Work-Related

Attitudes
Feelings about Jobs,
Organizations, and
People
Chapter 5

Learning Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.

Define attitudes and describe their basic components.

Describe the concept of job satisfaction and summarize
two major theories of job satisfaction.
Explain the major consequences of job dissatisfaction
and ways of overcoming them.
Describe the concept of organizational commitment, the
major consequences of low levels of organizational
commitment, and how to overcome them.
Distinguish between prejudice and discrimination, and
identify various victims of prejudice in organizations.
Describe some of the steps being taken by organizations
today to manage diversity in the workforce and their
effectiveness.
Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

Basic Definitions
Attitudes:
Attitudes Relatively stable clusters of
feelings, beliefs, and behavioral intentions
toward specific objects, people, or
institutions.
Work-Related Attitudes:
Attitudes Attitudes relating
to any aspect of work or work settings.
Job Satisfaction:
Satisfaction Positive or negative
attitudes held by individuals toward their
jobs.
Copyright 2003,

Components of Attitudes

Copyright 2003,

Job Satisfaction

Most people are quite satisfied with their jobs.

Levels of job satisfaction, however, vary by country
Overall levels of satisfaction have been dropping in
recent years

What kinds of workers tend to be more satisfied?

White-collar personnel
Older people
People with more experience on their jobs
Men and members of majority groups
Those who are dispositionally predisposed to be
satisfied

Copyright 2003,

Satisfaction by Country

Copyright 2003,

Causes of Lowered Morale

Copyright 2003,

The 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 2003,

Measuring Job Satisfaction

Job Descriptive Index:
A rating scale for
assessing job
satisfaction. Individuals
respond to this
questionnaire by
indicating whether or not
various adjectives
describe aspects of their
work.
Copyright 2003,

Measuring Job Satisfaction

Minnesota Satisfaction
Questionnaire:
A rating scale for
assessing job
satisfaction in which
people indicate the
extent to which they
are satisfied with
various aspects of
their jobs.
Copyright 2003,

10

Measuring Job Satisfaction

Pay Satisfaction
Questionnaire:
A questionnaire
designed to assess
employees level of
satisfaction with
various aspects of
their pay.
Copyright 2003,

11

Measuring Job Satisfaction

Critical Incidents Technique:

procedure for measuring job

satisfaction in which employees
describe incidents relating to their
work that they find especially
satisfying or dissatisfying.
Interviews:
Interviews Questioning people in
person about their attitudes in order
to explore them more deeply.
Copyright 2003,

12

Two-Factor Theory
A theory of job
satisfaction
suggesting that
satisfaction and
dissatisfaction stem
from different groups
of variables
(motivators and
hygiene factors,
respectively).
Copyright 2003,

13

Value Theory of
Satisfaction
A theory suggesting
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.
Copyright 2003,

14

Consequences of Job
Satisfaction
Employee Withdrawal:
Withdrawal Actions such
as chronic absenteeism and
voluntary turnover (i.e., quitting
ones job) that enable employees to
escape from adverse organization
situations.
Absenteeism
Turnover

Task Performance
Copyright 2003,

15

Turnover

Unfolding model of voluntary turnover:

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:
system An attention-getting event
that gets employees to think about their jobs (e.g.,
merger with another company).
Decision frames:
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 2003,

16

Voluntary Turnover

Copyright 2003,

17

Task Performance

The relationship between satisfaction and

performance is positive, but it is not very
strong.
Explanations:
In many work settings, there is little room for
large changes in performance.
Job satisfaction and performance may not be
directly linked. Any direct relationship between
them may stem from the fact that both are
related to a third factor receipt of various
rewards.

Copyright 2003,

18

Promoting Job Satisfaction

Make

jobs fun
Pay people fairly
Match people to
jobs that fit their
interests
Avoid boring,
repetitive jobs
Copyright 2003,

19

Job Satisfaction in Tough

Times

Copyright 2003,

Be open and honest

about the companys
financial situation.
Spend time with your
best workers, helping
them develop their
careers.
Break assignments into
manageable chunks.
Pay people what theyre
worth.

20

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:
Commitment The strength of a persons
desire to continue working for an organization because
he or she needs to do so and cannot afford to leave.
Affective Commitment:
Commitment The strength of a persons
desire to work for an organization because he or she
agrees with its underlying goals and values.
Normative Commitment:
Commitment The strength of a persons
desire to continue working for an organization because
he or she feels obligations from others to remain there.

Copyright 2003,

21

Organizational
Commitment

Copyright 2003,

22

Why Commitment Matters

Committed

employees are
less likely to
withdraw.
Committed
employees are
willing to make
sacrifices for the
organization.
Copyright 2003,

23

Developing Commitment

Make jobs interesting and

give people responsibility.
Align the interests of the
company with those of the
employees.
Enthusiastically recruit
new employees whose
values closely match those
of the organization.
Listen to your employees.
Copyright 2003,

24

Prejudice vs.
Discrimination
Prejudice
Prejudice
Negative attitudes
attitudes
Negative
toward the
the members
members
toward
of specific
specific groups,
groups,
of
based solely
solely on
on the
the
based
fact that
that they
they are
are
fact
members of
of those
those
members
groups (e.g.,
(e.g., age,
age,
groups
race, sexual
sexual
race,
orientation).
orientation).
Copyright 2003,

Discrimination
Discrimination
The behavior
behavior
The
consistent with
with aa
consistent
prejudicial attitude;
attitude;
prejudicial
the act
act of
of treating
treating
the
someone negatively
negatively
someone
because of
of his
his or
or
because
her membership
membership in
in
her
specific group.
group.
aa specific
25

Prejudice vs.
Discrimination

Copyright 2003,

26

Problems of Prejudice
Although the American workforce is becoming
increasingly diverse, prejudice against various
groups still exists, often with serious consequences.
Specific problems:
Prejudice can be a source of serious friction or conflict
between people.
Prejudice may have adverse effects on the careers of people
who are the targets of such attitudes.
Glass Ceiling:
Ceiling A barrier to job advancement caused by
prejudicial attitudes.
Covictimization:
Covictimization The negative psychological impact
suffered by individuals who share the same background
as direct victims of discrimination.

Copyright 2003,

27

Bases for Prejudice

Age
Physical

Condition
Gender (being
female)
Sexual Orientation
Race and National
Origin
Religion
Copyright 2003,

28

Does Discrimination Exist?

A survey of American
workers shows that
racial discrimination is
believed to be
prevalent in many
forms. Its main
victims, African
Americans, tend to be
more aware of
discrimination than
those who are least
affected by it, white
Americans.

Copyright 2003,

29

Major Approaches to
Diversity
Affirmative Action Plans:
Plans Diversity programs
designed to respond to affirmative action
laws, which are legislation designed to give
employment opportunities to groups that
have been underrepresented in the
workforce.
Diversity Management Programs:
Programs Programs
in which employees are taught to celebrate
the differences between people and in which
organizations create supportive work
environments for women and minorities.
Copyright 2003,

30

Affirmative Action

Copyright 2003,

31

Diversity Management
Programs

Awareness-Based Diversity Training:

Training A type of
diversity management program designed to
make people more aware of diversity issues in
the workplace and to get them to recognize the
underlying assumptions they make about
people.
Skills-Based Diversity Training:
Training An approach
to diversity management that goes beyond
awareness-based diversity training and is
designed to develop peoples skills with
respect to managing diversity.
Copyright 2003,

32

Diversity Management

Copyright 2003,

33

Avoiding Pitfalls

Focus on a range of
differences between
people not stereotypes.
Managers should not treat
someone as special
because he or she is a
member of a certain group.
Managing diversity
requires total managerial
support.
Copyright 2003,

34

Ensuring Success

Copyright 2003,

Actively pursue the

best people.
Make sure that people
are accepted and fit in.
Educate everyone.
Assess how youre
doing.
Pay attention to
details.
Plan for the future.
35