Increasing knowledge: increasing values

Citation

Heap, J. (2003), "Increasing knowledge: increasing values", Work Study, Vol. 52 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2003.07952daa.001

Increasing knowledge: increasing values

Increasing knowledge: increasing values

There is something of a knowledge management theme to this issue – there are two major papers and, of course, much of the rest of the journal is concerned with the exchange of knowledge. I was going to devote this editorial to an overview of the "organisational knowledge" scene but as I was thinking of the value of knowledge (and how one measures it), another thought overtook me and then took over this column.

There has been much discussion over the last few years on the subject of "values". Much of this has been related to corporate governance – a topic which has bubbled along recently but hit the headlines with the Enron scandal. The "values" talked about here are "corporate values" but corporate values tend to stem from the personal values of the very few, right at the top of the organisation. Corporate values can take on a life of their own – but only if individuals subjugate their own personal values. Understanding why this might happen would be a very useful research project … with implications far beyond the business arena.

However, this is not the subject of this editorial. Well, "why bring it up?", I hear you ask. Why not stop waffling around and get right to the point? Well, readers, it is because it is sometimes important or at least helpful to put one's point in context. In a piece under the "Random observations" column in this issue (yes, I know if you read this chronologically, you will not have got there yet … bear with me), I raise the issue of my personal values and how they might influence a decision I have to make. Nothing so momentous as corporate governance … but a decision nevertheless.

We all have values … sometimes we might have difficulty in articulating them … but they exist. The point I am edging towards is that it might be useful if we all took a little time and tried such articulation. If we could express our values, we might understand them; we might then be better able to take future decisions, since the values underlying our implicit or unconscious thinking which in turn underlies the decision making would be "on the table" as it were. We do not have to make them public – so we do not have to refine the language we use to express them … they would remain a secret to others, but no longer a secret to ourselves.

Think about this. (This guy is asking us to think – is that fair?) Would not a better understanding of why you behave like you do be a great help? It might make it easier to understand our feelings on a certain issue, or help us realise why we can – or cannot – go with the majority view.

Of course, a personal understanding of our individual values might better prevent us subjugating them to an imposed corporate value set we know to be suspect. Upfront personal values recently reflected on and articulated are a strong antidote to a corporate poison; so much so that if we undertook such reflection on a regular basis, the poison would probably never be allowed to grow.

So, all we need now is one of you to produce a paper on the relationships between personal values, organisational values, organisational culture and organisational knowledge and my "thinking circle" will be complete. Any offers?

John Heap