Values are described as desirable behaviors and the fundamental characteristics essential to an organization (Bateman, Snell, & Konopaske, 2020, pg. 62). In the article “Hierarchical Classification of Values”, the author indicated that values are important for the design, advancement, and continuous survival of human beings (Ergen, 2015). Values are also acknowledged as aiding individuals in deciphering between what is right and wrong or good and bad. Since values can be ethical or unethical, it is important to evaluate the fundamental beliefs of individuals to establish what is important in one’s life. Without knowledge of personal, social, or economic values relating to self-transcendence, it is impossible to live a balanced life as a disciple of the Lord.
The five articles examined were both similar and different regarding the research methods presented on the topic of values. In the first article, “Personal Values and Attitudes Towards Societal and Environmental Accountability: A Study of MBA Students”, the study analyzed the association amongst individual values and support for social and environmental accountability for MBA students (Bhattacharyya, 2016). The second article, “Hierarchical Classification of Values”, examined the need to reestablish abandoned values by enhancing views and beliefs. Social and universal values were revealed to discover hierarchical relationships, as well as to analyze roles, attributes, and possibilities of the values (Ergen, 2015).
The third article, “Defining the Family: The Role of Personal Values and Personal Acquaintance”, the authors utilize Shalom Schwartz’s value theory and Gordon Allport’s contact theory to explore roles of individual values within non-conventional families (Gavriel-Fried & Shilo, 2016). The fourth article, “Do Personal Values Influence the Propensity for Sustainability Actions? A Policy-Capturing Study”, the authors assessed the responsibility that personal values contribute in supporting or weakening corporate productivity results (Marcus, MacDonald, & Sulsky, 2015). The fifth article, “Value Preferences of Social Workers”, explored personal values choices and inclinations of social workers in Israel (Tartakovsky & Walsh, 2018).
In the first article written by Bhattacharyya, the author is writing as an expert on the subject. With more than thirty-three publications, his knowledge of environmental sustainability and ethics contributed vastly to the strong attitude in the article that proved different value factors affect social and environmental accountability (2016). In the second article written by Gürkan Ergen, the author’s approach as a researcher provides educational insight on values and integrity (2015). In the third article written by Gavriel-Fried & Shilo, the authors observed variables of traditional and non-traditional families in the Jewish-Israeli society.
Their observations introduced new perceptions of family that have become more prevalent in the second half of the twentieth century (2016). In the fourth article, the author’s research findings presented a perspective that economic values within an organization can strengthen or weaken sustainability (Marcus et al., 2015). In the fifth article written by Tartakovsky & Walsh, the authors unique approach targeted a single and specific profession to study, determining that goals and values of social workers differentiate from the general population (2018).
Similarities in the research findings include topics of sustainability associated with values. Discussions and research of sustainability were found between articles one and four. In the first article, “Personal values and attitudes towards societal and environmental accountability: a study of MBA students”, the author found that personal values play an important role that influence performance linked to sustainability. The results of the study may be utilized to execute sustainable business strategies (Bhattacharyya, 2016). In the fourth article, “Do Personal Values Influence the Propensity for Sustainability Actions? A Policy-Capturing Study”, the authors also similarly add that social and environmental values have supplementary sustainability advantages, including decreasing financial risks (Marcus et al., 2015).
Differences in the research findings concluded that various components of values are the basis of an individual’s interaction within an environment. When comparing articles number two, three, and five, it was observed that each article focused on a different value concerning influences on society. Such values include personal, social, and self-transcendence values. In the second article, the author indicates that social values ultimately influence actions concerning judgement and attitude to achieve goals (Ergen, 2015).
In the third article, the authors revealed that personal values are the main relation between determining levels of a family in a unique, non-traditional environment. These results suggested personal values establish one’s preferences and guide independent thinking and behavioral measures (Gavriel-Fried & Shilo, 2016). Lastly, in the fifth article, the authors reveal that social workers are driven to surpass their own interests for the well-being of others. This high preference for self-transcendence shows that desire for personal and social values in social workers are substantially insignificant, as they are far more concerned about the welfare of others (Tartakovsky & Walsh, 2018).
Values affect the way the world is viewed. Every aspect of values, whether pertaining to personal, social, or self-transcendence values, all coincide with how the environment and other outside sources are influenced. As indicated by Gavriel & Shilo, values are merely ambitions to prompt action, guide behavior, and influence positive interactions with other individuals (2016). Incorporating ethical values into every day routine is vital in living a moral life. Jesus proved that values are important in providing direction and guidance. He is a leader that provides emotional and spiritual stability through worship and His ideas encompass expectations of behavior. Although individuals share a variety of values worldwide, the composition of values is parallel across countries and cultures (Bhattacharyya, 2016).