Assignment: Workplace Values Exercise

Assessing your workplace values is a critical step in identifying the right career path and employer. The workplace values listed below will directly impact your future job satisfaction and are important to consider as you begin to make career choices. Reflecting on and prioritizing these essential values will allow you to more readily research and find employers that support and exercise those values.

Rate theimportance of each of the workplace values in the list below using the provided scale. Take your time to reflect on what is truly important and be honest in your assessment. You may also add to the list if something that you value is not represented.

1 = Very important to me
2 = Important to me
3 = Somewhat important to me
4 = Not important to me

I am interested in jobs/careers/companies that involve:

- challenges and problem solving
- work/life balance
- a flexible work schedule
- a high degree of competition
- integrity and truth
- rewards based on loyalty and dependability
- showing pride in work
- stability and security
- strong financial compensation and financial rewards
- being recognized for quality of work in a visible/public way
- having a positive impact on others and society
- using creativity and being innovative
- variety and a changing work pace
- professional development and ongoing learning and growth
- friendships and warm working relationships
- teamwork and work groups
- prestige or a level of social status
- routine, predictable work projects
- open and candid communication
- deadlines and time demand/pressure challenges
-opportunities for advancement and clear advancement tracks
- comfort and avoidance of pressure
- frequent contact with the public
- using cutting edge or pioneering technologies or techniques
- opportunities to lead by example or influence
- opportunities to be mentored
- making decisions/having power to decide courses of action
- being respected and valued
- a frequently changing organization
- entrepreneurial opportunities
- autonomy and independence
- working with a diverse group of people
- precision work with little tolerance for error
- adventure and excitement

Now that you have your ratings, identify the 10 most important values to you. Circle each of these most important values from the list above.

Finally, narrow down your list of 10 to the five core values you hold most sacred-that you can't live without in your job/workplace-and place them below:

1. --------------
2. --------------
3. --------------
4. --------------
5. --------------

This list of core workplace values represents who you are and will help determine your level of satisfaction with your career choices. Use this information as you navigate the world of work to ensure the right level of fit for you with potential employers. You will also use your results to complete Assignment - Values and Career Fit.

Assignment: Values and Career Fit

Assignment Overview

Developing skills that make you attractive to organizations is an important aspect of professional development, but knowing how to assess a job or organization to see if it is worth your consideration is also important. This assignmentprovides an opportunity for you to think about your values and to learn how to determine if a job or organization would be a good "fit" for you based on those values.

Summary of Tasks

1. Complete theworkplace values exerciseand identify your top five core values.
2. Complete the required readings on cultural fit posted on Blackboard.
3. Conduct research and identify three companies that offera good cultural fit for you based on your core values.
4. Write a reflective summary about your values and the company research that you completed.
5. Give a presentation to your classmates about your values and ONE of the three companies you wrote about in your paper.

Deliverables

1. A written summary (with your completed values exercise attached), worth 10 points
2. An formal, individual presentation delivered in class, worth 5 points

Workplace Values Exercise

You will complete the workplace values exercise at home and bring it to class. The exercise should take about 30 minutes; it requires a great deal of thought and your full attention in order to end up with useful results.

Readings

We will discuss the readings and the results of your workplace values exercise in class.

Company Research

After you've completed the values exercise, use library databases and the internet to find three companies that are a good fit for you. Learn about the companies through their websites ("About Us" page, investor pages, mission statement, history, press releases, etc.) and through searching Factiva and other databases to find press coverage and other information about the companies. A good place to start is the company research video prepared by librarian Jo Ann Henson:http://infoguides.gmu.edu/business/company

Presentation

Create a short presentation (3-5 minutes long, using 2-5 PowerPoint slides or a Prezi) that explains what you learned about your values, describes one of the companies you researched, and highlights the evidence that helped you decide thatthis company would be a good fit for you. Be sure to use citations on your slides to show where you got each piece of information. Keep in mind that your classmates are your audience. What can you tell them about this company that would be interesting to them?

Written Summary

Your single-spaced, written summary should include:

• 2-3 paragraphs about your five core values and why they are important to you.

• 1-2 paragraphs analyzing (not just summarizing) the required readings about cultural fit. Why is cultural fit important in the job search process? How can organizations ensure they are hiring for cultural fit while also building a diverse workforce?

• 1-2 paragraphs outlining the results of your company research and highlighting the specific evidence that influenced you to choose these three companies. Be sure to specify where your evidence came from by including in-text citations and an APA-format reference list at the end of your paper.

• 1 paragraph reflecting on how you will apply the knowledge learned from this assignment in your own career.