The Value Of Value: Values For Difference And Diversity

Values are the basis upon which we make our decisions and form our opinions upon. They can often be “emotionally charged and, therefore, sometimes fiercely protected” as they are developed within a “specific historical and experiential context, and are, therefore, not always readily transferable.” (Chenoweth & McAuliffe, 2012) A person’s values guide the way they their lives are led and the way in which their decisions are made. (Sielearning.tafensw.edu.au, 2015) A value may be defined as something that we hold dear, those things/qualities which we consider to be of worth. Values differ from beliefs, as beliefs are the operationalisation of values and are not always factual based. Values also differ from ethics in the way that values are concerned

For example, a person who is sees great value in saving the world’s rainforests would differ largely from someone who relies on the logging of a forest for their job, and therefore “may not place the same value on the forest as a person who wants to save it.” (Sielearning.tafensw.edu.au, 2015)

Organisational values are always present but may not be recorded on paper, but are rather expected of the employee and are the “basic professional standards or ethics of public service.” (Icac.nsw.gov.au, 2015) The New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (2015) states that there are two essential organisational concepts:

Impartiality – best demonstrated by the principle of merit-based decision-making, and public

It should be known and remembered during practice that values are subjective and not all values carry the same weight. To become more attune to diverse cultural backgrounds and to facilitate client growth and development, the American Counselling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics (2014) states that counsellors should “actively attempt to understand the diverse cultural backgrounds of the clients they serve,” whilst also trying to explore their own cultural identities and see “how these affect their values and beliefs about the counselling process.” It is extremely beneficial as a social worker and human services practitioners to know, accept and understand their own values, beliefs and ethics ergo they may know how to approach clients with conflicting values and still practice effectively and efficiently without integrating their personal values into the practice by professionally distancing themselves. Emotionally distancing oneself is important during practice, as if values do collide, conflict can easily be caused and may wound the progress between the client and practitioner as values and morals “tend to be quite stable, people are often unwilling to negotiate or compromise,” as values are “deeply embedded in the participants ' moral orders… issues