Chapter

Chapter 33

Attitudes, and Job

Satisfaction
Attitudes
Attitudes

Attitudes Cognitive component

The opinion or belief segment
Evaluative of an attitude.
statements or
judgments Affective Component
concerning The emotional or feeling segment
objects, of an attitude.
people, or
events. Behavioral Component
An intention to behave in a certain
way toward someone or something.

3–2
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.
3–3
The
The Theory
Theory of
of Cognitive
Cognitive Dissonance
Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance
Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or
between behavior and attitudes.
 Individuals seek to reduce this uncomfortable gap, or dissonance,
to reach stability and consistency
 Consistency is achieved by changing the attitudes, modifying the
behaviors, or through rationalization

Desire
Desireto
toreduce
reducedissonance
dissonance
• •Importance
Importanceofofelements
elementscreating
creatingdissonance
dissonance
• •Degree
Degreeof
ofindividual
individualinfluence
influenceover
overelements
elements
• •Rewards
Rewardsinvolved
involvedinindissonance
dissonance
3–4
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.

Moderating
ModeratingVariables
Variables
• •Importance
Importanceof ofthe
theattitude
attitude
• • Important
Importantattitudes
attitudeshave
haveaastrong
strongrelationship
relationshipto
to
behavior.
behavior.(Based
(Basedon onfundamental
fundamentalvalues)
values)
• •Specificity
Specificityof
ofthe
theattitude
attitude
• • The
Thecloser
closerthe
thematch
matchbetween
betweenattitude
attitudeand
andbehavior,
behavior,
the stronger the relationship: Specific and general
the stronger the relationship: Specific and general
Attitudes.
Attitudes.

3–5
 Predicting
Predicting Behavior
Behavior from
from Attitudes
Attitudes

Moderating
ModeratingVariables
Variables
• •Accessibility
Accessibilityof
ofthe
theattitude
attitude
• • The
Themore
morefrequently
frequentlyexpressed
expressedan
anattitude,
attitude,
the
thebetter
betterpredictor
predictorititis.
is.
• •Social
Socialpressures
pressuresononthe
theindividual
individual
• • High
Highsocial
socialpressures
pressuresreduce
reducethe
therelationship
relationshipand
and
may
maycause
causedissonance.
dissonance.
• •Direct
Directexperience
experiencewith
withthe
theattitude
attitude
• • Attitudes
Attitudesbased
basedon
onpersonal
personalexperience
experienceare
are
stronger
strongerpredictors.
predictors.
© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
3-6
Does
Does Behavior
Behavior Always
Always Follow
Follow from
from Attitudes?
Attitudes?
 Leon Festinger – No, the reverse is sometimes
true!

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

3-7
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.

3–8
Sample
Sample Attitude
Attitude Survey
Survey

3–9
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 service centers
with individuals of diverse backgrounds.
– Exploring print and visual media that recount and
portray diversity issues.

3–10
Job
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction
 How Satisfied Are People in Their Jobs?
– Job satisfaction has a declining trend
– Decline attributed to:
• Pressures to increase productivity and meet tighter
deadlines
• Less control over work

3–11
The
The Effect
Effect of
of Job
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction on
on Employee
Employee
Performance
Performance
 Satisfaction and Productivity
– 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.

3–12
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.

3–13
 Responses
Responses to
to Job
Job Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction

Source: C. Rusbult and D. Lowery, “When Bureaucrats Get the Blues,” Journal
E X H I B I T 3–5
of Applied Social Psychology. 15, no. 1, 1985:83. Reprinted with permission. E X H I B I T 3–5
3–14
Job
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction and
and OCB
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.

3–15
Job
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction and
and Customer
Customer Satisfaction
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.

3–16