Oriel SCR member Dr Edward Brooks and his colleagues at the Oxford Character Project have published a major new survey of the most prominent business values in the UK, identifying the top five values that businesses prioritise on an organisational level.
The UK Business Values Survey is the first significant survey of its kind to be conducted in seven years, and the report published by the Oxford Character Project reveals the ‘increasing importance of personal and emotional aspects of organisational life’. Dr Brooks and his group found that: ‘Empathy, passion, and courage are among the most prominent values in UK businesses but did not feature significantly in earlier reports. The survey analysed data from 221 mostly FTSE 350 companies, revealing that the five most frequently referenced values are: collaboration, integrity, excellence, customer service, and creativity.
The Oxford Character Project is an interdisciplinary initiative with a team of research fellows from across the humanities and social sciences. The project focuses on the exploration of character and leadership in higher education, commercial organisations, and international development.
Dr Edward Brooks is Director of the Oxford Character Project. His research focuses on virtue ethics, hope, and character and leadership development.
The Oxford Character Project is already working to build on the results of the UK Business Values Survey and future research will focus on character and responsible leadership in UK businesses. You can read more about the project on their website.
To find out more, read about the full survey here.