On Cultural Values and Attitudes in the Workplace

Cultural values often govern how people perform, react to aspects of their work, and interact in the workplace.

What are cultural values? There are many defitions of cultural values. Many scholars define values as consciously and subconsciouly held set of beliefs and norms - often reflected in the morals, laws, customs, and practices of the society. Simply put, cultural values are the basis for establishing a system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct within the culture.

Because of increasing diversity in the American workplace, successful mangers and employees need to understand how cultural values play out in the workplace.

Consider this example. An American and Asian employee were assigned to a particular project. Their manager criticed their work. The American employee spoke up in defense of his performance while the Asian employee remained silent. The manager may mistake the Asian's reaction to signify agreement or incompetence. Since respectable assertiveness is valued in the American workplace, the manager would likely think more highly of the American employee. The result could affect promotion opportunities. The assertive employee is more likely to move up in his career than the Asian employee.