Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2007
Abstract
In the worlds of both practice and scholarship, people are focusing on the importance of leaders' values and authentic actions to the ethical operations of their organizations. At the same time, enterprises are struggling to attract and retain talented employees. Our qualitative research analyzed the values of leaders in seven different organizations--for profit, nonprofit, and public institutions--and compared their self-proclaimed values with their employees' perceptions of them and of their values. We focused specifically on leaders' values concerning their followers, and examined the impact that leaders' value content and integrity had on employees' commitment to their establishment, and to their sense of worth and value to the organization. We discovered that the simplest indications of leaders' regard often spoke most powerfully to employees of their worth, whereas employers' self-advancement and insensitivity to their workers profoundly increased their dissatisfaction and disengagement. We also learned that although leaders' value actions deeply influenced their followers, and were instrumental in recruiting and retaining highly qualified individuals to their organizations, most employees made decisions concerning remaining at their jobs based upon their time of life and/or their perceived lack of options.
Keywords
organizational behavior, leaders, values, authenticity, integrity, employee commitment
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Clemenson, Barbara, "How Do Leaders' Values Influence Employees' Commitment to Their Organizations? A Qualitative Study" (2007). Student Scholarship. 235.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/235