Gender differences in congruence between personal and organizational values

Values function as a predisposition for relatively permanent behaviour. People who share similar values will most likely exhibit similar behaviour in given context and situations. Shared values constitute the spirit and the culture of the firm. Recent studies propose that the actual model of 'how things are done' i.e. organisational culture is dominated by masculine related values rather feminine values. The objective of the paper is to find out whether there are differences in value congruence between employees' personal values and organizational values across genders. Based on concepts borrowed from the literature on positive organizational psychology/behaviour, the study collected data from a sample of 45 people, 25 women and 20 men, from a Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in the Catalunya region of Spain. The respondents were asked to estimate the importance of values separately in their personal life and for their organization. We use the differences between the estimations of personal values and the perception of organizational values as a proxy for value congruence. Albeit the small sample size, the study attempt to analyse to intra-group values similarities and intergroup values differences to explore any significant gender value differences. Since men are more likely to share their personal values with those of the organisation in which they take part, it is expected to find higher value congruence among the group of men than for the group of female.