Standards and Classification of Standards

Standards

Standard is a scale of measurement of val-ues. According to Nickell and Dorsey (1970), standards are a set of measure of values stemming from our value pat-terns, determining the amount and kind of interest in something and the satis-faction we receive. Standards serve as a measure or criterion for measurement of objects or ways of doing things.

There are standards that apply to a single situation or area such as standard of food or dress or conduct. Standards set the limits one will accept in working towards a goal.

Gross and Crandall classify standards as (1) conventional and (2) flexible.

i. Conventional Standards:

Conventional standards are those that are traditional and accepted by the community at large or by a social group within it. To illustrate ‘high’ standard of cleanliness, we can take an example of cleaning and dusting furniture twice a day. This can be standard of any family. If an unex-pected guest arrives and there is dust visible, the homemaker is apt to say ‘I did not dust today’.

ii. Flexible standards:

Flexible standards can be changed to suit different situations; they give greater freedom of choice. Adjusting family standards to changing condi-tions is an example of the need to have flexibility in one’s standards.

Interrelationship between goals, values and standards: Using kitchen as a selected area of the house, the concept of values, goals and standards can be illustrated as follows.

Key concepts in understanding motivation within the person and the family are values and standards and the closely related concept of goals.

·                    Values give meaning to your life.

·                    Values are a prime motivating force in all management.

·                    Values is a dominant term

Goals are closely related to both values and standards in initiating management. They sten from values and are influenced by standards. Each exerts an influence on the other two. Goals are indicators of values. For example, the goal of owning one’s home may be one expression of the value of security. Standards are specifications of values. They measure the degree of influence of a value. Standards set the limits one will accept in working towards a goal.