Relationship Between Organizational Culture And Its Impact...

Postner and Munson (1979), identified values as being the things that matter to us or what we consider to be the right thing and Sullivan, Sullivan and Buffton (2002) suggest that it is our values that drives our behaviour, inform our decision making and actions. Rokeach (1973) made a differentiation between personal and social values. Personal values relate to our personal goals e.g. inner harmony whereas social values reflect our goals for society e.g. equality, being treated with dignity and respect. Davies et al (2007) identified that values together with our assumptions, attitudes and beliefs is what defines cultures. The evidence linking values and culture to quality improvements and quality care is conflicting. In a study examining†¦show more content†¦A common thread in their work is factors that affect motivation and needs that must be satisfied. Postner and Munson (1979) believed that understanding values was a pre-requisite of understanding motivation. Sullivan, Sullivan and Buffton (2002) similarly identified values as being a key driver of motivation and recognised that by achieving an overlap between individual and organisational values a sense of meaningfulness can be attached to work roles. The importance of empowering staff to make autonomous decisions within an organisations values framework and providing recognition for work has been identified as motivating components that support staff to find meaningfulness and fulfilment at work (Pink, 2009). Branson (2008) highlighted the importance of aligning individual and organisation values. This alignment can drive the development of an organisational culture that is framed by what it values e.g. patient safety, clinical effectiveness and patient experience. How well our values align with organisational values can influence how we feel which in turn affects our attitudes and how we behave (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman and Johnson, 2005). When values are aligned and where staff find meaningfulness in their work, evidence suggests that they are more committed and engaged (Kahn,