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Value-System Instrument

VALUE-SYSTEM INSTRUMENT

Michele Stimac

 

VALUES AND DIVERSITY

Shifting demographics have increased concern about how to manage and value diversity in organizations and in society in general. We are compelled to examine human resource policies and procedures, educational methodologies and practices, equal access, affirmative action, and cultural sensitivity (Morrison, 1992). In the 1970s, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, value clarification (Harmin, et al., 1973; Kirschenbaum, 1977) became an important activity, and now concern for values diversity as a spinoff of the larger diversity issue has returned to challenge organizations. As Jamieson and O’Mara (1991) point out:

 

Today’s workforce is characterized by a mix of values. Some employees will primarily value their home and family life, others their career. Some will value loyalty to their company, others loyalty to their profession, and still others loyalty to themselves. Sometimes men and women will share identical values; at other times their values will differ. Often, what people may have been lacking, such as money, respect, or control, will be most highly valued. Values may change with significant life experiences or simply with age. (p. 27)

It is important for the workplace, for institutions of higher education, and for training organizations to develop ways for individuals and groups to ask significant questions about their value systems in order to determine how diverse groups and individuals can live, work, govern, and develop social structures together.

Bennis (1989, p. 126) advances four tests for those interested in becoming leaders; the third is: "...knowing what your values and priorities are, knowing what the values and priorities of your organization are, and measuring the difference between the two." In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey (1990) suggests that:

 

Each of us has many, many maps in our head, which can be divided into two main categories: maps of the way things are, or realities, and maps of the way things should be, or values. We seldom question their accuracy; we’re usually even unaware that we have them. (p. 24)

Gardner (1990, p. 113) offers the opinion that "If leaders cannot find in their constituencies any base of shared values, principled leadership becomes nearly impossible."

In examining the lives of seventy-seven women who span three generations and who include a group of influential individuals in the women’s movement, Astin and Leland (1991) discovered that "clarity of values" was especially important in establishing the women as leaders. Gilligan (1982), in her research on the differences between the ways in which women and men think and solve problems, has shown that women often display values different from those of men, but the styles of leadership that emanate from their values are not less appropriate than those of men.

Frankl (1959), speaking from his own experience in a holocaust camp, states emphatically that human beings are able to live and even die for the sake of their ideals and values.

Examining one’s own values, in conjunction with the diverse individuals and groups that surround us, is essential. Teamwork, cooperation, and creativity are more likely to occur when the members of organizations understand their own and their coworkers’ values.

THE VALUE-SYSTEM INSTRUMENT

The Value-System Instrument has a twofold purpose: to stimulate personal reflection about values, needs, wants, and beliefs and to generate discussion in groups about the conscious or unconscious ways in which these influence behavior. Although values, needs, wants, and beliefs are distinct, they are existentially inseparable. It is for this reason that they are integrated into a composite system in the instrument.

The instrument is not normed; it has no scoring method. Its purpose is not to promote certain values and denounce others. Rather, its primary purpose is to generate reflection and discussion about values represented by the diversity of individuals in organizations. It is up to individuals and the organizations in which they function to determine the effects that their values have on either themselves or their organizational systems and to determine what individual or organizational changes need to be made to develop individual and collective cooperation, vision, mission, and goals.

The instrument also can be used in institutions of higher learning in which individuals are being trained as educational leaders or in counseling settings in which individuals are led to explore their values for the purpose of personal growth.

The instrument can be administered in its entirety or in part. Participants can be asked to complete the entire instrument, following the directions in both Step I and Step II, or they can be asked to focus only on certain segments selected by a facilitator who has specific instructional purposes in mind. Those who wish to examine values that appear to impact the workplace, for instance, may prefer to focus on segments such as race/ethnicity, gender, education, age/disability, career/profession/job, and personal fulfillment/wellness. Personal growth facilitators may wish to focus on segments such as marriage/single life, sex, family, etc. Educators may wish to direct their peers’ attention to attitudes toward those whom they serve as well as toward those with whom they work.

Sample Use of the Value-System Instrument

There is always risk in describing ways to use an instrument. Readers can lock onto these descriptions as rigidly representing the only appropriate ways to use it. It is presumptuous to assume that any description of group process will fit any situation perfectly. However, this section will offer a sample of how to use the instrument, trusting that it will be perceived as only a hypothetical sample to be adapted appropriately to the situations in which users find themselves.

Three brief scenarios are presented to identify examples of settings in which the instrument might be used. The scenarios are followed by an outline of group process that can be used in working with the instrument. The process is designed with Scenario One in mind. Those who find the other two scenarios closer to their actual situations are encouraged to adapt the process described or to design their own.

Scenario One

The setting is a workplace in which leaders are concerned about maximizing the organization’s human resources through effective teamwork. These leaders are pleased that they have achieved some measure of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in their organization. Now they realize that it is important that the employees in each work unit work together cooperatively as a group and, at the same time, feel free to be individually creative. They decide that providing employees with an opportunity to focus on what they value as individuals and what this means in terms of organizational values, mission, and goals is important. They engage facilitators of group work to conduct this exploration, knowing that issues of diversity are sensitive and that dialogue about them needs to be led by individuals with the proper expertise.

Scenario Two

The setting is a college/university class on leadership attended by adult students who seek an advanced degree in management/leadership. The professor decides that it is important for future leaders to understand their value systems because their values will influence the visions they bring to the workplace, the ways in which they facilitate corporate vision, how they define organizational mission, and how they behave with colleagues. The professor’s objective is to get the students who come from various work settings to examine their own values and to discuss how they believe these values influence their behaviors in their organizations.

Scenario Three

The setting is a group counseling one. The counselor has determined that understanding one’s values is necessary for personal growth and development. The individuals in the group represent a modest cross-section of society in background, age, gender, and ethnicity. They are more homogenous than heterogeneous. The counselor decides to use a value instrument with the group.

Description of Group Process Related to Scenario One

Time Frame

A block of three hours is scheduled for work on values in each organizational unit (fifteen to twenty-five individuals).

Climate Setting and Clarification of Terms

(Twenty to thirty minutes.) The facilitators establish an open and accepting climate to reduce tension and raise trust. They make sure that everyone is introduced and physically comfortable. They explain at the beginning of the session what values are and the importance they play in personal and professional lives.

According to Rokeach (1979, p. 5), a value system "is an enduring organization of beliefs concerning preferable modes of conduct or end-states of existence along a continuum of relative importance." In other words, values are the "ends" and "means" that we prefer and choose. Rokeach’s definition of a value system and Raths, Harmin, and Simon’s (1966) criteria for value establishment can be presented to participants for consideration as they complete the instrument. These authors believe that for something to be classified as a value, it has to satisfy several criteria. Persons who "value something" must do the following:

1. Choose freely, choose from alternatives, and choose after thoughtful consideration of consequences;

2. Cherish and affirm what they consider a value; and

3. Repeat actions based on what they value.

Raths et al. believe that if we cannot openly declare a "value," that which we believe to be a value is probably not really a value at all, but only a "value indicator." Value indicators may be easier to change.

Although not everyone may agree that these are criteria for values, they serve as an underpinning for Step II of the Value-System Instrument.

Administration of the Instrument

(Twenty to thirty minutes.) When climate setting is complete and terms are understood, the participants are given twenty to thirty minutes to complete the Value-System Instrument. They are encouraged to work rapidly through Step I. They may take more time with Step II, but their first reactions to the items in Step I are probably the most honest.

In order to allow participants more time to complete the instrument, the facilitators may distribute it prior to the group session and suggest that the participants take it home, where they can spend as much time as they wish completing it. Regardless of where or when the participants complete the instrument, they should be encouraged to respond quickly and spontaneously to the items and then to reflect later on their responses as preparation for the group discussion.

Small-Group Discussion

(Sixty to ninety minutes.) In the group setting, subgroups of four or five members each should be created. If the subgroups are too large, members are less inclined to share their values, needs, wants, and beliefs. Membership in the subgroups can be assigned randomly or can be self-selected; subgroups can be created with some purposeful diversity mix in mind.

It is important that participants be advised to share only as much as they wish; the purpose of the instrument is to provoke thinking and honest discussion of the influences in participants’ lives but not to do so in a threatening way. On the other hand, facilitators should stress the importance of sharing thoughts. Human beings learn in several ways: by reading, writing, listening, reflecting, and also by talking. When we can articulate what we think, we often discover for the first time what we really believe.

It is obvious from the comprehensiveness of the values instrument that one hour of discussion will not exhaust the issues it generates. Users of the instrument can extend the length of time devoted to the discussion of issues by arranging several meeting times with the same group of participants. Not every value issue needs to be discussed in a single sitting. Participants can learn a great deal from having taken the instrument and reflected on it privately. In the group, they may choose to discuss the issues that are most significant to them and most relevant to the organization and the objectives of the group session. In Scenario One, issues of diversity are an objective. It is up to leaders of the group process to guide the group to reach this objective.

As the subgroups work, the facilitators move from group to group, taking note of what is and what is not being discussed. With this information, they develop questions related to issues they believe the groups need to address. After one-half hour to forty-five minutes of discussion, the facilitators may wish to have the subgroups break and regroup after the facilitators have displayed on a flip chart, overhead projector, or marker board the issues that the groups should consider discussing.

Sample questions that might be displayed are the following:

 
  • Specifically, how do certain values, needs, wants, or beliefs influence your lives: the goals you have set for yourself, your decisions, your behaviors in the organization? (The more specific participants can be, the better.)
  •  
  • What impact do you think certain of your values have on your coworkers, supervisors, or those whom you supervise?
  •  
  • What are the great motivators in your value system?
  •  
  • What in your value system do you see as a force that will contribute to your working as a team member? What do you see as standing in the way of your working as a team member?
  •  
  • What in your value system will help you to cooperate with others? What will keep you from cooperating with others?
  •  
  • Can you keep the values you have and be creative in this organization?
  •  
  • Who are the individuals you might list as persons you would not want to share your values with? Why? (Name these only if you are comfortable doing so.)
  •  
  • Do you want to change any of your responses on the instrument? Which ones? Why?
  •  
  • Are you interested in changing certain values? How? Why?
  •  
  • What must you and your organization do to accommodate and maximize acceptance of the diversity of values that exist in the individuals in the organization? Is it possible to do so?
  •  
  • What happens in the workplace composed of diverse individuals when one or more persons do not like to be with individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds and races?
  •  
  • What effect can negative attitudes toward the opposite gender, toward disability, or toward nontraditional sexual orientation have on people’s ability to work together? What can we do if such attitudes exist either in ourselves or others?

Facilitators should think through their objectives for the session and develop appropriate questions, which may or may not be similar to the ones above. Facilitators may wish to distribute the questions to participants at the very beginning of the small-group discussion.

Large-Group Discussion and Work

(Thirty to sixty minutes.) When facilitators believe that sufficient time has been devoted to small-group discussion and that critical issues have been examined in the subgroups, the larger group of participants is reassembled. The chief focus of the large group (the organizational work unit) is to debrief what happened in the subgroup discussions, to examine the data generated from those discussions, and to assess where the group as a unit should go from here.

As subgroups are asked to debrief their processes, outcomes should be recorded on flip chart, marker board, or other visual aid so that the entire group can see and work with it.

If the group is comfortable enough to strive for specificity and concreteness, the facilitators should guide the group in that direction. It is, after all, in concreteness that behavior can really be explained and that the impetus to change and grow can develop. Questions such as the following might be posed:

 
  •  
  • How satisfied is the group with itself in terms of being a cooperative, productive unit?
  •  
  • How much more work needs to be done to create cohesive teamwork? What specific work needs to be done? What issues need to be addressed?
  •  
  • If training is needed, what kind of training is needed? Who should take the lead in providing it?
  •  
  • What does the larger organization need to do to maximize the work unit’s potential?

If facilitators perceive that participants in the large group are uncomfortable and that moving forward in the larger group would be counterproductive, they may deduce that more subgroup work needs to be done. In this case, a follow-up process should be designed to facilitate this work. Rushing through activities for the sake of activity is nonproductive.

Creating learning organizations, as promoted by Senge (1990), can serve as a model for organizational facilitators who attempt to lead individuals to engage in creative dialogue. If units within organizations learn to really communicate, listening takes on a deeper meaning so that trust is built and complex, subtle issues can be uncovered and problems solved collegially. Facilitators who believe in the idea of learning organizations can attempt to guide the large group to communicate and create new ground on which to build solid teamwork. If the subgroup discussions have been thorough and forthright in dealing with value issues, and if the large group is willing to forge new learning, facilitators can help the participants to peel off the veneer of superficial teamwork and develop a truly collaborative work ethic. Facilitators must always, however, take their cue from the observations they make during the small-group discussions and from the tone they detect in the large group to determine the level of learning they should push for.

As indicated earlier, the process outlined above is designed for the situation described in Scenario One. Users of the instrument and facilitators of group process need to be attentive to their unique situations and use their own judgment in devising a process that is tailored to their needs.

As with any learning instrument, the Value-System Instrument should never be used to coerce, chasten, inhibit, or threaten individuals or groups.

REFERENCES

 
 
 

Astin, H.S., & Leland, C. (1991). Women of influence, women of vision. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bennis, W. (1989). On becoming a leader. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Covey, S.R. (1990). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Frankl, V.E. (1984). Man’s search for meaning. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Gardner, J.W. (1990). On leadership. New York: The Free Press.

Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Harmin, M., Kirschenbaum, H., & Simon, S.B. (1973). Clarifying values through subject matter. Minneapolis, MN: Winston Press.

Jamieson, D. & O’Mara, J. (1991). Managing workforce 2000. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kirschenbaum, H. (1977). Advanced value clarification. San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer & Company.

Morrison, A.M. (1993). The new leaders: Guidelines on leadership diversity in America. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.

Raths, L.E., Harmin, M., & Simon, S.B. (1966). Values and teaching. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill.

Rokeach, M. (1979). Understanding human values: Individual and societal. New York: The Free Press.

Senge, P.M. (1990). The fifth discipline. New York: Currency and Doubleday.

VALUE-SYSTEM INSTRUMENT

Michele Stimac

Step I

Instructions:

Consider each of the items below. Decide which belong in your "value system"—the ones that identify or describe a value, need, want, or belief of yours. Place an "S" on the line before those items.

In a few instances, you may not accept an item as a part of your own value system but you may believe that it is acceptable for others to do so. Place an "O" before those items.

Before items that you neither accept as part of your own system nor believe others should accept, place an "N."

If you are undecided about any items, place a "U" before those.

Only one letter should appear before each item. It is assumed that if you accept an item as part of your own system, you think it is acceptable for others to do so. In responding to each item, try to be as honest as you can.

Scoring Key:

S = a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

Step II

Instructions:

1. After you have completed Step I, go back through the items and reflect on how you marked each one. Place an "X" in the parentheses ( ) after any item that you wish you could have marked differently. In other words, identify those items with which you are personally dissatisfied and would like to change.

2. Finally, underline those items that you would be unwilling to share with others. Identify the persons with whom you would not want to share them and write those persons’ names in the margin space next to the items.

 

 

Scoring Key:

S = a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

RACE/ETHNICITY

_______ races are equal ( )

_______ ethnic groups are equal ( )

_______ intermarriage (racial) ( )

_______ intermarriage (ethnic) ( )

_______ willingness to socialize with other races ( )

_______ desire to socialize with other races ( )

_______ willingness to socialize only with certain races ( )

_______ desire to socialize only with certain races ( )

_______ willingness to work with other races ( )

_______ desire to work with other races ( )

_______ willingness to socialize with other ethnic groups ( )

_______ desire to socialize with other ethnic groups ( )

_______ preference for company of own race ( )

_______ preference for company of own ethnic group ( )

_______ preference for socializing with only certain ethnic groups ( )

_______ refusal to work with some ethnic groups ( )

_______ willingness to work with any ethnic group ( )

_______ desire to work with any ethnic group ( )

_______ unwillingness to intermingle with other races ( )

_______ unwillingness to intermingle with other ethnic groups ( )

_______ own ethnic group is superior to others ( )

_______ own race is superior to others ( )

_______ other races are superior to own ( )

_______ other ethnic groups are superior to own ( )

 

 

Scoring Key:

S = a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

GENDER

_______ male and female genders are equal ( )

_______ own gender is superior to the other ( )

_______ control by only males is unjust ( )

_______ control by only females is unjust ( )

_______ partnership between genders in all matters is right and just ( )

_______ the woman’s place is in the home ( )

_______ men and women should share domestic responsibilities ( )

_______ men should share the nurturing of children ( )

_______ traditional male and female roles can be reversed ( )

DISABILITY

_______ persons with disabilities have the same rights as those without disabilities ( )

_______ persons with disabilities should have equal access to opportunities ( )

_______ willingness to work with persons with disabilities ( )

_______ desire to work with persons with disabilities ( )

_______ desire to socialize with persons with disabilities ( )

AGE

_______ old age is to be feared ( )

_______ old age is the better part of life ( )

_______ aged people are physically unattractive ( )

_______ aged people are generally useless ( )

_______ aged people are generally as beautiful in spirit as young people ( )

_______ desire to socialize with aged persons ( )

_______ ability to relate well with aged persons ( )

_______ wisdom and age go hand in hand ( )

 

 

Scoring Key:

S = a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

CAREER/PROFESSION/JOB

_______ having a career is more important than being married ( )

_______ having a job is more important than building a career ( )

_______ having a career or profession is more important than developing friends ( )

_______ a career/profession or job is more important than family ( )

_______ having leisure time is more important than building a career ( )

_______ a service-oriented career (job) is more important than a career (job) that only produces goods ( )

EDUCATION

_______ pursuing education for personal growth ( )

_______ pursuing education for professional promotion ( )

_______ pursuing education for monetary gain ( )

_______ pursuing education for aesthetic reasons ( )

_______ pursuing education for joy of discovery ( )

_______ pursuing education for competence ( )

_______ pursuing education for status ( )

_______ pursuing education for power ( )

_______ not wishing to pursue education ( )

_______ education is unnecessary ( )

_______ education is generally irrelevant in the work world ( )

_______ a person cannot get ahead in life without education ( )

_______ life without an education is only partially fulfilled ( )

 

 

Scoring Key:

S = a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

PHYSICAL FITNESS/WELLNESS

_______ being physically fit is important ( )

_______ exercising regularly is important ( )

_______ pleasure that comes from eating and drinking is more important than being physically fit ( )

_______ eating the right foods is important ( )

_______ moderation in drinking alcoholic beverages is important ( )

_______ drinking alcoholic beverages in any amount is unacceptable ( )

_______ drugs of any kind (other than prescription) are destructive to an individual ( )

_______ prescription drugs should be avoided if at all possible ( )

_______ prescription drugs can be used without concern ( )

_______ drugs of any kind can be used liberally ( )

AESTHETICS

_______ beautiful surroundings ( )

_______ the arts ( )

_______ sports are more important than the arts ( )

_______ life is incomplete if lived in unattractive surroundings ( )

_______ beauty is unnecessary ( )

_______ art is worthless ( )

URBAN/RURAL LIVING

_______ preference for living in the city ( )

_______ preference for living in the suburbs ( )

_______ preference for living in a small town ( )

_______ hating the city but not being able to live without it ( )

_______ preference for rural living ( )

 

 

Scoring Key:

= a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

MATERIAL POSSESSIONS

_______ money is very important ( )

_______ when making decisions, I almost always consider whether or not I will gain money as a result ( )

_______ money is of little importance when making decisions ( )

_______ a person can live contentedly with little money ( )

_______ refusing a marriage partner who has very little money ( )

_______ getting and keeping money is a top priority ( )

_______ getting and spending money is a top priority ( )

_______ having material possessions ( )

_______ possessions must be expensive ( )

_______ quality of possessions is more important than quantity ( )

_______ possessions are unimportant ( )

_______ relationships are preferable to possessions ( )

_______ love is preferable to possessions ( )

_______ wearing expensive clothing is essential to feeling good about oneself ( )

_______ having an expensive car is important ( )

_______ having an expensive home is important ( )

_______ owning a home is important ( )

_______ not wanting to own a home ( )

 

 

Scoring Key:

S = a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

MARRIAGE/SINGLE LIFE

_______ marriage before 22 years of age ( )

_______ marriage between 22 years and 30 years of age ( )

_______ marriage after 30 years of age ( )

_______ no marriage ( )

_______ divorce if partners want it ( )

_______ no divorce ( )

_______ living with a member of the opposite sex outside of marriage ( )

_______ commitment without marriage ( )

_______ marriage to a man (woman) fifteen or more years older ( )

_______ marriage to a woman (man) ten or more years younger ( )

SEX

_______ sex only in marriage ( )

_______ extramarital sex ( )

_______ homosexuality ( )

_______ bisexuality ( )

_______ sex only for procreation ( )

_______ sex without commitment ( )

_______ abortion at will of woman ( )

_______ abortion at will of man ( )

_______ abortion only at will of both man and woman ( )

_______ therapeutic abortion only ( )

_______ abortion only in case of rape or incest ( )

_______ abortion never ( )

_______ in vitro fertilization ( )

_______ birth control ( )

 

 

Scoring Key:

S = a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

PERSONAL FULFILLMENT

_______ being personally fulfilled is more important than making money ( )

_______ being personally fulfilled is more important than having status ( )

_______ being personally fulfilled is more important than owning possessions ( )

_______ a satisfying career is personally fulfilling ( )

_______ a home life is necessary to be personally fulfilled ( )

_______ a spouse is necessary to be personally fulfilled ( )

_______ children are necessary to be personally fulfilled ( )

FAMILY

_______ traditional concept of family essential to health of society ( )

_______ concept of family must be redefined ( )

_______ wanting to have children ( )

_______ children are essential to family ( )

_______ wanting only one child ( )

_______ not wanting to have children ( )

_______ wanting two children ( )

_______ wanting more than two children ( )

_______ wanting a child without marriage ( )

_______ spouse is most significant other ( )

_______ mothers are more significant than fathers ( )

_______ fathers are more significant than mothers ( )

_______ mothers and fathers are equally significant ( )

_______ siblings are more significant than parents ( )

 

 

Scoring Key:

S = a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

OTHERS

_______ preferring the company of others to being alone ( )

_______ having many significant others ( )

_______ having a few significant others ( )

_______ needing a great deal of time alone ( )

_______ others bring comfort most of the time ( )

_______ others bring pain most of the time ( )

_______ occasionally liking to be alone ( )

_______ not ever liking to be alone ( )

_______ "taking or leaving" others ( )

GOD

_______ there is a God ( )

_______ maybe there is a God ( )

_______ belonging to an organized religion is important ( )

_______ being privately "religious" is better than belonging to organized religion ( )

_______ being spiritual is more important than being religious ( )

_______ there is hell and punishment after death ( )

_______ there is life in heaven after death ( )

_______ there is nothing after life ( )

_______ having a personal relationship with God is important ( )

_______ God is "the Other," greater than humans, but impersonal ( )

_______ marriage only to someone of the same faith ( )

_______ own religion is only way to God ( )

_______ there are many ways to God ( )

 

 

Scoring Key:

S = a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

DEATH

_______ death is to be feared ( )

_______ talking about death is not frightening ( )

_______ death ends all; there is nothing after death ( )

_______ death begins a new life ( )

_______ frequent thinking about death ( )

_______ ability/willingness to imagine oneself dying ( )

_______ death is remote ( )

_______ people are reincarnated ( )

ECOLOGY

_______ concern for the earth and atmosphere is more important than personal convenience ( )

_______ the earth is here for humankind’s use, however humans wish to use it ( )

_______ technological advances are more important than preservation of the environment ( )

_______ human progress is more important than preservation of the environment ( )

_______ human progress is measured in terms of conquering the universe ( )

_______ human progress is measured by living in harmony with the earth and with other humans ( )

 

 

Scoring Key:

S = a value, need, want, or belief in my own value system

O = a value, need, want or belief acceptable for others but not for myself

N = a value, need, want, or belief not acceptable for myself or others

U = undecided

PEACE/WAR

_______ humankind has outgrown war; war is outmoded ( )

_______ there is no such thing as a just war ( )

_______ peace cannot be attained without justice ( )

_______ war will always be necessary as long as humans inhabit the earth ( )

_______ peace is the absence of conflict ( )

_______ peace is that situation in which conflict is resolved through discussion, negotiation, or law ( )

_______ the media foster violence ( )

_______ as long as humans exist, there will be violence ( )

_______ violence is abhorrent ( )

_______ humans can vanquish violence ( )

POLITICS

_______ politics as a career ( )

_______ avoiding discussing politics whenever possible ( )

_______ disliking politics ( )

_______ one cannot be in politics and have a sense of peace ( )

_______ one has to participate in politics to have a sense of peace ( )

_______ keeping informed about politics ( )

_______ politics is fascinating ( )

_______ politics "makes the world go ‘round" ( )

_______ being barely knowledgeable about politics ( )

_______ being knowledgeable about politics ( )

_______ total disinterest in politics ( )

_______ politics and morality are incompatible ( )

 

 


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Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins

Managing Director

BA LLB

C: +27 (0)82 416 7712

T: +27 (0)10 035 4185 (Office)

F: +27 (0)86 689 7862

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