WORKRELATED ATTITUDES:

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Chapter
Five
WORK-RELATED ATTITUDES FEELINGS ABOUT JOBS
ORGANIZATIONS AND PEOPLE
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After reading this chapter you should be able to
1. Define attitudes and understand their basic
components. 2. Identify the concept of job
satisfaction and outline the techniques used for
measuring it. 3. Summarize two major theories of
job satisfaction. 4. Explain the major
consequences of job dissatisfaction and how to
overcome them. 5. Define organizational
commitment and describe the three major types.
6. Describe the major consequences from low
levels of organizational commitment and how to
overcome them. 7. Distinguish prejudice and
discrimination and identify victims of prejudice
in organizations. 8. Describe how organizations
today manage diversity in the workforce. 9. Descri
be the effectiveness of diversity management
programs.
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Three Essential Components of Attitudes Evaluativ
e component - our liking or disliking of any
particular person item or event - feeling
aspect Cognitive component - what we believe
whether true of false about an attitude
object - knowledge aspect Behavioral component
- our predisposition to behave in a
way consistent with our beliefs and feelings
about an attitude object - may not actually
be predictive of ones behavior
Attitudes - relatively stable clusters of
feelings beliefs and behavioral intentions
toward specific objects people or
institutions Work-related attitudes - pertain to
any aspect of work or work settings
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Job Satisfaction - positive or negative attitudes
held by individuals toward their jobs Are
People Generally Satisfied with Their Jobs -
overall most satisfied Certain groups more
satisfied than others - white-collar older
more experienced Some individuals always more
satisfied Dispositional model - job
satisfaction is a characteristic that stays
with people across situations
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Measuring Job Satisfaction - several useful
techniques have been developed Rating scales and
questionnaires - most common approach - can be
completed quickly - normative data may be
available to assess relative satisfaction -
e.g. Job Descriptive Index Minnesota
Satisfaction Questionnaire Pay Satisfaction
Questionnaire
Critical incidents - employees describe incidents
relating to their work that they found
especially satisfying or dissatisfying
Interviews - explore attitudes more deeply -
particularly effective in gathering reactions to
complex and difficult situations
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Theories of Job Satisfaction - address what makes
people satisfied with their jobs and the
underlying processes
Two-factor theory - suggests that satisfaction
and dissatisfaction stem from different groups
of variables
- satisfaction - associated with the content of
the job itself or with outcomes directly derived
from it Motivators - e.g. nature of the job
achievement in the work promotion
opportunities chance for personal recognition
and growth
- dissatisfaction - associated with the physical
and social context of the job Hygienes - e.g.
working conditions pay security relations
with others quality of supervision
Evaluation - intriguing but unverified
theory Implications - focus attention on
motivators to promote satisfaction - create
conditions to avoid dissatisfaction
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Figure 5.4 Two-Factor Theory of Job Satisfaction
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Theories of Job Satisfaction (cont.) Value
theory - suggests that job satisfaction depends
primarily on the match between the outcomes
individuals value in their jobs and their
perceptions about the availability of such
outcomes - satisfaction - individual receives
job outcomes s/he values - dissatisfaction -
individual does not receive job outcomes s/he
values
Evaluation - research provides good support for
theory Implications - individuals may value
different outcomes and therefore employees may
have different sources of satisfaction -
satisfaction may stem from many job factors
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Figure 5.5 The Result of Getting What We Want
Size of Have-Want Discrepancy
None
Great
(have as much as want)
(want more than have)
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Consequences of Job Dissatisfaction
Task performance - relationship to job
satisfaction is positive but not especially
strong because - range of possible performance
restricted on many jobs - variables are not
directly related but both may be influenced
by the same job factors (e.g. receipt of
various organizational rewards)
Employee withdrawal - actions that enable
employees to escape adverse organizational
situations Chronic absenteeism - less
satisfaction more absenteeism - modest
relationship since many factors affect
an employees decision to report to work
Voluntary turnover - less satisfaction greater
likelihood that employee will consider
resigning - modest relationship since many
factors affect an employees decision to move
to another job - e.g. economic conditions -
intent to quit or stay reflected in concrete
actions
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Figure 5.6 Voluntary Turnover A Model
Job satisfaction
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Guidelines for Promoting Job Satisfaction Make
jobs fun - people are more satisfied with jobs
they enjoy doing than those they find dull and
boring Pay people fairly - job dissatisfaction
associated with perceptions of unfairness in
compensation system Match people to jobs that
fit their interests - fulfilling interests
on the job associated with feelings of
satisfaction Avoid boring repetitive jobs -
people more satisfied with jobs that allow then
to take control over how they do things
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Organizational Commitment - degree to which
people are involved with their organizations and
are interested in remaining within them
Varieties of Organizational Commitment Continuanc
e commitment - the strength of a persons desire
to continue working for an organization
because s/he needs to and cannot afford to do
otherwise - increases with greater tenure in
the organization
Affective commitment - the strength of a persons
desire to continue working for an organization
because s/he agrees with its goals and values -
endorse what organization stands for - may be
threatened when organization undergoes change
Normative commitment - the strength of a persons
desire to continue working for an organization
because s/he feels pressure from others to
remain - reluctance to disappoint others
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Why Strive for a Committed Workforce Committed
employees are less likely to withdraw - less
likely to resign or be absent Committed
employees are willing to sacrifice for the
organization - good organizational citizenship
characteristic of committed employees
Approaches to Developing Committed
Employees Enrich jobs - give employees control
over their jobs and recognize their important
contributions Align company and employee
interests Profit-sharing plans - incentive
plans in which employees receive bonuses in
proportion to the companys profitability Recr
uit and select new employees whose values closely
match those of the organization -
investments in employees likely to prompt the
return investment of employee energy in the
company
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Prejudice - negative attitudes toward the members
of specific groups based solely on their
membership in those groups (e.g. age gender
race) - negative beliefs and feelings and
predispositions to behave accordingly
Discrimination - behavior that is follows from a
prejudicial attitude - treating someone
negatively because of her/his group membership
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The Reality of Prejudice and the Problems of
Prejudice - ethnic and cultural diversity is the
rule today - prejudicial attitudes in this
environment create problems - produces serious
friction or even conflict between people - can
have adverse effects on the careers of people
targeted by prejudicial attacks - e.g.
glass ceiling - can have devastating
psychological effect on victims
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Groupism - no one is immune to prejudice based on
membership in certain groups
Prejudice based on age - discrimination exists
against older and younger workers - prejudices
not founded on accurate information - the more
time younger people spend working with
their older colleagues the more positive --
and the less stereotypical -- their attitudes
toward one another
Prejudice based on physical condition (i.e. some
physical feature) Stigmas - conditions (e.g.
blindness disfigurement or paralysis)
considered to be negative aspects of
ones identity Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) - safeguards the rights of people with
physical and mental disabilities - requires
reasonable accommodations be made to enable
disabled to hold a job
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Groupism (cont.) Prejudice based on race and
national origin - discriminatory acts have
caused minorities to use the Equal Employment
Opportunity Act to file law suits -
mentoring of minority employees attempts to
minimize problems stemming from discrimination
Prejudice based on sexual orientation - no legal
protection for homosexuals - leads to fears of
being exposed as a homosexual - many
organizations have adopted internal fair
employment policies that include sexual
orientation - some companies prohibit
discrimination based on sexual orientation -
some companies extend fringe benefits which
traditionally were offered only to
opposite- sex partners to same-sex domestic
partners
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Groupism (cont.) Prejudice against women -
lessening but it is a slow victory Sex-role
stereotypes - narrow-minded beliefs about the
kinds of tasks for which women are
suited - keep many women from important
organizational positions including boards of
directors
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Do Companies Care about Diversity - trend is
clearly toward more activity and greater
concern about diversity issues - increased
support for diversity programs where - senior
managers are aware of the importance of
diversity management - there is recognition
of the need to attract and retain a skilled
workforce
What Are Todays Companies Doing about Diversity
- two approaches Affirmative action plans -
attempt to provide employment opportunities to
groups who traditionally have been disadvantaged
- over the past 30 years plans have been
effective
Diversity management programs - create an
atmosphere in which diverse groups can flourish
- celebrate diversity - women and minorities
are valued not just tolerated
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How Are Companies Fostering Workforce Diversity
- there is more talk about diversity than
action - however encouraging signs of
improvement - widespread diversity management
practices include Promote policies that
discourage sexual harassment Provide physical
access for disabled employees Offer flexible
work schedules Allow days off for religious
holidays Offer parental leaves
Varieties of Diversity Management Programs - two
categories Awareness-based diversity programs -
designed to make people more aware of diversity
issues and get them to recognize the underlying
assumptions they make about people
Skill-based diversity training - develops tools
needed to interact effectively with others
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Figure 5.16 Two Approaches to Diversity
Management Training
Awareness-based Diversity Training
Skills-based Diversity Training
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Companies that made special efforts to use their
diverse human resources were considerably more
profitable than those that discriminated
against employees - managing diversity is the
right way to treat employees and is good
business - notes of caution
Focus differences between people not
stereotypes - instead of looking at average
differences between people look at the range
of differences between people
Managing diversity requires total managerial
support - management must go the extra mile in
support of diversity activities