Attributing values to organisations: What managers see depends on where they sit

Organisational values are typically presented as widely shared and adopted as the basis for coherence and direction, yet variation in roles and backgrounds of organisational members may influence the ways in which values are attributed and shared. We investigate perceptions of values by 227 managers in three service areas (Children’s Services, Planning, and Waste Management) in 153 UK local authorities. Analysis of the correspondence in values shows graphically that managers in different local government service lines differ in terms of the sets of values they attribute to their organisation in ways that reflect the shared values of their immediate work groups. The findings give support to the view that managers and others are selective in which organisational values they attend to, based, we suggest, on personal characteristics and responsibilities. These findings have implications for the ways in which we conceive the role of organisational values.