Attitudes

&
Job Satisfaction
Module 3
Attitudes and Job Satisfaction
Meaning of attitude, components of attitude,
major job attitudes, job satisfaction, causes of job
dissatisfaction, global implications of job
satisfaction, comparison between Western and
Asian employees
After studying this chapter,
you should be able to:
1. Contrast the three components of an attitude.
2. Summarize the relationship between attitudes
and behavior.
3. Identify the role consistency plays in attitudes.
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After studying this chapter,
you should be able to:
4 .State the relationship between job satisfaction
and behavior.
5 .Identify four employee responses to
dissatisfaction.
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Values
Values
If you want to understand a persons behavior,
you must understand his or her values.

Value is a standard of evaluation a person possess
about what is right and wrong.
Importance of values Values generally influence
attitudes and behavior.
Value system --is a hierarchy based on a ranking
of an individuals values in terms of ones
intensity.

Types of Values
Terminal
Values
Instrumental
Values
Types of Values - Rokeach Value Survey
Terminal Values
Terminal values are the end-state we hope to achieve in
life.

Instrumental Values
Instrumental values are means of achieving these terminal
values. These are values that can be used to get something
else. In other words the value is an instrument which allows
you to get some other things.
Mean Value Rankings of
Executives, Union
Members, and Activists
E X H I B I T 3-2
Dominant Work Values in Todays Workforce
E X H I B I T 3-3
Formation of our values
Source of our Value Systems
A significant portion is genetically
determined.
Other factors include national
culture, parents, teachers,
friends,schools,religious
institutions,social groups and similar
environmental influences.

Values Across Cultures Comparison between western and Asian Culture
Power Distance
Individualism or Collectivism
Quantity or Quality of Life
Uncertainty Avoidance
Long-Term or Short-Term
Hofstedes Framework for Assessing Cultures
Power Distance
The extent to which a society accepts that
power in institutions and organizations is
distributed unequally.
low distance: relatively equal distribution
high distance: extremely unequal distribution
Hofstedes Framework (contd)
Collectivism
A tight social framework in
which people expect
others in groups of which
they are a part to look
after them and protect
them.
Individualism
The degree to which
people prefer to act as
individuals rather than
a member of groups.
Hofstedes Framework (contd)
Achievement
The extent to which societal
values are characterized by
assertiveness, materialism and
competition.
Nurturing
The extent to which societal
values emphasize relationships
and concern for others.
Hofstedes Framework (contd)
Uncertainty Avoidance
The extent to which a society feels threatened by
uncertain and ambiguous situations and tries to
avoid them.
Hofstedes Framework (contd)
Long-term Orientation
A national culture attribute
that emphasizes the future,
thrift, and persistence.
Short-term Orientation
A national culture attribute that
emphasizes the past and
present, respect for tradition,
and fulfilling social obligations.
The GLOBE
Framework
for
Assessing
Cultures
Assertiveness
Future Orientation
Gender differentiation
Uncertainty avoidance
Power distance
Individual/collectivism
In-group collectivism
Performance orientation
Humane orientation
E X H I B I T 34 Source: M. Javidan and R. J. House, Cultural Acumen for the Global Manager:
Lessons from Project GLOBE, Organizational Dynamics, Spring 2001, pp. 289305.
Attitude
ATTITUDE
Attitude is defined as a favorable or
unfavorable evaluative statement and
reaction to an object, person,event or
idea
Evaluative statements
Either favorable or unfavorable
Concerning objects, people or events
Though attitudes express feelings but they
are linked to cognitions!

What Are Attitudes?

Cognitive component
Affective component
Behavioral component
Attitudes : 3Types or Components
Attitudes
A favorable or unfavorable
evaluative statement and
reaction to an object,
person,event or idea
Affective Component
is the emotion or feeling
segment of an attitude.
Cognitive component
The opinion or belief segment
of an attitude.
Behavioral Component
is the intention to behave in a
certain way toward someone or
something.
Attitudes are judgments.
They develop on
the ABC model (affect,
behavior, and cognition )
ATTITUDES
THREE COMPONENTS
Cognitive component (opinion or belief)
Affective component (emotional feelings)
Behavioral component (intention to behave)
Example: studying negative attitudes towards group
Negative beliefs (cognitive)
Prejudice, negative feelings (affective)
Discrimination, negative actions (behavioral)

Attitude formation Direct and social learning
-
Sources of Attitudes:

Acquired from parents, teachers, and peer group
members. There are genetic predispositions.
Observations, attitudes that we imitate.
Attitudes are less stable than values
Attitudes are learned,acquired and not inherited..

Attitude formation Direct Learning


Attitudes can develop from a personally rewarding or
punishing experience with an object.Direct experience has
a powerful influence on attitude because of the availability
and for the same reason more resistant to change.

1.Classical conditioning- learning through associations
2.Operant conditioning-attitudes that are reinforced
continues.
3. Vicarious Learning-learning through the observance of
others (children pick up the prejudices of their parents)








Attitude formation -Social Learning
Social learning can take place through the following
ways:

Family- imitate parents and reinforcement.
Peer group moulds attitude through group
acceptance
Modeling learning by observing others


Predicting Behavior from Attitudes
Attitudes significantly predict future behavior and
that the attitude-behavior relationship can be
enhanced by taking moderating variables into
account.
Three powerful moderators are
the importance
specificity
accessibility of the attitude
the existence of social pressures
whether a person has direct experience with the
attitude are also strong moderators.

Measuring the A-B Relationship
Recent research indicates that attitudes (A)
significantly predict behaviors (B) when moderating
variables are taken into account.
Moderating Variables
Importance of the attitude
Specificity of the attitude
Accessibility of the attitude
Social pressures on the individual
Direct experience with the attitude
A B
Self perception theory
Self-Perception Theory, proposed by Daryl Bem,
suggests that people develop attitudes and opinions
by observing their own behavior and drawing
conclusions from it.

we learn about ourselves and form self-judgments
the same way we learn about and judge others by
observation.


The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Desire to reduce dissonance
Importance of elements creating dissonance
Degree of individual influence over elements
Rewards involved in dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is a conflict between two values or between values and behavior.
Also Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and
attitudes .Individuals seek to reduce this gap, or dissonance

Emotional dissonance inconsistencies between emotions we feel and
emotions we project.


Cognitive dissonance
The theory of cognitive dissonance suggests that
people try to minimize dissonance and the
discomfort it causes.

If the elements creating the dissonance are
relatively unimportant, the pressure to correct the
imbalance will be low. Also, the degree of influence
that one has over the elements involved will affect
how he or she reacts to dissonance.


Rewards also influence the degree to which
individuals are motivated to reduce dissonance.


An Application: Attitude Surveys
Attitude Surveys
Eliciting responses from employees through
questionnaires about how they feel about their jobs,
work groups, supervisors, and the organization.
Job Satisfaction Survey
Sample Attitude Survey
Attitudes and Workforce Diversity
Training activities that can reshape employee
attitudes concerning diversity:
Participating in diversity training that provides for self-
evaluation and group discussions.
Volunteer work in community and social serve centers
with individuals of diverse backgrounds.
Exploring print and visual media that recount and
portray diversity issues.
Job-Related Attitudes/ major Work Attitudes
Work attitudes affect work behaviour.
Job involvement
Extent that a person identifies with his job.
Organizational commitment
Extent that a person identifies with the
organization. This is a great predictor for
turnover.
Job satisfaction
A persons attitude resulting from the appraisal of
ones job.
Types of Job Attitudes
Employee Engagement
An individuals involvement with, satisfaction with, and
enthusiasm for the organization
Perceived Organizational Support (POS)
Degree to which employees feel the organization cares
about their well-being
Factors conductive to Job satisfaction
Job satisfaction is a set of attitudes toward work.
Job satisfaction survey Process of determining
employee attitudes about the job and work
environment.
Factors conductive to Job satisfaction
1. Mentally challenging work use their skills and
abilities, variety of tasks, freedom and feedback on
how well they are doing.
2. Personality job fit(Personality types that can
meet the demands of the job)
3. Equitable rewards: salary as per industry pay
standards,fair and just promotion decisions.
Promotion increase social status.

Job satisfaction

4. Supportive working conditions-good physical
conditions like temperature, light and other
environmental factors should provide personal
comfort. Employees prefer to work close to home.
5. Supportive colleagues -supportive co-workers and
understanding supervisors.
Job satisfaction

6. Social responsibility-obligation of an organization
to behave in ethical ways.
7.High Package alone does not bring higher
satisfaction level.
8.Productivity enhancement, strict deadlines,
overload of work etc contribute to low satisfaction
level.

Job Satisfaction
Measuring Job Satisfaction
Single global rating-One-question rating
Summation score- Identifies key elements in a job,
individual is then asked to rate on a scale
The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) is a questionnaire that addresses
aspects of satisfaction with which good managers should be
concerned.
How Satisfied Are People in Their Jobs?
Job satisfaction declined to 50.4% in 2002
Decline attributed to:
Pressures to increase productivity and meet tighter
deadlines
Less control over work
What is job satisfaction and what are its
implications?
Withdrawal effects
Dissatisfied workers are absent more frequently, are
not engaged in their work (daydreaming, socializing,
web surfing), and are more likely to quit.
Employee turnover results in costly corporate impact:
Loss of talent
Replacement cost
What is job satisfaction and what are its
implications?
Organizational Citizenship
Behaviors that represent employees willingness to go
the extra mile in their work.
Advancing organizational interests, positive attitudes
and public comments.
Helping behaviors that are unsolicited (volunteering,
mentoring).
What is job satisfaction and what are its
implications?
Relationship between satisfaction and
performance three theories:
Satisfaction causes performance.
Performance causes satisfaction.
Rewards cause satisfaction and performance.

The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee
Performance
Satisfaction and Productivity
Satisfied workers arent necessarily more productive.
Worker productivity is higher in organizations with
more satisfied workers.
Satisfaction and Absenteeism
Satisfied employees have fewer avoidable absences.
Satisfaction and Turnover
Satisfied employees are less likely to quit.
Organizations take actions to retain high performers
and to weed out lower performers.
How Employees Can Express Dissatisfaction
Exit
Behavior directed toward
leaving the organization.
Voice
Active and constructive
attempts to improve
conditions.
Neglect
Allowing conditions to
worsen.
Loyalty
Passively waiting for
conditions to improve.
Responses to Job Dissatisfaction
E X H I B I T 35
Source: C. Rusbult and D. Lowery, When Bureaucrats Get the Blues, Journal
of Applied Social Psychology. 15, no. 1, 1985:83. Reprinted with permission.
Responses to Job Dissatisfaction
Employee dissatisfaction can be expressed in four types of responses
which differ from one another along two dimensions:
constructive/destructive and active/passive.
1. Exit -- Behavior directed toward leaving the organization, such as
looking for a new position or resigning.

2. Voice- Actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions,
such as suggesting improvements, discussing problems with
superiors, and some forms of union activity.

3. Loyalty--- Passively but optimistically waiting for conditions to
improve such as speaking up for the organization in the face of
external criticism and trusting the organization and its management
to do the right thing.

4. Neglect---- Passively allowing conditions to worsen, such as chronic
lateness or absenteeism, reduced effort, and increased error rate.

Job Satisfaction and OCB
Satisfaction and Organizational Citizenship
Behavior (OCB)
Satisfied employees who feel fairly treated by and are
trusting of the organization are more willing to engage
in behaviors that go beyond the normal expectations of
their job.
Job Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction
Satisfied employees increase customer
satisfaction because:
They are more friendly, upbeat, and responsive.
They are less likely to turnover which helps build long-
term customer relationships.
They are experienced.
Dissatisfied customers increase employee job
dissatisfaction.
In general, when we think of attitudes and
organizations, we think of:

1. Job Satisfaction
2. Happiness
3. Job Involvement
4. Mood at work
5. Organizational Commitment
6. 1 and 2
7. 1, 3, and 5

Chapter Check-up: Attitudes
Ernesto is known as the Donut Hut Kingevery day he brings
donuts and coffee to the office for everyone. He says it helps
everyone think more clearly! Ernesto is demonstrating:
1. Job satisfaction
2. Organizational citizenship
behavior
3. Productivity
4. Job involvement
5. Conscientiousness

Chapter Check-up: Attitudes
Write down three things someone could do at work
that would constitute an OCB. Compare your list with
a neighbors.
Case study
Suppose you work in an advertising agency as a client
service manager. You are young, energetic, willing to
learn and have a success story of 2 years working
with the agency. You are handling major clients and
enjoy good reputation within and outside the
organization. One of your clients has even offered
you a job. But you have declined and are really happy
and satisfied. You report directly to the CEO. One day
you found out that the agency hired a new
experienced marketing head. now you will be
reporting to him. This has caused you a substantial
mental and emotional set back.
Questions:
What would be your immediate reaction to this
situation?
Keeping the dissatisfaction model in view, what would
be your strategy?