CROSS CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING PAPER

“WORK VALUES”

Arranged by group 10 (AG 5-6)

Nurul fatimah 40300119095
Muhammad ali emir abdullah P.K.T 40300119097
Muhammad rizal hidayat 40300116105

ENGLISH AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT

ADAB AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
ALAUDDIN STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF MAKASSAR
2021

PREFACE

Thanks to God Almighty for His grace and mercy to the author who has
completed the English paper assignment entitled "WORK VALUES".
 The author also wishes to express his deepest gratitude to all those who have
provided assistance in completing this paper. It was written to complete a Cross
Cultural Understanding course assignment.
The author realizes that it is still not perfect, but we have high hopes that
his work can help readers learn about Intercultural Communication.

Author

Gowa 11 may 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER
PREFACE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background
B. Problem statement
C. Objective

CHAPTER II. DISCUSSION

A. The work ethics
B. The american dream
C. Rewards and Job Satisfaction
D. Personal Satisfaction
E. Workaholic
F. The Differences between America and Indonesia related to Working

CHAPTER III. CONCLUSION

Conclusion
REFERENCES

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background

Individuals hold central beliefs about two broad aspects of

work. First, they have beliefs regarding how they ought to behave
in work-relevant contexts (working hard, acting with integrity,
respecting others). Second, they have preferences regarding what
the work environment will provide for them (a challenging job, high
pay). Although authors have usually focused on one or the other
of these different approaches to work values, they are, in fact,
related. Work values defined as generalized beliefs about modes
of conduct at work form a primary component of the self-schema,
the ought self, whereas work preferences compose a part of the
desired self. Self-relevant beliefs tend to be the most deeply held
and influential of cognitions, and thus values are stable and
central beliefs, having powerful influences on other cognitions,
motivation, and action in the workplace. Work values are not
merely evaluative responses; they are embedded within self-
identity.

Based on the preceding definitions, work values defined in

the ought frame are a powerful influence on preferences regarding
objects or organizational characteristics. Work values, as they
address one of a very few primary domains in life, act as an
organizing structure for much of the rest of our system of cognition.
Perceptions, motivation, attitudes, and opinions are all subject to
 this structure. Many concepts thought of as factual are influenced
by work value systems, for example, the belief that jobs that
require more responsibility also require more pay.

B. Problem statement

1) What is the meaning of The work ethics

2) What is the meaning of The american dream
3) Rewards and Job Satisfaction
4) Personal Satisfaction
5) What is Workaholic
6) What The Differences between America and Indonesia related to
Working

CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
A. The Work Ethics
Attitudes toward work in the US have been greatly influenced by the “work
ethic”. Also called the “Puritan Ethic” or the “Protestant Ethics”, it motivates people to
work hard in order to become successful. “The Puritans” refers fundamentalist
Protestants who came over from England. The “work ethics” associates work with the
quality of goodness. This ethic was an outcome (a result) of the Puritans religious belief
that people who get material success are God’s “chosen ones” and would go to heaven.
At their early times, according to Max Weber in his book “The Protestant Ethic and The
Spirit of Capitalism”1, Protestants rejected the idea of Catholics that church can assure
salvation. This condition made them “to lose” a religious authority and then they tried to
find a justification that they were saved.2

Weber found some paradoxes in Protestantism’s relation with worldly affairs relative to
Catholicism :

• According to the new Protestant religions, an individual was religiously

compelled to follow a secular vocation with as much zeal as possible. A person
living according to this world view was more likely to accumulate money.
1
2
 • The new religions (in particular, Calvinism and other more austere Protestant
sects) effectively forbade wastefully using hard earned money and identified the
purchase of luxuries a sin. Donations to an individual’s church or congregation
were limited due to the rejection by certain Protestant sects of icons. Finally,
donation of money to the poor or to charity was generally frowned on as it was
seen as furthering beggary. This social condition was perceived as laziness,
burdening their fellow man, and an affront to God; by not working, one failed to
glorify God.

Whether success was achieved or not, work obtained religious and moral values
as illustrated in the following expression: “The devil makes work for idle hands”, means
that when people do not work they will be obsessed by the devil. For the
seventeenthcentury Puritans colonists work was a religious virtue. The work ethic is still
important until now especially for the middle and the upper class, even though it has lost
its religious meaning. A result of this American work values is materialism: the
tendency to accumulate wealth and possessions.

B. The American Dream

“American Dream” refers to a belief that every person has equal opportunities to
be successful no matter what his or her background, race, or religion, since America is a
land of freedom. Americans also believe that they will be rewarded for working,
producing, and achieving. A nineteenth century American novelist, Horatio Alger wrote
stories about the “American Dream”, in which poor people became rich people because
of their hard work, honesty and luck. The stories convinced people that all individuals,
no matter how poor, would be able to be wealthy as long as they were diligent and
virtuous. However these rags-to-riches stories do not represent the realities of
opportunity. Many poor immigrants who came into the USA – were indeed able to rise
on the social and economic scale. But today, the poor generally do not rise to the middle
and upper classes. In recent years, the concept of the American Dream as a national
ideal has been studied by various organizations. The conclusions of these studies
indicate that during the 1990's to the 2000s, a period of remarkable wealth for the U.S.,
an increasing number of people confess having lost faith in the American Dream.
C. Rewards and Job Satisfaction
Rewards for successful work are both professional and financial. There is
increased satisfaction when employees have the opportunity to develop creativity and
intellectual skills. Gaining recognition from fellow workers, supervisors and managers
give one a sense of importance and identity in the society.
Some people especially like the idea of “climbing the ladder” not only to increase their
status and financial position, but also to increase their sense or self-worth. Partially as a
result of the work ethic, these people are internally “driven” to work. Foreigners
frequently observe that Americans spend an unreasonable amount of time working and
as a result, Americans have little time of leisure and/or personal relationship.
D. Personal Satisfaction
In spite of the increased leisure time, the idea that work and play are distinct
activities has not changed. This distinction is clear-cut: there are “work hour and “after
work hours”. People believe that you should work hard and play hard. It is undesirable
to combine the two. During “work hours”, socializing among employees is discouraged.

E. Workaholic
Like other “-aholics,” the workaholic has an unhealthy addiction. (Americans
even have an organization called Workaholics Anonymous to help these workaholics
break their addiction.3) In this case, the addiction is for work, career, or a belief that they
are “the only one who can do the job right.” Without this consuming focus, the
workaholic may believe he’s a failure or has little worth. Often, this is a sign of
insecurity or having priorities out of order (doing jobs they actually do not have to do).
This is because workaholics’ self esteem is largely based on others’ perception or
judgment on their performance at work. They will feel useless if they do not give ‘the
best they can’. Workaholics will spend most of their lives at work or taking work home
with them. They will often have little time for personal lives – family (A workaholic
usually still checks e-mail with their laptops or gives instructions via phone while being
his family), hobbies, or relaxation. Having a balance is not just a preferable desire; it is
needed for overall mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health. The culture values
like achievement, efficiency, and productivity that underlie what the workaholics do and
they put these values into practice.
3
F. The Differences between America and Indonesia related to Working
United States is a country which respects freedom. Americans believe that the
ones who make efforts to be the best, they can be the best. There are no factors like
caste, religion, and culture which can stop the ones to be the best. The American
emphasis on concrete achievements and “doing” means that age is to be feared; the less
you can do or contribute to society. In America, aged person is not highly valued, for the
older you are the less you can accomplish. Age is also suspect because new is usually
better in American culture, and the elderly are generally out of touch with what is new.
The Americans emphasize on physical beauty and youth. In American culture, good
performance or good looking is important in work circumstance because someone who
is good looking will take other’s attention easily. For instance, by having sympathetic
face and friendly smile either man or woman will make others feel comfort. Beside that,
youths basically have brilliant mind. They have new ideas to create something new. In
other words, the youths tend to be creative ones. Also, they tend to be easy to solve the
problems since they have better and fresher solutions than the elders. Younger workers
are seen as enthusiastic and ambitious. They always make some innovations and
breakthrough in their fields. Furthermore, the younger workers have strong physical
condition which gives them less probability to get sick, so that they have much more
effective time to work.

Besides, American judges the worth’s worker based on the worker’s

productivity, not seniority. For examples, someone who has high productivity no matter
he or she is young or old will be more value than the one who does not. In this case, the
worker is demanded to have high quality and productivity. They never consider on ‘how
old are you” but they consider on “how many productivities and contributions you have
done”. They work professionally to reach the best what they can do. Furthermore, to get
higher position is easy for American workers. A worker does not have to wait for years
to upgrade to the next position. They really appreciate time. They never ignore each
chance coming to them. Therefore, no wonder if a young person has become a leader of
a company or director.
 In contrast, Indonesia is a country which has politeness norm and appreciate
what it is called tata krama. For Indonesians, age is highly valued. The older you are, it
means you have made many contributions. You will be respected more. Also, the older
you are the higher position you are in. The elders are absolutely respected. They are
considered having many experiences or what it is called as experienced workers since
they have been working for many years. Older workers are seen as being more likely to
think before they act and being more loyal, conscientious, reliable, and dependable. In
making decision, they never consult or even pay attention to the younger worker
because the older ones think the younger is too young to know what they are going to
do. In addition, youths tend to be considered as the ones who know nothing, so that
sometimes their brilliant ideas they have will be useless.

Moreover, Indonesian judges the worth’s worker based on seniority, how long
she or he has been working. In Indonesian culture, seniority is one of the heritage
cultures. The system which is applied that is juniors must respect the seniors. In working
circumstance, this system exists and has been being applied by the workers. Basically,
seniority is aimed to create the harmony among the workers. In other words, the older
and the younger can respect each other. The older workers considering as experienced
workers teach how to work well and give good guidance and suggestions to the younger
ones, so that they become salute and have a good team work. Furthermore, promotion is
not easy for Indonesians because they should follow some certain determined
procedures and rules. They have to wait for years for it. So that’s why a leader of an
institute or a director of a company in Indonesia basically comes from the older
generations.
 CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
Conclusion
Several general categories of work values are commonly identified; these
typically include extrinsic or instrumental values (high pay), intrinsic or cognitive
values (a challenging job), relational or social values (respectful relationships
between coworkers), and power or self-enhancement values (gaining promotion
or status). They are seen as more specific manifestations of general life values,
but it may be argued that work values also affect life values over time. Evidence
tends to support this spillover relationship between life and work values;
however, it has also been proposed that a compensatory model may represent
the relationship between different domains. For example, if individuals are
particularly driven to achieve extrinsic outcomes at work, they may focus on
relationships in their personal lives. This conceptualization has received minimal
support to date.

REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protestant_Ethic_and_the_Spirit_of_Capitalism
http://www.coe.uga.edu/~rhill/workethic/index.html
http://www.workaholics-anonymous.org