Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP Chapter 3 Values, Attitudes and their Effects

Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP Values Values – basic conviciton about what is important, right and good to the individual Values are measured by content (what) and intensity (how much) Ranking a person’s values describes their value system Values are generally enduring over time Milton Rokeach: Terminal Values – describe a person’s desirable end state if existence Instrumental Values – describe a person’s mode of behaviour to achieve the terminal values

Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP Values Values are a foundation for understanding attitudes and motivation Values influence perception, attitudes and behaviours Values influence what people think about what ought and what ought not to be Values are formed in the context of individual values as well as cultural values

Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP Cultural Values Geert Hofstede surveyed a bunch (116000) IBM employees in 40 countries and found 5 value dimensions on which cultures differed –Power Distance – the degree to which people accept that power is distributed equally or not –Individualism vs. Collectivism – the degree to which people prefer to act as individuals vs. in groups –Quantity of Life vs. Quality of Life – the degree to which values such as assertiveness, competitiveness and desire to acquire money prevail (like Type A of a society) –Uncertainty Avoidance – the degree to which people prefer structured vs. unstructured situations –Long-term vs. short-term orientation – the degree to which people value long term persistence vs.. Short term valuing present and past, fulfilling social obligations Refer to page 85 for ratings by country

Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP Canadian Social Values Michael Adams attempted to define the Canadian Social Value system –He came up with 4 general groups exhibiting similar values –The Elders – play by the rules –The Boomers – Reject authority –Gen X – experience seeking –Ne(x)t Gen – creators, curious, flexible Anglophone vs. Francophones vs. Aboriginals –Francophones – collectivist, need for achievement, value affiliation –Anglophones – more individualist, value autonomy –Aboriginals – Collectivist, community oriented, sense of family, loyalty

Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP Attitudes Attitudes are positive or negative feelings about objects, people or event They are responses to situations Attitudes are responses. Values are convictions One’s value base can influence one’s attitudes to a situation

Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP The 3 Key Attitudes for OB Job Involvement –Measures the degree to which people identify psychologically with their jobs and consider their perceived performance level important to self-worth –Employees with high levels of job involvement identify strongly with and really care about their jobs Organizational Commitment –Where an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in that organization –Question: How has Organizational Commitment changed in the last few decades? Job Satisfaction –An individual’s general attitude toward his or her job

Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP Job Satisfaction Angus Reid poll of Canadians –47% are very satisfied with their jobs, 39% somewhat satisfied –44% agree their work as challenging, 27% somewhat agree –75% indicate that they are treated fairly at work But –40% of Canadians would not recommend their company as a good place to work Thinking about Maclean’s Magazine Top 100, these companies are evaluated on ( –1) Physical Workplace –2) Work Atmosphere & Social –3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits –4) Vacation & Time Off –5) Employee Communications –6) Performance Management –7) Training & Skills Development.

Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is strongly tied to customer satisfaction Job satisfaction tends to be higher at higher levels of the organization Job satisfaction is tied to productivity (but only slightly) at the individual level The relationship between satisfaction and productivity at the organization level is much stronger Job satisfaction is stronger in jobs where people have greater control over their job tasks Note also, some studies have shown that productivity leads to satisfaction rather than vice versa

Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP Cognitive Disonance Cognitive Disonance the incompatibility that individuals perceive between their attitudes and behaviours Individuals will act to change their attitudes or behaviours to make them more congruent with each other Read OB in the Street (p. 99) –What do you think? Class Exercise –Read the Case Incident in the News –Respond to Q’s 1, 2, 3

Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP So, why do we care? Values don’t directly impact behaviour, ubt they do influence attitudes Knowledge of a person's value system can give insight into their attitudes Also, knowing a person’s value system and comparing it to that of the organization can help determine whether there is a good organizational fit. Value differences should be celebrated and understood Chapter 4