Title: How Values Influence Behavior
Headings: How Values Influence Behavior
How Values Influence Behavior
Values influence behavior because people emulate the conduct they hold valuable.
Learning Objective
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Overview
Values and Behavior in the Workplace
Means of Encouraging or Discouraging Behavior

Content: While a company cannot do anything about the influences that shape a person's values and behavior before hiring, the organization can try to influence employee behavior in the workplace. Means of Encouraging or Discouraging Behavior
Training programs, codes of conduct, and ethics committees can inform employees of the types of behavior that the company finds acceptable and unacceptable. While these efforts will not necessarily not change an individual's values, they can help them decide not to participate in unethical behavior while at work. Managers must emphasize not only an employee's responsibilities, but also what the organization expects with respect to values and ethics. Ethics statements and vision statements are useful tools in communicating to employees what the company stands for and why. A system of punishments and rewards can also help foster the type of values the company wants to see in its employees, essentially filtering behavior through conditioning. If people see that certain behaviors are rewarded, then they may decide to alter their behavior and in turn alter their values. In addition, a gap sometimes exists between a person's values and behavior. This gap can stem from a conscious decision not to follow a specific value with a corresponding action. This decision can be influenced by how deeply this value affects the person's character and by the surrounding environment.