A Study Of Occupational Values Of College And Graduate Students At Tehranuniversity

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Content A STUDY OF OCCUPATIONAL VALUES OF
COLLEGE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS
AT TEHRAN UNIVERSITY
by
Jalal Moghadas
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
January 1972
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Unhrsrsity Microfilms
300 N orth 2 M b R oad
Ann Arbor, M ichigan 4S106
A Xerox e d u c a tio n C om pany
72-27,683
MOGHADAS, Jalal, 1930-
A STUDY OF OCCUPATIONAL VALUES OF COLLEGE AND
GRADUATE STUDENTS AT TEHRAN UNIVERSITY.
University of Southern California, D.P.A., 1971
Political Science, public administration
University Microfilms, A XEWt Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan
THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED
This dissertation, written by
JajajI.Moghadai.......................................
under the direction of the undersigned Guidance
Committe, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of
the School of Public A d ministration in partial ful
fillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
January 1972
Date......................................
PLEASE NOTE:
Some pages may have
Indistinct print.
Filmed a s re c e iv e d .
University Microfilms, A Xerox Education Company
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people have contributed to this research.
It should be said that this study would not have been
made without their encouragement and cooperation. It
is impossible to express my personal appreciation to each
of than one by one. I will confine myself to those whom
it is my pleasure to give special appreciation.
Special gratitude must be expressed to Dr. William
B. Storm, the chairman of my comaittee, who spent many
hours Improving the quality of this study. I am indebted
perpetually to Professor N. Gardner and Dr. Wesley BJur
for their invaluable contribution to this study. ;
I am also thankful to Dr. Akbari, Dean of the
School of Public and Business Administration in Iran, for i
1 i
his permission to use the school libraryt to Dr. Mogtaba
Kashef1zlhagh, my friend, for his moral support and en
couragement which were instrumental to the success of |
j
this effort.
I am very grateful to 2d Lt. Jehany, programmer
of Inperical Iranian Data Processing Center, and 1st Lt.
Center, programmer of the USACGSC for their help in the
development of computer programs.
ii
We express appreciation to the staff of BrooXlngs
Institution for allowing us to replicate a portion of
their recent occupational values study.
Thanks are due to my wife for boldly facing the
difficulties while I was doing this research.
Lieutenant Colonel Jalal Moghadas
January, 1972
ill
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACXNOMLEDGB4ENTS ................. il
LIST 07 TABLES............................... vl
LIST 07 FIGURES............................... viil
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION........................... 1
Statement of the Problem
Importance of the Study
The Scope of the Study
Historical Aspects of Civil
Service in Iran
II. THEORETICAL DIMENSIONS OF
RESEARCH PROBLBIS ................... 36
What Is Value?
Organization
III. METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH................ 121
Validity of Value Research
Research Problem
Value Measurement
Sampling Plan and Universe
The Research Instrument
The Research Questionnaire
Construction
The Research Procedure
Treatment of the Data
The Research Design
Limitation and Shortcoming
of the Research
IV. INTERPRET AION 07 DATA AND
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY................. 171
iv
Chapter
Occupational Values of College
and Graduate Students at
Tehran University
Attributes of the Ideal and
Worst Occupations from Stu
dents Point of View
Comparison Between Favorable and
Unfavorable Attitude of Students
Toward Public Service and Large
Private Business as a Lifetime
Career
Comparison Between Occupational
Values of Public Employees
and Private Employees
Comparison Between Occupational
Values of Students in Regard
to Their Family Income
Comparison Between Occupational
Values of Undergraduate and
Graduate Students
V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND IM
PLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH .
Sunmary of Findings
Reconmendations
Implication for Further Research
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...........................
234
252
APPENDIX
264
LIST o r TABLES
Table Page
1. Response Rate of Questionnaire............. 150
2. One-Way Analysis of Variance
(Professional Discipline) ............... 165
3. Analysis of Variance (Family Income) . . . 166
4. One-Way Analysis of Variance
(Type of Bnployment) ..................... 167
5. One-Way Analysis of Variance
(Graduate and Undergraduate Students) . . 168
6. Distribution of Mean Scores on
Occupational Values by Score
of Professional Disciplines ............ 173
7. Analysis of Variance (Occupational
Values) ..............................192
8. The Attributes of Ideal
Occupation................................197
9. The Attributes of the Worst
Occupation................................198
10. Comparison Between Favorable and
Unfavorable Attitude of Students
Toward Public Service and Large
Private Business as a Lifetime
Career....................................205
11. Percentage Distribution of Response
in Question — MHow Do You Com
pare Public Service as a Lifetime
Career with Private bg>loyee?H ..... 207
vi
Table Page
12. Percentage Distribution of Response
in Question — "Which of the Fol
lowing Reasons Do You Feel Would
Host Likely Keep You from Entering
Public Service?" ............ 208
13. One-Way Analysis of Variance on
Favorable and Unfavorable Attitude
Toward Public Service ................... 209
14. Comparison Between Occupational Values
of Public Bitployee and Private
Bnployee....................................211
15. Computation for Analysis of Variance .... 217
16. Occupational Value Statements
Related to Family Income................... 223
17. Analysis of Variance (Family Income) .... 225
18. Occupational Values Statements and
Undergraduate and Graduate stu
dents at Tehran University . .......... 231
19. One-Way Analysis of Variance of
Occupational Values of Under
graduate and Qraduate Students.............233
20. Occupational Value Statements and
Type of Bnployment...................... 282
21. Occupational Values Statement and
Family Income..............................286
22. Occupational Values Statements and
College and Oraduate Students .......... 290
23. Table of Students1 Distribution in
Regard to Sex and Colleges at
Tehran University ....................... 293
vii
LIST o r riOURRS
Figures Page
1. Dlagramnatlc Model of the Process
of Research............................. 159
2. Percentage of Students at Univer
sities in Iran in Regard to the
Cities, 1969-1970 ....................... 294
viii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
In this century, every modern state must, for the
purpose of survival, maintain a civil service competent to
perform the complex tasXs of government. Today, one of
the main roles of every government is planning for social
development. smith, in his hook, Wealth of Nations. * held
that in general the state should act only as a Mpassive
policeman,1 1 guaranteeing to each individual the fullest
freedom for the exercises of his faculties compatible with
the equal freedom of all others and protection from out
side enemies.
Later writers of the English and French schools of
political thought discarded the rigid yardsticks of their
predecessors. They compromised between social conserva
tism and the progress of the times by classifying govern
ment functions as primary and secondary. The primary
functions were military and civil protection and the civil
administration of government. All other activities —
support of the schools, building and maintaining roads,
^Adam anith, Wealth of Nations (New Yorki Modem
Library) .
public improvements, social welfare activity — were clas-
1
slfied as secondary. Expenditure on the primary activ- j
ities of government was Justified per se. Expenditures on |
the secondary activities were to be limited as much as
possible. Today, government's secondary activities may
be as important as the primary ones.
It is natural that every government, for the pur
pose of accomplishing its functions and in regard to its
financial capability, should have sufficient employees in
different fields. Actually, all of the governmental ob
jectives are accomplished through these employees.
Mosher, in his book, Democracy and the Public
Service, pointed outi
1. Government decisions and behavior have
tremendous Influence upon the nature and devel
opment of our society, our economy, and our
policy.
2. The great bulk of decisions and actions
taken by government are determined or heavily
influenced by administrative officials, most of
vAiom are appointed, not elected.
3. The kinds of decisions and actions these
officials take depend upon their capabilities,
their orientations, and their values.
4. These attributes depend heavily upon
their backgrounds, their training and educa
tion and their current associations.2
Thus, government employees are figuring out What
should be done, backstopping that with fact-finding and
Frederick Mosher, Democracy and the Public
Service (New Yorki Oxford Press, 1966), pp. 1-2.
3
research, and recommending It to appropriate executive
and legislative officials. It is obvious that If govern
ment employees do not possess the skills and expertise
sufficient to make appropriate recomnendatlons, their
recommendations will be poorly formed by unqualified
people. In this new and very complex world where tech
nical development has thrust us, government officials face
policy-formulating responsibilities far more demanding
than ever before was the case. Today's executive cannot
handle this problem with traditional management methods.
It is sure that an organization which does not rely upon
expertise cannot solve technical problems even though it
mounts a considerable program. This imposes a challenge
upon training programs, as well as recruitment procedures.
Certainly it is the role of public administration to give
direction to the process of changing public organizations
from traditional to democratic procedures rather than to
allow random and exploitable evolutionary processes to
dominate these changes.
Statement of the Problem
It is not far from reality to claim that all
Iranian government agencies are suffering from a funda
mental and common problem of hiring and retaining able
4
personnel to perform services Which require highly spe-
I
clallzed knowledge and technical skills.
Hie distribution of human effort, skills, and
talent among the various enterprises is a signif
icant clue to both the nature and the probable
lines of development of that society. It is a
matter for grave public concern when any major
enterprise essential to social welfare and prog
ress falls to receive Its necessary share of these
resources.3
Whenever an individual chooses a specific Job and
a specific employer, he is the possessor of certain oc
cupational related abilities, of a complex set of occupa
tional values, of ideas and attitudes concerning perceived
characteristics of employing organizations. This study
has been designed to assess occupational values of college
I
and graduate students at Tehran University. j
I
The approach used will be to analyze what college
and graduate students in Iran think about public and pri- !
I
vate employment, in light of occupational values and j
i
attitudes toward work that prevails in the Iranian society |
today. It is felt that the findings of this study related
to the employment expectations of Iranian university stu- j
dents may have wider implications vis-a-vis their attl- j
tudes toward other aspects of the society. !
3pranklin P. Kilpatrick, Mil ton C. Cunnings, and
M. Kent Jennings, The Image of the Federal Service
(Washington, D.C.i The Brookings Institution, 1964),
p. 1.
5
i
The following guestiona will be answered in this
; studyi
1. Do the attitudes of college and graduate stu
dents vary according to their field of specialisation and
family background?
2. What are the attitudes of college and graduate
students in Tehran University toward public and private
service in general?
3. How do college and graduate students compare
public service with private in terms of salary, Job satis
faction, opportunities for advancement, challenge of work,
and security?
4. What are the occupational values of college
and graduate students which affect their choice of jobs?
Importance of the Study
By discovering what characteristics the members
i of any society believe they want in their jobs, we believe
that we can also imply a great deal about their attitudes
toward other aspects of society.
! Understanding the attitude of the people of Iran
toward public and private enterprises and their society
i
| at a time when the country is achieving the "white revol
ution" and trying to change the structure of Iranian
6
society suggest events of great Importance.
The White Revolution
Tor the purpose of understanding the significance
of evaluating occupational values of college and graduate
students, it is necessary to speak briefly about the
white revolution and accompanying social change which has
happened in Iran in recent years.
Since January, 1967, Iran embarked on social
revolution initiated and directed by His Imperial Majesty
I
himself, and held a popular referendum on January, 1963,
at which time the revolution was approved.
Less than a decade ago, the social scene in Iran
presented a grim picture. A small landed oligarchy con
trolled all political and economic power. Old traditional
values which served to consolidate the strength of feudal
ism were upheld, even though they often led to evil and
unjust social practices and deprived the bulk of the ac
tive population of enjoying basic social rights and con
tributing their share to the country's development. |
The value propagated by feudal forces kept women
and the mentally insane on the same footing. Workers and i
farm labor, the most productive segment of the population,
were kept at subsistence level. In this way, production
7
was low and the vicious circle of stagnation and poverty
held sway.
Illiteracy was high, health standards were low,
social amenities were limited. The feudal social struc
ture prevented the emergence of popular government at
central and local levels.
Under such a social system individualism was
strong and cooperation and teamwork had little meaning.
Development schemes were carried out with little public
support because they were looked upon as the machinery
for consolidating the power of the ruling clique of 1,000
families and aggravating social disparities. The under
privileged population located in remote parts of the coun
try contributed their share to the treasury through taxes,
but received few amenities in return.
In such a sociopolitical setting, the Bahman 6th
revolution (1963) was translated into action. The reform
program was put to public referendum and, once approved
by the people, came to be known as the "Revolution of the
Shah and People." The reforms put to national referendum
were as follows**
*lran Press Service, Coronation oflran (Tehran,
Irani 3/6 Karim Khanzand Blvd., October, 1967).
8
1. A complete program of land reform, giving the
farmer peasant his own farmland and setting a limit to
land tenure. The first point also abolished the ancient
landlord system, giving the farmer peasant the official
title of "farmer" instead of the term "peasant."
2. Nationalization of all forests in Iran to pre
serve this great national resource, which was being de
pleted through carelessness and avarice of former owners.
3. Public sale of stock of government-owned in
dustries to back the land reform program.
4. Provision of a fair share of factor profits
for industrial workers.
5. A complete revision of the electoral law and
electoral practices.
6. Creation of a literacy corps to combat illit
eracy in rural areas and to help implement the compulsory
education act of 1927.
In recent years the scope of these reforms has
been expanded and six additions have been instituted to
make the movement a "12 point" reform program. The later
additions ares
1. The Health Corps, to promote health standards
in villages.
2. ttie development and extension corps, created
i
to bring the benefits of modern farm methods to the vil- |
!
lages and also to help develop Industries.
3. Formation of "Equity Courts" with the objec
tives of strengthening the administration of justice in
villages and creating the Judicial apparatus to cope with
village litigation. These courts, made up of elected
elders, handle minor cases in rural areas.
4. Nationalization of the country's water re
sources for the purpose of conservation of fresh water
supplies through modern scientific practice, assuring
judicious use of water in agriculture.
5. An extensive reconstruction program in urban
i
and rural areas to improve living standards of the whole
nation. |
I
6. A complete administrative and educational re- j
)
organization and revitalization of government agencies to
i
meet the more exacting requirements of the times. j
Land Reform
I
I
The kingpin of the reform program, land reform, I
i
was put into effect in the teeth of bitter opposition from I
feudal landlords. It started with a pilot experiment in
10
Maragheh. The strength of the landlord was broken and
the way was paved for other supplementary reforms which
in total have brought about drastic changes in the Iranian
social scene. The reins of power were also effectively
wrested from the landed oligarchy, who had monopolized
it for many centuries.
As part of the first phase of the movement, a
ceiling was placed on land holdings, and land in excess
of a certain limit was purchased by the government on an
installment basis spread over a 15-year period. The land
was sold to farmers on Installments 10 percent higher than
the cost price. The difference was put into a fund for
rural development. Six percent interest was paid to the
landlords on the installment payments. Prices were deter
mined on the basis of the land tax schedule. Village
cooperatives were created to replace the institution of
landlordism.
Prior to this, most of the landlords had chosen
to live in the cities, preferably the capitol city at the
seat of political power, draining the countryside of its
wealth, returning little of it to rural construction.
The landlord was traditionally responsible both for the
water system and the roads. The roads were generally
11
neglected, but the qanate, Which often took generations
of diggers to complete, and which were relatively expen
sive to keep in good repair, were the landlord's major
contribution to agriculture.
By January 19, 1967, When the fifth anniversary
of the White revolution was celebrated, land reform oper
ations had been completed in some 52,816 villages (as
defined by the land reform law) and 17,644 farms.
National Freedom
Land reform did not a top at mere redistribution
but was followed up with social and economic services de
signed to improve rural welfare and to increase produc
tion, giving the newly independent farmer a chance to
stand solidly on his own feet. The experience gained in
the distribution of the crown lands to the farmers was to
prove valuable to the Shah in formulating a successful
national land-distribution method.
With the distribution of the crown lands, some of
the landlords seemed to see the handwriting on the wall,
but few proved able to discern its meaning. As a group,
these landlords were confident of being able to influence
the course of elections in rural areas, electing a major
ity in the legislature, and using this political power to
oppose effective reforms. The guidelines these landlords
proposed when land reform bills were formulated by the
liberal elements in the nations would have kept the prof
itable big estates in landlords' hands for at least
another two generations, completely subverting the liberal
intent of the legislation. But they failed to take suffi
cient note of the constitutional provision Which enabled
the Shah to initiate his own legislation directly to the
people, the same constitutional prerogative the Shah was
to use in presenting his program for national referendum.
Thus, by declaring the revolution from his throne and
teaching the people they could take part in their future,
the Shah showed them how to make decisions for their own
benefit.
Nationalization of All
Forests in Iran
A system of licensing was worked out based upon
modern forest management techniques with specified felling
and replanting rates. Aerial mapping of the major forest
areas was accomplished as a planning device. Fire lines
were cut and roads built into the forests to facilitate
management. In so doing, the forestry department has
been strengthened by a unit of Armed Rangers. A College
13 I
J
of Forestry with a five year, university level course, was i
I
i
I set up in the Karaj Agriculture College, graduating 60 j
i professional foresters per year. A forest school was set
up in Gorgan.
An investment of some $46 million has been made
in the forests, including sane $3 million from the UN's
Food and Agriculture Organization.
Factories for Farms
The intention of the plan was to give the land
lords a stake in industry to offset the loss of their
predominant position in agriculture, thereby to awaken
in the landed gentry a more lively interest in the rapid
i
industrialization of the country. j
Kith the payment of the landlords for their land j
I
holdings and a general disinvestment in traditional agri- j
(
culture, large sums of money would become available to
the former landlords. This money could be dissipated
through unproductive investment at home, such as the
highly popular real estate speculation which functioned
largely as a local equivalent of a stock market, with
i
building plots serving for stocks and shares. An obvi
ously far more productive alternative would be to encour
age the landlords to invest this suddenly released
14
| available and idle capital in some form of industrial
I
1 development.
The Worker Gets a Share
In Iran, as in other countries, highly developed
skills have commanded relatively high salaries, but on the
lower level of manual and semi-skilled labor, an enormous
over supply of labor has tended to depress wages. It was
specifically for this group that a program of profit-
sharing developed, on the base of Which labor receives a
direct share in the nation's growth, not simply through
the creation of more Jobs, but through linking greater
efficiency in work with an immediate gain in income,
i cutting into the disproportion between wages and profits.
I Henceforth, the Industrial workers would receive, above
their basic salaries, as much as 20 percent of the net
profits of factories in which they work. !
t
Women at the Ballot Box
i
: i
The original electoral law dating from the 1906
; I
constitutional movement provided for supervisory councils
to be established in every constituency to rule on the
eligibility of candidates, to watch over the voting,
count the votes and examine post election complaints.
15
I
| The law required that, these councils be composed of rep-
i
resentatives front each of several social and professional
groups including the clergy, the professional class,
guildsmen, landlords, merchants and nobles. This arrange
ment kept all control vested in the upper classes and in
practice denied the rights of the ordinary working man
and woman. But with the revolution from the throne and
social, legal, and economic rights increasingly given to
the poorer sections of the national community, the power
of the rich-landed families was very seriously undermined.
The electoral law was reformed to abolish the
seats on the supervisory councils allotted to nobles and
landlords. TOiese seats were given to workers and farmers.
The law was one more Indication that the rule of an elite
and the era of the large landlord had come to an end.
The revision was first put into practice in the
1961 parliamentary elections — the first under the new
regulations. Women in Iran went to the ballot box for
the first time. Today, there are two women senators, one
minister, and five national assembly deputies.
Thus, the women had discarded their veils and
found the vote.
16
Literacy Corps
His Imperial Majesty, In his second book, Hie
White Revolution.^ writes that the achievements of the
literacy corps constitutes one of the most glorious chap
ters of the Iranian revolution. For by launching its
army of mass education, the revolution took over one of
the noblest missions of Iran's ancient culture, namely,
the propagation of learning While sparking at the same
time a national drive for the eradication of illiteracy.
Since its inception, more than 38,000 literacy
corpsmen have been dispatched to villages to work as rural
teachers and community workers instead of doing their nor
mal military service. Teaching in the villages thus has
a cost of one-third of that required to educate an urban
school child. The gulf between the proportion of school
age children attending classes in cities and villages is
being narrowed drastically by this use of the army.
Impressive social and conmunity development ac
tivities have also been carried out by the literacy corps,
which includes construction of new schoolhouses, mosques
repaired, and newly built roads, bridges, and bathhouses.
^Mohamad Reca Pahlavi, The White Revolution
(Tehran, Irani Offset Press, Inc., 1964).
The self-help projects carried out under the lead- j
i ershlp of the young corpsmen would have otherwise re- |
quired billions In government Investment. But to many,
more significant than the economic benefits, is the boost
in morale which this program has brought to the hitherto
apathetic rural population.
The Health Oorps
Despite economic and social inducements, the
Health ministry's efforts to bring medical care facilities
and physicians to the villages had not been too success
ful.
The impressive results obtained from the Literacy j
Corps set the pace for formation of the Health Corps, so J
I
that the progress of modern medical science was placed
i
at the disposal of the village population. |
Health Corps is broXen down into groups headed 1
i
by physicians that provide free medical treatment to ;
people in the villages. Also, the Health Corps carried |
out massive preventive operations against comnunlcable |
1 i
diseases. The enthusiasm generated by the medical groups
I
has induced village communities to construct over 200 new
clinics for the Health Corps, thus saving the government
a considerable sum of money.
18
Development and
Extension Oorpa
In this corps the agronomist rides with the civil
engineer, the architect is quartered with the veterinarian,
the irrigation specialist walks with the plumber, the
economist argues with the sociologist. This is an inter
disciplinary corps with a wide range of talents drawn from
recent university and technical high school graduates
whose training would be too narrowly employed in the
literacy corps.
Actually, it is several corps in one. The members
serve to further the programs of the ministry of agricul
ture, the ministry of housing, and the ministry of econ
omy. It is a formidable combination against the ugly
crone of poverty.
As much as possible the initiative for calling in
the corps for a specific project rests with the local
village council. *niese requests are coordinated on a
regional level. They became part of an annual develop
ment plan for each province in the country. The grass
roots requests are supplemented by wider ministerial pro
grams. Thus the corps moves into a varied range of spe
cific tasks, planned in advance for a particular region.
These tasks differ in different regions, and some regions
19
may have priority over others due to greater need or more
ambitious pilot programs.
The Hbuses of Equity
Justice ministry officials, after intensive re
search, realized the necessity of establishing rural
courts chosen by and from amongst the villagers, in order
to overcome the expense of time and distance lost by the
village people in consulting city courts in matters of
arbitration. Subsequently, courts were introduced in the
provinces. Each comprised five Judges empowered to settle
financial disputes involving not more than 5,000 rials
and petty cases such as trespass, water sharing rights,
marital differences and inheritance claims.
Due to the urgent need to grant autonomy to the
villages, a bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament
establishing Equity Courts in May, 1965.
Hie Monarch who felt that the rural courts had
proved to be the "simplest way of bringing speedy justice
to the villages'1 ordered an iimnediate expansion of the
Houses of Justice and also decreed that they be made the
9th principle of the Bahman 6 Revolution.
20
Nationalization of
the Country1 a Water
During the past two decades, through the gradual
introduction of modern water development techniques, such
as harnessing the major rivers of the country, building
reservoirs, and digging deep wells, the annual supply has
been increased to 33 billion cubic metres. However, these
efforts, successful and impressive as they are, cannot
meet the growing needs of the country in terms of farm
production to provide ample food for a rapidly Increasing
population. Through the nationalization of the nation's
water resources, it is felt, these needs can be met with
enough food left over for a lucrative export business.^
Massive Reconstruction
The rural and urban renovation and reconstruction
program has now become a major portion of the nation's
multi-billion dollar fourth Five-Year Development Program
which embraces a vast number of development projects.
It is hoped that the Fourth Plan will bring many
of the earlier projects and development works as well as
®For further description, see "Iran's White Rev
olution," 12 Points for Progress (Tehran, Irani Offset
Press, Inc., October I960).
the current reform efforts to fruition by the beginning
of the year 1973.
Administrative and
Educational Reforms
The white revolution, during its first six years,
had already brought about numerous changes. With trans
formation came the need for better, more efficient, ad
ministration and more effective management to meet the new
needs. The Shahanshah called for nothing less than "an
administrative and educational revolution.M
In announcing the twelfth principle of his revo
lution, His Imperial Majesty declared!
This point means that all the individuals who
have a duty entrusted upon them in the country's
administrative and governmental organization —
no matter how small that duty might be — should
try to perform it with utmost sincerity and con
scientiousness and with a feeling of responsi
bility.
wasting time and red-tape bureaucracy should
leave our offices. Each official should know that
his duty, first and foremost, is to hasten to per
form the requests of the public. This includes
the correct and unbiased execution of administra
tive functions to facilitate and expedite the
administration of the country's affairs. Public
officials should not forget that it is the people
who provide funds by paying taxes to pay their
salaries.7
7Ibid., p. *7
On the other hand, unjustified and excessive
i
; concentration of the affairs in the capital city should
| be ended, and all the provinces and townships in the
country should be given a chance for initiative and a
; higher measure of responsibility in the affairs which
concern them. It is even fitting that service in the
various parts of the country should become complementary
with tours of duty in the capital and other large cities.
In any event, reforming the situations in
government offices, revitalizations of admin
istrative agencies, introduction of fundamental
changes in procedure and management, utmost
care in properly running the nation's adminis
trative affairs, promptitude in making wise,
unbiased decisions — these are the principles,
that should definitely be adopted in the course
of Iran's social revolution.8
Since announcement of the twelfth point, "Admin
istrative and Educational Reform," there has been a lot
!
of activity to accomplish this reform. In February, 1965, |
a congress on Administrative Revolution Reforms was held
!
at the Officer's Club with the participation of about
2,000 delegates from all parts of the country representing
private firms and institutions as well as the government.
the seven conmittees of the congress held a total of 84
I i
meetings and after twelve days of deliberation came up
with a set of resolutions which were conveyed to all gov-
8 Ibid-
23
i
eminent agencies throughout the nation. Permanent com
mittees o£ administrative reform were set up within each
, of the ministries and major government agencies in the
provinces to supervise effective execution of the resolu
tions and to reconmend further reforms.
Hie permanent committees are already busy in the
ministries hearing complaints, setting things in motion,
getting work done more speedily, reducing red tape and
coining up with recoomendations for more efficient opera
tion of various departments and sections within the min
istries. This point, "Administrative and Education Re
form," is still in the planning stage and needs further
investigation. I hope the results of this dissertation
: might be useful for the purpose of accomplishing this
objective.
Comparing the progress of the Administrative and
Educational Reform with the other points of the white
: revolution reveals that this point has not been accom-
l piished as well as the others. The Prime Minister of
I Iran, Mr. HOveyda, in his speech at Iran Hovin Party,
J mentioned thati
I
j Mb are not satisfied with the 12th point
of White Revolution. Still there are a lot
of things to be done. All of the public or
ganizations should be reorganized in such a
way that they can meet the public needs.
24
The plan for job description and job classifi
cation should be put into effect as soon as
possible, the motto of equal pay for equal work
should be done as soon as possible. Decentral
ization and delegation of authority must be
achieved in such a way that people of each prov
ince and city must make decisions for their
needs.9
Problems with Adminis
trative Reform
Why is it that the Iranian government after four
years could not succeed in accomplishing this important
point of White Revolution? To understand this, we should
discuss the several characteristics of any organization.
On the base of these characteristics, we may clarify the
shortcomings of Iranian public organizations.
As Blake and Mouton in their book, Managerial
Grid.10 pointed out, there are several characteristics of
organization thought to be universal.
1) Purpose(s)
The first universal is purpose(s) . It is not
possible to imagine a purposeless organization.
However, it may or may not be the purpose for
®Amir Abase Hoveyda, "Revolution will Be On,"
Kevhan International. Vol. XIII, No. 4140 (May 1971), p.l.
10Robert R. Blake and Jane S. Mouton, Managerial
Orid (Houstom GKxlf Publishing Company, 1967) , pp. 5-7.
25
which the organization exists is the same as
the purpose people experience as the basis for
joining or remaining in it. Too frequently,
organization and individual purpose may seem to
be unconnected with one another, or even to be
contradictory.
2) People
Another characteristic of organization is people.
No organization is without them. Organization
purpose then, cannot be achieved without people
nor does it exist under circumstances where one
person is acting alone. To achieve it, others
need to be drawn in, therefore needing more than
one person to achieve purpose(s).
3) Hierarchy
Heirarchy is a third attribute. Some people are
bosses, others are bossed. Some are more re
sponsible for solving problems than others.
That is the dimension of hierarchy.
The process of achieving organization purpose
through the efforts of several people results in some
people attaining authority to supervise others, that is,
26
j
I
i to exercise the responsibility for planning, controlling
j
i and directing the activities of others through a hier
archical arrangement.
In noting the above-mentioned characteristics of
organizations, we can propose the reason Why the 12th
point of the White revolution could not be accomplished
completely. Among the three universal characteristics of
organizations, people are more important than the others.
Through the research of this dissertation, we may find
out What young and able persons want in their jobs. Also,
we may learn how we can attract qualified persons to
public organizations for the purpose of accomplishing
organizational purposes, including social welfare, chang
ing the social system so that it can cope with technology,
contributing to change in economic and political systems,
improving relationships with our neighboring countries,
and so forth.
The Scope of the Study
The basic objective of this study is to explore
some raw material and worXing hypotheses related to in-
I creasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Iranian
!
government. This will be done through the analysis of
occupational values among the very cadre of young people
r
27 1
i
I
I
upon whom the future of the country depends. All of the
i
decisions for purpose of development of our society,
I
, economy and policy are dependent upon the attitudes,
values, training, background and current association of
officials. To measure such qualities in potential offi
cials is thus a matter of primary concern.
If we determine the occupational values, or if we
understand what the youth has expected from their govern
ment and organization, and if we organize our departments
on bases appealing to these able and young people, we may
achieve organizations with higher efficiency and effec
tiveness, enabling government to render services to the
citizen in a more appropriate way. j
: [
In order to achieve this objective, a simple sur-
i vey of the attitudes and occupational values of students
i
at Tehran University was conducted. The sample consisted
i
of a group of scholars in professional schools, whose
services are necessary for carrying out the business of j
i
government. j
' ]
Choosing the Brookings study as a methodological
i
j
framework and taking into consideration the specific prob
lem and evaluating the occupational values of graduate and
undergraduate student as the target of inquiry, enables
us to examine some of the critically significant factors
28
: related to the choice of an employer by students after
I graduation.
Historical Aspects of Civil Service In Iran
"The business of the government employee Is so
ciety Itself, and his product . . . Is service In behalf
of an ideal. "H As Stahl pointed outi
The public service Is an ancient institution,
never before have its activities affected so
much of life — and there is now so much more
life to be affected. Well organized groups
of public officials influenced or even con
trolled the development of civilization in
the Orient, Egypt, the Greek city-state, and
the Roman finpire, but the comparatively sim
ple life of each of these times required far
less interdependency among individuals or
group than now.12
In the nineteenth century Woodrow Wilson said,
"The function of government was simple because life itself
; was sinple."13 There was no complex system of public
revenue, and public debates to puzzle financiers, there
were consequently, no financiers to be puzzled. At that
I time it was a remarkably small public service. Even in
11James T. O'Connell, "The Challenge of Government '
Management," Civil Service Journal (July-September 1960), I
! p- 19- !
1 <5 1
120. Glenn Stahl, Public Personnel Administration
(New Yorks Harper 6 Row, Publishers, 1$62), p. 5.
l^WOodrow Wilson, "A Study of Administration,"
Political Science Quarterly (June 1887),
; the U.S., as Kilpatrick, et al..1* said, in 1800 the Of
fice of the Secretary of the Navy comprised, in addition
to the secretary himself, a chief clerk, four or five
subordinate clerks, a single manager, and a total payroll
of $9,152. At that time, then, the civil service function
was very simple. Andrew Jackson, in 1828, in his first
annual message to the congress, saidt
The duties of all public offices are. or at
least admit of being made so plain and simple
that men of Intelligence may readily qualify
themselves for their performances and I cannot
but believe that more is lost by the long con
tinuance of men in office than is generally to
be gained by their experience.15
The main activity of the public servants in the U. S. was
clarified by Mhlte as follows:
Most civil servants were engaged in finance,
record keeping, and the ordinary type of clerical
operations, chiefly plain copying. The profes
sional side of the service was modest indeed,
comprising the Judges, the district attorneys and
an occasional legal counsel elsewhere, and a small
number of physicians and surgeons in the array,
navy, and marine hospitals. Add a few surveyors
in the western wilderness, a few engineers in the
army and a naval constructor, and the roll of pro
fessionally trained officials is complete.16
l^Kilpatrick, et al.. op. cit.. p. 29.
15James D. Richardson. Messages and Papers of the
Presidents (Bureau of National Literature and Art, 1903),
Vol. II, p. 438.
16Leonard D. White, The federalists (New Yorks
The Free Press, 1948), p. 30TI
i Since other than professions was absent, statis
ticians were unknown and professional economists could
not be found on the North American Continent, much less
in the departments of state* It was not an age of ex
perts. But in the early part of the 20th century, the
case of civil service was not so simple that any men of
intelligence could make himself ready to be qualified in
his performance. Today's government service is so complex
that it needs qualified and professional men to accomplish
them. The role of the public service is changing from the
provision of recurring and routine services to the initia
tion and management of change. The public servants should
play the role of conveyer belts between knowledge and
theory on one hand and public purpose on the other.
I
Civil Service in Iran
i
The Iranian civil service includes all civilian
i
employees of government, other than elected officials and |
l
top level appointive officials of the central and local
i
governments. The civil service reaches as high as the
under secretaries of the ministries and also includes most ;
officials of local government, who are conuonly employed
by the central government rather than by the various
Jurisdictions of local government.
31
Until five decades ago there was no civil service
in the modem concepts and definitions of the term. As a
matter of fact, the government Job was not so complex as
it is now. At that time each ministry, institution and
organization who were dependent upon government budget
conducted its personnel affairs as Independent worfc with
minimum financial control exercised by the ministry of
finance, ihere were no such central authorities to ad
minister civil service in Iran. Bnployees of the person
nel office in each ministry, institution and organization
were concerned only with processing papers, heaping
records, and filing copies of all the items.
Jobs throughout the public service were usually
awarded as payment of social debts. In other words, we
can say that five decades ago Iranian civil service sys
tem was Mspoiled.N The function of the spoils system was
evident, as Fish sayss
The civil service becomes the payroll of the
party leader; offices are apportioned accord
ing to the ranh and merit of his subordinates,
and if duties are too heavy or new positions
are needed, new offices may be created.
17Carl R. Fish, The Civil Service and the Patron
age (Cambridge, Mass.s Harvard University Press, 1904),
p. 156.
j In this period most of the government employees were con-
! i
cemed about the salary at the end of each month. They |
felt no responsibilities associated with work that should
be done. TOiese conditions were reflected in the quality
of managers of government activities.
i
In 1922, the law was passed that created a civil
service system in the government of Iran. The law stip
ulated that original entry into government service should
take place on the basis of competitive examinations. The
law sought to establish order and system in the bureau
cratic branch of government administration. in 1922, Resa
Shah was Prime Minister of Iran and he tried to implement
this law. In so doing, he established systematic person
nel management in the administration of governmental af
fairs. In practice, each ministry prepared its own rules
and regulations and devised its own procedures for admin- |
i
istoring this provision. As a result, in the course of i
i
time, approximately twenty different salary schedules
were established in supplementary laws representing the j
number of crude occupational groupings with widely varying|
i
rates of pay among the schedules, and consequently with |
j
inequities in levels of pay as among the occupational
groups. Movement along the individual salary schedules
was based solely on length of service. Attained grades,
! 33
i
i i
I
l
i as service wore on, had little or no relationship to the
! work performed.
The Second World War, with all the hardships and
dislocation it brought, had a profound impact on Iranian
society and administration. Government undertook an in
creasing number of public tasks for the purpose of im
proved economic and social conditions in Iran. For this
reason, efforts were begun to improve administration in
order to cope with new requirements and problems. The
administration took a modern form, but its machinery was
incapable of acceptably effective performance In meeting
the growing needs of Iran. In 1953, a decree was Issued
which created a temporary position classification depart
ment in the ministry of finance. Hie purpose of this
decree was to implement a position classlfication in a
few departments of the ministry of finance, in cooperation |
with the U.S. operation mission to Iran. The U.S. tech- j
i
niclans conducted training courses for approximately 75
Iranians in modem techniques of OflM and position classi-
|
: flcation. In addition to the above courses, they conducted!
i
i
; a few seminars for key personnel of the ministry of
I j
! finance. After a few years of fruitless effort for in-
i
stallatlon of position classification, on April 2, 1958,
on the basis of American experts with their Iranian
34
counterparts suggestion, a bill was passed Which estab-
I
' lished positions of permanent administration under the
I
secretary in the prime minister's bureau and in each of
the ministries. The purpose was to reduce political in
fluences in the selection and appointment of officials,
and continuity in the direction and supervision of admin
istrative functions, which were strongly influenced by
the change of cabinet, nils bill unfortunately was not
carried out effectively and was practically abandoned in
the ensuing years.
In 1959, a decree of the council of ministries
established the General Service Agency which was affili
ated to the Prime Minister's Bureau, and was headed by
; his permanent administrative under secretary. The task
of this organization included conducting studies for re
form in administrative rules, regulations and procedures
organizational structures and training. This organlza-
i tion could not make good progress because they were
hanpered by resistance to change.
In December, 1961, a decree of the council of
ministers dissolved the General Service Agency and ere—
i
; ated a new organization affiliated to the Prime Minister
bureau called the High Council of Government Administra
tion. The council was given broader duties and powers;
35
It was financed by the plan organization. The council's
role was that of a centralized advisory body for govern
ment administration and it succeeded in its objective of
establishing a center for the review and clearance of
administrative reform measures. The High Council pre
pared a comprehensive state employment law approved by
the Parliament on June 21, 1966. Tti* law established the
state organization for administration and employment
affairs and was placed in the Prime Minister's office.
From 1960 to the present, the movement for admin- ;
istration change has gathered fresh spirit and momentum
from the initiative and support of His Imperial Majesty.
I
The 12 revolutionary measures of HIM's White Revolution ]
directly affect the social, political and economic as
pects of Iranian life and the administration has been
!
obliged to assume a new and greatly expanded role.*8
18A. Oodarzi, "Civil Service in Iran" (unpub
lished paper, School of Public Administration, University
of Southern California, 1968).
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL DIMENSIONS OP
RESEARCH PROBLB1S
It is obvious that the individual's occupational
choice has important implications both for society and his
future life activity and satisfaction. Whenever an indi
vidual makes a choice among different alternatives, there
are a number of values behind this decision.
What Is Value?
Value is a standard or criterion that serves a
number of important purposes in our daily livest It is
a standard that tells us how to act or what to want; it
is a standard that tells us what attitudes we should hold;
it is a standard we employ to justify behavior. Finally,
a value is a standard we employ to tell us which values,
attitudes and actions of others are worth trying to influ
ence. As a matter of fact, values are an indispensable
part of human behavior. There are various theories that
try to establish a close relationship between values and
human behavior. For example, DuBols classifies the
36
37
i
individual and group behavior to two interacting forces —
values and situations.^ A person acquires his values
through his cultural and social experience. Personality
factors also play a great role in acquisition, variation
and discording of the values. It is a lifelong process
1 of acquisition which never breahs away front the culture.2
Every person develops a concept of what is good, bad,
real, right, wrong, etc. These concepts become his guiding
light and operate as a control system behind his behavior.
The concept of "values" pervades social science
and humanities literature in a complex and sometimes con
fusing way. In many definitions of values proposed by the
sociologists and anthropologists, the conmon elements lie
i
, i
in the recognition of values as an expression of the ultl- I
; mate "ends," "goods,*1 or purpose of social action.3 I
Furthermore, values deal not so much with What is, but
with What it ought to be. In other words, they express
: i
moral or ethical imperatives. |
1Cora Dufiols, "The Dominant Value Profile of Amer
ican Culture," American Anthropologist. Vol. LVII
(December 1953).
1 2
William Catton, "A Theory of Value," American
Sociological Review. Vol. XXIV (June 1959).
3A. Inhales. What Is Sociology? (Englewood
Cliffs, H.J.i Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964), p. 74.
; Rie ambiguity of the conceptual understanding of
! values has been pointed out by Wilkenson, speaking at a
conference arranged to discuss technology and human
values.
No explicit definition of value was attempted
by anyone at the meeting. If any had done so, the
only thing he would have revealed would have been
a certain philosophic naivete. An adequate defi
nition would pre-suppose, among other things, a
solution to the age-old problem of the relation
of the general to the particular. Only by adopt
ing some hopelessly one-sided definition based on
some particular ideology would it be possible un
ambiguously to define human value, for example as
an absolute, a monetary price, an emotion, a con
vention or the like.d
With this in mind, we shall look at a few general
aspects of value theory, in order to provide some back-
, ground for this paper.
A value has been defined as follows*
i
... An individual's concepts of an ideal rela
tionship [or state of affairs], which he uses to
assess the "goodness" or "badness," the "right
ness" or "wrongness" of actual relationships that
he observes or contsmplatas. . . . A value is a
hypothetical construct assigned to that class of
hypothetical constructs known as the individual's
phenomenology — the way one views the world and
himself in relation to it.5
I
l
I
I 4John Milkenson, et al., Technology and Human
, Values (Santa Barbaras Center for the Study of Democratic
Institutions, 1966).
5w. A. Scott, Values y d Organization! A Study of
Fraternities and Sororities (Chicago. New York, 1964), p. 3.
39
Ihere Is a useful dichotomy of values described
by Katz and Kahn** as transcendental, moral or sacred
values, or pragmatic values associated with the functional
outcomes. Halloran7 sees preference values — likings,
needs, desires or interests — and normative values —
obligatory, ought or moral needs — as the two types,
similar to Katz and Kahn. Morris** sees three types of
values. Operative values are the direction of preferable
behavior toward one kind of object rather than another;
conceived values are preferential behavior directed by an
anticipation or foresight of the outcome; and, object
values are concerned with what is desirable regardless
of whether it is in fact preferred or conceived as pref
erable; therefore, stressing the properties of the object
itself.
Lists of specific values abound throughout the
literature; Qoodfriend provides a representative samples
^Daniel Katz and Robert Kahn, The Social Psy
chology of Organization (Hew Yorks John Wiley Ct Sons,
1966), p. 85.
7James D. Halloran, Attitude Formation and Change
Leicester, Hnglands Leicester University Press, 1967).
^Charles Morris, Varieties of Human Value
(Chlcagos University of Chicago Press, 1956).
40
Most fundamental Is life itself. Others are
goodness . . . justice . . . love, brotherhood,
exemplary conduct . . . beauty . . . truth . . .
happiness . . . peace, hospitality, liberty, mu
tual trust , . . cooperation . . . equality, pri
vate property, social service and public service.9
He proceeds to demonstrate the cultural uniqueness of
values by stating that peculiar American values are
wealth, industrialization, free enterprises, efficiency
of work, recreation, material comfort, equality of sexes,
and so forth. Peculiarly Asian are such values as family
and home, mental peace, simplicity of life, sex morality,
and contentment.
Chase*® distinguishes ultimate values, defined as
being those held by persons Who are dogmatic about them
and tolerant of anyone who challenges such values, con
sidered to be true by definition. These ultimate values
lie in the spectrum of race, religion, nationalism and
rugged individualism. Maslow** has a different concep
tion of "ultimate values" which he describes by saying
9Arthur Ooodfriend, Two Sides of One world (New
Yorki UNESCO, 1957) , p. 8.
!0Stuart Chase, "American Valuesi A Generation
of Change," Public Opinion Quarterly. 29 (Pall 1965),
pp. 357-367.
11 Abraham Maslow, New Knowledge in Human values
(New Yorki Harper fit Row, 1959) .
41
that* "If there were a single, ultimate value for mankind
toward which all men strive . . . [It Is] becoming fully
human, everything that the person can become. "
Review of the values definitions mentioned shows
| that values are generally normative. Because of this nor-
1 matlve nature of values, scientists attomptlng to study
values have been confined within the realm of philosophy
and metaphysics. It was only after World War II that
social scientists went beyond merely defining and dis
cussing values and began actively to measure their nature
and distribution.12 One of the most complex and interest
ing efforts has been carried out by Kluckhohm.13 She be-
I gan by defining certain basic "common1 1 human problems for
which all people at all times must find some solution.
' She argued that all cultures had discovered much the same
range of position or alternatives one might take with re
gard to these life problems, but that different cultures
placed different values on the various alternatives.
Despite the ubiquitous nature of values, they are
an indispensable part of human behavior. They are guides
l^Inkeles, pp. clt.. p.76.
1Florence Kluckhohm and F. Stradthock, Variations
in Value Orientation (Hew York* Harp«r 6 Row, 19^1),
p. 10.
4 2
! to beliefs, attitudes, and actions and, as one writer has
put it, without them a man is like a ship without a
! rudder.1*
Sources off Values
J
A question is often asked whether the roots and
locus of values can be traced. The literature provides
some inconclusive answers. Rader mentions two factors
that generate individual values* the culture, and groups
in which the individual has association.15 The factors
are invariably called dominant values and variant values.
The dominant values of a person tend to be determined by
his culture and these influence his behavior. The way a
person rank-orders his values inevitably brings about var- {
iations in individual behavior, although such individual I
variation will not necessarily be much different from
t
other people with the same dominant values.
i
The dominant values are exemplified by the "Prot- j
1 estant Nthic" in some western societies and exhibit them- j
; i
selves in self-discipline and work, initiative and ac
quisition, and individualism and competition. Hie
i
I -----------------
| ^Ibld., pp. 11-35.
15Melvin Rader, Rthics and Society (New York*
Henry Holt and Company, 1950), pp. 123-158.
43
I
' dominant values In a Middle Eastern culture are demon
strated by attitudes of deferred satisfaction, limited
' work and much attention to the other world. There, people
maintain that man should work to the extent that a minimum
living Is obtained. He has, properly, to spend the rest
of his time in praying to the Creator. Ifoese two ex
amples of the dominant values are a contrast of what
Rlesman, et al.. call "other-directed," and "inner-
directed" man.16
These authors point out a transition in the con
cept of the Protestant Ethic and the dominance of "peer
group" values. Modern day man, or, the other-directed
|
person, becomes accultured largely by peer groups. He |
i !
1 looks to his contemporaries for guidance and direction. i
I
! His most important values are those which are also lmpor- j
tant to the peer group. The other-directed person guides |
i
behavior through the complexities and intricacies of I
modern life by picking up cues from the environment with
an internal "radar" device. Lack of conformity or wrong-
i
; doing brings on anxiety for fear that he may lose the love
i , _ i
; and approval of others.17 i
' z !
ieDavid Rlesman, Nathan Glaser, and Ruel Denney,
The Lonely Crowd (Garden City, N.Y. i Doubleday Anchor
Books, 1950), pp. 29-40.
17Ibid.. pp. 41-42.
44
The variant values of a man (which Is rank-order
ing of his values) are acquired through the process of
socialization. Variant value aystems are acquired, modi
fied, and completely changed throughout one's active life
by access to different socializing agents. Family,
school, peer groups, and professions mold a man's value
system.18
Occupational Values
It is obvious that the individual's occupational
values have important implications both for society and
for his future life activity and satisfaction. But, When
ever an individual makes a decision, Which is a process of
selecting one alternative from a given number of alterna
tives, it is likely that some value is a conception of
the desirable.Values are things in Which people are
interested, things they want, desire to be or become, feel
as obligatory, worship, enjoy.20 When an individual
18Oertrude Jaeger Selznick, Leonard Broom, and
Philip Selznick, "Socialization," Sociology (2d ed.t
Bvanston, 111.* Row ,PW ter son ana Co., 1958) .
19 R. H. McMurry, "Conflicts in Human Values,"
Harvard Business Review. XLI (May-June, 1963), p. 130.
20Ibid.. p. 136.
chooses an occupation, he thinks there is something good i
I |
! about it and this conception of good is a part of an in-
i temalized mental structure Which establishes priorities
i '
and preferences regarding what he wants out of his life.
To ask What an individual wants out of his work, is to a
large extent to ask what he wants out of his life.21 it
is, therefore, indispensable to an adequate understanding
of the occupational appeal of a particular source of em
ployment, to consider what people want or consider good
or desirable, for these are the essential criteria by
: Which choices are made. But the domain of values is not
as simple as it might appear, because human values are
| often inconsistent, conflicting, sometimes even unreal- |
I t
' istic since they are very subjective or personal. Studies j
1 i
indicate that value differences exist when different sub
cultures, religions, races, sexes, ages, life styles and
I
political and socioeconomic conditions are taken into [
! i
account.
| Parsons defines relationship of values to the
! i
: social system as follows*
i j
The implication of the role of norms in the
i stability of system of social interaction can ;
! be generalized in two directions. The first of
21N. Rosenberg. Occupation and Values (Glencoe,
111.* The Free Press, 1957), p. 6.
I these concerns the consistence of the normative
system governing the process of interaction.
The primary reference point for the treatment
of this problem is to be found in the goal orien
tation of the individual members. For the norma
tive system to be consistent, they need not
within considerable limits pursue the same goals,
but they must not, to too great a degree, pursue
goals the attainment of which are mutually incom
patible. A normative system, which can success
fully define the conditions of stability of an
interaction system, must Include the definition
of the goals to be pursued by interacting units
in the system, at least to the extent of setting
limits with reference to their mutual compati
bility. 22
Values determine a person's behavior, his choice
of alternatives, the areas of his interest and his
thoughts.23 Every decision he makes entails a selection
process by which something is included and something is
excluded. His relationships with others, his opinion
i
about a job and, in fact, his desires for a profession
are guided by his values. This theory postulates that
whatever a man does comes from his values. Therefore,
values determine our reactions toward any situation and
' furnish us with a set of norms and standards to cope with
different situations.
22Talcott Parsons, "Some Highlights of the Gener- |
al Theory of Action," Approaches to the Study of Politics. !
j «d. by Roland Young (Evanston, Ill.t Northwestern Uni-
verslty Press, 1958), p. 283.
^Allison Davis. "American Status Systems and the
Socialisation of the Child," American Sociological Review.
Vol. VI (June 1941), p. 368.
47
Values and Organizations
Up to this point, we have been discussing indi
vidual value systems and their importance in making
choices among alternatives. We mentioned that values
determine a person's behavior. Most people's behavior is
motivated by the desire to satisfy needs. Where should
people satisfy their needs? In today's highly organized
society, people must satisfy their needs in an organiza
tion. As Presthus says, our society is an organizational
society.24 We are born in an organization, educated by
organizations, and most of us spend much of our lives
working for organizations, we spend much of our leisure
I
time paying, playing, and praying in organizations.25 j
These organizations form to respond to the needs j
of society. Of course, each has a code of conduct for j
their numbers. On the other hand, the value systems of
i
organizational members are different, to some extent, from i
each other. The problem arises of how we can reconcile or
24Robert Presthus, The Organizational Society
(Hew Yorks Alfred A. Knopf, 1962).
25Amltai Etzioni, Modern Organization (Englewood
Cliffs, M.J.i Prentlce-Hall, Inc., Foundation of Modern
Sociology Series, 1964), p. 1.
| integrate the value aystems of the individuals of the
i
! organization with the values of the organization.
The process of integration of man and organization
has been given some thought by the scholars of management
and organization. Bakke explains how a man joins an or
ganization to satisfy his personal needs in exchange for
satisfying some of the needs of the organization.26 This
is, in effect, a kind of a contract providing for mutual
need satisfaction of the members.
If an individual gains satisfaction from work but
gives nothing to the organization, the socializing re
quirements are not being met. If the organization demands
1 are being met but there is no satisfaction for the worker, |
the personalizing dimension is being sacrificed. Only j
when personalizing and socializing demands are slmultane- i
I
ously being actualized, can we say that fusion is really
occurring. Then the “fusion process" is operative.27
i
As long as they view each other as worthwhile they will
continue their cooperation.
2®For the description of Bakke*s Fusion Process,
see J. M. Pfiffner and F. P. Sherwood, Aflalniatrative
Organization (Inglewood Cliffs, N.J.s Prentice—Hall,
Inc., 19^0), pp. 371-385.
27Ibid., p. 376.
49
Organizations, naturally, place much emphasis on
I
predictability and rationality of the organizational func
tions and outcomes. Therefore, consideration of the com
mon values held by the members of an organization can be
a good determinant of their behavioral activities.
In our research we will be concerned with only one
aspect of the social system. That is, the way in which
individuals achieve their values concerning their occupa
tional life through accepting organizational roles in the
various sources of employment. Such a study requires us
to understand the social and psychological dimensions of
the individual and organization.
Individual Human Behavior
1 and Motivation
Why do people behave the way they do? Why do the
i
millions of us who worX for a living do What we do? Why
i
are some individuals Myes men,N afraid to express any dis- i
I
agreement with their bosses, while others are not at all j
j I
reluctant to criticize their superior? The answer to j
these questions goes to the heart of the motivational
(
process. There is general agreement among psychologists
i
__ i
i that all behavior is motivated.28 People have their own
28Max D. Richard and Paul S. (3reanlaw, Management
Decision Making (Homewood, 111.* Richard D. Irwin, Inc.,
50
i
1 reasons for doing the things they do, and behavior is
i
oriented toward meeting certain goals and objectives.
Such goal-directed behavior centers around the desire for
need satisfaction.
Before presenting a framework for viewing human
; needs, which is most useful to a manager, a few comments
on motivation are necessary.
What Is Motivation
Psychologists generally agree that man is moti
vated by the desire to satisfy a number of needs. Some
of them have attempted to reduce all human needs to a few
underlying types. Freud, for example, emphasized two
, basic classes of needs — the life instinct and the death
; instinct.29 Adler focused primary attention on the drive
I
i for power or mastery.3° Other psychologists have taken a
more pluralistic position, emphasizing that there are many
j
, different types of needs, the satisfaction of which is a
i prime determinant of behavior. Miller says thati "Motiva-
i _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _
: 1966), p. 102.
29Calvin S. Hall, A Primer of Freudian Psychology
; (New Yorki The New American Library of American Litera-
ture, Inc., 1955), p. 55.
30David C. McClelland, Personality (New Yorki The
Dr*yden Press, 1951) , pp. 402-403.
i tion consists of two parts, an inner and outer. The inner
< is the drives or needs within the individual. The outer !
is those things he wants to yet from the world around
! him. In terms of Berelson and Steiner, motivation is
an inner state that energizes, activates, or moves (hence
"motivation"), and directs or channels behavior toward
goals.
Needs are both physiological and psychological.
The physiological stem directly from the physical needs
of the organism. These are easy to understand and func
tion in about the same way in most Individuals, because
i satisfaction of physiological needs are essential to the
; survival or physical well-being of the Individual or the
|
; species. These are — hunger, thirst, elimination, pain
I |
; avoidance, mating, and so on.33
Psychological needs is a term used to designate
those motives not demonstrably in the direct service of
! i
physical needs. The principal psychological needs are j
| according to Millers |
31Mungo Miller, "Understanding Human Behavior and
! Kmployee Motivation," Advanced Management Journal (April
1968), p. 50.
32Bernard Berelson and Oary A. Steiner, Human Be-
havior (New Yorlct Harcourt, Brace fi Morld, Inc. , 1964) ,
p. $40.
33Miller, o p . clt.. pp. 50-51.
52
1. Self-realization.— This basic drive is perhaps
the most potent of all. Its satisfaction is achieved When
the person does something about Which he can feel, "I
undertook a task, and I completed it to my own satisfac
tion. "
2. Recognition.— Bach of us needs to have some
reassurance and respect from our fellowman.
3. Security.— Psychological security is what the
person has When he feels within himself, "I am pretty well
situated." Psychological security includes the need that
every person feels to give and receive love and affection.
4. Social experience.— Han is a social animal.
He has a built-in need for many kinds of contacts with
his fellowman. He cannot live in solitary confinement and
remain normal. He wants others and needs to be wanted by
them. 34
We will now turn our attention to another plural
istic framework — that presented by the psychologist,
Maslow, in his book, Motivation and Personality.35 This
approach appears to me to be a more useful one for the
34Ibid.
35Abraham H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality
(New Yorki Harper fc Brothers, 1954), Chapter 5.
53
manager in understanding and analyzing human behavior in
organization. Maslow*s theory of motivation stresses that
individuals are motivated to satisfy several different
kinds of needs. Maslow lists five classes of needs which
we may call basic needs. These are brieflyt physiolog
ical, safety, love, esteem, and self.actualization. These
basic needs are related to one another, being arranged in
a hierarchy of prepotency. This means that if a number
of a person's needs are unsatisfied at any given time,
satisfaction of the most prepotent ones will be more
pressing than others. In other words, if the individual
physiological needs are largely satisfied, the next level
of needs in the hierarchy begins to emerge. Thus, man is
a perpetually wanting animal. It is the function of a
manager to understand the individual and attempt to sat
isfy the individual's unsatisfied needs. In so doing, the
manager must show the employee that his needs will be best
satisfied by the behavior and actions that the supervisor,
manager, or boss needs in order to get the Job done. In
short, a manager's decision should be based on the recog
nition that human behavior is primarily directed toward
the fulfillment of unsatisfied needs.
! 54
i
It should be taken into consideration that motiva-
i tion varies with environment and conditions of life. In
a poor society Where standards of satisfaction of human
physical wants are low, the means to purchase a higher
scale of satisfaction, namely, income, becomes paramount.
As such, satisfactions are more fully realized. In an
affluent society with a high minimum standard of "creature
comfort," pay is rarely the number one motivator. It is
obvious that money is an important motivation for most
people in a poor society* But in an affluent society,
such as the United States, where the standard of living
is high, people no longer suffer to satisfy their physi
ological needs even in periods of unemployment. Since the
1930s, When social security legislation developed, money, j
or economic rewards cannot play so important a role in j
, motivation of individuals. Undoubtedly, money is an im- j
portent motivation for most people, but many psychologists
emphasize the fact that individuals seek to satisfy needs |
other than economic ones. The main reason is thati
j
Rewards can be used for satisfying individuals'
needs only when they leave the job. Wages, for |
example, cannot be spent at work; the only con- |
tribution they can make to his satisfaction on j
the job is in terms of status differences re
sulting from wage differentials.36
3®Douglas McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise
(Hew York* McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1960), p. 40.
55
| The question arises, how can the manager motivate
j
' workers when their physical needs are already satisfied?
we can simply say that employers should motivate people
on the basis of the employee's need, because as long as
physical needs are largely satisfied, the next level of
: need in the hierarchy begins to emerge.
Nature of Man
Theories of human behavior tend to go to one
or the other of two extremes in their treatments
of rationality. At the one extreme we have theo
ries. advanced principally by economists, that
attribute to man a very high degree of rational
ity in his behavior. At the other extreme we
have theories, chiefly psychological, that are
preoccupied with motivations, emotions, and
other aspects of effect in human behavior; and I
theories, sociological and anthropological, that |
seek to explain human behavior in terms of the i
culture in which it is embedded.37 1
| i
It has been stated that management is getting 1
i
I things done through people. Although this statement does ,
' not tell us very much about the managerial process, it
t
cannot be denied that human behavior is a key variable
; with Which the manager must deal. All managerial deci- ;
j !
! sions, in fact, have an ultimate impact on the behavior
i I
on members of an organization. As McGregor has pointed
37Herbert A. Simon, Models of Man {New Yorki John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1959) , p" 3TI
56 1
!
I outi "Behind every managerial decision or action are as- j
j sumptions about human nature and human behavior."38 A i
manager's effectiveness will depend on the degree to which
his assumptions fit empirical reality. Understanding of
human behavior is essential in that it provides a basis
for prediction and control. Argyris, in his book, Person
ality and Organisation, says that*
The administrator and the scientist are basically
interested in the same questions, namely, why peo
ple behave the way they do in organizations* Once
they understand, it is an easy matter to predict
and control behavior.39
A manager needs to understand not only why people
are motivated to behave the way they do, but he must be
able to make a decision which will encourage his employees .
' 1
to direct their efforts toward the goals of the organiza- J
i
tion.
In this section, attention will be focused on two
I
different aspects of managerial assumption about people |
i
when they are in the process of making a decision. Our i
argument stems from the ancient philosophical debates as
to whether man is an end or a means. If a manager treats :
his employee as a means so as to limit his choices and i
38McOregor, op. clt., p. 33.
39Chris Argyris, Personality and Organization
(New York* Harper 6 Brothers, 1957), p. 5.
57
| utilize him primarily as an instrument for his own ends
and purposes, we call this type of manager a pessimistic
i manager. And, if he treats a person as an end and permits
1 him to establish his own purposes and to choose and decide
for himself, we call this type of manager an optimistic
i
, manager.
|
Optimism and Pessimism
In the history of ideas, "optimism" is that phi
losophy or opinion that this world, morally, physically,
and socially, is the best that could possibly exist. It
is the opinion of "pessimism" that this is the worst pos-
; sible world. Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibnitz are named
! among modem optimist philosophers. The Greek Epicureans
i
! and Skeptics were early proponents of the pessimistic
i
i view, while Arthur Schopenhauer has been the chief modern
exponent of the view that the true nature of the world is
best expressed in blind, purposeless, unhappy Will,
i Schopenhauer's pessimism seemed to stem from his attempt
' to mix Oriental values with Occidental norms. The philos-
i ophy of Friedrich W. Nietzsche also contains a strong
pessimistic trend in its condemnation of existing moral
ity.40 As has been suggested earlier, modern management
*0Encyclopedia Americana. 1963, XX, 771.
58
theories tend to begin with optimistic assumptions about
the nature of the world and of man, and they tend to be
lieve that the best kinds of organizations are those
which provide the necessary conditions for man to feel a
sense of destiny and fulfillment within those organiza
tions with which he is associated.
Pessimistic Manager
The assumption which underlines the doctrine of a
pessimistic manager derives from a number of systems of
thought concerned with questions of human regulation and
control. Traditional organizations work on the assumption
that people are essentially opposed to work and lack the
capacity for self-direction and personal responsibility.
McOregor states a theory that assuming man is lazy
and unreliable leads to organization and control based
upon external or imposed authority.
Let us explore some of the cultural roots and
branches of these pessimistic assunptlons about human
nature, i.e., *diether human beings have the ability to
^McGregor, op. cit. McGregor states theory x and
y simultaneously. Here, he emphasizes theory x; under
theory y he assumes a man can be basically self-directed
and creative at work if properly motivated.
59
cooperate voluntarily or must be forced to cooperate.
Nicole Machiavelli, in The Prince (1512), urged
that because of man's rebellious and uncooperative be
havior, he must be strictly controlled by anyone Who
aspires to gain or maintain a position of power, A ruler
must achieve control by whatever means he can find. And,
according to the principle of cohesiveness, Machiavelli
wrotes
. . . A prince can maintain organic unity by
retaining a firm hold on his friends. He
should watch them carefully and placate them
in order to use them to advantage. On han
dling foreign dominions, he advises the Prince
to live in the conquered territory, where he
can exercise rigorous control.42
On the subject of motivation, Machiavelli said that to be
a good manager, a prince should offer rewards and other
incentives to those persons who would improve the city
and the state.43
Thomas Hobbes, in The Leviathan (1651), said thatt
. . . since men covet prestige, material goods,
and expect to attain them at their discretion,
they live in perpetual fear of their neighbors.
42ciaude George, The History and Management of
Thought (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.i Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
1966JY P- 43.
43lbid.. p. 44.
60
i
!
j Therefore, law must define what is honest and
virtuous, but in order for law to be applicable,
a common authority must exist to enforce it.44
, Thus, he represents government as the Leviathan — su
preme, possessing absolute authority, and sufficient power
to protect citizens from the covetousness of their neigh
bors.
We conclude from Machiavelli and Hobbes that the
nature of human beings is the product of a hostile envi
ronment. Both perceived in mankind a predominance of
rebellion as a result of social environment rather than
biological inheritance, and designed political systems in
order to constrain and control human behavior and thus
create order in society,
i Adam Smith believed that man is basically selfish
I i
j and self-centered rather than virtuous in nature, and that >
1 i
selfishness combined with self-interest create motivation.
i
It would seem to support the notion that man is by nature
self-seeking and interested in his own good at the expense j
! of his fellows. In his book, The Waalth of Nations.
! anith saldi M. . . a person must be truly controlled and
f
j must be accountable for his performance to someone over j
**Henry P. Knowles and Borge D. Saxberg, "Human
Relations and the Nature of Man," Harvard Business Review.
Vol. 45, No. 2 (March 1967), pp. 22-49.
61
i whom he would be unable to exert any significant influ
e n c e . * ,45 smith thus recognized that government must
govern the actions of men and that they should be rigidly
controlled in the interests of morality.
It now seems appropriate to give some attention
to the assumption behind the nature of man prevailing at
the beginning of the twentieth century. The underlying
ideas previously outlined will be found among some of the
thinkers at the turn of the century whose works focus on
the relationship between the manager and the managed in
business and industry. These writers were generally asso
ciated with the Scientific Management movement and the
traditional theory dating from about 1900. At this time,
I
i Frederick W. Taylor, who pioneered the Scientific Manage- j
I 1
; ment movement in the United States, saw a need for manage- ,
I !
ment to exert close control over the indifferent behavior
i
j
of workmen in order to insure their adherence to the ob-
jactives and goal of the business enterprise. In spite of 1
!
| all the human values which have been imputed to his writ- j
I I
; ings, it appears clear that Taylor and his followers made
j
I the same basic assumptions about human behavior as those
of the earlier days. These assumptions included the
followings
45Ibld.. p. 51.
62
I
! i
! 1. Human beings prefer the security of a definite |
task and do not value the freedom of determining their
own approaches to problems; they prefer to be directed
and will not cooperate unless a pattern is planned formally1
for them.
2. The activities of a group should be viewed on
an objective and impersonal basis without regard to per
sonal problems and characteristics.
3. People do not like to work, and therefore,
close supervision and accountability should be emphasized.
Management must lead people fairly and firmly in ways that
are not part of their inherent nature.
i
4. Coordination will not be achieved unless it |
: I
is planned and directed from above. J
5. Authority has its source at the top of the |
I
hierarchy and is delegated downward. j
6. Simple tasks are easier to master and thus
i
I
lead toward increasing productivity by concentrating on
I
J a narrow scope of activity.4® j
In accordance with these assumptions, the writers
emphasized that management assume the responsibility for
4®Joseph L. Massie, "Management Theory," Handbook
of Organization, ed. by James 0. March (Chicagos Rand
McNally Company, 1965), p. 405.
63
specifying in detail methods and procedures to be followed
by the employees in order to achieve maximum output at the
least cost.
At about this same time, similar patterns of
thought were developed in Europe. While Taylor concerned
himself with shop management, Max Weber designed his
"ideal type" which was concerned with organization as a
whole. He also stated certain characteristics such as
adherence to rules, hierarchy, selection by merit, spe-
cialization of personnel and impersonality.47
A close examination of Weber1s "ideal type" re
veal s that he imagined man as a reluctant cog in the
organizational machine. Therefore, the great majority of
employees had to be confined to a tightly controlled and
dependent relationship with their superiors.
Reviewing the literature shows that other fol
lowers of the classical theory, such as UrwlcX, Mooney and
Brown, generally have adhered to this model of managerial
control and the underlying values which stress the need
to minimize the employee's resistance to work.
47i^ith m . Henderson, A Brief guide to American
Public administration for Non-Americans (London. 1963).
F m : ---------------------------------------------
64
All of these assumptions, beginning with Machi-
avelll and leading up to Taylor, tend to degrade man,
putting him in the position of an insignificant being,
except in terms of his physical existence* To justify the
strategic solutions of their formal theories, the impor
tant question was — how to control and force men to re
lease their maximum physical energy. In other words, the
superior weighed the physical rather than psychological
or sociological factors. "The hind of assumption the man
ager makes about the nature of people will determine his
managerial strategy and his concept of the psychological
contract between the organization and the employee.1 1
Under the theory stated by the above mentioned writers
and their followers, the workers were considered to have
no aspirations to dignity, no natural desire to work co
operatively unless forced to do so.
His [the worker's] motivation was evidently the
desire to make as much money as he could for as
little work as possible; in this respect it was
assumed that he could operate as a completely
rational and soulless "economic man,"49
*®Bdgar H. Schein, Organizational Psychology
(Londont Prentice-Hall, Inc., 19^5), p. 46.
49say1 W. Oellerman, Motivation and Productivity
(New Yorki American Management Association, Inc., 19^3),
p. 28.
65
Optimistic Manager
Let ue now turn from the foregoing view of the
assumptions held by the "pessimistic1 1 manager about the
nature of man, to the view which underlines the doctrine
of "optimistic" managers and the assumptions behind the
decisions that they are making. As a general rule, these
managers assume that man can be basically self-directed
and creative at work if properly motivated. This assump
tion is said to lead toward an integrative organizational
strategy.
Let us explore some of the cultural roots and
branches of these optimistic assumptions about human
nature.
Benedictus da Spinoza
(1632-1677?
Unlike Descartes', Spinoza's psychology does not
drive from physiology; indeed, he deduced his psychology
from his metaphysical postulate, with which the ethics
begins and ends, that God is naturally in all things, and
therefore, is all things, Including the human mind and
body. Since nature is divine, it is necessarily good.
Such errors as a man commits, whether Intellectual or
6 6
moral, are the result of his misinterpretation of the
natural order — or are intellectual errors which the
human mind has the power to correct.®0
John Locke, in the second Treatise of Government,
contended that men of reason are inherently disposed
toward mutual support and cooperation.
The state of nature has a law of nature to
govern it. Which obliges everyone, and reason.
Which is that law, teaches all mankind Who will
but consult it that, being all equal and inde
pendent, no one ought to harm another in his
life, health, liberty, or possessions.51
In other words, Locke agreed that man's fundamental poten
tial is reason and reason itself establishes cooperation
as the basis for human relationships. Locke believed that
man's mind at birth is like a blank sheet of paper and
therefore, that man becomes a person through his sense
impressions, mediated by reason, which he derives from
social experience.52
Thus, the human mind and character are shaped by
interaction with the world. Whatever man becomes is a
50International Encyclopedia of the Social Science
(New Yorki Macmillan Company and The Free Press, 1968),
Vol. 15, p. 136.
51John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government
(New Yorki The Liberal Arts Press, Inc., 1952), p. 5.
52ibld.. p. 5.
67
function of reason and social interaction. As Benedict
observed!
Hie life history of the individual is first
and foremost an accommodation to the patterns
and standards traditionally handed down in his
conmunity. From the moment of his birth the
customs into which he is born shape his experi
ence and behavior. By the time he can talk, he
is the little creature of his culture, and by
the time he is grown and able to take part in
its activities, its habits are his habits, its
beliefs his beliefs, its impossibilities nis
impossibilities. Every child that is born into
his group will share them with him, and no
child born into one on the opposite side of the
globe can ever achieve the thousandth part.53
Fromm believed thati "The most beautiful as well
as the most ugly inclinations of man are not a part of a
fixed and biologically given human nature, but result from
the social process."54
Many modern behavioral scientists, such as Bene
dict, tend to think of man as entering life with a mind
like a blank page on which experience is then impressed,
and out of which the form and content of his personality
are molded. To this way of thought, man's behavior is
acquired in life and changes with experience. It is not
53Ruth Benedict, Patterns of Culture (New York*
New Anerlcan Library of World Literature, 1934), p. 2.
5 * Erich Fromn, Escape from Freedom (New York*
Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., 1941), p. 12.
68
solely predetermined by the genes, nor is it fixed and
irrevocable. Out of these views have emerged new ways of
perceiving man as an individual and as a member of a
group.
As Mayo, the father of the human relations school
said, "individuals constitute a group which develop re
sponses to the total organizational environment."55 on
the basis of this, the research interview program at the
Hawthorne Works was restructured so that Interviewers
were assigned to study individuals over extended periods
in relation to their jobs, the informal social organiza
tion in which they worked, and company policy.
In the interviews, so many workers complained of
a feeling of alienation and a loss of a sense of identity,
that Mayo developed a set of assumptions about the nature
of man which are quite different from those describing
rational economic mant
A. Man is basically motivated by social needs
and obtains his basic sense of identity through
relationships with others.
B. As a result of the industrial revolution
and the rationalization of work, meaning has gone
out of work itself and must, therefore, be sought
in the social relationships on the Job.
55£1ton Mayo, Ihe Human Problems ofan Industrial
Civilization (Mew York* The Viking Press, I960), p. 152,
69
C. Man Is more responsive to the social forces
of the peer group than to the incentives and con
trols of management.
D. Man is responsive to management to the ex
tent that supervisors can meet a subordinate's
social needs and needs for acceptance.56
Mayo's work resulted in increasing the emphasis on
human relations, group dynamics and importance of social
motives in organizational life. A number of psychologists
studying human behavior in organizations have come to
Mayo's conclusion that organizational life has removed
meaning from work. 'nils loss of meaning is not related so
much to man's social needs, however, as to man's inherent
need to use his capacities and skills in a mature and pro
ductive way.
As Argyrls has pointed outs
. . . In American culture, the self tends to
develop along specific trends Which are de
finable and empirically observable. Most psy
chologically healthy people seem to proceed in
certain similar directions as followss
1. Tend to develop from a state of pas
sivity as infants to a state of increasing
activity as adults.
2. Tend to develop from a state of de
pendence upon others as Infants to a state
of relative independence as adults.
3. Tend to develop from being capable of
behaving only in a few ways as an infant to
56Schein, op. cit.. p. 51.
70
! being capable of behaving in many different
ways aa an adult. . . .
4. Tend to develop from having erratic,
casual, shallow, quickly-dropped Interests
as an infant to having deeper interests as
an adult. . . .
5. Tend to develop from having a short
time perspective [i.e., the present largely
determines behavior] as an infant to a much
longer time perspective as an adult. . . .
6. Tend to develop from being in a sub
ordinate position in the family and society
as an infant to aspiring to occupy an equal
and/or superordinate position relative to
their peers.
!
7. Tend to develop from a lack of aware
ness of self as an infant to an awareness of
and control over self as an adult.57
The challenge for management today is to provide
an ideal working environment such that gives everyone |
!
opportunity to grow and mature continually into a human 1
i
being who, because of a favorable working climate, is able |
to realize his own goals best by working for the success j
of the organization of which he is a member. In Mc
Gregor's termsi "The creation of conditions such that the |
! j
members of organization can achieve their own goals best j
; by directing their efforts toward the success of the
57Chris Argyris, "the Individual and Organizations
Some Problems of Mutual Adjustment," The Nature and Scope
of Management, ed. by Maneck S. Madia (Chicagot Scott
j Foresman ft Company, 1966) , p. 239.
71 i
i
| enterprise."58 j
| I
The above quote is the central principle which
i
derives from Theory Y stated by McGregor.59 The following j
are the assumptions about nature of man from an optimistic
point of view.
1. The expenditure of physical and mental effort
in work is as natural as play or rest. The average human
being does not inherently dislike work. Depending upon
controlable conditions, work may be a source of satisfac
tion (and will be voluntarily performed) or a source of
punishment (and will be avoided if possible) .
2. External control and the threat of punishment
are not the only means for bringing about effort toward |
organizational objectives. Man will exercise self-dlrec- j
tion and self-control in the service of objectives to j
i
which he is conmitted. !
3. Commitment to objectives is a function of the
I
rewards associated with their achievement. The most sig- j
i
nifleant of such rewards, e.g., the satisfaction of ego j
I and self-actualization needs, can be direct products of j
■ effort directed toward organizational objectives.
I
5QmcGregor, o p . cit.. p. 49.
59Ibid., pp. 47-48.
72 j
i
i 1
! 4. The average human being learns, under proper
conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility. j
: !
; Avoidance of responsibility, lack of ambition, and em-
: phasis on security are generally consequences of experi
ence, not inherent human characteristics.
i
5. The capacity to exercise a relatively high
degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the
solution of organizational problems is widely, not nar
rowly, distributed in the population.
6. Under the conditions of modern industrial
life, the intellectual potentialities of the average
human being are only partially utilized.
Implicit in these assumptions is the idea that
I
i man has an essential nature which is defined by the broad j
i !
spectrums of his needs, capacities and tendencies. In thej
\ i
j world of work, therefore, man is seen by the behavioral
H
scientists as a product of his organizational environment.
I
Given the opportunity, he will participate creatively in
i attaining the objectives of the organization.
Analyzing the foregoing concept about the nature
of man from the standpoint of optimistic-pessimistic I
managers and the assumption behind their decision reveal
that, if we assume that man is good, we can believe that
misbehavior is a reactive response rather than a manifes-
73 1
I
I
i
tation of character. nils will lead to a search for j
j '
■ causes in his experience rather than in his nature. If, j
on the other hand, we assume that man himself is bad,
a priori, then we are prone to assume that misbehavior is
caused by something within him which we cannot alter
directly. Accordingly, our attention will focus on lim
iting his freedom to choose and to act through external
curbs or controls. In limiting the causes of behavior, we;
exclude ourselves from powerful internal sources of con
trol .60
Organ!zation
The history of organization is synonymous with
: \
I the history of man. On the basis of available literature,
it can be said that the organization, as a general rule, (
is not a modern phenomenon. The building of the Pyramids
of Egypt provides us with a good example of existing or
ganization in the past. Howevers !
The historians have contented themselves with the !
recording of the results of battles, the changes I
of border lines, the rise and fall of dynasties,
rather than with the human planning or organiza
tion which lay behind them and brought them about.6! j
60Knowles and Saxberg, o p . cit., pp. 22-49.
61Thomas R, Jones, Theories and Types of Organ
ization Production (New Yorki American Management Asso
ciation, 1924), No. 83, p. 5.
74
! Hence, organization Is as old as human society Itself and
Is an essential part of effective group endeavor. One of
the dominant features of our times is the existence of
i
large-scale organizations which employ hundreds of people
and Influence their behavior many times. As Seidenburg
pointed outi "Modern man has learned to accommodate him
self to a world increasingly organized. The trend toward
ever more explicit and consciously drawn relationships is
profound and sweeping.
This comment summarizes the pervasive influence
of organization in many forms of human activity. Mooney
says thati "The very universality of organization, consid
ered simply as a phenomenon, furnishes sufficient evidence |
|
of its necessity in the general scheme of life."63 j
!
■ Selznick mentioned that organizations should be regarded j
as "natural conmunities"/64 they are subject to the same
kind of influences, pressures, prejudices, and biases as
any of the social organisms.
^Roderick seidenburg, Post-Historic Man (Boatom
Beacon Press, 1951), p. 1.
63James D. Mooney, The Principles of Organization
(New Yorki Harper S t Brothers, 1947), p. 9.
64Philip Selznick, Leadership in Administration
(Bvanston, Ill.i Row, Peterson, 1 9 5 7 ), p. 13 .
In earliest recorded history, organizations are
to be found ranging in size up to those needed for such
massive construction projects as the Egyptian pyramids.
i
Two features stand out in the small organizations of an
tiquity as contrasted to those of the current scenei
(1) they were based on an authoritarian relationship Which
in its extreme is typified by master and slaver and (2)
they had a simple pattern reflecting repetitive, simple
tasks in Which there were only a few layers of people be
tween the top and bottom of the organizational struc
ture.65
In today's complex society the tasks of managers
are not as simple as they were at the time of construc
tion of the Egyptian Pyramids. At that time, peasants and |
captives had no rights as individuals and their interests |
I
played no important role in organizational objectives.
But today organization is considered as a democratic i
social entity and, therefore, containing all the conflicts j
i
' and opportunities for advancement and cooperation to be j
i
expected of any group of self-aware individuals. In west- ,
ern countries most of the people enjoy the higher
65Fred R. Brown, ed.. Managementi Concepts and
Practice (Washington, D.C.t Industrial College of the
Armed Forces, 1967), p. 14.
76
standards of living made possible by modern technology
and industrialization. Today's organizations are huge
and web-like interrelationships between men and machines.
Paramount in the contemporary climate in today's soci
eties in contrast to earlier periods, is a belief in the
dignity of Individuals.
This different point of view dealt with funda
mental issues relevant to organization. Limited time and
space, in regard to the scope of our study, does not allow
us to discuss the subject, however important they are.
In this paper, we are dealing with the impact of individ
uals on organization and vice versa, and better under
standing of organizations as a determinant of human
behavior and as an instrument of social action.
Organization Defined
In broad terms, organizations may be defined as
systems of human relationships spelled out in terms of
interdependent activities. Various writers on organiza
tion define the term by placing their stress on different
aspects of organization. K few definitions may serve to
reveal the shades of difference.
77
Traditionally, an organization is viewed as a
vehicle for accomplishing goals and objectives.66 This
approach tends to obscure the inner workings and internal
purposes of organization itself. Schein described the
traditional approach to organization as followsi
An organization is the rational coordination of
the activities of a number of people for the
achievement of some explicit purpose through
division of labor and a hierarchy of authority.67
Gaus sees organization ast "The arrangement of
personnel for facilitating the accomplishment of some
agreed purpose through the allocation of function and
responsibilities."68 Puckey says that* "To organize
means to arrange the parts so that the trtiole shall act
as one body."69
Reviewing the above mentioned definitions of or
ganization reveals that classical views are totally
66William Q. Scott, "Organization Theory* An Over
view and an Appraisal," Academy of Management Journal.
Vol. IV (April 1961), p.*T!
67Schein, o p . cit., p. 88,
68John K. Gaus, Leonard D. White, and Marshall E.
Dimock, The Frontiers of Public Administration (Chicago*
University of Chicago Press, 1936), p. 66.
69Walter Puckey, What Is This Management?
(London* Chapman ft Hall, Ltd., 1944) .
78
mechanistic and they do not take Into account the socio
logical dimensions of organization. March and Simon say
that i
Scientific management group [classical ap
proach] was concerned with describing the char
acteristic of human organism as one might de
scribe a relatively simple machine for perform
ing comparatively simple tasks.70
Treating organization as a simple machine has the ultimate
purpose of offsetting those forces Which undermine human
collaboration. In this sense, organization tends to mini
mize conflict, and to lessen the significance of individ
ual behavior which deviates from values that the organ
ization has established as worthwhile.71 For the purpose
of overcoming the shortage of classical views of organ
ization some other scientists define organization in some
different ways. Presthus points outt "Organization is
defined as a system of structural interpersonal rela
tions. "72
70J. Q. March and H. A. Simon, Organ!zations
(New Yorki John Wiley S t Sons, Inc. , 196^) , p. 13.
71*. Q. Scott, o p . clt., p. 7.
72Robert V. Presthus, "Toward a Theory of Organ
izational Behavior," Administrative Science Quarterly
(June 1958), p. 50.
79 |
i
!
Perhaps the most useful definition of organlza-
i
i tion is that of Pfiffner and Sherwood who are detailed
and specific in revealing a concern only for complex,
large-scale organization.
Organization is the pattern of ways in which
large numbers of people, too many to have inti
mate face-to-face contact with all others, and
engaged in a complexity of tasks, relate them
selves to each other in the conscious systematic
establishment and accomplishment of mutually
agreed purposes.73
These same authors use the term * ' social group" to
mean a number of people who naturally find affinity and
share common values about something. In other words, they
emphasize the systematic Interrelationships between people
working together to accomplish certain purposes.
Johnson, et al., say that common elements of or-
I ganization are (1) social systems or people in groups; 1
i (2) an integration of activities, people working together; 1
and (3) goal oriented people with p u r p o s e .74 These au
thors see organization as a social system. Bakke em
phasizes more strongly the importance of thinking of
I i
i human organizations in their social context, with the |
following definitionsr
i
| 7pfiffner and Sherwood, o p . clt. , p. 30.
"^Richard A. Johnson, rremont E. Kast, and James
E. Rosenzweig, The Theory and Management of Systems (New
Yorki McQraw-Hlll Book Company, 1963), p. 45.
1
80
A social organization is a continuing system I
of differentiated and coordinated human activities |
utilizing, transforming, and welding together a
specific set of human, material, capital, ideation
al and natural resources into a unique, problem
solving whole whose function is to satisfy partic
ular human needs in interaction with other systems
of human activities and resources in its particular
environment. 7 5
i
From the definitions it is clear, therefore, that
organizations are purposeful social units and they achieve
their objective through people who agree to offer personal
needs.
Modern Organization
Theory
In this part, we are trying to present a compre-
i
, hensive looX at contemporary positions of systematic |
approach in the field of organization. In order to dis- !
cuss modem organization theory in a proper perspective,
i
it is desirable to glance at the evolution of organization ]
theory. |
Traditional organization theory can be traced his- j
torlcally, for instance, to 19th century prototype Indus- j
trial, military, and ecclesiastic organizations.76
75K. Wight BaXke, Modem Organization Theory, ed.
by Mason Haire (New YorXs John Wiley 6 Sons, Inc., 1959) ,
p. 50.
7*Pfiffner and Sherwood, op. cit., pp. 53-54.
81
Taylor, Fayol, Gullck, Mooney and Reiley, and
Weber were perhaps the most Important contributors who
were associated with the early development of the tradi
tional organization theory.77
Taylor and his colleagues were concerned prin
cipally with the operational level of organization or shop
management, but their emphasis on planning, standard prac
tices, proper work tools and methods based on motion study
gained widespread acceptance and developed into what be
came known as the scientific management movement. In
other words, Taylor was concerned with the lower, or pro
duction, level of organization.
Other contributors to the traditional theory, such
as Payol, Gullck, and Mooney, were more concerned with the
administrative level of organization.
Payol, the French industrialist, on the base of
his experience as an executive, states a set of general
77Prederick W. Taylor, scientific Management (Hew
York* Harper 6 Row, 1947); Henri Pavol. General and"*Indus
trial Manac*—*»nt. trans. by Constance Starrs (London* Sir
Isaac Pitman 4 Sons, Ltd., 1949); Luther Gullck, "Notes
on the Theory of Organization,* Papers on the Science of
Administration, ed. by Luther Oulick and Lyndall P.
Urwick (New Yorks Institute of Public Administration,
1937); James D. Mooney and Alan C. Reiley, Onward Industry
(Hew York* Harper A Row, 1931); and H. H. Berth and C.
Wright Mills, Prom Max Weber (Hew York* Oxford University
Press, Inc., 1946J, chapter VIII.
82 j
i
| principles of administration such as Mdivision of work,"
; "authority," "unity of ccnmand and subordination of indi-
, vidual interests."78 According to Fayol, they have a
universal applicability.
I
Mooney and Reiler,?9 two general Motors execu
tives, correlated four organizational principles which
underline all associated efforts. These aret
1. The coordinative principle.
2. The scalar principle.
3. The functional principle.
4. The staff phase of functionalism.
Fayol, Mooney and Reiley were concerned with level
of executive, as opposed to Weber's approach, which is \
descriptive and was concerned with organization as a 1
whole. He stated certain characteristics such as adher- i
ence to rules, hierarchy, selection by merit, spedallza-
I
tlon of personnel and irresponsibility.60
The followers of traditional theory put emphasis j
!
on the internal workings of an organization and think of j
i
behavior strictly in terms of a formal structure and con-
76Fayol, op. cit. pp. 19-42.
79|cooney and Reiley, o p . cit.. p. 1.
BOgarth and Mills, o p . cit.. Chapter VIII.
aider organization as a closed system. They generally
see organization as parts and segments and are concerned
with the separation of activities into tasks or opera
tional units.
For the purpose of compensating the deficiencies
of classical doctrine a neoclassical school that is com
monly identified with the human relations movement ap
peared. Generally, the neoclassical approach takes the
postulates of the classical school, regarding the pillars
of organization as givens. But these postulates are re
garded as modified by people, acting independently or
within the context of the informal organization.**1 This
view, stemming from the well-known Hawthorne Western
Electric studies during the 1930s and reported by Roeth-
llsberger and Dickson62 in 1938, transformed the focus
from the traditional theory and rational economic model
to a behavioristic model, which accepted man as he is.
Perhaps the major contribution of the human relations
group was their interest in and study of the informal
group relationships within the formal structure. The
81W. G. Scott, o p . cit., p. 9.
B^See F. J. Roethlisberger and William J. Dickson,
Management and the Wbrker (Cambridge, Mass.i Harvard
University Press, 1939).
84 !
i Hawthorne studies provided the first clinical insight into j
! some of the implications of this heretofore neglected
! area.
Comparing human relations or neoclassical school
with traditional school will reveal the differences be
tween these theories. Shepard identified five key differ
ences as followss
1. Hide participation in decision making rather
than centralized decision making.
2. The face-to-face group rather than the indi
viduals as the basic unit of organization.
3. Mutual confidence rather than authority as
the integrative force in organization.
4. The supervisor as the agent for maintaining
intragroup and intergroup coimnunication rather than
the agent of higher authority.
1 !
5. Growth of members of the organization to
! greater responsibility rather than external control i
of the member's performance of their tasks.®3
Reviewing the human relations approach makes clear 1
that the followers of this approach put emphasis on inter- .
; i
jacting human motivations, aspirations, desires, and 11m- j
| I
! ltations into the mechanistic models. The same as tradi- j
i
tional school, they did not give sufficient emphasis to ;
! |
I the problem of interrelationships or integration of
i
activity.
83h . Shepard, "Supervisors and Subordinate in Re- <
search," Journal of Business (October 1956), p. 261. ]
85
As a general rule, neither of the schools, tradi
tional or human relations, paid attention to the integra
tion of individual and organization. The tasX of devel
oping such a model was accomplished by modern organization
theory with its distinctive qualities of conceptual-
analytical base. Increasing attention is being given to
the notion that the most useful way to study organizations
is to consider them as systems.
Reduction! sm
versus Holism
In order to understand and clarify why the most
useful way to study organization is to consider them as
systems, we should describe two main important terms,
"reductionism* and holism." Then we will discuss sys
tems in general, and finally general systems theory and
its relation to modern organization theory.
By reduction!sm we mean a disposition to explain
phenomena by dividing them into their subunits, these sub
units in turn into their sub-subunits, and so forth. It
is then assumed that understanding of the original phe
nomena can be arrived at by putting together the under
standing of the parts. This is the way of understanding
physical sciences. Por example, machines are understood
86
through their parts. Therefore, "The basic metaphor of
reductionism is mechanical."04 This approach is effective
in specific areas of investigation and it works where it
is applicable.
Deutsch clearly describes and pins down this sub
ject:
Classic mechanism implies the notion of a whole
that was completely equal to the sum of its
parts, that could be run in reverse, and that
would behave in exactly identical fashion no
matter how often those parts were disassembled
and put together again, and irrespective of
the sequence in which the disassembling or re
assembling would take place. It thus implied
the notion that the parts were never signifi
cantly modified by each other, nor by their
own past, and that each part once placed into
its appropriate position, with its appropriate
momentum, would remain in place and continue
to fulfill its completely and uniquely deter
mined function.05
The question comes up whether it is possible to
use this approach effectively to study a living organism,
or a society? Answering this question required examina
tion of the different concepts for the purpose of finding
0*Dwight Waldo, "Organization Theory * An Elephan
tine Problem," Oeneral System Yearbook of the Society for
the Advancement of General Research.Vol. V I I (1962),
p. 256.
05Karl W. Deutsch, The Nerves of governments (New
Yorki The Free press, 1966), p. SA.
out whether it is appropriate to analyze the organization
into constituent parts or study them as a Whole.
First, let us define holismi
Holism is the theory that phenomena — certain
kinds of phenomena at least — can be understood
only in terms of the Whole phenomena involved, that
in same sense the whole is greater than or differ
ent from the sum of its parts.86
The organization of a system would be simple if
the system is a serial or additive complex of components,
each of which is understood as a machine. As soon as
strict sequential or linear additivity is enhanced, an
"organized system" becomes rapidly more complex, usually
too complex for detailed analysis.
Von Bertalanffy says thati "characteristics of
organization, that of a living organism or a society are
| notions like those of Wholeness, growth, differentiation,
| hierarchical order, dominance, control, conqpetltion, and
so forth."87 such notion does not appear in reductionist
theory.
Follett, although apparently not aware of notions
I
of general systems theory, was impressed by advancement
®6Waldo, op. cit.. p. 259.
87Ludwig Von Bertalanffy, "Oeneral System Theory,"
General System Yearbook of the Society for the Advancement
of General Research. Vol. I (1956), p. 5.
88
in the biological and social sciences, such as trends in
! !
; physiology, which viewed the organization as consisting i
; i
of integrated parts, and in psychology, which took the !
whole man approach or what is known as "Gestalt psy-
( chology,H She proposed a similar approach to the study
of organization.
What you have to consider in a situation is
not all the factors one by one, but also their
relation to one another. . . .
The whole is determined not only by its con
stituents, but by their relation to one another
. . . the Whole is determined also by the rela
tion of whole and parts.88
She emphasized the study of organization as total
situation and was against organizational analysis whereby
all factors were considered in isolation from one another. :
She enqphaslzed that these factors must be considered in
relation to one another.
! !
In totality we have today a variety of approaches I
I
to the study of organization which replace the older ana- i
i j
lytic, atonic technique. Ashby says that reductionism
|
approach is now of use only when the system is fairly f
j simple; when it becomes complex we can only appeal to a
®®Mary Parker Follett, "The Psychology of Con
trol," Dynamic Administration, ed. by Henry C. Metcalf
and Lynda 11 P. XJrwlck (Hew Yorks Harper fc Row, 1940) ,
pp. 183-209.
89
special strategy that is called totality or the holistic
approach.
. . . By analysis, for this process gives us
only a vast number of separate parts or item of
information, the results of irtiose interactions
no one can predict. If we take such a system to
pieces, we find that we cannot reassemble it.89
The main reason is that social organizations are
open systems and they cannot survive until they adapt to
their environment. "Changing" is one of the main char
acteristics of the social organization. It is not longer
possible to accept the concept that the system functions
on the base of its initial conditions.
Such as this system maintains itself in a
continuous Inflow and outflow, building up and
breaking down of components, never being so
long as it is alive, in a state of chemicals
and thermodynamic equilibrium but maintained
in a so-called steady state which is distant
from the latter.90
The Systems Concept
Although its precise genesis cannot be identified
easily, most authors agree that the "systems concept" is
88 W. Ross Ashby, "The Effect of Experience on a
Determinate Dynamic System," Behavioral Science. Vol. I
(1956), pp. 35-42.
98Von Bertalanffy, op. cit.. p. 3.
90
a relatively recent development. According to Hall,91
the term "system engineering" was first used by the Bell
Telephone Laboratores, Inc., in the early 1940s, while
the term "systems analysis" was coined in the 1950s by
the RAND Corporation. Contributing to the evolution of
the concept were the activities of world War II military
operation research groups, whose efforts resulted in de
velopment of many of the mathematical/statistical tech
niques now utilized in systems a n a l y s i s .92
There is very little deviation among most of the
basic definitions of a system. Most definitions provide
a means to separate the system from its environment, to
describe the parts and relations, and to imply goal or
direction. For instance, Beer defines a system as a
"cohesive collection of items that are dynamically re
lated. "93 And Johnson, et al.. define system as "an
organized or complex whole; an assemblage or combination
91Arthur D. Hall, A Methodology for Systems En
gineering (Prineetom D. Van tfostrand Co., Inc., 1962).
92a. A. Atkisson, (3. A. Plelsher and A. Kr edit or,
"The Systems Concepti Its Relevance to Vehicular Contam
ination Control" (unpublished paper. University of South
ern California, January 24-26, 1968), p. 3.
93Stafford Beer, Cybernetics and Management (Hew
York* John Wiley A Sons, inc., 1964J, p. 7 .
91
of things or parts forming a complex or unitary whole."94
Dorsey's definition is somewhat more complex because it
provides us with an operational means to distinguish be
tween the system and its environment.
A system is a bounded region in space and
time, within which information and/or energy
are exchanged among subsystems in greater quan
tities and/or higher rates than the quantities
exchanged or rates of exchange with anything
outside the boundary, and within which the sub
systems are to acme degree interdependent.95
Optner presents a definition which most clearly explains
the components of a system; "a system is a set of objects
with a given set of relationships between the objects and
their attributes. **96 According to Optneri
Objects are the parameters of systems; the
parameters of systems are input, process, out
put, feedback-control and a restriction. Bach
system parameter may take a variety of values
to describe a system state.
Attributes are the properties of objects
parameters. A property is the external man
ifestation of the way in Which an object is
known, observed, or introduced into a process.
9*Johnson, et al., op. clt., p. 4.
95see John T. Dorsey, “An Information Energy
Model,'1 Paper in Comparative Public Administration, ed. by \
Perrel Heady and Sybil Stokes (Ann Arbor, Mich.t Institute |
of Public Administration, 1962).
96Stanford Optner. Systems Analysis for Business
and Industrial Problem Solving (Bnqlewood Cliffs. N.J.t
Prentice-Kall, Inc., 1965) , pp. 27-28.
! 92 1
I
» 1
| I
| Attributes characterize the parameters of
systems, making possible the assignment of a
value and a dimensional description, ttie at- i
tributes of objects may be altered as a result
of system operation.
Relationships are the bonds that link ob-
Jects and attributes in the system process.
Relationships are postulated among all system
elements, among systems and subsystems and be
tween two or more subsystems. Relationships
may be characterized as first order, when they
are functionally necessary to each other. , . .
Relationships may be characterized as second
order if they are complementary, adding to sys
tem performance when present but not function
ally essential . . . and as third order when
they are either redundant or contradictory.97
The objects or parameters of Optner's definition
appear over and over again in all discussions of systems.
Thus, we must briefly characterize them. The input func
tion of a system is basically the energizing force that
; provides a system with some sort of operating material.
The process function can be thought of as a force which !
i i
interacts with an input to produce a desired output. An
i j
output function is the product or objective of the system.
Feedback is the system function which compares output with
a predetermined criterion. Control is a function which
i
corrects the differences between output and criteria. j
! I
Restrictions represent all of the constraints placed on a |
systrnn. For instance, the objectives that a client may
specify represent restrictions on a system, or natural
97ibid.
| limitations represent restrictions of the system. Natu
rally, most larger systems ore infinitely more complex
than the simple system which we have just described.
Buckley gives more complex and precise definition
of systems. He sees a system ass
A complex of elements or components directly or
indirectly related in casual network, such that
each component is related to at least some others
in a more or less stable way within any partic
ular period of time. . . . The distinction be
tween the boundaries [of the system] and the en
vironment become a more and more arbitrary
matter, dependent on the purpose of the ob
server. 90
Bach of the objects or parameters of a system (inputs,
output, etc.) are usually comprised of additional sets of
related objects and attributes known as subsystems. Often :
i
; these subsystems are complex and they cannot be accurately !
described. Thus, we can represent them by substituting
i i
a black box in their place." In spite of accurate system |
i
description and development most systems have a natural
tendency toward entropy or order-disorder transition.
The entropic process is a universal law of
nature in which all forms of organization move
toward disorganization or death. Complex
98walter Buckley, Sociology and Modern System
Theory (Bnglewood Cliffs, N.J. t Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
I557T7 p. 9.
"Beer, o p . cit., p. 49.
physical systems move toward simple random dis
tribution of their elements and biological
organisms run down and perish. A system, how
ever, by importing more energy than it expends,
can store energy and acquire negative entropy.i00
In order to counteract this tendency toward en
tropy, men such as Wiener developed cybernetics — the
science of cocmnunication and control in systems.
Parts of the
System
On the basis of the definitions and dimensions of
the systems that we have explored, we are trying to define
these dimensions in a little more detail. Scott's article
offers some useful insightsi
the first basic part of the system is the Individ->
ual and the personality structure he brings to the organ-
i
ization. filamentary to an individual's personality are
| motives and attitudes Which condition the range of experi-j
ences he hopes to satisfy by participating in the system, j
The second part of the system is the formal ar- j
: i
rangement of functions, usually called the interrelated j
pattern of jobs which make up the structure of a system. j
lOOjcatz u>d Kahn, op. cit. , pp. 19-23.
101Norbert Wiener, Cybernetics, the Human Use of
Human Beings (New York* Doubleday Anchor Books, 1954).
95 i
i
j Certain writers like Argyris102 see a fundamental conflict |
| resulting from the demands made by the system and the
structure of the mature, normal personality. In any !
event, the individual has expectancies regarding the job
he is to perform, and, conversely, the Job makes demands
i on, or has expectancies relating to the performance of
the individual. Considerable attention has been given by
writers in modern organization theory to the Incongruences
resulting from the interaction of organizational and in
dividual demands. A thorough discussion of this point is
!
postponed until a later section of this chapter.
The third part in the organization system is the
informal organization Which appears in response to social .
needs, the needs of people to associate with others. But i
I
it must be noted that an interaction pattern exists be- j
tween the individual and the informal group. This inter-
actional arrangement can be conveniently discussed as the j
mutual modification of expectancies. The informal organ- |
i
ization has demands Which it makes on members in terms of i
I
anticipated forms of behavior, and the individual has
■ i
: expectancies of satisfaction he hopes to derive from
I
association with people on the job. Both sets of
I
i
lO^Argyris, o p. clt.« Chapters II, III and VII.
I
I
I
I expectancies interact, resulting in the individual modi-
I
' fylng his behavior in accordance with the demands of the
! group, perhaps modifying what it expects from an individ
ual, because of the impact of his personality on group
norms.
The fourth part of the system is the physical
setting in which the job is done. This element of the
system may be implicit in what has been said already about
: the formal organization and its function. It is obvious
that the systems concept has become evident in the bio
logical, physical and social science today.
General systems concepts are founded on a solid
' base of systems theory. As Young points outi
i
1 We can trace back the history of general system
| theory as a record of effort to elaborate the
i basic principles of general systems and to apply
these principles to the specific and concrete
system of interest to various fields of study
and research.103
Now that we have explored the base, let us examine the
structure of General System Theory.
General System Theory
The purpose here is to describe what is often
called general system theory, which we have said has its
1030. it. Young. HThe Impact of General Systems
Theory on Political Science," General Systems. Vol. VII
(1967), p. 239.
97
base in systems analysisi
A system is defined as a Whole which functions
as a whole by virtue of the interdependence of
its parts, and the method which aims at dis
covering now this Is brought about in the widest
variety of systems has been called general sys
tem theory.104
Oeneral system theory tries to classify systems by way of
their similarities for the purpose of deriving "law" for
the different classes of systems.
If we apply the notion of open system to human
organization as well as to the biologic entity, we are
dealing with generalized systems. Von Bertalanffy says
that "there exists models, principles, and laws that apply
to generalized systems or their subclasses, Irrespective
of their particular kind, the nature of their component
elements, and the relations or 'forces' between them."105
The main reason Von Bertalanffy suggested this
concept was that he was disturbed by ever-increasing frag
mentation of knowledge in modern science and suggested
that a system framework might serve to tie together our
10*Anatol Rapaport, "Forward," Modern Systems Re
search for the Behavioral Scientist, ed. by Walter Buckley
(Chicago* A1 dine Publishing Company, 1966), p. xvii.
105vOn Bertalanffy, o p . cit.. p. 1.
98
present knowledge In disciplines such as theoretical
physics, biology, psychology, cultural anthropology, and
engineering. He observed that similar general view
points and conceptions have appeared in very diverse
fields} he felt that analogies and relationships among
disciplines would help to present a general theory Which
can put different fields together and present a pocket of
knowledge which was not possible previously. He summar
ized the aim of general system theory as followst
1. There is a general tendency toward inte
gration in the various sciences, natural and
social.
2. Such integration seems to be centered
in a general theory of systems.
3. That theory may be an important means
for aiming at exact theory in the non-physical
fields of science.
4. Developing unifying principles running
"vertically" through the universe of the indi
vidual sciences. This theory brings us closer
to the goal of the unity of science.
5. This can lead to a much-needed integra
tion in scientific education.
Miller and the others followed the trails of Von
Bertalanffy•s concept of general systems theory and sub
sequently developed an excellent definition of general
systems theory*
10*Ibld.. p. 2.
99
General system theory is a set of related
definitions, assumptions, and proportions
which see reality as an integrated hierarchy
of organizations of matter and energy. This
hierarchy begins with the ultimate intermi
nable infinitesimal and includes the largest
totality that can be imagined, at least from
the atomic particle to the galaxy.107
And Boulding suggested that*
General system theory is a level of theo
retical model building which lies somewhere
between the highly generalized construction
of pure mathematics and the specific theories
of the specialized disciplines. . . . It is
the contention of the general system theo
rists that degree of generality in theory is
not always reached by the particular sciences.
The objective of general theory then can be
set out with varying degrees of ambition and
confidence. At a low level of ambition but
with a high degree of confidence it aims to
point out similarities in the theoretical
constructions of different disciplines, where
they exist, and to develop theoretical models
having applicability to at least two different
fields of study.108
A review of the literature shows that there are
many different definitions of general system theory.
Among them, we have selected the above three comprehen
sive definitions that suit our purposes. Different
107James C. Miller, "Living Systems■ Basic Con-
j cepts," Behavioral Science. Vol. X, No. 3 (July 1965),
p. 193.
10®Kenneth S. Boulding, "General System Theory,
The Skeleton of Science," Modern Systems Research for the
Behavioral Sclent1sts. ed. by Walter Buckley (Chicago*
Aldlne Publishing Company, 1968), p. 3.
100
authors, such as McClelland, Ashby, Handy, and Kurtz,
i
defined general systems on the basis of their experience,
approach and field of interest.
Generally speaking, general system is considered
as a general theoretical framework providing an organized
content for a variety of other more specific theories.
The basic reason for this is because general system
theory has been formulated on a high level of abstraction
so that it can be applied to a variety of disciplines as
a framework for middle and lower range theories in any
specific discipline. An important consequence of exist
ence of general system properties is the appearance of
structural similarities or isomorphisms in different ;
i
fields. The concept of isomorphism in this term refers j
i !
! j
i to many systems that are structurally similar when con- j
sidered in the abstract.
\
i j
General System Theory :
for Organization j
l i
i
i An important aspect of general system theory is
the distinction between closed and open systems. Ms have !
discussed that general system is on the base of system
concept. Any system is embedded in an environmentj
Planet Earth in its solar system; man in his multiple
i
101
surroundings. Therefore, the principle characteristics
that distinguish a particular system from other systems
in its environment are its purposes or objectives.
Closed systems have almost inpenetrable boundaries. A
closed system is defined "as one that admits no matter
from outside itself and is therefore subject to entropy
according to the second law of thermodynamics."109 All
input-output exchanges within such systems are relevant
to system objectives. The best example of closed system
is one devised to turn on electric lights based upon re
sponse to reduced light impulses from the sun. As the
sunlight reduces, the artificial light would increase.
It seems appropriate to leave closed systems to the realm
of physics and other physical systems.
In any event, it seems useful to consider that all
living organisms have the character of open systems. One
of the main problems of an open system is determination
of a system's boundary. Organizations as systems are
giant conversion mechanisms which take many wanted and
unwanted inputs from the environment and deliver a variety
of outputs. The main characteristic of open system is a
109< 3ordon W. Allport, "The Open System in Person
ality Theory," Modern Systems Reseych for the Behavioral
Scientist, ea. by Walter BuoXley (Chicagoi Aldine Pub
lishing Company, 1968), p. 345.
j 102
I
i
I tendency toward increasing wanted or order-seeXing as-
I
! pacts over unwanted or disorder-producing aspects.
BucXley clearly defines the distinction between open and
closed systemsx
Hie important distinction between open and closed
systems has often been expressed in terms of
"entropy1 *; closed systems tend to increase in en
tropy — to "run down" — and open systems are
"negentropic" — tending to decrease in entropy,
or to elaborate structure.110
As we mentioned before, any organism is an open
system which maintains a constant state while the matter
and energy which enter it Xeep changing. The organism is
influenced by, and Influences its environment, and finally
reaches a state of dynamic equilibrium in this environ-
i
ment.
j i
General system theory, which is based on the open j
system model and is interested in dynamic interaction
within a multivariable system is applied to the field of
organization theory by Scott, Katz and Kahn, Johnson, I
et_al., and others.11* Scott believes that the dream of
, 1
| system theory is to create a science of organizational
i
I universale. One of the main important goals of organiza-
110BucXley, o p . cit.. p. 51.
IllScott, o p . cit.; Katz and Kahn, o p . cit.i and
Johnson, at al., o p . cit.
103
tion Is "Interaction,1 1 Which provides a medium for asso
ciation of its member with others. Both modern organ
ization theory and general system theory study:
1. The parts [individuals] in aggregate and the
movement of individuals into and out of the system.
2. The interaction of individuals with the en
vironment found in the system.
3. The interactions among individuals in the
system.
4. General growth and stability problems of
systems.112
Both modern organization theory and general system theory
look at organization as an integrated whole. General sys
tem theory is concerned with every level of a system
whereas modern organizational theory focuses on human
organization. One of the properties of general system
theory is isomorphism in different fields and there are |
similarities in organization purposes (growth, stability
and Interaction). Therefore, it is felt that the general j
system approach can be applied to organization theory to j
create a science of organizational universals. We quote
two large classification schemes, which are developed by
Miller and Boulding.
Miller developed five categories for the classi
fication of elements in behavioral system theory: "Cells,
112Scott, op. cit,
104
organs, Individuals, face-to-face group and societies."113
Boulding, in 1956, presented a framework for gen
eral system theory in order of complexity from non-human,
totally static, systems to transcendental systemst
1. Framework — static structure, the anatomy
of a system [for example, the structure of universe].
2. The simple dynamic system — the level of
clockworks, predetermined necessary motions.
3. The cybernetic system — the level of ther
mostat the system moves to maintain a given equi
librium through a process of self-regulation.
4. The open systems level of self-maintaining
systems? moves toward and includes living organisms.
5. The genetic-societal system — level of
cell society, characterized by a division of labor
among cells.
I
6. Animal systems — level of mobility, evi- j
dence of goal — directed behavior. j
7. Human systems — level of symbol interpre- ;
tation and idea ccmnunication.
i
8. Social systems — level of human organlza- I
tion.
9. Transcendental systems — level of ulti- ' ■
mates and absolutes which exhibit systematic i
structure, but are unknowable in essence.114
This approach to the study of systems by finding 1
universals common to all levels of organization offers j
113James Miller, op. cit., p. 195,
HtBouldlng, op. cit. , pp. 1-12.
105
Intriguing possibilities for administrative organization
theory. On the basis of the above discussion, it can be
noted that modern organization theory and general systems
theory are closely related, with organization theory
being a special element of general system theory. Sys
tems theory and organization theory are both concerned
with the investigation and performance of the organiza
tion as an integrated whole. However, general systems
theory is concerned with all nine levels of systems as
described, whereas organization theory focuses primarily
upon human social organizations.
Zn sum, the followers of traditional theory uti
lized the concept of a man-machine system but concen
trated primarily at the shop level. They attempted to
establish procedures covering the work situation and pro
viding an opportunity for all those involved to benefit
— employees, managers, and owners.
The human relationists shifted some of the focus
away from the man-machine system per se to motivation and
interrelationships among individuals in the organization.
Recognition of the effect of interpersonal relationships,
human behavior, and small groups resulted in a relatively
widespread reevaluation of managerial approaches and
techniques.
106
Modern organization theorists look upon management
as a system of cultural interrelationships, Which Involves
recognition of such elements as formal and informal organ
ization within a total integrated system. Moreover, the
organization is subject to external pressure from the
cultural environment. In fact, modern organization
theory takes into account the interactions and mutual
dependencies of internal organizational and environmental
variables.
It is time to mention the redefinition of organ
ization by Scheln in system terms; to make clear how sys
tem concept fit modern organization theory. He stated
six points for an organization as follows;
I
1. The organization must be conceived of as an j
open system, which means that it is in constant inter
action with its environment, taking in raw materials,
people, energy, and information (input), and transforming
or converting these into products and services (Black
Box) which are exported into environment (output).
2. The organization must be conceived of as a j
system with multiple purposes or functions Which involve
multiple interaction between the organization and its
environment.
107
3. The organization consists o£ many subsystems
which are in dynamic interaction with one another.
4. Because the subsystems are mutually dependent,
changes in one subsystem are likely to affect the behavior
of other subsystems.
5. The organization exists in a dynamic environ
ment which consists of other systems, some larger, some
smaller than organization. The environment places demands
upon and constrains the organization in various ways.
6. The multiple links between the organization
and its environment make it difficult to specify clearly
the boundaries of any given organization.
!
Given a system concept of organization, how does
one assess how well or poorly the system is functioning?
This will be the topic of our next section in this
chapter.
Organ!zational
Bf f ect lveness~~
No one can say with any degree of certainty
by what standards an executive ought to appraise
the performance of his organization. And it is
questionable whether the time will ever arrive
When there will be any pattern answer to such a
1^5Schein, o p . cit., p. 95.
loe
j question — so much does the setting of an or
ganization and its own goal orientation affect
the whole process of appraisal.
r
the current literature about organizational effec
tiveness is so diverse that interested scholars face a
; great problem. For instance, the criteria for measuring
organizational effectiveness range from one variable such
as attitudes toward work to multivariables such as "profit
maximation," "providing an efficient service," "high pro
ductivity," "good employee morale," and effectiveness in
terms of system-level criteria.H-7
Generally speaking, we are going to limit our
selves in this section to a discussion of effectiveness of
I
; the organization as a whole.
j
I ,
Effectiveness of the
j Ora an 1 zat ion j
as a Hhole
Concepts of organizational effectiveness typically [
focus on the degree to which the organization accomplishes i
i !
its objectives. A business firm is effective if It makes
I a profit, a welfare agency if it provides professional
I
I service of high quality. In other words, effectiveness,
116pfiffner and Sherwood, o p . cit.
H 7Schein, o p . cit. . p. 96.
109 I
i !
I whether of the organization or individuals, is the degree
| to which goals are achieved.
Some of the students of organization evaluate j
organizational effectiveness on the base of accomplishment |
of purposes. For example, in the private sector of the
economy and under the norms of rationality, the only cri
terion for the measurement of effectiveness is maximiza
tion of profits. There is a close relationship between
maximization and productivity. In so doing, generally,
researchers measure two dimensions associated with organ
izational effectiveness.
Those dealing with some Index or organiza
tional performance such as profit, cost, rates
of productivity, or individual output, and
those associated with the human resources, such
i as morale, motivation, mental health, Job com
mitment, cohesiveness or attitudes toward em
ployer or company.118 j
For a time, it seemed that personal satisfaction and ef- i
ficlency were positively related; that as satisfaction
increased so did performance. j
i
This is known as the efficiency test, which as
sumes that efficiency equals effectiveness. This kind of
i
1 test is one of the notions of the scientific management
118*. c. Bennls, Changing Organization (Hew York*
McGraw-Hill Book Company, l96e) , p. 5 6 ^ .
110
school Which puts emphasis on the rate of material output
through such devices as time and motion studies.
This school hypothesizes thats organizations
which have a high degree of division of labor are most
likely to have a higher degree of effectiveness than or
ganizations which have a low degree of division of
labor.Their basic assumption is that the equal im
portance of efficiency, productivity and effectiv#i-
ness.120 Drucker says that, except where there is a high
degree of complexity, organizations which have a high de
gree of specialized departmentalization are more likely
to have a higher degree of effectiveness than organiza
tions which have a low degree of specialized department
alization. *21
Katz, et al., found a close relationship between
productivity and the level of supervision. They hypothe-
H9j. d. Thompson, Organizations in Action (New
York* John Wiley * Sons, Inc., 1946).
120Lloyd W. Warner and J. L. Low, The Social Sys
tem of the Modern Factory (New Haven, Conn. t Yale Uni
versity, 1947), p. 173.
l^Daniel Katz. N. Maccoby. and Nancy Morse.
Productivity. Supervision and Morale in an Office situa
tion (Ann Arbor. Mich.i Institute for Social Research,
1950).
Ill
sized that general rather than close supervision is more
often associated with a high rather than low level of
productivity.122
Blau1s study of a department of a state employ
ment agency and Sykes's study of a maximum security prison
illustrates the proposition that organizations which have
a high degree of legitimacy are more likely to have a de
gree of effectiveness than organizations which have a
low degree of legitimacy.*23 Blau's study also confirms
that organizations which primarily have a rational-legal
basis for decision making are more likely to have a high
degree of effectiveness than organizations which primarily
have a charismatic type of decision making.
As it is shown through different experiments, re
searchers cannot measure two dimensions such as economics
and technology as major factors of effectiveness and neg
lect other dimensions such as supervision, leadership,
goal setting, enforcement of decisions, power, authority,
size, complexity, autonomy, centralization vs. decentral-
1^3P. M. Blau, The Dynamic of Bureaucracy
(Chicago* University of dhicago Press, l^i5)i ana Gresham
Sykes, The Society of Captives (New Jersey University
Press, 1958}. Legitimacy in These cases is defined as
the degree to which the behavior of an organization is
socially approved.
112
ization, control system, sanctions, communication mech
anism, adaptability to change and other factors. i
! As Likert put it, it is not sufficient to measure !
: j
morale and the attitudes of employees toward the organ
ization. Favorable attitudes and excellent morale do not
necessarily assure high motivation, high performance, and
an effective human organization.
Generally speaking, this is the state of affairs
in measuring effectiveness* two criteria, crudely meas
ured, ambiguous in meaning, questionable in utility, and
fraught with value connotations.*25
For the purpose of finding remedies for these dif-
f iculties, a number of more promising approaches have been i
: i
I suggested. The most acceptable of these are the multi- j
i
I variable model and criterion of system characteristics. |
! h
Likert Multi
variable Model
Likert suggests that for measuring organizational
! i
effectiveness, researchers should consider the lnterac- j
124r. Likert, "Measuring Organizational Perform- j
ance," Harvard Business Review, Vol. 36 (March-April, .
1958), pp. 41-50.
125Robert Kahn, F. C. Mann, and S. Seashore,
"Human Relations Research in Large Organizations," Journal
of Social Issues. Vol. 12, No. 2 (1956), p. 4.
113
tlons among causal-intervening and end-result vari-
ables. This approach rests on the assumption that
"organizations have more than a single goal and that the
Interaction of goals will produce a different value frame
work in different organizations."127 Some of these goals
or purposes may be in conflict with each other. Por ex
ample, if we think of organizations such as universities,
we can inmediately name several functions or goals, all
of which are primary and essential. The university must
teach and at the same time must create valid knowledge
through research.
That is why Likert enumerates the following fac
tors in the list of causal variablest organizational
structures, organizational objectives, management and
supervisory practices, behavior, capital investments, and
needs and desires of the members of organizations. Inter
vening variables include personality, work group tradi
tions, values, goals, and past experience, perceptions,
expectations, attitudes, motivational forces, and be
havior. Likert enumerates the following as the end-result
Likert, Hew Pattern of Management (Hew
Yorki McGraw-Hill Book CJompany, 19^1) , Chapter 13.
^ Sherwood, op. cit.
114
varlableat production, earning, absence, turnover, union
company relations, grievances, stoppages and sales. "By
and large, Libert's criteria are psychologically based
and they substantially enrich the impoverished state of
effectiveness criteria. ,,128
The Criterion of Sys
tem Characteristics ~
Acknowledging that every system has multiple
functions and that it exists within an environment which
provides unpredictable inputs, a system's effectiveness
can be defined as its capacity to survive, adapt, main
tain itself, and grow, regardless of the particular func
tions it fulfills.129
Perhaps the clearest statement of effectiveness
criteria in system terms has been given by Bennis. He
says that!
If we view organisations as adaptive, problem
solving, organic structures, then Inferences about
effectiveness have to be made, not from static
measures of output, though these may be helpful,
but on the basis of the processes through which
the organization approaches problems* In other
1^®Bennis, o p . cit. , p. 39.
129Schein, o p. cit.. p. 97.
115
words, no single measurement of organizational
efficiency or satisfaction — no single time
slice of organizational performance — can pro
vide valid indicators of organizational health.130
Instead, Bennis proposes the following three cri
teria of health; criteria which, interestingly, closely
mirrors recent formulations about mental health proposed
by Jahoda.131
1. Adaptability — The ability to solve problems
and to react with flexibility to changing environmental
demands.
2. A Sense of Identity — Knowledge and insight
on the part of the organization of what it is, what its
goals are, and what it is to do.
3. Capacity to Test Reality — The ability to
search out, accurately perceive, and correctly interpret
the real properties of the environment, particularly those
which have relevance for the functioning of the organ
ization. *32
130W. q. Bennis, "Toward a 'Truly1 Scientific
Management■ The Concept of Organizational Health,"
general Systems Yearbook (1962-7), p. 273.
131M. Jahoda, Current Concepts of Positive Mental
Health (New Yorki Basic Books, Inc., 1958).
132Schein, op. cit.. p. 97.
116
Hie basic features of organization rely on ade- j
quate methods for solving problems. Of course, the j
manager should view the problem of organization as a
problem of a total system. How does an organization cope
with its environment? How does it obtain information and
process its validity? What mechanisms exist for trans
lating information, particularly about alterations in the
environment, into change operations? Are the Internal
operations flexible enough to cope with changes?!33
Let us now go back to the subject of occupational !
values which we considered at some length at the begin
ning of the second chapter and tie it in with the systems
I
concept of organization to bring this discussion to a i
meaningful conclusion. j
' As Qross points outi "An organization is an as- j
i
semblage of human and nonhuman resources geared to task j
I
accomplishment through a series of interactions and inte- .
i
grated into a social systom."134 in order to carry out
its purposes and to survive, an organization must con
tinually have inputs of various resources. As Schein
i
i
133ibid.. p. 98.
13*b. m . Qross, "What Are Your Organization's
Objectivesi A System Approach to Planning," Human Hala
tions. Vol. XV (March-April, 1965) , p. 197.
117
| saysi
To survive, the organization must continue to
perform Its primary task — the recruitment,
proper utilization, motivation, and Integra
tion of the people in It.135
Assume that acquisition of resources Is very simple
and that we can satisfy the organizational needs In a
considerable magnitude. This is Just one side of the
coin; the other side is yet untouched. That is the psy
chological problem of any organization; how to recruit
employees, how to select and train them, and how to al
locate them to Jobs for the most effective role perform
ance.
Solving the above-mentioned psychological problem j
f
for managers is not the end of the problems. Still an- |
other problem remains unsolved. That is the integration !
of individual and organization purpose(s) . How a manager j
i
then, can develop organizational policies which permit |
the integration of human needs and organizational demands,|
or in the terms of McGregor, how a manager can "create a j
situation in which a subordinate can achieve his own
goals best by directing his efforts toward the objectives
of the enterprise."136 j
13®Schein, o p . cit., p. 15.
136Douglas McGregor, Human Side of Enterprise
(Mew York* McGraw-Hill Book Company, i960) , p. 61.
118
In order to understand the nature of relationship
between the individual and organization, Schein used the
term "psychological contract." He describes the term as
followsx
The notion of "psychological contract" im
plies that the individual has a variety of ex
pectations of organization and that the organ
ization has a variety of expectations of him.
These expectations not only cover how much work
is to be performed for how much pay, but also
involves the whole pattern of rights, privi
leges and obligations between worker and the
organization. For example, the worker may ex
pect the company not to fire him after he has
worked there a certain number of years and the
company may expect that the worker will not
run down the company's public image or give
away company secrets to competitors. Expecta
tions such as these are not written into any
formal agreement between employee and organiza
tion, yet they operate powerfully as determinants
of behavior. 137
Let us turn now to assess the ability of organ
ization to attract and maintain a steady supply of per
sonnel resources. It is obvious that the notion of a
psychological contract leads to some useful implications
for eliciting greater cooperation and cornnitment of the
employee toward the achievement of organizational goals,
but it also fails to take into account the forces in the
external environment Which attract or repel an individual
137
Schein, op. cit.. p. 11.
119
from accepting an organizational role with a given
employing unit.
For the purpose of attracting the new and able
person into the organization, it should be in such a pos
ition that it can successfully induct prospective person
nel into its workings. To do this, the organization must
adapt to the occupational values, which are the kinds of
things people hope to attain or achieve in their jobs,
and it should learn the attitudes of the group of people
whose services are critically needed for the attainment
of its goals.
As we have mentioned before, any social organiza
tion can be considered as an open system which is influ
enced by, and influences its environment, and which
reaches a state of dynamic equilibrium in its environment.
Thus, it is a balance of external and internal forces
which determine the state of equilibrium at any point of
time.
This study is concerned with some of the external
forces of organization, those affecting personnel. It
is directed toward the understanding of the impact of
new employees on the ability of the organization to ac
quire scarce personnel resources, specifically young and
120
able people, without which no large-scale organization
can hope to remain viable.
Chapter III describes the methodology used to
achieve the purposes of this study.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY OP RESEARCH
The purpose of this chapter is to describe the
design and methodology employed for the generation of
hypotheses and for the correlation of ideas and concepts
concerning occupational values of college and graduate
students with the other factors such as family background,
years of study at universities, professional discipline
and types of employment.
Validity of Value Research
Philosophers have claimed that the study of values
falls within the domain of their discipline. Advances in
the research methodology of social sciences and the re
finement of their propositions has brought, since the be
ginning of the twentieth century, value research in the
field of behavioral sciences.1 Social psychologists, ed
ucators, sociologists, and recently, management scholars
are conducting extensive empirical research on values and
*Ray Leepley, ed., Valuei A Cooperative Inquiry
(Mew Yorki Columbia University Press, 1$4$), p. 64.
121
122
! !
! value systems.2 The transition began with the authorita-
; i
tive works of John Dewey and his followers. Later, the j
: I
research of values was brought into the realm of empiri
cism.
The work of Simon ended the duality and separation
i
of facts and values, and based each and every decision on
the premises of value in as much as the selection of an i
alternative is concerned, and the facts in as long as the
implementation of a decision is involved.3 Being rela
tively accepted as a behavioral phenomena, values then,
like other behavioral topics, are believed to be subject
to observation, experimentation, and test. With the many
i research methodologies developed by the social scientists,
1 it has been demonstrated that values and value systems are
researchable, at least to some extent. j
; i
Research Problem
F
As mentioned in Chapter I, there is a basic aim
| of this study, to evaluate occupational values of college
and graduate students at Tehran University, and then to ;
i
i
2Richard Iricson, "Organization Cybernetics and
Human Values," Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 13,
No. 1 (March 1970) , pp. 49-6^
3Herbert A. Simon, Administrative Behavior (New
Yorki The Macmillan Company, 1957).
123
develop a format for administrators of organizations in
Iran in such a way as to implement the administrative rev
olution, (the 12th item of White Revolution that started
in 1964 in Iran through His Imperial Majesty's program,
which could not he successfully implemented as were the
other elements of White Revolution).
Specifically, the study is designed to answer the
following research questionst
1. Do the attitudes of college and graduate stu
dents vary according to their field of specialization and ,
family background?
2. What are the attitudes of college and gradu
ate students at Tehran University toward public and pri- j
I
vate service in general?
3. HOw do college and graduate students conq^are j
public service with private in terms of salary, job sat
isfaction, opportunities for advancement, challenge of
work, and security?
4. What are the occupational values of college
and graduate students which affect their choice of job?
To find the answers to these questions, we con
ducted a mail questionnaire survey to examine the attitude
and opinions of the college and graduate students at
124
Tehran University. The sample of respondents for the
survey was a randomly selected group among all of the pro
fessional disciplines. Furthermore, In order to fulfill
the research purpose, a statistical technique, called the
one-way analysis of variance, was used for the analysis
of the data.
Since the research project was designed to deter
mine the degree of interdependence between occupational
values and other factors, just one research instrument
was required.
Value Measurement
The purpose and product of value measurement was
to obtain certain types of information which could be
used as predictors of behavior in certain circumstances.4
Several methods are available for gathering data
about values. Scott suggests a content analysis of open-
ended value dimension questions.5 This requires time-
consuming interviews with individual respondents which
*For a detailed discussion on the purpose of meas
urement and the development of circumstances, see C. West
Churchman, Prediction and Optimal Decision (Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.* Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1961).
5Wllliam A, Scott, "Bnpirical Assessment of Values
and Ideologies,M American Sociological Review. Vol. LIX
(November 1952) , p^ ITTI *
125
i
j
! would be economically prohibitive if applied to large
samples and, furthermore, it requires a great amount of
money.
r
Morris' approach® to the measurement of values is
i
| rather complex and requires a high level of education on
the part of the respondent.
Thurstone's paired comparison scaling,7 catton's
ranking of absolute or infinite values,8 and Rokeach's
random ordering of Instrumental and terminal values are
some of the methods for the measurement of values.
Examination of these value measurement instruments >
in light of the criteria of relevancy of information, easy:
administration, cost, and time led me to a selection of
I 1
the Kilpatrick, et al., technique of self-anchoring j
scaling.10 j
: i
. --------------------- i
®Charles W. Morris. Variation of Human Value i
(Chicagot University of Chicago Press, 1956). j
' 7L. L. Thurstone, "The Method of Paired Compari- j
i sons for Social Values," Journal of Abnorroaland Social
! Psychology. Vol. XXI, No. 1 (January-March, 1927), pp.
8William R. Catton, "Exploring Techniques for
Measuring Human Values," American Sociological Review,
Vol. XIX (February 1954), pp. 49-55.
^Milton Rokeach, Value Survey (Lansing, Mich.«
Jenso Associates Testing Division, 1967).
10P. P. Kilpatrick and Hadley Cantril. "Self-
Anchoring Scaling* A Measure of Individual Unique Reality
126
Hie main reason for relying on the works of pre
vious Investigators is that we can examine this value
phenomena by building upon their experience. Besides, as
Selltiz, Jahoda, and others suggesti "One of the simplest
ways of economizing effort in an Inquiry is to review and
build upon the work already done by others.h11 Young also
asserts: "Successful delimitation of the problem for study
and the choice of suitable methods require full knowledge
of previous research in the field.M*2
On the base of the above-mentioned views, we
selected the methodological framework of the Brookings
Institution, The Image of the Federal Service.!3 it must
be mentioned that there is small difference between this
l
L
dissertation research and that of the Brookings Institu-
Worlds." Journal of Individual Psvcholoov. Vol. XVI i
(November i$6b), pp. I55-T?r j
lie. Selltiz, etal., Research Methods in Social !
Relations (New Yorki Holt," Rinehart & Winston,
p", 5 T I
12V. P. Young, Scientific Social Survey and Re-
search (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.* Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
i m*r; p. 87. I
t
13y. P. Kilpatrick, M. C. Cunnings, and M. K. j
Jennings, The Image of the Federal Service (Washington,
D.C.i The Brookings Institution, 1964), p. 177.
127
tion. It used interviews as a research instrument and
we have used questionnaires as our research instrument.
As Hillway points outs
The written questionnaire may be regarded as a
substitute for the personal' interview. Because
of the relative ease and speed with which it
1 can be distributed by mail over a large geo
graphical area, the questionnaire has definite
advantages in survey research.14
Later on in this chapter, we will discuss more
carefully the reason for selecting this type of instru
ment .
Sampling Plan and Universe
Sampling is talcing some portion of a population
as representative of that population or Nuniverse.J
In other words, sampling may be described as selecting a j
part of the larger number. This sample from population
! i
should be drawn in such a way that it can be considered j
i I
as a representative as possible of the population. He !
! !
cannot draw a sample efficiently unless we have well de-
' j
fined population. It has been clear from the beginning j
| of this study that the population of concern in this
1*Tyrus Hillway, Introduction to Research (Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1964), p. 201.
15». f. Kerlinger. Foundation of Behavioral Re
search (Hew Yorkt Holt, Rinehart £ Hinston, Inc., 19C4),
pmr
128
I
| study, has been the college and graduate students at
Tehran University. Tehran University had a total of
17,079 college and graduate students in the year 1970-
1971, who were enrolled at 17 different colleges.16
The following are the reasons that we selected
Tehran University as our populations
1. Students of Tehran University can be consid
ered as representative of the people who possess various
occupational specializations in different sections of
i
Iranian government.
2. We have access to these students, and our pur-
i
pose can be completed within the limited resources of
time and money at the disposal of the researcher. j
| !
| 3. the number of students at Tehran University j
1 itself is large enough to Justify the use of random sam- ,
! |
pling procedure to select respondents for the actual |
conduct of the inquiry.
I The universe, therefore, from which the sample of
respondents was drawn, consisted of college and graduate
students at Tehran University. For the purpose of making
it easy to handle and to match different disciplines
sourcei Ministry of Science fc Advanced Educa
tion, Advanced Training Report. Shahrivar 1350, p. 9.
against each other, the total University population was
divided into six categories, each representing a sub-
population of persons possessing different occupational
values. These categories included the following profes
sional disciplines!
I
1. Medicine
2. Science
3. Public Administration
4. Law
5. Literature
6. Economics
The reason that we focused on these six categories
is based on the following considerations!
1. These categories provided us with an oppor-
i j
! tunity to examine variations in their response patterns
! due to the differences in their field of education.
2. Iranian government is attempting to supply the
i
i
i above-mentioned categories personnel for pertinent govern-
I
; i
I ment organizations. j
| 3, This shortage of well qualified and expert j
personnel cannot be overcome without knowledge of the
public service's image.
4. On the basis of this research, we can possibly
determine the best approach for a stepped-up amount of
130
recruiting literature directed toward college and gradu-
I
ate students. Thus, the Importance of these six cate
gories of disciplines could hardly be overemphasized.
It should be mentioned that any sampling plan
should be correctly designed, otherwise the researcher
i
will be faced with great problems. As Good and Scates
point out, the possible disadvantage or difficulties of
i
sampling are as followst
1. If the sampling plan is not correctly de
signed and followed, the results may be Incorrect or
misleading.
2. If the characteristic to be observed occurs
only rarely in the population (for example, people over
1 ninety years of age), special problems arise in securing
i
! statistically reliable information.
3. Sample data involve more caution in preparing
detailed subclassifications, because of a smaller number
i *
| of cases.
4. Sampling requires expert advice, an area in
which there is a shortage of competent specialists.
5. There are characteristics limitations for
each type of sampling.
6. Complicated sampling plans may prove as labo-
131
rlous as a complete enumeration of the population.17
In order to select a sample Which could provide
economy in selection and at the same time he representa
tive of the population characteristics under investigation
requires application of the assumptions of random sampling.
i
One should not form the impression that random sampling is
the only respectable kind of sampling used by the re
searchers. This is far from the case. There are four
basic types of probability sampling; random sampling,
systematic sampling, stratified sampling, and cluster sam
pling. Taking into account the advantages and disad
vantages of each of the probability samplings, it will be
clear that this research in regard to the characteristics
of population should follow the principle of stratified
sampling. The choice of this type of probability sampling
(stratified sampling) was based on five considerationst
I
1. It allows us to specify the chance that the j
sample findings do not differ by more than a certain pre
dictable amount front the true population values. [
17Carter V. Good and Douglas E. Scates, Methods
of Research (New Yorki Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc.,
1954), p. 599,
18Hubert M. Blalock, social Statistics (New York*
McGraw-Hill Book Company, i960), p. ^95.
132
2. It provides an accurate estimate of the sample
size under the condition that we have decided to accept
I
i
a certain percentage of error and have agreed upon the
level of confidence that we want to assign to the results
drawn from the sample.
3. Stratified sampling enables the researcher to
make a comparison of the properties of the strata as well
as to estimate a population characteristic. The research
objectives are frequently such that a comparison of the
properties of subgroups in the population is essential or i
at least advantageous.19
4. It is completely unfeasible to combine the
lists for all strata, and then to select a single random
sample. j
\
5. The method of stratified random samples re- |
duce the number of cases required in order to achieve a j
!
given degree of accuracy.20 \
i
The stratified sampling was preferred not only to |
j
enable us to fulfill the above conditions, but it was ;
9 i
also best suited to the method of data collection of this |
study.
19Russell L. Ackoff, The Design of Social Researdh
(Chicago) University of Chicago Press^ 1953^, p. 10S.
20Blalock, op. cit.. p. 399.
133
I
I
I
j In a stratified sample, we first divide all stu-
I
1 dents into groups or categories, six different profes
sional disciplines, and then select independent random
samples within each group or stratum. We define our
strata in such a way that each student appears in one and
only one stratum; in other words, we take simple random
samples within each stratum. Equal sampling fractions
i
were chosen for each stratum.
Size of the
Sampling
In general, the larger the sample the higher its
degree of reliability. This will depend somewhat, how
ever, on the size of the entire group from which data are '
| desired. If the group, or population, does not number
I
| more than a few hundred, a sampling of at least 50 percent
i
might prove necessary for sufficient reliability. If, on |
the other hand, it numbers well in the thousands, a sam- ,
pling of as low as 10 percent or even less may be satis-
i factory.21 These estimates, of course, must be considered
as rule-of-thumb figures. There are statistical means of
deciding upon the proper size of the sampling which ought
to be used in any given survey.
21Hillway, op. cit., p. 196.
1 3 4
Our sanqple size was determined on the basis of
i
statistical methods of estimation, taking Into considera
tion the main two factors — time and money. We decided
to select a 5 percent level of significance. After deter
mination of a level of significance, we applied the
appropriate statistical formula to determine the minimum
number of cases needed in the sample.2^ The least sample
size thus obtained as a result of these calculations was
equal to 423 cases. After rejecting all partially filled
or incomplete questionnaire returns, we ended up with a
sample of 239 students whose responses to the research
instrument provided the empirical evidence for this study.
. i
! The Research Instrument j
! |
It has been said by scholars that problems and
methods of research must be mutually adapted to each
other.23 Generally speaking, tools are designed for ape-
i
cific tasks. A good workman never uses a chisel where a
j
screwdriver is needed. The Job will be better done with
the proper equipment and he will avoid damaging an expen
sive tool.
22jor the description of formula, see C. H. Back-
strom and O. D. Hursh, Survey Research (Minneapolis*
Northwestern University Press, 1963), p. 33.
23aood and Scates, o p . cit., p. 604.
What is the best data gathering tool in this re
search? From the researcher's viewpoint, since the re
search project was designed to determine the degree of
interdependency among different factors, the question
naire was selected as our research Instrument. The ques
tionnaire has been defined as a form distributed through
the mail or filled out by the respondent under the super
vision of the investigator or interviewer.2<* it has been
proven that the use of questionnaires in survey studies
augments the investigator's power of observation by serv
ing to remind the respondent of each item, and to keep
the investigator from collecting only the unique, excep
tional, or unusual facts particularly interesting to him. j
The questionnaire is probably man's oldest and
most often used device for obtaining Information. Ques- ,
tionnaires are ordinarily quite direct, which is both a
I
strength and a weakness. It is a strength because a greatj
deal of the information needed in social scientific re-
(
search is fairly straightforward and can be gotten from
respondents by direct questions. TOiere is much informa
tion, however, of a more difficult nature that respondents
24Mildred Farten, Surveys. Foils y d Samplesi
Practical Procedures (Mew York* Hazper 6 Bros., 1950),
pT'iVr.-----------
1 36
may be unwilling, reluctant, or unable to give readily and'
j
directly; for example, information about income, sexual
relations and attitudes toward religion and minority
groups.
This weakness should not be taken to mean that the
mail questionnaire is not an adequate method of research
or that it yields unreliable information. On the con
trary, as Benson points outs
Mail survey can prove valuable in several
research problems, if their limitations are
known and their results properly understood
and correctly interpreted. Not all Issues or
problems to be dealt with in mall surveys pre
sent the same difficulties, for in some in
stances even the raw figures obtained from
mail studies will prove to be highly accurate.
However, in such Instances, much depends on
the subject to be covered and the homogenity
of the group to be surveyed.26 j
In addition to the above-mentioned points, Pace writes
I
that in his experience, the mail-back questionnaire from
university students is often quite high which provides an
excellent opportunity to select a reasonably good repre- '
sentatlve sample in any social survey dealing with this
j
25Kerlinger, o p . cit.. p. 467.
26L. E. Benson, MMail Surveys Can Be Valuable,**
The Public Opinion Quarterly. Vol. X (July 1964), p. 24.
special population.27 He also mentioned that within the j
i
population of former university students, the response i
rate to mail questionnaires is especially high for those
who successfully completed their graduate education in
the professional fields.
In addition to the above points that were quoted
from the scholars, we can say that the universe with which
this research is concerned is homogenous, since all of the
students belong to one university and our sample model is
stratified random sampling. These provide us with a
sound base for assuming that the total population under
investigation is sufficiently homogenous to justify the
j i
use of mall questionnaire survey. |
j i
As we mentioned earlier, this research is based !
! !
j upon the methodological framework of the Brookings Insti- I
!
1 tution inquiry of occupational values. Therefore, we used!
a copy of the Brookings research instrument, but we made j
I
some slight changes on the Brookings instrument so it
i
i would fit a mailed questionnaire (the Brookings research
I Instrument was designed for standardized personal inter
view) and also we included some other questions pertinent
to the objective of our study*
27Ct r. pace, "Factors Influencing Questionnaire
Returns From Former university Students," Journal of Ap
plied Psychology* XXIII (June 1939), pp. 388-397.
! ......
138
i
f The Research Questionnaire
Construction
Up to now, we have discussed the adequacy and
' suitability of mailed questionnaires. It is time to dis
cuss the design and construction of our research instru-
; ment. A few words about the criteria for constructing
questionnaires seems appropriate before getting to the
discussion of the construction of our questionnaire.
The following are the suggestive summary of cri
teria for questionnaire that we borrowed from Oood and
Scatesi
1. It must be short enough so that the respond
ents will not reject it completely in too many cases and
i
! so that it will not take too much time which might be a
i
! serious drain on the work of respondents.
2. It must be of sufficient Interest and have
enough face appeal so that the respondent will be inclined
to respond to it — and to complete it.
i 3. The questionnaire should obtain some depth in
the response in order to avoid superficial replies.
4. This ideal questionnaire must not be too sug
gestive or, on the other hand, too unetimulating.
5. The questionnaire should elicit responses
which are definite but not mechanically forced. That is,
139
i
a response which is too vague or ambiguous or uncrystal
lized is not desirable — unless it accurately represents
the state of mind of the Individual.
6. Questions must be asked in such a way that
i the responses will not be embarrassing to the individual.
It must always be made as respectable as possible to an
swer "no” or to give a neutral response.
7. Questions must also be asked in such a manner
as to allay suspicion on the part of the respondents con
cerning hidden purposes in the questionnaire.
8. The questionnaire must not be too narrow, or
limited in its scope or philosophy. Questionnaires are
almost always made from a certain point of view or frame !
i
i of reference, but they should always hold the door open j
I
i for obtaining other points of view or other emphasis. |
I
9. The response to the questionnaire must be
valid, and the entire body of data taken as a Whole must
I
answer the basic question for which the questionnaire was
designed. \
' in an earlier statement of the problem, we said !
that the purpose of this research is to deal with the
study of occupational values of college and graduate
students at Tehran university. In addition to this broad
28(3ood and Scates, op. clt.. pp. 615-616.
140
subject, we are interested to know the impact of family
background on the student's image of public and private
organization and their preferences. Generally speaking,
the following are the major areas for which the informa
tion was sought in the questionnaire*
1. Occupational values of college and graduate
students which affect their choice of Jobs.
2. Variation of attitude of college and graduate
students in regard to their field of specialization and
family background.
3. The attitudes of college and graduate students
at Tehran University toward public and private service in
general.
4. Comparing public service with private in terms
of salary, job satisfaction, opportunities for advance
ment, challenge of work and security.
For the purpose of gathering pertinent data to
give sane answers to these four questions we have designed
a questionnaire which consists of three parts. Each part
deals with a specific aspect of the problem. The follow
ing are the three major areas for which the information
was sought in the questionnaire.
141
Part I
The first part of the questionnaire is designed
to collect data about respondents and to understand the
followingi
a) The age of respondents.
b) The sex of respondents.
c) Marital status of respondents.
d) Religious preferences of respondents.
e) Years of education at Tehran University.
(Those who had more than five years education were con
sidered graduate students and those with less than five
years as undergraduates. Since medicine is one of the
disciplines that was selected and the medical faculty
does award a degree with less than seven years of study,
for the purpose of having equality among all the did-
plines, we made an arbitrary decision to consider sixth
and seventh year students as graduate students.)
f) Financial status of respondents. Financial
status of respondents is brolcen down to six categories,
starting from $1,500 annual income and ending with $7,500
and more. It should be mentioned that the average income
in Iran today is about $2,500. We considered annual in
come of more than $5,000 as a high income people.
142
g) Field of specialisation of respondents. This
section is broken down Into six different categories,
i.e., medicine, science, law, public administration, 11 ter- i
!
ature, and economics. We selected the above categories [
because it seems that public organization is suffering
to recruit well-qualified people among the above-mentioned
categories.
h) and i) Years of service of respondents either
in public or private organizations. The main reason that
we were seeking this information was to find whether or (
not by chance there were enough public and private am- j
ployees among respondents. If there were, we wanted to
|
J
compare their occupational values with each other, to j
understand whether the differences were significant or j
k
not. Fortunately, after tabulating data, ws found enough |
I
of the students who were either public or private em- |
ployees.
The first part, in other words, is designed to
determine our independent variables, such as family back
ground, field of specialization, type of employee, and
college and graduate students.
143
Part II
The second part of the questionnaire was designed
to determine the attitude of college and graduate students
toward the public and private organization.
In this part of the questionnaire, we were inter
ested in respondent's answers in comparing public service
with private service as a lifetime career in terms of
opportunity for advancement, security, fringe benefits,
helping people through their service, prestige, pay, Job
interest, working conditions and Jobs in terms of whether
or not these are considered to be more routine and monot
onous in public service than private service.
At the end of this part, respondents were asked
the reasons which they felt would most likely keep them
from entering public service. They could mark one or all j
of the points such as unpleasant working surroundings,
low salary scale, restrictions of initiative and personal |
!
Judgment, too much emphasis on seniority, bureaucratic
inefficiency and red tape, lack of challenge in the work, j
too little reward for ability, too little status or j
!
prestige, reports of corruption and other reasons. The
last question was an open-ended question. l#e left it
open to see the reaction of respondents on the other
144
reasons that might possibly keep them from entering
public service.
Through analyzing the above information, we could
answer the question, how do college and graduate students
compare the public service with private service?
Part III
Part three of the questionnaire was prepared for
the purpose of understanding occupational values of col
lege and graduate students at Tehran University. As we
mentioned earlier, we used the same questions that had
been used by Brookings Institution researchers and we did
not make any change in this part of the questionnaire.
For that reason, we are not going to discuss here the 30
items that were used. For more description and under
standing, the reader should refer to Source Book of a
Study of Occupational Values and the Image of the Federal
Service. In this part, in addition to the 30 itsms of
occupational values questions, we designed two open-ended
questions (nos 12 and 13) to find out the attitudes of
students on the best and worst occupations in general.
Through this part of the questionnaire, we wanted
to find out how the organisation should be organized and
145
the way of satisfying the basic needs of people in Iran
ian government organization. On the basis of these
ideas, we can prepare our recommendations for Iranian
' administrators at governmental level.
I
Operational Definition
of Occupational Values
Occupational value is defined as individual pref
erence of choice which a student with certain educational
background relates his ability to a specific job or voca
tion. This research was intended to reveal that self-
determination, that is, relative freedom of personal
choice and absence of coercion and regulation on the Job
is an important value to the university students.
In order to describe the occupational values in
terms of quantitative indicators, we are going to rate
scores obtained when respondents sorted 30 occupational
value statements on the 5-point scale; strongly agree,
agree, undecided, disagree, strongly disagree.29
After preparation of the questionnaire, one more
problem remained unsolved. That was the problem of trans
lation. Since we were doing this research at Tehran Uni
versity and the native language is Persian, all parts of
29KilpatricX, et al., op. cit., Chapter I through
Chapter XXIII.
1 46
the questionnaire had to be translated In the Farsi
(Persian) language. In solving this problem, we assumed
the following approach. First of all, the questionnaires
were translated by researchers independently. Then we
ashed a friend of ours who has a master in English to
translate it bach to English. We repeated this cross
translation a few times until the translated version
seemed reasonably satisfactory.
Finally, the research Instrument was ready to
distribute. But it was not wise to distribute the ques
tionnaires before any pilot study. We decided to send
questionnaires on test to 36 respondents, three graduate
and three undergraduate students of each six professional
disciplines at Tehran University.
The result of this pilot study immediately re
vealed some ambiguous areas in the questionnaire in terms
of words that were used in the Persian language.
After revising the questionnaire, it was ready to
be distributed among those who had been selected by the
random sanqpling plan. A copy of the final form of ques
tionnaire is reproduced in Appendix A.
147
The Research Procedure
We have mentioned that the population with which
we were concerned is Tehran University, and we pointed out
that from 17 different disciplines taught at Tehran Uni
versity, we have selected only six for this study, for
they represent those professional disciplines in Which the
Iranian government is attempting to recruit qualified em
ployees. Samples drawn from each discipline contain an
equal number of cases for the six categories.
Por the purpose of getting the Inventory of names
and postal addresses of the students at Tehran University,
we had to get permission from the University administra
tion, since the University had made a regulation about
research at the University. The researcher had to fully
describe the problem and research instrument and have it
approved. After approval of the researcher's problem and
questionnaire, a University official, Dr. S. Shamlov,
notified the graduate coordinator of each college and
ashed them to give the researcher the Inventory of names
and postal addresses of all the students, undergraduate
and graduate, Who were studying at the college.
After receiving the inventory of names and ad
dresses of the six following colleges, medicine, science,
1 46
public administration, law, economics, and literature, a
systematic random sample of approximately 70 was drawn
for each of the six disciplines using a random numbers
table.30
Questionnaires were then sent out to the individ
ual respondents selected in the samples along with an ex
planatory letter and a stamped-retum envelope. A total
of 423 questionnaires were sent. After three weeks, a
first reminder was sent to all those Who did not respond.
Unfortunately, the number of returned questionnaires was
not enough to satisfy the requirement of a good research.
For the purpose of encouraging students to answer our re
quest, two months later our second reminder was sent, to
gether with another copy of the questionnaire and postage-
i
paid envelope. After three months, we were still suffer
ing from a lack of adequate number of returned question
naires. Then we decided to refer directly to the colleges
and ask the dean of each college to let us contact direct
ly and formally the respondents and ask them to send back
the questionnaires. In the auditorium of each college,
i
we briefly discussed the purpose of the questionnaires
and research to all the students and asked them to return
30Blalock, op. cit., pp. 437-440.
149
the questionnaires as soon as possible. After four and
one-half months, we received approximately 55 percent of
the questionnaires, totaling 239 out of 423 questionnairea
Table 1 shows the response rates for each of the six cate
gories and the gross rate for the whole sample. Since
55 percent offered a statistically adequate number, we
decided to "assume" that those who failed to return the
questionnaires did so because they lost them or they for
got to do it rather than because they held consistently
different views on the issues raised by the questionnaire
which they were disposed not to return.
Treatment of the Data
™ '
i
When more than a small number of questionnaires j
I
are used in a research project, it is impossible to ana- j
lyze the results simply by examining the questionnaires.
The information on them must be classified, tabulated,
and manipulated, in order to extract its meaning.
Once we successfully completed the data collection
phase of the study, the next essential step in the re-
i
search process was to perforin the coding operation.
Coding is the term used to describe the translation of
question responses and respondent information to specific
150
TABLE 1
RESPONSE RATE OP QUESTIONNAIRE
Number of Response
Professional Sample Questionnaires Rate
Disciplines Size Returned Percent
Medicine 70 40 57
Science 70 39 57
Public Administration 70 37 50
Law
70 39 57
Literature 70 44 57.5
Economics 70 40 57
Total
420 239
151
i
I
! categories for purposes of analysis;tabulation is
I
simply the recording of the numbers of types of responses |
: i
j in the appropriate categories, after which statistical
analysis follows — the computation of percentages, aver- !
ages, relational indices, and appropriate test of sig
nificance. 32
As Good and Scates point out, in the physical han
dling of questionnaire returns for purpose of tabulating,
there are three methods, with the choice dependent on
the circumstances.
1. Sometimes the questionnaire can be used di
rectly, without copying off the material before tabula
tion. This could be true when the questionnaire is a
! j
| single page, Which permits the questionnaire to be handled;
much like a data card.
i
2. In an initial list table, the responses for j
each questionnaire may be put on a single line, which per
mits a preliminary overview of the results, by way of |
showing (perhaps better than data cards will) what the
range is likely to be.
31William J. Goode and Paul K. Hatt, Methods in
Social Research (Mew York* McGraw-Hill Book Company,
i$5SV,' pp. '3i5” 325.
32Kerlinger, o p. cit.. p. 401.
I
t
i
152 j
3. Data cards hava thair chief advantage for pur-{
> I
poses of cross classification or tabulation, because they I
can be sorted once for a trait, and then sorted again on
one or more secondary traits. Data cards also can be
| checked readily When tabulations are made. There is the
physical advantage of allowing a subgroup of cards to be
removed from the main pack for use at some other p l a c e . i
In our tabulation, we used the third method so we could
manipulate data as we wish. The task, in our case, was
turning the questionnaire data into a number code so it
could be punched on standard eighty-column IBM cards for
machine reading and manipulation. However, it is not pos
sible to have every bit of Information on the question- j
| naire under a categorical number. Coding does not auto— j
matically necessitate discarding information and uncoded j
i information is hard to analyze, but we did not throw any |
of them away.
; i
The problems of coding and tabulating question- i
naire data returns are numerous and varied. For example, j
i
should all returned questionnaires be included in the
tabulation, even if the respondent did not mark appropri
ate blank space or, should only MusableM returns be
33<3ood and Scates, op. clt.. p. 630.
counted? And, what degree of completeness Is required
| before a questionnaire is considered usable?
I
In our case, we faced some of the above problems.
About ten questionnaires were returned completely blank,
which were consequently dropped from the sample. Of
course, comparing this small number with our total return,
239, we can say that this exclusion did not change the
random character of the sample. And fortunately the re
mainder of our returned questionnaires could satisfy our
research requirements.
Another problem that the researcher faced was the
coding of questions, especially the open-end question
that we had. In order to keep a low rate of coding j
i !
i errors, the following precautionary measures were «m- j
ployed. j
[
1. The coding work was performed by two reserve
officers under the close supervision of the researcher
and one of the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces data proc- I
easing center1 a officers who was a trained data processingj
expert. i
2. Interpretation and Judgment about the open-endj
question that we had at the end of Fart III of the ques
tionnaire, for the purpose of reducing measure of error,
was done by the researcher alone. Nobody Interfered,
1S4
Which helped us in terms of coding the open-ended ques
tion.
3. Careful attention was given to the editing of
the questionnaire for all completeness and acceptability.
Of course, in this editing process, all of the question
naires which had been carelessly or partially filled were
deleted from further processing.
4. All of the standard questions, which required
no judgment in assigning a code number, were coded by the
reserve officers and were checked for accuracy of the
operation by the researchers. Errors in the coding of
this part of the questionnaire were kept below 0.5 per
cent.
5. Once the coding operation was completed, the
coded responses to all of the questions were punched onto
standard 80-column IBM cards. A complete verification of
all key punching was performed on a 100 percent basis.
Each questionnaire required one IBM card to record all
the information, hence, a total of 239 cards were used
for our total sample.
Tabulation was done on an IBM 360-C computer. As
a beginning step, question by question tabulations of
responses were performed on all the questions for a sam
ple of our population.
The result of partlal-tabulation analysis on the
sample revealed that In questions 8 and 9, Part X of the
questionnaire, which verei "Have you ever been employed
by11} and "How long have you been employed"? enough numbers'
of public and private employees in all six categories an-
i
i (
swered to give us an opportunity to add an important
i
dimension to our study by analyzing the data in terms of
comparing occupational values of public and private em
ployees. Then we could safely divide our sample into two
categories, the "public employee" and the "private em
ployee."
Public employee is defined as those people Who
work for government organization in general. We consid- <
! r
I ered government organization as those organizations whose |
: i
budget comes from the government budget and should be
approved by Najles (Parliament). Private employee was |
defined as those people who work for private organizations!
i |
and the budget of these organizations is not secured from ;
i
i
public finance. \
Why did we consider it useful to divide our sam-
j pie into two categories of public and private employment?
The following reasons Justify this action.
1. Assessing occupational values is the main pur
pose of this study. It would be wise and acceptable to
L
156
analyze these values from two points of view. Those Who
have selected public service as a lifetime career and
those who preferred private service over public service
as a lifetime career.
2. There is always, at the present time, competi
tion between private and public service for attracting the
professional manpower. It is obvious that people always
evaluate available jobs against each other from their own
point of view and in regard to their occupational values
for selecting a Job that can best satisfy their needs.
All of the tables were examined for analytic val
ue; then were abstracted, summarized, and finally reduced
to the minimum amount of material that we believed was
needed to reveal the significant results with force and
clarity.
Thus, having decided to perform the statistical
analysis in terms of six professional disciplines and two
sources of employment, family background, graduate and
undergraduate, we used Blalock*s analysis of variance.
In addition to the above, two techniques of analysis, per
centages and mean scores, were used in the tabular pres
entation of the data.
r ~
157
i
The Research Deaicrn
As Kilpatrick, et__al.f34 point out, carefully
done developmental research for a complex sample survey
involves six essential stepss
1. The problems to be investigated are stated in
a clearly understandable way, so that the purpose of the
research is completely explicit at the outset.
2. Ideas of what may be true about various fac
tors that are directly relevant to the problems of the
study are written down. They must be set down in such a
fashion that their truth or falsehood, or their degree of
truth or falsehood, can be tested by data.
, 3. For each such hypothesis, the exact nature of j
j the data that would be needed to test is determined.
I ;
4. Provisional methods that might secure the re- j
quired Information are set down beside each type of data j
needed. |
j
5. The provisional analytic plan is now set
down. This includes all ways in which the data will have
| i
' to be manipulated and analysed to test the hypothesis.
i
6. The entire procedure Is reviewed and assessed
in terms of the problem statsment and the available time,
money, and personnel.
34xilpatrick, et al.. o p. cit.. pp. 16-17.
I
I
I
i
158
i
A simplified diagraimnatlc model of the process of <
| j
research can be constructed in the problem-solving phase. 1
Figure 1 has been copied down from the book, The Design
of Social Research, by Ackoff.35
As was stated earlier, in the first chapter, the
1 basic objective of our study is to study occupational
values of college and graduate students at Tehran Uni
versity with the hope of finding and proposing some sug
gestions for Iranian administrators concerning the attrac
tion of able professional employees for the purpose of
increasing efficiency and effectiveness of government.
As the first step in constructing a research de-
I
sign of this study, it seems appropriate to discuss the j
i i
words — research and design — in terms of behavioral J
scientists.
According to Webster's dictionary, the word ,
i
"research" refers toi !
Careful or diligent search, studious inquiry
or examination, especially Investigation or ex- !
! per indentation aimed at the discovery and inter- !
pretatlon of facts, revision of accepted theories I
or laws in the litfht of new facts, or practical j
application of such new or revised theories or I
laws.38 |
;
35Aekoff, o p. cit., p. 9.
38Web«ter's Seventh Mew Collegiate Dictionary
(1967), p. " ‘
B
Has a
Probl<
Tran salt s
»
Problem
Designs Trains and Moves into
_________. or Produces
Research Observation
Supervises Situation
Produces Stimulus
or Observes
Existing One
Selects Course Reports Treats Transmits Records
of Action to
e-
Solve Problem Data Responses
Results Recorded Responses
Figure 1 — Diagrmnnatlc Model of the Process of Research
Observed
Re
160
Selltiz, at al., believe that the purpose of re
search Is to discover answers to questions through the
application of scientific procedures.3* *
By definition, research is a problem-solving
i
1 activity using a scientific method and procedure. Now,
i
let us see how the various phases of research can be co
ordinated. nils is best achieved by careful design of the
research. To design is to plan, or is the process of
making decisions before the situation arises in which the
decision has to be carried out.38 In other words, it is
a process of deliberate anticipation directed toward
i
bringing an expected situation under control.
i
i Let us put both terms together to see what re- !
I
search design means. Kerllnger maintains that research !
►
i
design is the plan, structure, and strategy of investiga- j
tion conceived so as to obtain answers to research ques-
: i
1 tions and to control variance.39 Selltiz, et al.. men- i
tions that a research design is the arrangement of condl- I
1 i
tions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that!
I
I aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with j
i
37Selltiz, et al.. op. cit.. p. 2.
^®Ackoff, op. cit.. p. 5.
39Kerllnger, op. cit.. p. 275.
161
! economy in procedure.40
From the above discussion, we may, therefore, in
fer that a research design is a manner of setting up the
framework for adequate tests of the relationships among
the variables for consciously planning the direction of
observation making and analysis.
Generally speaking, research design varies in
each case depending upon the nature of the problem, the
type, and source of data. Reviewing our problem and type
and source of data in this study reveals that the research,
design employed here conforms to the "sample survey" type
of research.
i Survey research is that branch of social
scientific investigation that studies large
and small population [or universe] by select
ing and studying samples chosen from the
population to discover the relative incidence,
distribution and Interrelations of sociolog
ical and psychological variables. Surveys
covered by this definition are often called
"sample survey" probably because survey re
search developed as a separate research ac
tivity, along with the development and im- |
provement of sampling procedures.41
Selecting the "sample survey" as the general de- '
sign of the study means that we coupleted construction of
our research design, but the structure of design is left
4°Selltis, et al.. op. cit.. p. 127.
41Kerlinger, o p . cit.. p. 393.
162
i
dangling and needs a little discussion. As Kerlinger
points outt
The structure of research is more specific.
It is the outline, the scheme, the paradigm of
the operation of variables. When we draw dia
grams that outline the variables and their re
lation and Juxtaposition, we build structural
schemes for accomplishing operational research
purposes.*2
It is time to discuss our research structure. As
we have mentioned earlier in this chapter, we are dealing
with measuring occupational values of college and gradu
ate students at Tehran University. Taking into account
our research problems, it seems obvious that we need to
construct two structures. For the purpose of making this
more clear, it seems appropriate to restate our research
j
problems. .
: 1. Do the attitudes of college and graduate stu- ,
dents vary according to their field of specialization and
i
family background? |
2. What are the attitudes of college and gradu- j
| ate students at Tehran university toward public and prl- j
; i
vate service in general? !
3. How do college and graduate students compare
public service with private in terms of salary, Job sat
isfaction, opportunities for advancement, challenge of
42Ibid.. p. 275.
work, and security?
4. What are the occupational values of college i
and graduate students Which affect their choice of jobs?
We did not develop any special structure for ques
tions number two, three and four, since they can be ana
lyzed In contingency tables.
For analyzing the first question, we need to de
velop and construct a special structure since we are going
to use the statistical tool of one-way analysis of vari
ance. In this problem, we want to see Whether or not
occupational values will vary according to family back
ground (defined according to the family annual income)t
years of education (more than five years education at
i
i
Tehran University is considered as graduate students and
less than five years of education is considered as under- |
graduate); source of employment such as public and privatej
I
and field of specialization (we selected six different
fields among all of the fields that are being taught at
Tehran University). In other words, we will consider four
independent variables, as mentioned above, and dependent ,
i
variables as occupational values. I
I
Thus, for testing the significance of differences
between and among the dependent variables and independent
variables, as mentioned above, we are using one-way anal-
164
<
I
ysis of variance. For a description of analysis of vari
ance, refer to Blalock's Social Statistics.*^
The entire design of our research structure will
be shown in Tables 2, 3, 4, and S.
Limitation and Shortcoming
of the WeaearcK
Sampling surveys, generally speaking, have in
evitable disadvantages. Kerlinger** counts the following
disadvantages as followst
1. Survey information ordinarily does not pene
trate very deeply below the surface.
2. Survey research is demanding of time and
money.
3. Any research that uses sampling is naturally
subject to sampling error.
Having the above disadvantages in mind, the fol
lowing seem to be the major shortcomings of this study.
1 should say that these shortcomings are mostly caused by
the limitations due to the two main important elements of
time and money. In addition to those mentioned above,
there is another shortcoming which should not be over-
^Blalock, o p . cit., Chapters 13 and 16.
**Kerlinger, o p . cit.. p. 407.
TABLE 2
ONE-MW ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
(Professional Discipline)
Public
Medicine Science Administration Law Literature Economics Total
Sums
Means
No. of
Cases
30 30 30 30 30 30 180
166
TABLB 3
ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
(Family Income)
$1500 $2500 $3500 $4500 $5500
Under up to
$2500
up to
$3500
up to
$4500
up to
$5500
and
$1500 More Total
Sums
Mean
No. of 30 30 30 30 30 30 180
Cases
167
TABLE A
Otn-WAY ANALYSIS OY VARIANCE
(Type of ftnployment)
Public Private Not Bnployee Total
Sums
Mean 30 30 30 90
No. of
Cases
168
TABLE 5
ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
(Graduate and Undergraduate Students)
Graduate Undergraduate Total
Students Students
Sums
i Mean 30 30 60
! No. of
Cases
I 169
(
i
I looked, that la, the problem of external validity. Ex-
! ternal validity means representativeness or general!za-
bility. We have drawn small samples from our universe
(Tehran University) While other universities in other
1 areas of Iran are entirely different in terms of political,
economical and social situations from Tehran University.
Since they may not react similarly with the population we
have studied, the external validity of this research is
left in doubt. But its internal validity has been care
fully controlled.
The Research
Instrument
It is impossible to obtain 100 percent response
from mail questionnaires. As is reported by Good and
Scates, the mean percentages of questionnaire returns
i from a large number of different investigators were as
I followsi 170 Masters' theses of Indiana State Teacher
! College, 71.74 percent; 204 Doctoral dissertations at
! Teacher College, Columbia University, 70.65 percent; and
| 59 research studies reported in the Journal of Education
; Research. 80.71 percent.45 The present study was no ex-
i
caption.
450ood and scates, o p. cit., p. 627.
170
Another shortcoming of a mail questionnaire study
is that it may not be as uniform as it seams. Experience
has shown that the same question frequently has different
meanings for different people.The researcher is power
less to do anything about it When the instrument is self
administered.
Riird, in an open-ended question, some of the re
spondents object to writing the answers, which reduces
the number of our samples of our universe.
We cannot say that our research does not have any
shortcomings. The only way to handle these shortcomings
is to keep them in mind While drawing conclusions from
the data collected for this study.
*6Xerlinger, on. cit.. p. 476.
CHAPTER IV
| I
INTERPRETATION OF DATA AND j
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
This chapter deals with interpretation of data and ,
i
i presents the result of our finding from the responses to
! our questionnaire. In describing our findings, we will
emphasize those parts that make clear the occupational
values of college and graduate students at Tehran Univer
sity. Then, we will compare occupational values of stu
dents from the standpoint of their professional dis
cipline, family background, and source of employment. In
addition, we are discussing the favorable and unfavorable j
' attitude of students toward public and large private
! business.
The following are the topics that will be dis
cussed in orderi
1. Occupational values of college and graduate i
I students at Tehran University.
| 2. Attributes of the ideal and worst occupations
from students point of view.
3. Comparison between favorable and unfavorable
attitude of students toward public service and large pri-
171
172
vate business as a lifetime career.
4. Comparison between occupational values of
public employees and private employees.
5. Comparison between occupational values of
students in regard to their family income.
6. Comparison between occupational values of
college and graduate students.
Occupational Values of College and Graduate
Students at Tehran University
In this part, we present the results from the
scaling of thirty occupational value statements by the
respondents, undergraduate and graduate students at Tehran
University. Bach statement was placed Where the respond*
ent thought it belonged on the five-point scale; strongly
agree — agree — undecided — disagree — strongly dis
agree. we have already discussed the details of the
scale in Chapter III. The results are analyzed in terms
of mean score for each group of items. The higher the
mean score, the higher the average amount of agreement
with the item by the group.
Most of the statements fall into eleven clusters
of items. Table 6 presents the data for the following
analysis.
TABLE 6
DISTRIBUTION Of MEAN SCORES ON OCCUPATIONAL VALUES
BY SCORE OF PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINES
Occupational Values Scale Public Liter-
Items Medicine Science Admin. Lav ature Economics
To me, it's inportant in an occupation
for a person to be able to carry out 4.7 4.0 3.2 3.8 3.9 4.9
his own ideas without interference
To me, it's important in an occupation
to have the chance to get to the top 4.6 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.4 4.6
It is satisfying to direct the worlc
of others 4.6 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.6
To me, almost the only thing that mat
ters about a job is the chance to do 4.9 4.7 3.7 3.8 4.7 3.7
work that is worthwhile to society
After you are making enough money to
get along, then making more money in 3.9 3.4 2.4 3.3 2.8 4.0
an occupation is not very important
To me, a very important part of work
is the opportunity to make friends 4.3 4.1 4.2 4.4 3.9 3.8
173
TABLE 6 — Continued
Occupational Values Scale Public Liter-
Items Medicine Science Admin. Law ature Economics
A person should constantly try to
succeed at work, even if it inter- 3.4 3.4 3.6 3.0 3.9 3.2
feres with other things in life
Getting recognition for my own work
is important to me 3.5 2.0 2.8 2.7 2.1 2.2
To be really successful in life, you
have to care about making money 3.2 3.8 2.6 2.7 2.0 2.1
It is more important for a job to
' offer opportunity than security 4.0 3.4 3.8 3.7 3.9 3.3
i
Success in an occupation is mainly a
matter of hard work 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.8 4.2 3.9
Work is most satisfying when there
are hard problems to be solved 4.4 3.8 4.1 3.9 4.7 4.1
The main satisfaction a person can get
out of work is helping other people 4.7 3.8 3.7 4.5 3.9 3.5
TO me, it's important in an occupation
that a person be able to see the re- 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.5 3.3 4.4
suits of his own work
TABLE 6 — Continued
Occupational Values Scale Public Liter-
Items Medicine Science Admin. Law ature Economics
i
I like the kind of work you can forget
about after the work day is over
To me, it is ingtortant to have the
kind of work that gives me a chance
to develop my own special abilities
Success in an occupation is mainly a
matter of knowing the right people
TO me, work is nothing more than a
way of making a living
A person has the right to expect
1 his work to be fun
I would like my family to be able to
have most of the things ray friends
and neighbors have
!
! Even if you dislike your work, you
should do your best
2.4 1.7 1.9 2.1 1.9 2.1
4.7 4.7 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.6
3.2 2.1 3.0 2.8 2.9 3.2
2.7 2.4 1.4 2.2 1.9 1.7
2.3 2.6 1.7 1.6 2.4 2.4
3.1 3.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.6
4.0 3.5 3.4 4.0 3.8 3.4
V I
TABLE 6 — Continued
Occupational Values Scale Public Liter-
Medicine Science Admin. Law ature Economics
Zf a person does not want to work
hard, it's his own business
Work is a way of being of service
to Qod
Mbrk is a good builder of character
Mbrk helps you forget about your
personal problems
It would be hard to live with the
feeling that others are passing
you up in your occupation
Sometimes, it may be right for a
person to lose friends in order
to get ahead in his work
It's Important to do a better job
than the next person
3.1 2.7 3.0 3.8 3.2
3.9 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.4
4.5 4.2 3.8 3.3 3.8
4.4 3.8 3.5 3.6 3.7
3.1 2.9 2.5 2.4 2.4
3.4 2.9 2.2 2.3 2.6
3.4 3.3 3.1 3.0 3.9
2.9
4.1
3.7
3.2
2.2
1.4
3.2
176
TABLE 6 — Continued
Occupational Values Scale
Items Medicine Science
Public
Admin. Law
Liter
ature Economics
Success in an occupation is mainly
a matter of luck 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.2
To me, gaining the increased respect
of family and friends is one of the
important rewards of getting ahead
in an occupation
3.8 3.4 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.1
N 40 39 37 39 44 40
i
-j
- 4
178
Occupational
Involvement
The following three items deal with occupational
involvements
a) A person has a right to expect his work to
be fun.
b) To me, work is nothing more than a way of
making a living.
c) I like the kind of work you can forget about
after the work day is over.
The first item is designed to measure the degree
to which a person believes he has a right to this sort of
positive involvement in his occupation. The overall pic
ture is one of mild disagreement with this statement in
all groups. Mean scores varied between a low of 1.6 and
a high of 2.6 on this item.
The second item is oriented to the present. A
low level of agreement suggests that the respondent sees
his work as providing, not merely a living, but asso
ciated with many other positive values. The group mean
scores ranged from a low of 1.4 to a high of 2.7* The
average score for all of the group shows mild disagree
ment with the statement. In other words, the student
179
considers work is more than simply a way of making a
living.
The third item suggests that the individual pre
fers to place work in one compartment and the rest of his
activities in another. The group mean scores ranged from
a low of 1.9 to a high of 2.4 on this item. The score
range shows a mild disagreement with the proposition.
In other words, the student considers work as a duty
rather than a source of being fun.
Money
The scale items below relates money as a value to
other values in life.
a) To be really successful in life, you have to
care about making money.
b) After you are making enough money to get
along, then making more money in an occupa
tion is not very important.
The scaling of the first item suggests the degree to
Which people see money as an ingredient of success.
The group scores range from 2.1 mild disagreement
up to mild agreement 3.2. This shows that this group of
students place a moderate importance on money as occupa
tional values. In other words, students show a mild
180
attraction for other aspects of the Job than money alone.
She second item suggests more directly the rela
tionship between money and other values. The greatest
amount of agreement, 4.9, is shown among medical students
and lowest amount of agreement, 2.4, is shorn among stu
dents of public administration.
Generally speaking, students at Tehran University
consider money an important determinant of an occupation.
Status
The following items are dealing with status:
a) To me, gaining the increased respect of
family and friends is one of the important
rewards of getting ahead in an occupation.
b) I would like my family to be able to have
most of the things my friends and neighbors
have.
c) Getting recognition for my own work is impor
tant to me.
Ihe mean scores for the first item among differ
ent professional disciplines are the same and range from
3.1 up to 3.8. It shows that students have a neutral
feeling towards this aspect of status.
181
The second item's mean scores, ranging from 2.5
up to 3.1, can be considered as neutral to mild disagree
ment .
The third item's mean scores, lowest 2.1 and
highest 3.5, show more or less the same as the two stated
above.
Generally, we can conclude that students at
Tehran University are neutral towards relationship be
tween occupational values and status. Or, in other
words, they feel it would be socially unacceptable if
they relate status with occupational values.
Job Relationships
Three statements deal with job relationship as
followst
a) To me, a very important part of work is the
opportunity to make friends.
b) Sometimes, it may be right for a person to
lose friends in order to get ahead in his
work.
c) it is satisfying to direct the work of others.
The first statement emphasizes the positive seek
ing out of friendships in a context, not merely for con-
182
corn or desire, but of personal Importance. This Item
measures how significant the job is as an environment
for making friends. The mean scores, ranging from 3.8
i
up to 4.4, indicates nearly all groups show moderate to
strong agreement on this item.
I
The second statement deals with competitive as
pect of interpersonal relationships. For instance, the
employee might lose friends in order to get ahead. The
mean scores range from the lowest of 1.4 strong disagree
ment to a high of 3.4 from the group of medical school
students.
Generally, all groups show mild disagreement. j
There is little distinction on this item among the vari
ous professional disciplines.
The third item deals with the authority aspect
of Job relationships. All groups strongly agree with
this item. Namely, they enjoy directing the work of
others. The mean scores range from 4.5 up to 4.6.
Competi tivenes a
t
Values associated with the striving and compet1- |
tiveness can be considered as followsi
|
a) It is more important for a Job to offer j
l
/
opportunity than security.
183
b) To me, it Is important in an occupation to
have a chance to get to the top,
c) It would be hard to live with the feeling
that others are passing you up in your occupa-
j
tion.
d) It is important to do a better job than the
next person.
The first item deals with opportunity as con- j
j
trusted with security in terms of their importance to the \
person. The higher the score, on the average, the more
is the group oriented to opportunity rather than secu
rity. The mean scores of this item shows mild to strong
agreement, ranging from 3.3 up to 4.0. There was no
significant variation on this item among professional
discipline.
The second item concerns the importance of having
a chance to get to the top. All groups indicate the
strong agreement of this item, the mean scores ranging
I
from 4.2 up to 4.6. i
;
The third item relates competitiveness with feel- i
ings about being passed up occasionally by others. The
mean scores range from 2.2 mild disagreement to 3.1 mild
agreement. It means that the students at Tehran univer
sity would not have a feeling of competitiveness with
184
their fellow employee.
The fourth item relates competitiveness with
feeling that it is important to do a better job than the
next person. The mean scores of groups show mild agree
ment on this statement, ranging from 3.0 up to 3.9.
Avenues to Success
The following items deal with avenues to success
with specific reference to luck, influence and hard worki
a) Success in an occupation is mainly a matter
of luck.
b) Success in an occupation is mainly a matter
of knowing the right people.
c) Success in an occupation is mainly a matter
of hard work.
The statements probe avenues to success with
specific reference to luck, hard work and knowing the
right people. On the average, luck is assigned a low
role by the students at Tehran university, ranging from
2.1 up to 2.2. The agreement among groups with item two
is slightly more than the first one, and ranges from 2.1
up to 3.2, With item three, agreement is fairly high,
ranging from 3.4 up to 4.2.
185
Generally, the students believe that success
comes from hard work. The luck and knowing the right
people cannot be considered as avenues to success.
Social Goals as Oc
cupational Aims
The following statements attempt to measure iden
tification with altruistic social goals as occupational
valuesi
a) The main satisfaction a person can get out
of work is helping other people.
b) To me, almost the only thing that matters
about a Job is the chance to do work that
is worthwhile to society.
The first and second items are strong statements
implicitly pitting help to other people against all the
other possible occupational motives. The first Item's
mean scores shows moderate to strong agreement, and
ranges from 3.5 up to 4.7. The second item, as the first
one, shows moderate to strong agreement, ranging from
3.7 up to 4.9.
This seems to indicate that students are not ego-
oriented and they emphasise social aims. Thus, their
choice of job is not on the basis of personal gain;
186
rather, they do consider it important to help other
people and to do a Job that is worthwhile to society,
Self-Development
The following statements deal with a personal or
ego-oriented view of one1s work*
a) To me, it's important in an occupation that
a person be able to see the results of his
own work,
b) To me, it's important to have the kind of
work that gives me a chance to develop my
own special abilities.
The first item involves a significant occupa
tional value, nils statement tests the ego-orientation
to one's work. Agreement with this statement is high in
all groups, and ranges from 3.3 up to 4.6. The lowest
mean score belongs to students of law school and the
other fields react to this question in a similar way.
The second item involves an aspect of self
development and personal emergence. The main picture is
one of very strong agreement. Mean scores range from
4.5 up to 4.7.
187
These mean scores Imply that the students are
looking for an environment in which they can satisfy
their ego needs. Thus, administrators should create
such an organizational environment that will attract
professionals to their organization. In other words, the
organizational environment should be harmonious with this
occupational value.
Occupational Challenge.
Personal Autonomy and
Self-Determination
The following two statements deal with occupa
tional challenge, personal autonomy and self-determina-
i
tiom !
i
a) Work is most satisfying when there are hard
problems to solve.
b) To me, it's important in an occupation for
i
a person to be able to carry out his own
ideas without interference.
Mean scores bn the first item range from 3.8 to
i
4.7 indicating that this statement dealing with irapor- j
tant aspect of "challenge" is accorded a high level of
agreement by all groups of professional discipline. j
Mean scores for the second item of personal au
tonomy and self-determination range from 3.2 to 4.9.
188
The agreement on this item is a little lower than the
first one.
Generally, scores point out that challenge and
autonomy are two important occupational values for stu
dents at Tehran university.
Job Obligation^
The following statements consider three aspects
of a Job, such as involvement, obligation and ethicst
a) A person should constantly try to succeed
at work., even if it interferes with other
things in life.
b) Bven if you dislike your work, you should
do your best.
c) If a person does not want to work hard, it's
his own business.
The agreement on the first statement on the basis
of mean scores is not high, rather it is undecided. The
scores, ranging from 3.2 to 3.6, indicates low agreement.
The overall pattern shows more agreement on the
second statement than the first one. The mean scores
range from 3.4 to 4.0, indicating mild agreement among
students.
189
The third 1 tain's mean scores range from 2.7 to
3.8 indicating mild disagreement.
Generally, the implication of these expressed
values toward work obligations is that the professional
students' basic commitment is to the worlc itself rather
than to the source of employment.
WorX as a Value
Attitudes towards work as a value in itself are
measured by the items given belowt
a) Work helps you forget your personal problems.
b) Work is a good builder of character.
c) Work is a way of being of service to God.
Mean scores on the first item range from 3.2 to
4.4, but the mean scores for the second item are a little
higher than the first one and range from 3.3 to 4.5. The
mean scores on the third item shows strong agreement
i
among all professional disciplines and range from 3.9 to
i
4.4. It can be inferred that the Iranian students put
i
I
more emphasis on service to God.
In general, students of professional disciplines
consider work itself as an occupational value.
i
- . . . i
190
Sunrearv
In summary, respondents In this research were
likely to agree with the following statements. In terms
of occupational Involvement, the students consider work
as a duty rather than a source of having fun. Their work
is important to them in and of itself. students consider
money as an important determinant of an occupation. The
reason they emphasize somewhat the need for money, from
the researcher's point of view, is that they are afraid
of retirement time, and they feel that they will not have
enough security in their old age. Therefore, they pre
fer to have a Job with high salary rather than low pay.
However, they are about respect from family and friends |
but because they feel it would be socially unacceptable
if they relate status with occupational values. For this j
reason, they are undecided on the relationship between
occupational values and status. They like to make
friends and do not like to lose friends in order to get
ahead in their job. In terms of opportunity and secu
rity, there is no significant variation among profes
sional disciplines, but we can say they put more smphasis j
on security than opportunity. Here again, as mentioned
before, from the researcher's point of view, the reason
I
191
is for money. It Is Important for them to have the
chance to "get to the top." They are not particularly
concerned about the other person passing them In their
occupation. Students consider success a matter of hard
I
work, rather than luck and knowing the right people. In j
I
terms of social goals, It can be said that students are
not ego-oriented and emphasis is on social alms. In
terms of self-development, mean scores show the students
are looking for an environment in which they can satisfy
their ego needs. They want their work to be challenging, j
i
Students at Tahran University considered challenge and
autonomy to be two important occupational values.
In terms of job obligation, it is shown that the students j
basic comnitment is to the work itself rather than source
of employment. On work as a value, however, the students ;
I
of professional discipline put more emphasis on service
I
to God, but, generally from the mean scores, it can be |
understood that they consider work itself as an important
occupational value.
For the purpose of making an overall judgment on
the source of variation due to the occupational values of j
different professional fields, we performed the one-way j
analysis of variance test. The result (Table 7) indi
cates that the occupational values among the six profes-
192
TABLE 7
ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
(Occupational Values)
Sum of
Squares
Degree of
Freedom
Estimate
of Variance ra
Total 145*65 179
Between 5.536 5 1.197
Within 140.113 174 .805 1.375
*F indicates that variation is not significant
at *05 level.
193
slonal groups Is not significantly different. With the
value of T being 1.375, the difference among the vari
ables is not significant in accordance with the .05 per
cent level of significance.
In general, the scores on thirty statements are
highly consistent with open-ended questions, the attri
bute of the worst and ideal occupation. We are going to
discuss responses received on these two questions in the
next section.
Attributes of the Ideal and Worst
Occupations from Students
Point of View
This section deals with the interpretation and
analysis of two open-ended questions as follows*
a) Write the three things which would make an
occupation worst or least satisfying to you.
b) List three things that would make an occupa
tion ideal for you.
Both questions tended to elicit positive and negative
values that are of concern to students. Thus, percentage
should not be Interpreted as reflecting the importance
students attached to the occupational values table.
When both tables, ideal and worst attributes of
occupation are considered as a Whole, the wide variety
194
of positive and negative occupational values were re
ported by respondents* It was not possible to show the
list of attributes on a single short list in a way such i
that validity characteristics of the nature of attribute
of the ideal and worst occupation could be considered.
It was possible to list than in order, but the problem
I
1
was to have an orderly list that would be valid for one
group of students. Public Administration, for example,
had little validity for other provessional disciplines.
Thus, for the purpose of precluding confusion and beeping
in mind the nature of question that we want to answer,
and purpose of our research — also limited time and
space — we confined ourselves to simply order the at- j
tributes of the ideal and worst occupation in two sepa
rate lists. In this way, we can make better recommenda
tions for administrator as well.
The following are those attributes which were
!
mentioned by nearly all of the students as the attributes !
of an ideal occupation.
i
1. High or good financial reward.
2. Good physical environment and working con
ditions.
3. Self-advancement and progress.
4. The power to make decisions.
195
5. Sense of achievement or accomplishment through
seeing results of own work*
A review of the tables show another point that is
important to mention. That is, the pattern of negative
and positive values which are not exact opposites of each |
!
other. Although there is some parallel between the two
positive and negative values, there are also significant
differences. The following are five negative occupa
tional values which rank near the top in frequency of
I
mentions
1. Poor or inadequate financial rewards.
2. Bad physical environment and working condi
tions.
3. Bad superior and supervisory relationships.
4. Lack of responsibility and authority; lack
of power to make a decision.
5. Work that does not fit one's capacities
and/or training.
Thus, except for poor financial rewards, bad physical
condition and lack of power to make decisions, which !
i
happen to be opposite of good financial rewards, good
physical environment and the power to make decisions,
the rest are entirely different occupational values.
!
This shows that the attributes of a worst occupation are !
196
somewhat Independent of an ideal one.
After these general comments, it is time to dis
cuss more specifically those values that students empha
size the most. As it is shown in the table, students
i
consider "high or good financial rewards'* as one of the
attributes of the ideal occupation with a high percentage
(68 percent) , and poor or Inadequate financial rewards
(with the percentage 75) as the most important attribute
of the worst occupation. As we have seen in 30 items of
the occupational values table, the students consider
money as one of the factors which more or less affect the :
choice of their employer.
**Qood physical environment and working condition,"
dealing with the physical aspects of the working environ
ment, is as high as 59 percent, and "bad physical environ
ment and working conditions" as high as 60 percent. "the :
power to make decision" in the table of the attribute of
the ideal occupation, shows 55 percent and in the table
of the worst occupation shows 54 percent. The remainder
of attributes of ideal and worst occupation is shown in
tabular form and they are self-explanatory. Tron these
tables, we are going to make some of our recommendations
to administrators and ask them to provide an organization-'
i
al environment that can attract young and able people for
197
TABLE 8
THE ATTRIBUTES OP THE IDEAL OCCUPATION
Percent
Percent Do Not
Answered Know
High or good financial rewards 68 32
Good physical environment and working
condition 59 41
Self-advancement and progress 60 40
Self-development, self-expression
and creating 58 42
Good personal relations with people
at work 39 61
Self-determination 35 65
The power to make decisions 55 45
Sense of achievement or accomplish
ment through seeing the result of 49 51
own work
Doing work that is worthwhile,
useful, constructive 10 90
Doing work that fits one's capacities
and/or training 24 76
Leisure, recreation, time off 12 88
N 195
Total Percent of Answering 58
198
TABLE 9
THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE WORST OCCUPATION
Percent
Percent Do Not
Answered Know
Poor or Inadequate financial reward 75 25
Bad physical environment and working
conditions 60 40
Bad superior, supervisor, boss 55 45
Bad or inadequate relations with
people at work 40 60
Lack of self-advancement and progress 20 80
Lack of self-development, self-
expression and creativity 17 83
Lack of responsibility and authority,
lack of power to make a decision 54 46
Little or no sense of achievement or
accomplishment through seeing re- 10 90
suits of own work
Work that does not fit one's
capacities and/or training 42 56
No leisure, recreation, time off 12 88
N 180
Total Percent of Answering 52
199
tlie purpose of serving society.
Comparison Between Favorable and Unfavorable
Attitude of Students Toward Public service
and Large Private Business
as a Lifetime Career
Table 10 of this section presents the analyzed
results of Part II of the questionnaire. This part was
designed to discover to what extent students had gener
ally favorable and unfavorable attitudes toward public
service and large private business as a lifetime career.
The results were obtained from nine questions
i
that were rated on the five-point, agree-dlsagree scale.
' I
The statements dealt with six aspects of employment as
followsI
Security.— The following statement deals with
i
security* "A job in public service is more secure than
one in large private business." Generally, it is demon
strated that more people equate government employment j
with security. The result of our finding is in line
with other findings. The mean score of respondent, 3.83,
shows that students believe that Jobs in the government
are more secure than one in large private business.
Among the professional discipline students in our sample,
students of medicine, law and economics, gave more credit
200
to government jobs in terms of security than other stu
dents.
Opportunity for advancement.— The results of the
statements "Opportunity for advancement in public service
is greater than large private business,* shows the opin
ion of students at Tehran University towards the oppor
tunity for advancement. The mean score of the question,
2.73, shows that students do not believe that the oppor
tunity for advancement in public service is greater than
in large private business. Among groups of professional
students, the students of medicine, law, and economics
gave more points to this question than other students.
Considering the variation in responses due to the various
professional disciplines, we found no significant differ
ences among the professional groups in comparing the
public service and large private business from stand
points of opportunity for advancement.
Pay and fringe benefits. — The following state
ments deal with pay and fringe benefit factors in public
and large private business!
a) Fringe benefits are greater in public service
than in large private business.
201
b) Public service pays people better than
private service.
In developing countries, pay and fringe benefits
play an important role in motivation. As we discussed
earlier in this chapter, most people like to emphasise
this factor as one of the important occupational values.
The results of the mean scores, 2.68 and 2.60, for the
first and second items, respectively, show that students
believe government pay and fringe benefits are lower than
large private business. The mean scores of the first
item range from 1.09 (disagree) to 3.4 (moderate agree
ment) . But the second item that dealt with pay, gener
ally the mean score ranged from a low of 1.4 indicating
strong disagreement to 2.6, a moderate disagreement. The
pay and fringe benefit factors are those points that ad
ministrators should pay more attention to for purposes
of attracting young and able people to their organization
for having efficient organizations.
Hbrk interesting "Work in public service Is
more interesting than in private service." This state
ment in student responses shows that work in the public
sector as a general rule is not considered store interest
ing than employment in large private business. Generally
202
speaking, students do not have enough experience on jobs
either In public or private sectors, but as long as we
assume their knowledge about both types of Jobs is the
same, then the conclusion can be Justified in terms of
impartiality. The mean score 2.83 shows that students
believe that Jobs in large private business is more in
teresting than one in public. The mean scores among
professional discipline students range from 1.8 to 3.5.
The students of economics, literature and public admin
istration are more pessimistic than those of other pro
fessional disciplines.
Working conditions.— It was asked if "working
conditions in public service are better than those in
large private business."
The mean score on this item, 3.52, shows moder
ate agreement. It means that working conditions in
public service are considered better than in large pub
lic organizations. The mean score among professional
disciplines ranged from 2.7 to 3.9.
Routine and monotony.— The question below asked
students to state their opinion about routines and monot
ony of the job in public service and large private busl-
203
ness. "Public service jobs are more routine and monot
onous than those in large private business." The re
sults of this item are of particular interest because
we felt that routine and monotony were an important as
pect in the determination of occupational choice in
government organization and/or in private service. The
findings of our study show that students feel jobs in
public service are more routine and monotonous than in
private service. The overall mean is 3.6, indicating
general agreement with the statement. The mean scores
range from 2.6 to 4.0, in other words, from undecided to
general agreement. The students of public administra
tion are more optimistic, 2.8, about government jobs
than other students of professional disciplines.
The overall picture of favorable and unfavorable
image of students on public service show that students
as a general rule do not assign high prestige to public
service. The students of medicine have more favorable
attitudes toward public service than other professional
fields. The students of public administration and liter
ature school showed that they have more unfavorable at
titude than others with mean scores of 2.54 and 2.40,
re spectively.
204
Por the purpose of making an overall judgment on
the source of variation due to the professional disci
plines , we performed the one-way analysis of variance
test. The results Indicate that the Image of public
service differs significantly among the six professional
disciplines. Using the table for the .05 significance
level in proper degrees of freedom, we find P * 2.37.
Since the value we actually obtained for P is 7.968, we
reject the null hypothesis at the .05 level, we decide
that there is sufficient evidence for concluding that the
image of students at Tehran University differ with re
spect to professional disciplines.
In sum, on the basis of Tables 10, 11, 12, and
13, we can conclude that the image of students at Tehran
University comparing public with large private organiza
tion is unfavorable. Prom this, we can say that admin
istrators of government organization should be serious
about changing the environment of their organizations in
order to attract able people in order to increase the
efficiency and effectiveness of organization. However,
the overall mean score, 3.3, of favorable and unfavorable
attitude toward public and private service shows a small
favorable attitude toward public organization, but it is
not enough for large organizations such as the Iranian
TABLE 10
COMPARISON BETWEEN FAVORABLE AND UNFAVORABLE ATTITUDE
OF STUDENTS TOWARD PUBLIC SERVICE AND LARGE PRIVATE
BUSINESS AS A LIFETIME CAREER
Public Liter-
Mediclne Science Admin. Lew ature Economics
1. Opportunity for advancement in
public service is greater than in 3.6
private business.
2. A job in public service is more
secure than one in large private 4.2
business.
3. Fringe benefits are greater in
public service than in large pri- 3.0
vate business.
4. In public service you can work
to help people more than in large 3.8
private business.
5. Advance to prestige positions
is better in public than large 4,1
private business.
3.1 2.6 3.4 2.4
3.8 3.4 4.3 3.1
3.2 2.1 3.2 1.9
3.6 2.4 3.4 2.2
3.1 2.6 3.3 2.5
3.5
4.3
3.4
3.4
3.7
M
O
ui
i____
TABLE 10 — Continued
Medicine Science
Public
Admin. Law
Liter
ature Economics
6. Public service pays people
better than large private
business.
2.6 2.4 1.5 2.7 1.4 2.6
7. Work in public service is more
interesting than in large private
business.
3.5 3.3 2.6 3.4 2.4 1.8
8. Working conditions in public
service are better than those
in large private business.
3.9 3.3 2.9 3.8 2.7 3.7
9. Public service Jobs are more
routine and monotonous than those
in large private business.
4.0 4.0 2.8 3.9 3.0 3.9
N 40 39 37 39 44 40
206
TABLE 11
PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OP RESPONSE IN QUESTION — -BON DO YOU COMPARE
PUBLIC SERVICE AS A LIFETIME CAREER WITH PRIVATE EMPLOYEE?"
— 1 ■ > . ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■■^T r 1 T l | ^ ^ M
Better when you Better when yon
ore employed by are employed by Do Not
public service private service Know
A. Starting salaries 33,89 59.00 7.11
B. Fringe benefits (pension, paid
vacation, etc.) 40.04 52.01 7.45
C. In-service training 35,56 55.65 8.79
D. Salaries at middle positions 39.33 52.30 8.37
E. Full use of professional skills 35.15 55.65 9.21
F. Supervisors 47.70 43.93 8.37
C. Salaries at top positions 60.25 30.59 9.21
H. System of promotion 26.36 64.44 9.21
I. Right people in the right Job 46.53 45.52 7.95
J. Encouraging more education for employee 48.00 50.00 2.00
to
o
TABLE 12
PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OP RESPONSE IN QUESTION — "NHICH OF THE FOLLOWING REASONS
DO YOU FEEL WOULD MOST LIKELY KEEP YOU FROM ENTERING PUBLIC SERVICE?"
Percent
Answered
Percent
Do Not Know
A. Unpleasant working surroundings 67 33
B. Low salary scale 47 53
C. Restriction of initiative and personal judgment 50 50
D. Too much emphasis on seniority 49 51
E. Bureaucratic inefficiency and red tape 54 46
F. Lack of challenge in the work 48 52
G. Tbo little reward for ability 52 48
H. Too little status or prestige 30 70
I. Reports of corruption 62 38
Number Answering 205
Percent Answering 60 40
209
TABLE 13
ONB-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE ON FAVORABLE AND
UNFAVORABLE ATTITUDE TOWARD PUBLIC SERVICE
Sum of
Squares
Degree of
Freedom
Estimate of
Variance Fa
Total 26.718 53
Between 12.118 5 2.423
Within 14.6 48 .304 7.968
&F Indicates that variation is significant at
5 percent level.
210
government.
The weak points of government organization in
comparison with large private business also can be ob
served by analyzing Table 11. As it is shown in this
table, the only advantage that students believe public
service has over private are salaries at top position
(60 percent) and that supervision is thought to be better
in the public service by 47 percent of the respondents.
The difference of this figure is not important.
Comparison Between Occupational Values of
Public Bmplovees and Private Bnploveea
In this section, we are going to make the differ
ences clear between occupational values of public and
private sectors in general. At the very beginning, it
should be mentioned that the following differences may be
because of some personal reasons that they selected
either private or public jobs or other factors that dealt
with the environment of the province or city in Which
they were raised. In any case, whatever the case might
be, we are not able to determine the factors of these
factors on the base of this research.
Some of the occupational values of the public em
ployees, as it is observed in Table 14 are different in
211
TABLE 14
COMPARISON BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL VALUES OF
PUBLIC B4PL0YEES AND PRIVATE EMPLOYEES
Public Private
Occupational Values Items Employee Employee
To me, it is important in an occupa
tion for a person to be able to carry 3.30 4.30
out his own ideas without interference.
It is satisfying to direct the work
of others. 4.70 3.90
Sometimes, it may be right for a per
son to lose a friend in order to get 3.50 3.20
ahead in his work.
A person should constantly try to
succeed at work even if it inter- 4.00 3.20
fered with other things in life.
If a person does not work hard, it
is his own business. 2.90 3.40
It is more important for a job to
offer opportunity than security. 3.90 4.50
Success in an occupation is mainly
a matter of hard work. 4.30 3.90
Success in an occupation is mainly
a matter of luck. 3.10 3.00
Success in an occupation is mainly
a matter of knowing the right people. 3.50 3.20
I like the kind of work you can forget
about after the work day is over. 3.20 2.70
A person has the right to expect
his work to be fun. 3.50 3.90
Wbrk is a good builder of character. 4.30 4.10
I .
TABLB 14 — Continued
212
Public Private
Occupational Values Items Baployee Bnployee
Work is a way of being of service
to Ood. 3.60 3.50
After you are making enough money
to get along, then making more money 3.20 3.50
in an occupation is not very im
portant.
To be really successful in life,
you have to care about making money. 3.20 2.80
H 81 46
213
I
some ways from the value pattern in private employees and j
i
vice versa. The private employees tend to agree much
more strongly with the idea thati "To me, it is important
in an occupation for a person to be able to carry out his i
own ideas without interference." The mean score of pri
vate employee on this statement is 4.30 as against 3.30
the mean score of public employee. In other words, the
j
private employees are more interested in occupational
challenge, personal autonomy and self-determination than
public enployees. The second most striking difference is I
i
concerned with evaluation of job relationships. In the 1
statementi NIt is satisfying to direct the work of oth
ers," the public employee's mean score, 4.70, is higher
than the private employee's mean score, 3.90. This can
be Interpreted to mean that in terms of authority, public
i
employees are more eager to direct the work of others j
than private employees. Again the statement oft "Some
times it may be right for a person to lose a friend in
order to get ahead in his work." The mean score of pub
lic employee is higher than the average of the private
employees. The former is 3.50 and the latter is 3.20.
In thisr case, the public employees are more competitive
in their jobs than private employees. The public em
ployee feels more strongly an obligation toward work as
214
an occupational value than do the private employee*.
In answering the statements "A person should con
stantly succeed at work even if it interferes with other
i
things in life," they show an average score of 4.00 as
compared to the private employee's average score of 3.20.
But, on the other hand, a statements "If a person does
not want to work hard, it's his own business," the average
score of public employees is lower than private employees,
with scores of 2.90 as against 3.40.
Another significant comparison is the items "It
is more important for a Job to offer opportunity than
security." The mean score of private employees is 4.50 as j
against 3.90 mean score of public employees. As we said
before, the higher the score, on the average, the more the |
group is oriented to opportunity rather than security* ;
This case shows that private employees agree more with |
i
jobs that offer opportunity rather than security. j
On the items "Success in an occupation is mainly I
i
a matter of hard work," the comparative scores are 4.30
for public employees, and 3.90 for private employees.
But, on the statements "Success in an occupation is mainly j
a matter of luck," the public employee1s mean score is
3.10, and the private employee's is 3.0. And, on the
215
items "Success in an occupation Is mainly a matter of
knowing the right people," the average score of the public
employee is 3.50, and that of the private is 3.20.
In terms of occupational involvement, on the items
MI like the kind of work you can forget about after the
work day is over,H the mean score of public employee is
3.20, and private employee is 2.70. The public employees
believe that the individual should place work in one com
partment and the rest of his activities in another. But
on the statements "A person has a right to expect his
work to be fun,M the average score of private employees,
3.90, and public employees, 3.50. The public employees
believe that an employee has a right to this sort of pos-
i
itive involvement in his occupation. j
j
A further interesting observation is that the
public employee's mean score on the statements "Work is a
good builder of character," is 4.30, higher than the pri- |
I
vate employee with an average of 4.10. On the statement
that deals withs "Nbrk as a Value" on the item "Hbrk is
a way of being of service to God," the public employee's
mean score, 3.60, is slightly higher than private em
ployee with mean score 3.50. The public employee tends
to agree with the idea thats "After you are making enough
money to get along, then making more money in an occupa-
216
tion Isn't very important,” with mean score of 3.50; more
than public employees with an average score of 3.20. But,
on the other hand, on the items "To be really successful
in life, you have to care about making money,1 1 public em
ployee's mean score is slightly more than private em
ployee, 3.20, with 2.80 for public employees.
As a matter of fact, there are no significant dif
ferences between public employees and private employees
occupational values. As the mean scores show, in most of
other values, they seem to be more or less the same.
In order to assess the general overall pattern of
variation in the occupational values of public and pri
vate employees, we performed a one-way analysis of vari
ance test. The results of this test make clear that the
differences in regard to thirty occupational value state
ments are not significant between source of employment
(Table 15). The value of F ratio for the source of em
ployment at .5 level of significance is .318 indicating
that the variations due to differences in sources of em
ployment (public and private) are not significant at the
5 percent level.
217
TABLE 15
COMPUTATIONS FOR ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
Sum of Degree of Estimate of
Squares Freedom Variance F
Total
Between
Within
35.469 89
.258002 2 .129001
35.211 87 .404724 .318738
Since the value we actually obtained for F is
less than 3.07, we fall to reject the null hypothesis
at the .05 level. We say that there is insufficient
evidence for concluding that occupational values ac
tually differ with respect to source of employment.
218
Comparison Bat wen Occupational Values
of Studentsin Regard to
^i^lr family Income
In this section, we are Interested In analyzing
occupational values In regard to family Income. As we
have defined it earlier in Chapter III, students were
asked to show their annual family income in terms of
"Rials," the unit of Iranian currency, mien it was
changed to American dollars. Annual incomes up to $1500
U.S. were considered low or poor, while a good annual in
come was $5500 or more.
Another way of ascertaining the structure of job
values lay in utilizing the five-point agree-disagree
scale ratings assigned to various statements of occupa
tional values and annual family income* mils compara
bility can be seen in Table 16 which presents the mean
i
scores on selected items by annual family income. |
Let us analyze the data that has been collected.
I
On the items "Work is most satisfying when there are hard j
j
problems to be solved," the mean scores show the movement j
from a mild agreement rate of 3.10 among people with the
i
lowest income, $1500, to 4.40 among those with the high
est income of $5500 or more. It means that those with
high family income are largely interested in jobs with
219
autonomy and challenge, and low Income families do not
consider challenge and autonomy as occupational values.
The progressive mean score indicates that as the family
income increases, the amount of values on this item goes
up. On the statementi "To me, work is nothing more than
a way of making a living,1 * the mean scores range from
2.60 from those with high family income to 3.70 for low
family income. In other words, those with low family in
comes are more inclined than those of high Incomes to
agree that work is to be viewed as "bread and butter"j
that is, something to be done and forgotten about. Gen
erally, low family income considers work as simply a way
of making a living. It is clearly indicative that high
family incomes view more highly their work and consider
it as an integrated part of their lives more than do low
income families.
On the ltemi "It is more important for a job to
offer opportunity than security," the mean score ranged
from 3.90 for those with high Incomes down to 1.80 for
the low incomes. It means that for those with low in
come, opportunity is less important than security. The
mean score progressively increased as the income raised.
220
On the values associated with avenues of success,
the occupational values differ considerably according to
the family Income. There are three statements that deal
with avenues of success as follows*
1. Success in an occupation is mainly a matter
of luck.
2. Success in an occupation is mainly a matter
of knowing the right people.
3. Success in an occupation is mainly a matter
of hard work.
The agreement of those with low income on items
one and two is greater than those with high family income.
The scores on the first item range from 3.50 down to 2.10.
This means that low income family students believe suc
cess in an occupation is a matter of luck more than do
high family income students. The mean scores on the
second item range from 3.90 for those with low Income,
down to 2.90 for the high incomes. Again students of
high family income do not believe that success in an oc
cupation is mainly a matter of knowing the right people.
Mean scores on the third item are reversed with the two
above Itmns. Those with high income believe that success
in an occupation is a matter of hard work more than do
221
those with low income. It ranges from 4.60, high agree
ment down to 3.10, moderate agreement.
On the items "It is more satisfying to direct the
job of others," the mean scores show that the higher the
income, the greater is the tendency to affirm such values
as being able to direct others. Scores range from 4.50
low income up to 4.80 high income. However, the differ
ences of the mean score are not too much, and all levels
of income more or less strongly agreed with this item,
but It shows that the high income family students have
more desire to direct the job of others.
On the statements "To me, It is important in an
occupation to have the chance to get to the top," the
mean scores indicate that the higher income students are
more ego-oriented than students with low family Income.
However, all levels of income agree with this statement,
but those with high levels of income put more emphasis
on this statement than others. Mean scores range from
4.80 down to 4.40.
"To be really successful in life, you have to
care about money." This is another statement about
occupational values that gives us significant differences i
in regard to different levels of income. The lower the
222
income, the more emphasis on the role of money in suc
cessful life. The mean score ranges from 4.00 from the
low incomes down to 2.80 from high incomes.
On the itemt "To me, it is important to have the
kind of work that gives me a chance to develop ray own
special abilities,M the mean scores show the different
reactions on this statement. The lower the Income, the
less emphasis on developing special abilities. Mean
scores range from 3.60 moderate agreement up to 4.60 high
agreement, belonging to those students that come from
families with incomes of $5500 and more.
Generally speaking, higher Income accompanies
more emphasis on the ego-rewarding, self-realization as
pects of the job; the lower the income, the more is em
phasis given to the extrinsic, material rewards of work
and to the role of luck in being successful.
TABLE 16
OCCUPATIONAL VALUE STAT94BNTS RELATED TO FAMILY INCOME
Occupational Value Statements
up to
$1500
$1500
up to
$2500
$2500
up to
$3500
$3500
up to
$4500
$4500
up to
$5500
$5500
and
More
Wbrk is most satisfying When there are hard
problems to be solved.
3.10 3.20 3.60 4.10 4.00 4.40
To me, it is important to have the kind of
work that gives me a chance to develop my
own special abilities.
3.60 3.70 3.50 3.60 3.80 4.60
Success in an occupation is mainly a
matter of hard work.
3.10 3.40 4.10 4.30 4.50 4.60
Success in an occupation is mainly a
matter of knowing the right people.
3.90 3.90 3.70 3.10 3.00 2.90
Success in an occupation is mainly a
matter of luck.
3.50 3.20 2.50 2.80 2.60 2.10
It is satisfying to direct the work of
others.
4.50 4.60 4.40 4.50 4.70 4.80
It is more important for a Job to offer 1.80 2.20 2.10 2.10 3.50 3.90
opportunity than security.
M
K>
U)
TABLE 16 — Continued
Occupational Value Statements
$1500 $2500 $3500 $4500 $5500
Up to up to up to up to up to and
$1500 $2500 $3500 $4500 $5500 More
To me, it is Important in an occupation
to have the chance to get to the top.
To be really successful in life, you have
to care about making money.
To me, work is nothing more than a way of
making a living.
4.30 4.50 4.30 4.60 4.70 4.80
4.00 3.90 3.00 2.90 3.00 2.80
3.70 3.40 2.60 2.30 2.50 2.60
N 33 49 25 28 26 78
M
IO
225
TABLE 17
ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
(Family Income)
Sum of
Squares
Degree of
Freedom
Estimate of
Variance F
Total 94.8374 179
Between 2.92251 5 .584501
Hithin 91.9149 174 .52847 1.10649
According to F ratio, there is no significant
difference on occupational values of students in re
gard to their family income.
226
Comparison Between Occupational Values
of Undergraduate and
Graduate Students
nils section highlights the variations within the
two categories, undergraduate and graduate, and makes
some cross-level comparisons of comparable groupings.
Although students are not yet part of the full
time work force, they have rather definite notions about
what they desire in an occupation, ttiese ideas are not
invariably the same for the two populations. Some fea
tures of a job are of approximate equality to them, but
others differ in accordance with years of education. It
seems to us that variation within levels are not reason
able, for example, we would not expect all college stu
dents to show the same concern about various clusters of
occupational values.
Such suppositions are revealed when we examine
Table 18 according to respondent's years of education.
In the student population, graduate students are more con
cerned about occupational involvement, money, status,
avenues of success, social goals as occupational values
and challenge and autonomy than are undergraduate
students.
227
The undergraduates obtained a low mean score of
2.40 indicating moderate disagreement with the items
"To me, work is nothing more than a way of making a
living," while graduate students had a 2.90 mean score.
This tends to show that graduate students consider work
more as a way of making a living than undergraduate stu
dents. xt should be kept in mind that neither group of
students gave more credit to this statement, in other
words, they consider work is more than simply a way of
living.
The undergraduates considered in this study
scored 3.20, which is lower than graduate students with
3.60 on the itemi "To be really successful in life, you
have to make money. " This means that graduate students
equate money more with success than do undergraduates.
As for the statementi *After you are making
enough money to get along, then making more money in an
occupation is not very important," graduate students by
the mean score of 4.00 Indicating strong agreement em
phasize more the financial rewards as occupational values
than undergraduate students with an average of 3.50.
Generally speaking, this means that on the base of
scores, we conclude that both undergraduates and graduate
228
students consider financial rewards as one of the impor
tant factors in accepting or rejecting a job.
The graduate students' mean scores on the state
ments "To me, gaining the increased respect of family
and friends is one of the important rewards of getting
ahead in an occupation," was 4.30, indicating strong
agreement, while undergraduates show an average of 3.90.
This indicates that graduate students have more positive
feelings toward status than do undergraduate students.
This is also demonstrated in another statements "I would
like my family to be able to have most of the things my
friends and neighbors have." The mean score of graduate
students, 3.90, was higher than the score of under
graduates, 3.70.
In terms of success, graduate students lay more
stress on matters of luck and knowing the right people
than the matters of hard work in comparison with under
graduates. On the itemss "Success in an occupation is
mainly a matter of luck," and "Success in an occupation
is mainly a matter of knowing the right people," the mean
scores of the graduate students are 2.40 and 3.10, re
spectively, while undergraduates' average scores of 2.00
and 3.00, respectively. This shows that graduate stu
dents are more inclined to think that "luck" and "knowing
the right people" brings them success than do under
graduates. However, all of the scores show that they
emphasize the importance of hard work over other factors.
niere are mild differences on social goals as
occupational values. Both groups react to the question
below more or less the same, but graduate students' mean
!
score, 4.80, is larger than undergraduates, whose mean
scores are 4.70. nils means that on the items "To me,
almost the only thing that matters is the chance to do
work that is worthwhile to society," both groups sub-
j
scribe largely to altruistic social goals as occupational
values. j
On the items below that deal with occupational
challenge and autonomy, undergraduate and graduate stu
dents moderately agree. They consider challenge and au
tonomy as an occupational value. "Work is satisfying |
when there are hard problems to be solved.N "To me, it
i
is important in occupation to be able to carry out one's
j
own Ideas without interference." The mean scores show |
i
slight differences between these grouper 4.00 and 4.40
are the mean scores of graduate students, compared with
4.20 and 4.60 for undergraduates on the above items,
respectively. It means that students, in general, seek
230
those Jobs that can satisfy their values of autonomy and
challenge.
The scores obtained from occupational values of
undergraduate and graduate students were subject to one
way analysis of variance. The results of the analysis
are shown in Table 19. It was found that there is no
significant difference at the 5 percent level between
occupational values of undergraduate and graduate stu
dents. nils indicates that the respondents selected in
this study have similar views regarding occupational
values.
j
231
TABLE 18
OCCUPATIONAL VALUES STATBCSNTS AND UNDERGRADUATE
AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AT TEHRAN UNIVERSITY
Under-
Occupational Values Statements graduate Graduate
To me, work Is nothing more than a
way or making money. 2,40 2.90
To be really successful In life,
you have to make money. 3.20 3.60
After you are making enough money to
get along, then making more money in 3.50 4.00
an occupation is not very important.
To me, gaining the Increased respect
of family and friends is one of the 3.90 4.30
important rewards of getting ahead
in an occupation.
I would like my family to be able to
have most of the things my friends 3,70 3.90
and neighbors have.
Success in an occupation is mainly
a matter of luck. 2,00 2.40
Success in an occupation is mainly
a matter of knowing the right 3,00 3.10
people.
Success in an occupation is mainly
a matter of hard work 4,00 4.40
To me, almost the only thing that
matters is the chance to do work 4.70 4.80
that is worthwhile to society.
I
i
TABLE 18 — Continued
232
Occupational Values Statements
Under
graduate Graduate
Work is most satisfying When there
are hard problems to be solved. 4.00 4.20
To me. it is important in an occupa
tion to be able to carry out one1s
own ideas without interference.
4.40 4.60
N 156 83
I
i
I
l
i
233
TABLE 19
ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE OF OCCUPATIONAL VALUES
OF UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS
Sum of
Squares
Degree of
Freedom
Estimate of
Variance Fa
Total 23.307 59
Between .266 1 .266
Within 23.040 58 . 397 .671
®F indicates that there is no significant differ
ence at 5 percent level between occupational values of
undergraduate and graduate students at Tehran University.
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
i
FOR FURTHER RESEARCH j
i
i
ttie purpose of this chapter is to briefly review ,
the findings of our investigation which was directed to
find the answer to the research problems and to make some
recommendations for government administrators in order to
enable them to attract qualified persons to public organ-
I
izations for the purpose of accomplishment of the organ
izational purposes in the most effective and efficient j
way.
In order to accomplish this task, we are going
to summarize our concluding observation under the fol
lowing subheadings!
I
1. Summary of findings. |
2. Some specific recommendations for adminis
trators .
3. Implication for further research.
Summary of Findings
Whenever an individual chooses a specific job
and a specific employer, whether for the first time or
234
235
later In life, he la the possessor of certain occupa
tional related abilities, of Ideas and attitudes con
cerning perceived characteristics of employing organ
izations. This study has been designed to assess oc
cupational values of undergraduate and graduate students
at Tehran University.
It may be recalled that the following are the
major questions which the study attempted to answers
1. Do the attitudes of college and graduate stu
dents vary according to their field of specialization and
family background?
2. What are the attitudes of college and gradu
ate students at Tehran University toward public and
private service in general?
3. How do college and graduate students compare
public service with private in terms of salary, job
satisfaction, opportunities for advancement, challenge
of work, and security?
4. What are the occupational values of college
and graduate students which affect their choice of jobs?
In order to answer these questions, a simple
survey of the attitudes and occupational values of stu
dents at Tehran University was conducted to determine
236
i
i
the occupational values of college and graduate students.
i
Our study of the problem was primarily focused on the !
empirical exploration and examination of the following: |
I
1. Occupational values of college and graduate
students at Tehran University.
2. Attributes of the best and worst occupations
from students' points of view.
3. Comparison between favorable and unfavorable
attitudes of students toward public service and large
private business as a lifetime career.
4. Comparison between occupational values of
public employees and private employees.
5. Comparison between occupational values of
students in regard to their family income.
6. Comparison between occupational values of j
i
college and graduate students.
i
Occupational Values of j
College and graduate
Students
i
i
1. Occupational involvement.— Students consider j
work as a duty rather than a source of enjoyment. The
)
work itself is important to them.
2. Money Generally, students at Tehran Univer
sity consider money as an important determinant of an
237
!
occupation, nils seems to be associated with the nature
of Iran's social system.
3. Status.— On the base of data, we can say that |
students are neutral toward the relationship between oc
cupational values and status. They care about respect
from family and friends, but they feel it would be so
cially unacceptable if they relate status with occupa
tional values. Therefore, the responses are neutral
toward this relationship between occupational values and
status. |
4. Job relationship.— Generally, students like !
to make friends in their work rather than to lose friends ;
in attempting to get ahead in their job.
5. Competitiveness.— Students put more emphasis
on security than opportunity. In addition, they are not
i
concerned about others passing them in their occupation, |
but it is important for them to get to the top.
6. Avenues of success.— Students believe that
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I
success comes from hard work rather than luck and knowing
the right people.
i
7. Social goals as occupational aims.— The choice
of students' jobs are not on the base of personal gainr
rather, they do consider helping other people and doing
a job that is worthwhile to society.
238
8. Belf-development.— Students are looking for
an environment In which they can satisfy their ego needs.
9. Challenge, autonomy and self-determination.—
Challenge, autonomy and self-determination are Important
occupational values for students at Tehran University.
10. Job obligation.— Students1 basic commitment
is to the work Itself rather than to an employer or
agency.
11. kbrk as a value.— Students consider work it
self as an occupational value, but they emphasize service
to God even more.
Attributes of the Ideal
and Worst Occupation
from Students'
Points of View
Students tend to identify the following as the
attributes of an ideal occupationi
1. High or good financial reward.
2. Good physical environment and working
conditions.
3. Self-advancement and progress.
4. The power to make decisions.
5. Sense of achievement or accomplishment
through seeing results of their own work.
239
The following are attributes of the worst oc
cupational
1. Poor or inadequate financial rewards.
2. Bad physical environment and working
conditions.
3. Bad superior and supervisory relationships.
4. Lack of responsibility and authority, lack
of power to make a decision.
5. Work that does not fit one's capacities
and/or training.
Favorable and Unfavorable
Attitude of Students To
ward Public and Large
Private Business as a
Lifetime Career
Given the research data which have been presented ;
in this study, we feel that the following statements rep- ■
resent the valvss and expectations of Iranian university
students as they seek employments
1. Security.— Students believe that a Job in
the government sectors is more secure than one in large
private business. The students of medicine, law and |
i
economics gave more credit to government Jobs in terms
of security than other professional disciplines.
240
2. Opportunity for advancement.— On the base of
the data, we found that there is no significant differ
ence among the professional groups in comparing the
public service and large private business from stand
points of opportunity for advancement.
3. Pay and fringe benefits.— Students at Tehran
University believe that pay and fringe benefits in large
private business is higher than in public service.
4. Work interesting.— Students of professional
disciplines agree that jobs In large private businesses
are more interesting than in the public service.
5. Routine and monotony.— The findings of our
study show that students feel jobs in public service are
more routine and monotonous than in private sectors.
6. work conditions.— The data shows that working
conditions in the public service are better than in large
private business front the students' standpoint. The
overall picture of favorable and unfavorable images of
students in public service shows that students as a
general rule do not highly esteem public service.
241
Comparison Between Occupa
tional Valuea off Public
Bnplovees and Private
ttnplovees
The research findings did not reveal any signif
icant differences between public employee and private
employee occupational values.
Comparison Between Occupa
tional Values of Studenta
in Regard to Their Family
Income
The results of our analysis shows that the higher
the income, the more emphasis on the ego-rewarding, self-
realization aspect of the Job. The lower the income, the
more emphasis is given to the extrinsic, material re
wards of work and to the role of luck in being successful
Comparison Between Occupa
tional Values of Oolleqe
and graduate Students
Although students are not yet part of the full
time work force, they have rather definite notions about
What they desire in an occupation. These ideas are not
invariably the same for the two populations. Some fea
tures of a Job are approximately equal to them, but
others differ in accordance to years of completed educa-
I
242
tion. Generally, on the base of our statistical test,
the one-way analysis of variance, it can be concluded
that there is no significant difference between occupa
tional values of college and graduate students.
Recontnendat i on s
|
The structure of organization and management is
like a diamond. It only shines with brilliance if it is I
cut exactly and flawlessly along its planes of synmetry
i
and polished to perfection on each of its many surfaces.^
The analogy used here by General Eifler points out the
basis or reason why there is no single unified theory of j
organization but rather nearly as many theories of organ
ization as there are authors and researchers on the sub-
I
Ject. Each researcher as a result of his research and
personal interest approaches a particular facet of the
organization, and from that view develops a theory to
explain the phenomenon observed. The theory so developed
is valid for the particular facet or aspect of the organ- ;
ization under consideration and for the set of occupations
1 General C. W. Eifler. "Management Needs Systems"
(unpublished paper presented to the management associa
tion. Frankford Arsenal, May, 1962). Copy available in
archives v.s. Army Oonmand and General Staff College,
P.I.
upon which It Is based. It will, however, conflict with
theories which are developed or arrived at by examining
other facets of the organization using a different set
of assumptions.
Along with some of the other researchers, we
were influenced by the findings of our empirical study
which was aimed to provide a broad recoamendation for j
Iranian administrators through understanding the pattern
of occupational values of undergraduate and graduate
students at Tehran University. Since our research was
limited to Tehran University, and as we commented that
its external validity is doubtful, it would be hazardous
to infer too much from our findings. Ihus, our recoin- ;
mendations outlined below are only suggestive and require !
more research and examination in many other different
areas before they can be considered generally applicable.
Organization and management theory as applied in
the Iranian government organization is based primarily
on what might be defined as classical or traditional
organization theory. (We have discussed this theory at |
great length in Chapter II.) It does not seam necessary
!
to repeat it again. But we should keep in mind that, as |
i
Storm points outi I
244
Professionals cannot work In the traditional
bureaucratic setting. Professionals, as a
class, are a different kind of man from non
professionals. They have different aspira
tions, values, and rewards. They are inde
pendent, free thinking, Intellectuals. They
insist on exercising influence on the deci
sion which affect their work and themselves;
they cannot readily work in a closed system
with prescribed roles, hierarchy, and rigid
authority patterns.2
It is obvious that classical theory of organiza
tions cannot be used at the end of the twentieth century,
both because of the mechanical processes of today's
organizations and dependency of organization on modern
professionals. As Bennis says, "democracy is inevitable."
He points out that democracy has been so widely embraced
not because of some vague yearning for human rights, but
because tinder certain conditions, it is a more "efficient"
form of social organization.^
Thus, our recommendations on the base of our find
ings and the above theories of organization can be stated
as followsi
^William B. Storm, "The Role of Public Adminis
tration in Planning for Social Development" (unpublished
paper presented to the Fourth general Assembly of the
Bastern Regional Organization Seminar on Administration
of Social Development, Tehran, Iran, 1966), p. 10.
3Warren 0. Bennis, Changing Organizations (New
Yorkt McOraw-Hill Book Company, 1966), p. 17.
245
1. Since the nature of problem-solving in to
day's organization places great emphasis on the perform
ance of qualified people, the system of values that apply
to organization should conform to the following patternsi
a) Full and free communication, regardless
of rank and power.
b) A reliance on consensus rather than on
the more customary forms of coercion or
compromise to manage conflict.
c) Recognition that influence is based on
technical competence and knowledge
rather than on the vagaries of personal
whims or prerogatives of power.
d) An atmosphere that permits and even en
courages emotional expression as well as
task-oriented acts.
e) A basically human bias, one which accepts j
i
the inevitability of conflict between the ;
organization and the individual, but is
willing to cope with and mediate this
conflict on rational grounds.4
4Ibid., p. 19.
246
2. It is obvious that organizations cannot begin
to function until people have been recruited to fulfill
the specified roles and to provide specified activities.
All administrators should realize that the most important
part of an organization is the people in it — how they
work together, how their needs are satisfied, and how
they are led. The following should be kept in minds
a) Selection of supervisors.— of major im
portance in any organization is the day-by-day and hour-
by-hour relationships between subordinate and supervisor.
The administrator may decide upon policies of one sort or
another, may even issue orders and require reports, but
the immediate supervisor runs the works. If the super
visor is selected because of seniority and his skills are
the same as the subordinate, or on similar grounds, the
level of morale is likely to be low.
Ihe administrator should look for and select
supervisors on the basis of their subject matter ability
and leadership ability. In filling supervisory posts,
administrators must steer away from persons who display
anxieties when they are up against the obligation to make
decisions, and must watch out for individuals Who find it
necessary to punish others for mistakes or inadequacies.
247
Suffice it to say that the selection of supervisors is
one of the main tasks of the administrator. The super
visors not only must be able to get the job done, but
also do it in such a way that the subordinates find some
personal satisfaction in the doing of a Job.
b) Fair treatment.— Fair treatment means an
equitable system of rewards on the basis of known stand
ards. In other words, equal pay for equal work. People
like to know how they are being judged and what the bases
of judgment are, and they want to be sure that the per
sons making judgments are Impartial. finployees should
be treated equally on the basis of length of time on the
job and the quality of work done rather than seniority
or family background.
c) Independence.— By independence, we mean
freedom to express opinions concerning the work being
done or to be done, ftie professional man should assign
those aspects of the job which enphasize planning one's
work activities in order to be able to answer to others
for the end results rather than the method of attaining
it. Of course, the extent to which the need for inde
pendence or autonomy is met varies from one occupation
and from one work situation to another, it is the ad-
246
ministrator1s Job to apply the law of the situation.
d) Livelihood.— People must have money to
purchase the necessities of life. The customary way to
get money is to work for it. Thus, if the needs of the
workers are to be satisfied in their work, the absolute
level of current earnings must be sufficient to maintain
an adequate standard of living. The individual likes to
feel that he is earning as much as others of his sex,
age, experience, seniority and profession, finployees
want to be paid as much as they might earn if they worked
for another employer. It is clear that pay is not only
a way of earning money to satisfy physiological needs,
i
but it also deals with satisfaction of esteem needs. j
e) Work situation.— Administrators should !
keep in mind the work conditions and situations, nils
means that physical conditions in which the work is done, j
the way in which the work flow is organized, the equip
ment and materials with which the work is done affect
the employee's satisfaction in his work.
3. All of the public organizations must have
[
accurate, comprehensive- personnel data. In order to plan |
effectively its recruitment, selection, and training
activities for the purpose of filling position vacancies,
I
. ..................... ,._J
249
public organization should have methods of finding out
why people, specifically professionals, prefer private
organization rather than public. There should also be
research and evaluation studies to see how well personnel
processes have worked and how they can be revised and
improved.
4. At the present time, technical development
escalates to a level where it consumes new technical and
professional skill as rapidly as it can find it — and
asks for more. It is the administrator's Job to get the
most from such kinds of knowledgeable persons. In doing
so, a new organizational environment should be designed
in such a way that maximizes the creative capacity of
each member.
5. After recruiting and selecting appropriate
people to do the jobs, the training process will appear
to fit the people to the organization. In order to make
people effective members of an organization requires not
only the learning of Job skills, but also an understand
ing of the organizational mission, its ways of doing
things, its climate or culture and the various career
paths available within it.
6. Since the rate of technological change is
rapidly accelerating, change becomes a permanent and
250
accelerating factor in organizational life, and adapt
ability to change becomes increasingly the most important
single determinant of survival. In order to cope with
this changing environment and survive, it is the respon
sibility of administration to induce and direct change,
and to see that this responsibility is met by building
truly effective public institutions.
Implication for further Research
It is obvious that one study at a single point
in time and limited by the financial resources of the re
searcher is an insufficient base from which to generate
general conclusions such as those presented by this
study. Similar studies should be conducted to confirm
or reject the rather surprising findings of occupational
values of college and graduate students in Iran.
A great deal of empirical investigation is needed
to discover the occupational values of both Iranian gov
ernment employee and those of large private enterprise
for the purpose of determining the extent of values and
goals the present-day Iranians seek to realize in their
occupation. How do they perceive the government as an
employer and how does working for the government compete
251
In attractiveness with other eogaloyment?
Value Is considered as a determinant of behavior
and in the United States business and industrial organ
izations have placed great emphasis on various kinds of
"on the job training1 1 for the purpose of increasing
organization effectiveness. Therefore, it is reccnmended
that attempts be made to measure the effect of training
on value changes in the Iranian environment. If the re
sult is positive, then it can be reconmended to apply
training such as T-group in government organization to
bring about organizational effectiveness.
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>xx
Dear Sirs
Our country, under the guidance of Hia Imperial
Majesty, is improving and progressing toward a better
position among the Middle Bast countries, as well as
others. I
In every instance and place where participants
have a familiarity with the near past and present situa
tion of our country — whether in Iran or in foreign
countries — there are a lot of discussions concerning
social revolution as it has occurred in Iran.
The facets of the social revolution approved by
the popular referendum in January, 1963, includes land
reform, nationalization of the country's forests, sales j
of state-owned factories to supply financial backing for
the implementation of the land reform, permitting workers
to share by 20 percent in the net profits of factories,
amending election laws and establishment of a nationwide
literacy corps and six other points, ttiese social revo-
i
lutionary measures have been so institutionalized that
we are both proud of ourselves and of our government.
As His Imperial Majesty mentioned, it is time to
have another revolution that will be, in turn, as impor
tant as the above social revolution. It is called the
administrative revolution.
266
What do we mean by this term? And how is It
possible to have a revolution in administration? It is
not easy to do this if you neglect to maXe any contribu
tion, and sincere participation. But we are not asXing
too much from you. All that is requested is that you
spend from 20 to 25 minutes to fill out the Question
naire, and then return it in the stamped, self-addressed
enclosed envelope. Please answer the questions as
franXly and accurately as you can. You are specifically
asXed not to sign your name so that your anonymity in
this research can be assured.
It is important to let you Xnow that you were
selected on the base of a random sampler there is no
special reason why you were selected. We are grateful
for your Xind consideration and cooperation in helping
us to carry out this useful and important administrative
revolution.
Sincerely yours,
267
QUESTIONNAIRE
Part One
Please check appropriate box. Please do not omit any
answer.
1. How old are you?
Under 20 years
20 to 29 years
30 to 39 years
39 years or older
2. Are you male or female?
Male
Femals
3. What is your marital status7
Married
Divorced
Single
4. What is your religious preference?
Moslem
Christian
Jewish
Other
None
How many years have you studied in universities?
0 to one year
1 to 3 years
3 to 5 years
5 or more years
What is your family's financial status?
9 under 1,500
1.500 to 2,500
2.500 to 3,500
3.500 to 4,500
4.500 to 5,500
5.500 or more
Nhat is your field of specialization?
Law
Medicine
Science
Public Administration
Economics
Literature
Others
269
8. Have you ever been employed by»
Public service
Semi-public service
Private enterprise
Not at all
9. How long have you been employed?
0 to 1 year
1 to 3 years
3 to 6 years
6 or more years
270
QUESTIONNAIRE
Part Two
Study of the attitudes of college and graduate
students toward the public services. In the statements
below, please indicate the degree of your agreement or
disagreement. For examplei
It is easier to study in cool rather than hot
weather.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
If you think it is easier to study in cool weather, put
an X above Agreet if you think it is much easier, put an
X above Strongly Agree. If you think it does not matter,
put an X over Undecided, and so on. Please do not omit
any scales.
In your opinion, how do you compare public serv
ice as a lifetime career for an able person such as
yourself, with private employment?
1. Opportunity for advancement in public service
is greater than in private.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
I
271
2. A job in public service is more secure than
one in private.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly '
Agree Disagree
3. Fringe benefits are greater in public service
than in private.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
4. In public service you can worX to help people
more than in private.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
5. Advance to prestige positions is better in
public than private service.
Strongly Agree undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
!
6. Public services pay people better tha private i
services.
Strongly Agree undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
L
272
7. Work in public service is more interesting
than in private service.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Di s agree
8. Working conditions in public service are
better than those in private.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
9. Public service jobs are more routine and
monotonous than those in private employment.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
r
273
10. Please check the appropriate columns
Better when you
Better When you are employed by
are employed by another kind of
public service employer
a. Starting salaries
b. Fringe benefits
(pension, paid
vacation, etc.)
c. In-service
training
d. Salaries at mid
dle positions
e. Full use of pro
fessional skills
f. Supervision
g. Salaries at top
positions
h. System of pro
motion
i. Right people in
the right Jobs
j. encouraging more
education for
employees
L .
274
11. Which of the following reasons do you feel
would most likely keep you from entering public service?
a. Unpleasant working surroundings
b. Low salary scale
c. Restrictions of initiative and
personal judgment
d. Too much emphasis on seniority
e. Bureaucratic inefficiency and red tape
f. Lack of challenge in the work
g. Too little reward for ability
h. Too little status or prestige
i. Reports of corruption
275
QUESTIONNAIRE
Port Three
COLLEGE AND GRADUATE STUDENT’S OCCUPATIONAL VALUES
Please indicate with a check mark (X) to What
extent you agree or disagree with the following state
ments!
1. To me, it is important in an occupation for a
person to be able to carry out his own ideas without in
terference.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree strongly
Agree Disagree
2. To me, it is important in an occupation to
have the chance to get to the top.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
3. It is satisfying to direct the work of
others.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
f
276
4. To me, almost the only thing that matters
about a job Is the chance to do work that is worthwhile
to society.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
4. After you are making enough money to get
along, then making more money In an occupation Is not
very Important.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
6. To me, a very Important part of work Is the
opportunity to make friends.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
7. A person should constantly try to succeed at
work, even if It interferes with other things in life.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
8. Getting recognition for my own work is im
portant to me.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree strongly
Agree Disagree
277
9. To be really successful in life, you have to
care about money.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
10. It is more important for a job to offer
opportunity than security.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
11. Success in an occupation is mainly a
matter of hard work.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
12. Work is most satisfying when there are
hard problems to solve.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree strongly
Agree Disagree
13. The main satisfaction a person can get out
of work is helping other people.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
278
14. To me, It's important in an occupation that
a person be able to see the results of his own work.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree strongly
Agree Disagree
15. I like the kind of work you can forget about
after the work day is over.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
16. To me, it's important to have the kind of
work that gives me a chance to develop my own special
abilities.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
17. Success in an occupation is mainly a matter
of knowing the right people.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Di sagree
18. To me, work is nothing more than a way of
making a living.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
279
19. A person has the right to expect his work
to be fun.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
20. I would like my family to be able to have
most of the things my friends and neighbors have.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
21. Even if you dislike your work, you should
do your best.
Strongly Agree undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
22. If a person does not want to work hard, it
is his own business.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Di sagree
23. Work is a way of being of service to God,
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
260
24. Wbrk la a good builder of character.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
25. Work helps you forget about your personal
problems.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
26. It would be hard to live with the feeling
that others are passing you up in your occupation.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
27. Sometimes it may be right for a person to
lose friends in order to get ahead in his work.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
28. It is important to do a better job than
the next person.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
281
29. Success in an occupation is mainly a
matter of luck.
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Di s agree
30. To me, gaining the increased respect of
family and friends is one of the important rewards of
getting ahead in an occupation.
Strongly Agree undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
31. Please write the three things which would
make an occupation worse or least satisfying to youi
a. ________________________________________
b. ________________________________________
c. ________________________________________
32. Please list three things that would make
an occupation ideal for you.
a. ________________________________________
b. ________________________________________
c. ________________________________________
33. Would you please write any comments (on the
back of this page), Which you feel add to or clarify the
views you have expressed in your choice, on the question
naire?
TABLE 20
OCCUPATIONAL VALUE STATBfENTS AND TYPE OP EMPLOYMENT
Public Private
Question _______ _ Bnployee Employee
1.
To me, it's important in an occupation for a person to be
able to carry out his own ideas without interference. 3.30 4.30
2. To am, it's important in an occupation to have the chance
to get to the top. 4.40 4.00
3. It is satisfying to direct the work of others. 4.70 3.90
4. To me, almost the only thing that matters about a job is a
chance to do work that is worthwhile to society. 4.80 4.50
5. After you are making enough money to get along, then making
more money in an occupation is not very important. 3.80 3.20
6. To me, a very important part of work is the opportunity to
make friends. 3.50 3.00
7. A person should constantly try to succeed at work, even if
it interferes with other things in life. 4.00 3.20
8. Getting recognition for my own work is important to me. 4.00 3.80
9.
To be really successful in life, you have to care about
making money.
2.80 3.20
M
a
io
TABLE 20 — Continued
Public Private
Question______________________________________________________Bnployee Baployee
10. It is nore important for a job to offer opportunity than
security. 3.90 4.50
11. Success in an occupation is mainly a matter of hard work. 4.30 3.90
12. ttork is most satisfying when there are hard problems to
be solved. 4.10 4.00
13. The main satisfaction a person can get out of work is helping
other people. 4.60 4.40
14. To me, it's important in an occupation that a person be able
to see the results of his own worX. 4.50 4.70
15. I liXe the Xind of worX you can forget about after the worX
day is over. 3.20 2.70
16. To me, it's important to have the Xind of worX that gives
me a chance to develop my own special abilities. 4.70 4.70
17.
Success in an occupation is mainly a matter of knowing the
right people.
3.00 3.10
18. To me, worX is nothing more than a way of making a living.
2.60 2.80
to
00
U)
TABLE 20 — Continued
Question
Public
Bnployee
Private
Bnployee
19. A person has a right to expect his work to be fun. 3.50 3.90
20. I would like ray family to be able to have most of the things
my friends and neighbors have. 3.70 3.50
21. Even if you dislike your work, you should do your best. 3.60 3.60
22. If a person does not want to work hard, it's his own business. 2.90 3.40
23. Work is a way of being of service to Qod. 3.60 3.50
24. Work is a good builder of character. 4.30 4.10
25. Wbrk helps you forget about your personal problems. 3.70 3.70
26. It would be hard to live with the feeling that others are
passing you up in your occupation.
3.50 3.50
27.
Sometimes it may be right for a person to lose friends in
order to get ahead in his work.
3.50 3.20
28, It's important to do a better job than the next person.
4.20 4.20
L_
IO
a>
TABLE 20 — Continued
Question
Public
Employee
Private
Bnployee
29. Success in an occupation is mainly a matter of luck. 2.20 2.00
30. To m , gaining the increased respect of family and
friends is one of the important rewards of getting
ahead in an occupation.
3.30 3.30
N 156 83
K>
OD
U>
TABLE 21
OCCUPATIONAL VALUES STATB4ENT AND FAMILY INCOME
Question
$1500 $2500 $3500 $4500 $5500
Up to to to to to to
$1500 $2500 $3500 $4500 $5500 More
1. To me, it's important in an occupation
for a person to be able to carry out
his own ideas without interference.
2. To me, it's important in an occupation
to have the chance to get to the top.
4.20 4.30 3.40 3.60 3.70 2.30
4.30 4.50 4.30 4.60 4.70 4.80
3. It is satisfying to direct the work of
others. 4.50 4.60 4.40 4.50 4.70 4.80
4. To almost the only thing that mat
ters about a job is a chance to do
work that is worthwhile to society.
5. After you are making enough money to
get along, then making more money in
an occupation is not very Important.
6. To me, a very important part of work
is the opportunity to make friends.
2.60 4.80 3.60 2.60 4.00 4.80
2.80 3.60 3.40 3.60 3.50 4.70
3.50 3.60 3.50 3.40 4.00 4.50
>o
QD
TABLE 21 — Continued
$1500 $2500 $3500 $4500 $5500
Up to to to to to to
Question $1500 $2500 $3500 $4500 $5500 More
7. A person should constantly try to suc
ceed at work, even if it interferes with 4.20 3.70 3.90 3.50 3.00 3.10
other things in life.
8. (Setting recognition for my own work is
important to me.
9. To be really successful in life, you
have to care about making money.
10. It is sore important for a job to offer
opportunity than security.
11. Success in an occupation is mainly a
■utter of hard work.
i
12. Mbrk is most satisfying when there are
hard problems to be solved.
13. The main satisfaction a person can get
out of work is helping other people.
14. To me, it's important in an occupation
that a person be able to see the re
sults of his own work.
i
K>
OD
2.70
4.00
1.80
3.10
3.10
3.50
3.20
3.90
3.90
2.20
3.40
3.20
3.50
4.50
3.00
3.00
2.10
4.10
3.60
3.30
4.20
4.00
2.90
2.10
4.30
4.10
2.30
4.30
4.20
3.00
3.50
4.50
4.00
3.70
4.70
4.00
2.80
3.90
4.60
4.40
4.60
4.50
TABLE 21
Question
15. X like the kind of work you can forget
about after the work day is over.
16. To me, it's important to have the kind
of work that gives me a chance to
develop my own special abilities.
17. Success in an occupation is mainly a
matter of knowing the right people.
18. To me. work is nothing more than a way
of making a living.
19. A person has a right to expect his work
to be fun.
20. X would like my family to be able to
have most of the things my friends
and neighbors have.
21. Even if you dislike your work, you
should do your best.
22. If a person does not want to work hard,
it's his own business.
Continued
$1500 $2500 $3500 $4500 $5500
Up to to to to to to
$1500 $2500 $3500 $4500 $5500 More
2.10
3.60
3.90
3.70
3.50
3.80
3.50
2.60
2.90
3.70
3.90
3.40
3.60
3.90
3.50
3.10
2.80
3.50
3.70
2.60
3.40
3.20
3.80
3.00
2.50
3.60
3.10
2.30
3.20
3.40
3.60
3.30
2.80
3.80
3.00
2.50
3.80
2.80
4.20
3.70
3.20
4.60
2.90
2.60
3.40
2.60
3.40
2.90
K>
TABLE 21 — Continued
Question
Up to
$1500
$1500
to
$2500
$2500
to
$3500
$3500
to
$4500
$4500
to
$5500
$5500
to
More
23. Work is a way of being of service to God., 3.70 3.90 3.40 3.70 4.00 2.50
24. Nbrk is a good builder of character. 4.00 4.30 3.90 4.20 4.20 4.30
25. Nbrk helps you forget about your per
sonal problems. 3.60 3.70 3.70 3.80 3.70 3.70
26. It would be hard to live with the feel
ing that others are passing you up in
your occupation.
2.40 3.20 3.10 3.20 3.30 4.00
27. Sometimes it may be right for a person
to lose friends in order to get ahead
in his work.
4.50 3.20 2.90 3.70 2.90 2.50
28. It's important to do a better job than
the next person. 4.00 3.30 4.30 4.20 4.30 3.00
29. Success in an occupation is mainly a
matter of luck.
3.50 3.20 2.50 2.80 2.60 2.10
30. To me, gaining the increased respect of
family and friends is one of the impor
tant rewards of getting ahead in an
occupation.
2.90 2.50 3.80 2.00 3.20 4.30
to
s
TABLE 22
OCCUPATIONAL VALUES STATEMENTS AND COLLEGE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS
Occupational Values Scale Items ___ College Graduate
1. To me, it's important in an occupation for a person to be able
to carry out his own ideas without interference. 3.10 3.90
2. To ne, it*s important in an occupation to have the chance to
get to the top. 4.30 4.60
3. It is satisfying to direct the work of others. 4.60 4.70
4. To me, almost the only thing that matters about a job is a
chance to do work that is worthwhile to society. 4.70 4.80
5. After you are making enough money to get along, then making
more money in an occupation is not very important. 3.50 4.00
6. To me, a very important part of work is the opportunity to
make friends. 3.50 3.60
7. A person should constantly try to succeed at work, even if
it interferes with other things in life. 3.90 4.20
B. Getting recognition for my own work is important to me. 3.90 4.30
9. To be really successful in life, you have to care about
making money.
3.20 3.60
k>
to
o
TABLE 22 — Continued
Occupational Values Scale Items____________________________________ College Graduate
10. It is more important for a job to offer opportunity than
security. 4.00 4.00
11.
Success in an occupation is mainly a matter of hard work. 4.00 4.40
12. Nbrk is most satisfying when there are hard problems to be
solved. 4.00 4.20
13. The main satisfaction a person can get out of work is helping
other people. 3.50 3.50
14. To me, it's important in an occupation that a person be able
to see the results of his own work. 4.40 4.60
15. I like the kind of work you can forget about after the work
day is over. 3.00 3.20
16. To me, it's important to have the kind of work that gives me
a chance to develop my own special abilities.
4.60 4.70
17. Success in an occupation is mainly a matter of knowing the
right people.
3.00 3.10
18. To me, work is nothing more than a way of making a living.
2.40 2.90
19. A person has a right to expect his work to be fun. 3.50 3.40
TABLE 22 — Continued
Occupational Values Scale Items _______________________ College Graduate
20. Z would like my family to be able to have most of the things
my friends and neighbors have. 3.70 3.70
21. Evan if you dislike your work, you should do your best. 3.60 3.40
22. If a person does not want to work hard, it's his own
business. 3.10 3.00
23. Nbrk is a way of being of service to God. 3.60 3.70
24. Work is a good builder of character. 4.20 4.30
25. Work helps you forget about your personal problems. 3.60 3.90
26. It would be hard to live with the feeling that others are
passing you up in your occupation. 3.40 3.30
27. Sometimes it may be right for a person to lose friends in
order to get ahead in his work. 3.30 3.40
28. It's important to do a better job than the next person. 4.20 4.20
29. Success in an occupation is mainly a matter of luck. 4.00 4.40
30. To me, gaining the increased respect of family and friends is
one of the inportant rewards of getting ahead in an occupation.
4.30 4.30
N
156 83
s
to
293
TABLE 23
TABLE OV STUDENTS' DISTRIBUTION IN REOARD TO
SEX AND COLLEGES AT TEHRAN UNIVERSITY
Number of Students
Name of college Female Male Total
Total 4,203 12,876 17,079
Literature 1,078 1,833 2,911
Economics 143 914 1,057
Religious - 620 620
Hygiene 22 97 119
Medicine 794 1,739 2,533
Forest 11 157 168
Law and Political Science 281 1,517 1,798
Pharmacy 162 182 344
Veterinary 73 192 265
Dentist 146 238 384
Science 370 753 1,123
Public and Business Administration 159 826 985
Education
357 564 921
Technical
44 1,071 1,115
Agriculture
75 556 631
Art
257 795 1,052
Night Courses
174 590 764
Sources From Reports of Science and Advanced
Education Ministry, Year 1969-1970.
294
6%
5%
72%
Tehran — 72 percent
Tabriz — 7 percent
Xaphehan — 6 percent
Maahad — 5 percent
Shiraz — 5 percent
Ahw«z — 3 percent
Other Cities — 2 percent
Figure 2 — Percentage of students at universities In
Iran in regard to the cities, 1969-1970.

Asset Metadata

Creator Moghadas, Jalal (author)

Core Title A Study Of Occupational Values Of College And Graduate Students At Tehranuniversity

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Degree Doctor of Public Administration

Degree Program Political Science

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,Political Science, public administration

Language English

Advisor Storm, William Bruce (committee chair), Bjur, Wesley (committee member), Gardner, Nelly (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-760547

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Legacy Identifier 7227683

Dmrecord 760547

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Moghadas, Jalal

Type texts

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Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses