Chapter 3

Attitudes and Job

Satisfaction
Learning
Learning Objectives
Objectives
 Contrast the three components of an attitude.
 Summarize the relationship between attitudes and
behavior.
 Identify the role consistency plays in attitudes.
 State the relationship between job satisfaction and
behavior.
 Identify four employee responses to dissatisfaction.
Attitude
Attitude Defined
Defined
 Briefly defined, an “attitude” represents a
tendency to respond in a favorable or
unfavorable way to persons or objects in
one’s environment.
 For instance, when we say we “like”
something or “dislike” something, we are
in effect expressing an attitude toward the
person or object.
 Attitude could be defined also as a mental
predisposition to act in a particular way
towards a person or an object.
Some
Some issues
issues that
that matter
matter in
in the
the study
study of
of attitudes
attitudes
 What are the main components of attitude?
 How consistent are attitudes?
 Does behavior always follow from attitudes?
 What are the main job attitudes?
 How are employees attitudes measured?
 What are the importance of attitudes to workplace
diversity?
Attitudes
Attitudes

Attitudes Cognitive component

The opinion or belief segment
• Attitudes are the
feelings and beliefs that of an attitude.
largely determine how
employees will perceive
their environment,
commit themselves to
Affective Component
intend actions and The emotional or feeling segment
ultimately behave
of an attitude.
• Evaluative statements
or judgments concerning
objects, people, or
events.
Behavioral Component
• Less stable than values An intention to behave in a certain
way toward someone or something.
Relationship
Relationship between
between the
the components
components in
in the
the
Tricomponent
Tricomponent Attitude
Attitude Model
Model

Cognition
How
How consistent
consistent are
are attitudes
attitudes
 People change their attitudes although attitudes
are relatively stable mental predispositions.
 Sometimes, attitudes change even very quickly
as if it does not have any stability.

 Generally, people seek consistency:

– Among their different attitudes, and
– Between their attitudes and their behavior
 When there is inconsistency, people seek to
return to a level of equilibrium state.
 The
The Theory
Theory of
of Cognitive
Cognitive Dissonance
Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance
•Dissonance = Inconsistency or incompatibility
•Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or
between behavior and attitudes
•Individuals seek to reduce this gap, or “dissonance”

Desire
Desireto
toreduce
reducedissonance
dissonancedepends
dependson
on
• •Importance
Importanceofofelements
elementscreating
creatingdissonance
dissonance
• •Degree
Degreeof
ofindividual
individualinfluence
influenceover
overelements
elements
• •Rewards
Rewardsinvolved
involvedinindissonance
dissonance
Is
Is AA Happy
Happy Worker
Worker AA Productive
Productive Worker?
Worker?
 Over the years, one of the most strongly held
beliefs among managers and I/O psychologists is
that there is a relationship between a worker’s job
satisfaction and his/her job performance.
 In 60 year’s worth of research I/O psychologists
have found highly variable linkages between job
satisfaction and job performance.
 The most recent examination by Timothy Judge
and his colleagues suggests a correlation of .30
between satisfaction and performance, a small
but meaningful association.
Measuring
Measuring the
the A-B
A-B Relationship
Relationship
 Recent research indicates that attitudes (A)
significantly predict behaviors (B) when
moderating variables are taken into account.
A B

Moderating
ModeratingVariables
Variables
• •Importance
Importanceof ofthe
theattitude
attitude
• •Specificity
Specificityof
ofthe
theattitude
attitude
• •Accessibility
Accessibilityof
ofthe
theattitude
attitude
• •Social
Socialpressures
pressureson onthe
theindividual
individual
• •Direct
Directexperience
experiencewith
withthe
theattitude
attitude
Self-Perception
Self-Perception Theory
Theory

Attitudes are used, after the fact, to make sense

out of an action that has already occurred.
And, B A!

When asked about an attitude

toward some object,
individuals recall their
behavior relevant to that object
and then infer their attitude
from their past behavior.
 Types
Types of
of Attitudes
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 (Affective, Normative, and Continuance
Commitment)
Organizational
Organizational Commitment
Commitment
 Mowday, Steers, and Porter (1982) define OC
which has three component
– A strong belief in and acceptance of organizational
goals and values
– A willingness to exert considerable efforts on behalf of
the organizations
– A strong desire to maintain membership

 Researchers have confirmed a positive

relationships between OC and Job performance,
and inverse relationships found with tardiness,
absenteeism and turnover.
 Point-Counter
Point-Counter Point
Point Exercise
Exercise
 Think about two to three jobs you have had,
outside of family chores (Family Business)
 List the jobs on the top of sheet
 List down what you really liked about the jobs
and what you disliked about the jobs.
 Find out the commonalities and differences
 Discuss what managers or supervisors could do
to increase the likes and decrease the dislikes.

Mangers Can Create Satisfied Employees:

What you think ?
 Types
Types of
of Attitudes,
Attitudes, cont’d.
cont’d.
Perceived Organizational Support (POS)
Degree to which employees feel the organization cares
about their well-being.

Employee Engagement
An individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and
enthusiasm for the organization.
Attitudes
Attitudes Exercise
Exercise -- Set-Up
Set-Up
 Situation:
You are an expert who has been asked to provide
your expertise on the following issue. The
Residential Life Department of a large university
has been experiencing an usually high rate of
turnover among it’s Resident Assistants (RA’s)
during the last year. Over 60% of the university’s
RA’s have recently left their positions, and with
those that remain, poor performance is
commonplace. This situation is very troubling,
given the costs of training RA’s and of replacing
them when they leave.
Attitudes
Attitudes Exercise
Exercise
 Given what you know about how Organizational
Behavioral Expert help organizations to address
the attitudes of their employees:
 what steps would you undertake to examine the
problem?
 What questions would you ask? and
 what recommendations might you make?
An
An Application:
Application: Attitude
Attitude Surveys
Surveys

Attitude Surveys
Eliciting responses from
employees through
questionnaires about
how they feel about
their jobs, work
groups, supervisors,
and the organization.
Concerning Issues
a) Reliability
b) Validity
Sample
Sample Attitude
Attitude Survey
Survey
Attitudes
Attitudes and
and Workforce
Workforce Diversity
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.
Job
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction
 Measuring Job Satisfaction
– Single global rating
– Summation score
 How Satisfied Are People in Their Jobs?
– In general, people are satisfied with their jobs.
– Depends on facets of satisfaction—tend to be less
satisfied with pay and promotion opportunities.
Causes
Causes of
of Job
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction

 Pay only influences Job Satisfaction to a point

– After about $40,000 a year, there is no relationship
between amount of pay and job satisfaction.

 Personality can influence job satisfaction

– Negative people are usually not satisfied with their jobs
Elements
Elements of
of Life
Life Satisfaction
Satisfaction

Job Family

LIFE Politics
Religion

Leisure

Most Critical elements of Life Satisfaction

(Adapted from John Newstrom, Organizational Behavior- Human Behavior at work)
Responses
Responses to
to Job
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction
How
How Employees
Employees Can
Can Express
Express Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction

Exit Voice
Behavior directed toward Active and constructive
leaving the organization. attempts to improve
conditions.

Loyalty Neglect
Passively waiting for Allowing conditions to
conditions to improve. worsen.
The
The Effect
Effect of
of Job
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction on
on Employee
Employee
Performance
Performance
 Satisfaction and Productivity
– Satisfied workers are more productive AND more
productive workers are more satisfied!
– 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.
Four
FourProducts
Productsof
ofEmployee-Organization
Employee-Organization Attitudes
Attitudes
E
m P
o
p s
l i Employee Stays Employee is
o t
terminated
y i
v
e
A
t
t
I
t
N
e Employee Employee leaves
T g
o a
leaves by mutual
w t voluntarily agreement
a i
r v
e
d

O
r
g Positive Negative

Organization’s attitude toward employee

Job
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction and
and OCB
OCB
 Satisfaction and OCBs
– 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
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction and
and Customer
Customer Satisfaction
Satisfaction
 Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction
– Satisfied workers provide better customer service
 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.
Changing
Changing Employee
Employee Attitude
Attitude
 Reward system closely associated with individual performance

 Setting challenging goals but realistic

 Role clarity and role specification

 Refrain from attacking the attitudes

 Provide frequent feedback

 Employee participation and involvement programs

 Show appreciation for appropriate effort and citizen behaviours