing Corporate Managers' Personal Values Over Three Decades, 1967--1995. Journal of Business Ethics 20, 147–161 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006196927745
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006196927745