Chapter 3 Attitudes and Job Satisfaction ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

Chapter 3 Attitudes, and Job Satisfaction ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR S T E P H E N P. R O B B I N S E L E V E N T H © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. E D I T I O N WWW. PRENHALL. COM/ROBBINS Power. Point Presentation by Charlie Cook

Attitudes Evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people, or events. © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Cognitive component The opinion or belief segment of an attitude. Affective Component The emotional or feeling segment of an attitude. Behavioral Component An intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something. 3– 2

Moderating Variables The most powerful moderators of the attitudes relationship are the importance of the attitude, its correspondence to behavior, its accessibility, the presence of social pressures, and whether a person has direct experience with the attitude. Specific attitudes tend to predict specific behaviors, whereas general attitudes tend to best predict general behaviors. For instance, asking someone about her intention to stay with an organization for the next 6 months is likely to better predict turnover for that person than asking her how satisfied she is with her job overall. On the other hand, overall job satisfaction would better predict a General behavior, such as whether the individual was engaged in her work or motivated to contribute to her 3– 3 organization

Discrepancies between attitudes and behavior This may explain why an employee who holds strong anti-union attitudes attends pro-union organizing meetings, or why tobacco executives, who are not smokers themselves and who tend to believe the research linking smoking and cancer, don’t actively discourage others from smoking. Attitude–behavior relationship Asking college students with no significant work experience how they would respond to working for an authoritarian supervisor is far less likely to predict actual behavior than asking that same question of employees who have actually worked for such an individual. 3– 4

Types of Attitudes Job Satisfaction A collection of positive and/or negative feelings that an individual holds toward his or her job. Job Involvement Identifying with the job, actively participating in it, and considering performance important to self-worth. Organizational Commitment Identifying with a particular organization and its goals, and wishing to maintain membership in the organization. 3– 5

Types of Attitudes Perceived Organizational support (POS) The degree to which employees believe an organization values their contribution and cares about their well being. Employee Engagement An individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the work he or she does. Organizational Commitment Identifying with a particular organization and its goals, and wishing to maintain membership in the organization. 3– 6

The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes. Desire to reduce dissonance • Importance of elements creating dissonance • Degree of individual influence over elements • Rewards involved in dissonance © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 3– 7

Measuring the A-B Relationship Ø 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 © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 3– 8

Self-Perception Theory Attitudes are used after the fact to make sense out of an action that has already occurred. © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 3– 9

An Application: Attitude Surveys Eliciting responses from employees through questionnaires about how they feel about their jobs, work groups, supervisors, and the organization. © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 3– 10

Attitudes and Workforce Diversity Ø Training activities that can reshape employee attitudes concerning diversity: – Participating in diversity training that provides for selfevaluation 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. © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 3– 11

Job Satisfaction Ø Measuring Job Satisfaction – Single global rating – Summation score Ø 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 © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 3– 12

The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance Ø Satisfaction and Productivity – Satisfied workers aren’t necessarily more productive. – Worker productivity is higher in organizations with more satisfied workers. Ø Satisfaction and Absenteeism – Satisfied employees have fewer avoidable absences. Ø Satisfaction and Turnover – Satisfied employees are less likely to quit. – Organizations take actions to retain high performers and to weed out lower performers. © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 3– 13

How Employees Can Express Dissatisfaction Exit Voice Behavior directed toward leaving the organization. Active and constructive attempts to improve conditions. Loyalty Neglect Passively waiting for conditions to improve. Allowing conditions to worsen. © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 3– 14

Job Satisfaction and OCB Ø 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. © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 3– 15

Job Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction Ø Satisfied employees increase customer satisfaction because: – They are more friendly, upbeat, and responsive. – They are less likely to turnover which helps build longterm customer relationships. – They are experienced. Ø Dissatisfied customers increase employee job dissatisfaction. © 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 3– 16