Producing value by practicing values

Sri Lanka aims to double its per capita income by 2015. This can only happen when we create more value. In doing so, we need to practice values. What is the nexus between value and values? How does it become relevant in the current context? Today’s discussion is all about that.

As a basic economic concept, value is worth of goods and services determined by the market. It is the net worth of an organisation. From the customer’s point of view, price is “what you pay” and value is “what you get”. Hence, it is imperative that any progressive organisation should continuously produce value, in order to survive and to succeed.

As gurus always advocate, the prime role of managers is to produce value. This can only happen when they see things clearly and do things cleverly. For that to happen, we need values.

Values are associated with behaviour. Oxford dictionary defines them as standards of behaviour. Stephen Robins, a scholar in organisational behaviour, describes them as “the basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence”. In brief, it is a preferred way of thinking, feeling and doing.

Are we talking about something fluid and flexible here? The answer is no. Values tend to be relatively stable and enduring. As Robins further elaborate, a significant portion of the values we hold is established in our early years. They can be compared to the two banks of a flowing river. The way the banks of the river prevents water from overflowing, and ensuring the flow in a predetermined direction, our values govern the way we lead our lives. Of course, there can be occasional floods, in challenging us to cling on to our values.

Values also refer to the preferences reflecting our orientation. In other words, it refers to selecting a specific mode of conduct. In the organisational context, we talk about shared values, organisational values or core values. They can be defined as acceptable standards which govern the behaviour of employees of an organisation. Without such values, individuals will pursue behaviours that are in line with their own individual value preferences, which may lead to behaviours that the organisation does not wish to encourage.

I would like to bring in a metaphor here; a clay lamp with oil and a flame. The figure depicts this symbolic relationship.

As the way a lamp emanating light with a solid base, economic value will be obtained by having the right set of organisational values. Organisations across the world have shown us that no sustainable value can be achieved without adherence to core values.

One clear example is from the Southwest Airlines, an American low-cost airline based in Dulles, Texas. As the largest airline in the world by number of passengers carried per year (as of 2009), and also as one of the world’s most profitable airlines, it tells us a story of connecting value with values. As Fred Luthans tells us, the link between core values of South West Airlines and the impact on organisational performance in creating values is strong and robust. Given below are few examples.



Hire for attitude. Train for skill

The company deliberately looks for applications with a positive attitude that will promote fun in the workplace and have the desire to “colour outside the lines”. This has to be the golden rule in recruitment in any organisation.



Do it better, faster, cheaper

Cost control is a personal responsibility for employees at Southwest and is incorporated into all training programs. Waste cutting should be the prime aim with sufficient emphasis on cost management.



Deliver positively outrageous customer service to both internal and external customers

The Southwest philosophy is to put their employees first and they will take care of the customers. Empowered employees will ensure that they do their best with passion, in delighting the customers.



Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes

At Southwest, a pilot, for an example, works with ramp agents for a full day. A reservationist works in a university for people. A customer service agent helps the porters. Interestingly, the president of Southwest frequently passes out peanuts and serves drinks on flights. He even helps the baggage handlers load and unload on holidays. This is something rare in our part of the world.



Celebrate and let your hair down

When people have fun on the job, their productivity and performance improve. As positive psychologists say, success breeds success. Celebrating is one sure way to ensure the continuity of the winning streak.



Celebrate your mistakes as well as your triumphs

Turning failures into personal growth is part of celebrating mistakes, a philosophy that encourages trying new ideas without the fear of repercussions. This is one area that our organisations can learn how to support creative employees by offering encouragement to take risks.



Keep the corporate culture alive and well

At Southwest, members of the culture committee regularly visit stations all across the country, infusing the corporate culture, reiterating the company’s history and motivating employees to maintain the spirit that made the airline great. Such an endeavour ensures the consistency and continuation of the preferred behaviours.

One overarching theme among all the above values is that they ensure people contribution to business success. Above values are not mere “motherhood statements,” but practical and actionable. Samuel J Palmisano, the CEO of IBM emphasises such a need for value focus. “In my view”, he says, “the defining value that IBM has provided over the years has been the way we think, and our employees are drawn to a set of values that reflect their own”.

From all the above, one thing is quite clear. In order to achieve humane results, we got to practice values, and thereby produce value.



(Dr. Ajantha Dharmasiri is a Senior Faculty Member and a Management Consultant attached to the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He also serves as an adjunct faculty in International Human Resource Management at the Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma, USA. He has over two decades of both private and public sector working experience in diverse environments including Unilever and Nestlé. He has engaged in consultancies in more than 10 countries. He is a Commonwealth AMDISA Doctoral Fellow and Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow. He holds a Ph.D. and an MBA from the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Moratuwa. He is also a member of the Chartered Management Institute, UK.)