LEARNING CONTENT: WEEK 2

Lesson Proper:

 Values have both content and intensity attributes. The content attribute says that a
code of conduct or end-state of existence is important. The intensity attribute specifies
how important it is. 
When we rank an individual’s values in terms of their intensity, we obtain that
person’s value system.
  
In the previous module, we described the new global village and said “managers have
to become capable of working with people from different cultures.”. Because values
differ across cultures, an understanding of these differences should be helpful in
explaining and predicting the behaviour of employees from different countries.
One of the most widely referenced approaches for analyzing variations among cultures
has been done by Geert Hofstede. They are listed and defined as follows:
      Power distance. The degree to which people in a country accept that power in
institutions and organizations is distributed unequally
     Individualism versus collectivism. Individualisms are the degree to which
people prefer to be set as individuals rather than as members of a group.
Collectivism on the other hand describes a tight social framework in which people
expect others of which they are part to look after them and protect them.
     Quantity of life versus quality of life. Quantity of life refers to the extent to
which societal values are characterized by assertiveness and materialism while
the quality of life emphasizes relationships and concern to others
     Uncertainty avoidance. The degree to which people prefer structured over
unstructured situations.
     Long-term versus short-term orientation. People in cultures with long-term
orientations look to the future and value thrift and persistence. A short-term
orientation values the past and present and emphasizes respect for tradition and
fulfilling social obligations.
Describe a workplace example of how people seek consistency among their
attitudes and their behaviour by reducing cognitive dissonance. Then, sort your
example into the three main components of attitudes.
Possible answer: A person working for a tobacco company can ignore the scientific
information that tobacco is harmful because he receives high rewards in the form of a
high salary. This allows him to reduce the cognitive dissonance between his feelings of
discomfort with his company's product, and his job satisfaction. The cognitive part of the
person's attitude would be the evaluation that tobacco is harmful. The affective part of
the attitude would be feeling certain discomfort knowing that he works for a company
that is harming people. The behavioural component of the person's attitude would be
the ignoring of the information to continue to receive the high salary.

Attitudes are evaluative statements- either favourable or unfavourable- concerning

objects, people or events. They reflect how one feels about something. For example,
when I say “I like my job”, I am expressing my attitude about work. Have you
experienced the same? How were your activities for that matter?
Attitudes are not the same as values, but the two are interrelated. You can see this by
looking at the three components of an attitude listed below.
Viewing attitudes as made up of three components mentioned is helpful toward
understanding their complexity and the potential relationships between attitudes and
behaviour. But for clarity’s sake, keep in mind that the term attitude essentially refers to
the affective part of the three components.

ATTITUDES AND CONSISTENCY

Did you ever notice how people change what they say so it doesn’t contradict
what they do? Research has generally concluded that people seek consistency among
their attitudes and between their attitudes and their behaviour. This means that
individuals seek to reconcile divergent attitudes and align their attitudes so that they
appear rational and consistent.
The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance Theory sought to explain the linkage between attitudes and
behavior. Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and
attitudes. Individuals seek to reduce this gap, or “dissonance”. Dissonance, simply put,
means an inconsistency.
Desire to reduce dissonance depends on: 
     Importance of elements creating dissonance
     Degree of individual influence over elements
     Rewards involved in dissonance
Measuring the A-B Relationship
Recent research indicates that attitudes (A) significantly predict behaviors (B) when
moderating variables are taken into account.
A–B
Moderating Variables
     Importance of the attitude
     Specificity of the attitude
     Accessibility of the attitude
     Social pressures on the individual
     Direct experience with the attitude

Self-Perception Theory
 An Application: Attitude Surveys
Knowledge of employee attitudes can be helpful to managers in attempting to
predict employee behavior. But how does management get information about employee
attitudes? The most popular method is through the use of attitude surveys.
Attitude Surveys - eliciting responses from employees through questionnaires
about how they feel about their jobs, workgroups, supervisors, and the organization. An
attitude survey seeks to understand and evaluate the consumers’ (users and non-users)
attitude towards a particular product/service/idea. Such an attitude survey is often
administered keeping in mind target consumers, clearly spelling out the respondent
profile. An attitude survey helps the company obtain insights related to the different
attitudinal aspects of consumers towards the product, service or category.
Importance of Attitude Survey
From a broader perspective, attitude encompasses all of a person’s emotional,
perceptual, behavioral and rational processes in response to some aspect of the
environment. In the case of marketing specifically, attitude can be considered a
person’s persistent emotional feelings, action tendencies and favorable or unfavorable
disposition towards a product, service or idea. An attitude survey in turn helps the
company decide on the marketing strategy for the brand. It allows the company to
identify latent markets, new target groups or the more profitable demographic
segments. These are important for market segmentation, targeting strategy as well as
positioning. Such attitude surveys are also administered using attitudinal research to
understand the attitude of consumers towards the current or proposed marketing
communications strategy. For example, Amul, before deciding whether a new ad
campaign should be aired or not, may like to observe the reactions of the consumers. It
may also want to compare it with the attitude of the consumers towards its present
“Amul girl” campaign.
Attitude Survey Questionnaire Sample
Although quantifying attitude is a Herculean task, an attitude survey often uses a Likert
Scale approach. A survey helps in collecting vital information known as attitudinal data.
A typical questionnaire to understand consumers’ attitude towards the cookie category
could have questions like these:

Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance

            Manager’s interest in job satisfaction tends to center on its effect on employee
performance. Researchers have recognized this interest, so we find a large number of
studies that have been designed to assess the impact of job satisfaction on employee
productivity, absenteeism and turnover.
                  Satisfaction & Productivity
As the “myth or Science?” box concludes, happy workers aren’t necessarily
productive workers. At the individual level, the evidence suggests the reverse to be
more accurate- that productivity is likely to lead to satisfaction.
Interestingly, if we move from the individual level to that of the organization, there is
renewed support for the original satisfaction- performance relationship. When
satisfaction and productivity data are gathered for the organization, we find that
organizations with more satisfied employees tend to be more effective than
organizations with less satisfied employees. So while we may not be able to say that
a happy worker is more productive, it might be true that happy organizations are more
productive.
            Satisfaction & Absenteeism
We find a negative relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism, but the
correlation is moderate.
           Satisfaction & Turnover
Satisfaction is also negatively related to turnover but the correlation is stronger than
what we found for absenteeism.
 

How Employees Express Dissatisfaction?

             Employee dissatisfaction can be expressed in a number of ways. For example,
rather than quitting, employees can complain, be insubordinate, steal organizational
property or shrink part of their work responsibilities. Below offers four responses that
differ from one another along two dimensions: constructiveness/destructiveness and
activity/passivity.
1. Exit  - leaving the organization and looking for a new position (resigning)
2. Voice - an attempt to improve conditions
3. Loyalty - passively but optimistically waiting for conditions to improve.
4. Neglect - allowing conditions to worsen

How Manager Create a Satisfied Employee?

1. Mentally Challenging Work - people prefer jobs that give them the opportunity to
use their skills and abilities.
2. Equitable Rewards - pay systems and promotion policies must be just,
unambiguous and in line with expectations.

3. Supportive Working Conditions - people concerned with their environment for

personal comfort and facilitating a good job.
4. Supportive Colleagues - people get more out than merely money or tangible
achievement. Their work fills the need for social interaction.
***END of LESSON***