© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Attitudes and Job Satisfaction Robbins & Judge 12 th Ed Chapter THREE

Attitudes

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Attitudes judgments on objects, people, or events. 2. Affective Component emotional or feeling “I dislike my teacher” 1. Cognitive component opinion or belief “My teacher is unfair” 3. Behavioral Component intention to act in a certain way toward someone or something “I will find a new class”

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Theory of Cognitive Dissonance Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger) Dissonance  inconsistency / incompatibility Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes. Individuals seek to reduce this gap, or “dissonance” Dissonance  Discomfort You know that cheating on test is wrong, but cheat anyways and hope you don’t get caught Attitude: cheating is wrong Behavior: cheat on test Dissonance/ discomfort Example

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (cont) Desire to reduce dissonance depends on Importance of elements creating dissonance Degree of individual influence over elements Rewards involved in dissonance Desire to reduce dissonance depends on Importance of elements creating dissonance Degree of individual influence over elements Rewards involved in dissonance Example:  If caught cheating: (1) kicked out of school  ? (2) Nothing happens  ?

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Does Attitude Lead to Behavior?  Research indicates that Attitudes (A) can predict behaviors (B) with moderating variables Moderating Variables Importance Specificity Accessibility Social pressures on individual Direct experience with attitude Moderating Variables Importance Specificity Accessibility Social pressures on individual Direct experience with attitude AB

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Self-Perception Theory Attitudes are used after the fact to make sense out of an action that has already occurred. BA ! And, Attitudes as casual statements Attitudes are vague or not strong Opposite to Dissonance Theory

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Types of Attitudes 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) Job Satisfaction P ositive and/or negative feelings that an individual holds toward his or her job.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Types of Attitudes, cont’d. Employee Engagement An individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the organization. Perceived Organizational Support (POS) Degree to which employees feel the organization cares about their well-being.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. An Application: Attitude Surveys Attitude Surveys Eliciting responses from employees through questionnaires about how they feel about their jobs, work groups, supervisors, and the organization.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Case Incident I: Albertsons works on Employee Attitudes  Albertsons: supermarket & drugstore –2400 supermarkets ; 5 th largest drugstore –Competitive business  Problem: flat revenues and falling profits  Solution: Hire Larry Johnston from GE –Hired Ed Foreman who fixed GE Medical Systems 3 years = profit $100 million –How? Successful Life Course : 3 days focus on ATTITUDE –Inspirational handbook, lectures on attitude, diet & exercise –yoga, marching & chanting “I know I can, I know I can” –“It’s your attitude, not your aptitude that determines your altitude”

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Case Incident I: Albertsons works on Employee Attitudes  “Positive attitude is the single biggest thing that can change a business” Johnston –Critical bridge linking employees with customers –Committed $10 million to training –10,000 managers took 3-day course in 2004  Questions:  1. How can Foreman’s 3 day course positively influence Albertson’s profitability?  2. Johnston “Positive attitude is the single biggest thing that can change a business” Is this a valid statement?  3. If you were Johnston, what could you do to evaluate the effectiveness of your $10 million investment in Foreman’s training program?  If you were Albertson’s employee, how would you feel about taking Foreman’s course?

Job Satisfaction

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Questions  (1) How satisfied are employees in their jobs?  (2) What causes an employee to have a high level of job satisfaction?  (3) How do dissatisfied and satisfied employees affect an organization?

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Job Satisfaction  Measuring Job Satisfaction –Single global rating 1 Q: “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your job? –Summation score Identifies key elements of job & asks feelings –Type of work, promotion, pay, relations with others  Which is measurement system is better? –Both! Job satisfaction concept is broad Important factors left out

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. How Satisfied Are People in Their Jobs?  In general, people are satisfied with their jobs.  Depends on facets of job satisfaction –Work conditions: Work itself, pay, promotion, supervision, coworkers, overall –less satisfied with pay and promotion opportunities

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. What causes of Job 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. –Pay motivates but doesn’t make us happy  Personality can influence job satisfaction –Negative people  less satisfied with their jobs

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Neutral Objects Satisfaction Q +Satisfied Neutral - Dissatisfied  City you live in?  Neighbors you have?  High school you attended?  Climate  Movies produced today?  Quality of food you buy?  Today’s cars?  Local newspapers?  Your first name?  People you know?  Telephone service?  A4 size paper  Restaurant food  Modern art?

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. How Employees Can Express Dissatisfaction Exit Behavior directed toward leaving the organization Voice Active and constructive attempts to improve conditions. Neglect Allowing conditions to worsen. Loyalty Passively waiting for conditions to improve.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee 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.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Responses of Job Dissatisfaction NeglectLoyalty Voice Exit Active Constructive Passive Descructive

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Job Satisfaction and OCB  Satisfaction and OCBs –Job satisfaction  Organizational Citizenship Behavior Fairness –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.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Job Satisfaction and Customer 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.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Job Satisfaction and Turnover  Not satisfied Turnover  Satisfaction less important for predicting turnover in high performers –Why? Pay raises, praise recognition, promotion opportunities Employee performance

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. In general, when we think of attitudes and organizations, we think of 1) Job Satisfaction 2) Happiness 3) Job Involvement 4) Mood at work 5) Organizational Commitment 6) 1 and 2 7) 1, 3, and 5 Chapter Check-Up: Attitudes

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. Ernesto is the known as the Donut Hut King---every day he brings donuts and coffee to the office for everyone. He says it helps everyone think more clearly! Ernesto is demonstrating 1.Job satisfaction 2.Organizational citizenship behavior 3.Productivity 4.Job involvement 5.Conscientiousness Chapter Check-Up: Attitudes Write down three things someone could do at work that would constitute an OCB. Compare your list with a neighbor’s.