Are Our Values Being Measured Adequately? Creation Of A More Comprhensive Work Values Scale

Personal values are essential components in organizational climate and culture, leader-follower relationships, as well as other variables frequently investigated in I/O and management. Even though understanding values is vital to organizational research, the scales that assess these constructs have many problems. Depending on the scale that is used, the value taxonomy may vary significantly. There are also problems with the measurement of these values. Some scales assess the degree to which each value is important individually. Other values scales assess the order of importance of values. However, no scale has been created that assesses the extent of importance and the order of importance simultaneously. Study 1 generated a new taxonomy of work related personal values using a small sample of graduate students working in focus groups. Study 2 examined the validity of the taxonomy generated in study 1, but found no support for the proposed taxonomy. Study 3 tested the reliability and validity a new assessment technique. However, results revealed mixed support for the new technique. Suggestions are made for practical and empirical use of this scale as well as future directions for values assessmen