On 10 Jul 1996 John Constantine wrote:
And while it is probably true that you want someone who values honesty at
the controls of a nuclear power plant, as long as such a person is capable
and knowledgeable enough to perform the needed functions, it doesn't
matter one whit that he/she values anything but a paycheck. The behavior
doesn't have to be uniform, but it does have to be sufficient for the
purpose/function. If everyone having differing values in a nuclear plant,
or oil refinery, were to have differing values it would not change the
nature and number of critical functions needing to be performed at regular
intervals. Would it? Must we add a new layer of bureaucracy each time
someone having differing views/religions/habits/behaviors/values joins the
organization? ...I hope we hear from others on this issue. I'd like to
know if there IS such a correlation, or if enough people believe there is.
=== End Quote ===
John raises a very good point, which is that of how to instill uniform
values in the work place. This is where I hoped the discussion on values
would lead to. We know that different individuals from the same culture
and different individuals from different cultures will have different
values or different interpretations of the same values. In the case of the
person at the controls of the nuclear plant, how do we insure that he will
operate that nuclear plant following the rules, procedures, and training
that he has been given?
These issues I struggle with often. I believe that there has to be a
shared vision around company/organization values in order for people to
pull together. In my company we value being open, lean, analytical, and
proactive. In our day to day operations, we comply with the Chemical
Manufacturer's Association "Responsible Care Program", OSHA's Process
Safety Management and we guarantee quality through ISO 9000. We hold these
values because we believe that doing so will provide us with a competitive
advantage in the long run. Our true "operating licence" is given to us by
the communities in which we operate. Therefore we share information
broadly across all levels in the company and with the communities, we have
strictly essential manning -there are no assistants, deputies or people on
"special assignment"- , we consider alternatives and the short and long
term impact of our decisions, and we are constantly evaluating trends and
getting customer input to steer the company towards areas of improvement,
new products, and growth.
I think also of the U.S. Military Academy, where the values are Duty,
Honor, Country. The Academy teaches these values because they believe that
if you do not perform your Duty it can cost other people their lives:
therefore all officers and soldiers shall obey lawful orders. They value
Honor -I will not lie, cheat or steal nor tolerate anyone who does- for
the same reasons: in the Korean War a company commander was called and
asked whether he had moved his troops from the staging area to the attack
line. When the company commander replied "Yes" artillery shells rained in
and wiped out the unit. What happened was that the captain was late at
leaving his staging area and did not want to admit it. Since troop
movements were observed in the staging area and the captain had reported
his troops had already left, those troops spotted there had to be enemy
forces and therefore were shelled. They value Country because it is stated
in the Constitution of the U.S. that Congress has the power to form armies
and call militias to put down insurrections and repel invasions, and that
the President shall be their Commander in Chief , therefore they shall
obey and defend the constitutional powers of the land.
It is through the daily application of a few well known shared values that
companies can empower their workforce to high levels of consistent,
predictable achievement. It is through these values that diverse groups
can learn to work together. In the work place we assume that the
legislation in the country shall be followed, and does not have to be put
into our personnel manuals. I would like to hear more about the
application of values in working environments and how they are taught or
instilled.
--Roy Lyford-Pike SCM Chemicals Baltimore, MD 71075.2421@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>