Sectoral Ethos: An Investigation of the Personal Values Systems of Female and Male Managers in the Public and Private Sectors Richard W. Stackman University of San Francisco Patrick E. Connor Willamette University Boris W. Becker Oregon State University ABSTRACT The personal values systems of 884 public- and private-sector managers are compared. From that comparison inferences are drawn regarding the ethos of each sector, and potential impli- cations for managers are discussed. Although the personal-values systems in the two sectors are quite similar, results reflect a public-sector ethos that is significantly higher in Delayed Gratification and Self-Expansion and a private-sector ethos that is significantly higher in Com- petence, Personal Orientation, and Family Security. In addition, this study furthers the view that the personal-values systems of male and female managers within a given employment sector are not significantly different. Researchers’ continuing interest in values stems from the pervasive and important influence of personal values on attitudes and behavior (England 1967; England and Lee 1974; Rokeach 1968). This interest, which dates back many years (Allport 1937; Lewin 1935; Postman, Bruner, and McGinnes 1948), increased with the publication of Milton Rokeach’s landmark Beliefs, Attitudes and Values (1968), leading to a substan- tial growth in the conceptual and empirical literature on personal values (reviews can be found in Agle and Caldwell 1999; Burgess 1992; Connor and Becker 1994; England and Lee 1974; Rokeach 1979; and Stackman, Pinder, and Connor 2000). One of the guiding questions within the literature is: by understanding individuals’ values sys- tems, can we better understand and predict individuals’ behavior? As pointed out by Ali and Schaupp (1992) and Connor and Becker (1994), job satisfaction, motivation, man- agerial success, leadership style, competence, consumer choices, and both individual Thanks go to Professors Maurice Penner and Fred Thompson for their comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript, to Mike Manuel for his software skills, and to Katy Durant for her sensible (to her) coding system as well as other assistance. Address correspondence to Richard W. Stackman at rwstackman@usfca.edu. doi:10.1093/jopart/mui059 Advance Access publication on October 26, 2005 ª The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org. JPART 16:577–597 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jpart/article/16/4/577/919167 by guest on 12 June 2022