Values – Instrumental Values and Terminal Values

Values are beliefs about what is good or bad. 

Your values determine what is desirable or undesirable. 

Values have an ethical and moral dimension. 

Your values provide you an internal reference for what is good, beneficial, important, useful, beautiful, desirable and constructive. 

Values generate behaviour and influence the choices made by an individual. 

Values have a major influence on your behaviour and attitude in various situations. 

Examples of Values include HONESTY, LOYALTY, AMBITION, ALTRUISM, CLEANLINESS, CONFIDENCE, CONFORMITY, CREATIVITY, CURIOSITY, DARING, DECISIVENESS, DEPENDABILITY, DISCIPLINE, INDEPENDENCE, INDIVIDUALITY, OBEDIENCE, PATRIOTISM, PUNCTUALITY, SENSE OF HUMOR, SIMPLICITY, WEALTH etc 

(The list of values is endless – you can surf the internet to see lists of values – and – you may discover your own personal values by introspection) 

Values can be categorised into two types: 

1. INSTRUMENTAL VALUES 

and 

2. TERMINAL VALUES 

My article below elaborates on these two types of values... 

INSTRUMENTAL VALUES and TERMINAL VALUES

THE TWO TYPES OF VALUES 

Musings on Management Ethics 

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Values are of two types – in both the personal and organizational domains. 

The two types of values are:

1. INSTRUMENTAL VALUES

and 

2. TERMINAL VALUES

INSTRUMENTAL VALUES

Instrumental Values are core values.

Instrumental Values are permanent in nature.

Instrumental Values comprise personal characteristics and character traits.

Instrumental Values refer to preferable modes of behaviour and include values like honesty, sincerity, ambition, independence, obedience, imaginativeness, courageousness, competitiveness – and also some negative traits too. 

Organisations also have Instrumental Values (which can be ascertained from the organizational culture).

Whether at personal level or organizational level – instrumental values are permanent in nature – and so – instrumental values are difficult to change. 

For example – the instrumental values of a Public Sector Unit (PSU) will differ from that of an Multi-National Corporation (MNC) – though both may be in the same business.

Since they are permanent in nature – Instrumental Values are difficult to change.

TERMINAL VALUES

In our personal lives – Terminal Values are those things that we work towards – or those things we think are most important – or things that we feel are most desirable. 

Terminal Values are desirable states of existence. 

Terminal Values include things like happiness, self respect, family security, recognition, freedom, inner harmony, comfortable life, professional excellence, etc

In a nutshell – Terminal Values signify the objectives of the life of a person – the ultimate things the person wants to achieve through his or her behaviour – the destination the person wants to reach in life. 

In contrast – Instrumental Values indicate the methods an individual would like to adopt for achieving his life’s aim – the path he would like to take to reach his destination.

This applies to organisations as well – and – organizations too exhibit Terminal Values. 

However – Terminal Values can be changed – and this change in Terminal Values can sometimes be seen – when there is a change of Top Management or CEO. 

Read this Before you Apply for a Job or Select a Career

(or Before Recruiting a Candidate for a Job)

ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES AND ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR

Organisational Values are the key to organisational behaviour. 

So – before you join an organization – you must ensure that there is no conflict in your personal Instrumental Values and the organization’s Instrumental Values 

Yes – there must be no conflict between the Employee’s and Employer’s Instrumental Values – since – Instrumental Values are difficult to change. 

Conversely – the organisation must consider this aspect while interviewing a prospective candidate for recruitment to avoid conflict of Instrumental Values.

However – any mismatch in Terminal Values can be corrected by suitable Induction Training – since Terminal Values can be inculcated or realigned or changed. 

VIKRAM KARVE

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Disclaimer:

1. These are my personal views based on my personal experience. Please do your own due diligence while selecting a training philosophy.

2. All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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Copyright © Vikram Karve (all rights reserved)

This is an abridged, upgraded and revised version of my lecture on VALUES written be me Vikram Karve more than 25 years ago in the early 1990s and posted online earlier a number of times in my various blogs including in my Academic and Creative Writing Journal Blog in 2011 at url: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2011/12/instrumental-values-and-terminal-values.html and https://karve.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/instrumental-values-and-terminal-values-the-two-types-of-personal-and-organizational-values/ and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2017/06/types-of-values-instrumental-values-and.html etc