Organizational values refer to the beliefs that are held within a corporate setting, acting as a guideline of how the organization ought to function. Departmental managers are charged with the duty of ensuring that the values held by their departments are corresponding to the overall organizational values. Often, this task can be challenging for departmental managers. Espoused reality can be defined as the norms, performance, values, and behaviors that are preferred within an organization. Consequently, espoused reality is representative of the ideal reflection of organizations to the customers, and employees usually encompassing the desire to have perfect customer and employee relations. Due to the ideal nature of espoused reality, organizations often overlook the actuality that the espoused values may not be an honest reflection (Kabanoff & Daly, 2002). On the other hand, according to Northouse (2018), actuality refers to the actual existence rather than what is believed. There are strong indications that departmental managers who conform to espoused reality are at risk of undermining the departmental performance and losing employee respect. However, numerous tools exist that departmental managers can employ to ensure that they avoid espoused reality within their departments.
One of the notable ways that departmental managers can employ to limit espoused reality within their departments is conducting departmental meetings regularly. Scholars have pointed out that conducting departmental meetings is critical in emphasizing the values that the organizations stand for and works to measure the actual existence of the organizational values (Northouse, 2018). It is worth mentioning that successful departments are clear on the departmental and organizational values investing significantly in shaping these values. Conducting meetings is integral in clarifying these values and breathing life into them. Further, departmental meetings enhance employee loyalty creating a sense of identity and a sense of having a common direction reducing subsequently promoting actuality.
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Further, departmental managers can employ role modeling as a leadership tool towards limiting espoused reality in their departments. Role modeling is a critical aspect of inspiring and motivating followers requiring that the leader leads by example. Subsequently, a departmental manager can limit having espoused reality entering into the department by being self-aware and having an honest look at the actuality of the values held by the organization. Role modeling can prove valuable in making the departmental employees follow the example set by the managers noting that the values that the manager will show will have immense support from the employees; thus implementation will be more straightforward.
In addition to role modeling, departmental managers can utilize persuasion and conversations as other techniques that would complement the efforts of avoiding espoused reality within the department. Conversation and persuasion make it possible for departmental managers to provide rational arguments, frame the ideas of actuality, and suggest approaches as well as solutions towards achieving actuality and avoiding espoused reality (Hatch, 2018). Through persuasion, the departmental managers can convince the employees, thus changing their actions, thinking, and opinion thus moving towards actuality.
Installing measurement and control systems are appropriate tools for promoting actuality and limiting espoused reality in a department (Blanchard, 2018). Installing these systems makes it possible for a departmental manager to assess the attainment of the departmental and overall organizational values. As such, these managers can call to order deviance from the actual existence of the organizational values.
References
Blanchard, K. (2018). Leading at a higher level: Blanchard on leadership and creating high performing organizations . FT Press.
Hatch, M. J. (2018). Organization theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives . Oxford university press.
Kabanoff, B., & Daly, J. (2002). Espoused Values of Organisations. Australian Journal of Management , 27 (1_suppl), 89-104. doi:10.1177/031289620202701s10
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice . Sage publications.
