Work-Related Attitudes Feelings about Jobs, Organizations, and People Chapter 5

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall Learning Objectives 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

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

Components of Attitudes © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall 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, Prentice Hall

Satisfaction by Country © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

Causes of Lowered Morale © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

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, Prentice Hall

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, Prentice Hall

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, Prentice Hall

Measuring Job Satisfaction Pay Satisfaction Questionnaire: A questionnaire designed to assess employees’ level of satisfaction with various aspects of their pay. © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

Measuring Job Satisfaction Critical Incidents Technique: A procedure for measuring job satisfaction in which employees describe incidents relating to their work that they find especially satisfying or dissatisfying. Interviews: Questioning people in person about their attitudes in order to explore them more deeply. © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall 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, Prentice Hall

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, Prentice Hall

Consequences of Job Satisfaction 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. Absenteeism Turnover Task Performance © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall 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 2003, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall Voluntary Turnover © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall 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, Prentice Hall

Promoting Job Satisfaction Make jobs fun Pay people fairly Match people to jobs that fit their interests Avoid boring, repetitive jobs © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

Job Satisfaction in Tough Times Be open and honest about the company’s financial situation. Spend time with your best workers, helping them develop their careers. Break assignments into manageable chunks. Pay people what they’re worth. © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

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 2003, Prentice Hall

Organizational Commitment © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

Why Commitment Matters Committed employees are less likely to withdraw. Committed employees are willing to make sacrifices for the organization. © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

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, Prentice Hall

Prejudice vs. Discrimination Negative attitudes toward the members of specific groups, based solely on the fact that they are members of those groups (e.g., age, race, sexual orientation). Discrimination The behavior consistent with a prejudicial attitude; the act of treating someone negatively because of his or her membership in a specific group. © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

Prejudice vs. Discrimination © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall 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: A barrier to job advancement caused by prejudicial attitudes. Covictimization: The negative psychological impact suffered by individuals who share the same background as direct victims of discrimination. © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall Bases for Prejudice Age Physical Condition Gender (being female) Sexual Orientation Race and National Origin Religion © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

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, Prentice Hall

Major Approaches to Diversity Affirmative Action 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 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, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall Affirmative Action © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

Diversity Management Programs Awareness-Based Diversity 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: An approach to diversity management that goes beyond awareness-based diversity training and is designed to develop people’s skills with respect to managing diversity. © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall Diversity Management © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall 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, Prentice Hall

© Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall Ensuring Success Actively pursue the best people. Make sure that people are accepted and fit in. Educate everyone. Assess how you’re doing. Pay attention to details. Plan for the future. © Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall