Attitudes can positively or negatively affect a person's behavior.

A person may not

always be aware of his or her attitude or the effect it is having on behavior. A person who
has positive attitudes towards work and co-workers (such as contentment, friendliness,
etc.) can positively influence those around them. These positive attitudes are usually
manifested in a person's behavior; people with a good attitude are active and productive
and do what they can to improve the mood of those around them.

In much the same way, a person who displays negative attitudes (such as
discontentment, boredom, etc.), will behave accordingly. People with these types of
attitudes towards work may likewise affect those around them and behave in a manner
that reduces efficiency and effectiveness.

Attitudes are evaluative statements either favorable or unfavorable concerning objects,

people, or events. They reflect how an individual feels about something. When a person
says, "I like my job," he or she is expressing an attitude about work. To better understand
the concept of attitudes, we should look at an attitude as made up of three components:
cognition, affect, and behavior. The cognitive component of an attitude is made up of the
beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or information held by a person. The belief that
"discrimination is wrong" illustrates cognition. The affective component of an attitude is
the emotional or feeling part of an attitude. Using our earlier example, this component
would be reflected by the statement, "I don't like Ali because he discriminates against
women". Finally, affect can lead to behavioral outcomes. The behavioral component of
an attitude refers to an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or
something. To continue our example, I might choose to avoid Ali because of my feelings
about him. Looking at attitudes as being made up of three components cognition, affect,
and behavior helps show the complexity of attitudes. But for the sake of clarity, keep in
mind that the term attitude usually refers only to the affective component.

Did you ever notice that people change what they say so it doesn't contradict what they
do? Perhaps a friend of yours has repeatedly argued that she thinks joining a sorority is
an important part of college life, but then she goes through rush and doesn't get
accepted. All of a sudden, she's saying that she thinks sororities are dumb and sorority
life isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Research has generally concluded that people seek
consistency among their attitudes and between their attitudes and behavior. This means
that individuals try to reconcile differing attitudes and align their attitudes and behavior
so they appear rational and consistent. When there is an inconsistency, individuals will
take steps to make it consistent either by altering the attitudes or the behavior or by
developing a rationalization for the inconsistency.

For example, a campus recruiter for R & S Company, who visits college campuses,
identifies qualified job candidates, and sells them on the advantage of R & S as a good
place to work, would experience conflict if he personally believed that R & S had poor
working conditions and few opportunities of promotion. This recruiter could, over time,
find his attitudes towards R & S becoming more positive. He may, in effect, convince
himself by continually articulating the merits of working for the company. Another
alternative is that the recruiter could become openly negative about R & S and the
opportunities within the company for prospective applicants. The original enthusiasm
that the recruiter might have shown would dwindle, probably to be replaced by cynicism
towards the company. Finally, the recruiter might acknowledge that R & S is an
undesirable place to work but, as a professional recruiter, realize that his obligation is to
present the positive aspects of working for the company. He might further rationalize that
no workplace is perfect and that his job is not to present both sides of the issue but to
present a favorable picture of the company.

Values are defined as perspectives about an appropriate course of action. If a person

values honesty, then he or she will strive to be honest. People who value transparency
will work hard to be transparent. Values are one important element that affects individual
character and behavior towards others. The relationship between values and behavior is
intimate, as values create a construct for appropriate actions.

A work environment should strive to encourage positive values and discourage negative
influences that affect behavior. All individuals possess a moral compass, defined via
values, which direct how they treat others and conduct themselves. People who lack
strong or ethical values may participate in negative behavior that can hurt the
organization. While a company cannot do anything about the influences that shape a
person's values and behavior before hiring, the organization can try to influence
employee behavior in the workplace.
Training programs, codes of conduct, and ethics committees can inform employees of
the types of behavior that the company finds acceptable and unacceptable. While these
efforts will not necessarily not change an individual's values, they can help them decide
not to participate in unethical behavior while at work. Managers must emphasize not only
an employee's responsibilities, but also what the organization expects with respect to
values and ethics. Ethics statements and vision statements are useful tools in
communicating to employees what the company stands for and why.

A system of punishments and rewards can also help foster the type of values the
company wants to see in its employees, essentially filtering behavior through
conditioning. If people see that certain behaviors are rewarded, then they may decide to
alter their behavior and in turn alter their values. In addition, a gap sometimes exists
between a person's values and behavior. This gap can stem from a conscious decision
not to follow a specific value with a corresponding action. This decision can be
influenced by how deeply this value affects the person's character and by the
surrounding environment.

Culture is also largely relevant to how values shape behavior, as a given organizational
culture can create camaraderie and social interdependence. Conforming to the
expectations and values of the broader organization is a common outcome of
organizations with strong ethos and vision. Such an organization promotes passion and
positive behavior in their employees. Of course, a company's culture can work in both
directions. Some industries are inherently competitive, valuing individual dominance over
other individuals (for example, sales, stock trading, etc.). While some may view such a
culture as objectively negative, it is subjectively useful for the organization to instill and
develop these values to create certain behaviors (such as hard work and high
motivation).
Traditionalists survived the Great Depression and helped to shape the United States as
an economic and military power. They are famous for patriotism, team work, doing more
with less, and being task oriented. Important values for this generation include rules of
conduct, respect for authority, and following directions. They helped to develop the
space program, create vaccines for many diseases including polio, tuberculosis, tetanus,
and whooping cough, and helped to create an environment for todays technological
society. This generation was the first to pursue equality through the Civil Rights
Movement

Baby Boomers are considered extremely hardworking and motivated by position, perks,
and prestige. Boomers relish long work weeks and define themselves by professional
accomplishments, and many feel that by their sacrifices members of Generations X and
Y should pay their dues in order to excel up the corporate ladder. Many of the working
Boomers seem to have a strong work ethic and feel that others should have this ethic as
well. Often this Generation may feel that when considering the work habits of members
of Generations X and Y that their work ethic is not as intensive

Generation X members are considered resourceful, self-sufficient, and independent.

They work hard within a structured workday and many dislike being micro-managed
while completing a task. They prefer managers to keep their distance and let them
complete the project. Give instructions for the project and let the employee complete the
task. The workplace is accelerating. People are living turbo-charge lives which makes it
crucial for employers to know what drives employees to stay or leave states Ann
Piacentini, director of market research at Scudder Kemper Investments. Generation X
members are less likely to be emotionally attached to their material possessions. A
reason for this may be that their era of technology made them more adaptable than the
previous generations. They may even view their parents or grandparents materials as
junk while viewing their own possessions as necessary for their own comforts. Due to
the feelings against personal possessions, this generation needs to be recruited,
rewarded, and managed differently from earlier generations.

Millennials do not have the desire for the fast track within the corporate world. They
would rather trade high pay for fewer hours at the office. The fewer hours can be
considered as flexible hours that would create a better work or life balance. Past
generations were different from the Millennials because they valued time at the office
and felt that time was needed to complete jobs to support the operations of the
company. Millennials value family life and will sacrifice monetary values for this
interconnection with the family. By the values taught to them from their families, they are
ambitious and achievement-oriented. Millennials have high expectations of employers;
they enjoy challenges and are not afraid to question authority. Even thought they
question what seems out of place, Millennials are considered a caring generation by
placing the greater good ahead of individual rewards. Millennials are supportive of
parental supervision and believe that lack of discipline is a major contributor to social
problems within this country. Many teenagers feel that it is cool to be smart and in
order to prepare for the future, they look forward in attending school.

The different generations may cause different values and attitudes in the workplace. But,
being a millennial, we are still of great help in the workplace inspite of the attitude we
may have. As long as there is unity and respect for one another, there will be a peaceful
life and effective work in the company. Amidst diversity, there is unity. Amidst different
generations, there is love and unity. Let us not make our generation the hindrance for a
peaceful workplace but a challenge for us to work hard and aim for the best for our
company.
 Saint Columban College
Graduate School

SYNTHESIS ON ATTITUDES, VALUES

AND WORK BEHAVIOR

Submitted by:

RALPH CHRISTER A. MADERAZO

MBA-1