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FIGURE 9.3 Interpersonal Trust in Organizations

Perceived Trustworthiness

The Organizational Cultural Values Profile

assesses eight dimensions of an organization’s culture.

Each dimension is listed, along with the items related to it. For each aspect, add the ratings

you assigned to the item numbers indicated. Important: For each bold item with an asterisk, you

must convert your rating as follows: 1 becomes 4; 2 becomes 3; 3 becomes 2; and 4 becomes

1.

Items Openness Items Proaction

1 ___ 5 ___

9 ___ 13 ___

17 ___ 21 ___

25* ___ 29 ___

33 ___ 37 ___

Total ___ Total ___

Items Confrontation Items Autonomy

2 ___ 6 ___

10 ___ 14* ___

18 ___ 22* ___

26* ___ 30* ___

34 ___ 38 ___

Total ___ Total ___

Items Trust Items Collaboration

3 ___ 7 ___

11 ___ 15 ___

19 ___ 23* ___

27 ___ 31* ___

35* ___ 39 ___

Total ___ Total ___

Items Authenticity Items Experimentation

4 ___ 8 ___

12* ___ 16 ___

20 ___ 24 ___

28* ___ 32 ___

36 ___ 40* ___

Total ___ Total ___

Organizational Cultural Values Interpretation Sheet

The eight organizational cultural values are Openness, Confrontation, Trust, Authenticity, Proaction,

Autonomy, Collaboration, and Experimentation. The following definitions may help to clarify

the values:

1. Openness: Spontaneous expression of feelings and thoughts and sharing of these without

defensiveness.

2. Confrontation: Facing—not shying away from—problems; deeper analysis of interpersonal

problems; taking on challenges.

3. Trust: Maintaining confidentiality of information shared by others and not misusing it; a sense

of assurance that others will help when needed and will honor mutual obligations and commitments.

4. Authenticity: Match between what one feels, says, and does; owning one’s actions and mistakes;

unreserved sharing of feelings.

5. Proaction: Initiative; preplanning and preventive action; calculating payoffs before taking

action.

6. Autonomy: Using and giving freedom to plan and act in one’s own sphere; respecting and

encouraging individual and role autonomy.

7. Collaboration: Giving help to, and asking for help from, others; team spirit; working together

(individuals and groups) to solve problems.

8. Experimentation: Using and encouraging innovative approaches to solve problems; using

feedback for improving; taking a fresh look at things; encouraging creativity.

Norms for the Organizational Culture Value Profile

550 Mastering Organizational Behavior

Low High

1. Openness 13 17

2. Confrontation 10 16

3. Trust 10 16

4. Authenticity 10 14

5. Proaction 12 18

6. Autonomy 11 16

7. Collaboration 13 17

8. Experimentation 11 16

Based on the studies of the value profile so far, these are the high- and low-scoring

norms.

High scores indicate a strong belief in the values and, thus, a strong organizational culture. Low

scores illustrate a weak set of cultural values. If the average or mean score for your organization

is low, the questions on the profile can be used as the basis for action planning to improve the

organization’s culture and to increase openness, creativity, and collaboration. Remember that

items 12, 14, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31, 35, and 40 are reverse scored.

Questions

1. What approaches might you use to change these cultural values?

2. Using these eight cultural values, analyze the culture at Zappos. What is its profile and how

does it influence employees’ behaviors?

Case: Self