Chapter Five Work-Related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Three Good Reasons Why You Should Care About . . . Work-Related Attitudes We are all potential victims of prejudice and discrimination on the job; nobody is immune The more people are satisfied with their jobs and committed to their organizations, the less likely they are to be absent and voluntarily resign Changing attitudes is not impossible. There are specific things that practicing managers and their organizations can do to enhance the work-related attitudes of employees (attitudes are learned) © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 2

Job Attitudes (Morale) Work-related attitudes are the thoughts and feelings people have about everything related to their jobs, whether it’s the work itself, superiors, coworkers, subordinates, or even the food in the company cafeteria Four major targets to consider: Prejudice: attitudes toward others Job satisfaction: attitudes toward the job as a whole; pay, supervision, etc. (measures cognitive component) Organizational commitment: attitudes toward the organization Job involvement: job activities are the specific target © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Anatomy of Prejudice Stereotypes are beliefs that people who belong to certain groups possess certain characteristics Prejudice may be defined as negative feelings about people belonging to certain groups Discrimination is a form of negative behavior associated with a given stereotype © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Prejudice versus Discrimination Prejudice is an attitude consisting of negative beliefs (known as stereotypes), negative feelings about those beliefs, and negative predispositions toward people described by those stereotypes. These attitudes sometimes (but not always) lead to behavior consistent with that attitude – that is, discrimination © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Bases for Prejudice Age Physical Condition Gender (being female) Sexual Orientation Race and National Origin Religion © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Women at the Top © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Managing a Diverse Workforce Affirmative Action Plans generally involve efforts to give employment opportunities to qualified individuals belonging to groups that traditionally have been disadvantaged Diversity Management Programs are efforts to celebrate diversity by creating supportive, not just neutral, work environments. They can also be used to train people to embrace individual differences © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Affirmative Action © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Diversity Management Practices © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Theories of Job Satisfaction Two-factory theory (Herzberg’s motivational theory) Value theory (Expectancy) Social information processing model Disposition model © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Two-Factor Theory A theory that conceives of satisfaction and dissatisfaction as separate variables, rather than conceiving of job satisfaction as falling along a single continuum © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Value Theory A theory that focuses on discrepancies between what people want from a job and what they actually receive from the job, particularly in terms of outcomes that they value highly (e.g., pay, learning opportunities) Satisfaction is a function of unmet expectations. © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Social Information Processing Model The idea that people’s attitudes toward their jobs are based on information they get from other people Attitudes can be learned by observing others on the job (Schein’s: Organizational Socialization-’learn the ropes’. © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Dispositional Model The conceptualization proposing that job satisfaction is a relatively stable disposition of an individual – that is, a characteristic that stays with people across situations © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Consequences of Job Dissatisfaction Employee Withdrawal: Actions such as chronic absenteeism and voluntary turnover (i.e., quitting one’s job) that enable employees to escape from adverse organization situations Job Performance: no relationship, one reason since people don’t control their job activities directly Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: Activities that enhance social relationships and cooperation with the organization but go beyond formal job requirements © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Do Attitudes Predict Behavior (not always) If strongly held and no outside influences Specific attitude predicts specific behavior: specific attitude against littering leads to specific behavior of no littering General attitude does not predict behavior: General attitude towards the environment does not predict specific behavior of littering. © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Job Satisfaction and Absence © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Turnover Unfolding model of voluntary turnover: A conceptualization that explains the cognitive processes through which people make decisions about quitting or staying on their jobs Decision depends on: Shock to the system: An attention-getting event that gets employees to think about their jobs (e.g., merger with another company) Decision frames: A set of internalized rules and images regarding how to interpret something that has occurred (e.g., based on what I know from the past, is there an obvious response?) © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Promoting Job Satisfaction Pay people fairly (intrinsic rewards) Improve the quality of supervision Decentralize organizational power Match people to jobs that fit their interests Job enrichment © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Lawler-Porter Model Performance leads to Job Satisfaction (JS) Intrinsic rewards: Higher order motivators such as feeling good about a job well done. (strong relationship to JS) Extrinsic rewards: (weak relationship) Rewards lead to satisfaction moderated by perceived equity of the reward © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Organizational Commitment The extent to which an individual identifies and is involved with his or her organization and/or is unwilling to leave it Continuance Commitment: The strength of a person’s desire to continue working for an organization because he or she needs to do so and cannot afford to leave Affective Commitment: The strength of a person’s desire to work for an organization because he or she agrees with its underlying goals and values Normative Commitment: The strength of a person’s desire to continue working for an organization because he or she feels obligations from others to remain there © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Organizational Commitment © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Why Commitment Matters Committed employees are less likely to withdraw Committed employees are willing to make sacrifices for the organization © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Developing Commitment Enrich jobs Align the interests of the company with those of the employees Recruit and select new employees whose values closely match those of the organization © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

© Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004 Changing Attitudes Communicator: Prestige and Trust Message: logical argument, fear, repetition Medium: face-to-face Process: Elaboration Likelihood Model Central processing: cognitive Peripheral processing: expert source © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004

Other Theories (changing attitudes) Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger): After choosing one of two job offers, the accepted job is viewed more positively and the job not accepted is viewed more negatively. Self-perception theory (Bem): Behavior determines attitude, ‘if I keep talking to this person I must like this person’. Reactance Theory (Brehm): People cherish their freedom, and when they lose control they fight to regain their freedom. If told you can’t have something you like it even more and increase your drive to attain it. Balance Theory (Heider): People like to have their beliefs consistent with the beliefs of people they like. © Copyright Prentice-Hall 2004