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Chapter Six Attitudes
Objectives
To gain understanding of the nature of attitudes, functions of attitudes and changing of attitudes
To gain understanding of the nature of employee attitudes like Job satisfaction, Job involvement, Organizational commitment , Emotions and Work moods
To gain an overview of Emotional intelligence.
To study effects of employee attitudes and changing employee attitudes
To gain understanding of nature of values, difference and similarity with attitudes
To gain understanding of societal values, cross cultural values, organizational values, personal values and work values.
What is Attitude?
Attitudes are learned predispositions and represent cluster of beliefs, assessed feelings and behavioural intentions towards aspects of our environment like a person, object or event. Attitudes are evaluative statements either favourable or unfavourable concerning objects, people or events and are a persistent tendency to feel and behave in a particular way toward some object.
Measuring the A-B Relationship
Recent research indicates that attitudes (A) significantly predict behaviors (B) when moderating variables are taken into account.
Moderating Variables are :
- Importance of the attitude
- Specificity of the attitude
- Accessibility of the attitude
- Social pressures on the individual
- Direct experience with the attitude
The three components of attitudes are:
Beliefs- Established perception about the attitude object- These beliefs develop from past experience and learning
Feelings- Positive or negative evaluation about the attitude object
Behavioural intentions- Motivations to engage in a particular behaviour with respect to the attitude object
Formation of attitudes takes place by:
Direct experience with the object-Attitudes can develop from the personally rewarding or punishing experience with an object
Classical conditioning-People develop associations between various objects and the emotional reactions that accompany them
Operant conditioning- Attitudes that are reinforced , either verbally or nonverbally , tend to be maintained.
Vicarious learning- Where person learns something by the observation of others helps in attitude development where individual has no direct experience with the object of attitude.
Formation of attitudes is influenced by:
Family and peer groups- A person may learn attitude through the imitation of family members and peers.
Neighbourhood-The neighbourhood has a certain structure in terms of having cultural facilities, religious groupings and possibly ethnic differences. The neighbours tolerate , condone or deny certain attitudes.
Economic status and occupations of the person
Mass communication like news paper, tv, radio etc.
Functions of attitudes are :
person in a given situation. Adopting roles & attitudes with them can influence how we act. Stanford Prison Experiment (1971) by Zimbardo is a classic example of role playing and the way it influences attitudes of persons. The experiment had volunteers randomly assigned to play either the role of “prisoners” or “guards.”Guards had clubs, whistles, & uniforms. Prisoners wore humiliating uniforms & were locked in cells.Within a couple of days of experiment guards starting yelling at prisoners & devised cruel & degrading routines. Prisoners rebelled, and then became withdrawn & apathetic. Zimbardo stopped the study after 6 days (8 days prior to schedule) because the experiment got out of hand.
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
If you want someone to agree to do a “big” favor, get them to commit to do a “small” one first. Freedman & Fraser (1966)observed that when Californians were asked to allow large “Drive Carefully” signs in their front yards, only 17% agreed. However, 76% were willing to have signs in their yards, if they initially agreed to place small signs in their windows. This method works because when people commit themselves to an act, they come to believe it is their own doing & are more likely to believe in the cause
What explains why behaviors shape our attitudes?
Self-presentation theory
Cognitive dissonance
Self-perception theory
Self-presentation theory
We match our attitudes with our actions to appear favorable to others. We adjust what we say to appear pleasant & to avoid offending others.
Cognitive Dissonance theory
Tension arises when we are aware of two simultaneously inconsistent cognitions. To reduce the dissonance, we change our attitudes so that they will correspond to our actions. We correct discrepencies between attitudes & behaviors. Festinger’s Famous Cognitive Dissonance Study Had Ss perform dull tasks (turning knobs).Afterwards, Ss were told the study was on how expectations affect performance. Experimenter asked Ss to tell a new S outside that the experiment was really exciting. Ss were either given $1 or $20 to lie. Ss told the new S (confederate) how great the experiment was & then filled out a questionnaire asking how much they liked the study. Those who earned $1 were more likely to say they liked the study. Why? We often experience dissonance when making big decisions.To reduce the dissonance after making our choice, we upgrade the chosen alternative and downgrade the unchosen option.
Self-perception theory
When unsure of our attitudes, we examine our behavior & the circumstances under which it occurs. Wells & Petty (1980) had Ss test headphone sets by making either vertical or horizontal head movements while listening to a radio editorial.Those nodding their heads up & down agreed with the editorial most as it is associated with “yes” responses.
Types of change
Attitudes have “dimensions” ranging from “highly negative” to “highly positive” with “neutral” in the middle. There are two types of attitude change:
- Congruent-movement in the same direction with a reduced intensity of feeling .The congruent change that the person has already a positive attitude to change in the lesser degree so it needs to be changed towards more positive, so that it motivates him for better performance.
- Incongruent-Change in direction of attitude.Incongruent change involved changing the individual’s attitude from negative towards positive.
Effect of Attitude on Behaviour
Attitudes have an influence on perception and behaviour of the individual. Attitude influences behaviour through Cognitive dissonance and self fulfilling prophecy.
Theory of reasoned action The theory of reasoned action (TRA), developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen (1975, 1980), deals with the study of attitude and behavior. The key application of the theory of reasoned action is prediction of behavioral intention, spanning predictions of attitude and predictions of behavior. The subsequent separation of behavioral intention from behavior allows for explanation of limiting factors on attitudinal influence (Azjen, 1980). (For details please refer to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and www2.psych.ubc.ca/~azim/attitudes%20200%20williams.ppt)
The nature of Employee attitudes
Attitudes are the feelings and beliefs that largely determine how employees will perceive their environment, commit themselves to intended actions and ultimately behave. Managers of organizational behavior are vitally interested in the nature of the attitudes of their employees toward their jobs, toward their careers and toward the organization itself. Employee attitudes which are important to employers are Job satisfaction, Job Involvement, Organizational Commitment and Work moods.
Job satisfaction
Definition
- Job satisfaction is a set of favourable or unfavourable feelings and emotions with which employees view their work. Job satisfaction is an affective attitude- a feeling of relative like or dislike toward something. Job satisfaction is different from the intellectual response of the employee towards his/her work and the employees; behavioural intensions.
- Pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience.
- It is an appraisal of the perceived job characteristics, work environment and emotional experiences at work
Sources of job satisfaction
Job satisfaction can be viewed as an overall attitude, or it can apply to the various parts of an individual’s job. Important aspects of job satisfaction include 1.Wages 2. Working conditions 3.Nature of work 4.Promotion 5.Supervision 6.Workgroup. Some of these elements are directly related to job content (the nature of the job) and those which are related to the job context (supervisor, coworkers and organization).
Although many of the above factors are under the control of the managers, people are generally predisposed to be satisfied or dissatisfied as they differ in their personal dispositions as they enter the organizations. Some people are optimistic, upbeat, courteous and cheerful and they are said to have positive affectivity. Others are generally pessimistic, downbeat, irritable and abrasive and they are said to have negative affectivity.
Stability of Job Satisfaction
Attitudes are generally acquired over a long period of time. Job satisfaction or dissatisfaction emerges as an employee gains more and more information about the workplace. However job satisfaction is dynamic is nature and may decline even more quickly than it develops.
Environmental Impact
Job satisfaction is one part of life satisfaction. The nature of a worker’s environment off the job indirectly influences his or her feelings on the job. Similarly, since a job is important part of life for many workers, job satisfaction influence general life satisfaction. The result is a spillover effect that occurs in both direction between job and life satisfaction.
Ways of measuring Job satisfaction
Employee Satisfaction
Employee satisfaction is the terminology used to describe whether employees are happy and contented and fulfilling their desires and needs at work. Many measures purport that employee satisfaction is a factor in employee motivation, employee goal achievement, and positive employee morale in the workplace.
Factors contributing to employee satisfaction include treating employees with respect, providing regular employee recognition, empowering employees, offering above industry-average benefits and compensation, providing employee perks and company activities, and positive management within a success framework of goals, measurements, and expectations.
Employee satisfaction is often measured by anonymous employee satisfaction surveys administered periodically that gauge employee satisfaction in areas such as:
management, understanding of mission and vision, empowerment, teamwork, communication, and coworker interaction.
The facets of employee satisfaction measured vary from company to company.
A second method used to measure employee satisfaction is meeting with small groups of employees and asking the same questions verbally. Depending on the culture of the company, either method can contribute knowledge about employee satisfaction to managers and employees.
Exit interviews are another way to assess employee satisfaction in that satisfied employees rarely leave companies.
(taken from http://humanresources.about.com/od/employeesurvey1/g/employee_satisfy.htm)
The information garnered from employee satisfaction surveys can give you the management knowledge that directly impacts the bottom line and fosters positive employee relations in any or all of the following ways:
identifying cost-saving opportunities
improving productivity
reducing turnover
curbing absenteeism
strengthening supervision
evaluating customer-service issues
assessing training needs
streamlining communication
benchmarking the organization's progress in relation to the industry
gauging employees' understanding of, and agreement with, the company mission
(taken from http://www.hrsolutionsinc.com/employee_satisfaction_surveys.cfm)
HR Solutions' surveys measure the following key aspects of employee satisfaction:
Overall Job Satisfaction, Satisfaction with the Work ,Coworker , Performance/Cooperation ,Pay Satisfaction, Benefits Satisfaction, Promotions/Career Advancement ,Supervisory Consideration, Supervisory Promotion of Teamwork and Participation, Supervisory Instruction/Guidance ,Communication ,Human Resources/Personnel Policies ,Concern for Employees , Productivity/Efficiency ,Training & Development, Physical Working Conditions, Customer Service ,Strategy/Mission ,Job Stress
For each statement below, please select the response that comes closest to your own feelings:
Response Scale
-Strongly Disagree--Disagree--Neither Agree Nor Disagree--Agree--Strongly Agree
Sample Questions
- I would proudly recommend this organization as a good place to work to a friend or relative.
- My job makes good use of my skills and abilities.
- There is good cooperation among the members of my work group.
- I am paid fairly for the work I do.
- Compared to similar organizations in the community, I am satisfied with my benefits package.
- Job promotions in this organization are fair and objective.
Consequences of Employee dissatisfaction
Theft
Bending the rules
Violence
Job Involvement
Job involvement is the degree to which employees immerse themselves in their jobs, invest time and energy in them and view work as a central part of their overall lives. Holding meaningful jobs and performing them well are important inputs to their own self images, which helps explain the traumatic effects of job loss on their esteem needs. Job involved employees are likely to believe in the work ethic, to exhibit high growth needs and to enjoy participation in decision making. As a result, they seldom will be tardy or absent, they are willing to work long hours and they will attempt to be high performers.
(Please read for details from http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9780631233176_chunk_g978140511697813_ss1-12)
(related readings to know further about job involvement:
Job involvement, http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Job_involvement
Job involvement and identity, http://www.toolpack.info/articles/job-involvement.html
Exploring determinants of job involvement: an empirical test among senior executives by _Abraham Carmelihttp://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/0160260505001.png&imgref url=http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet%3FFilename%3DPublished/EmeraldFullTextArticl e/Articles/0160260505.html&h=700&w=1392&sz=27&tbnid=C09TjIR55W041M:&tbnh=75&tbnw=150&prev=/imag es%3Fq%3Djob%2Binvolvement&hl=en&usg=_FQ2MxsyPhRnaRJrLa5Q2hAiHLSw=&sa=X&ei=RplRTPbpCYnDrAeK r24Aw&ved=0CC0Q9QEwAw
Influence of Locus of Control and Job Involvement to Organizational Culture Applied by Employees on Bank X by Sri Suwarsi, and Nadia Budianti http://www.waset.org/journals/waset/v60/v60-103.pdf
Social Support and Job Involvement in Prison Officers P.C. Mishra and Minum Shyam University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, January - July 2005, Vol. 31, No.1-2, 7-11. http://medind.nic.in/jak/t05/i1/jakt05i1p7.pdf
Job Involvement or Affective Commitment: A Sensitivity Analysis Study of Apathetic Employee Mobility John C. Hafer and Thomas N. Martin , University of Nebraska at Omaha, http://www.ibam.com/pubs/jbam/articles/vol8/no1/JBAM_8_1_1.pdf)
Organizational Commitment
Organizational commitment or employee loyalty is the degree to which an employee identifies with the organization and wants to continue actively participating in it. It is a measure of the employee’s willingness to remain with the firm in the future.
Types of organizational commitment
Continuance commitment
- the need to stay with the organization based on the costs of leaving or a sense that available comparable alternatives are limited
Normative commitment
- the desire to stay with an organization based on a sense of duty, loyalty or moral obligation.
Affective commitment
- the emotional attachment a person feels for the organization because they see their goals and values to be congruent with that of the organization. Managers are more interested in affective commitment as it often reflects the employee’s belief in the mission and goals of the firm, willingness to expend effort in their accomplishment and intentions to continue working there. Affective commitment is usually stronger among longer-term employees, those who have experienced personal success in the organization and those working within a committed employee group. Organizationally committed employees will usually have good attendance records, demonstrate a willingness to adhere to company policies and have lower turnover rates. Their broader base of job knowledge often translates into loyal customers who buy more from them, make referrals resulting in new customers and even pay a premium price.
Factors that inhibit employee commitment are:
Excessive blaming
Insincere gratitude
Failure to follow through
Inconsistencies and incongruities
Inflated egos and bullying
Factors that stimulate employee commitment are:
Clarity of rules and policies
Investments in employees (training)
Respect and appreciation for efforts
Employees have feelings about their jobs that are highly dynamic, they can change within a day, hour or minute. These variable attitudes towards their job are called work moods. An employee’s work mood can be described as ranging from negative (I hate this task) to positive (I am excited by this new challenge) and from weak to strong and intense. Strongly positive work moods are visible in worker’s energy, passion, vitality and enthusiasm. They result in closer attention to customer service, lower absenteeism, greater creativity and interpersonal cooperation. Work moods are directly affected by managerial actions like sharing praise, creating an atmosphere filled with occasional fun, humour and levity, providing a workplace filled with pleasant surroundings and engaging in and encouraging a reasonable amount of social interaction.
Comparison of Emotions and moods
Emotions are caused by specific event while cause for moods is often general and unclear.
Emotions are brief in duration while moods last longer than emotions
Emotions are specific and numerous in nature while moods are more general in nature.
Emotions are accompanied by distinct facial expression while moods are not indicated by facial expression.
Emotions are action oriented in nature while moods are cognitive in nature.
Mood as Positive and Negative Affect
Affects are broad range of feelings people experience. Moods high in positive affect and low in negative affect are alert, excited, elated, happy, content, serene, relaxed, calm.
Moods high in negative affect and low in positive affect are tense, nervous, stressed, upset, sad, depressed, bored, fatigued.
Expressions
The most basic emotional expressions appear to be fairly common. Some facial expressions are influenced by learning and are unique to national culture. Despite some cultural differences, facial expressions of fear, anger, happiness and sadness are similar around the world. A difference , however, is how often these expressions occur daily in various cultures.
Affective Events Theory (AET)
Work environment like the characteristics of the job, job demands, requirements for emotional labour has an effect on the work events like daily hassles or daily uplifts.
Work events trigger positive and negative emotional reactions
- Personality and mood determine the intensity of the emotional response.
- Emotions can influence a broad range of work performance and job satisfaction variables.
Implications of the theory AET
- Individual response reflects emotions and mood cycles.
- Current and past emotions affect job satisfaction.
- Emotional fluctuations create variations in job satisfaction and performance.
- Both negative and positive emotions can distract workers and reduce job performance.
Source: Based on N.M. Ashkanasy and C.S. Daus, “Emotion in the Workplace: The New Challenge for Managers,” Academy of Management Executive , February 2002, p. 77.
(For further details please refer to the exhibit from Organizational Behaviour, Stephen P.Robbins, Timothi A.Judge and Seema Sanghi, 12th^ ed, Pearson Education, pp 310)
OB Applications of Emotions and Moods
Emotions and Selection
- Emotions affect employee effectiveness.
Decision Making
- Emotions are an important part of the decision-making process in organizations.
Creativity
- Positive mood increases creativity.
Motivation
- Emotional commitment to work and high motivation are strongly linked.
Leadership
- Emotions are important to acceptance of messages from organizational leaders.
Interpersonal Conflict
Salovey and Mayer
Salovey and Mayer (1990) initially defined EI as “a set of skills hypothesized to contribute to the accurate appraisal and expression of emotion in oneself and others, the effective regulation of emotion in self and others, and the use of feelings to motivate, plan, and achieve in one’s life.” Mayer, DiPaolo and Salovey,1990; Mayer, Caruso, and Salovey, 1999 view it as a specific set of abilities that include the capacity to understand, reason about, and use emotions in thinking and action
The competencies are:
Know Yourself (self-awareness)
- Enhance Emotional Literacy: recognize and appropriately express emotion
- Recognize Patterns: recognize reactions and choices
Choose Yourself (self-management)
- Apply Consequential Thinking: evaluate the costs and benefits of choices before acting
- Navigate Emotions: learn from and transform feelings
- Increase Optimism: identify multiple options for changing the future
- Engage Intrinsic Motivation: build internal energy and drive
Give Yourself (self-direction)
- Increase Empathy: respond appropriately to others’ feelings
- Pursue Noble Goals: align daily choices with principles and purpose
Emotional intelligence as defined by Mayer and Salovey (2003)
Perception, Appraisal and expression of emotion
Ability to:
- Identify emotion in one’s physical and psychological states
- Identify emotions in other people and objects
- Express emotions accurately and express needs related to those feelings
- Discriminate between accurate and inaccurate, or honest and dishonest expression of feelings.
Emotional Facilitation of Thinking
Ability to
- Redirect and prioritize one’s thinking based on the feelings associated with objects, events and other people.
- Generate or emulate vivid emotions to facilitate judgments and memories concerning feelings.
- Capitalize on mood swings to take multiple points of view, ability to integrate these mood- induced perspectives.
- Use emotional states to facilitate problem solving and creativity.
Understanding and Analyzing Emotional Information: Employing Emotional Knowledge
Ability to
- Understand how different emotions are related.
- Perceive the causes and consequences of feelings.
- Interpret complex feelings, such as emotional blends and contradictory feeling states.
- Understand and predict likely transitions between emotions.
Regulation of Emotion
Ability to:
- Be open to feelings, both those that are pleasant and those are unpleasant
- Monitor and reflect on emotions.
- Engage, prolong or detach from an emotional state depending upon its judged informativeness or utility.
- Manage emotion in one’s self or others.
Goleman
In 1995, Goleman added, “in a sense, we have two brains, two minds—and two different kinds of intelligence:rational and emotional. How we do in life is determined by both…”
