# 1.1 Organisational value vs. values

When discussing the question of value, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind are values. What ideals and norms guide individuals, and how do they seek to manifest in practice? This naturally leads to a deeper philosophical debate about what it means to be good and act accordingly. Yet value and values are not identical, particularly when referring to organisational value. Rather, value within an organisational context is judged by how well it serves the health and wellbeing of the organisation and its various stakeholders in the short and long term.

That is to not assume that organisational value is amoral or devoid of any normative foundations. Instead, what an organisation values is commonly associated with what is perceived to enhance its value. An organisation, in this regard, does not believe necessarily in the importance of competition for its own sake. Conversely, it is based on the common assumption that this is what is necessary for it to overcome rivals and remain viable within their specific market. As such, dominant economic and social values strongly influence how an organisation understands and pursues value.

While all organisation are, at least ostensibly, focused on creating and sustaining value, that does not mean their values are necessarily always identical. On the one hand, different organisations will increasingly share an emphasis on serving their customers – whether they are buying their products, benefiting from their charitable activity, or using their public service. In this regard, the ends of value are usually rather similar. But the means for achieving these ends can contrast quite dramatically! Some organisations may believe that paying their employees high wages with good benefits and job security is necessary for improving their performance and the overall value of the organisation. While others focus on how they can reduce costs through lowering employee pay and benefits. Likewise, one organisation may believe that creating environmentally friendly and sustainable production processes are key to their long term success, while another concentrates on maximising efficiency regardless of the environmental costs.

## Activity 2 The relationship between organisational value and values

Allow around 30 minutes for this activity

Visit the website for CoTech, a UK-based technology co-operative with 251 members in 35 member organisations, which serve over 300 clients with a total revenue of £10.2 million. Read the manifesto and watch the video, then visit one of the member co-operatives' websites.

Here’s the link for the CoTech website

Now fill in the following table, about a co-operative organisation. Please note your answer for the last box ‘Relationship’ only needs to be 1–3 sentences long. Also note that this is not meant to be exhaustive. Rather you are being asked to briefly describe the relationship between value and values.

## Table 2 Relationship between value and values

Name of co-operative organisation |  |
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Value Aspect | Values | Relationship
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### Answer

This activity aimed to highlight the relationship between different aspects of organisational value and organisational values. The feedback for this activity will differ depending on the organisation you chose. While no two tables will be exactly alike (even if they’re about the same co-operative organisation), here is an example to help you with your understanding:

## Table 2 Relationship between value and values

Value Aspect | Values | Relationship
--- | --- | ---
Customer |  |
Social enterprises. Community projects. Charities. Public sector. | ‘We believe co-operatives provide better products and services to clients.’ | Happier employee members means they are more motivated to serve the clients. Shared interests between employee members and clients make for a product produce and service.
Financial |  |
| ‘Creative Coop started life as a small group of freelancers who wanted to pool resources, collaborate together on web projects.’ | Pooling resources is cost-effective. Knowledge sharing with co-operative allows it to save costs in research and development.
Employee |  |
Freelance commercial artists and designers. | ‘We wanted to pool resources, collaborate together on web projects, and, ultimately, work towards a vision of a more sharing society.’ | Greater resource sharing leads to more innovative products. Greater collaboration leads to more committed and motivated workforce.
Operations |  |
Websites. Promotional materials. | Customisable. Cost-effective. Scalable. | ‘Creative Coop guided the ENAS team and its partners through a really valuable requirements gathering process that prioritised our limited resources to focus on strategic aims and meeting the project’s core funded objectives. In addition, their brand development and application, both online and in print, ensured all our materials looked timeless, consistent and current across all channels.’ Jane Morrow, Visual Art Curator (Project endorsement from website)

OpenLearn - Understanding organisational value
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