A Values-Based Educational Institution

Wm. B. Calder Values have always been a respected and distinct role in defining and developing an educational institution. However, today’s chal- Wm. B. Calder is lenges have forced many institutions to reassess their working a former provost philosophy and to reexamine their collective beliefs. Values once of Northern discovered and acted on help institutions in conducting its busi- Alberta Institute of ness. With commonly held beliefs by constituent groups and in- Technology in Alberta, dividuals, a values-based institution more accurately aligns those Canada. defining principles with its actions. From agreed-upon values a culture develops, and institutions with strong cultures achieve higher results because everyone keeps their focus both on what to do and how to do it. Institutions rely on these compelling statements of beliefs to chart new choices in building a future capac- ity for change. Keywords: institutional values, core beliefs, ideals

“You cannot establish institutional values, you can only discover them.” Our values express who we are and influence how we interact with others and what decisions we make, and they establish what we consider to be important. Over time our values may be challenged by others; however, we do live with our beliefs some of the time, and some of our beliefs all of the time. Chatman & Cha (2003) stressed that time-hon- ored values provide a powerful and inescapable pres- ence in the lives of individuals and organizations. In psychological research one’s core beliefs are seen as a vital part of an individual’s self-concept and are considered essential to the experience of meaning (Lydon, 1996). Research also found the pursuit of goals aligned with one’s values is positively associ- ated with personal results. These results include job attitudes and performance, life satisfaction, and subjective well-being (Judge et al., 2005; Sheldon et al., 2004). Since values provide a useful framework

A Values-Based Educational Institution 11 for the workplace, these findings reveal many parallels for the impact that values hold for educational institutions. Leaders are intrigued by an institution’s values and the working culture they create; successful leaders know how to leverage values in order to ensure positive institutional results. Institutions continue to depend on compelling statements of its values, vision and mission (VVM) in providing purpose and strategic direction. However, among VVM statements the most indispensable for an institution is its values. These core beliefs, once discovered and clearly communicated, permeate everything that an institution decides and, more importantly, what actions it takes. When you first walk into an institution, how do you know what its values are? Are they noticeably placed for you to read them? Can you “see” their values in terms of how individuals interact? Unfortunately, for many institutions its values appear just as bullet points in annual reports, fundraising material, grant proposals, recruitment and promotional bro- chures, home pages, and other marketing-related documents. However, beyond mere bullet points values must be owned by everyone and reflect a culture in an institution that allows it to move forward and achieve positive results. Institutions need to rely on value statements to begin new programs, support services, conduct research, improve operations, and to build a future ability for change. Most institutional initiatives start from the “inside out,” which means that they are articulated first because values represent an important context about “why” institutions do what they do.

What then do values do for an institution? Values, as drawn from institutional personnel and other constituent groups, have a strong influence on the words they use, the policies and procedures they develop, the decisions they make, as well as institutional actions carried out (Calder 2007). Values guide institutions to conduct themselves in a particular way, not because it is expedient for a specific purpose, but rather because they have intrinsic worth. Values critically assist an institution in conducting its business strategically (Tromp & Ru- ben, 2004). A values-based institution increases the reliability of professional conduct and can ensure consistent ways of behaving. The strength of a values-based institution means there are fewer changeable actions taken by individuals, especially in today’s dynamic and stressful conditions. In a

12 Community College Enterprise • Spring 2018 values-based institution, there are fewer mistaken breaches between right and wrong decisions, and between sensible and unwise actions. Values are an institution’s identity. One institution may identify student access as a core value so when programs and services are being planned, institutions think mainly about how to remove access barriers and encourage the widest possible student participation. Another institution might value quality of performance when assigning budget priorities. In this value set, institutions opt for improved financing for programs with quality outcomes. This values-based approach demands a quality return on an institution’s investment. Other institutions may express their be- lief systems as being personal interactions among professional colleagues. For instance, this value set would be identified as follows: “our work with each other is based on mutual respect, honesty, and ethical treatment.” However, other institutions may see their values more in terms of strategic alliances or partnerships, written out as “our work focuses on cooperation, teamwork, and collaboration” (Calder, 2007). Value statements, like vision and mission statements, can sometimes produce irreconcilable differences between individuals and among stakeholder groups. However, any forward-thinking institution with a compelling sense of shared purpose will soon function beyond any working tension and risk adverse behavior and dispassionate stakeholders. So- rensen (2016) argues for a continuing importance being placed on value statements. She emphasizes that “if we don’t talk about commitment, dissent, justice, open inquiry, insight, compassion and a host of other possibly embarrassing but still vital values, then who will?” (Sorenson, 2016).

How does an institution work as a values-based organization? Values-based actions are seen by many stakeholders as a petri dish in es- tablishing an institution’s culture (Cady et al., 2011). This culture created from values influences everything and everyone. Openly communicat- ing values helps to define what expectations are acceptable by all those involved and those expectations that are not suitable. It follows then that leaders also need to be aware of their own values as they will be scruti- nized by constituent groups for their comparability with the values of an institution. A values-based institution is a place where stakeholders come together for a higher purpose (Kraemer, 2011), creating a culture which embraces ethical behavior and workplace performance standards. An institution is what it values.

A Values-Based Educational Institution 13 If an institution does not work from sound values, then each member of a constituent group has an excuse to cut corners or perform less honor- ably or ethically. If an institution declares, articulates, and instills sound values in all of its constituent groups, it can be a motivating force for ad- vancing teamwork through a shared sense of purpose. Therefore, before developing vision and mission statements, it is essential to discover or at least clarify those things that institutions hold important. It all starts with core values as guiding principles.

How do institutions identify their values? Discovering values can be culture-specific, as participants in this discovery may use a variety of methods ranging from analytical and rational methods to highly creative and divergent approaches. The methods and approaches used may include focused discussions or sharing work stories. Therefore, it is critical to discuss with constituent groups and individuals how they might like to discover their institution’s values. Ask stakeholders about its values and you will be surprised at the variety and complexity of their responses. An institution’s values are based on rather divergent perspectives. Values as drawn from one’s ethnic, reli- gious or cultural backgrounds, for example, may include ideas about how an institution uses its financial resources and the operational risk taking allowed. Also from one’s academic discipline, one might expect that engi- neers and social workers would have different logical perspectives, which could shape institutional goals and priorities. As well, the perspectives of psychologists, librarians, or accountants could configure different approaches to institutional goal attainment. Undeniably, values can be refined and interpreted; they can be breached and returned to, practiced and improved upon, but rarely do core institutional values change. Lastly, values may derive from one’s role within an institution, such as staff, students, and leadership including president, director, vice-presidents, and coordinators. These role-based groupings can adopt different views from other institutional values-based group perspectives on the suitable strategic directions for an institution (Calder, 2007).

Do new employees represent an institution’s beliefs? Values identification is an unending process of discovery. So in the spirit of finding them, the question becomes, “How do we hire people to share in an institution’s values?” The short answer is “you do not.” Institutions

14 Community College Enterprise • Spring 2018 cannot “inject” their core beliefs into individuals or various constituent groups because they must be so inclined to holding them. Leaders know that the task is to find future employees who share an institution’s values. Researchers recognize that personal values play a central role in educational leadership (Cha & Edmondson, 2006), especially as it applies to the hiring of an institution’s president and CEO. Institutions with its leaders can spend a considerable amount of time crafting and redrafting statements like its vision and mission. However, they spend little time trying to align their institution’s actions with their declared values. Effective institutions, as visionary organizations, concen- trate primarily on the process of alignment between their actions and values, and not on creating a perfect “values statement.” False assump- tions about what an institution’s values are can lead to disruptive misun- derstandings at best and failed projects at worst. In a quest to understand what values tells us about how institutions should be led, there is little debate that values have a powerful influence on the way it operates. Here are several examples that reinforce a values- based institution: • An institution declares its core values to be aligned with environ- mental concerns and therefore its governing board invests some of its funds in waste disposal and recycling companies. • An institution states that it values “student access” and therefore ensures its buildings are set up with structures that assist disabled students, clients, and staff. • An institution identifies transparency as one of its primary values and therefore opens up constituent group involvement in many of its decision-making processes. • An institution embraces feminism ideals in its values and therefore a new hire is guaranteed pay equity with other similar positions, and the institution ensures gender balance in hiring practices. These examples are about institutions that hold a clearly defined and articulated values statement in which there is no ambiguity when decisions are being made. One key fact about values stands out, namely values impact the way strategic direction and change happens. The questions become: How are strategic decisions made? Who is in charge? How do leaders relate to employees and constituent groups? What employee be- haviors are rewarded and which ones are recognized? It is clear that the answers to these important questions may vary from one institution to

A Values-Based Educational Institution 15 another. It is critical then for an institution to understand its underlying values. These beliefs directly influence the way direction and change will be accepted and how much work will eventually be required to ensure successful outcomes. Values have never come neatly packaged for institutions to select and adopt as their own. Discovering values, while not an easy task, is more enduring and a more accurate reflection of an institution’s principles because these statements weave together stakeholders’ beliefs, which create powerful statements of personal convictions. True institutional values improve the expression of a strategic direction; however, values should always come first in any discovery process (Calder, 2011). Institutions can often shortcut a value discovery practice by simply adopting those values commonly held in other higher education institutions, which might include respect, transparency, equity, and integrity. Additionally, in their quest to establish universally adopted value sets, some institutions may even “borrow” beliefs from other like-minded institutions. Shared amongst these institutions are values such as learner centered, community minded, or even forming strategic alliances. The difficulty, however, is that these value-laden words (including others) are often over- used and may be too insincere to be acceptable by an institution. While these approaches may help in a values discovery exercise, an institution’s values are still quite unique to a particular institution and therefore need to be discovered first and foremost by institutional stakeholders. Values are more ingrained in institutional operations when individuals and constituent groups can “see” them in everyday practices through ongoing initiatives and actions. A values-based institution establishes a tone for interactions among constituent groups and with those individuals that it serves, such as in the classroom, in planning meetings, with business partnerships, and how an institution governs itself. How an institution acts and behaves truly illustrates its values (Calder, 2006). Values guide not only an institution’s conduct and relationships but also its selection of work strategies. In general, culture is concerned with beliefs based on which people interpret their experiences and behave as individuals and in groups. A values-based institution functions bet- ter than one that has no expressed values. Cultural statements become operationalized when leaders clarify and promote institutional values which provide consistent patterns for how employees should behave. In- stitutional culture can be transformed but it takes strong leadership to reinforce and to sustain it.

16 Community College Enterprise • Spring 2018 Discovering institutional values is one matter but living by them in the workplace is quite different. Institutions may claim respect and trust as some of their core values but may undermine them operationally by acting quite differently. The misalignments between declared values and actions exist not because these values are false; but rather the misalignments occur because of years of entrenched and ad hoc policies and practices. Having a statement of values that is all “talk” with no commitment undermines an institution, its leadership and its credibility (Calder, 2014).

Do institutions assess their stated values? Leaders will need to assess institutional values from time to time to as- sure all those involved are in agreement about what is truly important and what values drive decisions. The assessment also helps identify what priorities will be the focus for institutional strategic planning. The values assessment can be aligned with these questions: What actions by individuals and constituent groups support each articulated value? How does an institution assess this support? And how are the assessment results communicated to an institutional community? Without an evaluation of achievement, especially around beliefs, how can governing board members or leaders declare that an institution was successful or even extraordinary by any standard of behavior? In an era of distinguishing among competing institutions, an ongoing evaluation process helps show stakeholders how serious an institution is about its own existence. However, knowing exactly what your shared values are and how they are assessed displays confidence and understanding with individuals, the community, and private/government funders. Institutional beliefs are a foundational declaration and critical in its overall planning and operations. Values are intrinsic guidelines, not dependent upon a particular situation, for making strategic choices that shape longer-term behavior, which determine what may be expected from that institution. The evaluation of their relevancy and currency in achieving or exceed- ing institutional expectations needs to be looked at by addressing their understanding, acceptance, unique role, and placement in day-to-day practice.

Conclusion Institutional values are summarized in just a few words: namely “it is the basis of how institutions do things.” Institutional values and the culture it creates is the collective behavior of people using common goals and shared beliefs. Institutional values and culture encompass moral, social,

A Values-Based Educational Institution 17 and behavioral norms based on beliefs, attitudes, and priorities of an institution’s stakeholders. An institution’s established values match the degree to which they are continuous and normally held throughout various stakeholder groups, such as by governing board members, adminis- tration, faculty, and staff. There can be no greater time for an institution than now to clearly express its value statements at the first strategic opportunity. Institutions are the strongest when its values, interests, and points- of-view can pull together for the common good. An engaged and em- powered institution works best when everyone understands their tasks and responsibilities along with the rationale behind their assignments. Endless changes in the educational landscape highlight the importance in understanding an institution’s core values. Strong values may account for the reason why some institutions gain a system-wide reputation for strategic qualities such as leadership, innova- tion, being a top organization to work for, and, among other traits, high student satisfaction rates, which can help in developing an institution’s branding. Commonly held values provide powerful influences in the workplace. There is no mistake that values define an institution and prove to be a strong foundation for institutional actions. The diverse nature of institutions recognizes the diverse nature of its values.

18 Community College Enterprise • Spring 2018 References Cady, S. H., Wheeler, J. V., DeWolf, J., & Brodke, M. (2011). Mission, vision, and values: What do they say? Organization Development Journal, 29(1). Calder, Wm. B. (2014). Achieving an institution’s values, vision, and mission. The College Quarterly, 17(2). Calder, Wm. B. (2011). Institutional VVM statements on websites. The Community College Enterprise, 17(2). Calder, Wm. B. (2007). The VVM strategy for institutional success. The College Quarterly, 10(3). Calder, Wm. B. (2006). Educational leadership with a vision. The Community Col- lege Enterprise, 12,(2). Cha, S. E., & Edmondson, A. C. (2006). When values backfire: Leadership, at- tribution, and disenchantment in a values-driven organization. The Leadership Quarterly, 17. Chatman, J. A., & Cha, S. E. (2003). Leading by leveraging culture. California Management Review, 45(4). Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., Erez, A., & Locke, E. A. (2005). Core self-evaluations and job and life satisfaction: The role of self-concordance and goal attainment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90. Kraemer, H., M., J., Jr. (2011). From values to action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Lydon, J. (1996). Toward a theory of commitment. In C. Seligman, J. M. Olson, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), The Ontario symposium: Vol. 8. The psychology of values (pp. 215–251). Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. Sheldon, K. M., Elliot, A. J., Ryan, R. M., Chirkov, V., Kim, Y., Wu, C., . . . Sun, Z. (2004). Self-concordance and subjective well-being in four cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35. Sorenson, S. (2016, August 17). The emptiness of branding universities for “success”. Retrieved April 27, 2018, from https://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/ in-my-opinion/emptiness-branding-universities-success/ Tromp, S. A., Ruben, B. D. (2004). Strategic planning in higher education: A guide for leaders. Washington, DC: NACUBO.

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