to move towards a strategic goal post . Without asserting energies and values towards a strategic direction , an organization is bound to fail . They assist in creating a value statement that must be owned by all , and when known by all staff and owned by many , they guide the organization from engaging in diversionary environmental temptations and distractions . It is important that boards , management and staff be able to get involved jointly and severally in preparation and ownership of company core values .
All employees , staff , management , and board need to be disciplined to focus on core values . Since all were involved in developing the core values , there needs to be focus and attention to the success of achieving the objectives of core values .
Generally the core values need to be few and easy for company internal users to internalize . The staff must know that the core values are important and depict what an organization cannot do without . It must be noted that it takes time to develop and own core values .
It is not just a matter of copy pasting and hoping to get things right . If the matter of core values is not got right in the first place , then the whole edifice of organization will fall in the long run . It will be akin to the builder who neglected the importance of laying a strong foundation stone at the starting phase of construction .
Generally core values need to be elaborated and displayed in organizations reception area , offices , annual report of accounts and other public boards . Examples of core values statements could be as follows :
• Client Success : Partnering with clients
‘‘ We need to understand that it is a corporate tragedy if an individual or a consultant sits down and writes core values alone for an organization . If it is not developed and owned by all concerned stakeholders , then it is just a piece of paper , not core values ’’
• Being ethical : Always honest internally and with stakeholders
• Objective : Being objective to ourselves and stakeholders
• Innovation : Embracing technology between ourselves and among our clients
• Striving For Excellence : Continuous attainment of new knowledge abilities , enhancing performance of our products and services
Developing core values
We need to understand that it is a corporate tragedy if an individual or a consultant sits down and writes core values alone for an organization . If it is not developed and owned by all concerned stakeholders , then it is just a piece of paper , not core values . In an organization , all employees , staff , management and board must have a joint meeting or workshop to develop core values . Sometimes it is done democratically or ranking suggested values until a consensus is achieved .
This means that the parties concerned must soul search and question one another exhaustively before they agree on core values which truly represents their situation .
An organization need to question itself thoroughly . The staff , management and board must read from the same script . When there is uniformity , the core values so developed can weather the storm of exogenous environmental challenges . Otherwise it will not be able to survive in the storms , vagaries and earthquakes of global mismanagement disasters .
The uses of core values are that it illustrates what all staff ; management and board have agreed upon and stand by . When it is owned , once again , it needs to be pasted in company reception area and annual accounts and at company functions in gondola boards . It needs to be akin to a song and choir of the organization .
Normally when all stakeholders sing the same tune , even setting a chorus becomes easy . Dancing steps begin to fall in place like music that flows in crescendo , good tempo and the lot which goes with uniformity . This is what core values are all about .
In conclusion , the core values are cornerstones of strategic direction . They respond to and support company vision and mission . They serve as pillars in good corporate governance practices .
Felix Owaga Okatch is a Multilateral Trade Expert . You can commune with him on this or related issues via mail at : Okatchfelix @ gmail . com . Views expressed herein are personal and do not have any bearing directly or otherwise with any institution in general or in particular where I serve as a director , council member or consultant . This presentation is made for academic and educational purposes only .