This document discusses gender differences in work value orientation, specifically examining Rabindrik work values identified from Tagore's songs. It summarizes previous research finding both convergence and divergence in values between genders. The study aims to examine gender differences in orientation toward 14 path-oriented and 14 goal-oriented Rabindrik work values identified by Dutta Roy and Bandopadhyay. Data was collected using a value questionnaire from 91 female and 57 male respondents across different occupations to analyze value convergence between genders.

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GENDER AND RABINDRIK WORK VALUE ORIENTATION
D. Dutta Roy
Suhina Bhaduri
Abstract
Value is an enduring belief that have specific mode of conduct and end state of existence
Preference to values is hierarchical in nature. Dutta Roy and Bandopadhay (2010) by analysis of
the script of Reverend Rabindranath Tagore’s songs identified 14 path and 14 goal oriented work
values. Path-oriented work values are specific conducts to achieve the end or work goal. The
path-oriented work values are instrumental to goal oriented values. Rabindrik work values are
based on self-awakening principles in work setting rather extrinsic factors like incentives,
promotion etc. Current study examined value convergence between genders. Data were collected
by value questionnaire from 91 female and 57 male respondents working in different
occupations. Results show that most of the values are converged between genders.
Keywords: Work values, Value convergence and divergence.
Introduction
Over the years a great deal of research has been devoted to the study of values in relation to
work. Super, (1980), Super & Sverko (1995) initially introduced the work value concept into
career development and vocational choice theory. Work has always attracted relatively more
research attention than other life domains such as family, leisure, community, and religion. Work
plays in social life, not only as the primary source of income, but also as a base for social
participation, social status, consumption, health, family life, and so on. Since the early 1980s
several large-scale comparative studies have been undertaken which show the differences
between citizens from various countries or nations with respect to the importance of work Most
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of these studies have treated work-related values as expressions of more general life values, and
have made efforts to interpret the differences in terms of broader cultural patterns, reflecting the
historical development of the particular countries or regions and the adaptation to their
environments. In another vein, work values have been investigated at the level of occupational
categories (e.g. Ball, Farnill, Beiers, & Lindorff, 1989: Zanders & Harding, 1995)
and at the level of the individual (e.g. Allport & Vernon. 1931; Super. 1969). In the
latter case, values have been related to interests and other motivational
notions, and used to explain differences in people‘s occupational
behavior in particular vocational choice. A general assumption,
underlying most of the research has been that shared values as expressed at
the collective level on the one side and individual values as operating in daily
occupational behavior on the other side are somehow interrelated,
although its causality is still a debated issue. Values occupy a prominent place in the scientific
and public discourse at a number of levels. They are “among the very few social psychological
concepts that have been successfully employed across all social science disciplines” (Rokeach &
Ball-Rokeach, 1989, p-775). At the organizational level, values are viewed as a major
component of organizational culture (O’Reilly & Chatman, 1996) and are often described as
principles responsible for the successful management of a number of companies. Values have
also been characterized as the “most distinctive property or defining characteristic of a social
institution” (Rokeach, 1979).
In recent years, few studies suggested that there may be gender differences into value orientation
(Marini, 1990) Some empirical research shows that women or girls are more likely than boys to
be care-oriented and to express concern and responsibility for the well-being of others (Beautel
and Marini, 1995). Gender gaps have also been found in attitudes towards work values and in
care taking behavior. In general women are more likely than men to be in jobs that involve
helping others and express other-oriented concern. (Marini et al., 1996)
Research demonstrates gender gap in attitudes towards social collectivities and public
policy preferences. Women are more likely than men to express concern and responsibility for
the well-being of others (Beautel and Marini, 1995). Women are more superior than men of
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education, health program, social welfare and reconciliation and peace (Cononer and Sapiro,
1993).
Systematic analysis of helping behavior has focused on gender differences in the nature and
types of health that men and women demonstrate. The results indicate that men helping may
cause heroic and chivalrous behavior, including non-routine and risky act of rescuing others and
behavior that shows courtesy and protection of sub-ordinates .Women on the other hand tend to
help in a nurturing way and provide emotional support especially when their helping is aimed at
family members and close members (Belansky and Boggiano, 1994).
Some studies found no gender differences in moral judgments or value orientation –women
are just as capable as men of being competition–oriented (Cohm, 1991).This above research
finding indicates there is a possibility of convergence and divergence in value orientation
between genders. This study aims at examining gender differences at value orientation to
Rabindrik work values. As there is no systematic study on Rabindrik work values orientation of
male and females was done on the present study.
Rabindrik work values
The value concept is able to unify the apparently diverse interests of all the sciences concerned
with human behavior (Rokeach, 1973). Rokeach (1973) defined a value as “an enduring belief
that a specific mode of conduct or end state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an
opposite or converse mode of conduct or end state of existence". So, value is a belief that is
enduring. Since, it is enduring, values cannot be changed easily. Value has the hierarchical
structure or value system. Value system varies with the context. Values with reference to work
are called work values. Once a value is internalized it becomes a standard for guiding action or
criterion for selection of an action .Although values are internal to the individual ,they are
basically social products .They are generally acceptable to the society as a whole or a section of
the society as preferred mode of conduct or end states. Chakraborty (1987) has defined values as
manner in which an individual tends to make judgment or choices both about goals and means at
different stages of one's life in different facets of it as are deemed to lead to the well-being and
happiness of oneself and society. Chakraborty (1991) stated that values of Indians anchored in
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transcendental aspect of human existence. To him, values are salient to Indian socio-cultural
ethos. He suggested five values: (a) respect for individuals, (b) cooperation and trust, (c)
purification of the mind,
(d) top-quality products and services, (e) work as worship, (f) values developed by role modeling
and open examination of values practiced as espoused.
Work values may be defined as the conception of what is ‘preferable’ from among the
alternative modes of conduct or end states with respect to one’s work .These are individually
held conception of what is desirable with respect to the individual work activity. Work values are
expected trio be an integral part of nations ethos, as such they need to be internalized by
members of society through socialization, via various institutional channels, so they become an
aspect of individuals personalities (Asma and Punekar, 1985). Based on Personal values
questionnaire of England, Roy and Dhawan (1984) found managers were equally distributed in
materialistic, pragmatic and mixed categories. While defining managerial values, Indian
executives cited work ethics, commitment, self-motivation, integrity, hard work, etc.
Respondents indicated integrity, trust, achievement, motivation, truthfulness, humility and
contentment. The five most important goals of a typical Indian manager, as reported in the study
were customer satisfaction, achievement of departmental or organizational goals within a
scheduled time frame, employee motivation and career progress. Upadhayay (1985) concluded
that Indian managers are status and power oriented and evaluate their status by the size of the
office, the quality and size of their office table, chairs, furnishings and perks etc. and believe that
maintaining distance from subordinates is a safer route to managing them effectively, than
mixing with them ,regard decision –making as their prerogative and consultation or joint
decision making as means of eroding their authority ,tend to take credit for work done
themselves, rather than share it with individual members of team ;show indifference towards
bringing about improvement in work environment as they move up the hierarchy. Prakash
(1982) stated that two sets of values appear in organizational context: a)Values which
characterize these socio-cultural system in which economic relation submerged in social relation.
b) Values characterize modern industrial societies, in which relation of members of organization
with each other and organization are contractual.
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The Revered Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore composed several songs. In a word this is called
Rabindrasangeet. To him music is not an object rather a mediator to look at the inner and inner
core of consciousness.’Gitabitan’ is the archive of his songs. Dutta Roy and Bandopadhyay
(2010) extracted 14 path and 14 goal oriented work values from Rabindrasangeet. Path oriented
values are Self-Awakening (Perception of self as stable and positive), Emotional control
(Controlling unwanted emotion), Systematic (Following planned steps), Non self-insulting (Not
offending to self), Fearless (Feeling of overcoming fear), Cleanliness (Neat and tidy), No Work
and Family conflict (Maintaining balance between work and family demands), Niskam principle
(Working without expectation of reward), Challenging (Competing against one), Self-
understanding (Feedback to self about own success and failure, Doubtless (Confidence and
certainty in belief), Free from fear of failure (Freedom from anticipated fear), resolute
(Determined in purpose and action), Active (Avoidance of laziness). Goal –oriented values are
Peace (free from conflicts with others), Universalization (Thinking for everyone), Enlightenment
(Having true understanding), Positive feeling (feeling of happiness), Family security (taking care
of loved ones), A sense of accomplishment (A lasting contribution), Pleasure (An enjoyable life),
Inner Harmony (Freedom from Inner conflict), Self-respect (Pride in Oneself), Salvation (Saving
self from bad effect), Self-Empowerment (Enabling power to self), Security (Protection from
attack), Significance in Life (Finding meaning in life), Altruism (Considering good of others
before own).
Rokeach contended that values are hierarchical in nature. Since, it is hierarchical it can be
assessed by rank order scale.
Objective: This study aims at examining extent of gender differences in work value orientation.
Here gender differences in value orientation mean the extent of divergence and convergence in
different path and goal oriented Rabindrik Work Values.
Method
Participants
Data were collected from 212 educated individuals devoid of any psychiatric illness. Of them
148 reported their gender. Henceforth the final study included 91 females and 57 males. Average
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participants were middle aged (M = 31.91 years; SD = 9.40). Most of the participants had a post-
graduation degree.
Instruments
Personal Information Schedule: Personal Information Schedule was used to record general
information like name, age, gender, educational qualification, marital status etc.
Rabindrik Value Orientation Questionnaire: It includes 14 path and 14 goal related work values.
Respondents were asked to rank the two sets of values independently in terms of their relative
importance in working situation. Rank 1 indicates most important and Rank 14 indicates least
important (see appendix).
Statistical analysis
Squared Rank Difference and Rank ordered Correlation coefficients were computed to find out
the extent of value convergence and divergence between the genders.
Results and discussions
Rank order correlation
Spearman rank order correlation coefficient suggests that males and females converged more in
goal oriented work values (rho = 0.89) than in path oriented values (rho = 0.73) (Table 1; Table
2).
TABLE 1
Rank Differences in Goal Oriented Rabindrik Work Values
Goal-Oriented Values Male Female D2 Total
Rank
Difference
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Peace 6 5 1 5.5 1
Universalization 6 7 1 6.5 -1
Enlightenment 6 6 0 6 0
Positive Feeling 5 5 0 5 0
Family security 5 4 1 4.5 1
A sense of Accomplishment 9 9 0 9 0
Pleasure 9 6 9 7.5 3
Inner Harmony 7 8 1 7.5 -1
Self-Respect 4 5 1 4.5 -1
Salvation 8 10 4 9 -2
Self-empowerment 7.5 9 2.25 8.25 -1.5
Security 11 10 1 10.5 1
Significance 8 8 0 8 0
Altruism 11 11 0 11 0
Squared rank differences
In Goal oriented work values, no rank differences were noted in five values as enlightenment,
positive feeling, accomplishment, significance and altruism (Table 1). Of the five values, two
values namely positive feeling (median rank=5), and enlightenment (median rank=6) were
preferred by both genders.
With respect to path oriented work value, no rank differences were found in three values
namely emotional control, self insultingless, free from fear of failure (Table 2). Of the three
values, emotional control were more preferred (median rank=9) than other values.
TABLE 2
Rank Differences in Path Oriented Rabindrik Work Values
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Path-Oriented Values
Mal
e Female D2 Total
Rank
Differenc
e
Self-Awakening 4 3 1 3.5 1
Emotional control 7 7 0 7 0
Systematic 6 5 1 5.5 1
Self Insultingless 9 9 0 9 0
Fearless 7 8 1 7.5 -1
Cleanliness 9 6 9 7.5 3
No Work Family Conflict 8 6 4 7 2
Niskam Principle 11 9 4 10 2
Challenging 7 9 4 8 -2
Self understanding 7 6 1 6.5 1
Doubtless 10 9 1 9.5 1
Free from Fear of Failure 10 10 0 10 0
Resolute 9 6 9 7.5 3
Active 7 6 1 6.5 1
Some values were diverged between genders in both path and goal oriented work value
orientation. In path oriented work values, squared rank difference was high in cleanliness and
resolute (Table 2). Both values were more preferred to females (Median Rank = 6).On the other
hand value divergence was high in pleasure value. Females preferred it more than males.
Independent of gender wise differences, most preferred path oriented values were self-
awakening (joint median rank-3.5) and systematic (joint median rank=5.5). And for the goal
oriented value, they were family security (joint median rank=4.5), self-respect (joint median
rank=4.5) and peace (joint median rank=5.5) (Table 1).
Findings are in conformity with earlier findings. Like the results of current study, Beautel and
Marini (1995) observed gender differences in value orientation. This study provides some new
information as it deals with two categories of value orientations – path and goal values. Gender
difference is high in path oriented work values than goal oriented values. This means that both
male and female possess almost similar goal oriented value preference but they differ in how to
reach at the goal.
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Implication
Findings are important for Human resource management. Males should be presented more
challenging tasks and the environment of female should be clean. When tasks will be assigned, it
must be properly discussed so that both genders can experience free from fear of failure.
Attention should be paid to positive feeling and enlightenment.
To sum up, current study shows convergence and divergence in work value orientation of
male and female and discusses its implications on human resource management.
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Appendix
Value Survey
Instruction: This questionnaire measures what is important in your life or values. Below are the
2 sets of values. Each set consists 14 values in life. The values are in alphabetical order. Each
value is accompanied by a short description and a blank space. Your goal is to rank each value
in its order of importance to you for each of the two sets. Study each set and think of how much
each value may act as a guiding principle in your life.
To begin, select the value that is of most importance to you. Write the number 1 in the
blank space next to that value. Next, choose the value is of second in importance to you and
write the number 2 in the blank next to it. Work your way through the list until you have ranked
all 14 values of first set. The value that is of least importance to you should appear in Box 14.
When you have finished ranking all 14 values, go to 2nd
list and rank the next 14 values in
the same way. Please do each set separately.
When ranking, take your time and think carefully. Feel free to go back and change your
order should you have second thoughts about any of your answers. When you have completed
the ranking of both sets of values, the result should represent an accurate picture of how you
really feel about what’s important in your life.
SET - I
A. SELF-AWAKENING – Imagining positive power or energy ______
B. EMOTIONAL CONTROL-Controlling unwanted emotion ______
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C. SYSTEMATIC – Following planned step ______
D. SELF-INSULTING LESS – Not offending to self ______
E. FEARLESS – Feeling of overcoming fear ______
F. CLEANLINESS – Neat and tidy ______
G. NO WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT – Maintaining balance between family and work
demand ______
H. NISKAM PRINCIPLE – Working without expectation of reward ______
I. CHALLENGING – Competing against one ______
J. SELF-UNDERSTANDING- Feedback to self about own success and failure ______
K. DOUBTLESS – Free from uncertainty in belief ______
L. FREE FROM FEAR OF FAILURE – Free from anticipated failure ______
M. RESOLUTE- Determined in purpose ______
N. ACTIVE – Avoiding laziness ______
SET – II
A. PEACE- Free from conflicts with others ______
B. UNIVERSALIZATION – Thinking for everyone ______
C. ENLIGHTENMENT- Having true understanding ______
D. POSITIVE FEELING – Feeling of happiness ______
E. FAMILY SECURITY- Taking care of loved ones ______
F. A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT- A lasting contribution ______
G. PLEASURE - An enjoyable life ______
H. INNER HARMONY- Freedom from inner conflict ______
I. SELF-RESPECT – Respect to own competencies ______
J. SALVATION - Saving self from bad effect ______
K. SELF-EMPOWERMENT - Enabling power to self ______
L. SECURITY - Protection from attack ______
M. SIGNIFICANCE IN LIFE - Finding meaning in life ______
N. ALTRUISM- Considering good of others before own ______
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Submitted on December 02, 2013
Accepted on January 12, 2014
Introduction to Author
Dr. Debdulal Dutta Roy is an Assistant Professor at the Psychology Research
Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
Email id: ddroy@isical.ac.in
Ms. Suhina Bhaduri has completed Masters in Applied Psychology. Her area of
research is Human Resource Management.
Declaration: of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect
to the authorship and/or publication of this research paper.
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