Espoused Values Research Articles

Synergizing Organizational Values and Psychological Capital for Wellbeing: Insights from Sri Lankan Public Administration

The role of human cognitive processes and constructs such as psychological capital (PsyCap), wellbeing, and values in encouraging positive behavior has been extensively examined in the existing body of knowledge, especially capturing the attention of scholars and practitioners in the domains of management and organization studies. However, how these concepts interactively create positive behavior is rarely taken into consideration in scholarly discussions. Thus, the present paper aims to explore how the values professed by an organization (i.e. espoused values) could lead employees towards positive behaviors through PsyCap and wellbeing. The research setting is Sri Lankan public administrative organization (SLPAO) and the study participants are top-level managers. This study takes an interpretivist approach with a qualitative inquiry by employing a series of in-depth interviews and organizational documents, where the initial findings on espoused values of SLPAO were then subjected to a secondary qualitative framework analysis based on the theoretical lenses of CHOSE and PERMA models of PsyCap and well-being. The findings of the present study show that the public administrators’ perceived espoused values carry reflections of wellbeing and encompass the dimensions of PsyCap. Accordingly, positive emotions are reflected by the values independence and humanity & morality; engagement by service boundedness and duty consciousness; positive relations by fairness & justice and concern on employees; meaning by public inter-est and effectiveness; and accomplishment by efficiency, expertise and formality & order. The findings clearly highlight how the espoused values become a source of PsyCap, encompassing hope and optimism while also tending to the collective well-being, and thereby enhancing positive behaviors overall. The findings suggest the potential application of PsyCap and well-being to leverage espoused values as a precursor of positive behavior among public servants. Nonetheless, the study emphasizes the necessity for further scholarly endeavors to explore the intricate connections between organizational values, PsyCap, wellbeing, and positive organizational behavior.

Battling for hearts and minds: Sources of Turkish, Iranian, and Saudi soft power in the Middle East

AbstractThis article examines the sources of Turkish, Iranian, and Saudi soft power in the Middle East through the utilization of Joseph Nye's soft power concept. The study is based on three claims. The first claim argues that there exists an increasing discrepancy between espoused values and actual practices in Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia at home, which may undermine their soft power. The second claim contends that cognizant of the fact that the Palestinian cause is a major concern for most of the Middle Eastern people, all of the three states pursue an active foreign policy to alleviate the plight of the Palestinians. Finally, the last claim upholds that Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia have been benefitting, albeit to varying extents, from high culture products such as education and popular culture products such as mass entertainment and tourism to appeal to the public in the Middle East.

Continuous Vector-Based Entropy Measurement on the Organizational Culture Evaluation

It is believed that organizational culture is one of the primary strategies that drive employee productivity and competitiveness. The abstract of organizational culture is a complex and dynamic phenomenon and challenge in the field of research till the present. The efficacy of human interaction with an organization is closely related to the propagation of organizational culture. In the meantime, cultural entropy is a metric for assessing the process of cultural dissemination in organizations, where a reduced entropy value is preferable. This study aims to modify the entropy culture algorithms that accommodate discrete and continuous vectors. We applied Shanon’s entropy as the fundamental formulation and the Axelrod model as the peer interaction analysis. The proposed measurement of cultural entropy considers not only the desired values but also evaluates the gap with the espoused value of the organization. The modified cultural entropy algorithm can measure the entropy value for discrete and continuous vectors. Measuring cultural entropy using continuous data results in an approach that can better display value heterogeneity within organizations.

Adaptivity of Church Leadership: A Case of Two Pentecostal Churches in Mwinilunga District of Zambia

Transition in churches has propelled the atmosphere of conflicts which exerts pressure on leadership for years now. This brings about a ball in the court of leaders; each leader catches new dimensions and revelation as the world is dynamic. Christianity as a religion is sub-divide into branches, then into denominations (or schools) and finally congregations; this reflects the multiple ways in which religious ideas and experiences get played out by society with different understandings, temperaments, cultural, historical and personal histories. Adaptive challenges are typically grounded in the complexity of values, beliefs, and loyalties rather than technical complexity and stir up intense emotions rather than dispassionate analysis. Hence, this proves to be impossible for authorities to solve an adaptive challenge by issuing a directive or bringing together a group of experts, because the solutions to adaptive problems lie in the new attitudes, competencies, and coordination of the people with the problem itself. The purpose of this study was to investigate the causes of adaptive challenge in church Leadership in religious transition in Mwinilunga churches. The objectives were to assess the resilience of church leaders and their capacity to engage in problem-solving in the midst of adaptive pressures; to determine the gap between espoused values and behaviour in church leadership during religious transition. A descriptive survey method was employed in which a structured interview guides and questionnaires were used to collect data from a sample of 50 respondents. The respondents consisted of 10 Pastors, 10 Church Elders, 10 Deacons, and 20 church members. The findings revealed that leaders lacked resilience and capacity to engage in problem- solving in the midst of adaptive pressures that they faced during the transition – constitution amendment. The relationship between the espoused values and behaviour in church leadership during religious transition was parallel – there existed a wide gap. The study also revealed that leaders did not share the burden of keeping work at the centre of the people’s attention and lacked critical qualities. Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made; Leaders need to develop policies and critical qualities to effectively govern their ministries and organisation to reduce on ignorance and as well prevent try and error in leadership. Church organisation or ministries should embrace strategic planning in the running of religious activities. During adaptive challenges leaders should depend on God who manifests his glory through the instrumentality of wisdom and be exemplary and play a vital role as the salt and the light of the world.

An analysis of university academic department bylaws to measure commitment to program assessment: A U.S. case study

While universities across the globe differ in their assessment practices and processes, program assessment has become a foundation for policy makers, universities, and other stakeholders to demonstrate the quality of their programs. Globally, there are 550 accreditation/quality assurance bodies in 170 countries. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between espoused and enacted values related to assessment based on an analysis of academic department bylaws at a large university in the Midwest of the United States. If program assessment is truly valued, program assessment activities should be reflected in a university’s procedures that govern promotion and tenure. The assessment policies were reviewed using the department bylaws as observable artifacts. A summative content analysis of 1,106 pages of contractual bylaws for 7 colleges and 40 departments was conducted. The study found a disparity in the espoused value of assessment at MWU compared to the actual or enacted values found in department bylaws. Until a university’s enacted values (as seen through artifacts like bylaws) align with espoused values, a tension exists that reinforces assessment as a top-down compliance mandate rather than a continuous improvement effort to increase and ensure student learning. Implications for research and practice follow.

What Lies Beneath: Organisational Responses to Powerful Stakeholders

This article takes recourse to a particular branch of French Pragmatic Sociology, namely, Boltanski and Thévenot’s ‘orders of worth’ paradigm, as a lens through which to both explore the misalignment between espoused values and retrospective discourses and illustrate the underlying motivations behind decision making in an organisation within the creative industries sector. By virtue of its contributions at the organisational, social and sectorial levels, our study contributes to extant debates pertaining to individual agency versus structural constraints as well as demonstrating the heterogeneity of modes of formal compliance to wider institutionalised legitimacy. In so doing, it builds upon recent work that seeks to broaden the notion of value in the creative industries, while, simultaneously, calling for greater heterogeneity in policy making in the sector through an ongoing process of ‘creative conflict’.

Management control systems effect on the micro-level processes of product innovation

PurposeUsing institutional theory, this study aims to understand how the management control systems (MCSs) designed by top managers influence the micro-level process practices of organization members during product innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports on a case study carried out at NZMed to examine the design and use of MCSs and their product innovation practices. Simons’ levers of control was used to understand the ways in which MCSs were designed and used in a product innovation setting.FindingsThe findings indicate that the everyday micro-level processes of organization members encoded MCS when their espoused values aligned with those of top managers. However, when the perspectives within the organization differed, variations to the micro-level processes of organization members emerged. The authors show how this resulted in an increase in innovation capabilities necessary to meet organizational goals.Practical implicationsThe misalignment between espoused values and enacted values had a positive effect as it helped the organization maintain their innovation culture, and build long-term trusting relationships with suppliers which enabled the achievement of organizational goals.Originality/valueBy focusing on the relationship between MCS and the micro-level processes of organization members in product innovation, the paper shows how the lack of alignment between the espoused values of top management and the enacted values of project managers explained the variations between the MCS used by top managers and the practices of project teams at our case study company.

The role of leaders in building research cultures in sub-Saharan African universities: A six-nation study

ABSTRACT Existing research attributes the problem of weak research productivity of academics in African universities primarily to institutional resource poverty and inadequate research skills. However, there has been little attention to research cultures and the role of leaders in fostering productive ones. Drawing from the literature on organizational culture, this study examines the role of university leaders in developing research cultures. The study explores how institution leaders do this within the higher education contexts in their countries. The empirical work is based on qualitative interviews with senior and mid-level university leaders in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa. While all of the leaders espoused clear views about the elements of a productive research culture, results indicate a significant gap remains between espoused values for research and the actual research culture. Theoretically, the research extends the concept of research cultures by demonstrating the complex dynamics between research cultures, culture embedding mechanisms, and leader behavior within contextual constraints.

Improving Empathy of Occupational Therapy Students Through Reading Literary Narratives

This study explored the impact of teaching empathy to occupational therapy students through the close reading of literary narratives. The study defined empathy as a dynamic process involving Theory of Mind (ToM), emotional resonance, and empathy as a willful act. Empathy is an espoused value of occupational therapy challenged by the modern demands of the market-driven health care system, and research suggests reading literary narratives, or stories with qualities of literature, facilitates greater empathy. Prior studies have also indicated that practicing with greater empathy improves health outcomes and makes occupational therapy sessions more client centered. In this study, a quasi-experimental design was used on occupational therapy students (n = 31) in a graduate level rehabilitation course that involved the close reading, or critical reflection, of literary narratives to teach empathy. Close reading is a teaching process through which students critically read and reflect on literary narratives through instructor-guided reflection. Study findings on the pre and post-test surveys of students found a statistically significant improvement in scores (p < .05) on the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE). No differences were found between pre and post-test surveys of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). The JSE measures empathic awareness, while the RMET measures aspects of empathic performance. Study limitations included mid-course changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential impact of social desirability on perceptions of empathy. Study findings suggest the close reading of literary narratives may be an effective learning tool to teach empathic-centered care to occupational therapy students.

When and How to Make Breaking Changes

Open source software projects often rely on package management systems that help projects discover, incorporate, and maintain dependencies on other packages, maintained by other people. Such systems save a great deal of effort over ad hoc ways of advertising, packaging, and transmitting useful libraries, but coordination among project teams is still needed when one package makes a breaking change affecting other packages. Ecosystems differ in their approaches to breaking changes, and there is no general theory to explain the relationships between features, behavioral norms, ecosystem outcomes, and motivating values. We address this through two empirical studies. In an interview case study, we contrast Eclipse, NPM, and CRAN, demonstrating that these different norms for coordination of breaking changes shift the costs of using and maintaining the software among stakeholders, appropriate to each ecosystem’s mission. In a second study, we combine a survey, repository mining, and document analysis to broaden and systematize these observations across 18 ecosystems. We find that all ecosystems share values such as stability and compatibility, but differ in other values. Ecosystems’ practices often support their espoused values, but in surprisingly diverse ways. The data provides counterevidence against easy generalizations about why ecosystem communities do what they do.

Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble

Reviewed by: Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble Laura M. Harrison Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism Safiya Umoja Noble New York, NY: New York University Press, 2018, 229 pages $26.60 (paperback) Critical scholars name and interrogate the discrepancy that exists between the espoused value of diversity and reality of structural oppression embedded in higher education institutions (Poon, 2018). Whenever I teach critical approaches to higher education and student affairs, my students tend to struggle with the social construction aspect of these analyses. They agree with the espoused values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice, but have a difficult time unpacking the inequities baked into seeming neutral institutional policies and practices. I have been looking for a textbook that can present these often abstract ideas in a way that is more tangible for students. I may have found it in Safiya Umoja Noble's Algorithms of Oppression. How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. The first two chapters of the book provide an analysis of how search engines (primarily Google) give the impression of neutral information sharing while, in actuality, crafting a highly biased presentation of knowledge. Noble opens the book with a story about Googling "black girls" and receiving mostly pornographic results. Noble goes on to explain that she Googled "black girls" a couple of years later while looking up fun activities for her stepdaughter's birthday party. The results were still almost exclusively hypersexual, even on her own computer with an Internet history replete with Black feminist material that should suggest a user that might be interested in more than a pornographic perspective. These experiences led Noble to raise the following questions, which guide the analysis in the pages that follow: This best information, as listed by rank in the search results, was certainly not the best information for me or the children I love. For whom, then, was this the best information, and who decides? What were the profit and other motives driving this information to the top of the results? How had the notion of neutrality in information ranking gone so sideways as to be perhaps one of the worst examples of racist and sexist classification of Black women in the digital age yet remain so unexamined and without public critique? (p.18). These words and many others in the book jolted me out of my naiveté about the role Google plays in shaping my own reality. Although I know intellectually that Google is a commercial product created for the purpose of making money for shareholders, it does not feel that way. Google feels benignly neutral, diligently answering my queries and serving them up in a convenient, user-friendly list. Even when I read news stories about Google's nefarious acts, they lack [End Page 103] staying power because of Google's ubiquity. Noble made me think about how a single article killed the Chick-fil-A for me, but multiple accounts of Google's bad behavior never made me even consider boycotting it. Part of the issue, of course, is that Chickfil-A is much easier to avoid than Google. This point presents a good opportunity to discuss hegemony in a way that is relatable to students. I have not yet assigned Algorithms of Oppression in class, but I have brought it into discussions; students seem to connect to the concepts of ubiquity and hegemony more readily in the context of Google than examples I have tried to use in the past. Noble's work has helped me to articulate my own revelations about Google as a non-neutral, decidedly ideological structure, which stimulates students to generate their own examples. In the middle two chapters of the book, Noble highlights the consequences of allowing corporate entities domination over a public good, a situation highly analogous to the current state of higher education. Noble unpacks how Google and its defenders argue that their results simply reflect popular searches and that it is therefore not the company's job to intervene. She reveals this policy as not objective reality, but rather an ideological position that chooses to ignore minority perspectives. She raises the important question, "If majority rules in...

Seeking authenticity in school leadership: the interplay between personal values and leadership styles

PurposeThis paper is derived from a thorough and systematic study, contributing to further understanding of the perception of authentic leadership in the context of Cyprus, by involving school principals' both espoused values and values in action coupled with their leadership styles.Design/methodology/approachData were drawn from a combination of methods, both quantitative (235 questionnaires) and qualitative (5 case studies), thus facilitating a more reliable and valid exploration of school principals' espoused values and values in action coupled with their leadership styles.FindingsSchool principals' values in action may be filtered by particular factors, which affect them, when they try to promote their espoused values during their leadership practice. In general, the findings indicated that practicing authentic leadership might be, in fact, impeded by specific factors connected to the broader context in which school principals operate.Research limitations/implicationsIt is not possible to draw concrete conclusions on relation between the espoused values and values in action, as only five school principals took part during the second research phase. However, in this study, the quantitative (first phase) and qualitative (second phase) research were combined in order to produce a general picture, with regards to the practice of authentic leadership.Originality/valueThe study of values has received an extensive research interest lately. In this study, it was approached collectively and cohesively by taking into consideration the differentiation between espoused values and values in action.

Demonstrating Value: How Entrepreneurs Design New Accounting Methods to Justify Innovations

An important activity of entrepreneurs is to justify the value of an innovation to gain support from stakeholders. We examine how entrepreneurs can develop an accounting methodology to demonstrate the value of a proposed innovation, focusing on the case of a charitable foundation’s promotion of social enterprise and its efforts to develop the accounting methodology of Social Return on Investment (SROI). We show how the process for designing new accounting methods that helps in demonstrating the value of innovations involves entrepreneurs (1) imagining the expectations of their stakeholders (2) putting in place the necessary infrastructure through which numbers can be generated and (3) iteratively reconfiguring the accounting methodology and the espoused value the innovation is expected to generate. Our study furthers understanding of the role of accounting numbers in the entrepreneurial process, particularly in situations where entrepreneurs seek to generate new accounting methodologies to develop persuasive stories about the benefits of their innovations.

Russia: still a riddle wrapped in a mystery?

Russia: still a riddle wrapped in a mystery?

Transformational and digital change: a UK perspective

This article is based on a qualitative interpretivist methodology that helps to analyse, interpret, and explain the meanings that executives and consultants (as social actors), construct regarding so called transformational and digital change in the corporate setting. It explores change interventions through a psychodynamic perspective that recognises many of the forces operating in an organisation may be “under the surface” and may need to be made explicit if collective progress is to be made. The author has attempted to produce research that is relevant to both practitioners and scholars by following some suggestions of Toffel (2016) to bridge the potential gap between perceptions and workplace realities, including conducting site visits, practitioner interviews, and working as a practitioner. The study is exploratory in nature and was primarily concerned with discovering what management practices (if any) are used by executives and consultants in the operationalisation and implementation of transformational and digital change and what (if any) were the implications. It hopefully provides a stimulus for further research. Qualitative interviews and site visits were conducted with executives, consultants, and workers in ten large UK companies who had all taken the decision to instigate multi-million-pound “transformational change” and “digital transformation”. The companies operate across a range of sectors including manufacturing, retail, financial services, food and beverage, and facilities management. This study finds that executives and consultants search for tools and techniques to deliver effective change capability, change leadership, and project management of change. These imply order, rationality, stability, and manageability in change that often takes place amidst absurdity, irrationality, uncertainty, and disorder. Digital transformation is underpinned by new technology, driving new business models, and new “agile” and “iterative” processes, and “dare to fail” ways of working, but it was a century-old doctrine that provided the framework for change. Executives and consultants explicitly and implicitly advocated and enacted the primary functions of management as outlined by Fayol (1916); they were obsessed with accountability and control. Despite the rhetoric of agile and iterative approaches, they were wedded to top–down mechanistic management. The espoused visions, values, principles, and behaviours, were often counterbalanced by the shadow organisation, the covert processes, coalitions, secret alliances, and counter-values. Narcissism and Machiavellian behaviour was rife. In conclusion, this article calls for a move away from mechanistic management to enlightened management, a concept based on the work of Nonaka (2008) that values individuals and interactions over processes and tools. This may go some way to ameliorate the impacts of change at the individual level and bridge the chasm between espoused culture and the living hell of organisational reality.

Critical emancipatory reflection on establishing an equal, trusting relationship among surgery participants in clinical practice in China

Abstract Objective Reflection is considered to be one of the important ways to learn from one’s experience, and one should be encouraged to apply the skill of reflection in lifelong learning. The author used the critical emancipatory reflection theory to reflect on a practice issue, which was related to the relationship between doctors and nurses, and tries to become a lifelong reflective practitioner in clinical work. Methods Smyth’s reflective framework, which includes the steps describe, inform, confront, and reconstruct, will be used in this article to help the author to understand the process of reflection and improve the skill of reflection. Utilizing Smyth’s reflective framework to reflect on an issue in practice allows the author to break the routine way of thinking and learn from experience, as well as providing a higher quality of service for patients. Results The theory of emancipatory reflection along with the critical reflection theory will be used to determine the beliefs and values that rule the author’s action and derive how these are distinct from what the author is supposed to achieve. Besides, critical emancipatory reflection theory will be used to discover the dominant power structures in clinical practice; symbolic interaction and hegemony will be utilized to discover the factors that prevent the author from achieving the desired goals; socialization theory will be applied to facilitate the author in improving the professional identity. Conclusions Using the critical emancipatory reflection on the issue in practice helps the author to find out the constraints in practice, bridge the espoused value and enacted value, and thereafter undertake transformative changes in practice. Eventually, the author can improve the skill of critical emancipatory reflection and become a lifelong reflective practitioner, and the quality of clinical practice can be improved as a result.

Improving Trust Between Learners and Teachers in Medicine.

Improving Trust Between Learners and Teachers in Medicine.

Not walking the talk? How host country cultural orientations may buffer the damage of corporate values’ misalignment in multinational corporations

We argue that a perceived misalignment between a multinational corporation’s espoused values and how those values are lived in the subsidiary has detrimental effects on group outcomes, specifically groups’ affective organizational commitment. Using data from 1760 work groups in the foreign subsidiaries of a large European MNC, we find support to our hypotheses and show that when there is a misalignment between a particular espoused value and the lived value, and the value at stake is central to the value system of the country in which the subsidiary is located, the detrimental effect on the group’s outcomes is more pronounced.

“It’s a Concrete Ceiling; It’s Not Even Glass”: Understanding Tenets of Organizational Culture That Supports the Progression of Women as Coaches and Coach Developers

The purpose of this study was to explore what particular areas of organizational cultures facilitate the development and progression of women as football coaches and coach developers. The English Football Association provided the context for the research. Previous statistics demonstrate that recruitment, retention, and progression of women in English football coaching and tutoring are lower and slower than their male counterparts. In-depth interviews were completed with 26 women coaches and coach developers during November 2015 and February 2016 to understand their personal experiences as linked to the structure and culture of their sporting governing body, and analyzed using Schein’s theory of organizational culture. Three key tenets of organizational culture were found to be most influential on the career development of the participants: journeys and crossroads (the establishment of a learning culture), inclusive leadership, and vertical and horizontal relationships. The research demonstrates the need to identify disparities between espoused values and assumptions to enact cultural change toward supporting more women to be valued, included, and progressed in the sporting workplace.

Stewardship Theory of Corporate Governance and Value System: The Case of a Family-owned Business Group in India

Stewardship theory of corporate governance is a normative alternative to agency theory. This article argues that the stewardship behaviour of managers results in exemplary corporate governance practices when the espoused values of the firm are aligned with the enacted values. The case study method is used to prove this argument by studying corporate governance practices in a family-owned business group in India. The Murugappa Group is a 100-year-old family-owned business group, known for their ethical practices and currently managed by the fourth-generation family members, without undergoing any split. The espoused as well enacted values of the group are studied and corporate governance practices of the group firms analysed in this article. The article focuses on the governance structure of the group, its succession planning practices and the ownership structure. The analysis indicates that aligning the enacted values with the espoused value helped the group to adapt itself to the changing external economic environment and continue creating shareholder value, the essence of corporate governance.