Institutions and the transformation of personal values. Are the traditional values of caring and service in jeopardy?
Groups bring about changes in the values of their members in two main ways--through their organizational structures and through the identifications that individuals make with other group members. These two forces help to transform a member's personal values to the values of the group. In health care, it is widely believed that such a transformation is necessary to make health-care professionals more efficient in their jobs. However, the author suggests that this value transformation may be propelling health-care professionals away from the traditional mainstays of the profession--caring and service. To explore this idea, the author first discusses the relationship between individual values and group values. He then examines how value changes occur within a group by using two different examples of groups--the corporation (a good example of how organizational structure shapes the values of its members) and the mob (a good example of the role social identification plays in shaping the values of group members). The article concludes with an exploration of how values are transformed in a health-care setting and how this transformation may be negatively affecting the attitudes of health-care practitioners toward the goals of caring and compassion.
Washington University, St. Louis, MO.
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May
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D004645:Empathy; D006801:Humans; D015279:Organizational Culture; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D012380:Role; D012933:Social Identification; D012945:Social Values; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce