The development of shared values: Impact on employee behaviour and on customer perception of service

Thomas, Adèle; Doak, Robyn Article The development of shared values: Impact on employee behaviour and on customer perception of service South African Journal of Business Management Provided in Cooperation with: University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB), Bellville, South Africa Suggested Citation: Thomas, Adèle; Doak, Robyn (2000) : The development of shared values: Impact on employee behaviour and on customer perception of service, South African Journal of Business Management, ISSN 2078-5976, African Online Scientific Information Systems (AOSIS), Cape Town, Vol. 31, Iss. 1, pp. 17-30, https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v31i1.731 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/218219 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ S.Afr.J.Bus.Manage.2000,31 (I) 17 The development of shared values: impact on employee behaviour and on customer perception of service Adele Thomas* & Robyn Doak Graduate School of Business Administration, University of the Witwatersrand. P. 0. Box 98. Wits. 2050 South Africa [email protected] [email protected] Received February 2000 Diversity of employees in the workforce is increasingly becoming a feature of South African business. Current debate in South Africa has concerned the marginalisation of groups of employees who, historically. have never heen part of establishing existing corporate cultures, and accordingly, it has been argued that tensions exist in the workplace with a related negative impact upon company performance. The main aim of this exploratory study was to investigate whether the negotiated values system operating at a South African marketing and communications company impacts on decision making. cultural interaction and behaviour towards fellow employees and customers. A second aim of the study was to investigate whether the list of negotiated values at the company could be clustered into values categories for possihle consideration by other organisations. The findings of the study appear to indicate that the negotiated values system positively impacts upon decision making in the company and upon employee behaviour both towards fellow employees and towards customers. The system also facilitates interaction and understanding amongst culturally diverse employees. It is also possihle to cluster the values into four values categories that govern behaviour in different areas namely behavioural. interpersonal. developmental and team building values. It is concluded that the negotiated values system might be indicated as an effective tool for managing employee diversity in South African companies. both for the internal working together of employees and for the promotion of effective customer service. • Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Introduction South African business is confronted with the challenge of global competitiveness. The World Competitivness Yearbook (IMO, 1999) indicates that South Africa lags in 42"d place among the 47 industrialised countries under review. Despite the application of international management principles, many companies are still suffering from problems of low productivity and profitability, as well as low levels of trust and motivation within their workforces (Thomas, 1996; Thomas & Robertshaw, 1999). Current labour legislation in the country, and specifically the recently introduced Employment Equity Act (Republic of South Africa, 1998) will require greater democracy in the workplace and higher levels of participation between management and the general workforce. At the same time, employment equity initiatives, as required by the Employment Equity Act (Republic of South Africa, 1998), will increasingly introduce, particularly at senior levels, employees into the workforce, who have, in many cases, thus far been excluded from such positions. It can be expected that the South African workplace will evidence greater diversity than ever before in the forthcoming years. While initiatives directed at achieving employment equity may result in diversity in the workforce, the greater challenge exists to lead and manage this diversity for competitive advantage. Literature review Diversity in the workplace Internationally, Thomas ( I Q91), Morrison ( 1992), Cox (1993) and Lattimer ( 1994) have documented the benefits to business of employee diversity that may include: tapping into skills not previously available in a company characterised by an homogeneous workforce; enhancing company creativity and problem-solving; responding quickly and effectively to diverse markets and managing productive relationships with diverse customers, suppliers and distributors; promoting a culture of inclusivity. critical to a commitment to total quality; enhancing team performance; and attracting and retaining the best talent especially amongst those representing new consumer markets. Thomas & Ely ( 1996) also note that diversity encourages different and creative insights and styles in approaching the design of business processes and tasks. in the achievement of goals. in the creation of effective teams and in the communication of ideas. amongst others. Cox. Lobel & McLeod ( 1991) note the tendency towards more cooperative choices amongst ethnically Jiverse groups than amongst all-Anglo groups and McLeod & Lobel ( 1992) report that ethnically heterogeneous groups produce higher quality ideas in brainstorming activities than do homogeneous groups, a finding supported by Watson. Kumar & Michaelson ( 1993). Positive results relating top management team diversity to corporate performance and strategic decision making have also been repo11ed by Bantel & Jackson (1989), Wiersema & Bantel ( 1992) and Glick. Miller & Huber (1993). International research. however. indicates that when employees, not formerly part of established organisational cultures, are introduced into such environments. problems may occur. Tsui, Egan & O'Reilly ( 1992) found that individuals who are racially and ethnically different from others in their work units tend to be less psychologically committed to their organisations, less inclined to stay with the organisation and more likely to be absent. Greenhaus. Parasuraman & 18 Wormley ( 1990) note that blacks in the United States tend to be less satisfied with their careers than whites, and also perceive themselves to be less accepted by their organisations and to have less discretion than whites in the same organisations. These themes appear to underlie a common perception of possible exclusion within historically established corporate cultures of organisations. Culture and values According to some South African writers, the high level of conflict in the South African workplace is due to the failure of organisations to incorporate black African values into corporate cultures. Mbigi ( 1995) believes that the concept of ubuntu is fundamental to the transformation of management in South Africa to develop productive, competitive enterprises. Mthembu ( 1996) argues that many problems faced by businesses in South Africa are due to the fact that they fail to take cognisance of African' values in their corporate cultures. '[T]hey tend not to mobilise their full strength and potential because they are not connected to the majority of the workforce. In addition, many businesses fail to build on the full potential of the workforce, thereby preventing the development of a more authentic corporate culture' (Mthembu, 1996: 215). This, these writers argue, is, in part, due to the fact the black African values have not been integrated into the workplace. 'Existing corporate cultures are foreign to most African workers' (Mthembu, 1996: 216). Koopman (1994) notes that South African business cannot be successful until a set of common values exist and all parties create a common vision. He argues that white people and black people differ fundamentally in their basic values. 'Whites primarily have designed exclusive institutions which give primacy to the individual, his development, self fulfillment, which serve to foster liberal democracy. Blacks, on the other hand, believe that man is very much part of the societal fabric and see the need for each individual to find his place in a societal structure, to play his particular role in it and, to a large extent, subordinate himself to the societal needs. In other words, he desires organisations to be inclusive' (Koopman, 1994: 41 ). Koopman ( 1994) and other writers noted above imply that creating a strong corporate culture with common values is possibly one such way of promoting inclusivity, and that until value differences have been resolved, one "cannot expect to create successful organisations with common goals to which all employees aspire. 'We have to come to terms with each others' differences, acknowledge them and then, through the discovery of our own limitations, realise common values for a new economic dispensation' (Koopman, 1994: 43). Values, according to Trompenaars (1993) and 1-lofstede ( 1997), are intrinsic to differences in cultures and determine the way in which people from different cultures will react to situations. Trompenaars notes that '[i]f busi~ess people _want to gain an understanding of and alleg1a~ce to thetr corporate goals, policies, products or services wherever they are doing business, they SA fr.I. Bus.Manage.2000.3 I( I) must understand what those and other aspects of management mean in different cultures' ( 1993: 3). In South Africa, the history of the diverse ethnic cultures that exist in the country may cast doubt on the existence of a single national culture or national value system. Rather. when national values are discussed in relation to Trompenaars ( 1993) and Hofstede ( 1997). a multitude of ethnic values could, it is suggested. exist in South Africa as hypothesised by Thomas & Bendixen ( 1997). It wou Id be expected. if one extrapolates from Hofstede's ( 1997) thesis that employees would bring such ethnic values to bear in the workplace. Schein ( 1992) proposes that organisational culture can be understood by identifying the visible artifacts. espoused values and, at a deeper level. the underlying assumptions prevalent in an organisation or those solutions to problems that have worked over time and that have become taken for granted. It is only once the espoused values become basic underlying assumptions that they are translated into behaviour. Therefore, as Christie ( 1996) argues. it is futile for an oroani- " sation to generate a set of values that are displayed in prominent places while management waits for dramatic improvements in productivity and profitability. The values need to become part of the basic assumptions of the organisation before they can bring real change and cohesion to the culture of the organisation. Peters & Waterman ( 1984) and Lagan ( 1998) also argue for the creation of a common set of values and note that values must become the driving philosophy behind behaviour and decision making within the organisation. In this way. the espoused values are repeatedly applied to problems and when they are seen to be working. become. to apply Schein's ( 1992) theory, basic assumptions and part of the behaviour in organisations. Kotter & Heskett ( 1992) and Blanchard & O'Connor ( 1997) note the powerful role that values can play in developing high performance corporate cultures. Thomas & Schon ken ( I 998a: I 998b) note the hitherto lack of empirical evidence to support the propositions of writers who espouse the incorpration of black African values into business. However, the study of a South African company that actively promotes the establishment of a negotiated values base amongst employees is of interest. Such a study could cast some light on the debate as to whether the issue really is the incorporation of black African (ethnic) values into busi· ness or whether. indeed. the salient point is the creation of shared values by all that promote the working together of di· verse employees in the achievement of corporate objectives. Values-negotiation process at Group Africa One such South African management process and practice to address the development of a unified. yet diverse workforce. is the negotiated values system operative at Group Africa of the Amavulandlela. a marketing and communications com· pany. An example of the diversity at Group Africa is that blacks (African, Coloured and Indian) constitute 72% of em· ployees at management levels and 33% of employees at Director level.2 The company specialises in face-to-face com· munication with developing markets in the country, in the rest of Africa and, more recently. internationally. The company is described by Boon (1997: 136) as ·a happy, productive. exciting, interesting and profitable African3 business. which S.Afr.J.Bus.Managc.2000.31( I) has discarded the rule books and, in so doing, has discovered a truly powerful African way'. It is proposed that the negotiated values process practiced by Group Africa could present some important ideas and principles for consideration by management in South Africa if it is effective in promoting the working together of diverse employees for competitive advantage. The workforce of Group Africa comprises approximately 230 full-time employees in South Africa that has developed into 'a wonderful team with a "family" structure that shares a very special culture' (Boon, 1997: 136). Fundamental to this culture and 'family' environment is the negotiated values system that governs the way the company is run and the way in which its employees are managed. 'Group Africa believes that the workplace should reflect personal values and be in harmony with belief systems. The workplace should be a vehicle through and in which everyone is able to achieve their (sic) personal aspirations' (Boon, 1997: 136). Assuming the values are congruent with the vision and mission of the organisation, then the achievement of personal goals, Boon ( I Q97) believes, will lead to the achievement of the goals of the company. Group Africa does not adopt a top-down approach to values creation. Values 'form part of individual belief systems and are therefore integral to every decision and step that a person makes. They are what we represent as human beings. To be accepted by the community, values have to be shared and created by that community' (Boon, 1997: 85). Accordingly, all employees are involved in the negotiation of a values system for the company. A broad definition of values is used in the Group Africa values creation process. Values are taken to mean the rules by which people govern their lives and include values, principles and behaviours. The values are identified at group forums and are discussed, negotiated and defined by the employees until a set of agreed values is identified. This process brings together the different values of the diverse workforce at Group Africa to create a common set of values that all are committed to upholding. This process has generated a list of 35 values to which employees at Group Africa subscribe. The values system is maintained by a group of elders or individuals who are elected by the employees to ensure that all members of the Group Africa community uphold the values. Elders have two major roles. The primary role is to offer guidance (mentor the organisation and the individuals within it and to carefully guide the individuals in terms of how they should behave). The secondary role is to ensure that employees act in accordance with the values and to effect discipline if necessary. The values list is constantly evaluated, questioned and redefined as the company faces new challenges, or as new employees join the company. The key driver of this constant evaluation of the values is the new employee. Within a few weeks of joining Group Africa, the new recruits (amaKwetha) are gathered together in an umhlangano (group discussion forum) with other employees of Group Africa. Here they disl'i cuss the principles that are important to them and. in the process, the existing values list is reevaluated. This initial values negotiation experienced by amaKwetlw sends an important message to new recruits. From the start they learn that they have the power to change the company and that they are expected to speak their minds and express their opinions in an open forum. no matter who is present or what is being discussed. Boon4 argues that the values system 'is absolutely intrinsic to the way we exist. These values are things that we. as human beings. have decided are personally important to us. We are then encouraged to explore what those behaviours, those words. mean and thereafter we are called on to be accountable to them at every stage or step of our business. from recruitment to how we interact with our clients. Every single aspect of our business is lead by those values and behaviours' (Pers.comm .. 1998). Values play an important role in recruitment. appraisal and promotion, employee development. discipline and decision making at the company. Boon ( 1997) also believes that the values system is a valuable tool to facilitate cultural understanding between employees. This understanding is developed during values discussions in umhlanganos. Employees are encouraged to express their points of view. and in this way. others are exposed to alternative attitudes and definitions of what is perceived to be right or wrong. The values system is therefore also a mechanism to create 'a really powerful team spirit' .5 Aims of the study The overall aim of the study was to evaluate whether the negotiated values system at Group Africa impacts on employee behaviour. as manifested in decision making. behaviour towards fellow employees and customers. and cultural interaction and understanding. A further aim was to explore whether the existing values at Group Africa could be grouped into succinct values categories. The following two propositions were posited: Proposition 1: the negotiated values system guides employee behaviour Schein argues that the espoused values of an organisation 'predict well enough what people will say in a variety of situations. but ... may be out of line with what they will actually do in situations where those values should be operating' ( 1992: 21 ). It is only when the espoused values become basic underlying assumptions that they directly influence behaviour. Proposition I aimed to establish whether the espoused values of Group Africa have. in fact. become basic assumptions of the company that now are manifested in employee behaviour towards each other and in customer service. Proposition I was divided into a number of sub-propositions, each investigating behaviour in different areas: -The negotiated values system guides employee behaviour towards fellow employees: -The negotiated values system guides employee behaviour towards customers: 20 -The negotiated values system facilitates understanding and interaction between different cultural groups; The negotiated values system guides decision making. Proposition 2: the negotiated values can be clustered into four values categories Peters & Waterman (1984: 285) note that the values lists of successful organisations are 'narrow in scope, including just a few values'. The current values list at Group Africa comprises 35 values, all of which, it can be argued, employee~ are expected to understand. If the negotiated values s~ste~ ts to be a useful tool for consideration by other companies, 1t may be more convenient if it complied with the Peters & Waterman ( 1984) recommendation. Thus, the research relating to this proposition explored whether the current list could be simplified into categories of values. Methodology Population Two populations were included in the research design -all 230 full-time employees of the company, and all customers serviced by Group Africa. The inclusion of customers in the study was based on the premise that, as a service organisation, customers are in direct contact with employees and that the true test of employee values being evidenced in behaviour is if such values are perceived by customers. Sample The entire population of full-time employees was surveyed. Part of the analysis of the data collected from employees involved the use of multivariate statistics. The minimum requirement for the use of these techniques is a sample size of between two and four times the number of data points. As there are 35 values in the Group Africa list, and these were the data that was to be subjected to multivariate analysis, a sample of at least 70 was required. Of the 230 full-time employees surveyed, 11 I employees responded, thus satisfying the sample size requirement. The breakdown of the employee sample is shown in Table I. Convenience sampling was applied to the customer group. Leedy (I 997: 204) defines convenience sampling as a nonprobability sampling method that 'takes units as they arrive on the scene or as they are presented to the researcher'. The disadvantage of this method is that the researcher has little control over whether the sample is, in fact, representative of the population. Senior managers at Group Africa supplied a list of customers who could be contacted to complete the customer questionnaire. Each customer was contacted telephonically, then faxed a questionnaire for completion. As the data received from this sample was not subjected to multivariate statistics, the 22 returned questionnaires were deemed sufficient for the purposes of this study. Questionnaire design and data analysis The employee questionnaire first comprised a series of questions to gather the demographic details of the respondents regarding age, sex, level of education, ethnic culture, length of service, geographic location and occupational level. Two questions in the employee questionnaire required that respondents list the three major positive and negative features S.i\ld.Bus.Manage.2<KIOJl(I). Table 1 Demographic profile of employee sample Dimension Description Number of Percentage n:spondents of sarnph: Gender Male <,7 <im,. Female 44 40% Age 20-29 35 .12'Yu J0-39 36 32% 40--49 31 211% 50 plus 9 11% Cultural group Coloured 2 2% Indian 1% Sotho 12 11% White Afrikaans 3 3% White English 30 27% Xhosa 23 21% Zulu 29 2(,% Other 11 10% Length of service Less than 2 years 23 21% 2-5 years 44 41)"/o Over 5 years 44 40% Geographic location Gauteng 47 42% K wazulu Natal 29 26% Western Cape 13 12% Eastern Cape 12 11% Tzaneen 9 8% Other 1% Level in organisation Director 4 4% Manager 21 19% ? Employee 86 77% Highest level of education Primary school 5 5% High school 32 29% Matric 30 27% University 19 17% Technicon 11 l(J"/o Other 14 13% Total 111 of the values system. Content analysis was used to group the responses received from these questions. A further question contained a list of statements about the values system generated from Boon's ( 1997) book, intervi~W: 5 and discussions with employees. and observations of act1v 1 · ties at Group Africa. Employees were asked to indicate the extent of their agreement with each statement. The objec~iv~ was to determine how employees viewed the system and 1fit did appear to influence behaviour. The responses were grouped into two frequency tables. one for the positive features and one for the negative. A top two box and bottom two box score was also calculated to determine the total agree· mentor disagreement with each statement. The opening questions of the customer questionnaire fo- . s cused upon the reasons of respondents for using the service of Group Africa, and why they thought the company was unique. The objective was to establish whether or not s.Mr.J.Bus Managc.2000.31 (I) customers spontaneously referred to the values system. or to any of the specific values of Group Africa. The data was analysed using content analysis. The final question contained in both the employee and customer questionnaires listed the 35 values of Group Africa and asked respondents to rate the behaviour of Group Africa employees on a five-point scale with regard to these values. The data was analysed in a number of ways. First the data from the employee questionnaire was analysed in conjunction with the demographic data to ascertain whether there were any significant differences in the ratings across demographic groups. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for this purpose as the data was ordinal in nature and there were more than two sets of data to be compared. The rating data from both questionnaires was ranked according to the mean score for each value. and then the two ranked data sets were compared. A Mann-Whitney U Test was then conducted on the two sets of data to determine if there were significant differences in the ratings across the two samples. The final analysis on the data from this question was a principle components analysis (PCA) which was run on the employee data only. This was undertaken to determine whether the list of 35 values could be condensed into categories of values that could makt: application easier elsewhere. As data was ordinal in nature. it had to be converted to interval data in order to apply the PCA. This was undertaken by using correspondence analysis as recommended by Bendixen & Sandler ( 1995). The rescaled data values were then substituted for the old ones in the database and the PCA was run. The initial run indicated that a four-factor solution was preferable. The second run was analysed to determine which values loaded onto each factor, using a cutoff value of 0.5 as recommended by Sharma ( 1996 ). Cronbach 's Coefficient Alpha was also calculated to test the reliability of each of the factors to ensure that none of the values should be excluded to improve the result. Details of the employee and customer questionnaires can be found in Doak ( 1998). Limitations - The present study did not measure the effect of the negotiated values system on employee satisfaction and productivity based on indicators relating to these two fac~ors such as absenteeism. staff turnover et cetera (Meglmo, Ravlin & Adkins. 1989: Pulakos. Oppler, White & Borman. 1989: Greenhaus et al, 1990; Tsui et al, 1992; Verkuytcn. De Jong & Masson, 1993; Bochner & ~esketh. 1994: Leftkowitz. I 994: Smith, Smith. Ohan. Sims, ff Bannon & Scully, 1994: Mount, Hazucha. Holt & s, tsma. 1995: Simons. J 995). Ideally, indicators such as tl;ose used in the above studies should be measured on a longitudinal basis. . -English was the language medium used in the questionnaires and. as such. could have involuntarily excluded employees (whose first language is not English) from the study or influenced their responses. . While attempts were made to control for researcher ~ias, such contamination could have occurred in the questionnaire design and interpretation of results. -Although ~1 pilot study was conducted. the reliabilit~ and validity of the research instruments was not conclusively 21 established. -Senior members of (iroup Africa who provided the list of customers to be contacted determined the customer sam pie. Such convenience sampling could have influenced the representative nature of the sample and led to the related possibility of sampling bias. -The values stated in the (_jroup Africa values list have clearly defined meanings that have been defined by the employees during the values-negotiation process. These definitions were not provided to rnslomers in the sample and accordingly. customer understanding of the words may differ to that of employees. thus requiring caution in the comparison of responses between employees and customers. Results Negotiated values system guides employee behaviour - Proposition 1 The first sub-proposition addresses behaviour towards follow employees. The responses displayed in Table 2 indicate that the values system impacts. to some extent. on employee behaviour. Table 2 Positive features of the values system Feature Influences behaviour Brings people logclhcr lo huild 1c;11mrnr~ Affects relationships wilhin the work rnvironmenl Helps people to grow Helps understand difli.:rcnt culllarcs Improves performance Enhances the working cm ironmcnt Creates a shared vi,ion Improves communication Improves conflict rcsolulion Other Total N11111hcr ol n..:,p,Hbcs* 54 14 27 lfi 11 'I X 7 5 4 7 IX2 Pcn.:c:ntagc or n:,pon,c" 2').7 11 /11 IX X",;, 14 'l'Y., X_X'~, (d,.~~I -l. t)l~,{, -l . ..J"·u 1 x41.;, 2. 71 !~. , )Ill -·- IJ 3 X 111 11 IOIJ • Responses received. not numher of rc,pondenb "ho answocd lhc question Table 3 Negative features of the values system Feature Is easily manipulated The system is rcstricti, c Too many grey are;L, Time consuming Ditlicult to balance ,1 ith husines, practiccs Too many values Other Total '.unihcr ol Rc,.,,pt llhC\ * X4 I 'I 'I 5 4 ·' X I , ' ·'- Pcr..:cntagc , )f Rc,p,,1hc, fl3.h"u 1..J.-l 4 ~o 6.X0u 3.X 1 }u 3 ,,.~,~ 1 "'o -.'J II h. l4 ~o llltl • Number of respon,l',. not lllllll~cr of rl'srondenb \\ ho ,ms,wrc·d the· questu,n 22 From Table 3 the negative features of the values system, as identified by respondents. are noted. An area of concern is the large percentage of negative responses regarding the manipulation of the system (63.6%). A closer inspection of these responses indicated that they referred specifically to the value ·care·. This may be explained bv the fact that the value ·care' is used in the performance 11',,,h/anganos (where the performance of an employee is evaluated by the group). In these umh/anganos. the value ·care' is stressed to the person being appraised. If this umh/angano is being used for counselling or disciplinary purposes. employees may be suspicious of this value. From Table 4 it can be seen that employees respond favourably to other aspects of the values system. '>.·\Ir.I flus Managc.20(NI.Jl(I} However. as can be seen from Tahle 4. there are noticeable exceptions. namely. the two statements regarding the elders: 'The elders have really helped me \\ hen I have had a problem' and 'It is really nice to he able to take my problems to the elders instead of to my hoss ·. l·or hoth of these statements the modal category is the column ·neither agree nor disagree'. This indicates ambivalence towards the use of the eld;rs in problem solving or a lack of understanding as to the actual role of the elders in such cases. In 1:ontrast. the guidance of the elders and their mentoring role i\ clearly understood. as can be seen from the strong agreement ( 79 3° o} with the statement ·1 see the elders· role as one of guidance and mentoring'. Overall. there appears to be strong agreement with all the positive statements. as can be seen from the highlighted modal categories. and the top two box scores column for each statement. This is particularly evident in the areas of attitude towards the company. enthusiasm and commitment to the company. the promotion of cultural understanding. a sense of belonging. problem solving, personal development. and behaviour towards people from different backgrounds. The analysis of the negative statements noted in Table 5 is supportive of findings noted in Tahle 3. Three statements refer to the possible manipulation of the values system: 'People don't really follow or believe in the values·: 'People don't really take It seriously·: and 'People just pay lip service to it. As can be seen from Tahle 5. overall. respondents tend to disagree with these negative statements. with some exceptions. The first of these st:1tcmenh. · 1t is very time Table 4 Values system descriptions: positive statements Statement Strong I} Agree Neither agr~< 1)1',agn:c.: .\trnngl~ lop l\1n agree nor di~agrl'l' d1,agr~i: ho, s~Pn: It has helped me understand people from dillerent 53 , I ~ (I 111-' cultures better 47.75% 45.95~0 4 5°.;. I 8 11 0 (1 11 c, 1)J.7·~·j, 11 has changed the wa~ I hehave towards people from 42 56 i «, (1 ')Ii ditfcrcm hackgrounds 3i.84~. 50.45% 6 31°;, ~ .41° n ()II II !111.3% It 1s part of\\hat makes (,rnup Africa special 71 35 (· 1(17 64.86% 3153% 0.9",· (I° I, ~ 711 " ')C,.4 1 ~'0 It helps me ma~e decisions at work 3~ 49 1 .. l) IC 34.23% 44.14% 12.61°,. X I I 0o ( I qo 1, 7H.4°1;, I ha,e dc\dopcd as a result of being involved in the 3l< 6Z x I 100 \'aluc ~~ ,tern 34.23~0 55.86% 7.~ I u n : 70 ,. ( 1° eo ')0.1% The elders have reali) helped me when I have had a I-; 36 43 l!l '.'3 prohlcm I 532~;, 32.43% 38.74°1., 9.01°0 -l '.'" II -'7.!I~·. It is really nice to he ahle 10 take m) problems to the I~ 2h 37 Y) I: "'' elders instead of m\ hos, 13.5 l~o 23.42% 33.33% <> x2°," q ()!"1• 37.0% The uml,/anganos arc useful for solvmg problems at 53 49 IO:! \\Of~ 47.75% 44.14% 45% 2.7 11 11 (t (} 0111 ')1.9% I feel I can speak up at am 11mhlangano. no matter 51 44 7 7 2 ')'- who is there 45.95% 39.64% 6.31% (1 31 '~'~l I xuu H:=;;.,.•~10 It really helped me fit in at Group Africa 41 5(, IO i ')7 36.94°10 50.45% 901% 2 71 ~'0 0 9°·,, !17.-'% It taught me to stand up for what I helieve in 34 59 12 ~ ')3 30.63% 53.15% 10.81" . ., 4.'.' 11 o (, 9° 0 HJ.')'% I see the elders role as one of guidance and mentoring 34 54 I(, ~ !l!I 30.63% 48.65% 14 41'~, .. 4.'.'u u I X 0 1, 79.J0 ,;, It gives me a sense of he longing and loyalty 40 (13 5 2 1113 36.04% 5<,.76% 4.5~o (l.9 1 ~,;, I .X''.11 ')2.81% It makes me feel enthusiastic. committed and 48 58 2 2 1(1(, dedicated to Group Africa 43.24% 52.25% 1.8% 0.9 11 10 I .X 0 n ,,:=;;5·~. It creates a powerful team spirit 53 48 (1 2 2 IOI 47.75% 43.24% 5.41'}o I .X",o I X 0·o 1 J 1.tl'Yo I feel thal I can really change the organisation through 25 56 17 10 !II the value~ system 22.52% 50.45% 15.32'~. l)_(JIHo ~ 71~ 0 73.tl'}o S.Afr.J.Bus.Managc.2000.31( I) Table 5 Values system descriptions: negative statements Statement Strongly Agree agree It is very time consuming 21 28 18.92% 25.23% I find it a ha~slc 5 15 4.5% 13.51% People don"t really follow or bdievc in the values 10 31 9.01% 27.93% I find the elders tends to interfere in the way 11 ike 7 II to do things 6.31% 9.91% I do not rcall) understand it 2 6 1.8% 5.41% I do not agree with all the values 6 17 5.41% 15.32% I find the counseling part of the values system 2 8 intimidating 1.8% 7.21% People don't really take it seriously 6 38 5.41% 34.23% People just pay lip service to it 8 40 7.21% 34.04% consuming' is agreed to by 44.1% of respondents as opposed to the 40.5% who disagree. However. in contrast to this position. there is strong disagreement with the statement 'I find it a hassle·. Here. 68.5% of the respondents disagree with this sentiment. A possible explanation of this seeming contradiction is that employees may find the values-negotiation process time consuming. but they appear to be prepared to spend the time on it. The last two statements in Table 5, 'People don't really take it seriously' and · People just pay lip service to it'. are clearly bi-modal. indicating disagreement among employees as to how dedicated people are towards the values system. This is supportive of the findings noted in Table 3. However. from the scores appearing in summary columns in Table 5. (the top two and bottom two box scores). it can be noted that a slightly higher percentage of employees disagree with these two statement~. The overall results presented in Tables 4 & 5 indicate that employees are positive about the role of the values system in guiding behaviour at work and indicate that it is effective in this regard. Employees were required to rate the behaviour of their colleagues in terms of the values. A mean score out of five was calculated for each value and the values were then ranked. Overall. the scores for the values were high. ranging from 4.37 down to a lowest score of3.75 (shown in Table 6). This indicates that the values. according to employees. are noticeable in the behaviour of their colleagues. Once again this is supportive of the proposition that the values guide behaviour towards fellow employees. A final point to be made with regard to this sub-proposition is that all employees do not agree about the extent to which the values are translated into behaviour. There are significant differences in the rat in us of most of the values across demographic categories. as the Kruskal-Wallis test results indicates (Table 7). The values where there are no significant differences across demographic groups are highlighted in bold. 2., Neither agree Oisagree Strongly Top two Bottom two nor disagree disagree hm; score ho, ,core 17 2:i 20 4'> 4.;; 15.32% 22.52'Yo llUl2'X, 44.1% 40 51 !lr, 15 45 31 20 7(, 13.51% 40.54% 27.93% 18.0% (,8.5% 18 40 12 41 52 16.22% 36.04% 10.81% 36.9% 4(,.8% 24 40 29 I!! (,9 21.62% 3(,.04% 26 I.V% 16 2'% <,2.2°/c, 9 52 42 x '>4 8.11% 46.85% 37.8..J 1~1 11 7."")0' -" 114.7% 7 39 42 23 111 6.31% 35 14"·;, 37.84% 20.7°1;1 73.0% 29 51 21 10 72 26.13% 45.95% I X.92"'o 9.0 1 !1i1 (,4.9% 16 311 1.1 44 50 14.41% 34.23% 11. 71 1 ~,, 39.6% 45.0% 13 40 I(' 48 50 11.71% 34.04% 9.0 I 0 ,, 4).2'}o 45.0% These are: 'we are of Africa·: ·personal": ·non-discriminatory': 'integrity': and ·acceptance of constructive criticism·. All of these values. with the exception of· personal". appear in either the top or bottom ten groups ( Table 6 l. The fact that 'personal' does not appear only means that employees are in agreement that it lies elsewhere in the ranking and that all employees agree as to the rating of the value. In conclusion. it is believed that the data supports the proposition that the negotiated values s~ stem guides behaviour towards fellow employees. However. this is a qualified conclusion as there are areas where reservations are noted: -There is a strong feeling that the system is manipulated by some employees: Some of the values are more noticeable in behaviour than others: -The role of the elders in enforcing the values system is unclear to many emrloyees: and Employees from different demograrhic groups disagree on the extent to which the values are translated into behaviour. The second sub-proposition investigates employee behaviour towards customers. Once again. it appears that the values system is effective in this regard. Although there are no direct references to any of the values in the responses received from customers ( shown in Tables 8 and 9). analysis of the relevant statements indicates that the following values are spontaneously alluded to by customers: - ·we are of Africa·: 'Natural drive to draw closer to other cultures·: and -'Enthusiasm/passionate·. It is inferred. therefore. that customers notice these three values in the behaviour of Group Africa employees. As with the results from the emplo) cc questionnaire. the mean score for ea..:h of the \alues 1\as uscd to rank the \itlues to highlight those that were nwrc not in:ahlc than others. Ovcral I. the mean scores rcceivcd from t.:ustomcrs 11 en: higher than tlwsc rccci1 cd from employces. ra11g111g from .t.98 to -t.65 as sccn in Figurc I. TablE 6 Mean score for rating of values by employees Value W c arc of Africa W c lead the \\ a, Pride in \\hat ,,c to Care Respect Team dri,cn We as a team arc frknds Parti,ipati, c management/leadership Emrathy Fun l'nthusiasm/rassi,lllate Listen and hear \Villingncss to share Lo)alty We do it Fairness Effective I loncst) Manners Orcnness Trust Natural drive to draw closer to other cultures Willing to delegate to enahle others to grow Pro-active Protessionalism and dedication to task Understanding/good interaction Personal Faith in ourselves and each other's ahilities Mcancmpln) cc rating ,U7 4.30 426 4.26 -L~O 4.19 4 18 4 17 4.10 4.10 4 ()<) 4.09 4 08 4.07 4.06 4.00 3.99 3.99 3 l)I) 3.99 3.98 3.98 3.97 3.97 3.97 3.96 3.93 3.93 Recognise achk,cment 3.91 D) namic 3.90 Drive for personal development 3.89 Acceptance of constructive criticism 3.89 Ahle to oiler constructive criticism 3.86 Integrity 3.85 Self disciplined 3.80 Efficient 3. 76 Accept only the highest standards. according to group standards 3. 76 Non-discriminatory 3. 75 It is possible that the reason for this finding is that customers are unaware of the values system and therefore do not judge Group Africa employees by the values. In contrast, employees are aware of the values and expect others to behave in accordance with them. Employees may therefore be more critical in their assessment. When the top ten rankings from the employee and customer samples (Table I 0) are compared, it can be seen that there are four values that rank in the top ten of both the customer and the employee samples (highlighted in bold). \ \/1 11\IJ·. \1-.Jn;i~,· :111111 ,Ill) Table 11 indi<.:atcs the boltom lL'11 , ,illlL:, "' 1;111~L·d hy employees and customers. Once again. there is .ign.:ement ;inm, hilt Ii s;1111plcs as to which values arc least noti<.:cablc 111 heh.i, 1011r I highlighh:d in bold). It is clear that these arc the, ,il11e, th,tt .trL' the k,ht 110 • ticeable in the behaviour of< iroup A lric.t L'lnpl<l\ cc,. If the top ten and bottom ten list\ ( 1.thk, IO & 11) are compared. it can be seen that there 1, ck.tr di,.1c!rcc111ent on two of the values between the two ,ample, I he first of these is the value ·we lead the wa: · I h" , ,tluc r.inks a, number three on the employee list (Table 10). hut "thl' tenth worst ranked on the customer list (Lthlc I I). I Ii " e111plm CL', believe that they do. in fact. lead thL· "a\. hut cu,tomers appear to feel differently about this. llo\\c,er. it 11111st he 11<1ted that the two samples may be evaluati11:-c this particular ,·,tlue differently. For example. cmployccs 111a: c, aluatc .1dherc11cc to this value in terms of internal factors in the organisation such as the values system or the way they arc treated. Cu,tomers. on the other hand. will most likel: view this value in terms of the services provided by the com pan: to them. The second value where there is stronc! disagreement between the two samples is that of ·non-dis<.:rimination·. This value ranks first on the customer I ist ( rah le IO) hut 1s ranked in the bottom ten list by cmplo: l'Cs ( r.1bk I I J. Ag,tin. the dit~ ference could be explained by pcr<.:cptions It c1n be argued that Group Africa is one of the few organisations in South Africa that is representative of South i\ frictn population demographics. From a customer pcrspccti,c. this is probahl: very different to that which they encounter in their mm organisations, hence the high score on this ite111. Employees. on the other hand, may possibly assess this value fro111 an internal perspective in terms of their behaviour towards one another and therefore accord it a lower score. The results ofthc Mann-Whitney! I-test (Table 12) that \\as conducted on the employee and customer rankings indicate that there are nine values where there is no signitic1nt difference between the average ratings fro111 the t\\ o samplcs ( highlighted in bold in the table). namely: ·rcspc<.:t': '\\ illing to delegate to enable others to grow·: ·pro-active·: ·care': ·self disciplined': 'participative 111anagcmc11t leadership·. · recognise achievement': 'we lead the \\a:·: and ·openness·. In conclusion. it appears that the data docs support the subproposition that the values system guides employee behaviour towards customers. This is evident from the spontaneous references to certain of the values and from the high scores customers accord Group i\frica cmployccs in terms of the values. In fact. overall. the customer ratings arc higher than are those obtained from e111ployccs ;111d. in most ciscs. the difference is significant. The third sub-proposition investigated whether the values system was effective in facilitatinc! cultur;il understanding and interaction. Once again. the data i~ supportive oftlm proposition. The results from the content anal:sis of the cmplo:ce questionnaire (Table 2) indicate a high proportion of responses relating to the unifying role of the \.tlucs system in building teamwork ( 18.8%). ;\ high p1 Pportion of respondents also indicated that the values system affects rl'lationships within the working environment ( 14.9°0) ,ind (1°0 ()f rcspo11dc11h note that the values system assists in rnltural 1111dcrst,111ding. (her