Values and Attitudes

and Job Satisfaction

Values
Basic convictions that a
specific mode of conduct or
end-state of existence is
personally or socially
preferable to an opposite or
converse mode of conduct or
end-state of existence.

Value System

A hierarchy based on a ranking of an

individuals values in terms of their
intensity.

Characteristics
1. Judgmental element - what is right,
good, or desirable.
2. Values have both content and
intensity attributes.
3. Values are not generally fluid and
flexible. They tend to be relatively
stable and enduring.

Importance of Values
Provide understanding of the attitudes,
motivation, and behaviors of individuals and
cultures.
Influence our perception of the world around
us.
Represent interpretations of right and
wrong.
Imply that some behaviors or outcomes are
preferred over others.

Types of Values Rokeach Value Survey

Milton Rokeach created the Rokeach Value
Survey consisting of two sets of values, with
each containing 18 individual value items.
Terminal Values
Desirable end-states of existence; the goals
that a person would like to achieve during his
or her lifetime. e.g.: A comfortable life,
Equality, National Security, Self-respect
Instrumental Values
Preferable modes of behavior or means of
achieving ones terminal values. e.g.:
Ambitious, Courageous, and Obedient

Values in the Rokeach

Survey

Value Differences Between

Groups

Dominant Work Values in Todays

Workforce

Hofstedes Framework for Assessing

Cultures
To analyze variations among cultures a
research was done in late 1970s by
Greet Hofstede. He surveyed more than
1,16,000 IBM employees in 40 countries
about their work-related values.

Power Distance
The extent to which a society accepts
that power in institutions and
organizations is distributed unequally.
Low distance: relatively equal power
between those with status/wealth and
those without status/wealth
High distance: extremely unequal
power distribution between those with
status/wealth and those without
status/wealth
HE Titles

Achievement (Masculinity)
The extent to which societal
values are characterized by
assertiveness, materialism and
competition.

Nurturing (Femininity)
The extent to which societal
values emphasize relationships
and concern for others.
HE Titles

Uncertainty Avoidance
The extent to which a society feels threatened by
uncertain and ambiguous situations and tries to avoid
them.
High Uncertainty Avoidance:
Society does not like
ambiguous situations & tries
to avoid them.
Low Uncertainty Avoidance:
Society does not mind
ambiguous situations &
embraces them.
HE Titles

Long-term Orientation
A national culture attribute that
emphasizes the future, thrift, and
persistence.
Short-term Orientation
A national culture attribute that
emphasizes the past and
present, respect for tradition,
and fulfilling social obligations.

HE Titles

Individualism
The degree to which
people prefer to act as
individuals rather than a
member of groups.
Collectivism
A tight social framework in
which people expect others
in groups of which they are
a part to look after them
and protect them.

HE Titles

Geert Hofstede
There are only seven (7) countries in
the Geert Hofstede research that have
Individualism (IDV) as their highest
Dimension: USA (91), Australia (90),
United Kingdom (89), Netherlands and
Canada (80), and Italy (76).
The high Individualism (IDV)
ranking for the United States
indicates a society with a more
individualistic attitude and
relatively loose bonds with others.
The populace is more self-reliant
and looks out for themselves and
their close family members.

The next highest Hofstede Dimension is Masculinity (MAS)

with a ranking of 62, compared with a world average of 50.
This indicates the country experiences a higher degree of
gender differentiation of roles. The male dominates a
significant portion of the society and power structure.

 The United States was included in the group of countries that had
the Long Term Orientation (LTO) Dimension added. The LTO is the
lowest Dimension for the US at 29, compared to the world
average of 45. This low LTO ranking is indicative of the societies'
belief in meeting its obligations and tends to reflect an
appreciation for cultural traditions.
The next lowest ranking Dimension for the United States is Power
Distance (PDI) at 40, compared to the world Average of 55. This
is indicative of a greater equality between societal levels,
including government, organizations, and even within families.
This orientation reinforces a cooperative interaction across
power levels and creates a more stable cultural environment.
The last Geert Hofstede Dimension for the US is Uncertainty
Avoidance (UAI), with a ranking of 46, compared to the world
average of 64. A low ranking in the Uncertainty Avoidance
Dimension is indicative of a society that has fewer rules and does
not attempt to control all outcomes and results. It also has a
greater level of tolerance for a variety of ideas, thoughts, and
beliefs.
1

HE Titles

 India has Power Distance (PDI)

as the highest Hofstede
Dimension for the culture, with
a ranking of 77 compared to a
world average of 56.5. This
Power Distance score for India
indicates a high level of
inequality of power and wealth
within the society. This
condition is not necessarily
subverted upon the population,
but rather accepted by the
population as a cultural norm.
India's Long Term Orientation
(LTO) Dimension rank is 61,
with the world average at 48. A
higher LTO score can be
indicative of a culture that is
perseverant and parsimonious.

 India has Masculinity as the third highest ranking

Hofstede Dimension at 56, with the world average
just slightly lower at 51. The higher the country
ranks in this Dimension, the greater the gap
between values of men and women. It may also
generate a more competitive and assertive female
population, although still less than the male
population.
India's lowest ranking Dimension is Uncertainty
Avoidance (UAI) at 40, compared to the world
average of 65. On the lower end of this ranking, the
culture may be more open to unstructured ideas and
situations. The population may have fewer rules and
regulations with which to attempt control of every
unknown and unexpected event or situation, as is
the case in high Uncertainty Avoidance countries.

Hofstedes Framework: An
Assessment
There are regional differences within
countries
The original data is old and based on only
one company
Hofstede had to make many judgment
calls while doing the research
Some results dont match what is
believed to be true about given countries
Despite these problems it remains a very
popular framework

What are Attitudes?

Reflect an individuals persistent tendency to think, feel and behave towards
an object in a particular way involving favor or disfavor.

Always towards
something or
someone
Do not change
without effort
and willingness
Tendency
(habit) suggests
a default
response to a
given trigger

Attitude

Evaluative statements or judgments

concerning objects, people, or events.
Three components of an attitude:

The opinion
or belief
segment of
an attitude.
e.g.: My job
lacks
responsibili
ty

The emotional
or feeling
segment of an
attitude.
e.g.: I dont
like my job
An intention to
behave in a certain
way toward
someone or
something.
e.g.: Im going to

Understanding Attitudes
Can
Help
Understand reasons for employee turnover,
absenteeism, lateness, job search
Improve job performance, increase voluntary
helping behaviour
Manage effectively Job Satisfaction and other
psychological constructs
Better manage employee job and role
characteristics, and
The importance of personal characteristics of the
employee

Does Behavior Always Follow

from Attitudes?

Leon Festinger No, the reverse is sometimes

true!
In the late 1950s, he proposed the theory of
cognitive dissonance, seeking to explain the
linkage between attitudes and behavior. He
argued that any form of inconsistency is
uncomfortable and that individuals will
attempt to reduce the dissonance.
Cognitive Dissonance: Any incompatibility
between two or more attitudes or between
behavior and attitudes
Individuals seek to reduce this

 Consistency is achieved by changing the

attitudes, modifying the behaviors, or
through rationalization
Desire to reduce dissonance depends on:
Importance of elements: If the
elements creating the dissonance are
relatively unimportant, the pressure to
correct this imbalance will be low.
Degree of individual influence: If the
dissonance is perceived as an
uncontrollable result, they are less
likely to be receptive to attitude
change.
Rewards involved in dissonance:
The inherent tension in high dissonance
tends to be reduced with high rewards.

What are the Major Job

1. Job Satisfaction
Attitudes?
A positive feeling about the job resulting from an
2.

3.

4.

evaluation of its characteristics

Job Involvement
Degree of psychological identification with the job
where perceived performance is important to self-worth
Psychological Empowerment
Belief in the degree of influence over the job,
competence, job meaningfulness, and autonomy
High level of Job involvement and psychological
empowerment are positively related to OCB and job
performance. It has been also found to be related to
fewer absences and lower turnover.
Organizational Commitment
Identifying with a particular organization and its goals,
willingness to help the organization achieve such goals
and values, while wishing to maintain membership in the

Job Satisfaction
.

Jobs require interaction with co-workers and

bosses, following organizational rules and
policies, meeting performance standards, living
with working conditions that are often less than
ideal, and the like. This means that an
employees assessment of how satisfied or
dissatisfied he or she is with his/her job is a
complex summation of a number of discrete
job elements.

One of the primary job attitudes measured.

Broad term involving a complex individual
summation of a number of discrete job elements.

 How to measure?
Single global rating (one question/one answer) - Best
It is nothing more than asking individuals to respond
to one question, such as All things considered, how
satisfied are you with your job?
Summation score (many questions/one average) OK
It identifies key elements in a job and asks for the
employees feelings about each one ranked on a
standardized scale.
Typical factors that would be included are the nature
of the work, supervision, present pay, promotion
opportunities, and relations with co-workers.
Comparing these approaches, simplicity seems to
work as well as complexity. Comparisons of onequestion global ratings with the summation-of-jobfactors method indicate both are valid.

Employee Responses to
Dissatisfaction
Active

Destructive

Constructiv

Passive

Exit and neglect behaviors encompass our

performance variablesproductivity,
absenteeism, and turnover.
Voice and loyalty are constructive behaviors
allow individuals to tolerate unpleasant
situations or to revive satisfactory working
conditions. It helps us to understand
situations, such as those sometimes found
among unionized workers, where low job
satisfaction is coupled with low turnover.

Outcomes of Job
Satisfaction

Job Performance
Satisfied workers are more productive AND more
productive workers are more satisfied!
The causality may run both ways.
Absenteeism
Satisfied employees are moderately less likely to
miss work.
Turnover
Satisfied employees are less likely to quit.
Many moderating variables in this relationship.
Economic environment and tenure
Organizational actions taken to retain high
performers and to weed out lower performers

 Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

Satisfaction influences OCB through perceptions of fairness.
Satisfied employees who feel fairly treated by and are
trusting of the organization are more willing to engage in
behaviors that go beyond the normal expectations of their
job.
Customer Satisfaction
Satisfied frontline employees increase customer satisfaction
and loyalty.
Workplace Deviance
Dissatisfied workers are more likely to unionize, abuse
substances, steal, be tardy, and withdraw.
Despite the overwhelming evidence of the impact of job
satisfaction on the bottom line, most managers are either
unconcerned about or overestimate worker satisfaction.

Job satisfaction and

Organisational Commitment
The two most researched Work Attitudes
Job satisfaction is an emotional state generated by
evaluation or appraisal of ones job experiences
An employee who is satisfied with his/her job is said to
derive happiness or pleasure from his/her job or experience
at the job
It is also a psychological state represented by thoughts
and feelings as its indicators

Organisational
Commitment
Organisational commitment has been found to be a
more direct measure of turnover intentions than
satisfaction as it reflects the extent to which an
employee shares the organisational values and goals,
wanting to continue membership of the organisation
and willing to work hard for it.

Components of
Commitment
Affective
Involvement
Normative
Continuance

Affective
Describes employees integral attachment to the
organisation
He/she identifies with it and has common goals
and objectives, thinks and acts from organisations
perspective and acts on behalf of it.

Involvement
Employee identifies with the job, where
work occupies central position in life.

Normative
Denotes extent to which employees values and beliefs
lead him/her to feel that he/she should stay with the
organisation.
Employee could feel so in wake of the investment that
the organisation has made on behalf of him/her.

Continuance
Employee considers the cost associated with leaving
the organisation. When these are too high, employee
stays back. The costs are determined by
interdependence between the organisation and the
employee, the locational factors and so on.

Organisational Citizenship
Behaviour
Individual behaviour that is discretionary, not
directly or explicitly recognized by the formal
reward system, and in the aggregate promotes the
efficient and effective functioning of the
organisation

Providing Organisational
Context to Create Positive
Encouraging
Citizenship Behaviour
Work
Attitudes
Dimensions of OCB: Sportsmanship, Organisational
Loyalty, Individual Initiative, Civic virtue and Self
Development

Two work attitudes relevant to India: Karmayoga

and Work Dedication
Karmayoga means a tendency to discharge ones duties
without lusting for the outcomes
Work Dedication is the disposition of the employee to
voluntarily engage in affectively unpleasant, nonrewarding organisationally relevant behaviours. It is a
more relevant concept in India.

Choosing the suitable form of

Yoga according to ones
temperament, walk of life and
goals

Overcoming
inaction,
passivity and
procrastination

Karma
Yoga

Overcoming
desperate chase
to achieve ends
even if by
employing
inappropriate
means

Yoga as a fundamental
approach towards
balance

Yoga: A Key to appropriately balance diverse phenomena, often involving

inevitable and unavoidable contrasts and Karmayoga,
a proficiency in balancing blind chase and inaction

 A sense of duty or obligation towards others

arising out of ones feeling connected to ones
surroundings coupled with striving to live a life
for the benefit of society
Spontaneous action leading to absence of craving
for material gratification
Equanimity [between contrasting factors that
represents appropriate balance without
disregarding what is necessary and without
overemphasis on anything]

This notion derives from another concept of duty:

doing those tasks about which one has positive
beliefs (good to do, should do) but negative affect
(disliked).

A design engineer stayed back in the after-hours for

many days after his resignation teaching his
replacement all the required things. This was in spite
of his dislike for his company who had shortchanged
him.

some employees reported to work during a strike

against unfair practices of their organisation, knowing
that they faced negative consequences.

A customs officer did not allow machinery to be

imported by vested interests against rules in spite of
pressure from Members of Parliament.

Job Attitudes
Task Variables

OCB

Leadership
Behaviour
Helping co-workers
Personality and
motives
Satisfaction with job
Commitment to
Organisation
Intrinsically satisfying
Tasks
Supportive,
Inspirational Leaders

Sportsmanship,
individual interest
subordinated to that
of organisation
Loyalty to organisation
Compliance and
courtesy
Initiative to exceed
standards of work
Civic virtue
Self-development

Organisational
Effectiveness
and
performance
through better
interpersonal
and group
dynamics such
as trust and
cohesiveness.

 Sportsmanship
Organisational Loyalty
Individual initiative
Civic Virtue
Self Development

Describes employees' willingness to endure impositions

and inconveniences on the job, to maintain a positive
attitude even when things do not go their way, and to
subordinate their personal interests for the benefit of the
organisation

Describes employees' commitment to and

promotion of the organisation (e.g., protecting
and defending the organisation against outside
threats). Organisational compliance describes
individuals' willingness to accept and abide by

Describes employee conscientiousness, which

exceeds required work standards (e.g.,
volunteering to take on an extra assignment
or working late to finish a project)

Describes employees' active participation

and involvement in company affairs (e.g.,
keeping up with organisational issues or
attending non-mandatory meetings)

Describes voluntary behaviours undertaken

by individuals in order to enhance their
knowledge, skills, and abilities (e.g., pursuing
additional training or staying abreast of new
developments in the field)

The Redesigning of Jobs

 Identifies employee attitudes regarding:

Specific job characteristics needing enrichment
The readiness of employees to respond positively to
improved jobs

 Employees know how well are they performing on

a task (Feedback: the knowledge of results)
Employees feel accountable and responsible
(experienced responsibility that matches
autonomy)
For an outcome which is meaningful (when
employees know they perform work which is
significant, is distinct and requires employment of
wide range of skills)

 Reinforcement: Anything that increases the

frequency or intensity of a desired behaviour
Punishment : Aimed at mainly to stop or reduce
the frequency of undesirable activities
Individual Incentive Systems
Usually in the form of money
They can strengthen goal commitment

 Gain sharing or Group Incentive

When incentives are spread at group level, the best
results are found when employees participate in
decision-making and later share group incentive

Goal Setting, Feedback and Bonus

Pay Dispersion and Equity
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOPs)
The employee-owners are more committed to the
success of the enterprise because business success is
transferred directly into personal wealth. Incentive Stock
Options (ISOs) allow ownership of stock contingent upon
meeting specific performance criteria