leadership and motivation in hospitality

(1988: 638-639). The V→A→B hierarchy is reflected in the alternative domain
names (Values, Processes, Attitudes and Behaviours) illustrated at the foot of
Figure 4 - 5.

The first step in operationalising (i.e. developing a method for measuring) the
construct was to specify a definition for it (see e.g. Hair et al. 2006: 735),
accordingly, the Work Values construct was defined as:

 an individual’s disposition toward work in general / set of general beliefs about
work

This definition draws upon the discussion on ‘the meaning of work’ in Ardichvili
and Kuchinke (2009: 157) who also cite Sverko and Vizek-Vidovic’s (1995: 3)
definition of the meaning of work and working as:

the set of general beliefs about work held by an individual, who

acquires them through interaction with social environment

Ardichvili and Kuchinke (2009: 157) acknowledge the imprecise nature of the
meaning of work concept noting that research in this area includes a range of
discrete foci including work attitudes, work values and work
orientation. Indeed, Work Meaning is treated as a separate construct with a
different definition in this research; specifically, Work Meaning is defined here as
an employee’s attitude to their current job. The Work Meaning construct is
discussed in greater detail in Section 5.3 below, however, to summarise:

Work Values reflect an individual’s disposition toward work in general
Work Meaning reflects an individual’s attitude to their current job

Searching the hospitality literature for precedents on methods of measuring work
values revealed several articles that appeared to examine this issue. Ross (1992)
studied job-attainment beliefs and work values among school leavers in Australia
using Pryor’s Work Aspect Preference Scale (WAPS). The WAPS scale, however,
actually measures respondents’ work preferences i.e. it is a measure of individual
work needs rather than how they feel about work in general.
Mok et al. (1998) examined the leadership preferences and work values and of
Hong Kong based Chinese hotel managers. In their study the work values
measures were based on Hofstede’s (1980) Values Survey Module. Once again,
however, the measures in Hofstede’s survey instrument for measuring values
actually measure individuals’ work preferences on a number of different
dimensions.