Work Outcome Preference and Evaluation

Members of European, Maori, and Samoan ethnic groups in New Zealand were predicted to differ in terms of both the evaluation of a sample of job outcomes and their order of preference among these same outcomes. Predictions were made, on the basis of cultural values and the economic situation of the various groups, that Maoris and Samoans generally would prefer and evaluate "particularistic" outcomes (that is, personalistic exchanges of love, status, or service) and pay increments more than Europeans, but not evaluate good working conditions as highly. Results, while not as predicted, did support the importance of particularism in both non-European samples and the importance of community obligations in the Samoan group. The conceptual difference between preferences and evaluations was also noted.