Personal Value Systems of American and Jordanian Managers: A Cross-Cultural Study

The objectives of this study are: (1) to explore the personal value systems of Jordanian managers; (2) to examine the relationship between the personal values of Jordanian managers and their behavior (i.e., decision making); and (3) to compare the personal value systems of Jordanian and American managers. To achieve the first and the second objectives, England's (1967) Personal Value Questionnaire (PVQ) and the Behavioral Measurement Questionnaire have been respectively utilized. To achieve the final objective, the behavioral relevance scores derived from this study are compared with those in England's (1975) study. Finally, demographic and organizational data are used to describe the characteristics of Jordanian managers and serve as covariates in the statistical analysis. In reference to the statistical techniques, England's scoring methodology, factor analysis and multiple regression, are used to determine the relationship between the personal value systems of Jordanian managers and their behavior (i.e., decisionmaking). England's (1975) "rule of thumb" (adjusted to 15 percent difference) and the Chisguare test are used to test the significant differences between the personal value systems of the Jordanian and American respondents. The findings of this study are as follows: 1. The primary value orientation of Jordanian managers responding to this study is moralistic in nature, while their secondary value orientation is pragmatic. Concerning the value profile, Jordanian managers have 34, 3, 8, and 21 concepts of the PVQ as operative, intended, adopted, and weak values respectively. Behavior relevance analysis indicates that Jordanian managers have emphasized certain value concepts which reflect their perception of economic need and their social value structure. 2. According to England's procedure, there is a qualified relationship between the personal values of Jordanian managers and their reported behavior, while there is a partial relationship according to factor analysis and multiple regression. 3. There are similarities and/or differences between the personal value systems of the two managerial groups linally, a summary of the findings, along with conclusions, implications, and suggestions are offered for individuals and organizations doing business in Jordan