According to a new report by PwC, most large organisations now have an articulated set of values or principles. Only one in ten respondents said that their organisation has none.

The survey found that 80% of respondents realise that consistent and frequent communication are important drivers in stressing these values, but only 63% state that this is done well by management.

Comment: Are corporate values mere window dressing or an important part of the business model? They could easily be both at once, of course, but, if they are the latter, how valuable are these values? Are they the glue which keeps the organisation’s workers together – motivated and engaged to do their best for the organisation through thick and thin? Or does merely ‘being’ the organisation – that is, operating day-to-day and trying to do the best in the circumstances – get in the way?

It might appear that 37% of organisations’ managements let the minutiae of ‘operating’ get in the way of them devoting their efforts to communicating corporate values effectively. In these cases, does that make these corporate values valueless?

Sadly, the only people who might consider these questions seriously are HR specialists – which, in ‘Main Board’ operating terms, might suggest the answer to the last question.