Guth and Tagiuri in their article, “Organizational Values and Corporate Strategy,” talk about how “An organization’s culture is largely determined by the personal values of its members”. This observation really echoed my experiences in group projects during my academic career. But when team members share values and objectives, collaboration thrives and high-quality outcomes follow. I can still remember how integrity and excellence shared by my group has kept the atmosphere accommodating and drove us into impressive results in every group project where this has been the case. In contrast, it always falters in a team whose members have different values that thereby cause friction and misunderstanding.

On a larger scale, this connection of values with culture speaks volumes about the real dynamics within organizations. Organizations whose cultures are aligned with their core values tend to have better employee engagement and customer loyalty. For example, companies such as Patagonia have embedded their environmentalist values into the core of their cultures, hence fostering a closer connection with customers and reinforcing brand identity. The end result is a loyal group of workers who show pride in their ability to contribute to the company mission.