The Value Orientations Method Essay Sample free essay sample

To work with people of other civilizations. it’s of import to understand their â€Å"world position. † The Value Orientation Method ( VOM ) provides a manner to understand core cultural differences related to five basic human concerns. or orientations. The method has been used widely in cross-cultural state of affairss. including in higher instruction. wellness services. and conflict declaration. A 16-question unwritten study is available and can be used for formal research about cultural differences or informally in preparation to assist people go cognizant of and work with cultural differences at the single and institutional degrees. Tom GallagherLeadership Development SpecialistOffice of Personnel and Organizational DevelopmentOregon State University Extension ServiceCorvallis. Beaver stateInternet Address: [ electronic mail protected ]/* IntroductionChanges in the demographics of the United States challenge Extension module and staff to work efficaciously across civilizations. One of the cardinal jobs of working efficaciously with people of another civilization is understanding basic differences in â€Å"world position. † Without this apprehension. it is hard to supply appropriate services and easy to acquire into unneeded struggle. There is. nevertheless. a method to rapidly assist people understand cultural differences. This article introduces the Value Orientation Method ( VOM ) . a tool that can assist place differences in nucleus values across civilizations. For those readers familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ( Keirsey. 1998 ) and how it describes type of persons. the VOM provides a similar method for depicting types of civilizations. Background The foundations for VOM were developed in the 1940s and 1950s by anthropologists with the Harvard Values Project ( Kluckhohn A ; Strodtbeck. 1961 ) . The undertaking squad proposed that it is possible to separate civilizations based on how they each addressed five common human concerns. They did non suggest that these were the lone five concerns but that they were utile in understanding cultural differences. They besides proposed from their survey that civilizations could react to the jobs in at least three ways and that all civilizations would show each of the three responses. It was the rank order of responses that gave a civilization its character. They called these responses to the five concerns â€Å"value orientations. † Today we might name them â€Å"core values. † Kohls ( 1981 ) provides a brief debut to the five human jobs and the three possible responses ( Figure 1 ) . Figure 1 Description of Five Common Human Concerns and Three Possible Responses ( based on Kohls. 1981 ) Concerns/ orientations| Possible ResponsesHuman Nature: What is the basic nature of people? | Evil. Most people can’t be trusted. Peoples are fundamentally bad and need to be controlled. | Mixed. There are both evil people and good people in the universe. and you have to look into people out to happen out which they are. Peoples can be changed with the right counsel. | Good. Most people are fundamentally reasonably good at bosom ; they are born good. | Man-Nature Relationship: What is the appropriate relationship to nature| Subordinate to Nature. Peoples truly can’t alteration nature. Life is mostly determined by external forces. such as destiny and genetic sciences. What happens was meant to go on. | Harmony with Nature. Man should. in every manner. live in harmoniousness with nature. | Dominant over Nature. It the great human challenge to suppress and command nature. Everyt hing from air conditioning to the â€Å"green revolution† has resulted from holding met this challenge. | Time Sense: How should we best think about clip? | Past. Peoples should larn from history. pull the values they live by from history. and strive to go on past traditions into the hereafter. | Present. The present minute is everything. Let’s make the most of it. Don’t worry about tomorrow: enjoy today. Future. Planning and end puting do it possible for people to carry through miracles. to alter and turn. A small forfeit today will convey a better tomorrow. | Activity: What is the best manner of activity? | Being. It’s plenty to merely â€Å"be. † It’s non necessary to carry through great things in life to experience your life has been worthwhile. | Becoming. The chief intent for being placed on this Earth is for one’s ain inner development. | Doing. If people work hard and use themselves to the full. their attempts will be rewarded. What a individual accomplishes is a step of his or her worth. | Social Relationss: What is the best signifier of societal organisation? | Hierarchical. There is a natural order to dealingss. some people are born to take. others are followings. Decisions should be made by those in charge. | Collateral. The best manner to be organized is as a group. where everyone portions in the determination procedure. It is of import non to do of import determinations entirely. | Individual. All people should hold equal rights. and each should hold complete control over one’s ain fate. When we have to do a determination as a group it should be â€Å"one individual one ballot. †| Most surveies of the dominant Euro-American civilization in the United States find that it is future oriented. focused on making. stress individuality. aspires to be dominant over nature. and believes that human nature is assorted. some people are good and some are bad ( e. g. . Carter. 1990 ) . By contrast. most surveies show that Native civilizations are past oriented. focused on being. stress collateral ( group ) dealingss. aspire to be in harmoniousness with nature. and believe that people are basically good ( e. g. . Russo. 2000a ) . It is of import to observe here that each civilization will show all three possible responses at some clip. For illustration. it is common for Euro-Americans to hold a â€Å"doing† orientation during the workweek but to hold a â€Å"being† orientation on weekends and while on holiday. The VOM theory recognizes that there is diverseness within a culture–both among subgroups and individuals–and that grade of socialization affairs. The Kluckhohn Center for the Study of Values has worked with a figure of bookmans from assorted subjects to prove the VOM in different cross-cultural state of affairss. The VOM has been found effectual when working in higher instruction ( Ortuno. 1991 ) . medical specialty ( Ponce. 1985 ) . nursing ( Brink. 1984 ) . mental health/stress intervention ( Papajohn A ; Spielgel. 2000 ) . and conflict declaration ( Gallagher. 2000a ) . The VOM has proven really effectual in working in conflict declaration affecting Native people and public resource direction bureaus ( Russo. 2000a ) . Methods The basic appraisal instrument is a study. consisting of 16 state of affairss with associated inquiries. ( See the sample inquiry in Figure 2. ) The instrument was originally designed with this story/response format so that it could be read to people who could understand English but non read it good. The instrument has proven every bit effectual with non-literate and literate respondents. The full instrument is available from the writer or from the Kluckhohn Center ( 1995 ) . Figure 2 Sample Question ( about clip orientation ) from VOM Instrument Some people were speaking about the manner that kids should be brought up. Here are three different ideas:1. Some people say that kids should ever be taught the traditions of the yesteryear. They believe the olds ways are best. and it is when kids do non follow them that things go incorrect. ( A ) 2. Some people say that kids should be taught some of the old traditions. but it is incorrect to take a firm stand that they stick to these ways. These people believe that it is necessary for kids to ever larn about and take on whatever of the new ways will outdo assist them acquire along in the universe of today. ( B ) 3. Some people do non believe kids should be taught much about the past traditions at all. except as an interesting narrative of what has gone earlier. These people believe that the universe goes along best when kids are taught the things that will do them desire to happen out for themselves new ways of making th ings to replace the old. ( C ) Which of these people has the best thought about how kids should be taught? [ Your reply: ________ ] Which of these people has the following best thought? [ Your reply: ________ ] Note: Idea â€Å"A† is past orientation. â€Å"B† present orientation. â€Å"C† future orientation. | The VOM can be used in several ways. from a research-focused analysis of differences to an informal. awareness-building tool. As a scientific tool. the VOM provides a manner to mensurate value differences. which can so be linked with other variables. such as engagement in or penchant for a plan. For illustration. an person from a group that preferred hierarchal dealingss ( strong concatenation of bid ) may non prefer a plan that involves extended collateral treatments to make a determination. On the informal side. many people who complete the study have an â€Å"ah hah† experience as they become cognizant that other people score the inquiries otherwise. This response. besides encountered when people take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator for the first clip. provides a â€Å"learning minute. † In this minute it is possible to d emo how such cardinal facets of our lives as leading. determination devising. communicating. and motive are shaped by our value orientations. Decision The VOM. in add-on to functioning as a tool to understand civilizations. is utile in assisting to understand our organisations ( Carter. 2000 ; Gallagher. 2000b ) . Our establishments. including Extension. have an organisational civilization that is consistent with the value orientations of the dominant civilization. For illustration. an organisation may hold a really strong orientation toward the yesteryear. therefore it can be nerve-racking for people from a present or future orientation to entree the establishment. or work within it. In Extension. the value orientations of the Euro-American laminitiss can do it hard for people from other civilizations to entree our plans and occupations. Socialization is. arguably. one reply to cultural differences. But another–and likely the most immediate. effectual. and fair–is for each of us to understand ourselves. to understand the â€Å"others. † and so to research â€Å"finding the in-between ground† ( Russo. 20 00b ) . R of bookmans and experts have tried to explicate the impact of transverse cultural differences on people’s behavior to assist cut down the intercultural hazards of international concern. Dr. Milton Bennett. co-founder of the Intercultural Development Research Institute. believes that the more experience a individual has with cultural differences the more that individual will develop intercultural competency. going more effectual when working across civilizations. Harmonizing to Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity ( DMIS ) . there are six phases on this way to developing intercultural competency. each characterised by certain perceptual experiences and behavior towards the â€Å"own† and the â€Å"other† civilization. As the in writing below illustrates the chief alteration along the line of intercultural competency occurs from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism. In other words. from an apprehension of your ain civilization as being su perior to an apprehension of your ain civilization as equal in value and complexness to any other civilization. Cross Cultural Theory: Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity| Each of the six stages of Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity are described in more item below: Denial: When in this first phase. persons refuse all interaction with other civilizations and demo no involvement in detecting cultural differences. They may besides move agressively during transverse cultural state of affairss. Defense: In this phase. persons consider all other civilizations to be inferior to their ain civilization and will invariably knock behavior or ideas by person from another civilization. Minimization: When this phase is reached. persons will get down believing that all civilizations portion commom values. They will besides minise any cultural dfferences by rectifying people to fit their outlooks. Credence: At this phase. persons may still judge other civilizations negatively but they will be given to recognize that civilizations are different and they may go funny about cultural differences Adaptation: During this phase persons gain the ability to accommodate their behaviors more easy and efficaciously by deliberately altering their ain behavior or communicating manner. Integration: This phase tends to merely be achieved by long term expatriates populating and working abroad or Global Nomads. In this phase. persons instinctively change their behavior and communicating manner when interacting with other civilizations. Progressing from ‘Ethnocentrism’ to ‘Ethnorelativism’ on the graduated table takes clip. yet it is critical for the success of any concern individual working in what is an progressively planetary economic system. Becoming more interculturally sensitive can be achieved through a combination of first manus experience with other civilizations and engagement on intercultural preparation classs like Effective Global Leadership or Doing Business in India. While the concluding phase ’integration’ is rarely reached. a combination of experience life and working in other states and taking portion in trim intercultural preparation classs allows planetary concern people to make the ‘adaptation’ p hase. geting a high degree of intercultural competency that will guarantee they are successful working internationally.